May 12, 2008
This is becoming the junk food blog
It seems that more and more I am writing about flavors of Mountain Dew, various chips, or, like in this case, M&Ms.
My quest for new and interesting flavors continues with the latest offerings from M&Ms.
The first one actually sounded better than it is. Wild Cherry M&Ms are great in small portions (ie one M) but when you try to down a few in a row, the tartness completely overwhelms the palette. (That will likely be the last time you will anyone refer to their palette in reference to M&Ms)
The other new flavor is quite possibly one of the best new candies in years. Mint Crisp M&Ms are part of the massive Indiana Jones movie tie-in marketing campaign. The flavor is great - we are talking little drops of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. Yes, they taste just like the guiltiest pleasure in the junk food world.
I am sure that both flavors will be in limited release, so if you see one, grab them fast. I know I will be tossing several bags of the Mint Crisps in my refrigerator for later consumption.
Wherever there are new snack food flavors to try, I will be there to assure you only kill yourself with the tastiest of junk.
Posted by CDogg at 07:55 PM | Comments (1)
All better "in the end"
Those of you who follow the twitter feed heard about my unexpected visit to the vet with Lou this morning. On our morning walk, I noticed what appeared to be some hair loss around his "back side." Upon further inspection (stop reading if you are squeamish) I noticed that one of his anal glands was red and swollen. This is something that vets see often and is rarely anything serious.
Once at the vet, they tried to manually "express" the gland but it proved to painful to my Buddy Lou. They suggested that they could do a better job of it if he were under anesthesia.
After much trepidation, I agreed and they took him away. I have always feared putting a pet under because I have heard scary stories. When I actually researched the percentages, it turns out that veterinary medicine has either come a long way since then, or that is just one of the urban legends that just won't persist.
A couple hours later when the vet tech called saying that Lou is fine, I was able to breathe again.
He was a bit spacey - not only in appearance - because of the pain medication and he looked like a sleepy child fighting sleep as he would droop his head and snap back to attention again and again.
The "cone of silence" is still driving him nuts, but he seems to be adjusting okay. I doubt seriously I am going to be able to get him to leave it on for the week they recommend.
Thank you to everyone that sent your good vibes and wishes to him.
Posted by CDogg at 07:05 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2008
Escapism - good and bad
I haven't watched wrestling (or sports entertainment as it is referred to now) in years. Recently I added the entire lineup of television wrestling to my TiVo in an effort to see if it had gotten any better over the years.
I used to like ECW before it was owned by WWE because it was the start of the whole hardcore style. I even liked WCW during the big battles with them and WWE - during the Goldberg era.
So far, I have seen one of each show and have a first impression of each.
WWE - as disappointing as ever. William Regal as the manager is not only boring, but the wrestling is horrible.
TNA - clearly the class of current wrestling promotions. One name - Curry Man. This guy who is one of the most popular wrestlers in Japan is a hoot to watch. Forget the wrestling - his ring entry will make you laugh out loud.
How can you not love someone like that?
At the end of the day however, TNA is a lot more exciting than all the other shows. The talent works harder, the stunts are more impressive, and the storylines are slightly less stupid than all the others.
If a better promotion, more action, and fun characters weren't enough - I could watch Velvet Sky (Talia Madison) all day. (She's the one on the right)
She has a sort of bad girl Amanda Bynes thing going on.
Sure, its not Shakespeare, but Bill was considered the trashy entertainment of his day as well. As pure escapism, its a blast.
Posted by CDogg at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2008
Strange flavors
I am always intrigued when I see a new flavor of potato chip. 1) because the idea that you can add a bit of powder to a chip and get all these strange flavors blows me away, and 2) because I am addicted to the horrible little things.
You'll remember my recent post about the limited run of Cheetos Cheesy Enchilada (I soooo miss them.) I had occasion to try a couple of new ones in the past few weeks. First up was Burger King Fries & Ketchup.
The weird thing is that they actually DO taste like Burger King fries & ketchup. I just can't figure out the ketchup flavor... it just totally freaks me out.
