Life in SOJOCO

Spring Break!

2011-03-15T10:55:00.003-05:00

Like all rich sojoco people........I forgot to tell you all that I'm on vacation....okay, not vacation because I am with my kids.........or that makes it a "family trip" which is more about their fun than mine which is cool enough in its own right. It is Spring Break and I'm in sojoco south. The beach.

Anyway. I'm in a very nice, high end warm place. Heard you had snow. Sucks to be you. I'm drinking tons of good wine and these skinny margaritas which kinda kicked my ass. One thing I love is that I get to run on the beach every morning and feel like I'm in shape.......but I have to do it early because once the drinking starts well............not. gonna. happen.

Nice. Beautiful.

I'll try to blog something before I get back.

Steven St. John hates the Gays.

2011-03-07T09:43:00.006-06:00

I love Sports Radio 810 WHB.

I listen pretty much every day except when the racing boys are on and I get tired very quickly of stump the chumps. Otherwise.....all good.

On Friday morning I was beyond uncomfortable with the gay innuendo and cheap jokes lead by Steven St. John on his show The Border Patrol.....mostly directed at Gary Lezak who does a weather call in on the show. It went on for an entire segment which seemed like about 15 minutes. I'm not sure how long it really went.

I've heard from more than one person that Steven told them he is uncomfortable with Gary because he is gay and doesn't want him in the studio. He seems completely comfortable being uncomfortably degrading to gay people in this town.

When I was you know like 13 years old my buddies and I were among the biggest homophobes in the world. The biggest insult you could hurl at somebody was that they were gay and called them a fag. Them were stone cold fightn words. If you called somebody a fag you better have felt pretty sure you could kick their ass because if not you were gonna get your ass kicked. Not only have times changed but we grew up. We grew up to understand that you don't have to be uncomfortable just because somebody is a little different than you. People are people first. Too bad Steven St. John still has the intellect of a 13 year old.

Steven St. John's attitude and comments were insulting and inappropriate. The rest of the boys quickly piled on with lots of sophomoric gay slurs and innuendo.

Everyone in Kansas City knows Gary Lezak is a gay man. So what?

Steven St. John is homophobic. He is scared of gay people. Gay men give him the creeps. I have news for Steven. I'll reach and speak for the gay man but as a short, fat, dude with more hair on your back than on your head you have nothing to worry about from the average gay man.

Gary Lezak.........who likely enjoys sucking a mean dick and anal sex........and yep probably rim jobs too.........is way more of a man than Steven St. John because if I was Gary I would act like a 13 year old and go down to the station and kick that fat little idiot's ass. Luckily, Gary is more of a man than both Steven and me.

I wonder if Chad Boeger, his boss, got any emails from people thought it was sad and wrong too?

Phillll Kline. Up the Ante

2011-03-03T15:00:00.000-06:00

This is some excellent work by Kansas Watchdog.

Kline ups the ante and if true is a game changer. While I've often wrote about my personal dislike for Philllll Kline everyone deserves to be treated fairly from a system and process that has integrity.

If you are interested, read this post. I'll not try to improve on it with further commentary.

Collins versus Rysavy. On Like Donkey Kong.

2011-03-03T10:19:00.005-06:00

So it will be in this corner Rick Collins....the city hall insider who was faithfully served and waited his turn.......caring about all things Overland Park for decades.

versus...........

John Rysavy........the upstart fiscal conservative/Tea Party politician who clearly is itching to make a difference.

For.........a seat on the Overland Park City Council representing the 6th District. OP is the most important city in Johnson County and the area they will represent is the area that will have the most development and activity over the next 10 years.

I think this race could be very interesting. Not like John Toplikar and Calvin Hayden interesting. I don't think anyone is getting arrested.

Collins is the OP insider having built alliances within City Hall by working from the ground up. He has worked quietly in the trenches for a long time on various boards and commissions in volunteer positions. You could never question his commitment to OP and to making it a great place to live and do business. He is endorsed by the guy who is vacating the seat, George Kandt, and by people like former mayor Ed Eilert. Kandt was popular enough that he ran unopposed 4 years ago.

