CATS COULD BE SO LUCKY!

Our favorite restaurant Ha Long Bay Vietnamese Kitchen in Columbus, Ohio was once again recognized by the Columbus Dispatch for its great food! So in celebration Keely and I went to dinner Saturday night. I tried a great new mango drink. It had fresh mango, and fresh oranges. I must admit that after two, I really didn't give a damn whether the booze was raw or not. Boy can that man make a mean martini!

My meal wasn't raw. I could have had a salad, but this is my "any chance I can get to feel as if I was in Viet Nam" treat. I can relax, enjoy my friends, and my wife. Don't ask me what I ate. I don't really order anything anymore. I let the owner fix me whatever he'd like me to try. He knows that little creatures are off limits. I've never been disappointed yet. P.A. is a true Chef!

Tonight's meal was centered around Tofu. Oh, and then there's the "fungi". His mushrooms are really unbelievable! The mushrooms are full of flavor, and juicy! I haven't found a raw recipe that matches the texture and flavor! When P.A. fixes a meal you can taste the ingredients. You don't get something that tastes like it is fresh out of the can when you eat at Ha Long Bay.


If you would like to see pictures of Keely's meal and the appetizers, go to her post on Raw Diva Keely.

Every chance I get I like to give Ha Long Bay a thumbs up to anyone who might be in the Polaris area of Columbus, Ohio. Outside of SaiGon you won't find better Vietnamese food around.

OK, so on to the recipe of the week. Nope, I'm taking a week off. My brain is fried. The work load is really crazy, and I'm zoning out on mundane things like plain old fantasy novels this weekend. I'm reading a great series with a woman as the "kick ass protagonist" who wound up with Joan of Arc's sword. Its called "Rogue Angel" by Alex Archer. There's ten books in the series. Yeah, its published by the same people who bring you "Harlequin" novels, but these are a great read. (No, you won't get me to admit to reading a Harlequin novel or two!)

So my recipe to share is one I picked up off of the "Raw Freedom Community" forum. You can link there from the Sunny Raw Kitchen. "Snowdrop" posted this charmer.

Do you miss that "hot dog" on a Saturday afternoon? Wish you could watch people dress in tight clothes and try to beat the crap out of each other while running down fields, skating on ice, or just pummeling each other? I'm pleased to share with you:

Snowdrop's Raw Whole Food Hot Dogs!

Makes 6 servings

1 1/2 cups walnuts, soaked
1/4 onion
1/4 beet
1/2 carrot
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons agave syrup
2 tablespoons nama shoyu
2 teaspoons hickory smoke flavor liquid
1 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Sprinkle cayenne pepper

Blend till smooth in food processor. (Note: Where the recipe calls for 1/4 onion or beet, I used somewhere between 1/4-1/3 cup of each. It really depends upon your taste.-Bob)

Form dough into hot dog shapes on teflex sheet (6-8).

Dehydrate 105 about 4 hrs.

Flip onto grid dehydrate to the texture you like. (Another hour or so.) Roll lightly into shape.
Serve warm.

Until next week, just try living without thinking, it might be more fun than you realize, and just might surprise you too! (Yeah, I got to throw a little philosophy in at the end, or it just wouldn't' be me!)

(PS - I made Bob use Romain leaves as a bun for the Hot Dogs. Add some Bubbies sauerkraut, mustard and ketchup, and you've got a raw dog that any little rodent in your house will love! Hmm, can I get his Highness to try making "Raw Pigs in a Blanket"? What's this crap about cats in the title anyway? Probably his poor spelling at work once again. Who knows what he's up to now! That boy needs a real vacation, and an office to work in, instead of a cubicle on a recycled factory floor. - Thomas)

The Inspirational Blogs In My Life!

First a little history... This award (and three others) is the brainchild of Christy Z of Writer's Review. You can read the full rules, the meaning of the award and get your award badge at her post HERE. Basically, if you are tagged for the award, you go her site, get the badge for your site, then tag 5 others.

SAY WHAT?

OK, I'm fried. Its been a really weird week. Tuesday night was a one hour night, and I'm stressing out. But I wanted to tag these people with the INSPIRATIONAL BLOGGER AWARD! TeriLynn of The Daily Raw tagged me. I wish I could have tagged this wonderful person, but someone already got her! She got my wife too. I should have been able to tag Keely, but I guessed I tagged her 25 years ago, so I won't get too upset.


