Xmas is Over

It seems to go bye so quick. We go crazy shopping, wrapping, giving, celebrating, etc., that before you know it, it's time to get rid of the tree. Kind of sad. Anyway, I hope everyone had fun. I got some good gifts - wireless keyboard and mouse, Scooby Doo t-shirt and much more. How about you - what did you get this year?

Happy Holidays

I hope everyone reading this, all 3 of you, have a Merry Xmas, happy holidays, and all that stuff. Enjoy your time off and have fun with the family. And I hope Santa brings you lots of good stuff.

Top Baby Names of the Decade

I'm not sure how they came up with the top baby names of the decade but Jessica was 27th and Tyler was 12th. Well they're both #1 in my house and in my heart.



Here is the list.

Happiest States

The latest research study shows the following are the happiest states:

1. Louisiana
2. Hawaii
3. Florida
4. Tennessee
5. Arizona
6. Mississippi
7. Montana
8. South Carolina
9. Alabama
10. Maine

I'm in complete shock that New Jersey is not in the Top 10. WTF!

JibJab is out of Control

JibJab now has farting carolers. When is enough, enough? Really!! Now the dancing elves that I can put my whole families faces on - that rocks!

Mr. One-Hit Wonder of the Decade

If you watched the early days of American Idol - you'll know the song. The One-Hit Wonder of the Decade is ???.

Want to give out Parking Tickets

Are you sick of people that don't know how to park? Well you can now get your revenge. Check out - http://www.youparklikeanasshole.com/. I admit that my parking skills have gone downhill through the years but I'm not one of these people you see on the website so who cares. Enjoy!

Gmail Holiday Cards for People without Money

Go to this gmail link and you can have Google send out a holiday postcard for you for free. That's right - no charge. This is probably a little better than an eCard and it gives you plenty of space to write a personalized message. It says it only will send one but I'm sure you can get around this and send out more than one. But hurry, it is while supplies last. Happy Holidays!

If you have Verizon - You MUST READ THIS!

Thanks to reader Ian Stuart for bringing this to my attention. This link below is to an article from the New York Times. Read on.



Verizon: How Much Do You Charge Now?

4 Tips for a less stressed holiday season

This was from an article I read and I thought it made a lot of sense.

You can thrive, not just survive, and create a wonderful holiday season this year. You just need to do four things:
· keep your expectations rational,
· take care of yourself,
· take control of your time and limit your commitments, and
· embrace your family and friends.
These tips will help you reduce stress, relax, and breeze through the holiday season feeling grounded and in control.

The Vatican meets the digital age

Very forward thinking of the Vatican. I'm impressed. Check out the link.

Why would you leave home without it?

According to the newly released global mobile phones survey from Synovate, revealing just how attached Americans are to their cell phones, 82% of Americans never leave home without their phones, and 36% of people across the world (42% of Americans) say they 'cannot live without' their cell phone.

Around a third of US respondents agreed they did not know how to use most of the features on their phones, according to the report, but putting aside the almost ubiquitous calling and SMS functions, the three features most used on a regular basis are the alarm clock, camera and games.

Pimp My Golf Cart

Just out these Golf Carts. Very Cool!

Funny Beer Commercial

If you haven't already seen this Miller Lite commercial while watching football, then you haven't been watching football lately.

Enjoy.

Happy Halloween

Hope everyone had an enjoyable halloween. Didn't see a lot of trick or treaters today. TJ and Jess have more than enough candy. Had fun with Karyn, Mike, Sam and Mack. Jess was Gabriella from HSM, TJ was Thomas the Train, Sam was Daphne and Mack was Scooby Doooooooooooo. And my wonderful wife made a great witch.

Ravens Male Cheerleaders

Why do the Ravens have male cheerleaders? Does anyone really want to see this. I don't. On their website it calls them the stunt team but in fine print it says male cheerleaders available for events. Is there anyone out there that finds the need for this?