Rysavy seems to have birthed from the new activism of the Tea Party and I think many, many people in south OP...me included....very much like and identify with his no nonsense, limited government approach. To that end his support is not from insiders. His support is from conservative stalwarts that hold state offices and higher like Lance Kinzer and Kris Kobach who might literally be the two most conservative people in Kansas.

Statistically, Collins has the upper hand. He got the majority of votes and even if Rysavy gets all of Ansley's votes (unlikely) it still isn't enough. Of course, there will be more voters in the general.........and they are open season. However, anyone dismissing the network of the Tea Party should do so at their peril. Can they get out the vote for their guy? Rysavy has lots of work to do and it could be fun to watch.

Homage to Tony

2011-03-02T11:20:00.004-06:00

I enjoyed the story in The Pitch on local hero blogger, Tony Botello.

I think they left an important paragraph out of the story.

Importantly, Tony supports and promotes other bloggers. We may not always agree......it seems like everybody who writes about Tony has to begin with that caveat.......but Tony has done tons to help people find my blog.

When Tony mentions the blog my hits go up dramatically. Tony is to a local blogger as Johnny Carson was to aspiring comedians. If you went on his show you had arrived. If he liked your set he and invited you over to sit for a moment your career was golden.

I think this is a really good blogging town and most of that credit goes to Tony.

I completely agree that blogging about something can change the mainstream media's coverage of it. Tony brought down the Funk. No question. He should consider it his crowning gift to Kansas City. I've not brought down a Mayor but I know that the media reads my blog and stories and media attention have increased on issues as a result of things I've written. I'm not sure I like that but it is what it is.

BTW, it reminds me, I owe everyone a post on what this blog is......and isn't.........as I have many new readers since the last time I did that. I promise. I just have to be in the right mood.

Anyway..........sorry about the crappy digression......

Congrats Tony on a good article and thanks for pimping local blogging. I'm waiting for 435 South to contact me for a story........still waiting..........for picture in the shadows with my fake glasses and moustache :-)

Kinko's is dead. to. me.

2011-03-02T08:53:00.006-06:00

Break ups are hard. Especially long term relationships.

I remember when I first discovered Kinko's back in college. Except for a diner there weren't a ton of 24 hour anythings. Yes, even McDonald's drive thru closed.

In college I learned of this place that was open all night. You could copy stuff. They had computers that you could stick your Mac disk into and do all kinds of cool stuff. You could put together cool projects. All. Night.

I think many people like me left college and Kinko's was a sorta secret weapon. When we entered the workforce our older bosses didn't really know of such a place. I've used Kinko's for years as my go to place to get stuff ready for a meeting.........usually at the last minute or the middle of the night. We had a relationship that stuck....even when the staff started to change from AV club type guy to people with tons of piercing and tats. It endured. I was loyal. I knew I could count on them. Machines that worked. No hassles. If you needed help you could get it.

Of course there have been changes. They were bought out by Fed Ex but really the basics didn't change. Fast copies anywhere you traveled.

Change is hard. I'm done with Kinko's and it seems like an end of an era. It isn't to say I'm pissed at Kinko's really but I don't feel like I can trust them like I used to back in the day.

It was very common for me these days to walk in with a thumb drive with my docs in .pdf format and they would stick them in their machine and print them. That was slick.

They recently introduced all new machines that have the USB port right on the copier. I was impressed. I thought this would be great. I wouldn't have to go to the desk anymore. Really a great idea. In. theory.

First, it "processed" my powerpoint for literally 15 minutes before deciding it was too big and kicked it back. It was only like 15 slides. So, I still had to take it up front and yes, was freaking out about being late and then she wanted to change me more because she printed it on "better paper" and I said knowing my colleagues it would be in the recycle bin in less than an hour.

Second, I thought I'd learned the new system and took in my trusty little thumb drive to print some generic black and whiteys........stapled into packets. The new machines are noticeably slower. I asked the desk guy and he confirmed.......oh, yes, the new machines are a little slower and mumbled something about something being wireless. What a pain in the ass. They are painfully slow. Don't ask me the stats. I'm not the Ricoh document solution guy.

Upon a recommendation I recently visited a CopyMax which is you know attached to the OfficeMax. Simply, they were great. Stick my thumb drive in........nice service. Not too crowded. Easy. Now that is more like it. Excellent.

Now, they aren't open 24 hours and they admittedly don't offer as many services but for lots of simple copy operations......they are my new home. Richmeister........my man.