The other one I tried recently was a "limited edition" release of Pringle's Cheeseburger chips. Yep, you guessed it... they taste just like a cheeseburger. In fact, it tastes like the old cheapo McDonald's cheeseburger that I would get as a kid for like 50 cents or something. That is not the weird part - you can actually taste a hint of mustard, and pickle as well as the meat and bun. ALL from a layer of spices.
I still haven't gotten up the courage to try Tim McGraw's Spicy Jalapeno Fritos (just not into that whole jalapeno flavor.) Fear not though, I, as your intrepid chip sampler, will continue to find all the greatest flavors guaranteed to advance your heart disease.
Posted by CDogg at 08:10 AM | Comments (1)
May 07, 2008
He is now a "cyclist"
Today was Blake's second day riding his new GIANT mountain bike and his first time to commute to work. The hilliness of the route is a little work in places, but once the initial noodle-leg feeling passes, he has recovered quickly.
Tonight we are heading to ALLEYCRUNK on the square in San Marcos, so Blake will get to experience more of the cycling lifestyle.
Posted by CDogg at 05:03 PM | Comments (2)
If this is how they run a business - we're safe
By now, most of you know that I run and am part owner of Newstreamz.com in San Marcos. I mentioned earlier in the blog about having to take care of some distasteful business by letting someone go that simply wasn't producing. First came the petty name calling, then that person went into business in direct competition with our venture. No problem... he never had the drive to do it consistently before, no reason to believe he would start now.
His site has been going in fits and starts, a spurt of four stories one day, a recovery day or two, and then a couple more etc.
His latest volley is even more humorous... he has pulled out Alexa. The internet savvy know that Alexa is a joke. Rather than recreate the wheel in explaining it all to you, how about letting Slashdot make the argument for me?
"Its sampling methodology is flawed and the numbers it produces are meaningless"
The fact that Alexa won't use their own ranking system should tell you everything.
The other completely laughable part of this whole thing is that when you actually look up his site on Alexa, the page ranking reads: -------.com has a traffic rank of: No Data
Nice - not only does he quote a site proven to be statistically worthless, but his site doesn't even rank on it.
Fun stuff.
Posted by CDogg at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)
May 04, 2008
Where is Hugh Downs when you need him?
The "news magazine" Dateline NBC has never been one of the higher brow shows, but it appears to have sunk to a new low Sunday night. The show renowned for lowest-common-denominator journalism isn't catching predators, busting myths, or even telling a harrowing story of survival. This time around they are counting down the top ten messiest celebrity meltdowns.
This whole show looks like it was purchased lock, stock, and voyeuristic barrel from VH1. You know them - they are the fine folks that bring you "The 40 Most Awesomely Bad Songs," "100 Most Shocking Moments in...." etc.
The format is simple... find something to count down - find about a dozen D-list celebs to reel off one-liners like "Are you kidding girl? she was like melting down in front of everyone" - intercut fast clips and photos of the shocking event - move on the #?.
Dateline NBC is now officially dead to me. As least when they were creating news by entrapment, there was at least some issue to discuss and debate. This is brain cell destruction on steroids... you WILL be less intelligent after watching - guaranteed.
Posted by CDogg at 07:38 PM | Comments (1)
May 02, 2008
Iron Man - another hit for Marvel's movie line
Long time readers will know that my two favorite comic book heroes are The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man. While I was a bit disappointed in parts of the Hulk movie, I still gave it a 9 rating based on how much I really dig the big greenie.
I will also say that when I heard Robert Downey Jr. was pegged to play Tony Stark, I was more than skeptical - I was mad. I assumed that once the film unveiled the Iron Man suit I wouldn't care that Downey is once again waaaay too small to play the tall, powerful billionaire. (Don't even get me started on how wrong the casting was for Cyclops in the X-Men movies.)