Hakeem Nicks

Hakeem Nicks got hurt in this week's Giants game. Not so funny but the caption that goes with this picture is. Check it out.



http://www.sportspickle.com/picture:65

Blogging, Facebook, Twitter oh my

How do people keep up with all these different types of communication? I haven't been blogging because I spend my time on facebook and twitter and email and fantasy football and kids and this and that. Besides, is anyone still reading my blog? I think there were only a couple of people reading it before.

PS - I have no idea how the Mets are doing but I know it's not well.

Bye Bye Mets

The season is over and I hope people stop thinking the Mets have a chance. If those people are Jets fans, please don't think the Jets have a chance either. I'm ready for the football now.

Are the Mets still my Team?

It is really getting hard to be a Mets fan. It's one thing that they are a mess on the field, that I can take. But this PR nightmare with the firing of Tony Bernazard is pathetic. It just seems like they can't do anything right - including firing people. If you recall last year, they didn't handle the Willie Randolph thing too well when it seemed like Tony Bernazard had it out for Willie and next thing you know, Willie is gone.

23 years since a championship. Hard to complain about that when there are generations of Cubs fans that have lived and died and seen nothing but those ivy walls. Since the last Mets World Series championship, we've had the saga of Darryl and Doc and drugs and alcohol, we had the wonderful 90s best remembered for Vince Coleman and firecrackers, Bret Saberhagen and bleach guns and Mo Vaughn taking the Mets for a lot of money. This decade started well getting to the World Series, but the collapses of the last 3 years have been tough to take.

When is enough, enough. I'm sick of how ownership runs the team and isn't that the same reason I was sick of the Yankees as a teenager and started liking the Mets. Omar has got to go. He is an awful public speaker and is now a target for the media and the fans. I'll be shocked if he survives the season.

For some reason though, I don't think I can abandon the Mets. Not yet anyway. And don't worry, the Yankees will probably never be an option! There is always the Padres, no matter how bad they are.

Don't watch the junk food commercials

According to researchers from Yale University, in the journal Health Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association, one study of seven- to 11-year-old children found that 45% of them ate more snack food while watching a cartoon that included food commercials than those children who watched the same cartoon with non-food commercials.

From only a half hour of television viewing a day, the increase in snacking caused by food advertising would lead to a weight gain of nearly 10 pounds a year, unless mitigated by reduced consumption of other foods or increased physical activity, concludes the report.

The researchers also found that adult participants exposed to unhealthy food advertisements in TV programming ate significantly more than those who saw ads with a nutrition or healthy food message. And, these effects persisted after the television viewing.

In the experiments with both children and adults, food advertising increased eating for all available foods, even foods that were not specifically presented in the advertisements.

Jennifer Harris, PhD, Director of Marketing Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, concludes that "This research shows a direct... link between television food advertising and calories consumed by adults and children... food advertising triggers automatic eating, regardless of hunger... "

So maybe we should outlaw junk food commercials on television just like there are no smoking commercials on television. Obesity problems can be just as severe, if not worse than smoking.

I like Home Depot Better

According to the June Retail Ratings Report from BIGresearch, the race for the number one spot for consumer preference in the Home Improvement Sector continues its five year trend of Lowe's gaining share on Home Depot. Over the last five years, Home Depot has lost almost half its lead. The research went on further to say that upper income households shop at Lowes. Well my father-in-law had an awful experience at Lowes and Home Depot has never let me down. So I'm sticking with Home Depot no matter what income group we are in. Besides, there is no Lowes that close to me.

Time Spent on Social Networking Sites at Work

A recent study showed the following time spent on social networking sites at work (% of Respondents). Believe it or not, I spend less than 30 minutes a day. Most days it is zero.

Less than 30 minutes 78%

30 minutes 13%

1 hour 5%

Open all day 4%

Source: WorkPlaceMedia, May 2009

Mr. Met Commercial

Not the funniest ESPN commercial ever, but it does have Mr. Met, and Mr. Met is one of my all-time favorites.

All Star Break

It's the MLB All Star Break and the Mets are 6.5 games back, under .500 and still have too many guys on the DL. I think it is time for me to start preparing for fantasy football.

