Simple Randomness

I Love Fuddruckers

Crazy name, wonderful food.  Yes, I am a huge fan of Fuddruckers!  In fact, there was a time when this was my absolute favorite restaurant.

So why am I mentioning them today?  Well, a bunch of us from work went there today for lunch.  I haven’t been in probably a year or so, and it was every bit as good as I remember it, so that’s a good sign!

I actually did the pound challenge once, and honestly I will never do it again!  You have to eat a 1 lb specialty burger, order of chili cheese fried, a soft drink, and a brownie sundae.  Sadly, I have to admit that the only way I got it all down was to run to the bathroom and puke 3 times.  They don’t count that as cheating, and I got my t-shirt!  But I really don’t think I’ll ever do that again….

Good food!  If you have one nearby and have never gone, you should totally check it out!

Really Cool Botanical Gardens

Ok, I have to first admit that I’m not an environmentalist in any way shape or form. But I really do appreciate the beauty of the planet that we live on. I enjoy a nice walk outside, going for a nice hike, or even walking through a well-designed and maintained garden.

Well, in Orange, Texas there is this place called Shangri La Gardens and Nature Center. It looks like a really cool place! The size of the place is pretty impressive with 252 acres and houses within that space over 300 different plant species. Being that I live basically in the desert, I always like seeing some of the plants that exist in other ecosystems. Admittedly, I’m a little sick of sagebrush! Maybe I should make a trip down to this place…

For those of you that are into the whole ‘green’ thing, you’ll find this place really cool, too. Shangri La Gardens and Nature Center was the 1st facility in Texas (and the 50th project worldwide) to earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s Platinum certification for LEED®-NC. This is the organization that verifies design and construction to see how ‘green’ it is. Shangri La reached the highest standards that they have. Nice work! So I hope that encourages all of you extra green people to want to check them out.

Another cool thing about this place is not just the plant life that they have, but the animal life as well. They have a heronry that is home to as many as 17 species of birds that nest there during various times of the year. And to give their visitors and up close look at these birds they have developed a state of the art bird blind. This would be great for the kids!

Sounds to me like this place would be great for a family outing. Check it out!

Verdict on Different Rockstar Flavors

I mentioned a few weeks ago that when I need an extra boost the drink I normally reach for is Rockstar.  Well, I’ve tried most of the flavors at this point so its time for the verdict on the different flavors!

#1 Mango/Passion Fruit/Orange

This is by far my favorite flavor!  I’ve probably had more of these than any other.

#2 Guava

Guava is a close #2, I really like this flavor.  Nice fruity taste in this one as well as #1.

#3 Regular

I think that Rockstar has one of the best regular flavors.  So many of the other energy drinks just taste nasty, but the regular Rockstar is pretty good

#4 Pomegranate

I just had this one today and didn’t think it was that great.  Pretty weak on the flavor side of things.

#5 Tropical Fruit Punch

This one really confirmed that I don’t like the fruit punch flavor of anything.

I still have to try the no carb flavor, does anyone know what it tastes like?  Anyway, there’s the verdict!

The Regret of Selling a CD

I used to have a pretty good collection of CDs. I was a member of BMG and would buy a CD every couple of weeks. Then I started to realize that I had a bunch of CDs but only listened to my favorites, while a bunch of others just sat there un-played. So what did I do? Well, I sold a bunch of them. Sure seemed like a great idea at the time, and I think I needed the money anyway.

So here’s what always happens when I do this: maybe a few months or a few years will go by and then I’ll hear a song that was on one of those CDs that I sold. Then I’ll think to myself, “Man, that’s a good song! I wish I still had it! DOH!”

I swear this has happened to me more times than I can count. It’s funny how when you have something you don’t give it much attention, but then once you’ve gotten rid of it you wish you hadn’t! It’s also funny how this applies to so many other things in life…but I’m not going to go all philosophical today about that.

What is it? Who Can Wear the Brightest Shirt???

Ok, here’s a random annoyance.  Where I work they have these TVs in the room that are always set to CNBC.  That’s the first thing, you think we could have something more entertaining on.  But here’s the real annoyance.  I’ve noticed over the last couple of days that some of the female anchors are wearing progressively brighter clothing.