I have to admit that Downey did a very good job portraying Tony Stark so that is forgiven. Frankly, I am pleased that this romp wasn't people by teeny boppers as with recent superhero fare - it's nice to have an actor that fits the character age. However, the movie once again took an excellent story and rewrote it for no apparent reason. I am okay with updating the timeline. It didn't HAVE to be done, but it doesn't bother me as the comic books had already done a retelling. (Pull me aside sometime for the list of departures from the mythology.)
All of the nitpicks aside... once the red and gold armored superhero hit the screen, I was in. I could watch Iron Man fly, fight, and blast through baddies for hours. In fact, that was the biggest shortcoming... not enough suit time. Did we really need the faceplate flipped up for so many scenes - NOBODY was here to see Robert Downey Jr. - we were here to see 'Ol Shellhead.
As some country singer says though, "I like it, I love it... I want some more of it!"
RATING 9 out of 10
Note that the Iron Man review may seem to disagree with the rating scale. This has been something I have been questioned on quite a bit with my film reviews. The short answer is that the rating is how much I liked the film, while the review is an opportunity to expose the details of it from the standpoint of story telling and film craft.
Think of it this way... You may have the most adorable mutt dog. If you took it to the Westminster Dog Show, they might be able to point out hundreds of flaws (the review) but at the end of the day, you love the dog (the rating.)
Posted by CDogg at 07:54 AM | Comments (0)
April 28, 2008
Chris-isms
"Bad days are needed so you can recognize the good ones."-- Chris Doelle
Posted by CDogg at 12:45 PM | Comments (0)
April 27, 2008
782 - Nicknames, bike rides, dog songs, and much more!
A jam-packed show that includes a listener submitted song, a boatload of new friends (virtual and real), news of a new addition to the podcasting family and yet another attempt at slimming down.
Click to play, right-click for direct MP3 download
A Doggie's View - Leanne Bugat
So Lo So Hi - Presidents of the United States of America
Charlie Chaplin - Katie Herzig
(Time: 19:08)
Call in and leave a voicemail for the show! 713-568-6361
Subscribe in iTunes
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Subscribe at PodcastReady Posted by CDogg at 08:10 PM | Comments (0)
April 26, 2008
A Cornucopia of Movie Reviews
NOTE: I found this saved in my drafts. I had meant to publish is just over a month ago... better late than never. :)
Its been some time since I did a movie review and its high time I remedied that. I have seen a lot of movies since my last review back in January, so I will pull a few out of my memory bank for this entry.
I am going to start things off with the silliest of the bunch - Hot Rod. This was a completely stupid movie, but its okay - it was supposed to be stupid. I enjoyed the heck out of Hot Rod. Andy Samberg did a fine job as the addled stunt man, but the standout performance was by Ian McShane. His portrayal of the d*ckhead stepfather was hilarious.
RATING 7 out of 10
Michael Clayton was this much-ballyhooed "thriller" about a corporate fixer. If you had a problem, George Clooney's Michael Clayton character could make it go away. While it was interesting at times, I think it failed to live up to all the pre-viewing hype.
RATING 6 out of 10
Beowulf is an interesting film. This adaptation of the pre-10th century Old English manuscript is by far the closest I have seen in film version. The visuals are unique in that the entire film is a combination of CGI and motion capture. As fantasy pics go, this one is right up there. I mean who can argue with a nude Angelina Jolie, even if she is computer generated and mostly concealed. :)
RATING 8 out of 10
I also saw the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So. The film is an interesting look at how Christianity deals with the issue of homosexuality and the varied stances affect the subjects of the documentary. The film focuses on perceived misinterpretation of scripture and denial of current public opinion of homosexuality. It is an interesting topic but the filmwork is a bit elementary and uninspiring.
RATING 7 out of 10
I have four or five others to review, but that is all the time I have right now. Let me know what you think? Did you catch any of these films?
Posted by CDogg at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)
April 24, 2008
Forget LOLcats
LOLcats drive me crazy - but this is cool.
