The Digital Dispatch

From NOEBIE.net

Pictures

The Barbecue Idea

· ·

Somewhere on this Weblog there will eventually be an essay about barbecue. It won’t be about how to barbecue. It will be about why grilling over coals or wood is important to some people, or at least to me.

You have been forewarned, and now I must go light the charcoal chimney.

UPDATE:

I’ve created an entire site dedicated to grilling pursuits. Head on over to Grilling With Noebie for essays, recipes, tips, tricks, techniques, photos and more. There are only a few articles up at the moment, but I’ll be adding to it every week.

We’re Still at War: A Memorial Day Reminder

· ·

While Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have lost their lives in service to the United States, we should also remember that Americans are still at war in Afghanistan. Every weekday since June of 2009, Mother Jones has posted photos of those serving in the U.S. military as a reminder that we’re still at war. On this Memorial Day, they’re sharing a slideshow with images from thus far in 2012.

My thoughts and prayers remain with those who serve.

View the full slideshow: We’re Still at War: A Memorial Day Reminder. [Mother Jones]

Go Cards

· ·

With our move to Kankakee rapidly approaching, I was more than a little concerned about the fact that we’ll no longer have the St. Louis sports channels in our Cable lineup.

Problem solved. Thanks, MLB.TV.

I’m looking forward to another great season of baseball from the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals.

Give Us This Day

· ·

I’ve baked my share of soda bread and corn bread over the years. I’ve also occasionally made my own pizza dough, and lately I’ve been baking some with a bread machine, but I’ve never turned out anything like this – until today.

My wife had a copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and I picked it up the other evening and after reading only a few pages became very excited at the prospect of delicious home baked bread with so little effort. The only question in my mind was whether or not their approach would actually work.

It does.

A Simple Reminder

· ·

We are still at war.

U.S. Soldiers with 1st Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the Afghan National Army, and members of the Community Based Security Solutions police organization, climb a steep path above Pata Tili village, on January 29th, 2012. U.S. Navy photo by MC1 Bill Steele, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Still At War

· ·

Sgt. Jared Dillon, a member of the Personal Security Detachment for 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, carries a duffel bag full of cookies, candy and personal hygiene products for the Soldiers of Forward Operating Base Pacemaker on Dececmber 25, 2011. On Christmas Day Sgt. Dillon and the other Warhorse Soldiers traveled to five different forward operating bases delivering gifts and holiday cheer.

Throughout our decade of war in Afghanistan (and, indeed, throughout the war in Iraq), there has been an eerie disconnect between the reality of the situation for those who have been called upon to serve and the experience of the vast majority of the rest of us in American society. It is like we have been sleepwalking.

I, for one, am redoubling my efforts in 2012 to be mindful of our service men and women, of their families, of the Afghan People and of all others around the world who are living with war.

It is way past time to wake up.