Smokepole Bull Success

It was still dark on the second morning of my limited entry muzzleloader elk hunt when I parked my truck on the ridge. As soon as I got out of the truck I heard four bulls bugling right below me.

The breeze was blowing downhill, from me to them, not good! I dropped off the ridge on the far side and lost some altitude, so I could make an approach in a cross wind. As I came around the ridge towards the first bull, a cow and calf crossed the ridge just thirty yards below me. I used a cow call, trying to draw the bull into the open to size him up. Trying to cow call a bull with cows away from those he's already got is a losing proposition.

My impatience got the better of me, and I moved to close the gap. Some unseen cows caught my movement and sounded an alarm. It's amazing that eight cows can sometimes sound like twenty, and twenty can often sound like one.I never saw that bull.
The four bulls kept bugling, but now they were moving away from me. I moved into the trees, following elk trails and the sound of those bugles. There were times when I felt I was within fifty yards of three bugling elk, but just couldn't see them. They kept moving, and so did I. I could hear them, but I couldn't catch up.
After nearly a mile, I bumped some elk in the timber and thought it was over. I was still in the trees when I spotted some elk on the edge of a clearing ahead of me. A spike, a two point, a small five point and then two more spikes. The big bull bugled just uphill!

This group of small bulls moved away, and I was able to get to the edge of the clearing. The big guy bugled again, and made a couple runs chasing the smaller bulls off. It was only the second day, but when I saw those antlers, it made sense to take this one.

I set up some homemade shooting sticks, and guessed the range at 150 yards. I fired as he moved through an opening. The other elk ran, he disappeared behind a couple trees and though the shot felt good at the time, I didn't know what happened.
I reloaded my inline .54 and waited a few minutes. I closed the gap to 70 yards, and saw his head and antlers as he looked through the trees. On the sticks again when he came out, I put another round in him and there was still no reaction to the shot. He headed straight away from me, going slightly uphill.
Reloading again, the shooting sticks were too low to be helpful, so I stood upright and braced against a tree. He was now over 200 yards away, walking slowly and deliberately for the timber. I put my front bead between his antlers and just over the top of his head. Looking through my peep site, I remember thinking with amazement "he's 50 inches wide". I pulled the trigger again, hoping the bullet would drop into his spine somewhere in that seven feet between his head and his tail.
This wasn't exactly a "Texas heart shot" (no offense intended). It was a Hail Mary based on the premise that once you've hit an elk, it's best to keep shooting until he goes down. I heard this bullet hit, and the bull just kept walking off into that nasty timber.
When the bull was out of sight I started going over the events, identifying my shooting locations, the bull's location at each shot, his reaction or lack of reaction to each shot, and then confirmed my range estimations with a range finder (The first two shots were so close to my estimates that it made no difference. The final shot was at 240 yards.)
I started searching for blood sign. There was none. I searched for tracks I could identify as his and not some other elk. I found where he crossed an ATV trail while heading for the timber and I found where he entered the timber. Then I called my brother, Lars (who also had an elk permit) on a radio and asked for a little help.
When he and his son, Jens, arrived, we went over this again trying to determine what happened and what steps to take. We guessed that my first shot hit too far back. We also surmised that I had indeed hit him with the second shot because they'd heard the second report and a bullet impact afterwards. We knew I'd hit him somewhere on the last shot.
So now it was about an hour since the last shot and I was finally coming down off my adrenalin rush. I got hit with a surge of emotion. My thoughts, in no particular order, were: "after 12 years of trying for this tag I've lost this elk", "I've screwed up and this elk will suffer", "we've still got a lot of looking to do".
We knew where the bull entered the trees. My brother, who was carrying a firearm and had a permit, would do some exploring in the timber to locate elk trails and see what he could learn. My nephew would assist me in trying to track this bull. With no blood trail it was going to be difficult.
Our first attempt failed. The ground was too hard in some places and held too many tracks in others. The second attempt also failed. I figured this bull was heading to someplace he knew and felt safe--thick, nasty cover maybe?
We tried in the opposite direction. I told Jens to keep looking to the sides. The bull could just be a tan lump ten yards off the trail. Thirty seconds later, Jens said, "well, there he is". I felt a surge of relief when I saw him down and not moving.
His antlers don't look quite as big and impressive as they did when he was alive. But then they never look as big as when they're herding cows, chasing smaller bulls and bugling challenges.
I had quite a hunt, before and after the shooting. I'm happy, and I think I'll always remember the way he looked when I first saw him.

