Produce Pete

I really wish I had this up for Halloween. Oh well, Thanksgiving is the same thing. Just no costumes and we eat turkey instead of candy and the day is about giving thanks for the blessings we have and not scaring away bad spirits through the use of carved gourds. Other than that, the same thing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

NFL Picks

Turkey and football go together like Obama and Socialism. (Obama just came up in the Spell Check for this Apple computer. You would think that Apple would be on that by now.)

Anyway, I can't wait to relax in front of the TV tomorrow and watch some football and drink some beer after enjoying too much turkey. Oh, and my relatives will be there too.

Here is what is going to happen:

TEN over DET (Come on! THIS is the Thanksgiving Day game?! It might as well be the '85 Bears vs. a ballet company! I would like to see the remarkable odds on DET coming up with a win on this one!)

DAL over SEA

AZ over PHI (Let's see McNabb cry on the bench again this week!)

TB over NO

NYG over WAS

BUF over SF

IND over CLE

CAR over GB (This is a "wishful thinking" upset from me.)

MIA over STL

ATL over SD (I can't believe this is an upset, but it is. Go Ryan!)

PIT over NE

OAK over KC (Who cares anymore?)

NYJ over DEN (Should be a good game.)

CHI over MIN (An upset? Really? All they have is a running game and we proved in the past two out of three games that we can shut that down. Now, if we can shut down both the ground AND air attack, we'd have something!)

HOU over JAX

That's it for this week.

Enjoy your football with turkey.

Ronnie

I buried my cousin this week.

Please keep him and his family and friends in your prayers.

Week 12

I know that the Thursday game has already been played. And I know that the Steelers have already won. However, I picked them before the game started. Trust me, that due to my above average record, it should be known that I am aware that The Bengals suck this year. Perhaps Ocho Sinco should change his name back to Johnson.

Here is the rest of the league:

BAL over PHI
TEN over NYJ (Although, if any team were to beat them, the Jets would be them. I hope they do! The Titans need a reality check!)
TB over DET (Detroit has NO CHANCE!!!)
MIN over JAX (Even though I hope the Jags win to give Da Bears a better record in the NFC North!)
BUF over KC
CHI over STL (FINALLY an easy win for us... I hope!!!)
MIA over NE (Who would have said this before the season started?!)
DAL over SF (Despite the fact that I want Singletary to have his second win of the season!)
HOU over CLE
DEN over OAK
ATL over CAR (Close game here! AZ is playing for more than CAR is.)
NYG over AZ
WAS over SEA
IND over SD
NO over GB (Hopefully. Assume this is my only upset of the week with GB doing as well as they have been this week.)

Enjoy your football this week.
Go Bears. (We need it!)

Jay Won!

Congrats to Jay! He has won the picture contest. Thanks to all who entered. Your responses were as quick as they were wrong. Except for Jay.

The Speedway with the altered sign is on Cass Avenue in Westmont ( 6241 S. Cass Ave, Westmont, IL 60559 (630)810-1120) Enjoy reasonably priced gas (Roughly $2.05 at the moment) as well as other amenities.

The clerks come close to speaking English which makes for a better purchasing experience. Expect to find lighters and chap stick on the counter.

While the amenities leave a little to be desired, majority of what you are looking for is available. It is not as expansive as it's counter-part found on Boughton Road in Bolingbrook. (499 West Boughton Road, Bolingbrook, IL 60030 (630)759-1950) The only thing that I wish they would bring back to either location is the quart of chocolate milk. That was a staple of mine for nearly a year until they took it away roughly 8.5 months ago. They do have the pints of "Milk Chug" chocolate milk, but that defeats the purpose! Bastards. Expect the gas price to be anywhere from 0.03-$0.12 more than it's Westmont counterpart. This being due to it's location, I'm guessing, not to compensate for nearly triple the shopping experience with it's larger store. Despite the larger store, the selections seem to just be spread out more. Granted, they have the rotating hot dogs, Mexican crispy things and other stuff that I fear investigating. They have the large soda fountain that no one uses. They have the extra magazines in the rack. (Maxim and FHM) But, the other amenities (chocolate milk) that the average consumer craves are not there. Lets see some soup or chili or cereal! If you are a convince store, you should provide the simple stuff. The cat food is not necessary for everyone. Chili is. (Beans in. Don't skimp on the beans, dammit!)

