Running Bear's August 2025 Coffee Shop

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troyphoto said:
I was talking more of size, not taste, but didn't clarify well enough. I didn't want to make folks who didn't know the difference between brat-sized sausages think my grill had shrunk and I was cooking breakfast sausage links...
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Brats, and other similar sausages, now we are talking about something I know a little bit about!

Italian sausage and bratwurst are both fresh link sausages and are similar in size. A perfect example to illustrate Troy's point.

They both can contain pork as @chadbag pointed out but the similarities end there. Other than salt, they both contain salt. Which enhances flavor, helps with binding, and works as a preservative. Otherwise, they are vastly different in seasoning and flavor.

Italian sausages are made all but exclusively from pork, often seasoned with fennel seeds, garlic, and sweet red pepper. Which gives it the red color. It’s known for its bold, spicy, and aromatic profile. It can also be seasoned with hot red peppers.

Bratwurst can be made from pork, veal, or beef. It’s seasoned more subtly, using spices like nutmeg, marjoram, coriander, cardamom, and caraway, resulting in a milder, sometimes slightly sweet flavor. My personal thought: Brats are about meat, not spices. I love Brats!

If it sounds like I have been doing some research, I have. I've posted before I don't like Italian Sausages. After my post I was wondering why I don't like them. After a little research I'm now convinced it is the fennel.

We Americans tend to simplify fresh link sausages. We do the same with smoked sausages, due to our mass production methods. Other places around the world have many varieties of fresh link sausages. As well as many varieties of smoked sausages. There are still a few local sausage makers in America, but very few remain.

When I was in the Kecskemet Market in Hungary, I was surprised to see dozens of varieties of all kinds of Kolbasz (Hungarian word for any kind of sausage) It would have taken me weeks, if not months to sample them all. Which would be my idea of a great vacation!

Bottom line, Chad, and Troy are both correct.

Now I want a hotdog... The old-world invented sausages, but America perfected the hotdog. I thank God every day that I was born in America!

Baseball, Hotdogs, Apple Pie, and Chevrolet! 😁
 


TLOC said:
It really was stupid of me to display it but after the 2 tires lost their air I figured I better be safe than sorry. I don’t think I’d have an issue but just in case.
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If you were in Baltimore City, I would agree it is not smart to advertise you have a gun, concealed or otherwise. Guns are the next best thing to cash on the street, more valuable than drugs.

In your case you did the right thing showing the gun. "Don't start no 💩 and there won't be none" Facing a crew of workers you needed an equalizer.
 
Kusojiji said:
I was able to get some dwarves painted. Thanks to Troy, I found a guy. He's stationed in Korea in the Army and actually had time to do this stuff. He recommended a place to get the figures, so I picked a package, he ordered them and painted them. I wasn't much help with the painting part as he got the typical where do you want to go for dinner type answer.

I told him he had artistic license as I saw his previous work. His work ethic was outstanding as he gave me updates on his progress. I told him to take his time and when he told me that he finally had some free time to do some painting, I told him he should have taken those days off instead. I know the military schedule and a lot of times, there isn't one, so you gotta take your stress relief when you can.

Anyway, I got them staged kinda how I plan to use them. Some of these guys are always drunk and can't stand up on their own. Need to figure something out.

View attachment 234483

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Too cool!

@Texas Hobo, Hughie, do not hitch a ride in this boxcar!
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I like all sausage except Weisswurst. For some reason I can't get into Weisswurst.

I didn't know that Bratwurst had beef or veal but I went and did some Google searches and two of the best German types of Bratwurst, Nurnberger (pork with optional veal) and Coburger (pork, with min 15% beef and/or veal) both can contain them. And I'd not bet against other cities' Bratwurst also containing beef and/or veal.

Also looking up "American Bratwurst" it says pork, with some options having beef and/or veal also added.

Louis -- I can't believe you don't like Fennel. I love Fennel. When I buy Italian seasoning, I check that it is Tuscany style or at least has Fennel. Some forms of Italian Seasoning don't have it...