Posted by CDogg at 02:48 PM | Comments (0)
April 23, 2008
Me and a few thousand close friends
I got a call yesterday from Ron asking if I wanted to go to the Spurs - Suns playoff game... the price was right (free) so of course, I said yes. Ron is friends with one of the Spurs dancers who was a dancer for the Texas Copperheads arena team and she totally gave us the hookup.
Now, I know from the looks of these photos, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of basketball going on - trust me though, it was a good game.
An interesting side note is that this was the fourth time I have seen Shaquille O'Neal play live - once for the Orlando Magic, twice for the Los Angeles Lakers, and now, once for the Phoenix Suns. This is the first game I have seen him lose.
It's a hard life.
If you want to see more of the pictures - check them out on my Flickr page.
Posted by CDogg at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2008
Proof positive that there is something wrong with America
Okay, I see nothing wrong with a very special Star Wars version of Deal or No Deal... hotties AND Star Wars - that is what is good with America.
What I cannot abide however, it our President showing up on the gameshow - ANY gameshow. Sure, he is not really the statesman type in the first place, but a freakin' gameshow? Are you kidding me?
Oh yeah, and First Lady, Laura Bush will be hosting The Today Show - Thomas Jefferson is rolling in his grave.
Posted by CDogg at 06:20 PM | Comments (0)
Some people are unclear on the idea
One of the unfortunate things about coming in to fix, kick start, or reinvigorate a company, is that personnel changes are unavoidable. Afterall, if said company had all the right people, doing all the right things, there would be nothing to fix.
Over a month ago, I was put in the position of having to ask someone to either step up and do the job, or take the opportunity to resign. He chose to walk. Everything about the departure was professional. He was allowed to resign, given a overly generous severance package, and given best wishes toward his next endeavor.
In a case of someone that clearly doesn't understand the "rising tide raising all boats" theory, he took the cash, smiled in a friendly manner, and then proceeded to mail anyone and everyone that he was starting a competing business and that they should pull their support for our company.
I am all for someone creating competition - I welcome people in this business space. I just think this was a D*CK move to mail our customers, employees, friends, and anyone who would listen and spout off disparaging comments. It is sad to me that this person thinks this is a way to do business.
The great news is that NOBODY is taking him serious. He is a slacker, a criminal, and a lazy blamer. Because of this, he will never be a success in his new venture and has only succeeded in reinforcing the opinion that he is immature, dishonest, and untrustworthy.
Despite his poor judgment, I hope that as a person he will grow and come to realize that when you start flinging mud, you end up being the dirty one.
Posted by CDogg at 03:51 PM | Comments (1)
The Spartan life
It is real difficult to catch a shot of Lou sleeping because he hears everything. I even turned the camera on about ten minutes before shooting this so that the click wouldn't wake him. Even though I silently raised the camera and took the shot with his eyes close, he is either faster than the camera at opening his eyes or caught me pushing down on the button.
How bout those luxurious digs? It's good to be the king - haha. Actually, I am taking my time looking for a house as I want this one to be a keeper.
Posted by CDogg at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2008
Nose to the grindstone
Blake was hard at work his first day at Newstreamz.
It was one of the most productive days in Newstreamz history as he jumped right in and within minutes was up-to-speed on how things operate.
From the looks of things, he will fit in just fine.
Posted by CDogg at 06:35 PM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2008
Lyrically speaking...
I was listening to my Last.fm playlist while working on taxes and the song Brick by Ben Folds Five came on. I had forgotten just how much I used to dig this track.
"And we drive
Now that I have found someone
I'm feeling more alone
than I ever have before
Shes a brick and I'm drowningPurchase from iTunes
slowly
Off the coast and I'm headed
nowhere"
The lyrics to this song are amazing... you can feel the despair of unrequited love. You can feel the singer "drowning."
Posted by CDogg at 08:13 AM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2008
Who ruined professional sports? Unions? Owners?
Don't ask me what prompted this entry. Its not like there are any labor negotiations going on in sports right now. Its not a timely entry - it's just something that struck me this morning.
