Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Sunset in Marysville

I was doing more testing with my camera the other evening and snapped some pictures of the sunset – now that the rain is gone for a bit.  I thought I would share the pictures I took.

NOTE:  Click the pictures for the larger version.

Wildlife Cam

For those of you who don't know, David has been building Wildlife/wild game camera cases which he then takes and modifies a regular digital camera by hooking up things like infrared and heat sensors and the like to make the camera take pictures and short movies whenever something steps in front of it. He also camouflages them so they don't stick out either. For a quick example of how these mods look, go to SnapShotSniper.com and take a gander.

Here's what the finishing results end up looking somewhat like.

L11ClosedSM.jpg

Basically, he then straps one to a tree in the woods (preferably near a drinking hole or game trail) and let's it go for a couple of weeks. After a time, he then retrieves the camera from the woods and collects the images it has taken by hooking it to his computer.

Here are a collection of images he and Madyson (father and daughter) found when they went retrieved the most recent two!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Email is Up!

Flaming.ws/Feely.ws Email is back up and working.

Maintenance was successful.  I moved the virtual machine which is the email server to another virtual server host and was able to power off one of my hosts.

So now my office is much quieter and I don’t have to pay the electricity for that host to run just one virtual machine.

Now, everything comfortably resides on one host.

image

Next move is to see if I can get Zimbra to replace Exchange for email services.

Note in the above picture how much memory and CPU Exchange (FlameMail1 VM) uses vs. how much Zimbra uses.  Both VMs have been allocated 2GB of RAM (Memory).  Exchange uses nearly all of it (note the bar graph in the right column is in the red), Zimbra uses almost none.

But, that’s another project for another time. 

Happy emailing for now and thanks for your patience!

Email Outage

Flaming and Feely Email is currently down for maintenance.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Upcoming Email Outage

Sometime over the next couple of days, I will be attempting to move my email server around for maintenance.  No email will be lost and any new incoming emails will be queued up for delivery as soon as the server is back up.

The email server doesn’t run too well (it’s Microsoft...what else can I say) and I’d like to ensure it runs solidly before leaving on extended vacation to Italy this fall.

I’ll likely start the move tomorrow (Thur) so please be aware you will be without email while the move is occurring.

For updates, please check the Flaming Family website!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Breakfast Burritos

One of the things which I'm well known for among friends and in-laws is my German Pancakes. But another one of my "masterpieces" is Breakfast Burritos!

Here is how I make those....

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb Diced Ham
  • 1 lb (aprox) of Aidells Chicken & Apple Sausages (the regular sausage – not the breakfast links).
  • 1 Jimmy Dean’s Sausage (reduced fat or regular both work well - others should work but I've not tested anything else)
  • 1½ to 2 containers of Cherub Tomatoes or other Nature Sweet tomatoes.
  • 2 bundles of green onions
  • 1 bag of Hash browns (½ lb bag)
  • 24-28 eggs with a bit of milk (depending on how many eggs used).
  • 3 lb (aprox – to taste) of shredded cheese – usually the Mexi-blend (mixed in after heat turned down to low).
  • 1 large volume package of largest flour tortillas available.
Seasonings to flavor:
  • Salt
  • Pepper (black, ground)
  • Pepper (white, ground, light amount)
  • Mrs. Dash (Table Blend)
  • Minced Onions
  • All Spice (light amount)
  • Oregano (light amount)

Cooking Instructions:

Break eggs into hand mixer or blender with salt, pepper, minced onions (if used), and Mrs. Dash (if used). If using milk, pour in small amount of milk to eggs and mix in. Do not over-mix (or whip) eggs. Cook scrambled eggs in pan by themselves most of the way. Then combine with below vege/meat mix.

In a separate pan, cook Jimmy Dean Sausage fully first before mixing into below pan.

In another separate larger pan, start slowly cooking up the onions (if used), tomatoes, and Hash Browns/Jimmy Dean Skillets with some oil and seasonings. Once warm, stir in chopped up ham/Aidells Sausages/and cooked Jimmy Dean Sausage and finish cooking.

Combine mostly cooked scrambled eggs from first pan into vege/meat mix and finish cooking together. Continue seasoning to flavor.

Once completely cooked, taste test and add shredded cheese to mix. Fold in slowly until even consistency is achieved.

NOTE: Below is of the mix all cooked up with cheese folded in and ready for placing into flour tortillas.
Breakfast Burrito Mix of Veges, Meat, and Spices

Cooking Notes:

I usually use the salt and black pepper when cooking up the tomatoes, onions, and hash browns in oil for flavor. I use other seasonings throughout the cooking process to have them absorbed at different times and rates. I will sometimes cook in two Jimmy Dean Breakfast Skillets instead of hash browns. Doing so requires they be cooked in advance of the eggs.

Add the cheese slowly and stir it in slowly as quick movements will fling it about. Add it in to desired flavor and consistency.

Substitutes:

Ham, Sausages, Bacon, and other meats can be substituted in and out based upon flavor and tastes desired.

Green Onions can be replaced with Minced Onions to flavor.

I have used Jimmy Dean Breakfast Skillets in place of Hash Browns with good results. Usually, I will use 2 of the Jimmy Dean Breakfast Skillets in substitute of one large bag of hash browns.

Preparations:

Wrap about a cup (give or take a bit) in a large slightly warm flower tortilla.

For instructions on how to roll a burrito, see this Google link.

To store, wrap breakfast burrito in plastic wrap and freeze individually.

Serving:

Re-heat on high in Microwave for approximately 1.5 minutes on each side (depending on Microwave strength). May need to slice up for easier heating.

Good with South West Salsa or Tabasco Sauce!

Enjoy!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Peonies Flowers Are In Bloom!

Our Peonies Flowers are in bloom!

Here's a shot from our own in our back yard.

Close up of our Peonies in our back yard.  Picture was taken from the deck and zoomed in

Note: Click on image for large detailed version!