Monday, December 28, 2009

Bonus baby!

I got my bonus today. Unbelievable!

Thanks go out to Dr. Phil Jones and the East Anglia U. Hockey Team for making my carbon-phobic billing rate possible. Despite my vested interest in continuing global warming hysteria, I remain a skeptic and a denier.

KA-CHING!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Airline security

Can we get serious about airline security now?

Funny name? Strip search.

Carrying a Koran? Cavity search with an ice auger.

On a watchlist? Go to prison, terrorist.

Seems simple enough to me.

Monday, December 21, 2009

This is becoming a trend

Packers games at County Stadium long ago moved to Lambeau Field.

The GMO is gone, but Whistling Straights gets a string of majors.

And now NASCAR gets booted off the Milwaukee Mile and ends up in Sheboygan County at the best road course in America. This may become the highlight of the Nationwide Series.

I'm not sure this pattern means anything, but it should.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Tea Parties are so 2009

Take a number and line up.

Mr. Nelson, you've drawn number one.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Herbert! Russell! Get us the Nelson deal

You are not properly representing Wisconsin if we get anything less.

Jonah lays out the deal.

Here's what I'm hearing. The deal for Ben Nelson includes additional Medicaid funding for Nebraska and carve outs for physician owned hospitals in Nebraska — and Nebraska only. Uncle Sam will take the hit for 100% of the Medicaid expansion for Nebraska, forever. Nebraska is the only state to get this deal.

It profits a man nothing give his soul for the whole world, but for Medicaid funding carve outs....

Thursday, December 17, 2009

I'm done with the NBA

The play of Brandon Jennings early in the season had me regain interest in the Bucks. I began watching their games whenever they are on. No more after last night's screw job.

The NBA has made clear that they will not allow Milwaukee to win. I'm done. I'll leave the game for the thugs.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

I tasted this today

Barack Obama Spice
South Chicago Black BBQ Rub w/ Africa spice seeds
It sounds good at first, but it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

A very apropos name.


Available at the Spice House.

Baclava!



Don't adjust your monitors. That is spelled correctly. The recipe is here.

Friday, December 11, 2009

The geniuses in Madison

I spent the afternoon today in Madison, traveling on surface streets from East Washington out to Odana Road on the west side.. On the entire trip through the city, I did not see one properly cleared street more than 48 hours after the big snowfall.

It would be nice if the geniuses who intend to control every aspect of our lives had the basic sense to change their underwear after they soil themselves. That level of intelligence does not exist in our capitol city.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Everything you need to know about global warming

The properties of mercury in a glass tube are subject to periodic change and adjustment by Michael Mann and Phil Jones.
The blue line is the actual temperature measurement recorded for Darwin, Australia. The black line is adjustments made to the blue line to create the red line. The red line is the official "homogenized and adjusted" temperature record used by the IGCC to "demonstrate" that the earth is warming.

Don't believe your lying eyes, trust the CRU at East Anglia U.


Asking these "experts" for the temperature is like asking an ACLU attorney what the plain English of the Constitution means. They each create their own alternative reality.

HT - Willis Eschenbach via WUWT

Monday, December 07, 2009

Friday, December 04, 2009

Don't let Frank Busalacchi see this



I know just the spot in Madison for one of these.

I recently had occasion to drive through one of the new roundabouts on Hwy 310 North of Manitowoc. Despite my previous comments, these roundabouts actually work. No need for me or the driver to my right to stop. We just slowed and safely zoomed through that crossroads. I think the key to successful traffic circles is a low volume of traffic. That said ... there is no way in hell to justify those things in a cost-benefit analysis. Nevermind the carbon footprint of all that pavement and asphalt.

HT - PM, via Instapundit.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

UCS deniers picked a good day for this

The Union of Concerned Scientists released this "Factcheck" on the same day that Phil Jones decided to step down.

Contrarians Using Hacked E-mails To Try to Fool Public on Climate Science

In their ongoing campaign to distort the facts and deceive the public, climate policy opponents are misrepresenting illegally obtained e-mails from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in Great Britain. Opposition groups are taking passages out of context to try to undermine public confidence in climate science.

The e-mails provide no information that would affect the scientific understanding of climate change, as many contrarians are falsely claiming. For years, thousands of scientists working at climate research centers around the world have carefully and rigorously reached a consensus on the extent of climate change, the urgency of the problem, and the role human activity plays in causing it.

They start with an ad hominem and their arguments deteriorate from there by just making shit up.

UCS should try looking at the computer code that was also released by this courageous whistleblower. If it is beyond the abilities of these Concerned Scientists, Lord Monckton has conveniently issued a report that addresses the manipulation of data in the CRU codes.

Who are the deniers, now?

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Words of wisdom

The Other McCain said it. Believe it.
All along, the strongest evidence that anthropogenic global warming (AGW) was a hoax was a simple fact: Liberals believed in it.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Adventures in Charcuterie: Blackstrap Molasses Country Ham



I'm doing a Southern-style country ham this year, which I started tonight.

The cure included kosher salt, Prague Powder #2 (salt with both nitrite and nitrate added), black strap molasses, brown sugar, dark rum, and a variety of spices. That turned into a thick, sticky mass that I smeared over my Berkshire ham. Now it's into the vegetable crisper for 2 weeks to cure.

UPDATE:

The same ham after curing and smoking.

Monday, November 23, 2009

They found the hockey stick!

I made a comment at Dad's blog on Saturday that although the leaked Climate Research Unit emails were pretty damning, the good stuff would come out when the climate experts started going through the computer files. Well, I was both right and wrong on that one.

Although some nuggets have been mined from the computer code, it wasn't the climatologists that found them. It is the computer programmers that hit the jackpot. Buried in over 350 comments at Watts Up With That? is this comment on some specific lines of code.
Tom_R

Thanks to debreuil (04:25:44) : and Spartacus (06:17:59) : for bringing this to our attention.