I'm sure I'll have to make a late night stop to a Kinko's on occasion but make no mistake I have a new home for "making copies." Kinko's out.

Guess I should weigh in on the election tomorrow

2011-02-28T10:25:00.005-06:00

Getting all caught up in meaningless Leawood Park issues certainly has been fun....you should have seen the hate email......but there is an actual election tomorrow. A primary election for OP City Council's 6th which is southland. South of 135th from State line to like Pflumm-ish.

I'll break down the highly contested 3 way race for Overland Park's Sixth District City Council.

This is a simple story and a simple choice so pay attention because I'm sure you all haven't been so far. Top 2 go onto the general in April.

3 candidates. One experienced person who has long served the community in a variety of ways, one newbie, and one person who seems hell bent on winning some kind of election someday but also lacks any real experience.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a big believer that experience is NOT the most important thing in local politics. Attitude and intellect are more important. These people serve you and I and get very little in return. So I look for attitude. What is their motivation for running? Then I put that together with intellect to see if they have the capacity to do the work in a thoughtful way. Mix in a look at ethics as a way to determine how they will behave and viola.....you can usually easily figure out who to vote for. So, let's jump in.

Rick Collins.

Attitude: Has served the city in many, many ways. Long time commitment to Overland Park. Chairman of the Planning Commission, Search committee for City Manager, Chairman of the Chamber, Past President of his HOA. This guy cares and gets involved. This is heart of a servant.

Intellect: Well, an attorney but don't hold that against him. I don't think he practices now but it does speak to his ability to think critically. Based on his past experience he has a history of being a leader.

Ethics: I can't find one bad thing about him...No stolen signs and he isn't a developer.

Intangibles: He was the only one of the three that had a working web link from the Democracy Project. It means something to me that people he has worked/volunteered with will endorse him. Especially Ed Eilert and George Kandt.

Rebecca Ansley.

Attitude: I love people that want to get involved. She has run for office before but I like to see people for a little in the trenches before they run for office. I think her heart is in the right place.

Intellect: I think she is certainly smart enough for the job. It is just a little hard to tell because it is hard to find much on her. She seems appropriately pragmatic on local issues like taxes and development. Her experience in Real Estate can certainly be a plus in understanding citizen issues on protecting property values.

Ethics: Looks like a Grandma and probably behaves like one too. No worries.

Intangibles: Well, she is the only chica in the race but her organization seems lacking so I kinda doubt her real drive for this election. I couldn't find a website or a campaign facebook account. Does she know about the internet?

John Rysavy.

Attitude: John seems driven by this new breed of people who woke up and decided to get involved based on anger over taxes and government intrusion in our lives. Call them the Tea Party or Libertarians.........it is the new activism. But seeing how probably he had never been inside City Hall prior to a year or so ago......who knows maybe just to file for office. Anyway, anger can only carry you so far because most of time in this type of role is spent on much more mundane issues and I just think he will keep finding races to run until he finds one he can win. What job do you want? 3rd District, City Council, Dog Catcher....please tell us....or do you just want to be elected to something....anything?? Or are looking to find a way to launch a political career with higher aspirations? He is even using the same picture he used for the 3rd District beating he took.

Intellect: I don't know. I guess I don't have any reason to think he is an idiot. He went to the prestigious South Dakota State.

Ethics: Seems like a fine person. I couldn't find any nude pictures of him on the internet. Seems like a good family man who is prolific in that regard.

Intangibles: John is the only candidate playing right at the no annexation crowd. You have the area he would represent right there in the south past 135th street and running to state line. He is against any new taxes. The question is does these positions so popular nationally trickle to uber local races? He is leveraging the conservative movement for this local election. I'm a hard core conservative. He boasts a strong list of local elected far right conservatives as endorsing his campaign like Lance Kinzer and Kris Kobach and the less right wing Jerry Moran however local elections are non partisan. Endorsements are great but how have you served your community?

The logical choice is Rick Collins. Hands down. He has earned it and would continue to serve the city thoughtfully and with passion. He has spent his adult life serving OP and has stayed focused on OP. He holds thoughtful and experienced positions that just aren't "no tax" or "no development" or "no annexation" OP is a growing and important city in Johnson County and it needs to be continued to be run well. OP impacts all of us in Johnson County regardless if you actually live in it or not. Is he a conservative? If so, spill it man. Don't make us guess.