Is this some sort of contest???

Today one of them is wearing bright yellow, another is wearing bright pink.  Yesterday it was orange and white.  If the TV wasn’t distracting enough…now every time one of them comes on I have to almost block my eyes from the neon shirts they are all wearing!  I swear it’s a contest because it wasn’t this way just a few weeks ago.

Is this really necessary?  Do we have to try to brighten up the news by using neon colors?  Why not brighten up the news by actually reporting on positive things!

Now I know a lot of you might say, “Well, if it annoys you why not just turn the TV off.”  Good point.  But every time I do that someone else just turns it back on.  So it’s a lost cause.  Oh well, hopefully this is just a spring thing….I can only wait and see.

Police and Tactical Gear

Here’s a random one for you: if you’re in the market for police and tactical type gear, you can actually get it! I honestly don’t know what I’d use any of it for, but it’s cool to look at! Actually, I know that a friend of mine is really into this stuff, and I know that a lot of guys will find good use for it. At least I hope its good use…

Here’s an example of some of the products you can get online: 5.11 Tactical

My New Exercise Routine

So I think I mentioned before that I’m working on getting back on a fitness routine, but I just wanted to report that it’s going great! Lately I’ve been getting and doing pushups with the Perfect Pushups 3 days a week and then also doing some resistant band exercises and situps at least 2 times a week.

Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I’ll be able to start going to the gym again, but that all depends on how my schedule really works out. The biggest area that is lacking right now would have to be the legs. It’s hard to do good squats when you’re just using resistance bands… But the good thing is that you really can still get a pretty good workout at home without much special equipment!

A Spring Vacation in San Francisco

I could use a little vacation. Chances are that I’m not going to get one, but I think it would be great. I remember one time in high school we went on a trip to San Francisco in the spring and it was really nice this time of year! There are tons of things to do in San Francisco, whether it be touring Alcatraz or a number of other things.

If you’ve never been to Alcatraz, it’s pretty cool! Honestly, when I was there almost the whole time I was thinking about the scene from “So I Married an Axe Murderer,” so it made it extra fun.

Another cool thing to do there is check out the Golden Gate Bridge. It really is impressive when you see it live, and I can’t imagine what it took to get that thing built! Stuff like that has always blown me away.

But one of my favorite things that I did on that trip to San Francisco was visit the Hard Rock Cafe! I think that’s the only one that I’ve actually eaten at, and it was good food and good times!

If you’re looking to take a trip this spring, check out Trusted Tours & Attractions for some great ideas and deals. A great one would be to get some San Diego zoo tickets from them. Sign up for the Trusted Travels eNewsletter and enter to win a Handheld GPS! Offer ends Monday, April 30th, 2008.

Have Bands Forgotten How to Sing?

I have to say, I’m a little annoyed with a lot of the new music groups that are coming out these days. It seems like the art of actually being able to sing is no longer something to consider when forming a music group. Whether its rock, alternative, or whatever, have you noticed that the quality of the voice has gone down?

Now, I also recognize that this isn’t a new thing. It seems like every couple of years there is a new trend on how a singer should sound. Maybe it all comes from the grunge movement, who knows.

It just seems that a bunch of these new bands sound really really whiny. Is anyone else noticing this? What happened to the good singers? I was a big fan of Queensryche growing up, and their lead singer Geoff Tate could really sing! Heck, even Billy Corbin of Smashing Pumpkins is a better singer than a lot of these ultra whiny emo groups these days.

Ok, there are also some bands that still have good voices. I’ve been somewhat impressed with One Republic and the way they sound, cause the guy actually has a good voice. So if you’re looking to start a band, please do us all a favor and take a few singing lessons. These days it can only help you stand out!

Another Social Site to Check Out

For those of you that are involved in this whole rage of social networking sites, here’s another one you can check out: 3GB Community. They have all of the standard features like being able to upload photos, join groups, chat with friends…you know all the standard good stuff.

The crazy thing about all these social networks is that you almost have to be signed up with a bunch of them if you’re going to keep in touch with all of them. So maybe give this one a try. Here’s a link for it: join 3gb community www.3gb.biz