Easy Taco Bell @ Home

This one is for all you Taco Bell fans out there. I know there are plenty of you, so this should be a real treat. We all know that spending $20 at Taco Bell would land you a regular fast food tex-mex feast. However, I came up with this error proof recipe for one of their best treats, the Crunchwrap Supreme.

Mind you, all ingredients and amounts are at your discretion. The following is a recipe to make just one Crunchwrap.

What You Need:

1 - Large burrito sized flour tortilla
2 - Regular sized corn hard taco shells (or flat round tostada shells)
- A quantity of cooked ground beef (Chorrizo is a great substitute!)
- A quantity of refried beans
1/4c. - Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2Tbsp - Sour Cream
- Chopped Lettuce
1/8c. - Diced Tomato
1/8c. - Diced Onion
1/8c. - Diced Red Bell Pepper

How to Make It:

Start by placing your large flour tortilla flat on the counter. Spoon a good amount of the refried beans in the middle, and spread it around in a circular shape. Next, place your cooked meat on top of that. Cover with cheese.

Now take your two hard taco shells, and break them evenly in the middle, so that that form a circle when laid flat. Spoon the sour cream over the top of the shells, and then place on top of the cheese. Your beans/meat/cheese layers should NOT extend outside of the circle made by the hard taco shells.

Next, put down your lettuce and other veggies. Then proceed to carefully, but tightly fold the outer edges of the flour tortilla, over the top of your layered creation. It is okay to have a small opening on top, but not preferred.

Lastly, you'll wanted to have a lightly oiled skillet heated up to medium/high. Place your Crunchwrap flat side down, and then place something flat and heavy on top to compress your treat and keep the folds from opening. After bottom is lightly toasted, flip so that the folds are down, and again compress. Once both sides are crisp you're creation is done.

2009 MD Goals

Now that 2009 is upon us, and I'll be back on land come the 7th, it's time to outline some hobby related goals for myself. I live in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, which is full of history and old coins and relics should be around every corner. Well I have hardly found that corner. But I figure that maybe with a little more research, I should be able to achieve my goals quite easily.

2009 MD Goals

- Find at least ONE silver coin.
- Find at least 20 wheaties.
- Set a new OLDEST COIN record for myself. (Current is 1929.)
- Find at least one GOLD ring.
- Double my clad count from previous year. ( At least 1,132 coins.)
- Double my clad value from previous year. ( At least $52.66.)
- Hunt at least twice a week for each week I'm off the boat.

The are in respect to my 2008 goals, which I completed 83% of.

- Hunt at least once a week when on dry land CHECK
- Hit up more schools and tot lots, they seem to be producing CHECK
- Find at least 1 Silver Coin NOPE
- Find at least 1 Ring of any kind CHECK (Found 4)
- Set a new oldest coin record for myself CHECK (Found a 1929 Wheatie)
- To be an uber post wh0r3 and get into the Top 10 posters on FMDF CHECK (Currently #7)

Happy New Year: 2009 on the Ocean Odyssey

Yay! It's a start to a whole new year, and the celebrations were big everywhere. Above you'll see a photo of New York City's Time Square right after the ball had descended. Out here on the Ocean Odyssey, though local time we are on US CST, all of our software runs on GMT. So we celebrated both New Years.

Here below is a grouping of images from our celebrations here on the boat. We had a great time both on the eve of the holiday, as well as New Years itself. Nothing spectacular, no flare gun fireworks, and sadly, no cheap flute glasses filled with 0.5% red wine bubbled up with Diet 7Up. But we had some great food!

Roast pig on the spit.


Bread... oddly shaped like breasts?


Pig ready to eat!


Watermelon carving.


Dessert spread.


Baked chicken, dressed up like a turkey w/ guitar.


New Year's cake.


BBQ Lunch spread.


Julius grillin' up some BBQ prawns.


Enjoying the New Year with BBQ on the cable deck.

27: My Birthday

Haha. That image you see just above is the first birthday comment I received when getting on the computer this morning. It was a comment left on my MySpace from one Ms. Ashley Falk, who else? Anyway, it was nice to receive well wishes from no less than 10 people today, out here on the boat, and back at home.

