You are in "".

Check out the newest House of Rock video out on Vimeo by clicking on the video below. I decided to use Vimeo instead of YouTube… because YouTube can’t freakin’ get the sound synced.

Produce Production on Vimeo

if the video isn’t working for you, try clicking this.

If you have windows media player and Vimeo isn’t working for you, I highly recommend you download the original and watch it. It’s really important that the sound and the video be synced for the full effect. In addition to downloading it to your local computer, I would recommend watching it as a relatively small video instead of full screen so that your computer can handle the seriousness of the rock.

Check out the real deal, here.

The House of Rock now has new windows.

My office cubical is colder then the House of Rock

This week while I was in Texas, Jesse decided to make some dinner.

The plan was for a sausage and pasta medly. He threw some water on the oven, defrosted some sausage, and started cutting up some peppers and onions to put into the mix.

He grabbed a yellow and red pepper, as well as some home grown peppers that Thomas had brought from his folk’s place. In retrospect, we realize that one of these may have been the infamous habanero pepper. The habanero is known for its ability to kill or knock out anyone under 9 years of age who lives north of the Mason Dixon line.

Jesse cut those peppers and added them to the sauce and sausage that was now simmering on the range. It wasn’t long before the scent of fire touched his unexpecting face. He didn’t describe it as being overly noxious, but he recognized the burn and knew to dilute his dinner with additional sauce.

The dinner was cooked, and the dinner was ate, and the dinner was delicious.

After dinner, Jesse washed his hands. But it wasn’t long before a rogue finger found its way to Jesse’s face. He rubbed his eye. And Pain exploded.

Think Hindenburg, except instead of a zepplin, Jesse’s face.

First his face turned red. Then it started to swell. He ran to the bathroom and soaked his face in water… to no avail. He had to wait it out.

and wait he did. Finally around 11:00pm, his face had calmed down to comfortable levels and he was ready for bed. But before bed, he had to use the bathroom.

One would think that after washing his hands so many times his hands would be free from the hot pepper’s oils of pain. One would think that after so many hours surely the burning agent would be gone.

Sadly no. After using the bathroom, Jesse experienced 3 or so more hours of very personal pain.

I have a bit of writers block this week. So instead of a long drawn out post about nothing, here’s a video of me failing with Jesse’s HEELIES (sneakers with wheels in the heels)

also, go to Jon Abad’s page and check out this video.

First there was the mouse that mike d. caught
the first from our rodent zoo
When we opened the trap to let him free
he jumped away like a kangaroo

Then there was the mouse that Thomas caught
he had tempted it with cake
we drove a few miles to let him free
just south of Mirror Lake

Mouse #3 was caught in the morning
so we put him in a large blue bin
there were two when we came back later that night
#4 must have fallen in

Mouse #5 was caught by hand
while Thomas was on patrol
He was a baby mouse and was having trouble
jumping back into the mouse hole

Mouse #6 was caught the next day
and I think we can all agree
no one expected until the release
#6 knew how to climb trees

And now that Mouse #7 was caught
in our haveahart trapping device
The House of Rock is hopeful
that we are now free of mice.

Jesse, Irene, and I hit up a Hibachi grill last night.

Those chefs can perform! I’ve only been to a Japanese Hibatchi place twice. The last time was at Tree’s birthday party last year where I was witness to some amazing feats of dexterity:

The egg toss on the spatula
The trash throw into the pocket (or hat)
Clever knife and fork spinning tricks
Xtreme cutting

It was all very entertaining. But this time I witnessed something totally new to me: The Onion Volcano.

If you’re not keen on what I’m referring to, get yourself to a Habatchi fast! By carefully stacking the layers of an onion and filling it with oil, you can turn any ordinary yellow onion into a flaming prehistoric volcano of fire.

The House of Rock needs to get a Hibachi grill.

Two baby mice, captured and tired, but probably not minding too much to be surrounded by bits of chocolate peanut butter cake.

Interesting fact: Mice can’t resist Chocolate peanut butter cake.

Mice: 0
House of Rock: 2

Mice: 0
House of Rock: 1

The other day our roommate Liz asked Jesse and I to remind her to call her dad on Friday (today) for his birthday.

We remembered to remind her.

This weekend there’s a pretty good chance that I will be taking paintbrush in hand and painting my bedroom. I am vacillating between two color combos that Abby and Lori suggested during their visit last weekend. One idea was a light green color with ‘porcelain’ for the trim and ‘belvedere cream’ for accents (yellowish). The other idea was a silver gray with ‘classic light buff’ (white) as the trim and ‘Chinese red’ as the accent.

To be honest, I didn’t notice the name of the colors until now. Chinese red? Awesome! I guess that settles it. I’ll go with that combo. Walls silver gray, whitish trim, and red accents. Nice.

I’ll post a picture upon its completion.

