High Class Cultural Activity

This weekend was spent with wife and in-laws partaking in some wonderfully enriching activities. My dear wife has never been to an Alabama football game, nor even Tuscaloosa on Game Day. So by cashing in all of my brownie points, I was able to coax her into joining me at Sonny McLean's Pub via Randy's Donuts to watch Coach Saban's Crimson Tide whoop up on Ole Miss. As a complete non-seqitur: we traversed the entire length of Inglewood on Manchester  Avenue, passing Soul Food Kitchen, The Forum, and seven different places selling fried chicken. I must say that a drive from Lincoln Blvd to the 110 Fwy is a lot like driving through Memphis. Anyway, I digress.

After getting a pre-game donut at the much hyped Randy's Donuts, we took a short rest back in Santa Monica before heading over to Sonny McLean's Irish Pub on Wilshire. Those readers familiar with West L.A. will know that there is absolutely no soul food anywhere near this part of the city. Fortunately though, Sonny's makes fabulous guacamole and perfect shepherd's pie with ground lamb and savory sauce. If you wanted to replicate a Tuscaloosa or Birmingham sports pub, Sonny's would be a close to perfect match. There are plenty of TVs; enough to watch the opening part of my Alabama vs. Ole Miss game, and simultaneously revel in Oklahoma thrashing Notre Dame, and Georgia beating LSU. We found out about this "meet up" of Bama fans online. Apparently there is no connection to LA's chapter of UA Alumni Association, but that doesn't stop 10-20 Southerners from gathering to watch the Tide Roll.

The wife had never seen anyone besides me sing "Yeah Alabama" or shout "Rammer Jammer", so allowing her to witness these firsthand was a real treat. I really enjoyed explaining the bad calls and how the system of "downs" works (why the goal is to keep getting 1st Down) en route to the end zone. Both of us were impressed by the safety for 2 points toward the end of the game. After the win, we both had a little bit of ringing in our ears from the crowd noise inside Sonny McLean's. There is nothing quite so sweet as driving home after an Alabama SEC victory. Roll Tide Roll.

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On Sunday afternoon, we partook in a similarly exciting event: Georges Bizet's "Carmen" performed by the LA Opera in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, conducted by the legendary Placido Domingo.  Carmen is one of the three most famous operas of all time; sandwiched between Puccini's "La Boheme" and Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro", it was amazing to see for the very first time (with my wife/ in LA). We saw "La Boheme" last year, which was my first live opera experience. Everyone should see a few famous operas in their life to get a sense of refinement, and see and hear Western Civilization's classiest form of entertainment. Filled with very memorable songs, "Carmen" is the story of a gypsy lady who runs off with Don Jose, corporal of Dragoons and later dumps him for Escamillo, the grand bullfighter baritone who sings "Toreador."

At half an hour into the first act, we are treated to the "Habanera" which is the trademark song of this opera. It contains this line: L'amour est l'enfant de Boheme... or in English: Love is a gypsy's child. While I don't proffer this as a rational worldview, it does contain poetic charm. My main grievance on the performance was that my opera-mates told me the ending. Spoiler alert! When taking your son-in-law or your husband out to see a show that he's never seen, don't ruin the suspense by telling him that the title character gets stabbed. If I wanted to know who dies at the end, I'd have read up on it! As my wife says, "don't get attached to any of the characters because they'll probably die." Wow! How's that for comfort? Anyway, aside from Don Jose stabbing Carmen in a fit of desperate rage, it has a cute ending. I hope you like the songs as much as I do --> really catchy tunes.


vivid costumes, gallant dancing, lustrous voices, fun people watching

FINAL: No. 1 Alabama 35, Virginia Tech 10

So we won. But there is much room for improvement... running game was non-existent, and offensive line was lackluster. However VA Tech fielded one of the best defenses (I hope) we see all season. This is just the first game. Thankfully we have a "bye" week to prepare for retribution against Texas A&M and their snotty prima donna quarterback, Johnny Manziel.

Hope y'all have a pleasant weekend and Happy Labor Day. Roll Tide Roll!!!

Run in Feet, Dream in Miles... RTR!