After waking up about 11:15am, and making it down to the galley for lunch, I was kind of disappointed not to see a cake with my name on it. I'd seen it done for damned near everybody over the last year... didn't know I had to request it. But the food was good, and off to shift I went.

Signing on the computer, it was nice to see my BDay notice from FMDF, my most favorite place on the web.

I also decided to venture out from MySpace and get on board with the whole Facebook thing. It's neat I guess. I like the fact that more of my family members are on it, as well as more of my international friends from work and stuff. That all went well.

It was an okay birthday, nothing great by any means. No cake, no presents... not much of anything really.

Christmas on the Odyssey

Hey folks! It's Xmas here in the Gulf of Mexico too! Don't have much to say, so I'll let the pictures do the talking. Hope everyone viewing had a great holiday as well.

Tera setting up our trees.


Meghan decorating sugar cookies.


Martin and John on the bridge.


Plate 'o cookies.


Gingerbread house the MMO's made.


My stocking full of treats.


Everyone waiting for gift exchange.


My present wrapped in plotting paper.


Present I received from Stig.


Roast pig, lobster tails, lamb, and prime rib.


Bread and dessert spread.


X-Mas cake.


"Happy Holiday" bread design.


Edible arrangement made by our cooks.


Our cooks with their artwork.

Meghan and Tera enjoying some fake beer with dinner.


Me and Meghan at gift exchange.

Winter Research Campaign

Ever year it comes. It's completely inevitable, so get used to it. Sadly, the winter means that MD'ing season is over for many enthusiasts across the country. The ground is frozen too hard to dig, snow is covering everything, and temperatures are just too darn low to stand more than a few minutes of swinging your machine. So what do you do?

Sure you you can browse your favorite online forum (FMDF) and enjoy all the finds from those lucky enough to live far enough South to MD year round. Or maybe you can update your MD finds database in your fabulous iDetect software, or however else you keep track of your finds. Making charts, comparing month to month numbers and all that jazz.

But what about doing something proactive, that will increase your chances of finding all that old silver coinage, relics, and other old trinkets? Yes, I'm talking about research. The winter months are a perfect chance to use the time you normally would be MD'ing, to hunt out those old areas and get the goods. That being said, I felt I'd offer you a few options to aid in your quest.

- Wikipedia.org
I'm sure many of you are familiar with Wikipedia and it's vast database of knowledge. And yeah, it's true that there are many things found within it's pages that are unverified... but odds on, your town's history is pretty safely rooted in fact. Just entering in your town/city name as a search inquiry will be all you need to start learning. If it's a well written history, it may provide outside links to other informational resources, and a bibliography of books used.
LINK

- Local Library
As I lead on with Wikipedia, books. Books are research gold. Most local libraries have sections dedicated to State and local history. Just walk in and ask for finger pointing in the right direction. You can't go wrong with this option, but it may take a little time to get down to what you want.

- Local Government Webpage
Most town and municipalities have a webpage regarding their local government. Information here usually includes things the names of local officials, tax rates, etc. But odds are you can find some sort of brief on the history of the area, and maybe a link to local historians who may also be able to help you in your quest.

- Sanborn Maps
Trying to find old home sites or gathering places that have long since been forgotten? Well tread on over to the online version of Sanborn Maps. Here you can view and print maps from your town, and surrounding towns dated back many many years, and get a feel for what the place used to look like. An invaluable tool when wanting to locate those old items that make your 1929 Wheatie look like a 2008 Memorial.
LINK
Username: proquest
Password: welcome

2008 Year In Review

Well it's the time of the year... the end. 2008 was a short year for me for two reasons. I started nearly half way into the year with this great hobby, and also with my work schedule, I'm away from land every other month. It makes finding good time to get out there and swing the machine pretty touch. But I managed. I made it out for at least one day in six separate months, from Spring to Winter. So let's get this ball rolling with a monthly breakdown and yearly totals.