Who will be his general election suitor? Probably John Rysavy. He is a better organization than Ansley and has at least some name recognition as well as all of the No Tax/Tea Party vote. From there it should be an interesting month of March to see if Rysavy can activate the conservative base for a non partisan position.

This primary election may have as few as 500 voters meaning everyone counts. I could be wrong in there maybe an interested electorate but history says it will be less than 500. Rysavy might be able to swing the election if only his kids were all old enough to vote.

Chilly Wine Friday

2011-02-25T08:45:00.000-06:00

There is a big wine deal coming up next week called ZAP down at the Union Station.

ZAP is a pretty cool group of people who basically love Zinfandel. No, Tony, not the pink stuff. Red Zinfandel.

Red Zinfandel is cool stuff because it is uniquely American and as such it is really a lot like us. It is in your face, big, bold, a little spicy and many of them are high octane.

You should check it out if you love to swirl and sniff with the best of KC's cork dorks. It really marks the beginning of the Spring season of many, many local wine events. It is March 3rd.

I'm attending and I'll give you a full blown review of many Zins next week I'm guessing.....

But for this week I thought I'd prime the pump with a Zintastic review of a great Zinfandel I had this week.

My wine of the week was the 2006 Amapola Creek Sonoma Monte Rosso Zinfandel. Wow. What a freakish wine. I've had several Monte Rosso Vineyard wines. It is a sought after high elevation vineyard in the Mayacamas and the vines are very, very old....like over a 100 years. Several wineries buy fruit from it. These guys made only 361 cases.

It tasted of wild berries and cloves and bing cherries and the normal vanilla from the oak. The spice was black pepper. It was a little more racy than I expected. It had some nice blueberry and along with that raciness would make me think cool climate or maybe a cooler than normal vintage in general. Now that I think about it I don't remember other Monte Rosso wines tasting "huge" and jammy. They seem to have an elegance and a restrained nature to them. Maybe that is the vineyard talking. Anyway, it doesn't have to big and high alcohol to be fantastic zin. This is a great wine.

One quick note on my philosophy of Red Zinfandel. I like them relatively young meaning release to 6 years-ish. I don't think they age particularly great. The fruit goes away quickly and what is left in my opinion is prunish. So, the good news is there is no need to age too long. Just enjoy. Also, there are many very nice examples for a reasonable price. You can get some very nice Zinfandel for around $20.

This bottle was $45 which I would consider pretty upscale for Zinfandel but in this case worth it.

Have a great weekend and enjoy.

Vaya Con Dios.

Senate Bill 54 Moves to Floor of Senate!!! Yes!

2011-02-24T22:43:00.005-06:00

We have some momentum on this! Committee votes 8-1 to send Senate Bill 54 to the floor to support our economy.

Again, free the wine. Free the wine.

There is a great report in this story about how what I've been saying is true on breitbart.com. It will bring more and better jobs. It will give grocery stores in rural Kansas a better chance when right now some towns are losing their only grocery store.

Did you know Kansas has the fourth highest amount of liquor stores per capita in the whole freaking country? This is a long read but I found it very interesting.

CNBC is among some reporting that opponents are using scare tactics to keep us in the dark ages and to keep us buying wine in Missouri. While opponents have set up a Facebook page with a whole 62 fans.

I wish I owned a liquor store near a grocery store in Kansas today. I've heard that grocery stores will have to buy their license if they want to get in during the 3 year grace period and they will pay in six figures per. Not a bad little exit strategy when many of the these little mom and pops last year were worth little more than their dusty inventory. So old guy owner who sits in the store watching tv while you pick up Chardonnay for the old lady gets a much better payday and than he ever would. How's that for putting up with a little old man stink?

Anyway.......it is getting closer to a big win for the Kansas consumer and for jobs and tax revenue.

BTW, this whole notion all liquor stores going out of business is nonsense. Only the shitty ones that smell like old man stink will close. At the corner of 103rd and State line in Missouri there is a Price Chopper, a Berbiglia and Royal Liquor. All have been there for years. Over at 135th and State line Lukas seems to do pretty well with a Wal-Mart and a Target across the street.....all in Missouri.