So, my five Inspirational Blog Award list begins with "Freshtopia"! Who? If you haven't been to Freshtopia.net, you're really loosing out. Tanja Andrews is not just a beautiful person physically, but you can tell that she has a wonderful heart, and is really excited about everything she does. She and Oscar Grimm have developed one hell of a site and some fantastic raw videos. I'd pay to see her work! Man, what she can do with a Vita-mix and Godzilla! Tanja and Oscar are two great people! Tanja deserves being one of the 10 Sexiest Geeks!

I've got to tap both Tera Warner and Amy DeWolfe. We've talked about their Raw Diva Blog (and Keely already tapped them), but they both have their private blogs where they share their private thoughts and their lives. These two ladies have helped us address the real issues in our lives.

The Sunny Raw Kitchen has to be on the list. This is a fantastic site for wonderful raw recipes. Don't limit yourself to just the blog. They've also got a forum where you can find great things like the "Hot Dog" recipe you'll see in the next few days!

I've got to tag one other person with an "Inspirational Blog Award". She's a red head who dreams of New York, but is surrounded by, well, not a whole lot of anything. If you've traveled through Oklahoma you'll understand. There's plains, and there's wind, and there's Tulsa. If you haven't been to Real Food in Tulsa, you're missing a treat! It takes a strong person like Penni Shelton to bring raw foods to Oklahoma! I must admit that I hope she never makes it to NYC. I'm more likely to be in Tulsa than I am NYC. I'll take the plains over the concrete jungle any day of the week! Anyone who can come up with a Raw Mojito is a genius! I'd just like to know where's the weight hiding she's worried about! Those pictures can't have be retouched!

I'd love to give this award to everyone who takes the time to do a blog in order to give their readers a chance to laugh, cry, escape, or better themselves. There's so many I've missed, but pass on the kudos. I'm sure that someone will tap you too!

The Way We Were.....?

I got lucky growing up. I could have been born into a rather mundane family, but decided to live a little on the edge.

My grandfather was an adventurer. He loved life and those around him. He could be rather territorial at times, but figured the best way to treat people was to be nice to them, no matter how they felt about you.

He was born on a small 110 acre farm in just north of a small town called Denmark, Ohio. The farm remained in the family until just a few years ago when we decided as a family unit to sell it. The farm was my grandfather. It was never the same after he passed over in the early 1970's.

I remember my great grandmother raising baby chickens in the one bathroom. The smell of the food on a Sunday afternoon. I remember my great grandfather with his gray stubble on his face. A kindly, but quiet man.

In the early 1960's my grandfather became the Mayor of Mansfield, Ohio. During those years I traveled with him, and my grandmother to conventions in Washington, D.C., Boston, and Dallas. My most embarresing memory was when my grandmother asked Ted Kennedy to watch me so she could hit the bar. My grandfather didn't drink, but didn't stop my grandmother from enjoying a Perfect Manhatten.

I remember how the second year I met him, Hubert Humphrey remembered me, and called me by my first name. Whether someone reminded him, doesn't matter, because in that moment I was number one. For someone who was only maybe nine years old, that was a moment to remember.

Then there was the Sunday I went to church with my Grandparents. It wasn't our regular service. We were attending a special service at a local church. The minister's nephew was preaching that day. The local minister's name was The Reverend Joel King, and his nephew was The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Like I said, I got lucky growing up.

At times I think that I've done it all. But then I look at those around me and realize that I've just started my life. I'll be 52 this year. What is that really but a number?

There is a song from the 1970 called "Signs". It was done by the Five Man Electrical Band. You might not remember it:

And the sign said long haired freaky people need not apply
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said you look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do
So I took off my hat I said imagine that, huh, me working for you

woah!

Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign

And the sign said anybody caught trespassing would be shot on sight
So I jumped on the fence and yelled at the house, Hey! what gives you the right
To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in
If God was here, he'd tell you to your face, man you're some kinda sinner

Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign

Now, hey you Mister! can't you read, you got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat
You can't even watch, no you can't eat, you ain't suppose to be here
Sign said you got to have a membership card to get inside Uh!

And the sign said everybody welcome, come in, kneel down and pray
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all,
I didn't have a penny to pay, so I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign
I said thank you Lord for thinking about me, I'm alive and doing fine

Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign

We have our own little signs today. Our lives are built around such like our credit rating, the number of hours we work, the number of activities our children are in. We run ourselves ragged to prove to others we are successful. We are killing ourselves over our own signs.

Well tell you what Mr. Banker, you can take your credit rating and shove it where the sun don't shine!

Mr. Principle our children don't need multi million dollar schools with 50 different activities!

