Saturday, my friends Morgan, Jeff and Sarah joined me at the movies for "The 40 Year Old Virgin." This is not a movie for everyone and it's rated "R" for a reason. But it is DANG-FUNNY.
Lately movie theaters have taken to popping their popcorn in advance, filling bags and putting them in a cabinet until later. Now, I don't know if they just forgot to rotate their stock or they intentionally gave me popcorn that was from 1965, but that stuff was nasty. It was fine for the first 1/3 of the bag and then... ICK!
Cinemark at Rivertown - you get the finger.
Seriously, I'm not going to leave the movie and get a "free refill". Fortunately my Mr. Pibb was enough to wash the taste away.
Oh - and if you are going to see Steve Carrell in his masterpiece. Go rent "Hair" first, so you will really appreciate the ending credits.
maybe it's just me...
August 21, 2005
August 12, 2005
betty's batter better
My contribution so-far is a cake. I make this really good cake with a boxed cake mix and some pudding. It's really good. It came out of the oven a few minutes ago and yes, I licked the beaters. I licked the spatula and the bowl. I think if they made cake batter in a tube this good, I would eat it directly from the tube.
Have you ever noticed that everyone calls that rubber-headed scraper thing a "spatula"? Truthfully, it's a rubber-scraper. A "spatula" is in fact the flipper-ooni thing you use to turn over hamburgers or eggs. I however, will continue to use the word "spatula" incorrectly until the rest of the world ceases the following:
Prevent-A-tive
It's really preventive.
Orient-A-ted
It's really oriented.
Meijer's
It's just Meijer.
and the rare, but still completely annoying:
K-mart's
I am willing to kill for less.
maybe it's just me?
Have you ever noticed that everyone calls that rubber-headed scraper thing a "spatula"? Truthfully, it's a rubber-scraper. A "spatula" is in fact the flipper-ooni thing you use to turn over hamburgers or eggs. I however, will continue to use the word "spatula" incorrectly until the rest of the world ceases the following:
Prevent-A-tive
It's really preventive.
Orient-A-ted
It's really oriented.
Meijer's
It's just Meijer.
and the rare, but still completely annoying:
K-mart's
I am willing to kill for less.
maybe it's just me?
August 4, 2005
The Pause that refreshes
Ok - so it's kinda hot outside here in West Michigan.
On Sunday I offered lunch on the grill to a number of people at CentrePointe Church. You know, brats and burgers, corn on the cob and whatever else we could get together. Based on the nodding and smiling, I thought it was going to be a pretty big crowd. So I dashed home and thawed out a couple more packages of bratwurst, including the cheesy brats (which I highly recommend)! So I had about 8 burgers and 20 brats. That's quite a lot of food. 5 people showed up. I have brats and burgers left over. Lots of them. They are still pretty good with the grill flavor and all.
I should also mention that I was defrosting a turkey. Did I mention that it's hot outside? Yes, I believe I did. The Turkey was from Christmas. I planned to cook that on Sunday. I let it thaw some more while I ate leftover and cooked the turkey on Monday. It takes a while to cook, so it went in as soon as it could after work. At about 9:30 PM it was ready. It had one of those little pop-up timers and I double-checked it with a meat thermometer.
I've been eating bratwurst for lunch and turkey for dinner since then. This I have decided is a good thing. I get grilled food at lunch time and then before bed I get a good dose of Tryptophan to help me sleep. I've been sleeping really well since Monday.
Now - for the title of this entry.
This evening, after a plate of turkey, potatoes, stuffing, and a touch of gravy, I decided to tweak the sprinklers a bit. I have those underground sprinklers and turned a few heads off around a couple of areas. I opened a couple of them up to water some flowers and tomatoes.
You close and open these guys with a little screw right on the top of the sprinkler head, as you start to loosen the screw, the head begins to sprinkle. As I adjusted this particular head, I was unwittingly unscrewing the whole top of the sprinkler. it popped off and shot up at me in the face. I quickly stood up and got 20 gallons of water per-minute at 60psi right up the shorts. Man! That was refreshing.
maybe it's just me...
On Sunday I offered lunch on the grill to a number of people at CentrePointe Church. You know, brats and burgers, corn on the cob and whatever else we could get together. Based on the nodding and smiling, I thought it was going to be a pretty big crowd. So I dashed home and thawed out a couple more packages of bratwurst, including the cheesy brats (which I highly recommend)! So I had about 8 burgers and 20 brats. That's quite a lot of food. 5 people showed up. I have brats and burgers left over. Lots of them. They are still pretty good with the grill flavor and all.