; Apply a VERY ARTIFICAL correction for decline!!
;
yrloc=[1400,findgen(19)*5.+1904]
valadj=[0.,0.,0.,0.,0.,-0.1,-0.25,-0.3,0.,-0.1,0.3,0.8,1.2,1.7,2.5,2.6,2.6,$
2.6,2.6,2.6]*0.75 ; fudge factor
if n_elements(yrloc) ne n_elements(valadj) then message,’Oooops!’
;
yearlyadj=interpol(valadj,yrloc,timey)
;
;filter_cru,5.,/nan,tsin=yyy+yearlyadj,tslow=tslow
;oplot,timey,tslow,thick=5,color=20

This may be the real smoking gun. It appears that Briffa just made up numbers to add to the dendro measurements to give the result he wanted. These were not weights, but temperature values added to the raw measurements, see the ‘yyy+yearlyadj’ in the code. Not only did he add temperature to eliminate the post-1960 decline (the ‘trick’), but subtracted it from measurements around the 1930s to eliminate the warm period there.

In words that even old biddies and young girls just going through first menses can understand, this computer program adds up to 2.6 degrees Celsius to temperatures starting in the 1970's and continuing until 2000 to give the appearance of GLOBAL WARMING! That's over 4 degrees Fahrenheit, and is a huge "fudge factor" (their word, not mine) made to show a false correlation of rising global temperature to rising carbon dioxide levels.

No wonder the Warmists would never share their data or computer correlations with the skeptics. They were made up. And it only took four days for some custodians, WalMart employees and laborers to prove it.

12/4/09 UPDATE:

The Climategate blogosphere catches up with Headless. Today at WUWT.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Groupthink at University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit?

In light of the release of emails showing the inner workings of the leaders of climate alarmist cabal, my post regarding groupthink and global warming from last year deserves a fresh look.

Change the name from Al Gore to Phil Jones and I nailed the target about 100% with my year old post.
I previously presented the Eight Main Symptoms of Groupthink. Here I note some real life examples of those symptoms to show how groupthink can affect public policy.

1. Illusion of Invulnerability: Members ignore obvious deficiencies (their climate models don’t work), take extreme positions (a 20 foot rise in sea level), and are overly confident in their position (the IPCC’s steadfast position in the face of a cooling planet).

2. Collective Rationalization: Members discredit and explain away any positions contrary to group thinking (only deniers and flat-earthers (and now daughter rapists) disagree with them).

3. Illusion of Morality: Members believe their decisions are morally correct, ignoring the ethical consequences of their decisions (the solution is worse than the problem: Cap & Trade will kill global economy with the poor hit hardest; ethanol = starvation; and other much worse consequences of these tunnel vision solutions to follow).

4. Excessive Stereotyping: The group constructs negative stereotypes of rivals outside the group (GW deniers are the house n-words of Big Oil).

5. Pressure for Conformity: Members pressure any in the group who express arguments against the group's stereotypes, illusions, or commitments, viewing such opposition as disloyalty (conflicting voices are not invited to climate change conferences and cannot get their research funded or published).

6. Self-Censorship: Members withhold their dissenting views and counter-arguments (the Medieval warm period was washed from the “hockey-stick” data set).

7. Illusion of Unanimity: Members perceive falsely that everyone agrees with the group's decision; silence is seen as consent (Al Gore says the scientific consensus is unanimous, never mind those 31,000 deniers).

8. Mindguards: Some members appoint themselves to the role of protecting the group from adverse information that might threaten group complacency (Al Gore defines this characteristic).

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Flashing Siren Alert: Conspiracy to fake global warming exposed

Someone has hacked into the data files from the UK's Hadley Climate Research Unit and posted some damning files on a Russian FTP site. Emails included in the files demonstrate a conspiracy to doctor data to show evidence of global warming where it doesn't exist.

Good comments threads are here and here.

DEVELOPING

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Quick, someone tell Barack about the 13th amendment



What self-respecting African-American would ...

Nevermind, this is okay if you are a royal subject of Kenya.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

NY-23 - Did Scozzafava receive Hoffman's votes?

The numbers behind this report on NY-23 vote totals at the Campaign Spot are even more unlikely than Jim Geraghty suggests.
Unless Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman got exactly zero votes in the town of Fenner (Owens got 157, Scozzafava got 248), and at one polling place in the town of Hamilton (Owens got 75, Scozzafava got 79), and at one polling place in the town of Sullivan (Owens got 173, Scozzafava got 251), the initial vote totals look rather hinky.
Outside of the three districts that Geraghty highlights as having odd results, Dede Scozzafava best showing was just 38 votes. If fact, her average votes received outside of these 3 outlier districts was only 12 votes. It is more likely that Scozzafava received zero votes in each of these districts, than Hoffman being shut out.

It is apparent that Scozzafava was credited for Doug Hoffman's votes in these three districts, possibly combined with her own. A conservative estimate of Hoffman's vote totals for Districts Fenner-1, Hamilton-3, and Sullivan-2 is 542 (578 minus (3 times 12)). But it is very likely Hoffman received the full 578 here.

This reduces Bill Owens' newly revised lead of 3,026 to only 2,484 votes with 10,200 absentee ballots to be counted.

If these Oswego County zero vote discrepancies cannot be reconciled, Doug Hoffman deserves to have a complete re-vote for this House seat.

Hat tip - Trog

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

War stories

In wishing some of my coworkers a happy Veteran's Day, I heard some interesting stories of their service.

The story that stood out was from a fellow who was an Army medic during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He said he was on a troop ship off the coast of Cuba during the crisis and was even loaded into a landing craft. The landing craft circled offshore for hours awaiting orders to land during the negotiations. He was very relieved to return to his troop ship because the big Red Cross on his truck made a really good target.