Spezify

I found an interesting search website - www.spezify.com. I don't think it's very useful if you want to actually search for something, but it is very visual and interesting. Check it out - Spezify.

MJ Breaks final Record

What does this really say about our society?

MJ Breaks final Record

Cat vs. Printer

Check out this cat vs. printer video. It's funny.

Happy Father's Day

Just wanted to say happy pops day to all you guys out there. The weather stinks here in Jersey so for those not here, hope you enjoy the day outside with the little ones.

Hammertime

Apparently there is a new show on A&E about MC Hammer. I haven't seen the show but you have to check out this video - it's funny. You have to watch a commercial first but watch the video - it's only a minute and a half. Hammertime.

Chinchilli Day

Viva Chinchilla!

The Not So Amazin Mets

Watching Luis Castillo drop that ball last night really hurt. Still hurts today. I may be done watching the Mets for a while. I was just starting to get back into the groove of watching them. I watched the last 4 games and after 2 losses to the Phillies and then that dreadful loss last night, I just can't take it anymore right now. It doesn't make me less of a fan so I don't want to hear it from anybody that says that. It's not true. I just need a break. They have a lot of injuries and so I know it's tough right now, but I just can't put myself through the agony right now.

Separated at Birth

It's a little known fact that Irene Ryan who played Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies and former coach and now "analyst" Lou Holtz are actually twins. Ignore the fact that according to records they were born 30 years or so apart. These two are definitely twins. I think the proof is in the picture. Don't you agree?

Another rant about bad Drivers

Why during rush hour are there always idiots driving below the speed limit in the left lane. These people probably cause just as many accidents as the jerks driving 100 mph weaving in and out of traffic. Why don't you people start thinking about someone besides yourselves. Get the fuck over idiots. Really! Are they so stupid that they are clueless or is it they just don't care. Now I know I sometimes go slower when someone is riding up my tail, but common sense tells you that if you are going slow during rush hour, all you are doing is leading the parade of cars that want to pass you.

Of course then you get the people passing on the right cause they are just too impatient to wait for your stupid ass to move over. I really hate people sometimes. Really I do. I'm not just saying it. Just please, slow drivers, stay where you belong, home away from everyone else. Take the bus!

Montana

We've had a lot of fun in Montana this week. Yellowstone is beautiful and it was great to see the Jordan family. It was tough having 3 kids under 5 in a van for so long but we all survived. Now if we can survive the trip home with the little flyer from hell. Wish us luck.

15,000 Days Old

The other day I turned 15,000 days old. Think about that. That's some crazy stuff. No wonder I feel old.

TJ Isn't Sleeping

I don't know why but he doesn't seem to want to sleep lately. He wakes up multiple times a night and it is getting exhausting. More so for Sue than me, but I'm still tired too. But if we sit in the reclining chair in his room and leave him in the crib, he's okay with that and he'll go back to sleep. Is he scared? Is he lonely? Is he just trying to drive us crazy? Could be all 3, I just don't know.

Mets are Driving Me Crazy Already

The Mets are 9-11 after April. Sorry, make that 9-12, I forgot about today's awful loss to the Marlins in which last year's bullpen showed up for the late innings. I just don't know if I have the energy to watch this crap for 5+ more months. It will be difficult.

I missed Easter and my Birthday

It's been a while since I blogged - just too busy - 2 kids, Easter, my birthday, etc. I know I still have to change my little signature thing about my blog but I just don't want to. It still says 30 something. Not ready to call myself 40 something. Anyway, Sue and I went to the Auto Show at the Javits Center and we had a lot of fun. The Mets have been mediocre so far this year. 6 and 6 so far - not doing that great. Starting pitching except Johan is questionable and the offense doesn't seem to be clicking yet. It will be a long season.