I should also mention that I was defrosting a turkey. Did I mention that it's hot outside? Yes, I believe I did. The Turkey was from Christmas. I planned to cook that on Sunday. I let it thaw some more while I ate leftover and cooked the turkey on Monday. It takes a while to cook, so it went in as soon as it could after work. At about 9:30 PM it was ready. It had one of those little pop-up timers and I double-checked it with a meat thermometer.
I've been eating bratwurst for lunch and turkey for dinner since then. This I have decided is a good thing. I get grilled food at lunch time and then before bed I get a good dose of Tryptophan to help me sleep. I've been sleeping really well since Monday.
Now - for the title of this entry.
This evening, after a plate of turkey, potatoes, stuffing, and a touch of gravy, I decided to tweak the sprinklers a bit. I have those underground sprinklers and turned a few heads off around a couple of areas. I opened a couple of them up to water some flowers and tomatoes.
You close and open these guys with a little screw right on the top of the sprinkler head, as you start to loosen the screw, the head begins to sprinkle. As I adjusted this particular head, I was unwittingly unscrewing the whole top of the sprinkler. it popped off and shot up at me in the face. I quickly stood up and got 20 gallons of water per-minute at 60psi right up the shorts. Man! That was refreshing.
maybe it's just me...
July 11, 2005
Denver iPod
I'm in Denver for the International Christian Retailers Show (CBA). 
I'm also eating way too much. The Cheescake Factory has called me twice already, and there's an awesome diner up the street from my hotel.
Is it OK to have a Denver Omlette in Denver?
I had hash-browns and eggs.
Maybe it's just me?
I'm also eating way too much. The Cheescake Factory has called me twice already, and there's an awesome diner up the street from my hotel.
Is it OK to have a Denver Omlette in Denver?
I had hash-browns and eggs.
Maybe it's just me?
July 7, 2005
Bank On It
My Credit Union (bank) does a monthly newsletter. It usually is awful. This month it rocked.
1) They provided the phone number and web site for the Opt-out of credit card offers mailed to your home.
https://www.optoutprescreen.com/
1-888-567-8688
Do this and do it now!
You have to provide your SSN, but that's because the three credit reporting agencies sell their lists and you are known by your SSN which provides your credit report. The opt-out process flags your information so they can't sell it.
2) They provided the phone number and web address to get your free credit reports.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/
This is the real address - don't make any typos or use the stuff you find in pop-up ads. Those are scams and are a quick way to go down the road to identity theft.
1-877-322-8228
You should do this at least a couple of times a year and keep your report up-to-date.
3) They provided a whole FBI fraud alert article.
http://www.lmcu.org/lmcu_newsletters/293.pdf
It really gives you the heads-up on common scams to avoid and what to watch out for when trying to deposit a check that might come from a scam.
GO CREDIT UNION!
Way to go!
Also...
Last night I ate a sampler platter of evil at Damon's.
This sucker had skins, cheese sticks, onion strings, wings, and ribs.
Glorious... simply glorious.
maybe it's just me?
PS - it's my birthday today
1) They provided the phone number and web site for the Opt-out of credit card offers mailed to your home.
https://www.optoutprescreen.com/
1-888-567-8688
Do this and do it now!
You have to provide your SSN, but that's because the three credit reporting agencies sell their lists and you are known by your SSN which provides your credit report. The opt-out process flags your information so they can't sell it.
2) They provided the phone number and web address to get your free credit reports.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/
This is the real address - don't make any typos or use the stuff you find in pop-up ads. Those are scams and are a quick way to go down the road to identity theft.
1-877-322-8228
You should do this at least a couple of times a year and keep your report up-to-date.
3) They provided a whole FBI fraud alert article.
http://www.lmcu.org/lmcu_newsletters/293.pdf
It really gives you the heads-up on common scams to avoid and what to watch out for when trying to deposit a check that might come from a scam.
GO CREDIT UNION!
Way to go!
Also...
Last night I ate a sampler platter of evil at Damon's.
This sucker had skins, cheese sticks, onion strings, wings, and ribs.
Glorious... simply glorious.
maybe it's just me?
