THE BEST BURGER

We went to Jim 'N Nick's. Strange name, but very very good barbeque.

I mention this because I THINK I HAD THE BEST BURGER. EVER. Seriously. Ever.

I ate 3 hot dogs for lunch so I didn't want to eat too much. But between the onion rings, burger, lemon pie, and Cokes, I didn't do too well on that one. But this burger IS THE BEST I'VE EVER HAD. I ordered the Southern Burger: smoked bacon (no fat on it), (shredded) cheddar, Bar-B-Q sauce, grilled onions & pickles.

I threw on one of the onion rings. The burger meat itself is not smoked, but it's cooked on the hickory grill. Whatever that means. But this burger was so good, very tender, and not too many juice drippings. The sauce is killer. I hated ordering a burger at a BBQ place, but that was a very good move. The best burger ever.

I Love Oysters!

You might have read earlier my first experience with Gulf oysters. Or with a Gulf oyster. Singular, because I ate one which came right back up! Well, after further thought about it I decided I would love to try them again. You can learn more by going to the Be Oyster Aware site. Find out about it. And you might love them too!

Cookies

The food item for this throwdown was cookies, Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin (originally it was to also have been peanut butter but the dough was jobbed. 8 people ate in this one: the usual cast, a couple other guys (one of whom Liz brought along) and three sons of our friends (6, 7, 14 years old).


There were 20 cookies on each plate and the rule was 12-minutes or first-to-finish-40 - whichever came first. The cookies had been baked earlier in the day so they were not hot but just right for consumption. Some of them were crispy, some soft, and some in between. The cookies were of varied size - 3 1/2" to 4" but all were 1.9 ounces. We had 1% milk to use. When it began I was hunting for the soft ones but then I realized I'd have to eat them anyway so just eat. The crowd was pretty lively and kept me going.

At the end, I put down 22 cookies. That was good enough for 2nd, 4 off the winner and about 3 ahead of the guy in 3rd.

Digestively the cookies seemed to stay in my stomach longer than other foods. But they came out faster. In 36 hours or so they, I think, all passed. 3 discharges. The 2nd one was really really explosive. Good thing I was in the grocery store for that one (and not at home). Safeway, please accept my apologies for that one.

For a full slideshow, click here.

Next up: Friday, hot dogs.

Review of Kettering U

These days getting the higher education you need to get ahead can be really tough. The time, the money, and the hassles of it all make it quite daunting to even think about the whole idea. But there is a great new option. And it is all online. Kettering University. This might just be the solution you need. They have done something so simple but it is something no other school does. The students are all placed in co-op programs – the industrial engineering students are in an engineering co-op programs that has them in class for 3 months and then working for 3 months. And it keeps rotating that way. Pure genius! Students gain valuable practical experience right away. And people are starting to notice Kettering – US News and World Report put Kettering as the number one university in the country for engineering. Is that a feather in their cap, or what? So I would urge you to check out Kettering. See what they can do for you before you make a rush decision. Higher education is so important these days and with Kettering you will get some great teaching and some great experience so you will have a great resume on day one when you are trying to find that first job.

Cookies #1

Last night, the throwdown was cookies.

I grabbed 2nd with 22 in 12 minutes. The dude who won put down 26.

More later, but until then you can do the math:


Chocolate Chip above. Oatmeal Raisin below.

Are You Ready?

If you know me then you know I love skateboarding and wakeboarding. But maybe what I love most is playing and managing a fantasy baseball team. And you better get moving if you want to play. Here is the scoop: go to Fantasy Sport Prophets Fantasy Baseball site if you want to win. They absolutely have the best site out there – it is web based so you can check in from anywhere. They have real PhDs ranking all the players so you know you can depend on their opinions. And they have some terrific software that can make all your fantasy tasks so easy! If you win a fantasy league, you win BIG! So what are you waiting for? And you can get it for $10 off if you mention promo code BMC200. You would not be wise to pass this up! I know I am not passing this up! So with their software and the $10 off you should get there right away because an opportunity like this does not come around every day. Sure, it is about fun but also about winning and Fantasy Sports Prophets Fantasy Baseball is just what the doctor ordered. Have fun, good luck, and get ready for a fight to win the Fantasy League!