So this is the last day of August and also the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. The Alabama Crimson Tide, my home team (Class of '07), will be playing Virgina Tech in Atlanta's Georgia Dome at 1:30pm PST. I plan to watch the game here in Santa Monica with a friend from Nashville. For many years as a youngster, a game like today's in a neutral setting against a big East Coast team would have made me jittery about the outcome. But being #1 reigning National Champion for the 3rd season in 4 years, I have a bit more swagger. Hopefully Coach Saban has put his boys in the proper mindset. Winning today is a foregone conclusion by many fans. That's why we pay the fella the big bucks: $5 million per year to knock the stuffing out of Auburn and beat Tennessee like a drum, whilst carrying on a proud and glorious tradition.

Will he get more than 323 wins before retiring? At 159 wins he's almost halfway there, but I doubt it. Will he win more championships in Tuscaloosa than Bear Bryant? Maybe he can. It would take 4 more, which isn't asking too much for a coach in his early 60s. As "Sports' Most Powerful Coach" per Forbes magazine, I believe Saban really loves to watch his players win games and he's the only guy tough enough to impart that mental certitude to young college boys. I wish he had taken over at UA four years before 2007 when I was still a student. It would have made my memories from the Student Section of Bryant Denny Stadium much more exciting. Alas, I'm so glad Coach Saban is our guy now and pray that he stays till he's 85. A championship to Coach Saban is just "part of the Process." His process is methodical and inimitable. I hope we win :) Roll Tide Roll!

Joys of Hand Crafted Ammo: Reloading .308

It only took me 30 years to finally get around to it. Even though I've had raw components (read: lots of brass) on hand since my earliest firearms purchase nine years ago, the last puzzles pieces just fell into place. In order to make one cartridge, one must have brass, bullet, powder, primer and the hardware to assemble these four components. A set of dies to punch out the spent primer & re-size the brass, a tool that seats fresh primers, scale and funnel to measure and pour a correct powder charge, and most importantly the press which holds the dies and shell plate. The reloading press is akin to the "Flux Capacitor" in Dr. Emmet Brown's DeLorean Time Machine... it makes all of this possible.

Recreational shooters like myself hoard empty brass casings with the dream of "Someday I'm going to reload. Brass is the most expensive part so I'm halfway there. It's an investment!" and somehow forget to go buy the rest of the kit. I actually started purchasing dies for higher volume firearms two years ago. A .45ACP set here, a carbide .357 set there, and before long I've got 5 sets of dies stored with a pile of empties. Then I told myself last fall, "either get serious or get rid of it" and to wit now have a can of powder, several primers, and the bullets to go on top (pointy side facing out). My knowledge base grew exponentially in the past two years as I milked every colleague and customer I knew on the subject. We actually have the excellent DVD from RCBS on loop at my workplace that I've seen several times now (in 5 minute increments).

Finally, I got the blessing of a colleague to come over after work and use his bench. Of particular interest to me was tapping his vast knowledge of the title caliber: .308 Winchester. Apparently there are two distinctly different methods depending on end use. If you plan on shooting a .308 bolt action, then standard dies will work fine, but if your intended use is a semi-automatic, which I have, then 'small base' dies plus 'neck sizing' dies are the way to go. Without going into exhaustive detail, fired brass is ejected with vigor from a semi-auto rifle, thus requiring a bit more prep work than empties collected from a bolt action shooter. The former is a very dynamic platform, whilst the latter is quite static. That extreme force stretches brass longitudinally and radially, whereby the hand loader has to take extra caution to make sure his casings are back in spec, a rather tedious task.

After getting the cases sized and trimmed down to spec, we primed them, added forty-two grains of IMR 3031 powder, and lastly seated a 150 grain Sierra Game King bullet. What is a grain? Seven thousand grains equals one pound, so a five hundred grain bullet weighs slightly more than an ounce. Our fifty cartridges consumed 2,100 grains or roughly a third of one can of powder. A hundred count box of Sierra bullets costs on average $35... so that's thirty-five cents each. CCI #200 primers also come in sleeves of 100 and cost $5 or less. Powder ranges from $20 to $30 a pound. The reloader's goal is to make it for half the price of factory ammo. These figures are considering $0 for "once fired" empty brass. If one starts with store bought virgin brass, he may not realize any savings.