And to the Hollywood writer, I don't need your sorry ass "reality shows", and your poor reporting, and poor actors with their lives so screwed up that they take on a life of their own and have become more important than the child in Darfur. Dr. Phil can go back to his hole in Texas as far as I'm concerned.

Why? Because I've got life, and I'm going to live it.

Each morning I'm going to take responsibilty for every piece of food that I put in my mouth. I'm going to take responsibility for every word I use, thought I think, smile I fail to share.

For what ever you might think, the world does revolve around each and every one of us. Our choices shape our world.

The memories of the past, are as much alive as the momories of the moment, and the dreams yet to come.

Make your choice today and make it stick. Try starting with what goes in and out of your mouth.

What's a BOINC?

For those of you who remember the television show "Moonlighting" you might think that "BOINC" is something that Bruce Willis didn't get to do on "Moonlighting" but actually got to do with Demi Moore. Sorry Bucko! It happens to mean a lot more than rutting in the halls.

BOINC is a small program that you can download that runs on your computer in the background while you're placing orders on line, blogging, twittering, e-mailing, watching movies, downloading movies, or any other meaningless activity that you engage in during the screen writer's strike (I'm sure that we could get into a long drawn out discussion as to whether we're really at a loss given the vast wasteland of the "Boob Tube" these days. Read a book, and exercise your imagination, instead of being spoon fed.).

BOINC is not a virus. Both Keely and I have BOINC running on our computers.

BOINC is a program manager which allows people from around the planet to come together and donated computer space to assist scientists who are trying to discover treatments to various diseases that take the lives of people every moment.

Right now we are assisting in the search for the treatment of cancer, Dengue Fever, AIDS, in addition to helping others study African climate changes, and in a Human Proteome Folding Study. (Yeah, I know. What's a Human Proteome Folding Study. Its all discussed on the web site!)

You'll find a link on the right side of this page which shows the number of points Keely and I have earned since we joined the community on October 21, 2006. Whenever our computers are turned on, we are helping others in studies that we hope are making are planet a little better for all.

Please take the time to download BOINC and to help others too.

It doesn't cost you a thing, and might actually do some good.

I can promise you that it feels good to know that you're actually making a difference.

Remember that while the pebble is small, it still creates a ripple that when dropped in the ocean touches every shore in the world. We might not feel it, but that doesn't mean we don't make a ripple, and with enough ripples, we create a wave.

Where Am I?

Its been a weird week. It seems as if the world around me has really been crazy. Work has been totally out of control since the beginning of the year. It seems as if people have really been doing stupid things.

On the world front, fathers have been tossing children off of bridges to kill them, people have been flying from one State to the next trying to convince voters that they will be the "change President" if elected (while saying the same things as everyone else running for office), and the President we've got is trying to convince everyone that he isn't the Scarecrow from the "Wizard of Oz" reborn.

Is it the world, or is it the way I'm reacting to the world that's causing my problems?

Its me.

I hear you screaming that I can't take responsibility for the people around me. You're right. I can't. But I can take responsibility for how I react to the rest of the world.

I could ask my Doctor for a drug to help me deal with my problems. I could give control of my life to someone else. Or I can take a step back, and reassess where I am in life.

As member of the Raw Divas, I get to participate in a teleseminar every Saturday night, while on the Body Enlightenment System. Rosetta brought up how our body changes every 7-10 years. Because our body changes we should be reassessing our choices.

Rosetta is right on point. However, I feel that we should be in constant contact with our bodies. That shell you inhabit is yours for only a very short period of time. It is a vehicle for you to experience a world full of boundless energy and choices. At times, this world can put you on sensory overload if you don't stop to see where you are, and how you got there.

Right now, Keely and I are eating mono meals. By eating only one fruit or vegetable at a time, the body is given the opportunity to fully digest the food in front of it. So we haven't been perfect. We had Vietnamese last night for dinner and for lunch today I made some raw coleslaw. For the most part its been smoothies for breakfast and single fruits or vegetables for lunch and dinner.

What has happened this past week? Katie told me that my skin looked great. I'm feeling more relaxed with life (although it might not have manifested to those around me, yet), and I'm less likely to accept those actions of others that might challenge my world.

In other words...I'm taking control of life. For the first time in months I did a short walking meditation at the park.

No matter what is happening in the rest of the world, we need to deal with our world first. Until we have our own house in order, we can't help those around us.

If you think that the fuel you place in your body isn't the most important thing in your life, take another step back. You really need to look at the whole picture.