Jay you now have a week to compose a blog post for the blog on whatever you would like. E-mail it to be in time and it will be included for all to see. Should you desire pictures or video, include the links.

Thanks to all who played. More later!

Read Carefully!

Where is this picture from?

The one who guesses first can be a guest poster on my blog!

Week 11

Jets over Pats
Eagles over Bengles
ATL over CLE
MIA over OAK
TEX over IND (1st Upset)
NO over KC (The "I don't care" game of the week)
CHI over GB (PLEASE!!!)
TB over MIN
CAR over DET (Obviously)
NYG over BAL
SF over STL
AZ over SEA (Another upset)
PIT over SD
WAS over DAL
BUFF over CLE

Beware

Each year it happens right around Halloween. Usually within two weeks after Halloween, right in the center of football season and around the time that everyone is used to wearing at least a jacket each day, it comes back.
An unsuspecting nation is subjected to the return of - THE MCRIB.
Each year it returns. And each year I can't remember if I want to indulge myself in the McRib once again. I have completely forgotten whether or not the McRib was a sandwitch worthy of a second attempt. That is until about two years ago when I made a mental note:

"The McRib could very well be the most lethal sandwich ever created by man."

The "Rib" aspect of the sandwich must be a lie. It doesn't resemble a good rib at all. The BBQ sauce is laughable. It must be the most generic greasy, gelled crap that has ever resembled anything edible. If I'm not mistaken, aren't there pickles and onions on there as well? When was the last time that anyone put pickles on their half-slab? Ribs are pretty simple. They are ribs and BBQ sauce. Nothing more. Why include extra elements if the original assembly has gotten so much mileage?
After the first bite of the McRib, my thought was always "Damnit. I remember this now." The second is "Well, I bought it. Might as well finish it."
Buyers remorse was invented after someone ate a McRib. I would guess that no one in the history of man has ever finished a McRib and felt better about themselves or the world around them. Instead they are wondering if the last thing they eat is processed rib, awful sauce and a pickle.
Then the process of self-torture comes into play as you force your system to "Keep it down." If the body rejects the McRib, it is just a sign that you are healthy. If it is accepted, you need to go to an "Immediate Care" facility and have them run the "McRib Series" of tests on you. It will be painful, but help is right around the corner.
There are now protests focused around the McRib. It isn't to raise awareness of the health issues associated with it, they are instead hosted by miss-guided Southern California residents. While majority of the rest of the country is subjected to this awful meat-based scare, Southern California has been spared. (No pun intended) They are upset that they aren't able to select the way and manner in which they will meet their maker. The OC Register wrote an article on the plight of So. Cal. Click here for the article. The article talks about a McDonald's executive: " The female exec essentially said the McRib doesn’t show up that often in restaurants because sales aren’t good enough to sustain the product for a very long time." Of course this is true. After the first attempt, the diner recalls that they dislike the inherit McGenocide that this sandwich could provide Americans. Thus, they take it off the menu to create temporary processed meat amnesia (TPMA) which causes a re-sampling of what should never be ingested.
What I like about the article is that they have quotes from some of the readers. Eric said " The only Mikey D’s sandwich I’ve ever thrown away instead of finishing was a McRib………..Yuck-O!" Yuck-O is right, my friend. Yuck-O. Meatloafer (Tragically, his actual name. His parents wanted to express to the world that they feel meat doesn't contribute much to society. What a cruel childhood he has experienced) wrote "There is no such thing as fake meat, but there such meat at Clown Meat. But it tastes kinda funny." Obviously the stresses of his name and the exposure to The McRib have altered his thinking to assume that this was a constructive contribution to a very serious meat debate. My favorite is from "Dumb In OC" and they write: "If I wanted to put toxins in my body, I’d opt to do drugs - at least you get a high out of it…" I guess not everyone in The OC is dumb.
Follow the Dumb warning: AVOID THE MCRIB. It is not something that you want to eat. Should you fall to the temptation of The McRib, the McTerrorists have won.

