Man, nothing better than a nice meal out, right? Personally, I’m a patio person. Nothing like a nice night on a patio with a little music and a couple frosty beverages. Unfortunately, Covid crippled the industry in many states, and the business is coming back very slowly. Not in Florida though! Governor Ron DeSantis actually followed the science and left his state open when most were rolling up the sidewalks and hiding in the basement. Turns out, Heavy D was right, and Florida has benefitted as a result. Other states, like Minnesota and Illinois? Ouch. They are suffering as a…
Author: robm
Ever heard the old expression “play with fire, you might get burned”? Of course you have. It sounds simple enough, right? If you don’t want to get burned, you don’t play with fire. That is, unless fire is your thing. People take crazy risks every day, especially for things they are passionate about. Ever jumped out of a plane? I wouldn’t but for some people that’s their thing. What about action sports? Crazy stuff there. I’d never mountain bike down a trail! Too many snakes! That brings me to snakes. Some people are fascinated with them. Ever have that friend…
Man, I love Florida! The sun, the sand, the surf, the scenery! I even love Ron Desantis! Can’t forget the stupid criminals! It seems that Florida leads the league in dumb criminals. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a GOOD thing! I want to eventually make Florida my home, so I prefer the criminals be dumber than I am. Obviously, the preference would be to just stay on the right side of Johnny Law, right? I mean, get a job, contribute to society, hang out and enjoy the Sunshine State! I guess that’s just too much to ask of some folks.…
All of the icons of our youth eventually pass, I know this. Eddie Van Halen, Macho Man Randy Savage, Olivia Newton-John; it’s just a sad fact of life that we all die. But Iron Mike Tyson? Come on, man! No, I’m not saying Tyson is dead, let’s not get ahead of our skis here. Tyson has however pontificated often on the afterlife and his death, often saying he felt it is near. Now we don’t know if Mike has a window into the spirit world or has taken too many right hands to the head, but Mike was recently spotted…
I want to freely admit to something, without judgement if I may. I am not a smart man, particularly when it comes to some types of technology. For instance, I have no idea how radio, television, movies, music, telephones or pictures work. Might as well be alien technology as far as I’m concerned. Explain to me, exactly how do you capture a moment in time of a piece of paper? Actually, don’t explain it to me, my head might explode. Before photographs there was a thing called a daguerreotype. Now without doing any actual research, I THINK that is an…
We see shady products, shifty marketing and dubious claims everywhere, don’t we? No, I’m not referring to Joe Biden’s White House this time. Often, it’s a cherished celebrity or a famous retired athlete pushing some sketchy product or service. Remember Joe Montana and Sketchers workout shoes? Oof, that was bad. Now, while Montana was just the pitchman and didn’t have any direct connection to the dubious health claims of the Sketcher shoe, sometimes a celeb or athlete INTENTIONALLY misleads the buying public in an attempt to push a product or inflate a company’s value. Shame, shame, know your name. Odds…
Ever seen a UFO? I have. Or at least think I have. That’s the problem. Many, many people, even people we know have seen what is commonly known as a UFO, despite the fact that the government has renamed them UAP, or “Unexplained Aerial Phenomenon”. I thought we were doing fine with “UFO” but count on the government to confuse things. Question remains, what are we seeing? Certainly, the vast majority of UFO’s are explainable, just not at the moment or by who saw it. Some however, despite scrutiny from people who want to poo poo everything cool, like UFO’s…
Have you ever been just floored by a news report? I mean numb, stunned, in disbelief? Me too. There have been big events in my life that have been unbelievable. The space shuttle Challenger, 9/11, Princess Di passing away in a high-speed chase, John Lennon’s murder. Events so shocking people talk about where they were and what they were doing years later when they found out. This isn’t one of them. You’ll remember last year, washed up actor and Trump Derangement Syndrome victim Alec Baldwin shot and killed a crew member on the set of his “b” list movie “Rust”?…
Just when you think we are making “progress” as a society, count on the lovely ladies at the University of Alabama to ruin it! It’s the legendary sorority rush week at Alabama, and you know what that means! Young girls desperate for acceptance, spend loads of their parent’s money to be humiliated by other mean girls! Fun! Recently, one brave warrior attempted the impossible. Following in the footsteps of trailblazing Lia Thomas, the first man to successfully breach the girls locker room, another noble explorer attempted to con his way into an Alabama sorority. Sadly, our hero was shot down…
You shouldn’t cheat. Let’s just throw that out there. Whether it be at sports, on your taxes (87 thousand new IRS agents are gonna make sure you don’t), at work, whatever. You are probably best to just lay things on the line and play it straight. Sure, sometimes you might get away with it, but how does that make you feel afterwards? Ok, maybe a little good in the short term, but those cows come home to roost eventually, and if it is on a scorned, vengeful woman with your credit card, well let’s just say it isn’t likely to…