PS - it's my birthday today
July 4, 2005
Pancake-o-ramma
Every 4th of July, for several years, I've gone to the Graafschaap (just south of Holland, MI) volunteer fire dept. pancake breakfast fundraiser. It's pancakes, sausage, butter, syrup, nasty orange juice, and milk (2% or chocolate).
Pancakes are great, make no mistake, but seriously - people line up out the door for this thing.
I'm starting to recognize people I don't know based on their outfit. Yes, I'm implying that some people wear the same red-white-and-blue paraphernalia every year. There's one woman who really looks like Jane Fonda. (Not the "workout" Jane, but the recent "monster in-law" Jane. Please everyone out there, makeup should look natural. If I can see your makeup, then you are doing it wrong.) Anyway - she wears a flag. OK, it's a shirt that looks like it was made out of a flag. It's not good.
But the pancakes are pretty good, and it's all you can eat. What a better way to celebrate the bloody way our country declared it's independence from socialized medicine, high taxes, tea and crumpets, than to spend the rest of the day in a carbohydrate induced coma.
maybe it's just me?
Pancakes are great, make no mistake, but seriously - people line up out the door for this thing.
I'm starting to recognize people I don't know based on their outfit. Yes, I'm implying that some people wear the same red-white-and-blue paraphernalia every year. There's one woman who really looks like Jane Fonda. (Not the "workout" Jane, but the recent "monster in-law" Jane. Please everyone out there, makeup should look natural. If I can see your makeup, then you are doing it wrong.) Anyway - she wears a flag. OK, it's a shirt that looks like it was made out of a flag. It's not good.
But the pancakes are pretty good, and it's all you can eat. What a better way to celebrate the bloody way our country declared it's independence from socialized medicine, high taxes, tea and crumpets, than to spend the rest of the day in a carbohydrate induced coma.
maybe it's just me?
June 20, 2005
My Hero - Zero
As someone who absolutely detests most diet soda (pop) I am pleased to announce an actually palatable carbonated diet cola.
Coke Zero
It's so much like the older version of Coke (before Coke-Classic, and the "New Coke" of the mid-1980's, I had to do a double-take.
My local Meijer grocery store handed out dixie-cup size samples of the newest "pause that refreshes" and I was stunned. Diet you say? HA! I had to go read the ingredients:
Coke Zero:
Carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, Aspartame, potassium benzoate...
Diet Coke:
Carbonated water, caramel color, Aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate...
Is the jockeying of one ingredient the difference? Who knows, but I can tell you that the one think I really miss about the original coke is that it was not as sweet at the newer versions. This diet-treat seems to capture that cripsness.
So - once again Coke - +1
Way to go!
maybe it's just me...
Coke Zero
It's so much like the older version of Coke (before Coke-Classic, and the "New Coke" of the mid-1980's, I had to do a double-take.
My local Meijer grocery store handed out dixie-cup size samples of the newest "pause that refreshes" and I was stunned. Diet you say? HA! I had to go read the ingredients:
Coke Zero:
Carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, Aspartame, potassium benzoate...
Diet Coke:
Carbonated water, caramel color, Aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate...
Is the jockeying of one ingredient the difference? Who knows, but I can tell you that the one think I really miss about the original coke is that it was not as sweet at the newer versions. This diet-treat seems to capture that cripsness.
So - once again Coke - +1
Way to go!
maybe it's just me...
June 13, 2005
Freaks, Geeks, and Taco Bell
Now and then we watch videos at work during lunch. We're in the Freaks and Geeks series right now. Also, some of us went to Taco Bell today.
I got about $3 worth of stuff off of the value menu. It's pretty good - considering. I think that the bell should be more honest and simply list their entres by the order of their ingredients, bottom to top:
1) tortilla, beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato
2) tortilla, meat, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato
3) tortilla, beans, cheese, meat, tomato, lettuce
and so-on
Seriously, I'm expecting a new commercial and mascott to do something like this:
Hey, hey, hey!
There's something totally new from Taco Bell!
Now we've put the lettuce and tomato under the beans and meat, but on top of the cheese to create a completely new taste sensation! It's seriously so much better than the tomato under the cheese thing we tried last month or last year's disasterous beans, beans, beans, lettuce and cheese! Don't miss it! Get down to your local Taco Bell today and get your cheese, tomato, lettuce, beans and meat, all on a tortilla! And don't forget a side order of tortillas and cheese!