I mean, it's OK not to like it. I just expected you to as Fennel is used in some Hungarian cooking, though not as prevalent as paprika and caraway.

In fact I love Fennel tea, though in Germany I was told it is for babies and small kids :)
 
Guns... I don't like them, they are not for me, not with my temper.

Having said that I must say I support the second amendment. Every responsible person should be able to own a gun if they want to. There is nothing appalling to me about a responsible person carrying a gun in the open or concealed.

Years ago, I was given a .38 snub nose revolver, off the books by ... "I have the right (and good sense) to remain silent". I'll call him an employer. Names will not be revealed to protect the guilty. I kept the gun in the inside pocket of my Brooks Highway jacket. It fit perfectly and went unnoticed by others. With me having no experience with guns I was told, "The last thing you want is to be shot with your own gun, keep it close to your chest to protect it"

Two weeks later I gave it back. If you break a nose or jaw, they will recover. They won't recover if you put a bullet in their temple. I never once fired that gun at any living thing. I must admit, it was fun to shoot cans, but that got to be expensive!

The last time I faced the barrel of a gun was when I interrupted a little street punk from robbing a gas station convenience store late one night. I told him, "Pull the trigger, I might go to the hospital, but I guarantee you are going to the morgue" All the while I looked him in the eye and I didn't flinch. I had used the line before; it came out smooth. He looked up and down at me, thought for a few seconds then dropped the gallon of milk he was carrying as he turned and ran.

After the punk ran away the cashier/owner, I don't know, ran out of the store yelling at me in, I guess Korean pointing at the milk on the ground. I told him "Sorry about that" as I filled up my car with gas. It didn't bother me, I understood he was upset. Most people get frantic in life and death situations. It is useless to try to calm them down. If you can remain calm, you have the advantage, and you will likely instill fear in those you face.

Street punks can't shoot straight; they spray and pray. And it is not easy to hit a quickly moving target. But you had better move before they pull the trigger. Only Superman is faster than a speeding bullet.

I used to be an intimidating sight. Now I can't stand up straight. I can no longer stand still for even a few seconds without wobbling. I doubt I could convince a punk to run away now. I've become a very slow-moving target. I worry I can't protect my little Angel. I've been thinking of getting a small gun for her to keep in her nightstand. She is responsible and she can control her temper. I'll stick with my hammer I keep handy.

I carry a 6-D cell tactical Maglite in the car, for defense. We work before dawn; I need a flashlight sometimes. ;) I have another smaller Maglite, but the big boy is just in case. 😁
 
chadbag said:
Louis -- I can't believe you don't like Fennel. I love Fennel. When I buy Italian seasoning, I check that it is Tuscany style or at least has Fennel. Some forms of Italian Seasoning don't have it...

I mean, it's OK not to like it. I just expected you to as Fennel is used in some Hungarian cooking,
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You are correct again! Fennel is widely used in many Hungarian recipes, none of which do I like!

Actually, I'm surprised by how many Hungarian foods I like. I was raised by a German immigrant whose idea of spices was salt and pepper. I loved everything he cooked!

Some spices don't agree with me and make me nauseous. One example is my wife's Christmas staple Hungarian stuffed cabbage. It's made with ground pork, cabbage and cooked in sauerkraut. Three of my favorite foods! But the bay leaves in it makes me nauseous.
 
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Now back to baseball! ⚾

My Birds had a rough night. Our young starter Cade Povich did a respectable job. He returned from only five rehab starts after being on the IL. Unfortunately the Phillies opened a can of whoop ass on our young bullpen. These young guys all have legitimate MLB stuff. They need more MLB experience to go from being throwers to becoming pitchers. "Watch Tommy work boys!"