Sports Radio Complaint

I want to know why after the Mets win the first game of the year, the local sports radio stations aren't talking about it. So much talk has been about how well will the Mets do this year and then they get off to a good start and what I hear on my ride home is ESPN radio talking about maybe David Wright and Jose Reyes need to be broken up if they do nothing this year and Mike Minus the Mad Dog talking about the 2 new stadiums. WTF. The Mets played an actual game and they won it. Talk about that! This really pissed me off. It was a cold, rainy day in Cincinnati but they played the game. Santana didn't pitch great but he pitched well enough to earn the win and only let up 1 earned run in 5 2/3 innings pitched. The messed up bullpen from a year ago is gone and the revamped bullpen pitched 3 1/3 innings of shutout ball. C'MON ON!!! I really hate sports radio sometimes. I'm not sure why I even listen.

Beer

This is awesome! If it tastes any good then no more worries about sneaking alcohol into events anymore. Check it out here. I'll let you know how it is once my order arrives.

The New Jersey Nets

I went to watch the Nets last night with my friend Jason and his friend Nelson. I just want to say the Nets really suck. Everything about the Nets experience sucked. $12 to park your car for that trash is ridiculous. Jason got tickets for like a couple of bucks each so that wasn't so bad. The Nets performance was ridiculous. They lost by about 30 to the Milwaukee Bucks who also stink. So what does that say about the Nets. At least if they lost by 30 to a good team you could say - oh well it was a good team. But it wasn't. The cheerleaders were cute - but some of the dances stunk. But are we really watching how they dance - probably not. The scoreboard guy stunk. They were constantly showing a picture of a random Nets guy for no reason. I wasn't sure what the point was. The really really loud music is annoying. It was hard to have a conversation with Jason and Nelson because it was so loud. And it's weird cause they play music at times when the teams have the ball. That never used to happen. I would hate to see no professional team at the Meadowlands but the Nets are barely professional. And would someone please call a few more travelling calls. If this was 1970s officiating, half the possessions would end in travelling. I'd rather go watch hockey but don't get me started about how expensive that is!!

March Madness Final Four

After 60 games of the NCAA tournament, they are finally down to the Final Four - Villanova, Connecticut, North Carolina and Michigan State. They all have something going for them - Nova won the last time they were in the Final Four, Connecticut is due - They won in 1999 after coming out of the West bracket, and they did it again in 2004. Add 5 more years, and here we are. North Carolina is the best team in the nation in my eyes, and deserve to be here and Michigan State will be playing in their home state which may give them a nice little advantage. I'm picking Carolina over Connecticut in the Finals - 78-72.

March Madness - I stunk again

The last couple of years, my March Madness picks have stunk. It's aggravating. I wasn't doing great but I was still alive til last night. My pick Memphis got run out of the building, letting up over 100 points and I'm done. I'm ready for Opening Day! Let's go Mets!!!!

Welcome to the Madness of March

I love this time of year. Four straight days of college basketball, the start of spring, my fantasy baseball draft, etc. Memphis gave me a scare today considering I had them winning it all in my pool but they pulled away at the end. I live to see another day.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Imagine that - we have a holiday for drinking green beer. Is this a great country or what! In fact, this is something celebrated all over the world, which is very rare. Saint Patrick must have been one really cool dude! Enjoy your Guiness or whatever it is you are drinking today. I had some Corned Beef and Pastrami from Harold's Deli. Yummy!

Eagles Employee Fired over Facebook Posting

I'm not a big Eagles fan - I don't like them actually - but it's sad that this guy got fired over this. You really need to watch what you say out on that there internet! Read the sad story here.

iBreath

For people who aren't sure if they are legally drunk and want to drive. Here is the iBreath. You gotta love the apps they have for the iPhone. I know a couple of people right off the bat that this would be useful for. If it was a little cheaper it would make a great gift but not many of you readers are worth the price. Sorry - I know the truth hurts.

