This blog is dedicated to the man, the myth, the legend Henry J. Heimlich.
Heimlich was born in Wilmington, Delware. As a boy, Heimlich enjoyed a life of Tiddlely Winkles and belly button lint collection. It is said that  his belly button produced so much lint that at the age 11 he created an exact likenness of Big Ben. Though his abilities as a lint sculpture were unmeasureable fate had something even greater in store for Henry J.  He graduated from Cornell College with a B.A. in 1941, and received his M.D. from the Weill Cornell Medical College in 1943. In between keg stands and day long trips on peyote he found time to invent one of world's greatest life saving techinques. Today during lunch I had an oppurtunity to try Henry J.'s famous move. While waiting in the line to for the bowl of clam chowder, I noticed off to my right was a boy around the age of 17. He was gagging and throwing up in the corner. At first I thought he was just hung-over and the smell of Vail's meatloaf surprise  could turn anyone's stomach. But once I saw him motion to his throat I sprang into action. With thoughts of Henry J.'s I reached around his abdomen and gave two strong Heimlichs and ......... he throw-up all over my arms. Chalk that one up to inexperience, next time you perform the Heimlich take a little time to roll up your sleeves. Thank you Henry J. for giving the world the knowledge to save punk ass 17 year olds lifes........

PS Kevin Laven is in Vail, Helllllll Yeah!

First and foremost I hope everyone had a kick ass Thanksgiving and enjoyed the gluttonous holiday as much as I did. For those who are still waiting for last weeks Pizza Throw Down results, I apologize for my tardiness but working with 3-6 olds for six days in a row takes a lot out a of man. So without further or do last weeks big winner (just listing the top 3 because we had 6 competitors) 3. Matt Jowswick 128 (Sweet Thai Chicken Pie) 2. Dave Rack 134.5 (Mediterranean Surprise) 1. Laura Fitch 135 (Blueberry and Strawberry Desert Pizza) The results were under review because of Laura's shady decision to always enter her pizza dead last when the judges are good and liquored up but after we reviewed the laws, by-laws, and even the in-laws she was within rules set by the Great Pizza Council. It hurts my pride a little that an outsider has won both throw downs but Congrats Miss Laura Fitch your time at the top is limited!!! On to more recent events and meals.... Dave, Matt, Nick, and I decided a while ago to give thanks to some of our friends and invite them over for a fine home-made meal. I would like to THANK everyone who came over and especially those who helped! (Chris, Corrine, Shelby, Katie, Emily, Sherri, Brad, Gav, Beck, The Mad Belgian Bob, Tom) For those of you who know Chris and Corrine they are the best house-guests ever!!! First Cocktails: PBRS, Coors O, Tommyknocker Amber on Tap, Brandy Old-fashions (thanks Dad for mad skills), Rum and Cokes, Rum and Pepsi (for BOB), White Russians, Red Red Wine. Second Course: Appetizers of a fine cheese plate, cured meats, and delicious marinated ripe olives provided by Sherri. The Main Course: Nick and Dave on the 14lb turkey prepared in the Elton Brown fashion turned out great, Matt was in charge of the sweet potatoes (they kicked ass) and the green bean casserole, Dave whipped up the gravy and cranberry dishes, I took the stuffing and butternut squash in sights and knocked them dead!!! I made a savory mushroom stuffing with apple sage sausage and grilled the butternut with butter, brown sugar, and molasses! They turned out great. The night was great we ate and drank ourselves silly and finished with kick-ass game of catch-phrase and numerous desserts. (Pecan Pie, Cracker Pie, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, and others I am forgetting) Well this is getting longwinded and I am off to hit the mountain! Enjoy the left overs!!!!

Scotch - Because one doesn't solve the world's problems over white wine.