I watched Cleveland at the Mets. I usually don't go for high scoring games, but this one was decided in extra innings. The Mets hit an unbelievable number of balls right on the nose! I can't remember seeing one team hit so many hard-hit balls in one game. Lucky for Cleveland, a few of the Mets hard-hit balls were "Atom Balls" (hit right at somebody) Cleveland was scrappy and held off the Mets. The game was decided by two runs in the Cleveland half of the 10th inning One scored on an error and the other on a sacrifice fly. The 7-6 win gave Cleveland its first ever win in Citi Field. It was fun to watch.

After getting used to it I enjoy interleague play. It is even better when my Birds win! (f' ing wind in Chicago!) Some of these new rules are taking longer to get used to. One rule I would like to see is the electronic strike zone. I saw one umpire's call go against the Dodgers where the ball was clearly low, WTF! One bad call can disrupt a young pitcher's rhythm. As Yogi said, "90% of baseball is half mental" 🤪

Next up is Milwaukee in Atlanta.

If I can tear myself away from MLB.TV (a big if) I will unbox my new Conrail Bicentennial GG1. I just might wait for the Conrail Caboose to arrive today.

What am I doing at home? I'm taking another day off. 😁 Oh Yeah!

Somewhere along the line I will check another thing or two off the to-do list.

My blood pressure has been great. I broke 120 again. I'm feeling spunky! My blood sugar was not so good this morning. Note to self; avoid sugar free ice cream after dinner, live, and learn.

Have an enjoyable day Everybody!
 


Me, I like all them hot dogs, big, small, Italian, German, Hungarian, Idahodian, whatever :) I learned in boot that if it don't fit between two pieces of bread, you drink it.

6 cell tactical or strategic? I guess if you throw it at them, it's tactical haha. I got one o' dem big boys, but it lost a lot of its weight after I converted it to led and only have two 26650 lithium cells in it. The led could only handle 8 volts.
 
bnsf971 said:
The toothache that precipitated my dental horror story has returned with a vengeance. I used up my one office visit per year going to the dentist that only wanted to do implants, so I'm going to be on the hook fully this time.
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Can you call your primary care doctor and ask for antibiotics? I did that a few times when I didn't have insurance. Dentists usually won't do anything until the infection that often accompanies tooth pain is gone.

I'm sorry to hear about your tooth, that pain is one of the worst!
 
Kusojiji said:
6 cell tactical or strategic?
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Good question, I really don't know. I watched a video where a guy demonstrated the use of it in self-defense and he referred to it as tactical.

Looking at the order and listing on Amazon it says neither, only that it is impact and shock resistant.

The Amazon listing does say, "National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) Certified." whatever that means.

I never served in the military.

Kusojiji said:
it lost a lot of its weight after I converted it to led and only have two 26650 lithium cells in it.
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Mine is LED, it came that way and the 6 d-cell batteries make it heavy.
 
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Oh yeah forgot to add about them sausages. Schauessen (sp?) is popular out here. Wife buys it all the time. I like the taste and the crunch of the hard skin, but I have to cut that skin to break it up so that when I take a bite, it all doesn't come out of my bread as one piece since my front teeth no longer touch. So basically, I'm gumming it! haha
 
Kusojiji said:
Tactical is when you use it to smash in that back window
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God forbid I ever need to use it other than as a flashlight. If I do it won't be to break a window, but I think it is hard and heavy enough to break bone.

I have enough experience to know; inflicting pain is better than intimidation to end a conflict. But it is always a last resort.

Which reminds me. Fighting is not all about physical ability or skill. Usually, the one who can withstand the most pain wins.
 
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A question for you 2A and Gunsmithy type of folks.

Way back when I was active in the political spectrum, (2009-2015) we invested in a few firearms. I sold the long guns off when we moved to LA, but kept three pistols. Ruger SR9, Taurus PT24/7, and a Browning Buckmark.

All were cleaned after their last trips to the range.

But, with my wife's medical problems with her shoulder, she no longer wants to shoot even the Buckmark for fear of inflaming parts she's finally gotten to calm down.

So, we don't go to any range at all.

How often do I need to break those down, inspect, and re-lube? Any other care I should be giving them?
 


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