Boots

I recently found it necessary to purchase a pair of boots.  Construction site rules.  So I bought a pair of boots.  When I got on site, the boots were new enough that they captured the attention of one of our vendors who happens to be a good friend.  He said that I should scuff the boots up so that they didn’t look so new.  I said, that reminds me of a story…

When I was 19, I went from working at Baskin Robbins to Hanning’s, a roofing company in Lancaster, OH. My sister’s ex-boyfriend had worked there over previous summers and said it was hard, but rewarding work.  So I applied and got a job.  They said, “Wear old jeans and boots.”  I didn’t have boots, so I went out and bought a pair.  The boots glowed with newness and I thought that I would look like a punk kid if I had new boots on. I went into the yard and scuffed them up on rocks and grass to make it look like I had worn them for a while.

I showed up for work in my old jeans and seasoned boots. The foreman took one look at my boots and said, “Did you rub grass on your boots?”  I said, “No.”  He said, “It looks like you took a pair of new boots and rubbed grass on them.”  I said no again, but I might as well have told him yes.

22 years later I finish telling our vendor that a pair of boots is more about what is on the inside of them and a lot less about what is on the outside of them. 

He didn’t believe it for a second.

Not that it means anything, here are those boot at the end of my first summer as a roofer.

And here they are in 2006 when I finally retired them.

Here’s to my new boots. They’ve gone though a lot in their first month. Everything except grass stains.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has Competition

Hotel Electricity

I don't know much about electricity, but this is what I found when I went to plug in my phone charger at the hotel. If you don't see it at first, look at the black plug.

If you want to know the truth, this was the alarm clock and I didn't want to try and figure out how to set the clock, so I left it plugged in like this.

No carry on

For the first time ever, I am at the airport, awaiting to take off, and I do not have a carry-on bag. My mind still thinks I do because I keep looking for it every five minutes. All I've got is my wallet, my Droid and a 2000 mile long extension cord. This Droid 3 is very nice, but it chews right through the battery. I've got it plugged in now, but I can see the airport lights dim everytime I hit a key. I'm assuming that when I do not have a signal or when my battery dies I will be sad, but until then, I will continue to keep looking for the bag that is sitting at home all alone. Two-sack is going to be pissed because I also left the most recent Donaldson book at home. I was supposed to have read that six months ago, but have not made the time. I'm sure he won't mind, seeing as the book is big enough to be a carry-on on its own.

Bathroom Sign

We recently moved into new offices. There was a sign already in the bathroom when we got there saying that the door should be locked. I thought it needed a friend.

Star Wars Fan?

I assume the creator of this ad on Facebook is not.

As found on Facebook.

How Bible Stories Get Started

Kit's Pelotonia Fundraising Campaign

My friend Kit is raising money to cure cancer by riding in the Pelotonia.  Here's a personal email from Kit that he sent to our group of friends that he never thought would wind up on the internet.


"I have an opportunity for you guys.  I'm going to give you the chance to donate to my Pelotonia fundraising campaign.  I have it on good authority that our own hometown OSU James Cancer hospital will be finding the cure for cancer this year.  They told me, though, that they can only do this if they get some donations from the midnight mountain club in Lancaster, Ohio.  I know, it sounds crazy, but that’s what they told me.  I offered to donate on your behalf, but they said that it had to come from you guys.  They also mentioned that if they don’t get the money, that the University of Michigan will definitely find the cure.  I’m not a huge Buckeye fan, but I would hate it to go to the state up north.


I’m going to donate, and I think you guys should as well.  It just so happens, that I have signed up for the Pelotonia, so you can easily donate to my ride, 100% of which, will go directly to the James.  I checked to make sure this method of donation would actually cure cancer, and they said ‘yes’.  Here’s the website: 

http://www.mypelotonia.org/riders_profile.jsp?MemberID=122960

Just in case that didn’t work, here are some other reasons to give:
·         You’re not a pussy.
·         Donations to Pelotonia are tax-deductible, you cheap bastards.
·         Donors get a year’s worth of good feelings from me, and a thank you card.
·         You can come down to Athens and party while I’m humping my bike for a 100 miles.
·         You’re not a dick.


Anyway, I look forward to seeing you guys in Athens on August 20^th. 


Love,
Kit"


You can also support Kit by purchasing a "Kit Peery Bike T-shirt."  I get $5 every time I sell a shirt, but I'll donate that to Kit.  Go here to buy a shirt: http://skreened.com/holyjuan/kit-peery-s-bike-shirt.

Hotel Room Fun

Want to have some fun while staying in a hotel?

First, find the hotel room pen and paper:

Second, write a list on the pad. Make sure you press down hard.

Last, tear the top sheet off and leave the pad behind for some Sherlock to find.

There is such a thing as a bad milkshake

For my birthday (well, it was on my birthday) a few coworkers decided we should have a milkshake taste test. Seeing as we are not located in the culinary mecca of the city, we only had a few places to choose from so we did the best with what we had. We tested chocolate shakes from:

Steak and Shake (chocolate and Hershey's Special Dark)
Burger King
Wendy's
Dairy Queen

Steak and Shake Chocolate

The Steak and Shake chocolate was a very good chocolate shake. There was an even chocolate taste and it felt like real ice cream. Some comments included, "light chocolate taste", "really good" and "thin."

Burger King Chocolate

When we took the lid off the Burger King chocolate, we were confused. The shake looked white. An initial taste seemed to suggest that there was a light chocolate taste, but that it was underwhelming. Our only guess was that it was white chocolate and that BK got the order wrong. We tucked in and it was complete crap. Comments included, "marshmallow fluff," "cream" and "poor white chocolate." Oddly enough, one of our testers actually enjoyed the taste. I have to assume he hates chocolate. Fortunately he did like this shake because while finishing it off, he discovered what the problem was:

It seems the way Burger King makes their shakes is to stick the chocolate in the bottom, add the neutral milk shake liquid and then mix it up. It seems that they forgot to mix this one up.

Steak and Shake Hershey's Special Dark

The Steak and Shake Hershey's Special Dark shake was also tasty, if not a bit too chocolaty. It had a similar texture to the first Steak and Shake shake. (remember this: Metro Station - Shake It) One taster has problem with the froze chocolate chips being disconcerting to eat with the smooth shake. Other comments included, "smooth," "a bit too chocolaty" and "rich."

Frosty Chocolate Shake

Let's get one thing straight. A Frosty is not a shake. A Frosty is a frosty and I don't want to delve into religious beliefs here, but I assume that if there is a heaven, there are Frostys there and if there is a hell, there are none.

That being said, Wendy's felt the need to shame the Frosty by offering shakes. I did think for a moment that if you took a Frosty and let it melt a little, you'd get a shake. I've never eaten a Frosty slow enough to see it melt, so I was a bit curious. Maybe this might be delicious.

Wrong.

The Wendy's Chocolate shake is terrible. Too chocolaty and not smooth. Other comments included, "madness" and "worse than a Frosty."

The can only assume that this chocolate shake idea came out after Dave Thomas died or right before and it killed him.

Dairy Queen Chocolate Shake

Expectations were low for the Dairy Queen chocolate shake. I mean, it's Dairy Queen.

We were wrong.

The Dairy Queen shake was delicious. Smooth, a great chocolate taste. The classic chocolate shake. I realize that the Dairy Queen shake may not be hand dipped and mostly processed, but it was an awesome shake.

In the end, the Dairy Queen chocolate was rated highest and the Steak and Shake chocolate came in a close second.

And just so you are aware, the guy who thought the BK shake was delicious had all his votes thrown out.

Shake shake shake shake shake it.