There Will Be Injuries

Someone at work asked me yesterday if anyone has gotten injured when competing. Well, duh, here:

This is my mouth after the 2006 Nathan's qualifier in Bloomington, MN. And I know there are quite a few other pictures on this blog. From time to time I will highlight some.

Need Money?

There are a lot of online sites where you can go for home loans or other types of loans. But you will not find many places better than ehomemortgages.com. Mortgage rates, home loans, home equity loans, and so much more can be found at their site. Online mortgages rock, and you can find out all about them here.

George Shea & Punk Daughter

I thought this would be up on eatfeats, but it isn't yet. I beat ojrifkin to it?!? On The Colbert Report last night, a story on George Shea's daughter vandalizing Brooklyn. Throw the book at her, councilman! I have no idea how to link to the video on Comedy Central's site, but it will be up on ColbertNation soon and that's easier to link to.

Once there, scroll down to "Nailed 'Em - Graffiti Punk"

UPDATE: here's the link to Comedy Central.

You on drugs?

If you need to buy some drugs you will find no better site to do it than online at edrugstore. They are a company that has been around for a while so you know they must be good. People come back again and again so they have something people want – only name brand drugs at super super prices. Infact their prices are guaranteed to be the lowest on the internets. Sure, you can buy Viagra online, and buy all sorts of other drugs too, but this site is really amazing because of all the information they provide. Do you have a question about drugs? They probally have the answer in their FAQs or in their Health Articles section. And if they do not have the answer online? Well, you can “ask a physician” and get a personal answer. What can be better? Say you are taking Viagra. Not only will you find it for the cheapest price here, you can find out all about it. And again, that also goes for any other drugs you are taking. You say there are many drug sites out there. There are, but not one that does it better than edrugstore.md – so go there now and see what they can do for you today.

Updated: Slyder Slutfest & Unswallowing

A few nights ago we put these down:

And for me some came back up:


The eating started out pretty slow - at least for me it was slow going. I wince just a bit thinking about calling these "Slyders". One, the word "Slyders" is trademarked by White Castle. And two, these did not resemble what White Castle peddles - hear "Slyders", you think of White Castles or something like them. White Castles are 2 1/2" square. Maybe 1/8" thick patty. Steamed, airy and pillowy bun. These had a 3" round bun, maybe it was steamed but not airy or pillowy. The patty was about 2 1/2" square, but 1/2" thick. Going into this I had eaten some of the supermarket-sold frozen White Castles so I was surprised when I saw and then started eating these.

Anyway, having said that, when the eating began the eating began. The crowd was in to it, we were having fun, they were having fun, so it was all good. Big D stepped out after 12 so he could have room for more beer. Me and Stork were making quite a mess with our dunking - Demon Dawg, who was eating to my right, moved his table farther over so he could enjoy his burgers (that actually turned out to be a very good move). Stork and I were more or less bite for bite when my body did the unthinkable. I threw up in my mouth once, and then twice. I held those in. But #3 could not be held back. Being the gentleman that I am I turned away from the crowd so they wouldn't see the spew - I turned to my right. Where Demon Dawg had been before he moved farther over. I got my left hand up to deflect the pukage behind me. Yeah good move as it hit the wall and the flat-panel TV. By that time someone handed me a bucket, and I stepped out in the alley and finished up by booting once more.

That sucked. I had not lost it since August 2005 when I was preparing for my first IFOCE contest. It is what it is, I guess.

Here are the results:

1. Mad Stork, 24
2. Demon Dawg, 14
3. Big D, 12
DQ, Me at 23

Here is a link to a slideshow of pictures. Thanks, T-Bonz.