Pull up a chair, grab some napkins, and pour yourself a large glass of ice cold milk because we are talking about Pizza today my friends. As we all know Pizza is a baked pie of Italian origin consisting of a shallow bread-like crust traditionally covered with seasoned tomato sauce, cheese, and often topped with any number of toppings. The word pizza is believed to be from an Old Italian word meaning "a point," which in turn became the Italian word "pizzicare," which means "to pinch" or "pluck." Yesterday my roomies and I invited a few friends over for the first of many "Sunday Night Pizza and Poker Throw Down" or SNPPTD. It is similar to the fine program on Food Network known as Iron Chef. Three challengers compete against each other for the honor and distinction of being known as Iron Pizza Chef for one whole week. The pizzas are judged by a panel of three judges who evaluate the pizzas on four basic attributes. Texture, Flavor, Presentation, and Overall. Last night it was Nick "Italian Stallion" Steingart vs. Laura "Full Flavor" Fitch vs. Eduardo " Dough Wrangler" Strege. The Pizza throw down was incredibly close and trust me when I say we don't want to see another piece of pizza for a very long time. My pie was a basic BBQ chicken 'za that kicked up a notch. First I fired up the grill and grilled my chicken and roast my red onion. Then I rolled out my dough creating a thin crust that I thought was going to be perfectly crispy. I marinated the chicken in a Southwest mesquite with a dash of lime juice. My sauce was sweet baby Rays with a dash of honey, Cheese- mozzarella combined with sharp wisconsin cheddar, topped with my grilled chicken, fired grilled red onions, garlic and red peppers. It turned out very well except for two things; my crust was not as crispy as I would have liked and the sauce was tad bit sweet. Now the moment you all have been waiting for..... ( drummmmm Rollllllllllllllll) Nick....80--- Eduardo.... 89--- Laura....90!!! Laura's pizza was simple but tasty hand-tossed tomato and avocado pie. Congrats Laura that was great za'. Well fellow pizza lovers this will be happening every Sunday all winter so start practicing now because before you know it you may find yourself in the competition of your life.

Eduardo "hmmmm" Strege

Hello All!!!!
It has been quite sometime since I last posted a blog and honestly feel a bit rusty. My purpose is to catch you up on what is happening in the life and times of Edward A. Strege. Let me continue where I last left you which was with the noises below the stairs at my apartment in Sister Bay. The Noise turned out to be Roy, my hip older downstairs neighbor. Roy is a serious gardener, wine maker, rare mask collector, and meditating wiseman. We got along just fine. One of our strange encounters occured around six in the morning and could you imagine I was three sheets to the wind and playing with Curtis (98lb black lab I lived with all summer) in only my underwear. Roy was kind enough to stop his morning meditation and chat with me. He seemed fine with my odd choice of attire so we chatted it up and laughed about the strange circumstances of morning routines. Summer in Door County was summer in Door County. Lots of work, lots of play, and lots of play. I would like to thank everyone who took time out of their busy summer schedule to come and visit. But alas the good times have to come to an end. As fall began to set in and leaves seemed to catch fire my friend Nick Stiengart and Matt Jowswick talked me into moving westard to Vail, CO. That is my current location and I love it. My roommates (Dave "Chainsaw" Rack, Nick "sawtooth" Steingart, Matt "Timber" Jowswick) and I (Ed " Splitting Mull" Strege) just finished harvesting firewood from National Forest Land. We hike in with a with a chainsaw, rope, and splitting mull and choose the dead trees we want to fall and get the job done. I couldn't be happer with our place. It is in the Vail Raquet Club and we get some sweet perks. Free yoga, lap pool, 2 hot tubs, workout room, and killer views. As far as work goes I will be teaching 3-6 olds how to ski at Lionshead children ski school. Seems like a interesting gig. My future plans are to go on a walk about in the fine countries of Australia and New Zealand in April and May. My younger sister, Mettie, will be there studying so that is all the invitation I need to come and distract her from her studies. Well I am off to soak in the hot tub so peace and love to all and hopefully I will keep on posting this winter.