May
Days Hunted: 3
Coins Found: 100
Dollar Value: $4.03
Other Notables: Found 6 pull-tabs, 1 rusted/bent Hoop Earring, and 1 Canadian Penny ('78)

July
Days Hunted: 7
Coins Found: 100
Dollar Value: $5.21
Other Notables: Found 8 pull-tabs, 5 earrings (1 x .925), 2 rings, 5 buttons, 1 Key, 1 Sterling Crucifix, 1 Token, 5 30-06 casings

August
Days Hunted: 6
Coins Found: 124
Dollar Value: $5.89
Other Notables: Found 3 pull-tabs, 1 horseshoe earring, 1 heart charms, 1 Skull/Crossbone w/ Pink Stone necklace charm, 3 x lead 9mm bullets, 1 Sacajawea Dollar coin, Boy Scouts Summertime Award pin, and 1 WWII Era US Army Air Corps Enlisted lapel device.

September
Days Hunted: 9
Coins Found: 125
Dollar Value: $6.29
Other Notables: Found 15 pull-tabs, 7 charms, 1 charm bracelet, 1 button with British Royal Family Coat of Arms and Order of the Garter motto, 4 wheat pennies, 1 Scarab Beetle Watch

October
Days Hunted: 1
Coins Found: 21
Dollar Value: $1.14
Other Notables: Found 6 pull-tabs, 1 earring, 1 .25 ACP bullet, 1 Chuck E Cheese Token

November
Days Hunted: 7
Coins Found: 96
Dollar Value: $3.77
Other Notables: Found 4 pull-tabs, 5 30-06 casings, 6 wheat pennies, 1 BICEN Quarter, 1 ring (.925), 2 Buttons (1 being a 1829-1832 Benedict & Coe Federal Navy Button)

2008
Days Hunted: 33
Coins Found: 566
Dollar Value: $26.33
Notables listed above.

All in all, a great short year... can't wait to get 2009 off to a good start!

Starbucks for a fraction the price.

Don't waste $5+ on that seasonal yummy treat, the Peppermint Mocha Latte, at Starbucks this year. Instead, make you own for a fraction of the price.

I'm pretty resourceful out here on the boat, and was really craving that hot goodness from Starbucks. I knew I had seen some Candy Cane Sprinkles from Target on board, and I fixed the problem.

In one 8oz coffee cup, first add:

1 tsp sugar
1 tsp Nestle Quick Powder
1/2 tsp Candy Cane Sprinkles

Add coffee, and your preferred creamer, and just like magic, Peppermint Mocha!

It's awesome, I have at least two a day now.

In The Treasure Corner with Dan Hughes

Back in August, only a few short months after I pulled the good 'ol ACE 250 out of the closet and really got into metal detecting, I caught wind of one Mr. Dan Hughes. While browsing around my favorite place on the net, FMDF, I came across a thread about a book. Turns out Dan had authored a book on the hobby, and it seemed to be pretty good. Sadly, I never bought his book :( But in reading about it, I was introduced to him and his knowledge.

Later that same month, something awesome happened. Dan started a Podcast available to all, via the web. To me, this was perfect. I could be anywhere; at home, or out in the middle of the ocean... and be able to subscribe and download his latest stories and tips to listen to at my leisure.

His series covers all sorts of topic regarding the great hobby of metal detecting. These include things like:

- How to Obtain Permission to Hunt Ground
- How to Understand Depths and What You Might Find There
- How to Deal With Pesky Onlookers

Dan is currently working on the 9th installment, and I personally can't wait. Be sure to check it all out over at The Treasure Corner. (http://danhughes.libsyn.com/index.php?post_category=treasure)

Minelab Delivers!

Last week I submitted a "Success Story" to Minelab concerning my 1830s button find. Turns out they liked my story enough to email me and ask for permission to use it in electronic and print material. Not only that, but they sent me some great gifts.

- A nifty carabiner style Dakota watch with compass
- A great looking short sleeve polo
- A black/red (my fav!) hat.

Thanks to the great folks at Minelab!