The world has been a really crazy place lately, hasn’t it? Covid and the subsequent way it was mishandled by all our elected officials and public institutions has reshaped society for the worse. Arguing that point is to ignore the obvious. People lost their jobs because they refused an experimental vaccine, students were denied in school services, grieving families were denied last rites with ill loved ones. Yep, it’s been a true crapfest. The shocking part is how despite CDC recommendations finally starting to roll back to some semblance of common sense, some companies still refuse to “follow the science”…
Normally I am one hundred percent #teampeople. If a spider is in the house, or a snake is in the yard, if I can get a rolled-up newspaper or a garden hoe in time, I’m going to town. Yes, I know spiders eat insects, and don’t lecture me on the benefits of snakes. It’s a snake! Now if I am in the woods, it’s a different story. I understand and accept that I am in a snake’s living room. The woods belong to woodland creatures, just like the ocean belongs to fishes and such. I can’t get mad at the…
We have been told forever that women make less money than men. Never has that been the case in any industry I have worked in, or for that matter in any industry any female acquaintances I have known have worked in. Fact is, salaries are averaged over the entire spectrum, thus skewing the numbers for regular people. Naturally a WNBA player isn’t going to make as much as an NBA player, and Serena Williams isn’t going to make as much as Roger Federer. Even Megan Rapinoe, the greatest soccer player and athlete to ever live (sarcasm), isn’t going to make…
Ever get tired of people talking about the “good old days”? You know, three channels on the television, rotary phones, walking to school uphill both ways? Well, those WERE the good old days! OK, they weren’t THAT good, but still better than now. Now we have strife everywhere; you have to be careful of every word you say, lest you be called out as a bigot, racist, homophobe, etc. You also have to be wary of corporations trying to pull shady deals, especially in the auto industry. As costs rise in terms of parts, labor, shipping and such, auto makers…
We have always heard that “cheaters never prosper”, right? Boy was that wrong! Don’t misunderstand, cheaters SHOULDN’T prosper, but they often do. It’s just a sad fact of today’s society that rule breakers and rule benders can and will often get away with their schemes, and often profit. It’s not just sports either. Anyone seen Nancy Pelosi’s net worth versus her salary as Speaker? Definitely something up there, right? How about a lifelong politician like Sleepy Joe? He has never held a real job, yet his net worth is that of a small country. Shady dealings! Sometimes in the sports…
Have you ever seen a movie, then wondered how it could’ve been different, better maybe? Just a slightly different plot twist, or maybe a different actor cast for a particular role; it doesn’t take much to make or break a movie. In these days of wokeness and PC culture, it’s hard to imagine changes in movies and television like this, mostly because there are a half dozen different ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations on the screen at any given time. It’s like Hollywood has just taken every special interest group, put them in a bag and drawn-out names until they…
It’s nice to see some feel-good stories occasionally. The world isn’t always full of just ugliness and strife. I coached baseball for over a decade when my sons were young, and I have some stories about sportsmanship, or rather lack thereof. Looking back, it’s easier to see why we have a younger generation full of entitled, spoiled brats. It was sort of our fault. Playing youth sports certainly help. Studies have shown that kids that play youth sports do better in school, generally stay out of trouble, and graduate at a higher rate than those who don’t. Youth sports teaches…
You ever just get the feeling like things just CAN’T get any worse? I mean, at some point we have to hit rock bottom, right? Brandon is ruining the economy on a daily basis, foreign powers no longer fear us as a country, and the left spins further out of control; how do we cope with all this madness? For me, it’s simple. I turn off the television, put on some music, build a nice fire and sit out back with a frosty beverage or 6. I like to chat with the wife, throw tennis balls with the dogs and…
I have always been a huge fan of standup comedy. As a kid, I owned albums and tapes from George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Rodney Dangerfield, and Steve Martin among others. I know, probably shouldn’t have had the Pryor albums. Hey, my parents had never heard of him! I still own three Steve Martin albums. He was my absolute favorite. Martin’s style of offbeat, absurd comedy resonated with me. I like one-liners, ala Dangerfield, and stories like Pryor’s, but something about the silliness of Martin still gets me. After finishing his standup career, Martin embarked on a very successful movie career.…
We have all been in bad relationships, right? Or have I had all of them? Nah, what are the odds? We have all been in stinker relationships, no one is spared. Sometimes it’s just incompatibility. Sometimes it’s more nefarious and one of the parties involved steps out and betrays their partner’s trust. Shame, shame, know your name. We have seen it in tv and movies; a man or woman is cheated on and plots the most delicious revenge. Unfortunately, that type of sweet revenge rarely takes place in real life. It takes a special kind of patience to know your…