When the crisis abated his unit went to Puerto Rico. While there, they conducted target practice using the NATO ammo that they were issued for the invasion. He said no one could hit the targets. Their 500 yard shots only went about 400 yards. Had the Cold War gone hot in Cuba, the U.S. Army would have been wiped out. There was supposed to be an investigation into the ammo, but he never heard the results.

BTW - Several of these gentleman are in their 60's. There are no 50 year old retirees in the real world. They are called 'taxpayers.'

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

P.C.D.S.

It can by now come as no surprise that the Fort Hood massacre yielded an instant flow of exculpatory media meditations on the stresses that must have weighed on the killer who mowed down 13 Americans and wounded 29 others. Still, the intense drive to wrap this clear case in a fog of mystery is eminently worthy of notice.

The tide of pronouncements and ruminations pointing to every cause for this event other than the one obvious to everyone in the rational world continues apace. Commentators, reporters, psychologists and, indeed, army spokesmen continue to warn portentously, "We don't yet know the motive for the shootings."

What a puzzle this piece of vacuity must be to audiences hearing it, some, no doubt, with outrage. To those not terrorized by fear of offending Muslim sensitivities, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's motive was instantly clear: It was an act of terrorism by a man with a record of expressing virulent, anti-American, pro-jihadist sentiments. All were conspicuous signs of danger his Army superiors chose to ignore.

What is hard to ignore, now, is the growing derangement on all matters involving terrorism and Muslim sensitivities. Its chief symptoms: a palpitating fear of discomfiting facts and a willingness to discard those facts and embrace the richest possible variety of ludicrous theories as to the motives behind an act of Islamic terrorism. All this we have seen before but never in such naked form. The days following the Fort Hood rampage have told us more than we want to know, perhaps, about the depth and reach of this epidemic.

Dorothy Rabinowitz got my attention by putting denial of Hasan's terrorist motives in terms of a psychological condition. This condition deserves a name. Political Correctness Derangement Syndrome continues to be fatal.

Friday, November 06, 2009

WELCOME TO OBAMACARE!



Meet Dr. Hasan, your new government physician.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Missing the point, again

Oh my!

A new test conducted for Consumer Reports magazine found bisphenol A leaching into food from nearly all cans, including those marked "BPA-free" and "organic."

The magazine's tests found that levels of the chemical in many of the cans were comparable to those found to cause cell damage and behavioral effects in animal studies.

The results, which are to be published Tuesday in the magazine's December issue, echo those found last year in tests conducted by the Journal Sentinel.

So according to this report, unsafe levels of BPA are in virtually everything we eat. But humans show none of the adverse effects found in lab animals. I think I am safe to conclude that the BPA lab tests are non-relevant to humans.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Like Churchill wearing a swastika

Stephen and Andrew Hayes provide a chronology of the 2008 Favre retirement story. Much of this has been forgotten, but the facts show that Favre was intent on joining the Vikings even before he "retired" in March 2008.
On March 3, 2008, the Packers held a press conference announcing Favre’s retirement. His final season had been a successful one. The Packers went 13–3 and made it to the NFC Championship game. And though Favre had thrown a bad interception to lose that game, he had played like a quarterback a decade younger than his 37 years.

Within weeks, though, Favre changed his mind. When he told the Packers that he wanted to unretire, the organization welcomed him back and made arrangements to have one more season with their Hall of Fame quarterback. Then, just days later, Favre changed his mind again. He was done. That was it. No question. Career over.

Favre had done this before. At the end of each of his final three seasons in Green Bay, Favre had mused publicly about retirement, setting off nearly full-time media speculation about his future and the future of the franchise. But this time felt different. While he and his agent, Bus Cook, repeatedly assured reporters that he’d get around to it at some point, he refused to make it official by filing his papers with the NFL.

...

Then in early July, as the season approached, Favre tried to return to the Packers again. This time, however, the Packers hesitated. They were understandably worried that he wasn’t serious about coming back and, having named Rodgers the starting quarterback, were concerned about the damage that would be done to the team if they acceded to the demands of their former star.

So the Packers turned him down. Favre wasn’t happy. At first, he demanded his release. Sports Illustrated NFL writer Peter King, a frequent recipient of scoops from Favre, reported that Favre’s first choice was Minnesota. Wisconsin media outlets reported that Favre had already approached the Vikings.
It is pretty clear that Favre had no loyalty to the Packers, even after their near NFC Championship in 2008. He saw riding Adrian Peterson to the Super Bowl was his last, best chance to get there.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Sunday, October 25, 2009

The difference between Fox News and the MSM ...

Is that one is not a news organization.

Elkhart Lake woman hurt in Sheboygan County crash

A 53-year-old Elkhart Lake woman was listed in fair condition Sunday morning at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah after the Ford Danger Ranger she was driving ran into a ditch, struck a tree and rolled over on County Highway P in the town of Rhine.

Debra Tracey was headed northbound on Highway P and started to drift eastward, crossed over the center line and then over-corrected her vehicle and ran into the ditch, said Lt. Mark Rupnik, of the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Department. Rupnik said Tracey was ticketed for operated a motor vehicle while intoxicated. She did have her seatbelt on when the accident occurred, Rupnik said.

Emergency workers had to extract Tracey from her vehicle. She was taken by helicopter to Theda Clark.

Not a fan of SUV's, eh Mark?

Saturday, October 17, 2009

By popular demand - Tomato-Fresh Ricotta Pie Recipe



The recipe from Mrs. Headless for her Tomato-Fresh Ricotta Pie is something like this.

1 partially baked pie shell (Mrs. Headless used a 10-1/2" tart pan)

Filling:
1 recipe of homemade ricotta (see below)
2 eggs
1/2 container of Brennan's Mozzarella & Basil Cheese Spread (you can use a different cheese spread or 1 cup of shredded cheese)

Mix the eggs and cheese spread into the hot ricotta to melt and evenly distribute.