It's no "On the Road" by Kerouac mind you, but it would be so much more honest.
maybe it's just me.
I got about $3 worth of stuff off of the value menu. It's pretty good - considering. I think that the bell should be more honest and simply list their entres by the order of their ingredients, bottom to top:
1) tortilla, beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato
2) tortilla, meat, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato
3) tortilla, beans, cheese, meat, tomato, lettuce
and so-on
Seriously, I'm expecting a new commercial and mascott to do something like this:
Hey, hey, hey!
There's something totally new from Taco Bell!
Now we've put the lettuce and tomato under the beans and meat, but on top of the cheese to create a completely new taste sensation! It's seriously so much better than the tomato under the cheese thing we tried last month or last year's disasterous beans, beans, beans, lettuce and cheese! Don't miss it! Get down to your local Taco Bell today and get your cheese, tomato, lettuce, beans and meat, all on a tortilla! And don't forget a side order of tortillas and cheese!
It's no "On the Road" by Kerouac mind you, but it would be so much more honest.
maybe it's just me.
June 9, 2005
ahhh the power of cheese
I returned home from a bachelor party, parked the car, cleaned up some wood chips around the walk and picked up the mail. After a brief constitutional I adjourned to the kitchen where I began to sort and shred today's junk mail and important communications. The Calvin College Spark stared bleakly up at me from the kitchen counter. The happy ginning faces of the student atheletes were jaded by my own tired eyes and an impending sense of doom...
DOOOM!!!
.... articles about the athletes...
.... articles about PETRA (better known as Pres. Byker's ....)
.... page 5
oh the humanity!
Say it ain't so!
I love cheese...
Hat's off to you guys!
I'm going to get me a slab o'cheddar.
on the other-hand,
maybe it's just me?
DOOOM!!!
.... articles about the athletes...
.... articles about PETRA (better known as Pres. Byker's ....)
.... page 5
oh the humanity!
Say it ain't so!
I love cheese...
Hat's off to you guys!
I'm going to get me a slab o'cheddar.
on the other-hand,
maybe it's just me?
to the winners go the pizza
After winning a softball game the team decided to go to Pietro's Back-door Pizzaria (yes, we make all the required off-color jokes about the name). They do this "pizza party" deal for large groups.
Unlimited:
-Salad (simple itallian salad)
-Breadsticks (very hearty)
-Pizza (keep 'em coming)
-Soda-pop (Pepsi products... beware)
All that for $6.95/person.
When it's a party of 20-something, it works pretty well.
Now here's where I fell.
After all of that, I stopped at McDonalds on the way home for a small Vanilla Shake for $2... WHAT WAS I THINKING? Like I needed that?
And the price? I could have bought a 1/2 gallon of ice-cream for that. Is that stupid or what?
maybe it's just me...
Unlimited:
-Salad (simple itallian salad)
-Breadsticks (very hearty)
-Pizza (keep 'em coming)
-Soda-pop (Pepsi products... beware)
All that for $6.95/person.
When it's a party of 20-something, it works pretty well.
Now here's where I fell.
After all of that, I stopped at McDonalds on the way home for a small Vanilla Shake for $2... WHAT WAS I THINKING? Like I needed that?
And the price? I could have bought a 1/2 gallon of ice-cream for that. Is that stupid or what?
maybe it's just me...
June 8, 2005
Breakfast Cereal
Man!
Sometimes I'm completely overwhelmed by the craving for a good (bad) sugar-cereal.
Boo-berry (a cousin to Count Chocula)
Quisp (haven't seen this one in years)
Frosted Flakes
Cocoa Crispies
Cap'n Crunch - Crunch Berries
and the High Exaulted Poo-bah of them all...
Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch
Saturday morning cartoons, a big bowl, a gallon of milk and a coke-slurpee if you can get one. Add to that some Wonder Bread and I'm set for the day.
maybe it's just me...
Sometimes I'm completely overwhelmed by the craving for a good (bad) sugar-cereal.
Boo-berry (a cousin to Count Chocula)
Quisp (haven't seen this one in years)
Frosted Flakes
Cocoa Crispies
Cap'n Crunch - Crunch Berries
and the High Exaulted Poo-bah of them all...
Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch
Saturday morning cartoons, a big bowl, a gallon of milk and a coke-slurpee if you can get one. Add to that some Wonder Bread and I'm set for the day.
maybe it's just me...
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