I played volleyball in high school. I enjoyed it. It’s a tough sport that takes a lot of skill. It also requires you to be in great shape, and I was at the time.  The fact that I’m 6′4″ was also a benefit to my game. I remember it being fun, but I don’t recall it being too incredibly popular.  We never had huge crowds watching all of our games like the Friday night football games in the fall.  We were lucky if half the team had parents in the stands at any given game. That’s why I find it hilarious that Americans suddenly get volleyball fever when Olympians Kerri Walsh and Misty May are on TV. Maybe it has something to do with their skimpy outfits?  Maybe it was the pouring rain keeping things…uhh…perky? Not that I’m complaining….I’m just saying.

I’m having a shitty day.

I won’t bore you with the details of why, but I will share my solution.  I got through my morning by plowing through a bunch of work.  Around 11:30 I realized I had been staring at a computer screen for far too long. So, I jumped in my truck in search of some relief.

Some folks turn to drugs in times like these. My drug of choice today…The Baconator.  A double decker hamburger with cheese, mayonnaise, ketchup, and SIX STRIPS OF BACON

I feel better now.  I think.

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I must not be the only person on earth that turns to The Baconator in my hour of need.  A Google search turned up 96,400 results!  Yum.

By the way, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps eats the equivalent of 14.5 of these EVERY DAY when he’s competing. 12,000 calories every day. Seriously? I eat ONE and i feel like my pants are going to burst.  This kid can eat 12,000 calories a day and have abs like that?

Jesus.

I might have to start giving shameless plugs to John H….or maybe I’ll just go on the Marb Light again.

Kidding.  That’s just the bacon talking.

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Today is a holy day in Dem Land.  Ya see, it’s Brew Fest Day. It’s a big deal. It’s even bigger than some of those holidays that you don’t have to go to work on. I mean, it’s not bigger than Thanksgiving…but it kicks Arbor Day’s ass.

The brew fest du jour is the Flour City Brewers Fest being put on my the good folks over at Rohrbachs. The fest is a block away from our studios, at Frontier Field.  Easy walking distance after I get off the air, and our building is a great place to come back and chill out (sober up) after the festival.  And some sobering will be needed. It’s not that the goal is to binge drink, but there are 50 brewers sampling over 1oo beers in one place. Oh..did I mention that I like good beer? Well, I do. So I always try to make the most out of an opportunity to try some many new beers in one place.

If you’ve never been to a brew fest, PLEASE do yourself the favor of attending one soon.  Even if you’re one of those folks that would say to me “but I don’t like dark beer..” I PROMISE you that you’d walk away at the end of the night with at least 3 new beers on your shopping list.  Oh..and they’re not all dark. Most of them aren’t dark at all really.  So cut that crap out right now.

There are so many incredibly good beers out there. Not exploring them is kind of like eating NOTHING but Kraft Macaroni and Cheese every day for the rest of your life.  Another plus to this beer revolution is the cost. Compared to a good bottle of wine, a good bottle of beer of the same size is generally 90% cheaper.  I usually wouldn’t just go and spend $60 for a 750ml bottle of Cabernet, but I’d spend $6 for a 750ml bottle of great beer ANY day.  Oh..and beer these days has become just as refined and complex as many of the fine wines you’ll find in those fancy places with linen table cloths.  You too can be a snob for under ten dollars! How awesome.

Here is how a brew fest works. It’s a big party with beer, (of course) bands, food, and a few thousand like minded people enjoying a summer afternoon.  You get to the gate, give them your ticket and you are handed a glass. It’s not a full size beer glass, it’s kind of like someone shrunk one with a ray gun of some sort. A crazy beer loving ray gun.  Then you just walk around and enjoy the music, food, and beer.

You go to the different brewers booths and hand them your sampling glass.  At the start of the fest you probably say something like “I’d like to try the Roosterfish Hefeweizen please.” By the end of the evening you may be reduced to pointing at a tap handle and grunting.  Here’s the fun part, you then sip on your beer sample as you walk to the next brewers table you want to check out. If you’re smart, you even bring a map with you.

If you are a beer newbie, it’s also wise to bring along someone who knows their beers. You’ll have to put up with them sounding like a freakin’ know it all, but the education is worth the annoyance. Just ask ANY of my friends.  There is also no shortage of perfect strangers that would be willing to help you. Ask the people pouring beers for recommendations, ask anyone with a Beer Advocate shirt on, or just find me.  I’ll be wearing the fedora.

Why a fedora? Why the hell not? It’s Brew Fest Day!

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My cat might have to go on medication.

Sounds simple right?

Oh no.

My vet is crazy. Check it out…

Life as I knew it ended this morning. I woke up and reached for my Treo cell phone/pda to check the weather and my schedule before I jumped in the shower. I picked it up and realized it was HOT.  I thought “that’s not good” and looked at the screen.  Nothing seemed wrong. I opened up the back and reset my Treo.  When it was done with its reset, the part of the screen that usually lists my cell phone carrier said “Finding Network…”

I reset again.

“Finding Network…”

Again

“Finding Network”

“Shit.”

It took me until mid afternoon to get the time to call the support line. After 20 minutes talking to a tech and completely erasing all the data it was determined that they will be sending me a new Treo.

That’s great and all, but I won’t have it until tomorrow at the earliest. If I’m lucky.

Let me break this down for you.  Imagine trying to get through your day without your right arm.  It was there one minute…and now it’s gone.  Every time you go to do something simple, like open a door…BAM…you run into the door.  That’s what it’s like for me to NOT have my Treo.

It’s my calender, my to do list, my work schedule, my camera, my document reader, my email, my voice recorder, my show notes, my address book, my internet, my text messages, my news, my weather, my Google Maps, my pictures of my kids, my FaceBook, and oh yeah, my only phone.

I’m lost.  I keep reaching into my pocket only to realize its disassembled and sitting on my desk.  I go to send a text message…nope.  I go to check my email…nope. I go to check my to do list to see what i have to take care of next…nope.

I’ve also realized that i don’t know ANYONE’S phone number.

The suckery level is high right now. I’d call someone to complain, but I don’t have a phone.