Toppings:
1 chopped garden fresh heirloom tomato (Mrs. H used a Brandywine)
1/2 pound bacon, cooked until crisp then crumpled
Homemade croutons (Mrs. Headless cooked these in the bacon grease)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Assembly & Baking:
Assemble ingredients in pie shell and bake in a 350 degree oven until warmed through, about 30 minutes.

That's how she did it. I'm sure your variation will be fabulous, too.

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

I quart whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 scant tsp coarse salt
2 TBSP white vinegar

Line a strainer with a double layer of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a large bowl.

Rinse a large saucepan with cold water (for easier cleanup). Pour milk and cream into saucepan and add the salt. Bring to simmer over medium heat; a skin may form on the surface. Continue to cook until you see bubbles all over the surface.

When the milk is simmering, turn off the heat and pour in the vinegar. Leave it alone for about 1 minute, then stir slowly and gently. The milk will start separating into curds and whey; you are looking for the whey to become clearish, which will take about 1 minute of gentle stirring.

Pour into strainer. Lift the strainer out of the bowl and pour out the whey from the bowl. Then set the strainer back in the bowl and let the cheese drain for 15 minutes.

The ricotta is now ready to use or serve.

Friday, October 16, 2009

UFO Boy - Tinfoil Hat Dad

The father of a 6-year-old boy who was thought to be in a helium balloon that floated away said Friday accusations that the ordeal was a publicity stunt are "extremely pathetic." The sheriff said he will be asking more questions.

Richard Heene and his family made the rounds on all three television networks on Friday, and the boy at the center of the saga got sick twice when he and his father were asked during separate interviews what he meant when he said that "we did this for a show."

Falcon Heene vanished around the time his family's homemade helium balloon floated away from their home on Thursday, setting off a national uproar as authorities scoured the plains of northern Colorado for the youngster. Turns out, he was hiding in the rafters of the family's garage.

During a live interview with CNN Thursday night, Falcon said he had heard his family calling his name but didn't come out of the attic hiding place because his father "had said that we did this for a show." The boys' parents — Richard and Mayumi Heene — are storm chasers who appeared twice in the ABC reality show "Wife Swap."

Setting aside the allegations of this being a hoax, how is having a flying machine with a child-size basket in the backyard any different than having a loaded handgun on the kitchen table?

Where is CO's Division of Child Welfare in this story?

UPDATE: Here's the answer to the second question.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Perhaps Chuckie Johnson is right about Stacy

Connect the dots.
  • Stacy McCain's hatred of all things Wisconsin
  • Wisconsin - The birthplace of the Republican Party
  • The Republican Party was formed as an anti-slavery party
  • Johnson calls McCain a white supremacist
Hmmmmm.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Don't Be Bitter

I really want that bottle of bitters.

So I'm trying to meticulously follow the contest entry instructions posted here.

The fact is that my Famous Rum Old Fashioned recipe is good, but is missing that special ingredient that would make it my Brilliant Rum Old Fashioned recipe. That missing ingredient comes in a bottle that reads "Beefeater 24 Bitters."

The recipe is Stephan’s secret but he did tell me that lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, and ‘a few different types of citrus’ are featured.
That sounds exactly like what I need for my cocktail. Let's make it happen. The rules say.
Post a submission on your blog or website and include the photo of the Beefeater 24 bitters (please download it here and host it yourself) and the title “Don’t Be Bitter” to make it official. Then, use the post as a “shout out” to another cocktail blogger—discuss a time when you were jealous of (or “bitter” about) another blogger’s booze collection, prized bottle of liquor, a cocktail-related trip they took, or an experience they had. Put any bitterness aside and share the link-love with your fellow cocktail bloggers. Make sure you link back to this post so your name gets thrown in the hat. You’ve got the whole month of October to get your post up [final deadline: 11:59pm Eastern time, 10/31/09] and the winner will be announced here the first week of November. Get on board, bitters-lovers!
How am I doing:

1. Post submission with photo - see above.

2. Title post "Don't Be Bitter" - done.

3. Shout out to cocktail blogger - Hey Fat Sal, who could that be?

Jealous me? Not since Absinthe became available in the good ol' U.S. of A.

But there was a time in a dark era of our history when Fat Sal was virtually just the proprietor of a Tapas Bar. Back then he made sure to let me know that Absinthe was for he, but not for me (the link on his page is broken, go here for Sal's eloquent Absinthe dissertation). But now Fat Sal and I have made up and occasionally go so far as to share massive quantities of Smoke Day barbecue, encased meats, and Atomic Camel Turds.

4. Link back - done again.

Send me my Beefeater 24 Bitters, bitte.

Friday, October 02, 2009

Barack's Olympic trip

That trip to Denmark sums up Obama's Presidency in a nutshell.
  • A lot of tedious talk
  • Loads of wasted money
  • Reliance on Barack's charismatic appeal
  • Failure to achieve Obama's stated desired result

Thursday, October 01, 2009

I guess Mark needs me to spell it out

Yeah, on today's show Belling repeated my points from yesterday's post. But he never made it to the logical conclusion. So I'll do this slowly for you Mark.

Yes Mark, a roundabout costs more than stop signs or traffic signals. And yes, DOT planners prefer roundabouts Mark.

But where your giant analytical brain didn't take you Mark, is that Wisconsin's roadbuilders also prefer roundabouts. And these for profit roadbuilders have good reason to prefer roundabouts. That reason is because they cost more to build, and therefor they make more profit.

These roadbuilders are also big contributors to Governor Doyle and his Democratic colleagues. Let me know if you need help making the giant leap from Jim Doyle's political contributors to DOT preferences for road design.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Belling naive about traffic circles

Entertaining segment on Belling today about the troubles people are having negotiating the roundabouts at Moorland Road and I-43 in New Berlin. He doesn't get why these things are so darned popular with the DOT and Madison politicians.