Beer and Ice Cream Diet

Justification for beer and Ice cream! But stay away from the pizza!

As we all know, it takes 1 calorie to heat 1 gram of water 1 degree centigrade. Translated into meaningful terms, this means that if you eat a very cold dessert (generally consisting of water in large part), the natural processes which raise the consumed dessert to body temperature during the digestive cycle literally sucks the calories out of the only available source, your body fat.

For example, a dessert served and eaten at near 0 degrees C (32.2 deg. F) will in a short time be raised to the normal body temperature of 37 degrees C (98.6 deg. F). For each gram of dessert eaten, that process takes approximately 37 calories as stated above. The average desser tportion is 6 oz, or 168 grams. Therefore, by operation of thermodynamiclaw, 6,216 calories (1 cal./gm/deg. x 37 deg. x 168 gms) are extracted from body fat as the dessert's temperature is normalized.

Allowing for the 1,200 latent calories in the dessert, the net calorie loss is approximately 5,000 calories.

Obviously, the more cold dessert you eat,the better off you are and the faster you will lose weight, if that is your goal.

This process works equally well when drinking very cold beer in frosted glasses. Each ounce of beer contains 16 latent calories, but extracts 1,036 calories (6,216 cal. per 6 oz. portion) in the temperature normalizing process. Thus the net calorie loss per ounce of beer is 1,020 calories. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to calculate that 12,240 calories (12 oz. x 1,020 cal./oz.) are extracted from the body in the process of drinking a can of beer.

Frozen desserts, e.g., ice cream, are even more beneficial, since it takes 83 cal./gm to melt them (i.e., raise them to 0 deg. C) and an additional 37 cal./gm to further raise them to body temperature. The results here are really remarkable, and it beats running hands down.

Unfortunately, for those who eat pizza as an excuse to drink beer, pizza (loaded with latent calories and served above body temperature) induces an opposite effect. But, thankfully, as the astute reader should have already reasoned, the obvious solution is to drink a lot of beer with pizza and follow up immediately with large bowls of ice cream.

We could all be thin if we were to adhere religiously to a pizza, beer, and ice cream diet.

Happy eating!

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Mushrooms, Red Onions and Garlic

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Mushrooms, Red Onions and Garlic

I know my roasting days are nearing an end because it's getting hot outside, so I've been busily roasting as much as possible while it's still cool in the evenings. This recipe contains all of my very favorite ingredients so you can imagine how much I loved this side dish. The potatoes were crisp on the outside and creamy inside, the onions and garlic were really sweet and the mushrooms were just delicious. I will definitely be making this dish over and over again. Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Mushrooms, Red Onions and Garlic: Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking 10-12 fingerling potatoes, sliced in half lengthwise 10 white button or cremini mushrooms, sliced in half 1/2 red onion, sliced 4 cloves of garlic (keep the skins on while roasting) 1-2 tbsp of olive oil Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper Fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with tin foil (for easier clean up) and coat very well with olive oil cooking spray. Slice potatoes, onions and mushrooms then place them along with the garlic (leave the skins on so they don't burn while roasting) on the baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil on top of the veggies along with the sea salt and pepper to taste, toss to coat evenly.