Splitting Mull Strege

I am intrigued. My ears are perked and my eyes are peeled. Who is this allusive man that lives in the downstairs apartment of renovated barn we share. I have yet to see him but I have heard him and know his name. They call him Roy. He drives a late 1950's white station wagon. It reminds me of the ghostbuster's shagging wagon. Could he be one of the original Ghostbusters. If my memory serves me one of them was named ROY! I definitely know he has a hearing problem because everyday I am treated to an extra loud presentation of Nationoal Public Radio. Now I love NPR. I listen to it all the time but Roy takes it to a whole new level. He thinks he is part of the programming. Last night I never heard a man interact with a radio program with such passion. It was a old time radio show called Mr. X. One of those dramatic mysteries where the masked man saves some helpless woman from his cruel foe in the nick of time. It was hard for me to follow the plot in between Roy's fits of laughter and sudden erruptions of dialogue with the radio characters. Perhaps he is an old time radio personality reliving his glory days. The last thing I heard of the enigma which is Roy happened last night around 4 am and is definitely the oddest. After I closed the bar last night and returned home I decided to have a bowl of cereal before I hit the hay. Just as I was pouring the milk I could have sworn I heard a rooster crow. Cock a doodle DO!!!! Not from outside but from directly below my feet!!! It scared the living crap out of me. Needless to say I can't wait until my next encounter with the ghosterbustering, chicken farming, radio persona known simply as Roy.

It is a new beginning for Edwaurdo Stregenano.... Started moving into my new apartment today ( I will spare you the bitching. I think we all know how great moving is. *cough cough8) and things are looking up. Brew crew is kicking ass again and the trees are beginning to bud. I am truly sorry for neglecting my blog for so long but didn't really want to drag my ass 25 minutes to a cafe with wireless but now hahaha I have free wireless. There is a catch, always a catch, you have to be in the bathroom for it to work. Right this moment I'm sitted on the throne of my new castle typing to you. Now it's up to your creative imaginations to decide if I am relieving myself or not. It is time for me to head to work and intoxicate the lovely patrons of Husby's Food and Spirits. Happy Earth day to all.

What do you call the opposite of a pet peeve? I am not exactly sure but if you know please let me know. I have been thinking about my pet peeves lately because my friend Bob has recently posted a blog regarding his own peeves and it got me thinking of the little things people do that I enjoy. Here is a list of my Pet Oppeeves:

1) When a waitress calles me hun (. " What can I get cha, Hun?" Damn I love that.
2) When someone lets you sneak into a backed up line of cars... That generous person makes my day everytime.
3) When some mysterious lady sends a drink or a shot (even better) my way... this rarely happens but when it does let me tell you I am all smiles.

If you have any Pet oppeeves you would like to share I would love to hear them. I am currently in route back to Wisconsin. I am hauling ass I drove through 4 states today! I am currently in Edwardsville, IL. Ohh I just thought of another Pet Oppeeve of mine... Being in a town named after me... Edwardsville, Il and Eddyville, Or are the two I have been in and they both rule!!