Let me explain.
4 Stop signs - Cost: Less than $1,000

Traffic circle at intersection of two 2-lane roads - Cost: More than One Million Dollars.
Any questions?

Monday, September 14, 2009

Good news for Bears fans



Jay Cutler looked like a young Brett Favre last night! Or maybe it was an old Brett Favre. You remember those games.

UPDATE:

I wasn't alone in that thought.
As veteran Packers reporter Tom Silverstein said after the game, "Brett Favre was back.'' He made those types of interceptions. Just didn't look to play with much poise, especially when the game was so close. It's one thing to make bad decisions trailing big. The Bears were never trailing big.
H/T - ACME Packing Company

Monday, September 07, 2009

The Great Brat Challenge - Bracketology



Finding the Best Bratwurst in Wisconsin

This is a rundown of the bracket results from Sunday's Great Brat Challenge. There were numerous surprises, well beyond ALDI's second place finish.

This is the final list of bratwurst entries.
  • Christman Meat
  • Eden Meat Market
  • Glenn’s Market
  • Gooseberry’s
  • Hoelsy's
  • Jacobson Bros.
  • J.L. Richards
  • Johnsonville
  • Karl’s Country Market
  • Klement's
  • Konop’s
  • Kramarczuk's (from Minneapolis)
  • Loehr's Meat Service
  • Miesfeld’s
  • Mr. Baseball's Brats (made for Uke by Usinger's)
  • Ray's Meats
  • Ream's Elburn Market (from Elburn, IL)
  • RJ's Meats
  • Roseland Bratwurst - aka, Mystery Brats II - aka, ALDI brats
  • Roundy's - aka, Mystery Brats
  • Ruef's
  • Sausage Haus
  • Schmeisser's Homemade Sausages (from Niles, IL)
  • Schwai's
  • Sendik's Fine Foods
  • Sheboygan Brat Company
  • Sorg's
  • Spar's (from Buffalo, NY)
  • Thuringer Meats (from Arlington Heights, IL)
  • Usinger's

The poultry brat participants were:
  • Glenn’s Market Turkey Brats
  • Karl’s Country Market Turkey Brats
  • Miesfeld’s Chicken Brats
  • RJ's Meats Chicken Brats
The voting at the taste-off was conducted as a blind tasting. Each bratwurst was cut into several bite-size pieces and my guests sampled 3 or 4 at a time and voted for their favorite. The samples were unadorned by bun or condiments, so the results are not reflective of what you eat around your backyard grill (see note at end of post).


(Photo swiped from Fat Sal)

I should have limited the amount of samples in the first round, because my judges quickly were filled up and became rather sick of bratwurst by the final round. The taste-off took 5 hours from the first tasting until the championship vote was cast.

About the Judges

This wasn't just a bunch of Cheesehead yahoos picking their favorites. Yes we had assorted Milwaukee area food lovers, but we also had several food and dining professionals judging. They included an encased meats educator, an online ethnic restaurant critic, the creator of a champion commercial barbecue sauce, and an online beverage and spirits commentator.

Analysis of The Great Brat Challenge Results


"Champion Bratwurst"

This exercise in insanity began with my wanting to pit 4 bratwurst makers that advertise themselves as "Champion" against each other. The four are Glenn's Market, Karl's Country Market, Miesfeld's and RJ's Meats. Of these four "Champions," only RJ's advanced out of the first round. Both Karl's and Glenn's missed advancing by one vote, Karl's losing to Mr. Baseball and Glenn's losing to Usinger's. You can read whatever you want into Usinger's producing Mr. Baseball's Brats.

Of special note is Miesfeld's, often held up as the standard for bratwurst excellence in Wisconsin, and more importantly, in Sheboygan. Miesfeld's received only one vote in its first round heat.

Mass Produced Brats

Johnsonville, Roundy's, Klement's, Usinger's, Mr. Baseball, Roseland, and Sheboygan Brat Co. are what I consider mass produced brats. Surprising to me, many of these did well against the specialty sausage makers, with all but Johnsonville and Roundy's advancing from the first round. Both Roseland and Sheboygan Brat Co. made it to the finals, and Usinger's missed advancing by one vote.

Johnsonville, like their Sheboygan County neighbor Miesfeld's, deserves special recognition for receiving only 2 votes, less than even the storebrand Roundy's received.

High-End Grocery Brats

I have 3 brats that I would include in this category - Sendik's, Gooseberry's, and J.L. Richards. They are from the meat section of grocers/caterers, not from a stand-alone butcher or sausage maker. I found all three of these to be forgettable, although Gooseberry's did advance to the second round.

Flatlander Bratwurst

Perhaps this is a precursor to the result of this week's Packers-Bears game. Of the 3 brat entries from Illinois - Ream's, Schmeisser's and Thuringer - none advanced out of the first round.

Ream's bratwurst held a special distinction in yesterday's contest. Of the 30 different competitors, Ream's was the only bratwurst to receive 0 votes. ZERO! A complete shutout.

Ream's call themselves "Fine Illinois Bratwurst," their emphasis, not mine. Indeed, no better description is possible.

Flying Sausages

The poultry brats were disdained by the meat eaters yesterday with one exception. Karl's Country Market's turkey brats were judged to be the best and were described as the most like a pork bratwurst.

The Champion

By the time the final rolled around, I let a few of my non-voting helpers know that ALDI had advanced this far. When the voting commenced, it was clear that Roseland (ALDI) and Schwai's were the leaders. I asked my assistant to taste some samples just in case there was a tie.

When the votes were counted, Roseland and Schwai's were deadlocked. My assistant cast his vote for Schwai's (he did not know the brat identities) and another late voter showed up and chose Schwai's. Thusly, a cultural tragedy far exceeding Brett Favre in a purple jersey was averted.