Roast in the oven for 15 minutes then toss with a spatula. Roast for an additional 10 - 15 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown and tender. Remove from heat and carefully remove the skins from the garlic cloves then slice. Add the garlic slices along with chopped parsley to the potatoes and serve. Enjoy.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Mushrooms, Red Onions and Garlic

Shakira

Biography of Shakira
Birthname: Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll Date of birth: 1977-02-02 Birthplace: Barranquilla, Colombia Height: 4' 11" Nationality: Colombian Profession: Musician

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2 1977), known simply as Shakira, is a two-time Grammy Award and seven-time Latin Grammy Award-winning Colombian singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who has been a major figure in the pop music of Latin America since the mid-1990s. In 2001, she broke through into the English-speaking market with the release of her first album in that language, Laundry Service, which has sold over 3.5 million copies in the United States and 13 million copies worldwide. After her exposure to the English market, Shakira has arguably become one of the most influential Latin American female musicians of all time. Shakira has the honor of being the highest selling Colombian artist of all time and the only artist from that country to have had a #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.Shakira is best known for mixing different sound styles in her songs and albums, for her critically acclaimed lyrics and for her dancing style which primarily features belly dancing.
Biography
Childhood and beginningShakira was born to a Catalan mother, Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado, and an American-born father of Lebanese Catholic descent, William Mebarak Chadid, in Barranquilla, Colombia, where she says she grew up among the Lebanese, Jewish and Italian communities. Shakira, which means "grateful" in Arabic, is named after her paternal grandmother. She was one of seven siblings, one of whom is her road manager. Shakira attended a Catholic school and began writing and composing music at the age of eight, and later choreographed dance routines. At school, she says she had been known as "the belly dancer girl", as she would demonstate a number she learned every Friday at school. "That's how I discovered my passion for live performance," she says. One of the first songs she wrote was called "Tus Gafas Oscuras" (Your Dark Glasses), which was about her father's grief over a son who had died in a car accident. At the age of ten, Shakira tried out for her school choir, but she was not taken because her voice was "too strong." Between the ages of ten and thirteen Shakira was invited to various events in Barranquilla and gained some recognition in the area. It was at about this time that she met local theater producer Monica Ariza, who was impressed with her and as a result tried to help her career. During a flight from Barranquilla to Bogotá, Ariza convinced Sony Colombia executive Ciro Vargas to hold an audition for Shakira in a motel lobby. Vargas held Shakira in high regard and, returning to the Sony office, gave the cassette to a song and artist director. However, the director was not overly excited and thought Shakira was something of "a lost cause". Vargas, not daunted, was still convinced that Shakira had talent, and set up an audition in Bogotá. He arranged for Sony Colombia executives to arrive at the audition, with the idea of surprising them with Shakira's performance. She performed three songs for the executives and impressed them enough for her to be signed to record three albums.Magia (Magic) was Shakira's debut album, recorded with Sony Colombia in 1991, when she was 15. The album did not fare well commercially, selling less than one thousand copies. After Magia, Shakira released Peligro (Danger) in 1993. The album was better received than Magia, but Shakira decided to take a hiatus from recording so that she could graduate from high school