You Dig Oysters?

I have only eaten a raw oyster once in my life. After a few minutes I finally mustered up enough balls to down it. Slurp and swallow. It did go down, but it came right back up! This was like 20 or 25 years ago. I have not had on since, and I do not plan on having one again. It was in 1984 or 1985 in Panama City, FL. It was one of the famous Gulf oysters. But people seem to love raw oysters. The harvesting process is cool. All the way from pulling them from the water to fixing them up in the post-harvest process. It is cool to watch, but it is not for me. Want more info? Check the site.

Slyder Slutfest & Unswallowing

READ THE LATEST ON THIS. Click Here.

Last night we put these down:

And for me some came back up:

I'll get some more pictures up later. But for now here are the results:

1. Mad Stork, 24
2. Demon Dawg, 14
3. Big D, 12
DQ, Me at 23

Now That's Fast

Along with my love of inline skating and wakeboarding, another thing that I cannot get enough of is street racing. What a rush! And I have my Chevy tricked out in just the right ways. But if you have a BMW the absolute best place for BMW Performance Parts is this site! Check them out and soup up your BMW!

28 Weeks Later

I rented this movie at a Redbox, and with a code I ended up paying $0.00. I paid too much. There's two hours of my life I won't get back. OK, it's not that the movie is BAD, but it's just not good. Here's a full review.

And IMDB has this in the goofs section: The M4 used by Doyle when he is on the street level appears to have a PVS14 night sight mounted behind an EOTech holosight. However when the camera shot shows the view through the scope the cross-hair shape is not that of what would have actually been displayed using this sight combination. Who came up with that?!?

UK Mortgages

In the last couple of years many people went shopping for and landed a great deal on a mortgage. But a lot of those mortgages were low teaser rates at first but then adjust to really high rates because base interest rates are so much higher now than then. There is a really great site for all kinds of valuable information on UK Remortgages. But the site is not all about remortgages. It is about new mortgages too. Remortgage is another term for refinancing. Even though the site is for the UK audience, the information can be super helpful to anyone who is anywhere in the world. And you really should read their information because you do not want to get stuck with a mortgage that is at a low interest rate but will adjust to a much higher interest rate. We do not play that game. We got a fixed rate mortgage because: yes when rates are low you pay less but you do not ever have to be concerned with the payment in that you know what it is forever. To us that is a good thing. So when it comes to Mortgages learn everything you can and be informed. There is much to learn so get a start now at http://www.earth.co.uk/news.html.

Eat This Meat.

T-Bonz got away from the Big House and we met halfway for lunch. She wasn't so sure about this place - it was in a strip mall and didn't look like much - but it was great. The winner of several local "best of" awards: Bird Dog BBQ.

I ordered a sandwich with beef brisket and a sliced hot link. And a side of Baked Beans. Big portion, incredible deal. The beans are slow-cooked and seasoned with the eatery’s own barbecue sauce and chopped brisket.

As you can see above, the meat is served without sauce. That is the way BBQ should be. The smoked meat should be flavorful enough. Sauce while smoking the meat = hiding something. Here they smoke the meats with oak. Nothing else.

They had two sauces. A mild tangy one, and a hot one. The hot was hot. To me the hotness and spice overpowered the delicious meat taste. I used the mild sauce.

Digging in.

About half the meat fell out of the sandwich when I picked it up. I was left with a pile of big, hot, tasty meat that cannot be beat.

That was good.

Sk8 is gr8

I do not know about you all, but I love to get out and skate. Spring is springing here in Denver and the skating is going to be great. Not skate boards and all that, but inline skating. It is so liberating, and it is a great workout. A natural step from inline skating is wakeboarding. I love it! To be out on the water and getting ready to do it! Inline skating and wakeboarding – a great combo! And www.modernskate.com has one of the best selections of K2 inline skates and Liquid Force wakeboards. Sweet! One stop shopping! Check it out and get ready to move!