Tony and Jackie's Wedding

It is rare that I have the opportunity to take a day off. Each day off has a number of activities that have to get done. I couldn't tell you what was the last day where I didn't have some sort of commitment. Yesterday was the same way.

I HAD to work in the morning. But, the day ended great. I got to relax with many friends that I haven't seen in a while. This is due to Tony and Jackie getting married last night.

It was a relaxing and enjoyable evening for me. From what I could tell, nearly everyone enjoyed a drama-void evening.

Because I like you, here are some pictures from last night:

Jay is very excitable.

Bill and Laura and Anna

Me and Brock and Blythe (In no particular order)

Me, Blythe, Tony and Jackie. (Bonus points if you can select who is Jackie!)

Last night was a great night. Congrats to Tony and Jackie

Tender Crisp Bacon Chedder Ranch

This is one of THE BEST commercials ever made. The song is catchy, yet not annoying. It challenges you to sing along each time it is played.
And who saw Hootie as a future country star based on this commercial? Well... probably no one. But, it is still a kick-ass commercial that I have searched YouTube for many-a-time.

Enjoy.

Week X

Da Bears won last week barely. It should have been a blow-out, yet it was an uphill battle. Plus it was very painful to see Orton leave the game in a play that didn't matter just seconds before he could be relaxing in the locker room. While we were losing under his leadership during the first half, many (including myself) feared Sexy Rexy would help completely flush the remainder of the game down the toilet. And he tried. Throwing into heavy coverage, overthrowing receivers and just basically making poor decisions were commonplace. This week expect more of the same as Grossman takes the field once again against the BEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE! Needless to say, it was hard to make that pick this week. But, I stand by my final decision.

DEN over CLE (This one may be a close one.)
ATL over NO
CHI over TEN (I have to. This upset is a painful one chosen by hope, not logic.)
JAX over DET
HOU over BAL
MIA over SEA
GB over MIN (Although, this should be a good game.)
BUF over NE (Upset due to my unreasonable faith in BUFF and dislike NE with great passion.)
NYJ over STL (Despite the slight confidence that STL has developed as of late.)
CAR over OAK (This is the BIGGEST no-brainer of the week.)
IND over PIT (I still back Peyton.)
SD over KC
PHI over NYG (Upset again.)
AZ over SF (In the "Who Cares" Bowl on MNF.)

Enjoy your football this week.
Go Bears.

Week Number Nine

Halloween is over. The air is colder this week. The Bears are back on the field. All is right with the world once again.
All we need to do is get this damn election over with. I venture to guess that majority of people will share this sentiment. I think I'm going to be voting for Matt Forte'.
Here is who is going to win this week:

BUFF over NYJ
CHI over DET (Expect a blow-out. At least 4-digits for Da Bears.)
JAX over CIN
CLE over BAL
TB over KC
TEX over MIN (This may actually be a good game. TEX has learned to play this year.)
STL over AZ
TEN over GB (GO TEN!!!)
DEN over MIA (This will be my first upset of the week. DEN isn't getting the credit they deserve.)
NYG over DAL
ATL over OAK (My second upset. It is hard NOT to bet against OAK. Watch Matt Ryan light things up today. He's an under-rated QB.)
PHI over SEA
IND over NE (Peyton may actually win against the Patriots!)
WAS over PIT (Finally, a good Monday Night game!)

Enjoy football this week. Go Bears!