1995-2000: Success in Latin America and SpainShakira returned to recording in 1995, supported by a new confessional and Alanis Morissette-oriented persona that affected some of her next albums, and made her third studio one, Pies Descalzos (Bare Feet), bring her great fame in Latin America. The singles "Estoy Aquí" (I'm Here), "Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos" (Bare Feet, White Dreams), and "Dónde Estás Corazón?" (Where Are You, My Heart?) became pop culture icons. Pies Descalzos sold more than 4 million copies, which prompted the release of a remix album, titled simply The Remixes, which sold more than a million copies. The Remixes also included Portuguese versions of some of her best-known songs, which were recorded because of her success in the Brazilian market.Her fourth album, ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? (Where Are The Thieves?), was released in 1998. It was produced by Emilio Estefan, reportedly cost US$3 million, and had more of a polished sound than Pies Descalzos. It was even more successful and sold almost 7 million. She began to gain more fans in non-Spanish-speaking countries like France, Switzerland, Canada, and especially the United States. Eight of the album's eleven tracks became singles, including "Ciega, Sordomuda"(Blind, Deaf, and Mute), "Moscas En La Casa" (Flies in the House), "No Creo" (I Don't Believe), "Inevitable", "Tú" (You), "Si Te Vas" (If You Leave), "Octavo Día" (Eighth Day), and the world-famous "Ojos Así"(Eyes Like Yours). Shakira's first live album, MTV Unplugged, was composed of "Estoy Aquí" and the songs from ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?.In March 2000 Shakira embarked on her Tour Anfibio, a three-month tour of Latin America and the United States. In August of 2000 she won an MTV Video Music Award in the now-defunct category of People's Choice - Favorite International Artist.
2001-2004: English market crossover In 2001, upon the success of ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?, Shakira began working on a crossover album to the English language. Collaborating with Gloria Estefan, Shakira wrote and recorded English versions of the tracks from ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?. However, Shakira later decided against using translations of older songs for the album and worked for over a year on new material for the album. The result was Laundry Service. Although it was created for the intent of selling to an English language market, the rock and Spanish dance-influenced album also featured four Spanish songs, including "Que Me Quedes Tú" (I Hope You Stay With Me). Some critics claimed that Shakira's English skills were too weak for her to write in it, but Laundry Service was a success, with more than 13 million sales worldwide, yielding the worldwide hit "Whenever, Wherever" and singles "Underneath Your Clothes" (a Canadian number-one), "Te Dejo Madrid" (I Leave You Madrid), "Objection (Tango)", and "The One". The album and its singles helped to establish Shakira's musical presence in the mainstream North American market.In 2002, Shakira also released her Spanish greatest hits volume Grandes éxitos. A DVD and ten-track compilation album called Live & Off the Record, was also released in 2004 reaching sales of 3 million CDs worldwide, commemorating Shakira's 2002-2003 world tour, the Tour Of The Mongoose.In September 2002, Shakira won the now-defunct International Viewer's Choice Award at the MTV Video Music Awards with "Suerte". In October of that year, she won 5 MTV Video Music Awards Latin America for Best Female Artist, Best Pop Artist, Best Artist—North (Region), Video of the Year (for Suerte), and Artist of the Year. At Aerosmith's MTV Icon in 2002, Shakira performed "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)". Also in 2002, Shakira joined the likes of Celine Dion, Anastacia, Cher and The Dixie Chicks for VH1 Divas Live Las Vegas.
2005-present: Oral Fixation 1 & 2Shakira stayed out of the spotlight for 2 and a half years, noticely changing her hair style. She later announced Oral Fixation 1 and 2 due in 2005.Fijación Oral Vol. 1 was released on June 6 2005 in Europe and on June 7 2005 in North America and Australia. The lead single "La Tortura" (English: The Torture, featuring Alejandro Sanz) eventually reached number one in Spain and number twenty-three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. In Canada, "La Tortura" also became the highest-charting Spanish song when it debuted and peaked at number twenty-one. Its success across the rest of the world was widespread and it managed to peak within the top ten of the majority of the charts it entered. In the U.S., "La Tortura" spent a record twenty-five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart.Fijación Oral Vol. 1 was simultaneously released in Latin America. It debuted at number one in Spain and at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200. It was also well-received in non-Spanish speaking countries such as Italy, Greece and Germany, where it reached number one, Austria, where it reached