I Have a Secret....

I've got a secret to share with you. No, it is nothing as spicy as a Britney Spears fixation (which is more like watching a train wreck in progress), nor do I spend my nights dressed up in wool.

I build models. I build little plastic representations of weapons of mass destruction. These are 1/35th, 1/48th, and as large as 1/6th scale metal and plastic representations of mostly World War II tanks, planes, and trains. Every now and then I'll drop enough to buy groceries for a week on something more modern.

Why is there this fascination? Like a lot of people, I grew up trying to keep from getting too high on plastic cement while putting together these little models of "Robby the Robot", the Munster's "Munster Mobile" and other bits of memorabilia. I like sitting around and trying to make little pieces of plastic and metal into bigger pieces of plastic and metal that look like something out of history. I'm not building real weapons of mass destruction, nor do I feel like I'm promoting the practice of war. Its a hobby I enjoy.

I also subscribe to a Blog done by Dave Klaus. Dave owns a company that (thankfully) provides all sorts of after market parts, and wonderful fun things to those of us who hide behind closet doors building our models. The name of the company is Meteor Productions, Inc.

I've re-posted his blog (with his kind permission I might add) because of its importance to everything we do. I hope you'll take a few minutes to read it. Don't just think of your spouse or children putting together a model plane, or tank. Sit back and think of how you approach things in your life. Do you look upon the things before you as a child might? Do you look at things with excitement at what you might just learn from the experience? Do you look at doing something for the pure pleasure of doing the act, or because you feel you have to do something?

Sure, you might think that Dave's message has nothing to do with raw foods. You're wrong.

Keely and I just started a 30 day BES program. We're taking a step back from the table and eating as simple as we can get it. You probably won't hear a dehydrator, food processor, or anything other than a blender around our house until February. We're going to work on our own models, our bodies. We're going to eat as pure as we can, and see what happens. No processed foods (yes, there are raw processed foods that can be bought), no fancy dehydrated meals, nothing more than plain, fresh fruits and vegetables, with a simple smoothie thrown in now and then for fun. We are really hooked on the Raw Divas' Programs. Tera and Amy have done a fantastic job!

We're going to be children, and enjoy our lives.

And I'm going to build a model. Although I might take me 30 minutes. I never was a fast builder when I was a kid.

My thanks to Dave Klaus, President of Meteor Productions, Inc. Every now and then we need to be reminded of the child within us, and let that person come out to play!

Read on!

oh, one final note. I meant to post this on Sunday, but I had some problems with the formatting. I had to rely on a rat for help! Dave's is a lot prettier, but the message hasn't been lost. He'll be happy to sign you up for his updates if you visit his site at http://www.meteorprod.com/.

From Dave Klaus At Meteor

Hi Bob,

(Sorry about the obstreperous email subject line, but this is the most important letter I've ever written and I want you to read the whole thing).

While Christmas is a time to renew, replenish, and strengthen our caring thoughts and actions towards others, New Year's Day is our yearly reminder that we need to take stock of our own life, both past and present.

Easily spoken, much harder to accept: "What's past is past, and it cannot be undone. We have no control over and cannot change what's already happened."

(Of course, we CAN stop beating our heads against the wall, but that's PRESENT and FUTURE action, isn't it?)

We -- you and I -- CAN control what we do from this point forward, so I'm going to focus on this for a few moments.

Whatever may be going on in your life right now and for the next year is well outside my personal knowledge, so please let me concentrate here on our shared love of scale model building. OK, I know what I'm about to say to you is patently obvious, but sometimes it's helpful to hear it again!

# First, modeling is your hobby, not your life. Hobby/Life, Life/Hobby. Not the same. Got that? Keep your perspective on this, and don't allow others who are unable to make this distinction to negatively affect your life - or your hobby.
# Now, I LOVE this hobby and I bet you do too, because I don't think you would be a Meteor client if you didn't. So: what do we love about it?

# I love having the ability to DREAM of my finished model, sitting on the shelf, admired by others, and the joy the realization of that dream brought to me. Do you?
# I love the CREATIVITY, both in myself when I build a model (or master pattern) AND when I look at the accomplishments of other modelers. Do you?
# I love having the DESIRE to craft a superior scale model that is (mostly) my own creation, and having the desire to constantly improve my modeling skills. Do you?
# I love actually IMPROVING my modeling skills, constantly, because I want to and I know I can. Do you?
# I love being able to CONCENTRATE on the project at hand, without distraction, and ignore whatever else is going on in my life during my exercise of creativity, desire for accuracy and improvement, and knowledge that no matter how good (or bad!) my skills are right now, I can and will get better as I build more models. Do you?
# I love the feeling of ACCOMPLISHMENT I get when I've actually finished a project and it's on the shelf. Yes, I love the doing, and I also love the joy of having the project DONE. Do you?