I think it was the NFL's Plan B Free Agency that brought it home to me personally. I grew up being a huge fan of the Dallas Cowboys. Like all major league sports, football had been one of long-standing dynasties. Even if a team didn't dominate the league for years, there was a dynasty of personnel. You could count on the fact that Harvey Martin, Ed "Too" Tall Jones, and Charlie Waters would be on the team for years. You could count on the fact that Mel Blount, Rocky Blier, and Joe Green would be there to battle against them.
Sure, the owners were ripping off the players and I don't condone that. The problem wasn't that players couldn't move, the problem was that there wasn't enough competition in terms of other leagues. Major League Baseball was given a monopoly protected by Congress. Without this unfair advantage, other leagues would have popped up and forced MLB to increase the value to the fans, and raise salaries. It worked for the AFL.
The NFL-AFL merger is what shouldn't have been allowed. IT was a monopolistic move. The player's unions were formed out of opposition to these types of heavy-handed control. Even after being given their monopolies, both the NFL and MLB could have protected the game when the player unions stepped in. Simply giving the players a guaranteed percentage of revenues could have make the monopolies work... once again greed took over and the only group that suffered were the people paying the bill - the fans.
So who is to blame for ruining professional sports? The owners proved to be too greedy and forced the players to unionize. The unions pushed back harder than was good for the game or the majority of their members. It is my contention however, that the blame fall squarely on the weak shoulders of our elected officials.
Politicians have a long history of giving lip service to things and then taking cash to ensure the opposite happens. Allowing these leagues to form monopolies surely put money in the pockets of people who could have done something to stop them.
Regardless of who 'broke' professional sports - they are indeed broken to me, and that is why I am such a huge fan of high school and college sports. Sure they have their problems too, but I will take an action-packed gridiron battle with a stadium half-full of kids, parents, and the band, over 40,000 screaming fans paying fat-cat owners for $8.00 soft drinks, and $30 tshirts so they could pay the salaries of spoiled, lazy, arrogant, and rude "superstars."
Posted by CDogg at 07:52 AM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2008
She looks like Wayne freakin Newton
Now, I know I am going to hear it from the fanboys on this one, but Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslin on Battlestar Galactica) looks like she had 'some work done' during the hiatus.
I can't find a current photo to do a before and after comparison, but her face has changed. There is no doubt in my mind that some procedure was done and I have to say that, as is the case with most of these 'improvements,' she went from looking gorgeous to unnatural.
She is still my favorite fictional President, but with the no-close eyelids and button nose, she is looking like Wayne Newton with a wig.
Posted by CDogg at 10:48 PM | Comments (2)
April 10, 2008
Bike to work day - every day.
One of the things that attracted me to San Marcos was the bike culture. Being a cyclist for the past 25 years, and having dropped way off my earlier mileage totals, I figured the move would get me back in the saddle.
Today was the first day I cycled to work and I have to say it was a blast. It is a tiny ride, as bike treks go, (5 miles round trip) but because there are uphill sections each way, it was an invigorating bit of exercise.
The first stop after I got to the Newstreamz office was to the corner bike shop - The Hub - for some adjustment to my gear cables, lube to the chain, new back brakes, and a general tune-up. As much as I have always loved working on my own bike, it was kinda cool to have them do it. It just took a couple minutes and I didn't have to drag my stand and tools out or clean up afterwards.
On the way back to the apartment, I discovered a route that had less traffic and appeared to be just a bit more safe.
I look forward to riding much more, and of course, the great side effect of dropping the weight, that the photo clearly shows, I can spare.
Posted by CDogg at 02:54 PM | Comments (0)
I am sure this is not new to the rest of you
I am sometimes so tied up with my pet projects and exploring the cutting-edge stuff in the world that I overlook developments right under my nose. I was gassing up at HEB last night while Dave was inside grabbing some groceries. While processing the transaction at the pump, the machine started talking to me. "Would you like additrol?" (or additron, or addiwhosywhatsit - I can't remember exactly.)
It turns out that you can include a fuel additive in your tank while you fill up. It pumps it right into the stream coming out of the nozzle.