The Sheboygan Bratwurst Co. offerings were new to me. I'd seen their Google Ad show up here, but the first time I saw them offered in a store was at Woodman's a couple weeks ago. They did very well, reaching the final round, as well as receiving the most votes of any brat in a single round with 13 votes in the first round. At $1.99 a pound at Woodman's, Sheboygan Brat Co. brats are a bargain, too.

Wrap-up

It was a super event, and attended by some of the World's worst bloggers, but never again. In this format it took too long to complete and I was on the verge of losing control a couple times (I misplaced my numbered entry list once which was needed to decipher the results).

Hopefully, this will provide you some useful guidance when you go shopping for superior encased meats.

Follow-up: In the interest of science, my family did a mini-taste test again tonight, this time serving the brats on buttered City Bakery hard rolls. This second element changes the taste perception of certain brats greatly. Bottom line, some of the "Champions" are Champions for a reason.

The Great Brat Challenge - Champion



Salvaging the pride of the Great State of Wisconsin by vanquishing bratwurst from IL, MN, NY, and points unknown (ALDI?!?), the winner of the The Great Brat Challenge is:
Congratulations to Tommy and Mike Schwai for their victory in this ultimate brat throwdown.

The Great Brat Challenge - 1st Runner-up



It came down to tie-breaker after this one tied for first, but what an outstanding showing for:
That's Roseland as in ALDI tying for first. A very sad day for most Badger State bratwurst.

The Great Brat Challenge - 2nd Runners-up



From 30 entries, these two were the also rans in the final heat.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

I pledge



No, not that tripe. Try this instead.

Monday, August 31, 2009

It will be an AWESOME day!

Following in the footsteps of Wisconsin's best bloggers' chili gathering, this Sunday Wisconsin's worst bloggers (you know who you are) are invited to Brat Fest '09. At Brat Fest, we will determine the Best Bratwurst in Wisconsin.

We are now up to 23 bratwurst entries, with more coming daily. The brats in the contest are limited to traditional/Sheboygan style. See a representative list in my previous post.

The latest news is that several of my FIB guests are bringing the finest flatlander brats with them to compete. Be here to help defend our Cheesehead honor.

I'll also be serving my prize winning Hot Buttered Rum Grilled Peaches over Angel Food Mini-Waffles for dessert.

I look forward to seeing you other lousy bloggers. We may not get the hits of the big boys, but I guarantee that we will eat better. You don't need to be R.S. McCain or Dan Riehl to figure out where I live, but I'll shoot you an email if you need help.

p.s. Dad - leave that squirrel rifle at home.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Brat Taste-off Roster

The following bratwurst have been purchased for next weekend's Best Brat in Wisconsin Taste-off. A couple of entries from out of state have snuck in, too. We limited the entries to Sheboygan or traditional styles.
  • Christman Meat
  • Glenn’s Market
  • Gooseberry’s
  • Hoelsy's
  • Jacobson Bros.
  • J.L. Richards
  • Johnsonville
  • Karl’s Country Market
  • Klement's
  • Konop’s
  • Kramarczuk's (from Minneapolis)
  • Miesfeld’s
  • Mystery Brats
  • RJ's Meats
  • Ruef's
  • Schwai's
  • Sendik's Fine Foods
  • Sorg's
  • Spar's (from Buffalo)
  • Usinger's
  • Ream's Elburn Market (from Elburn, IL)

There will also be a poultry brat competition with the following participants.
  • Glenn’s Market Turkey Brats
  • Karl’s Country Market Turkey Brats
  • Miesfeld’s Chicken Brats
  • RJ's Meats Chicken Brats
There will be no beer wasted in the cooking of these bratwurst. Take it from the expert.
"According to Miesfeld's Meat Market's Chuck Miesfeld, a third-generation sausage maker and many times grand champion in the Wisconsin Association of Meat Processors' bratwurst judging contest, the sausage should be grilled over coals with no adornment whatsoever. He says beer is what you drink with them, not what you cook them in."

- Jane & Michael Stern, 500 Things to Eat Before its too Late

Monday, August 24, 2009

Someone else thought of this one



But this was my idea.



Design your own Favre tribute jersey here.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

What a talent!



Make us forget your glory years Brett.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Beneath Contempt



Get 'em while you can. There is a loophole in the NFL/Reebok rules for ordering personalized jerseys. These rules are set up to limit jerseys bashing opposing players.
  • League player names must match current team rosters and the team for which they currently play
  • Retired player names cannot be printed on the team's jersey from which they retired
  • Both adult and youth jerseys hold up to 10 characters
  • Characters accepted: capital A-Z (name field only); 0-9 (number field only); spaces
  • Each space counts as one (1) character
  • Language deemed inappropriate, derogatory, or profane will not be accepted
  • If your selection does not meet all of the above criteria you will be prompted to start over
But since the player and his number are not retired, it is still open season on #4.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

If the jersey fits, you must wear it



bungholio

being the greatest of assholes

i am the great "bungholio" !
Help me out. Which jersey do I spend $100 on?


This works

Approved by the NFL/Reebok dirty worder filter.



Must be true.

That's how Jerry Kramer spells it

This is too nice ...



Help me come up with something really nasty.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

The unasked Barrett question

What was Trolley Tommy doing driving to the State Fair when there was cheap and convenient mass transit available to him?

Confirming every out-state stereotype

I have friends who live in rural Dane County who consider all of Milwaukee County as a thug filled ghetto. Try as I might, they won't venture more than a block from the interstate highways that pass through the county. That view of greater Milwaukee County as Wisconsin's Gotham City is pretty much universal for those that don't live and work here.

Tom Barrett's ass-whipping at the State Fair confirms these impressions. Shorewood, Tosa, Milwaukee, Greenfield - they are all the same.

Barrett gets smacked down in West Allis, no less. That's cream puffs, cherry pie and race car exhaust I tell my friends. I certainly was wrong.

