Mike Helmers: The Blog

Mike Smokes a Turkey

Helmers Holiday Smoked Turkey This recipe and experience brought to you from Amazing Ribs [https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/turkey-recipes/bbq-and-grilled-turkey-recipe/#cooking] . Preparation Smoker Prep * Use fruitwood * Place tin foil pan into the water bowl * Place gravy items into tin-foil pan add water till about 2 inches. * Aim for a 325°

Mike Reads a Book: The Foundation Trilogy

Mike Reads a Book: The Foundation Trilogy [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46654.The_Foundation_Trilogy] by Isaac Asimov [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov] The Foundation is considered a classic Sci-Fi novel. Most people know Isaac Asimov for his iRobot novel that was made into a movie

The Constitution: Article 1, Sections 5-10

Back to talking about Congress. Specifically, Article 1, Sections 5-10 of the US Constitution [https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript]. Lets find out what powers Congress has. > Article I Section 5: Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority

constitution

The Constitution: Article 1, Sections 1-4

Here we're getting into the meat of the thing. Today I'm writing about Article 1, Sections 1-4 of the US Constitution [https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript]. This covers what Congress is, and how they're elected. For ease of reading I'm spreading out the text of the Constitution and will

book

Mike Reads a Book: The Swarm

The Book: The Swarm [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26114175-the-swarm] by Orson Scott Card [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card] While on my deployment, I've really taken some time to relax on the beach and read. On my first weekend here, I went to the used bookstore

family

5 Years

2020 was a year full of firsts. My first father's day, my first pandemic, my first deployment. 2021 has certainly already had it's share of firsts, but today isn't one of them. I married Kristin 5 years ago today, and I am so happy to celebrate another anniversary. Out relationship

constitution

The Constitution: The Preamble

The Constitution: The Preamble. Thoughts from Mike Helmers

army

Putting Together a Promotion Packet

One of the most frustrating tasks I have completed in my military career is how to put together a promotion packet. This is the packet required for advancing to any NCO rank within the US Army. For me, I'm attempting to earn my stripes and become a Sergeant. In an

knowledge

Cuban History 101

Here's my abridged history of Cuba. While we do not know much about per-Columbian Cuba, the island was inhabited by an Arawak tribe called the Taíno. After Christopher Columbus landed in 1492, things went downhill. The locals were enslaved by the Spanish and most died off following the waves of

army

Shipping Out for America

I will soon be mobilized and sent to an undisclosed location

Be Braver

> “…I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate.” -Martin Luther King Jr. I’ve spent much time over the last couple of months thinking about this quote from Martin Luther King Jr’s‘Letter at Birmingham Jail’ [https://web.cn.

Kristin

A Good Marriage

I love my wife, Kristin Helmers. She’s simply the best. Today we both overslept, but she woke me up. In a panic I started going through my daily motions and started with the most important thing, making James’s bottles. In my morning fog Kristin came up and told

Mike's Manly Sunday - A Photo Journey

[https://mikehelmers.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/02/Helmers-Brunch-Shortstack-scaled.jpg] Kristin feeding James his first brunch I had a manly Sunday. It began as many Sundays do, with brunch. Now, I once read that Brunch without booze is just a sad late breakfast, and I couldn’t agree more. The

James Doing Stuff

One of the things I like most about being a father is watching James grow. Seeing him experience new things is the coolest thing ever. Here’s some of our adventures from the last weekend when we went to the Madison Children’s Museum, eating at home, and having some

beer

The 2020 Isthmus Beer and Cheese Celebration!

Last Saturday I had the joy of going to my first beer festival of 2020. We called up a grandparent, and Kristin and I ran off to the Alliant Center for the 11th Annual Beer and Cheese Festival. This is a massive event featuring over 120 breweries, mostly from Wisconsin,

james

The Story of James

[https://mikehelmers.com/content/images/wordpress/2019/12/mikeandjames1.png]Say hello to James. This is James Michael Helmers. He is wonderful. He is adorable. He is my son. His story began two days after I returned from my Annual Training with the Army Reserves, August 31. Kristin and I

indieweb

The IndieWeb

Hey there, here’s a test post that I’m doing. This is being published from my WordPress site, but hopefully it will show up on Facebook and Twitter. [http://helmers.reclaim.hosting/blog/blog/2019/11/21/the-indieweb] Edit: This site is now hosted on Ghost CMS

awards

Security+

I did it! I, Michael Helmers, received my CompTIA Security+ certification! This is exciting for me. I began working in IT back in 2016. The whole Account Managing/Sales thing wasn’t making me happy. Endless meetings and work that I could not get excited about. I decided to do

52weekchallenge

2019 Photography Challenge: Week 7

* Week 7 * Story Telling: Love Story My parents have been married for nearly 35 years. They still hike together and care about each other. This picture is also #nofilter

photography

2019 Photography Challenge: Week 6

* Week 6 * Composition: Inspiration: #NoFilter This week is a picture of Wendy where I did not use any presets or filters. I manually adgusted the picture to take it.

Kristin

Our Third Anniversary

Last year I was at Basic Training. On this day a year ago I cried. It was my second wedding anniversary. I was tired, alone, and I walked through a room filled with tear gas. Joking aside, it sucked being away from my wife. I love the life I have

chicago

2019 Photography Challenge: Week 5

* Week 5 * Composition: Symmetry Landscape This past weekend Kristin and I took a trip to Chicago. We mostly hung out and visited museums. It was amazing. We ended our trip watching The Second City, a sketch comedy troupe with alumni such as Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Dan Aykroyd, and Steve

52weekchallenge

2019 Photography Challenge: Week 4

* Week 4 * Story Telling: Warmth This week, well last week, was about Warmth. As I write this it is currently -8 degrees Fahrenheit, but it feels like -30. It’s damn cold. I took this picture last week when we first starting to get some sub-zero temperatures. Nothing warms my

photography

2019 Photography Challenge: Week 3

Inspiration: Black and White This week: you get a black and white picture of Miss Wendy Helmers! Born: December 30, 2015 Wendy is a Treeing-Walker Coonhound living with Mike Helmers and Kristin Helmers in Madison, WI. She loves snuggles, burrowing, and chewing things. She is most known for being the

52weekchallenge

2019 Photography Challenge: Week 2

* Week 2 * Composition: Rule of Thirds Motion This week I’m using the “Rule of Thirds Motion” I struggled a bit with this one. The “Rule of Thirds [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds]” is a concept in photography that “is applied by aligning a subject with the