Barbecue and Grilling

Although I did not mention it in my first post a strong passion of mine is grilling and now barbecue. There is a distinct difference between the two. I have been grilling since just after high school so about 16 years now. I feel I am a high level griller. I have practiced and I think I know the right methods. First and foremost this post is inspired by my trip to the store. I just got back and I stopped myself from saying something to the guy who was ahead of me in line. He had match light charcoal AND lighter fluid- he also bought cigarettes but I will save my rant on that for another day.
Anyway- guys (or girls)- first- when you are grilling buy either regular lump charcoal (WITH NO LIGHTER FLUID ADDED) or the lump wood charcoal. Do not buy match light. It is for people who like the taste of lighter fluid. And to buy both at the same time indicates that you want to start a very large fire. I can only hope that this dude was interested in just creating a fire and not cooking anything. I can hope this because he bought no meat at all.
In any case- I am sure some are asking- WELL HOW DO I START THE FIRE? Here is how:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100657893&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=100657893&ci_src=14110944&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D28X-_-100657893&locStoreNum=4647&marketID=43

There are 10 gazillion of these on the market now and you should really try it. YES it takes a little longer (20 minutes) but it is worth it. Even if you are cooking for 1 or 2 it is worth it. It means all you need is a few sheets of news paper and the charcoal mentioned above. No fluid and no helper charcoal. This will improve the taste of the meat a WHOLE bunch. Also- do some research on cooking times. I cannot count the number of times I have eaten WAY overdone hamburgers, steak, chicken or whatever that was done on the grill by someone who had no clue what they were doing. The only thing that really bothers me is steak- the others I can take or leave but PLEASE do not ruin a good steak. for a decent cut of meat it will only need about 4 minutes on each side on a REALLY hot fire. This is for med to med rare. If you want it cooked more than that then so be it ( it makes it more dry and not as tasty) then cook longer. This is over a HOT fire- that is coals that you cannot get your hand near.
ALSO- REST the damn meat. Rest means you take it off the fire and wrap it on a plate with some tin foil. Let it rest for half the cooking time at least. This lets the juice redistribute. It do you do not rest you will ruin your steak.
Seasoning is so important. It is tough for a lot of people to OVER SEASON. Most people under season food. Make sure that you pick the right season and that you apply it liberally. Taste the season and see if you like it. If you doubt your own pallet then ask someone else to taste it.
I have various combos of season for steak depending on cut and mood.
Here are some:
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Either kosher salt or season salt ( I am a little sick of season salt but I liked it for a long time)
fresh cracked black pepper. BOTH sides of the meat if it is any thicker than 1". if it is thin then just do one side.

I have others- do not be afraid to try new things.

Now- barbecue- this is a whole other post and I will handle later. I doubt that dude at the store was buying charcoal for barbecue so I will wait to post on that until I am inspired.

Why not Blog?

So I was just asked by someone.... Do you Blog? I responded that I did not because since no one listens to me in real life why should I post about it online? Then I read the blog that was being advertised and I liked reading it. So since I felt compelled to comment on someone Else's blog I figured I would write my own. It is not true- lots of people do listen to me in real life. Maybe if I write a blog people can treat my advise like most people- take it or leave it on the Internet. That way I can stop dishing it out to every person I meet like bad cafeteria coleslaw. I am not sure why I am compelled to share my thoughts or advise with people. I guess there is some deep compulsion down inside that leads me to share. I am considered an expert in my line of work and I provide that advise to customers and potential customers on a regular basis. That is the only area that I am actually a certified expert. In my personal life I just try and learn as much as I can in as many areas as I can. I guess I will stop sharing that information on a random ad hoc basis and I will post thoughts here. Take them or leave them. I guess I should bookmark this page so I remember to post.
Areas that I feel I have a lot of experience and can help people are:
IT (either enterprise or home based)
Multimedia- depending on my personal interests- somethings do not interest me so I would decline to talk about them here- such as smart homes.
Automobiles- interesting subject for me. I tie it into my above interest in IT- I like what is new and great in cars- not what is old and low tech. That means that no- I am not going to talk about a numbers matching corvette- but I may want to talk about the brand new ZR1- get it?
Parenting a single male child up to the age of 2.5 (anything after this is still a mystery until I live it) and all related accessories and devices to make life easier or better in this task
Traveling
Life decisions/Money management
Various other topics that I have currently forgotten but will most likely remember if I keep doing this.
Reality TV
Non-reality TV
Movies