Halloween!!!

Is it halloween yet?


Tonight is Halloween. It is a night for Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving, candy, screaming, fright, and delight.

After 17 years...

After 17 years Nancy and I are separating. While the reasons are personal they are none of the usual salacious causes of breakups. There has been no infidelity, abuse, or any criminal act involved. Nancy and I still get along and like one another, but this is the best place for us to be right now. I've stopped being sad about it all the time. Our biggest concern is the boys, who spend Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other weekend with me.

Well, we are separated, I turn 40 in the spring, and to round out the middle-age trifecta I'm getting a motorcycle. This is the 2008 Harley-Davidson Road King in Black Pearl with factory-equipped anti-lock brakes and cruise control. It ships from the factory October 12.

I may be reached by e-mail at Dr.Mullen@MSWH.org and Nancy is NCRM32@hotmail.com for the forseeeable future. Thanks to all my friends.

We Are The Champions

It is official. For the Third Grateful Pig Gig, the Master Basters are the supreme champions, sweeping all four categories of Chicken thighs, pork spareribs, pulled pork butt, and beef brisket. The team was captained by Chef Andrew Evans, and included myself, Ian Ferguson (Andrew's sous chef), and Adam the Intern. I don't have any pictures yet, but they will be up. The judging was double-blinded, with each team having a different number for each event, so there was no telling by the judges if it was the same team from one event to the next.

I am exhausted now. I may not eat meat again until June.

Fantastic Animation

Today as I left fellowship after Quakert Meeting I pulled some old vinyl albums out of the bins left over after the Carriage Shed Sale (annual event, this year we raised $4,200 for Doctors Without Borders- different from Doctors with Problems with Boundaries, ask me offline about my experiences at Fort Bragg). One of the albums was Cat Stevens's Teaser and the Firecat. I have the album already, but the artwork reminded me of how sad the whole CD phase has eliminated the genre of album artwork. But, I like having my entire collection of music on a device only slightly bigger than a cassette tape, so you have to accept some things and mourn the passing of others.

I saw the animated short of Teaser and the Firecat at the Keith-Albee Theater (sadly dark now, like the Paradise Theater) in 1977. I love the Internet- have I said that?- because I found it on YouTube, and these should be some links from the festival

Teaser and the Firecat



Closed Mondays


What a fantastic set of memories.

Spring is in the Air

Ah, yes. Spring. TIme for fuel and fire!

I am entered in a Barbecue competition this year. I have a new Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker, as well as a 22-1/2" weber kettle. I'm not throuwing out my Weber Genesis Silver B gas grill (it's better for winter and in the rain) but I'm liking the real thing. My first try at a piece of brisket was not too good (too dry, too much smoke) and the chicken thighs gave the usual problems (rubbery skin, hard to predict). But, by applying scientific methods and taking notes I should have the same success in barbecue I have had in brewing.


So, go out and burn some carbon and eat some meat!

Where I have Lived, where I have Visited

This is the map of where I have lived. These are all places I have had a legal address, and have stayed put and not left the state for more than 30 days.



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or check out ourCalifornia travel guide


Below is the map of where I have visited.




create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide


But, sadly, the list of countries is much smaller.




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Christmas Parade in the Red Section of a Blue State

I love Christmas parades.

Last night I went with my family to the annual Christmas Parade in Easton. Our friend had a child in the junior band (all new to their instruments this year). They played Jingle Bells, and I swear it sounded like the band playing the same piece in "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

But, then, there was the Giant Cross Float. No kidding, it is a giant cross set atop a backhoe with the floodlights showing the Nativity scene. (By the way, the teenage girl who played Mary in the upcoming Nativity movie is herself pregnant. Anybody remember Mary Gross as the B.V.M. and Jim Belushi as Joseph saying "and he better be the ONLY son of God!!!" But I digress.)

Then the Boy Scout troop came by with a flagpole at the back of the float showing a flag of a dead nutria (weasel-like otter-y thing) with tire tracks over it and then a real dead nutria hanging from the pole. I wanted to sing the Redneck Christmas Song.

So, Happy Holidays, and crack a cold one for me!

p.s. recipe for Vesper Martini:

3 Measures British Gin
1 Measure Russian Vodka
Splash of Lillet Blanc
Shake with ice, serve in Martini glass
Twist lemon (or orange) over glass and drop into glass