Vegetarian - To Be or Not To Be

For those that don't know it, I've been a vegetarian for almost 20 years. It started in college where I said I would give it a try and now here I am all those years later still not eating meat. But maybe it's time to change course. Over the years, there have been foods that I have missed - Hot Dogs at a baseball game, pepperoni on my pizza and corn beef and pastrami anytime I am near a Kosher deli. Well I finally decided now is the time. So for those of you reading this - I HAVE ALREADY TRIED SOME MEAT PRODUCTS!!!!!!!!!!! Do you need me to repeat it - I HAVE ALREADY EATEN SOME MEAT!!!!!!!!! I started with some comfort food - turkey breast sandwich. When I was hung over in college and woke up some time in the early afternoon, a dry turkey sandwich always helped me get through the pain without causing any more pain. And you know what - I liked it! It still tastes good after all these years. So since then I have tried some other things, pepperoni pizza - still yummy, Chicken McNuggets - still yummy, Chicken Wings - they were okay, actually made me feel a little sick and I didn't even eat that many.

So this does not mean that I will eat just anything and I will probably be making a slow and gradual conversion, but for me it's time. I told Sue that I hate having a limited menu when I go out to eat. But she said, the menu isn't limited, it's you limiting the menu. And she was right, of course. I stopped eating meat all those years ago because of the way the animals are treated and the whole process of it. So for years I didn't have to worry about Mad Cow Disease or what disgusting things are in my hot dogs. It's not that I haven't stopped caring about the animals but I need a change.

Nickelback Concert

Sue and I had an awesome time at the Nickelback concert last night at the Izod Center. We had a nice casual dinner at Red Robin and then headed to the arena around 7:30pm. Nickelback had two opening acts, Saving Abel and Seether - neither of which we wanted to see. So we people watched during that time. It was crazy. Kids from 5 to adults that were probably 60. Dressed all different ways. Very mixed group. Nickelback came on around 9pm or so. Lot of energy, lot of fun and loud! We had a really good time. They put on a good show. It was nice to get out with Sue for 7 hours by ourselves and do some fun stuff!

Get Youthenized

This video from DirecTV is hilarious. Check it out!

Spending Time Surfing

Can you believe that in 1996, Americans with Internet access spent fewer than 30 minutes a month surfing the Web. Today, we spend about 27 hours a month online. What the hell did we do with all that extra time?

Sportsmanship

Here is something you just don't see or hear about everyday. So take a break from ARod and his steroids and check out this feel good story.

I hate Winter!

I am sick of Winter! I want it to be over already. Enough is enough. Screw Puxatawny Phil - if I ever see that stupid groundhog I'm going to kick his butt!

TJ - Weapon of Mass Destruction

This video was shot this morning, Saturday morning, at 9am. Please keep in mind that the house was clean when we went to bed last night and this is what Tornado TJ is able to do in a matter of minutes. It's not a pretty site and if you get sick easily from seeing a messy house, please turn away from the video screen. And if you are wondering why the little devil has his coat on in the house, it is not because we don't turn the heat up, it's because he always wants to go out and is happier wearing his coat - even in the house.

Worked from Home Today

I worked from home today because of the bad weather. It snowed about 4 inches over night and called for wintry mix all day. I hate this weather and this winter. I feel like this has been the worse since we moved back from San Diego. Thank god for the snow blower. If I had to shovel that crap myself, I would have probably keeled over and would still be laying out there hoping someone came along to help me.

Beer Pong

If anyone is interested, we have almost a full year to practice for the next World Series of Beer Pong. I know a quite a few people that would probably be pretty good at this.

Good Luck Mr. President

I wish President Obama well in his journey. Words must now be put into action. He seems like the right man for the job but he's going to need a lot of help. Each and everyone of us needs to get behind him to make this thing work. Things may look bad, but I find it hard to believe the solutions aren't out there. We just have to look hard enough. I've always said that being President is a thankless job I would never want. Well Mr. President, you wanted it, you got it. Just Do It!! Good luck.

Twitter Poll Results

The people have spoken and don't know WTF Twitter is. I'm not surprised, but I did expect some of you to know a little more about it. Fifty-Six percent of you had no idea what it is. According to the home page, Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? If you are on Facebook, it's kind of like updating your status all the time. If you are interested in learning more about Twitter, go to http://www.twitter.com/ and check it out. And I would love to know who the one person is that said they have a Twitter account.

Funny Heineken Commercial

I saw this commercial and thought it was hilarious. You guys out there might enjoy it more than the gals, but it's funny no matter who you are. I think you need QuickTime to see it.