Beware. If you are not going to stay in your own zip code, at least you should keep your butt out of thugsville Milwaukee.

A creepy liar

"I just lost my grandmother last year. "I just lost my grandmother last year. I know what it's like to watch somebody you love, who's aging, deteriorate and have to struggle with that," an impassioned Obama told a crowd as he spoke of Madelyn Payne Dunham. He took issue with "the notion that somehow I ran for public office or members of Congress are in this so they can go around pulling the plug on grandma." you love, who's aging, deteriorate and have to struggle with that," an impassioned Obama told a crowd as he spoke of Madelyn Payne Dunham. He took issue with "the notion that somehow I ran for public office or members of Congress are in this so they can go around pulling the plug on grandma."
"Pulling the plug on grandma."

What an insensitive creep.

"I know what it's like to watch somebody you love, who's aging, deteriorate ..."

And a liar, too.

It's pretty hard to watch someone deteriorate from 5000 miles away, especially when you are preoccupied with campaigning. Besides his well publicized photo-op, did Obama visit his Grandmother, the woman who raised him, during her last year of life?

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Healtcare, the U.S. - U.K. difference

Per Stein -
The problem with government health systems is not that they pull the plug on Grandma. It’s that Grandma has a hell of a time getting plugged in in the first place. The only way to “control costs” is to restrict access to treatment, and the easiest people to deny treatment to are the oldsters. Don’t worry, it’s all very scientific. In Britain, they use a “Quality-Adjusted Life Year” formula to decide that you don’t really need that new knee because you’re gonna die in a year or two, maybe a decade-and-a-half tops.
Of course that won't work in the United States. Obama's Government Death Counselors will have a very high mortality rate, as Grandpa, and even Grandma, decide that they aren't going out alone.

Go ahead, make my day.

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Good luck, Mr. Reynolds

Cpl. Reynolds:
"He had been given a lead sleeping tablet. I was quite proud of that shot - it is the longest recorded kill in Afghanistan. I am going to use that fact as a chat-up line in the pub when I get back home."
Lance Cpl. Hatton:
"He did a top job that day - but we are all sick about him going on about it and telling us what a great shot he is."
Read the rest.

HT - Blackfive

A growing list

No verification of qualifications required.
  • Voting in Wisconsin
  • President of the United States
  • Chief Legal Counsel to the Governor of Wisconsin
Are there more?

Thursday, August 06, 2009

You heard it on Belling first!

Although this blogger had the story almost 3 months ago.

Belling Hour 1

Belling Hour 2

Chandra Miller Fienen, Governor Doyle's Chief Legal Counsel, is not licensed to practice law in Wisconsin. And no one bothered to check the State Bar Directory.

What are the chances of that? Perhaps the same as someone being sworn in as POTUS without having his eligibility verified. Therefore, it cannot be true.

Does this make Belling a BAR-ther?

Blank

Saturday, August 01, 2009

And another thing ...

Try to determine if you are eligible for a "car allowance rebate" at the government site:

http://www.cars.gov/

What a pain.

Now try a car company's website, any of them, find it yourself.

Wasn't that easy.

Despite Obama's visceral hatred of for-profit businesses, here is proof again that the profit motive works.

Government workers and community organizers do not give a shit about those they are supposed to serve. They are only in it for themselves.

Cash for Clunkers - The real agenda

What is really behind the Cash for Clunkers program?

Stimulation of new auto sales? Come on, do you really believe that Democrats would do anything to stimulate consumer spending? Especially on heavy industrial products. Nope, that is just a byproduct.

Elimination of gas-guzzlers? Considering that my 11 year old minivan is eligible even though it still averages 22 mpg, that isn't it.

Reduction in the supply of the inexpensive vehicles typically purchased by the young and the poor? BINGO! The reduced availability of these vehicles will drive up their cost and price them outside the means of the poor. Consequently enslaving the poor and the young to ride on government run mass transportation.

You really didn't expect Obama to tell us the real reason behind this program, did you?

Friday, July 24, 2009

The truth finally emerges

Al Sharpton without the sharp wit.

Jesse Jackson without the jackassedness.

Jerimiah Wright without the wrath.

Barack Obama, Race Baiter.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Say No to Obama's HMO


Recent polling revealed that Americans are better satisfied with their medical coverage today than they were in 1993 when HillaryCare was being pushed.

For me personally, the change was getting away from my dreaded HMO - remember Family Health Plan? HMO's were hated for their overzealous efforts to control costs. These cost savings are the key benefit being touted for the Obama Health Plan.

The Obama Health Plan is simply a big step backwards to the days of HMO's. Only with all the charm of a trip to the DMV combined with an IRS audit.

It is not insurance that the government will be offering.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Blakk Rasta sings about the Chocolate Jesus



Complete with a preview of your lifestyle under Cap & Trade.

H/T - Don Surber. And more.

By special request



I had a request in this previous post to make "a chart of weekly rice prices, oil prices, corn prices, ethanol prices(or any internationally traded commodity)" because I would "find they all had a major peak in 2008 summer."

Shown above are ethanol, corn, pork bellies, and gold - all internationally traded commodities. I'm still looking for that common peak in the summer of 2008.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

New poll - vote for WI's best brat

As a lead-in to my Bratwurst Taste-Off on Labor Day weekend, I have put up a poll to capture people's favorites. Conspicuously absent are the biggies - Johnsonville, Klement's and Usinger's. I left these off to avoid voting based on name popularity and mass production. The sausage makers that I listed were identified by friends. Vote for one of them or name your own favorite.

The Labor Day weekend taste-off will identify Wisconsin's best brat in a blind tasting.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Lee Holloway gets it

Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of a sales tax increase for Milwaukee County will seriously harm local transit and goes against a personal pledge the governor made, Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway said Tuesday.

"It's just terrible," Holloway said. "I'm very critical of (Doyle). I thought he was a friend of Milwaukee County."