Mo Money

Can Bank. Cha-ching!

Long story short, I recycle all of our aluminum cans from soft drinks - we drink much diet soda. I have these HUGE garbage bags that I jobbed from A-Basin ski area a while back. It takes a couple years for me to fill them up with cans and take them to the Can Bank. 22 big cents per pound of aluminum. Yeah boy!

Review: Conductit

I do not know about you but I work for a large employer. There are quite a few employees. And due to regulatory changes and other things that come up from time to time these employees need to complete different training courses. To successfully keep all of this training administration clear is a major chore. Sure, the human resources department is responsible for this it often becomes and IT problem that we have to solve. But Conductor is here to help! Their software solution is pretty nice, and if you have anything to do with this world then you have to check Conductor and see what they can do for you. Check it out!

No Place Else!

Check out the new burgers that Chili's has added to their menu and Shofner will not be eating:

There are 3 burgers. The JALAPEÑO SMOKEHOUSE BACON BIG MOUTH BURGER. The SOUTHERN SMOKEHOUSE BACON BIG MOUTH BURGER. And the SMOKEHOUSE BACON TRIPLE-THE-CHEESE BIG MOUTH BURGER. I had the Southern, hold the mayo.

The Southern is extra thick-cut brown sugar & chile-rubbed bacon topped with smoked cheddar cheese, crispy onion strings and mayo (shudder). Served with ancho-chile BBQ sauce on the side.

Absolutely delicious. The 3 new burgers are basically the Oldtimer with the added thick-cut bacon and the cheeses. But the bacon is off the hook, the real deal, it's money, [insert any other Guy Fieri-isms]. The patty was a little more cooked than my requested 'medium' but it was still really, really tasty. The flavors of the bacon, cheese, patty, and everything else blended perfectly. Without a doubt this was the best burger I ate today. Get there.

Remodel This

I am quite handy around the house, but I have yet to try a big green remodeling project. With the trends the way they are everything seems to be heading that way. To get a good start like ideas and tips check out the web site for really good information. Check it out and become part of the movement!

Chili Dog Eating Tease

Oops, I haven't yet finished preparing the photos from the chili dog eating from last Friday. But here's one shot:

This one was too much fun! True, I could do without beans in my hot dog chili but it is what it is. You cannot tell from this shot but the buns are pretty large. Larger than normal hot dog buns, and with poppy seeds on them. Yum.

Take this survey!

I cannot even think of the last time I drank anything alcoholic, let alone a light beer. I would have to say it was at a Sport Shop party in like 1994 or 1995. I used to work at the Sport Shop at Loveland Ski Area. We had some killer parties, and maybe I drank a wee bit more than I should have, or anyone should for that matter. But they were a lot of fun and they were a good excuse to relax after the long retail-selling and ski teching season. But why drink full on beer when there is light beer? It all tastes the same more or less. Anyway, you can totally score some sweet stuff if you take a simple mobile phone quiz about light beer. Full contest rules can be found here: http://brandnoise.typepad.com/brand_noise/scenariodna-survey-sweeps.html. Read that first and then take the easy 10 question text and reply survey. How can that be so wrong? It just asks the beer you drink, who with, and how. What do you have to lose? You have more to win so you should do it. Anyone out there should do this – what could be easier? Cell phones and beer. Now that is a winning combination!

Lookit This, T-Bonz

So at Rancho de Sunburst we have a one-car garage. We (read: me) have much too much crap - that before I rearranged some things meant we had NEVER BEEN ABLE TO PARK A CAR IN IT for all eight or nine years that we've lived there.

I didn't get a good BEFORE shot of things before I rearranged but look at all this shit.

You can see the cleared little spot for the T. And after the insertion:

It's a tight fit.



Above, we have a metal table that's pretty deep. The T's right up on that.

Garage door is closed. We're in.