number three, and Canada and Hungary, where it reached number seven. The second single from Fijación Oral Vol. 1, "No" (English: No), was released in September 2005, and peaked at number one in Spain and Colombia, for fourteen non-consecutive weeks. So far, Fijación Oral Vol. 1 has sold five million copies worldwide. Her third single from "Fijación Oral vol. 1", Día de Enero, is dedicated to her fiance, Antonio de la Rúa. This single was number one in some countries in Latin America, but it hadn't got success like "La Tortura" and "No". She also performed "La Tortura" at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards in Miami with Alejandro Sanz. It was the first ever Spanish performance at the VMA's. (There was also a reggaeton medley during the show, including Daddy Yankee's Gasolina, but it came after Shakira's performance.)Before the release of Shakira's second English album Oral Fixation Vol. 2, she appeared at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon, Portugal and she was nominated in the category of "Best Female", which she won to great shock since she had outmatched the international popularity of other artists such as Gwen Stefani and Mariah Carey. Shakira performed Oral Fixation Vol. 2's lead single "Don't Bother" with a car on stage following her win.Shakira's second English album Oral Fixation Vol. 2 was released on November 29, 2005 in North America and Australia, and also at this time in Continental Europe. While "Don't Bother" was warmly received by music critics as the album's lead single, it failed to peak within the U.S. top forty. The second single "Hips Don't Lie" (featuring Wyclef Jean) became her first single to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. On March 28, 2006, she re-released Oral Fixation Vol. 2 in the U.S. and released it June 19, 2006. Shakira also had the collaboration of Argetinian Rock en Español legend Gustavo Cerati on 2 tracks of both Oral Fixation albums.On April 3 2006, Shakira was honored at an United Nations ceremony because she created the Pies Descalzos Foundation, a charity that helps to protect children from violence in Colombia. At the event she said: "Let's not forget that at the end of this day when we all go home, 960 children will have died in Latin America ." On April 27, 2006 she received 6 Latin Billboard Awards. The awards included Female Latin Pop Album of the Year for Fijacion Oral Vol. 1 and Hot Latin Song of the Year for "La Tortura". She was also honored with the Spirit of Hope Award for her foundation Pies Descalzos.In June, Shakira started her biggest tour ever, called the Oral Fixation Tour, which will last until the summer of 2007.As of July 30th, 2006 "Hips Don't Lie" was her most recent number one, and consequently, the last ever song played on the legendary British programme Top of the Pops, seeing the track jump back from number three to the number one spot again, after spending seven weeks on the chart.Shakira was the most nominated artist of the year for the MTV Video Music Awards '06. Her seven nominations were for "Hips Don't Lie", including Video of the Year and Best Female Video. She won only one award for Choreography. Shakira also performed "Hips Don't Lie" to the dance moves of popular Indian Choreographer Farah Khan. The award show was held on August 31st 2006 in Radio City Music Hall.This year, Shakira and Alejandro Sanz have been working together again, this time the duet is called "Te lo Agradezco pero No" and it's featured on Alejandro Sanz' new album. Also, Shakira has announced her two new singles, "Illegal" featuring Carlos Santana and "La Pared".She is nominated at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards for Pop single of the year for her hit, Hips Don't Lie.
Personal lifeIn 2000, Shakira started dating Antonio de la Rúa, the son of then president of Argentina Fernando de la Rúa, a romance that made headline news throughout Latin America. In March of 2001, he proposed to her. During Fernando De la Rúa's presidency, the economy of Argentina collapsed, leading to the subsequently violent December 2001 riots; in response to the turmoil, Tower Records decided to no longer sell Shakira's albums in Argentina as Antonio was directly involved in the management of his father's administration. De la Rúa and Shakira remain engaged, with future plans to marry.
DancingShakira is well-known for her dancing in various music videos. The moves are based on the art of belly dancing, a part of her Lebanese heritage, which Shakira says she learned as a young teen to overcome her shyness . The intense training has afforded her a fluidity in her body movement most seen in the video to her hit "La Tortura". In an MTV interview, she said people told her she never moved her chest when dancing, so she danced with her chest (as well as her usual belly dancing . and "Hips Don't Lie".She has had several belly dance choreographers, including award-winning Bellydance Superstar Bozenka. As her MTV 'The Making of...' special entales, she worked with Jamie King for the choreography, but ended up creating most of it herself.

