SkillSet Summer 2020

WOW! 2020 … THAT ESCALATED RATHER QUICKLY. I would never have guessed a few months ago that we were in for the ride of our lives. Our normal, American way of life has been completely turned upside down by a biolab in China. We have watched tons of movies on this exact scenario, but who would have thought that this battle against an invisible enemy would actually hit our shores? Despite the death and despair that has come out of this pandemic, I am one who always looks back upon unpredicted experiences as learning tools. Now that things have slowed down a bit, I think we should all do an “after-action report” with our family and friends by considering our responses to a few critical questions: ► How much food and supplies should…

HERE’S ... JOHNNY! Watching a 90-minute horror movie can cause a spike in your adrenaline, which in turn incinerates about 115 calories. This is the same number of calories burned during a 30-minute walk or from running a 10-minute mile. We also learned that watching a two-hour Democratic debate will burn your entire soul. Full update on that in the next issue of Skillset. 1-MINUTE REBELLION This is how much time it took the Conch Republic (aka Key West, Florida) to surrender after declaring war on the United States in 1982. Mayor Dennis Wardlow even went so far to change his title to Prime Minister before surrendering. He then demanded one billion dollars in foreign aid and war relief “to rebuild our nation after the long federal siege.” Ah, the people of Florida…

Do you have that one super-cool friend who seems to know all the secret spots: the bars with the best bartenders, the best burger joint, the speakeasy that you would never be able to find by yourself? Yeah, neither do we. That’s why we thought we needed to figure out a way for the “everyman” to feel cool once in a while–to find a way that you can show off a little in front of your friends with your super-secret knowledge. We spend a lot of time on the road in restaurants and bars. It seems that everyone in America has their “must-visit” locations, and they will tell you what sandwich to order or which drink to slam, but that only gets you so far. (When the hell are you going to…

Did Australian singer Helen Reddy ever imagine (or hope) that her 1971 worldwide number-one hit “I am Woman” would be featured in Skillset magazine? Probably not. Nonetheless, powerful women warriors have always had a role in popular culture, but we should forget about Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Xena the Warrior Princess and the She-Hulk. They are make-believe figments of fiction, and history is full of actual, real-life women who kicked ass and took names in the face of insurmountable odds and danger. FREDDIE OVERSTEEGEN (HOLLAND) Freddie Oversteegen was 14 years old when the Nazi blitzkrieg rolled into the Netherlands in 1941. She joined the Dutch resistance and became one of its most lethal assassins. Together with her sister, she lured Nazi officers into the woods, where resistance fighters killed them. Freddie and her 16-year-old…

I’m back like a Tomahawk Missile to the dome of General Soleimani! Or a Ryan Bader left hook to some unlucky MMA fighter’s jaw, for that matter. And what’s better than a dead terrorist or Bader standing over his kill? A warm bowl of melty, homemade mac ’n cheese, of course. And what’s more American than mac ’n cheese? This warm, gooey goodness harkens back to the best of times when you weren’t worrying about that damn mortgage, even if it was the stuff out of the box that your mom made for you in ten minutes after soccer practice. There must be something magical in that package of orange space powder that is inside the mac ’n cheese box because I could have eaten it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Much…

► 1 box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese► 1/2 cup heavy cream► 1/4 cup sour cream or Mexican crema► 1 cup of your favorite shredded cheese (cheddar, Parmesan, Gruyere, fontina, Asiago, smoked Gouda, etc.) or go to town and blend all of them. (1/2 cup will be mixed in initially, and 1/2 cup will be sprinkled on top at the end.)► 4 tablespoons real butter► 1/4 cup white wine (Give a hat tip to grandma on this one.)► 1 teaspoon paprika► 1 teaspoon cayenne► 1 teaspoon black pepper► 2 teaspoons powdered ranch dressing (1 teaspoon mixed in, and 1 teaspoon sprinkled on top.)► 1 teaspoon garlic powder► Veggies such as bell peppers, pimiento peppers, etc. (My sis prefers butternut squash.) Any type of protein (My wife’s go-to is hot dogs,…