We broke our lawnmower last weekend. Things were looking grim as the grass slowly started taking over. We knew how it would proceed: first the grass would overpower the garden, then the driveway, and soon, the grass would surely have overtaken the house.

But today, Jesse snagged us a free lawnmower from a co-worker who was moving to Texas.

It’s moments like these, when things just seem to fall perfectly into place, that I feel most blessed.

This week I decided to take spatula in hand and play chef mike d at the House of Rock. There were a couple reasons for this. One, I got a handful of new recipes and have been wanting to try them out. And two, our weekly menus had been downgraded from Thrilling to Dull. In fact, last work week we had some sort of pasta related dish every single night.

I am ashamed.

So here’s a sampling of this week’s menu. Sunday night I made stuffed red bell peppers. They came out pretty well. The tomato and beef based stuffing was flavored with cumin, pepper flakes, onion, garlic, and thyme. And the red peppers softened up very nicely in the oven. Overall it was, a simple, quick, and delicious dish.

Last night was Chicken Paella. I got this recipe from a co-worker and it came out very nice. The chicken dish had fun flavorings of sausage, parsley, paprika, lemon juice, tomatoes, peppers, onion, s&p, and oregano. It also called for Orzo instead of rice. It was enjoyable.

Tonight we’ll be having lemon Asian chicken. Tomorrow pulled slow-cooked chicken. And Thursday something less exciting because I don’t think I’ll be around to cook.

I’m especially eager for Wednesday’s crock pot meal because I will be trying out liquid smoke for the first time.

Ahh foodery. How I love thee.

What can’t mike d lift?

This
This
This
and This.

They are big, and may take a few moments to load.

Yesterday I had a great chat with the head of finance at my workplace. We talked a lot about house renovations and it got me geared up for this summer at the House of Rock.

There are so many things I’d like to do!

Some of the jobs are standard house improvement jobs:
Kitchen cabinets
New windows
Painting

Some of the jobs are tough, but do-able:
put a hard floor into the garage
replace a plaster ceiling
make the basement functional
renovate the garage

Some of them would be useless but extremely fun:
Creating a monitoring control room complete with an excessive amount of monitors and LEDs
Building secret passageways between rooms
An armoire that transforms into a weapons cache
Busting a hole in the roof for an observatory

Perhaps this weekend we will start planning. Adventure is in order.

Roommates Mark and Liz are planning a party of sorts for this Saturday night at the House of Rock. For those that don’t know me, i’m not a huge partier. Being a member of the non-drinking social club, I don’t find the same enjoyment as others in events planned around alcohol consumption. My scene is much more the double dutch, making dinner, rock climbing sort of scene. Furthermore, I think I’m much more of a ’small group’ person than a ‘big group’ person. I’d rather share some quality chat time with one or two persons than mix and mingle mini-conversations with lots of people.

And while I’d hate to be seen as a downer for skipping out on a social gathering, I’ve been considering planning an escape. A sabbatical from the hustle and bustle of the House of Rock to somewhere serene where rock doesn’t need amplification. I like the sound of that. A place where rock doesn’t need amplification.

It’s more likely however, that I’ll be at the party. Maybe playing DDR and drinking Orange Juice spiked with Pineapple or Cranberry. I suppose I could always retreat to my room with an acoustic and some Journey if a sensory overload is immanent.

Last night Jesse and Jon surprised me with some really impressive Visual Wonderment.

Perhaps many of you remember this House of Rock video that went up a few weeks back:

Perfect Balance.

Well, Jesse and Jon made a follow up. It’s called Perfect, and you can enjoy it here:

Perfect.

Depending on motivation and time constraints, there may be many more animations like these to come. The House of Rock is kind of like a wonderland of entertainment. If you haven’t experienced it yet, you’re missing out.

Jump Training.

Getting ready for the next Double Dutch 2006 event. My goal was to hit 20 in 30 seconds. I wasn’t quite there. Next time perhaps.

Last year it was a Dyson. This year, it’s a KITCHEN AID.

That’s right folks, I have started a tradition of bringing in the new year with a beautiful new appliance. I’m excited for Baking in 2006. Yes, food handling will reach new levels of convenience with this 325 watt beast of a mixer.

Multiple Speeds!
Unique Mixing Action!

The House of Rock just got a little more awesome.
—————————————————————–
And don’t worry, this won’t antiquate our other mixer.

JonAbad purchased HouseOfRock.org

This weeks House of Rock video really encaptures the emotions of success and defeat. It’s easily as gripping and as tragic as the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, except instead of a boat it’s a balance board and instead of an iceberg it’s the floor. Otherwise, it’s basically the same.

Enjoy it here.

JonAbad a.k.a ‘The Internet’ has left the House of Rock. While he plans on returning on December 30th, it’s sad to see him go. Please go here to remember his majesty.

This is me making a little hand puppet pretend that he’s a banana.

Please enjoy the spiceworld poster in the back.

VIDEO!