Let's do a little math. I figure if $25 retail is what you'd pay for a 20 round box of Hornady, Winchester, or Federal and my unit cost is $0.53 instead of $1.25 then I am reaching the elusive "inexpensive ammo" goal. A break-even point is readily passed when reloading pistol rounds such as .45ACP, .44 Magnum, 9mm, .38 Special, and .357 Magnum. The powder these calibers consume is minuscule (5 to 14 grains) and in the case of sub-sonic loads like .45ACP, brass can be reloaded a couple dozen times due to lower chamber pressure & less fatigue. As some old timers say, "reload & shoot it 'til it cracks!" I now have 50 rounds of meticulously crafted .308 ammo and the ability to produce more. Dreams do come true!

CAUTION: THE AUTHOR'S INTENDED AUDIENCE IS COMPETENT, SOBER, SAFETY MINDED ADULTS. READ PUBLISHED DATA/ INSTRUCTIONS FROM REPUTABLE SOURCE BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO RELOAD AMMUNITION. HANDLING GUN POWDER & PRIMERS CAN BE INHERENTLY DANGEROUS. MISUSE MAY RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH. ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES! CLICK IMR OR CCI FOR MORE INFORMATION.

The Farm: Redlands, CA

I had an amazingly delicious supper tonight at Farm Artisan on State Street in Redlands. If you aren't familiar with it, feel free to click over to their website then return to Bama Drifter for my review. OK, so my wife Eliz and I really enjoy good restaurants. We make a point to have a date once a week. And at a fancy place once a month. Without cable TV or car payments, this is our main splurge. Since my mom was in town for my valve procedure, we made sure to take her along with us.

The food is primarily why we go to the Farm, with atmosphere being a close second. Most of the ingredients are locally produced and the menu changes regularly to reflect what is in season. Tonight they had a price fixe option three course dinner for $19. Choice of soup or salad, trout or tofu with vegetables, and strawberries with cream for dessert. Luckily tonight's soup was our favorite: carrot ginger over a bed of buckwheat (other times it is over jasmine rice). Not to forget, you get fresh bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar after placing your order. Similar style but way better quality than Macaroni Grill. The carrot ginger soup isn't overly spiced and has a pleasant hint of coconut. We get it every time that it is available and heartily recommend it. The ladies heirloom tomato salad was pleasant.

For my main course I had the pan seared trout over corn cake with fresh vegetable medley. Accompanying this meal was a glass of Pedroncelli Zinfandel which we'll discuss further later on. The fish was prepared just how I like, lightly pan fried skin on. Fresh carrots, squash, and onions also tasted great. A large medallion sized corn cake made another special touch. A bit more pepper would have been helpful, but overall I would say this was one of my favorite Farm meals yet.

For dessert, we had fresh strawberries with almond cake and cream. The presentation was lovely with a dollop of cream in the center, surrounded by a ring of sliced strawberries and a biscotti-like almond cake cut into three strips. This I washed down with the fabulous 2008 Trentadue Petite Sirah Port. If you've had their exquisite Chocolate Amore, you may find this offering a bit dryer and plummier with a slightly fruiter mouthfeel. The Farm continues to make progress in desserts, but still lacks in the coffee area. We hope they will advance beyond basic coffee soon and offer cappuccino, espresso, or our old standby: the sugar-free hazelnut decaf soy latte.

The award winning wine I enjoyed is worth mentioning again. A bold red, Pedroncelli Zinfandel 2010 from California's Dry Creek Valley scored 88 points in Wine Spectator. Jammy, blackberry, with mild floral notes and hint of pepper. My tasting notes overlap those of the pros. I think I have a decent nose for quality and Zinfandel is probably my favorite grape. Usually I try to stick to the budget wines like Trader Joe's Reserve, Rosenblum, or Bogle so this was a treat. A glass a day keeps the cardiologist away!

In a word this evening was scrumptrulescent.