Don't get me wrong; I have a bunch of partially finished projects (bet you do too). That's the result of my enjoyment of the "doing" or "starting" part.

But I'm also willing to bet cash money that all those unfinished projects also weigh heavily on your heart and spirit. They certainly do for me!
Your Dreams (In Seven Seconds Or Less)

It's pretty likely most good things that have happened in your life started in your dreams. I bet it only takes seven seconds of reflection for you to see this is true. Your dreams are important -- CRUCIAL -- to your existence.

Your dreams belong to you. You own them.

DO NOT allow anyone else to take them away from you, or to demean them, or to tell you you're not good enough. EVER.

DO NOT allow others to steal, damage, or destroy anybody else's dreams and accomplishments. I guarantee you've seen this time and again at model club meetings and constantly on the internet chat rooms. Will you stand up for yourself? Will you stand up for others? Make it happen in 2008.
Courage

Courage is essential to our enjoyment of our hobby (and our lives, for that matter).

* It takes COURAGE to finish a model project. It only takes HOPE to start one.
* It takes COURAGE to stand up for your dreams, even when others attack, demean, and try to destroy them.
* It takes COURAGE to stand up to the huge and constant wave of negativity that has been and is washing across most model club meetings and all the internet modeling chatty rooms.
* Most of all, it takes COURAGE to stand up to yourself when you tell yourself "I'm not really good enough" and "Everybody will laugh at my model."
* It most assuredly does NOT take courage to criticize other people's dreams and efforts, especially when you hide behind the anonymity of the internet chat rooms. In fact, that behavior is COWARDICE exemplified.

Let me tell you about the bravest modelers I've ever known. (These will not be stories about guys like Frank Mitchell or George Lee, who are (were in George's case) also exceptionally brave modelers).

The quiet profiles in courage I'm talking about are the guys who dreamed BIG, then did their absolute best to make their dreams reality . . . in the face of extremely negative reactions, outright derision, from "fellow" modelers.

# The first is a guy I met in the mid 1980s who built two models a week. HE FINISHED TWO MODELS PER WEEK. His wife and family were his biggest fans. He showed up at our local model club meeting one night with SEVENTEEN finished models. His workmanship and painting skills were exceptional. He was pretty good at applying decals. Nonetheless, he failed to win even a single modeling trophy or ribbon at any of our club or regional model contests, although he always entered.
# Why were his skills never recognized by his "fellow" modelers? Because this guy built according to the blueprints of his dreams, not major aircraft manufacturers. Not a single one of his several hundred aircraft, tank, truck, or car models looked anything like something that could have come out of a Revell or AMT box.
# I vividly recall seeing one of his "works in progress" where he mated the front end of a Revell 1/48 Rockwell B-1 bomber kit to the main fuselage and wings of a 1/48 Academy FB-111 kit. Can you even imagine what that thing looked like? Well, this superbly creative guy imagined how it could look and he made it real. It did not look like a B-1 and it certainly did not look like a FB-111, but it sure looked GOOD! (And the conversion was beautifully executed.)
# Can you guess the response of nearly all the model club's membership? (If you guessed "admiration for his modeling skills" you'd be . . . wrong. If you guessed "derision" you'd of course be correct).
# With immense admiration and gratitude, I'm pleased to report this outstanding modeler did NOT allow the negative feedback to affect his love for the hobby nor his output rate (he did, however, leave the club). Could you (or I) have stood up to this pressure? WOULD you or I have stood up?

The final group of heroes I'd like to tell you about are cut from different cloth. (You'll recognize this group from your own experience, although perhaps you may not have recognized their bravery.)

# I've also know quite a few other modelers whose skills fit into quite a different category, but I admire their courage just as much (actually more) than the hero I just described.
# These guys were all modelers. They built, they completed models. They didn't screw around, they BUILT MODELS. However, unlike the first hero, most of their models would have had trouble scoring high enough to place last in a model contest.
# If there's any humanity in you at all, you've already figured out: SO WHAT? These guys dreamed, then they acted. That makes them modeling heroes in my book.
# I bet you've known guys like this. They never seem to last too long in local modeling clubs because of the negative feedback they seem to get, but I'm sure you've known such guys.
# There are several important lessons for us here.