I am still not sure how I feel about this. I mean on the one hand, it is good marketing. No bottles of gunk to pour in your tank, and point-of-sale purchasing is always a money maker.
The gunk they are selling aside, I just don't believe ANY claims about fuel additives. It makes no sense. If you could add something to the fuel to make it better, why wouldn't the fuel companies do it ahead of time and make the extra cash.
In fact, my theory on gunk that claims to improve mileage is that the product is something that doesn't really do anything, but has the same makeup as gasoline. The simple act of adding a quart to your tank gives you a quart's worth of extra miles you can drive. If you look at the price per gallon for this stuff - it is more expensive than the gas.
When Dave got back in the car, I told him about my discovery and he responded, "Oh yeah... I've seen that." So much for breaking news.
Posted by CDogg at 08:55 AM | Comments (2)
April 09, 2008
He's a travelin' man (uh, dog)
Lou has always been a great traveling companion. He can (and does) spend hours sitting on my lap looking at cows, trucks, and anything else that catches his eye. He never gets fidgety. He never causes problems - he's just happy to be hanging with me.
He has logged over 25,000 miles on the road with me and I expect he'll see a lot more two-lane blacktop. Good times.
Posted by CDogg at 09:10 AM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2008
A little deep for this early in the morning
I am having a crisis of faith in my fellow man and was hoping you folks could give me a little feedback.
Is everyone truly out for themselves? Does anyone do things because it's the right thing to do anymore? Did they ever? Sure, you don't rob liquor stores (or do you? haha) but do you choose not to because its the right thing to do, or because the consequences to you in breaking that law are painful? When no one is around do you drop a gum wrapper on the ground? Is it because you think that polluting the environment is wrong or because you'd hate to be seen littering (social stigma) or tickets (financial consequences?)
The reason I ask is because I am get fed up with people who tell me they want to help me. We have all seen this... people who jump at the opportunity to help out when they have something to gain... but are no where to be found if they don't benefit.
What is human nature? Are we good or are we selfish? Is life a struggle to get ahead no matter who you have to step on, or is doing good good enough?
Will you comment here to add to the discussion and assist myself and others in analyzing one of life's biggest mysteries? Or instead - will you comment so you can look smart? Or worse - not comment at all because there is nothing in it for you?
Posted by CDogg at 07:38 AM | Comments (5)
April 05, 2008
Get your music on - free and geeky, just like I like it
I am really starting to like Last.FM
I liked it quite a bit when I first discovered it back in 2004. Being a statistical nut, it was right up my alley. I could see how many times I played songs, charts of my most played for the week, month, all-time etc. Seriously, this was good stuff.
You have to realize that this sort of information has always been fascinating to me. I am the guy that took a trunk full of cassettes away to college and kept a chart of each tape. I would put a tally next to the tape each time I played it - I compiled my all-time list, my monthly charts - all of this same stuff... but I did it by hand. (Yeah maybe a little OCD... but I enjoyed it.)
Then when Last.FM showed up, I could have the same info without all the psychosis... way cool!
So why rant about it now? Well, I have recently really started using a feature of Last.FM that I had been ignoring... the playlist player.
You tag songs that you like and it adds them to your playlist - no big deal right? Well, since there are tens of thousands of FULL tracks on the site, the new playlist player will create your very own high-quality streaming radio station with just the songs you like, no ads, no interruption... just your favorite music. I stream it all day long at work.
Of course there are a few minor annoyances - some bands/artists are not yet up to speed on how new media works and thus do not upload their tracks. No biggie, the selection is so good that I rarely hear a song repeated. The player itself is a bit limited in what I can do with it. I am going to embed a version of it here.
I would like to be able to customize more than just the width and color of the player, but hey - you can't argue with the price and functionality.
If you are not using Last.FM - enjoy your retirement or wake up and get with it! When you do check it out, go ahead and add me to your friends. (All the cool kids are doing it.)
Posted by CDogg at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)