In-N-Out... of the hospital

So that went well. My cath lab procedure on Tuesday took four hours from beginning to end and then an overnight stay for observation. I had a chest echo done Wednesday morning to observe valve function and flow as well as an x-ray to show proper placement. Dr. Brent Gordon and his team did an excellent job. If you are ever in SoCal and need a heart valve replaced, he's the best. A really interesting part aside from having a pulmonic valve threaded up my femoral artery, was getting to handle a Gore-tex covered platinum stent.

My stent is stainless steel with cow vein sewn into it, but in Europe and other parts of the free world outside of FDA control, doctors have the option of using this fancier stent. I signed a form agreeing to be part of a Johns Hopkins study should my artery tear and the Gore-tex platinum stent become necessary during the procedure. Thankfully the Melody Valve went in smoothly with no drama. Just having the option available to use a more advanced material was exciting. I can't imagine what will be available seven to ten years from now! I'm sure the good folks at Medtronic are staying busy.

Melody Valve Procedure

The aforementioned minor heart problem I have requires an occasional corrective surgery. Three previous surgeries have been of the "open heart" variety. Firstly as an infant, second was a Ross Procedure at age ten, and most recently a Pulmonic Valve replacement in 2006. That seven year old donor valve is starting to wear out according to my cardiologist and he is a very clever man, so I take him at his word. Those earlier procedures were all performed at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, AL. On Tuesday, I'll have a cath-lab Melody Valve installed by the experts at LLU Hospital in Loma Linda.

After doing a small amount of research on it, I'm pretty happy about the deal. I'll be able to work Monday, have the procedure on Tuesday, rest Wednesday, and be back at work on Thursday next Monday. That beats the heck out of being laid up six weeks recuperating from thoracic surgery. Below are some interesting links to those who want to see what my new valve will look like. I appreciate prayers from anyone for success. Happy Everyday!

Melody Valve video on Youtube

P-E article w/ photo of my doctors

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Update Oct. 2014

So it has been fifteen months and all is well. I had a routine cardiology appointment in August that confirmed my valves are all functioning fine, and aside from my required aspirin regimen and 20mg Lisinopril I give it no thought. I stay too busy working and raising a beautiful daughter to worry about leaky heart valves. I am fit, and don't tire easily. I may need another surgery in 7-10 years, more or less... but that is far down the road and hopefully the technology will be even more amazing by then! 

I see that more than 150 people have read my initial post; most likely you found it by Googling "Melody Valve". I pray that wether it be you, a friend or family member facing Heart Surgery that you be of good cheer. I've been on the table four times, the first three involved cutting open my chest. Risks involved with Melody Valve procedures are minimal, healing time quick, and scar is non-existent. Remember that laughter is the best medicine; God Bless. :) Philippians 1:6

Happy Independence Day!

Today I celebrated the great Capitalist tradition of earning "time & a half" plus eight hours of holiday pay that will be on my check: basically meaning I earned "double time" for today's work. I translated for a Chinese customer (permanent resident) who purchased $12K worth of stuff... too bad I don't get a cut of my sales. Anyway, he was a repeat customer back for some .338 Lapua ammo that just arrived and cost $149.99 per 20rd box. Five boxes of ammo, an FN SPR .308 rifle, Swarovski scope and spotting scope all add up. The scope was only $2499 and the rifle $3199 each. The spotting scope was what really amped up his tab. He was very happy to have a worker there who was semi-fluent in Mandarin. I always get a kick out of showing my SoCal colleagues just how clever Alabama boys can be. Hehehe.

After work, I made some calls to family and friends wishing them well, and catching up on details in each others' lives. July Fourth is a fun time. Last night my wife Eliz and I celebrated early by having a Thai food dinner at Papaya Bay in Redlands, then dessert at the trendy ice cream joint: A la Minute. Just now, she insisted we pop some confetti-filled "champagne poppers" in the den. Our cat, Winchester, is not that amused. Tonight for supper before she goes in for her shift we're going to get some samosas at the hospital cafeteria. They're only available twice a month, so it is quite a treat.

I wish all of you readers a Happy Independence Day and Happy Everyday!!!