Archive for February, 2008:
Bottled Goodness
I remember in my youth, drinking A&W Root Beer Floats like they were going out of style. Now, as I approach my 30th birthday, they’ve concocted “A&W Floats” A&W Root Beer and ice cream IN A BOTTLE! This is so awesome. To me, it tastes pretty close to the real thing, it just looks, well, melted. I’ve seen comments saying it was too sweet, or that it tasted like sweet, flat root beer and melted ice cream. My solution: Put the bottle in the freezer, for 20-30 minutes, gives it a good chill, which is always how root beer floats tasted best anyways.
Oh, and root beer floats were never quite right unless it was made with A&W, period. Kudos for re-introducing a classic concoction. As of today, I’ve only found them at 7-Eleven in single bottles, they retail for $1.79 and supposedly 4-packs will retail for $5.99. Its worth it for the occasional treat. Or, in my case, the daily treat.
They’ve also come out with Sunkist Orange Floats, which are damn tasty themselves.
Tragedy … Too Close to Home
Add another shooting rampage on a college campus to the ever-expanding list. This one happened in my own back yard, so to speak. Roughly 60 miles southwest of Chicago in DeKalb, IL a gunman opened fire in front of a geology class, shooting 21 students, before killing himself. Three victims were killed on site, two more victims died following transport to area hospitals, where two victims remain in critical condition. This is a new and disturbing chapter in the book of life as we know it today. A new chapter of the same old story; the senseless killing of innocent people. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those involved, directly or indirectly, in this horrifying series of events. I really can’t begin to completely put into words the sadness that I feel right now. What really can be said?
Unbelievably, this is the fourth shooting at a school here in the US, within the last week.
Spring Training is Here!
WooHoo! Opening Day is right around the corner and the Chicago Cubs are breaking camp for the start of Spring Training: 2008! It helps to know baseball is so close to kicking up again, as that means winter is on its way OUT! I’m sick of seeing snow, sick of brushing it off my car and sick of shoveling it up off the sidewalks. But, back to baseball. Will the Cubs snap a 100 year drought and win the World Series? Personally, I’ve been waiting nearly 30 years, and all I have to show for it is 5 playoff appearances and the infamous 5 outs from the World Series back in 2003. Damn you Steve Bartman! So bring on first pitch, I’m ready to see some home runs land on Waveland Avenue, and I’m ready to see Lou Pinella have another outburst or 3.
Knight Rider: A Wasted Opportunity
So, a 21st Century spin on the classic 1980s “Knight Rider” TV show is about to air. Right out of my youth, the Knight 2000 was the invincible black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am and KITT the intelligent super computer brain snapping one-liners at the “The Hoff” and saving his butt every episode. Back to the present, we have a rebirth of sorts … except the Knight 3000 and KITT have been bastardized into a 2008 Ford Mustang!