Ed "Call me Hun" Strege

Yes, I know I have neglected my blog for what seems to be forever to my loyal fans (Marky Mark Hemauer). But in my defense, oh never mind I don't have a defense. I guess I was bitten by that Southern California bug.. I would rather go crash on the beach, fish off the pier, chat it up at the local cafe, or even re-paint the bathroom then post a blog. I will be the first to admit that I have kept reading justjackalacking, surfcitymeetswb, and bobby D's blog and enjoyed cynical, satircal, and witty comments on life but I haven't contributed anything myself which kind of makes me a leech to the blogging community. Well hopeful this posting will appease the Blog Gods and return balance to the world of nerds, geeks, and tweebs.
I am sure you have been wondering what I have been up to as of late. I have been making a real effort to experience the San Diego area because I am heading back to the midwest in the near future. So some of my recent adventures include: Driving about 3 hours east of San Diego to the Yuha desert and working with a SCA restoration crew repairing and restore desert habitat destroyed by dune buggies and such. Spending a couple days with the crew and seeing what a large project they have undertaken was truly humbling. They camp and work in the desert for 9 days at a time basically raking stones, decompacting roads, moving rocks, and planting dead plants to restore an environment that only a handful of people will ever see. I felt as if I was working in a gigantic Zen rock garden. The experience allowed me to truly see the peace and beauty of the desert.
After a few days of tranquil moments and deep insights what I really needed was a shot of tequila! There was only one place to go Tia Juana! Megan, Laura (my roomies), Cody, and Cody's girlfriend (I can't remember her name right now) decided while drinking beers in on the beach watching the sun go down that we should go down, to TJ. We proceeded to stow away some beers and hop on the train that takes you right to TJ. We walked from the train station cruised the strip and found a club that was playing Mexican country/polka tunes. My dancing shoes were on and I was ready to shred some Mexican rugs. The ladies were slow at first to tap their toes but 8 ice cold beers in bucket for 6$ and $2 casadores tequila shots truly works wonders. Needless to say the large amounts of dancing, buckets o'beer, shots of tequila combined with good friends was an amazing time. Of course the train ride home late night is always interesting when the train is coming back from TJ at 2 in the morning.
Vistors, vistors, and more vistors! Laura and Megan being the popular women that they are have countless friends come to visit. I feel like I am staying with one of the most popular toursit attractions in San Diego right behind the Zoo, Sea World, and Balboa park is apartment on Saratoga ave in OB. Living at such a happening hub allows me numerous oppurtunities to explore San Diego with those who want to suck the marrow from the bone of the city before they leave. Two of my favorite fellow travelers were Jessica Horn (j-Ho) and Kelly Erickson. J-Ho and I took a whole day to venture up to Torrey Pines and hike all the trails availble at the small but beautiful state park. Jessica who is no stranger to So Cal took me to some very cool spots. Lou's Records in Encinitas, Cali where we searched through countless old records for a couple hours enjoying the chill atomosphere created by Lou's good taste in tunes. Jessica also discovered a kick ass breakfast spot in Mission Beach called the Mission. The best Pancakes I have ever tasted in my whole life.
Kelly and I hit up the Zoo and Balboa park when she was in town. The highlight of the Zoo was the rare sighting of two Galapagos Tortioses getting their freak on. Needless to say they took their time but what was really amazing was the number of people attracted by tortiose's fornication. It was like a feeding frenzy, people taking dozens of pictures, clapping and cheering, and even a few people actings out the scene. Who should really be kept in the zoo? After viewing animals for hours and hours we hit up the photo museum in Balboa. We saw the Gram Nash exhibit "Eye to Eye" is was quiet interesting. His ability to capture people in calm everday activities truly was depicted by his work. I am getting a little tired and the beach is calling my name so I will end this posting with a couple shout outs...
To: John "Big Load" sorry I didn't call you when you were in San Diego but was gone til Saturday afternoon and when I got back some uncontrollable circumstances arose... needless to say I feel like a dick. Sorry.
To: Bruder... Congrats on Freedom Castle. For those of you who don't know Jeremy Bruder aka Brudertron has moved into his own party palace in the Twin Cities! Freedom Castle will be a place where people's wildest dreams are born and forgotten in the same night due to the large amounts of whiskey consumed.
To: Marci, thanks for keeping my coffee cup full and a smile on my face when I am kicking it at the NB Cafe.

Ed

On this "Walk-about" I have undertaken I have met a number of interesting characters; Roger "The old man of the Sea", who worked on fishing boats his whole life in Newport Oregon, Lillian the Exotic Puerta Rican Jewish Stripper who has an obession with the desert, and Raul the mighty mechanic of Imperial Beach but the man I met last night takes the cake. At a cozy little wine bar tucked away in the winding streets of Ocean Beach I encountered a man by the name of Birdie Carter. A Willie Nelson looking gentleman with long white hair down to the center of his back and well kept white beard framing his 70 year old face. He sat at the end of bar swirling his glass of Pinot Noir with deep concentration. I sat to his right and began studying the wine list. I ordered a Cab Franc and was pleasantly surprised with the subtle peppery flavor. Birdie was chatting it up with the barkeep about the current World Baseball Classic. I jumped into the conversation having watched a couple of games and we both agreed that the WBC is great for the game of baseball. Birdie explained his deep love for the game started at a young age when his father coached him from little league through highschool. He was a wiry centerfielder with good speed and uncanny ability for base hits. He played college ball at Texas which at that time was in a dry county. With a sparkle in his pale blue eyes he told me tales of how he bootlegged beer and whiskey from surrounding counties to supply his thirsty friends. Besides bootlegging and baseball Birdie developed deep passion for jazz. He played in an all black band which wasn't exactly par for the course in Texas during the 1950's. He once returned to his parents home to find a cross burned in their front lawn. We went on to discuss his current profression of food photography. What an amazing job, capturing the beauty and essence of food. Needless to say I was blown away by this wiry old man tales and openness. Speaking with Birdie is one of those moments that help bring my own life into the focus. For that I thank you Birdie Carter.