The Young Assistant

The Young Assistant
In France, the young assistant priests do not live in the main rectory. That is reserved for the priest and his housekeeper. One day the priest invited his new young assistant priest to have dinner at the rectory. While being served, the young priest noticed how shapely and lovely the housekeeper was and down deep in his heart he wondered if there was more between the priest and the housekeeper.
After the meal was over, the middle-aged priest assured the young priest that everything was purely professional...that she was the housekeeper and cook and that was that. About a week later the housekeeper came to the priest and said, "Father, ever since the new assistant came for dinner I have not been able to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don't suppose he took it, do you?" The priest said, "Well, I doubt it but I'll write him a letter."
So he sat down and wrote, "Dear Father, I'm not saying you did take the gravy ladle and I'm not saying you did not take the gravy ladle. But the fact remains that it has been missing since you were here for dinner."
The young assistant received the letter and he answered it as follows: "Dear Father priest, I'm not saying that you do sleep with the housekeeper and I'm not saying that you do not sleep with the housekeeper. But I do know for sure that if you slept in your own bed you would find the gravy ladle."

Q: Why did the Chicken cross the road?

Anderson Consultant:

Deregulation of the chicken's side of the road was threatening its dominant market position. The chicken was faced with significant challenges to create and develop the competencies required for the newly competitive market. Andersen Consulting, in a partnering relationship with the client, helped the chicken by rethinking its physical distribution strategy and implementation processes. Using the Poultry Integration Model (PIM) Andersen helped the chicken use its skills, methodologies, knowledge capital and experiences to align the chicken's people, processes and technology in support of its overall strategy within a Program Management framework. Andersen Consulting convened a diverse cross-spectrum of road analysts and best chickens along with Andersen consultants with deep skills in the transportation industry to engage in a two-day itinerary of meetings in order to leverage their personal knowledge capital, both tacit and explicit, and to enable them to synergize with each other in order to achieve the implicit goals of delivering and successfully architecting and implementing an enterprise-wide value framework across the continuum of poultry cross-median processes. The meeting was held in a park like setting enabling and creating an impactful environment which was strategically based, industry-focused, and built upon a consistent, clear, and unified market message and aligned with the chicken's mission, vision, and core values. This was conducive towards the creation of a total business integration solution. Andersen Consulting helped the chicken change to become more successful.

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

I have made a tradition of baking treats for my children's teachers at the end of the school year. It's a great way to bake with my children and to show appreciation for the wonderful people who teach my kids. I came across this delicious looking cookie recipe on Donna's site. How can you go wrong with chocolate chip cookies with crushed oreos? I knew they would be rich and decadent. My husband tested them and said they were really tasty and I am hopeful the teachers will like them as well. Thanks for an excellent recipe Donna!Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies:Recipe and photos by For the Love of CookingRecipe from My Tasty Treasures
1 stick softened butter
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
1 ¼ cups flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
8 oreo cookies, broken into pieces
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silpat sheet or parchment paper.In a large bowl, beat together butter, white sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until creamy.In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt in large bowl and mix thoroughly. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet and mix. Add chocolate chips and crushed oreos, stir until just combined.Drop by the spoonful onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 7–9 minutes, or until golden brown, but still soft. Let cool on baking sheet 3 minutes before transferring to cookie rack. Enjoy.

Disadvantages of a HMO

Three nurses died and went to Heaven, where they were met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter.To the first, he asked, "So, what did you used to do back on Earth? Why do you think you should be allowed to come into Heaven?""I was a nurse at an inner city hospital," she replied. "I worked to bring healing and peace to many sufferers, especially poor, helpless children."Very noble," said St. Peter. "You may enter."And in through the Gates she went.To the next, he asked the same question, "So, what did you used to do?""I was a nurse at a missionary hospital in the Amazon basin," she replied. "For many years, I worked with a skeleton crew of doctors and nurses who tried to reach out to as many people across numerous tribes, with a hand of healing and peace, and with the message about God`s love.""How touching," said St. Peter. "You, too, may enter."And in she went.He then came to the last nurse, to whom he asked, "So, what did you used to do back on Earth?"After some hesitation, she explained, "I was just a nurse at an HMO."St. Peter pondered this for a moment, and then said, "Ok, you may enter, too.""Whew!" said the nurse. "For a moment there, I thought you weren`t going to let me in.""Oh, you can come in," said St. Peter, "but you can only stay for three days."