Holloway also pledged to fight the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee rail line in response to the veto.

Transit funding will likely suffer major cuts next year because of a shortfall in other funding sources, which will force further cuts in service, Holloway said.

A large portion of the city's population relies on public transportation, which means Doyle's veto will hurt the poor, the elderly and others, Holloway said.

Holloway understands that the KRM line is not for Milwaukee's poor and elderly. They rely on buses.

The billion dollar rail line to Kenosha is for a more upscale clientele. Summerfest attendees would be a target demographic. The rest of the year, the trains will run empty.

HT - RDW

Sunday, June 28, 2009

But there's more!

Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett, and we'll even throw in Michael Jackson.

But there's more! Act right now and Billy Mays gets it, too.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Michael Jackson - Question & Tribute

One thing that has not been addressed in all the Michael Jackson death coverage: Were they able to save the gerbil?

What a great artist, without Michael Jackson, this would never have been possible.

Small world - as seen on Instapundit

That's my old office in the West TVA Tower. When I worked there, Knoxville featured roll-up the sidewalks at sundown.



HT - IP

Gaia don't need no cap & trade

In honor of today's cap & trade vote, I direct you to this recent paper posted at Watts Up With That? presenting Willis Eschenbach's Thermostat Hypothesis for global temperature control. Eschenbach's hypothesis is that tropical clouds and thunderstorms actively regulate the temperature of the earth. This keeps the earth at a equilibrium temperature.

The paper is a long read, and the fascinating discussion in the comments is even longer. These are my thoughts on Eschenbach's hypothesis.
Thermodynamics on a global scale will prevent global warming from occurring. In additional to reflective cloud formation, the physical properties of water establish a setpoint temperature that when reached causes active heat engines to form. We call the active heat engines "thunderstorms," and they eject heat from the earth into space. The setpoint is approximately 305K (90 degrees Fahrenheit), and corresponds nicely with the maximum temperature found at sea level in our equatorial oceans.

Water's physical properties do not change, even with increasing atmospheric CO2, hence Gaia's setpoint cannot change with increasing human CO2 emissions.

The graphic below from Eschenbach's paper shows how equatorial clouds form through the day. More than half of the solar heating of the earth occurs in this equatorial zone. The warming sun causes cumulus clouds to form during the morning until sometime between 10:00 and 11:30 they reflect a large percent of the incoming solar energy. The clouds remain fairly constant and moderate temperature for most of the day until they reach a critical point where thunderstorms will form.

The cumulonimbus, or thunderstorm, clouds bypass any insulating greenhouse gases and pull heat directly from the earth's tropical surface into the troposphere. Here, the heat is ejected into space.

The heat reflected by the cumulus clouds and ejected by the cumulonimbus clouds is orders of magnitude greater than Al Gore's worst nightmare for greenhouse gas warming of the earth. Therefore, the earth will self regulate its temperature, and anthropogenic global warming is impossible.

A very intelligent design, indeed.


These are Eschenbach's Conclusions and Musings from his paper.
1. The sun puts out more than enough energy to totally roast the earth. It is kept from doing so by the clouds reflecting about a third of the sun’s energy back to space. As near as we can tell, this system of cloud formation to limit temperature rises has never failed.

2. This reflective shield of clouds forms in the tropics in response to increasing temperature.

3. As tropical temperatures continue to rise, the reflective shield is assisted by the formation of independent heat engines called thunderstorms. These cool the surface in a host of ways, move heat aloft, and convert heat to work.

4. Like cumulus clouds, thunderstorms also form in response to increasing temperature.

5. Because they are temperature driven, as tropical temperatures rise, tropical thunderstorms and cumulus production increase. These combine to regulate and limit the temperature rise. When tropical temperatures are cool, tropical skies clear and the earth rapidly warms. But when the tropics heat up, cumulus and cumulonimbus put a limit on the warming. This system keeps the earth within a fairly narrow band of temperatures.

6. The earth’s temperature regulation system is based on the unchanging physics of wind, water, and cloud.

7. This is a reasonable explanation for how the temperature of the earth has stayed so stable (or more recently, bi-stable as glacial and interglacial) for hundreds of millions of years.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Sanford - Flynn - McBride

You'd think someone with his track record would steer clear of these stories.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Let's make a deal

I'll trade you Jim Doyle for Mark Sanford any day. Hell, I'll even throw in Herb Kohl.

Frankly, I am more embarrassed to have those hacks as my elected officials than I could ever be with Sanford. Even if his rendezvous in Argentina involved a goat and a gay porn star.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Say cheese!

Today's Quiz:

Who is being being booked for first-degree intentional homicide and who is sitting next to Carla Sarkozy?



They must teach that look at Community Organizer school.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Today's mass transit moment



That okay, I'll drive instead.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

The pool of pus starts to ooze

By now I'm used to corruption and waste in any large American city, it is part of the political culture. I learned this week that Sacramento is no exception. I even learned to accept the scale of the corruption, a half million to a basketball hero in this case.

But as the details emerge it is clear that the Corruptocrat in Chief and the First Lady of Corruption intend to work on a much bigger scale. They have plans to rob the nation of hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars for themselves and their political cronies.

Someone pop this zit, before it is too late.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

John Galt, M.D.

I found out today that a second one of the doctors I sometimes see is leaving my clinic.

It is probably just a coincidence that each physician is moving to a lower tax state.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Prosciutto di Baraboo



Following up on this post from last October, I have finally cut into the salted, air dried ham that was hanging over my sump pump for almost eight months.

When unwrapping and cutting into the meat I was pleased that there was no funky odor. Nothing, not even a meaty smell.



The ham shows the excellent marbling of this Berkshire pork. The meat is salty, but less so away from the outside surface. Excellent flavor and texture, maybe the best Prosciutto I've ever eaten.