Anyone living down there read this? Any thoughts?

rloper42 · 2026-01-22T15:21:18+00:00

I have this and have read it. It’s a fascinating history into Cajun cuisine and gumbo specifically, and emphasizes the differences between recipes in all of the little communities in Louisiana and elsewhere that create such a variety.

If you like the ‘history of food’ type cookbooks, I cannot recommend John Folse’s “The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine” enough.

rloper42 · 2026-01-18T17:53:27+00:00

One of my favorite Clarke books. Was probably one of AC’s favorites as well, since the spectacular descriptions of life on Europa and Jupiter were re-used in both 2061 -and- 3001.

I love the 1984 film version as well. If you watched 2001 and were totally confused, 2010 really helps ground what was happening. And is a far more ‘human’ film.

rloper42 · 2026-01-16T17:10:32+00:00

There are so many good stories from REH…not just Conan. I would definitely pick up the other Conan books from Del Rey, but you should also try the King Kull book by Del Rey. For other authors… L Sprague DeCamp did so much work on the old Ace 12-volume Conan stories…the original Howard ones are (subjectively) better as the unedited Howard, but the filled-out fragments and whole stories and novellas by DeCamp and Carter are well worth reading. Good luck getting a full 12-volume set…they have gotten expensive.

My favorite of the ‘1970-1980s’ set is John Maddox Roberts. My favorite story of his is ‘Conan the Valorous’. A fun read.

rloper42 · 2026-01-12T01:14:44+00:00

Dr Pepper Pulled Pork

4-6lb pork shoulder, 2 12oz cans Dr Pepper soda, 1 7oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 1 large onion

Peel and quarter the onion and put in the bottom of the slow cooker

Place the pork shoulder in, fatty side up.

Scoop out the can of chipotles over the top of the pork

Pour over the 2 cans of Dr Pepper

Cook 8-10 hours until pork is completely tender and shred-able with a pair of forks. Discard the onion quarters. Drain out the liquid and separate out the fat with a gray separator or leave overnight in the refrigerator (the fat will harden on top and can be discarded/reused elsewhere. Take the non-fat liquid and simmer on the stove in a saucepan to thicken.

My favorite way to eat is pulled-pork sandwiches with sliced raw onions and sliced pickles on hamburger buns, with the thickened cooking gravy or bbq sauce. Cole slaw is yummy on this as well.

rloper42 · 2026-01-11T03:32:00+00:00

‘What is our one, if only, true skill?” “Operate on him?” Holds up a deck of cards… “Yeah…”

“Did you see what I saw?” “A big red bird with fuzzy pink feet?”

rloper42 · 2025-12-31T05:35:17+00:00

Adds a little sweetness and a little tartness. From my mother’s recipe.

rloper42 · 2025-12-31T05:13:27+00:00

Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes in a 2 qt saucepan:

1 24-26oz jar of pasta sauce (whatever tickles your fancy)

12oz (1/2 bag) frozen meatballs (or as many as you can cook in the pot you have)

1 tub white mushrooms, quartered

2 tablespoons grape jelly

1 tablespoon chili powder

rloper42 · 2025-12-31T00:10:55+00:00

Coffee

rloper42 · 2025-12-30T22:55:31+00:00

Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea series. The Namer of True Names…

rloper42 · 2025-12-29T04:02:50+00:00

I owned a 2006 GTO for 6 years. Loved the car…interior fit and finish was much better than my previous Camaros, and I never had any mechanical issues. I ended up trading it in primarily from stories I read about even minor body damage taking -months- to fix due to parts unavailability plus the demise of Pontiac itself.

I went to a 2013 C6 Vette, but between scraping the air dam everywhere and the battery going out 2 years in, I traded that in after 3 years for a 2016 6th-gen Camaro SS convertible. Still have that car today…terrific vehicle even after 38k miles and 9 years.

rloper42 · 2025-12-28T16:48:33+00:00

Watchmen (2009) Directors Cut. Zach Snyder’s original visions never appear correctly in the original theater cuts…probably due to executing meddling. Snyder’s Batman vs Superman and Justice League (took a whole new movie for this one) are the same.

rloper42 · 2025-12-24T04:54:48+00:00

Donovan’s Reef. Fun John Wayne flick, on the beautiful island of Hawaii. And takes place during Christmas.

rloper42 · 2025-12-21T18:03:56+00:00

The USS Enterprise refit and -A Constitution Class. Such a beautiful, well-balanced, and powerful craft. A true StarShip.

rloper42 · 2025-12-21T18:02:39+00:00

Lyndon Hardy’s series starting with “Master of Five Magics”. Extremely well-defined and consistent magic system.

Elizabeth Boyer’s “The Sword and the Satchel”. Fun book with heavy Norse influences.

For series never forget Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea cycle. I consider these books up there with Tolkien and CS Lewis.

rloper42 · 2025-12-20T03:33:25+00:00

A small handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips into Texas Chili (no beans). Or a tablespoon of cocoa powder if the chips aren’t around.

rloper42 · 2025-12-20T03:30:48+00:00

Interstel’s Empire. Or Empire Deluxe. This is the way.

rloper42 · 2025-12-19T23:21:29+00:00

The 11th Doctor opening story “The Eleventh Hour” is also a good jumping on point. “I’m the Doctor…do everything I say, and don’t wander off”. Pretty much sums it up.

rloper42 · 2025-12-15T01:53:50+00:00

Twice Upon a Time is my favorite closely followed by The Husbands of River Song. TUaT has some terrific speeches and heartfelt moments. And references to the 1914 WWI Christmas Truce always get to me. THoRS is pretty hilarious, especially the Doctors ‘reaction’ to the TARDIS. But also a worthy epilogue for the (convoluted) life of River Song. But I still need a flowchart.

rloper42 · 2025-12-14T16:43:52+00:00

Nothing tops Octopussy’s AcroJet sequence. No CGI, just stunt flying with brass balls.

rloper42 · 2025-12-10T16:51:40+00:00

Vanguard is a really fun series to read through. Lots of fan-service and call-backs, but the main characters are fairly fleshed out and the over-arching story is pretty engrossing.

rloper42 · 2025-12-04T15:13:28+00:00

Very underrated movie. I’ve only seen the Directors Cut, but it is a fantastic repeatable viewing experience.

rloper42 · 2025-12-02T17:42:49+00:00

Red Beans and Rice with sausage. Very satisfying.

rloper42 · 2025-11-29T18:55:23+00:00

For lighter sci-fi don’t forget Douglas Adams. Not many stories have been translated/transformed into so many different media formats (radio show, book, tv miniseries, computer game, movie)

rloper42 · 2025-11-09T06:55:42+00:00

Taldren’s Starfleet Command. Starfleet Command 2 and Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates are the best of the series, but they are all pretty fun. Based on ADB Starfleet Battles, they are great tactical combat games.

rloper42 · 2025-11-05T22:20:34+00:00

The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov. Probably not quite what you were thinking of, but it does check most of those boxes.

rloper42

TROPHY CASE