Enjoy your weekend.

Heineken Commercial

Kids are really Smart

According to MRI's 2008 American Kids Study, children ages 6-11 are increasingly using the Internet to check out products they see in advertisements. 46.3% of kids visited a Web site they saw or heard about in a commercial or ad.

The older the child the more likely he or she is to take such action after viewing an ad. Of the almost 10.7 million young consumers who report visiting a company's Web site after viewing its ad, about 1/4 are 6-7 years old, 1/3 are 8-9 years old and 2/5 are 10-11 years old. These children are also more likely to come from households where there are no rules placed on which sites they can or cannot visit. 49.4% of girls and 50.6% of boys say that viewing an ad resulted in a Web site visit.


When I was a kid - they showed Cocoa Puffs on TV and I ran to my mother to tell her to buy them at the store. Now kids see stuff on TV and they run to the internet with mom's credit card and just order crap themselves. My my - how the times have changed.

Twitter

It is time for my first poll of the year. I'm curious how technically savvy my readers are. Do you know what Twitter is? Please answer my poll. Thanks.

Leisure time is Decreasing

According to a Harris Poll, our leisure time dropped 20% from 2007 to 2008. And I thought it was just me. It went from 20 hours a week to an all-time low of 16 hours per week. That is really sad. In 1973 it was 26 hours a week. That can only mean we are all spending way too much time working! It's gotta stop. We are going to work ourselves to death.

The Top 5 leisure time activities in 2008 were:
Reading 30%
TV watching 24%
Spending time with Family 17%
Exercise 8%
Fishing 7%

I would like to read more but I would have to say TV and the family are my big 2. Exercise - WTF is that!!

Another Year, Another Diet

Most of you may remember when I was dieting last year on Weight Watchers. Well I ended up losing 26 pounds. Unfortunately, I spent the rest of the year putting back on 16 of those. So I was happy that I lost 10 pounds in 2008, but I still want to lose more. So Sue and I are at it again. This time at least we don't have to lose as much. I'll be happy if I can lose 15-20 pounds this year, but as long as I continue the downward trend, I'll be happy. We'll still be following the Weight Watchers plan, but neither of us will be going to meetings. We are quite able to follow it on our own and the rah rah meetings are nice, but we are each others best cheerleaders so no need to spend the money every week to go to a meeting. Wish us luck!

Happy 6th Anniversary!

In my excitement over the iPhone, which has not diminished in any way, I forgot to mention that January 1st was my 6th wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's been 6 years already since Sue and I drove to Las Vegas and got hitched. I gave Sue a beautiful pair of earrings that she wanted with TJ's birthstone, Citron, and Sue surprised me with an awesome overnight stay at the Ocean Place in Long Branch. Sue's parents watched the kids and we went out to dinner. But after dinner, I actually guessed during dinner, we went to the Ocean Place on the boardwalk in Long Branch and checked in. The next day we enjoyed a yummy breakfast and the best massage I've ever had. Now I've only had 3 or 4, but this was easily the best. Then after the massages, was the experience I'll never forget. Getting my iPhone. Haha. Thank you to my wife for putting up with me for 6 years now. I'm not sure why she does but I'm sure glad she does. Happy Anniversary honey!

I got an iPhone

I'm very excited about my iPhone. It's my brand new toy. Just got it yesterday so still learning and since I've never had an actual iPod, getting to know my way around the iTunes store. This thing is AWESOME! I told Sue I haven't really been cool for some time except for the fact that I'm cool by association with her, but now my iPhone has made me cool again. Haha.

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday season and is ready for 2009! Does anyone else make New Year's Resolutions? Here are mine for 2009 - More patience (especially with Jessica), read more books (I think I only read 1 last year), lose weight (I'll discuss that in a later blog post), visit a new local spot every month (we always seem to go to the same restaurants, pizza joints, stores, etc. so this year I want to try some new places around town) and floss more - my teeth need some help.


If anyone else has some New Year's resolutions, please let me know what they are. Here's to an exciting and prosperous 2009!