# First, as I just said, these guys DREAMED, then DID. Most of the rest of us just jabber.
# Second, every one of the guys I'm talking about here was fully aware that his models were "not up to IPMS standards." While their modeling skills may not have met the standards the naysayers always apply to others (but never to themselves), these courageous guys kept on FINISHING MODELS. If that's not behavior to be admired by the rest of us, I don't know what is.
# Finally, at least in the cases described here, every one of these guys kept IMPROVING. In the late 1980s, the IPMS club I belonged to at the time finally accepted one such modeler "into the bosom." His models still didn't come close to meeting "IPMS standards," but my God, they were an order of magnitude better than when he first joined the club.
# In fact, and I'm proud to have been a member of such an IPMS club, at the end of the year we bought a huge trophy - much larger than our "Top Model Of The Year" trophy, just for this guy as "Most Improved Modeler." You should have seen the light in his eyes and joy on his face when we presented him with this trophy.
# That, my friends, cannot fail to touch your heart and make your own spirit soar.

"So, What About Me?"

I'll bet on you. Will you?

I'll bet you have the dreams inside you to start the process. Will you?

I'll bet you have the desire to actually fill your display shelves with your creations. Will you?

I'll bet you have the courage inside you to complete the process (even if it's been a while since you demonstrated to yourself that you actually have that courage). Will you?

Will you bet AGAINST or FOR yourself? Make it happen in 2008!

Dave's
"TEN STEPS IN SEVENTEEN MINUTES" Prescription For Getting Off Your Fat Ass
And Getting On With Your Modeling Life
(I'M NOT KIDDING! DO THIS TODAY!)

1. Take your cheapest model kit, the one you're very unlikely to ever actually build, off the storage shelf. Preferably one that's still in its shrink wrap.
2. FORGET ABOUT what this model might look like when you finish it.
3. FORGET ABOUT any and all judgments you or others might make about its quality.
4. UNPLUG your spray booth and put your airbrush away.
5. CLEAR your modeling desk of everything except this model kit box, glue, nippers, scissors, and an X-Acto knife.
6. HIDE the reference material. PUT AWAY the aftermarket decals, resin bits, sanding sticks, paint, paintbrushes, rubber bands, tape, and everything else not included in step 4.
7. RIP OFF the shrink wrap, WITH YOUR FINGERS. No scissors or knives allowed.
8. TEAR OPEN the kit box, smell the styrene, and take a moment to remember the absolute JOY you felt as a kid doing precisely this same thing.
9. CUT OUT the box top and prop it up on your workbench so you can easily see it. Throw the rest of the packaging away.
10. FINISH THIS MODEL RIGHT NOW.

Here's what you are allowed and not allowed to do:

ALLOWED

# You are allowed to use your nippers to remove the parts from the trees and your X-Acto to clean up the nubs
# You are allowed to read the kit instructions, but you don't hafta if you don't wanna.
# You are allowed to use any type of glue you wish.
# You are allowed to giggle uncontrollably, although NOT while you have an X-Acto knife in your hand! After all, there's nobody else around to hear you, and even if there is, they'll just think "Dad's back to making his crazy models" anyway. They might even enjoy the sound of your laughter, just as your Mother did when you were a boy doing the same thing.

NOT ALLOWED

# You're not allowed to trim, fit, or sand pieces for better parts fit. They are what they are and you're gonna glue them together just as they are!
# You're not allowed to prepaint anything. In fact, you're not allowed to paint anything at all on this model.
# You're not allowed to trim the decals before you soak them. You will cut them out of the decal sheet just like you did when you were a kid, and like the fit of the parts, the decals are what they are.

DAVE'S DEMANDS

(Told you I had some demands!)

# Yes, I DEMAND you enjoy yourself while you do this.
# I DEMAND you finish this model in 17 minutes or less. You can do it; you did it when you were a boy!
# In the fairly likely event you find yourself resisting some of the prescriptions above, you are allowed to rationalize to yourself that you're not really doing this because you want to, or even think it's a good idea, but it's because that rat bastard Dave Klaus is MAKING you do it!
# Send me an email when you've FINISHED this model. Send it by clicking this link: YES, DAVE, I FINISHED A MODEL AND I HAD A GREAT TIME!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, filled with love (first), lots of model kit gifts (second), and I wish you and your loved ones a fantastically amazing and prosperous New Year.

Man, I LOVE this hobby!


DAVID H. KLAUS
President
Meteor Productions, Inc.


(c) 2008, Meteor Productions, Inc.