Are we living in a dream, folks? Do you ever think you are going to wake up and shake off the cobwebs and say, “Oh my goodness, THAT was crazy. Let’s get some French toast!”? Then you wake up, look at the news, and are reminded that nope; boys still claim to be girls, girls still claim to be boys, crazy woke adults are ruining everything, and you don’t have the ingredients for French toast. Some days it be like that! Recently, a prestigious all-girls school in Nashville decided it “be” like that every day from here on out, because…
It’s scientifically accepted that a poor diet and lack of exercise is bad, right? I mean, it’s just common sense, isn’t it? The more sedentary your lifestyle, the shorter your lifespan. Those are just indisputable facts of science, and we also have the longitudinal studies to back it up. Again, just common sense! Well, as is the case with the left, common sense is in short supply these days. Boys can be girls, fat is healthy, there are unlimited genders; the left is certainly no longer the “party of science”. Problem is, they are the louder, more obnoxious party. If…
Tornadoes have always terrified me. Like, nightmare stuff. You know, crazy dreams, like I can’t find my kids and I can see five tornadoes out of the window. It’s fine, I don’t need therapy! I have also had the unfortunate luck to experience tornadoes firsthand on a couple of instances. Suffice to say, it is every bit as destructive and insane as they say it is. The hail, the freight train sound, the funnel cloud. Yep, check all those boxes. Once you see one in person, you know you’ve seen one. Now, a waterspout is a whole different animal. Sure,…
Indiana Jones once famously said “Snakes? I hate snakes!” Yea Indy, me too. I don’t come across many snakes, living in the city and all, but even when I camp or hike, I stay on high alert. Having grown up on a farm, I’ve encountered my share of garter snakes, six-foot black snakes, and the occasional water moccasin. Just terrifying. Probably didn’t help that my older brother assured me EVERY snake was poisonous and probably going to bite me resulting in my sad, untimely death. Love older brothers. Snake guys always baffled me. You know the guy, walking in the…
Can’t a fella just get a new dog? I mean, you can always go down to the shelter and rescue a pit bull mix. Heaven knows there are always twenty or so pit mixes at the shelter. Apparently, pits are getting all the action in the dog world. And poodles. There’s a doodle in every other household. Ok, so maybe your tastes are a little more refined? Maybe you don’t want a dog that someone else had to give up. A “used” dog. Whatever, I’m not here to judge. Go to a breeder if that’s what you are into. I…
We have all called in sick before, right? Some days, you just can’t go in. Taking a mental health day is real, and beneficial! Sometimes you go in, but just aren’t feeling it. I’ve been there more times than I can remember. You look at the clock and it taunts you. Your mind wanders and you start asking yourself questions. Questions like, ‘what if I just leave? Will anyone notice’? Or maybe you daydream about a fire or a bomb threat, or a gas leak. Nothing real of course, I’m not a sociopath, but just an idle threat from a…
The once-in-a-generation flooding in Eastern Kentucky was insane. Entire neighborhoods washed away, heavy equipment flipped over, cars and trucks washed away. That’s not even to mention the loss of life. Much infrastructure was destroyed as well. Eastern Kentucky will bear the scars of this natural disaster for decades. Thankfully the Democrats in Washington have “thoughts and prayers” for the victims, while using the tragedy to push a climate change narrative. Typical. No mention yet of when Joe Biden or Kamala Harris will be touring the area. That’s a joke, they won’t go near. Thankfully, corporations and Kentuckians have rallied to…
Sometimes, you just can’t win, can you? Seems like no matter how hard you try, people are still going to complain. Some decisions should be no brainers. Things like seat belt laws, public indecency ordinances, discharging a weapon in city limits; you know, just common-sense regulations. Of course, when talking about common sense, Los Angeles isn’t exactly the first place that comes to mind, is it? I’ve only been to LA once, but not going to lie, I loved it. I didn’t want to, but the climate, the mountains, the canyons, Sunset Strip, I just loved it. What I didn’t…
Anyone tired of the expression “play stupid games, win stupid prizes” yet? I know I’m sure not. In fact, seeing stories about stupid people getting their prizes is just about one of my favorite things! There’s enough bad news, right? Gas prices, food shortages, Kamala Harris, natural disasters, shootings; it’s enough to make you stop reading the news! Don’t stop yet. Just look a little harder until you find the fun stuff. Thankfully we have no shortage of stupid people doing stupid things. Just visit a large, democrat-controlled city (don’t) and you’ll find a veritable all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of stupid people…
I love superhero movies. Batman, Superman, Spiderman, even the first couple MCU movies. Unfortunately, the Marvel Universe had made is so that if you want to watch the newest superhero movie, you pretty much have to have seen the 80 others, preferably in order. Guess I’m out. Once my kids started to grow up, and out of the house, I lost my superhero movie partners, and it just got to be too much to try to watch them at home. The wife prefers dating shows and reality tv. Oof. At least the DC Universe, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, had movies…