Let's go. Write your Senator and tell them to Free Your Wine!

Leawood smacks down people that want Ironwoods Park to themselves.

2011-02-23T11:05:00.009-06:00

I told you I'd keep an eye on this whole Ironwoods situation and that I'd look into it further.

This whole thing proves that all politics is local. The whole world seems to be coming apart and in laconic little Leawood rich people got together to argue about what a bathroom means in a park.

The issue at hand was the Park Department wanting to build another bathroom in Ironwoods Park (and eventually a new amphitheater) and the residents of Steeplechase really, really hating the idea.

I snuck in to check it out cause from the looks of things a handful of Steeplechase residents along with a few Leabrooke people that they scared were looking to mix it up last night with Leawood staff and the Planning Commission.

Here were a few highlights. Full house.

First, I thought it was very nice for them to put this issue first on the agenda so a bunch of rich assholes wouldn't have to be inconvenienced through a whole bunch of mundane city planning issues. They also allowed public comment which they said is unusual for this type of agenda item. It shoots down some conspiracy theories about people out to get them otherwise I would have thought that the issue would have been buried an hour and a half into the meeting and then they would have operated as usual without further public comment. The Planning Commission and City of Leawood get high credit for that gesture. Can you imagine how it would have been handled in a city like Chicago?

But there was actual drama. The people against the bathroom and in reality an expanded amphitheater came prepared to hit the Planning Commission with not only emotional appeals but LEGAL ones. They claimed during public comment that the request was basically "out of date" because the process started too long ago and city ordinance says they only have 2 years in one case or 5 years in another but in either case too many since the original plan was proposed. It sounded compelling like the gotcha in Legally Blonde when Elle Woods points out that you can't wash your hair after a perm and therefore murdered your father. In fact, the Planning Commission.......nice ordinary neighborly appointed volunteers.......asked to abruptly go into executive session to seek legal clarification from the city attorney on the finer points of the claim.

After that brief break they reappeared and explanation was given on definitions of many different kinds of plan approvals and the timing of such. Basically, the whole plan was given final approval when the park plan was approved back in 2001 and as such my interpretation is that they consider the whole thing a continuation of the original development....over time. As such, the Park Department was asking for approval of a revised final plan because they were changing some parts of it. Here is where it gets a little tricky. The Park Department deemed the changes minor so the Planning Commission called it a revision. The rich, angry, white, asshole Steeplechase people I guess wanted to consider the change major. The Planning Commission noted the revised plan is smaller and further away from neighbors than the original final approved plan and so they considered the changes minor and as such..........approved them. Unanimously. Big groans from the crowd.

The Planning Commission pinned down the director of Parks on moving forward if the amphitheater was also approved on a final plan in the 2001 plan and if she would have to come back for approval to proceed. She danced a bit and then confirmed the amphitheater had already received final approval. Game, set, match. Leawood Park and Artsy People. While they had played nice, they held all the cards and laid them down. Smackdown. Bigger groans and tsk, tsk from the crowd.

Steeplechase HOA determined they prepared to take legal action. I'm not sure if that is serious or if they thought it would scare the Planning Commission. They weren't scared. Lawyers always find a way to make money don't they?

Interesting side topics of the meeting. The Steeplechase people paid for a property value study that suggested the closest properties would lose $60,000 in value if an expanded amphitheater were built even though comments about a theater were suppose to be off limits. I thought this was interesting. They paid someone to write a report that told them what they wanted to hear and as such seems to lack much credibility but as they asked it to be put in the record basically screwed themselves. In my mind they diminished their own home values when they go to sell it to any savy negotiator. I'd love to live backed up to that park and I'd gladly take it at a $60,000 discount.........first they would have to deal with those power lines though.....those look shitty. When one of those houses go up for sale I can't wait to see if it is actually at a $60K discount or if their tune will change........we live right on the awesome park....don't look at the power line though.

Also, it was fascinating to see some of the people and put a name with a face on some of the emails I've been getting on this issue......specifically Kerry Phillips. Apparently she is the ring leader of this group and was wearing a very tight sweater. (I've removed some comments because Mrs Phillips husband was pretty pissed at me and I can understand why.........I probably crossed the line) Darren Holmes was there as well and I wrote a post about him as well way back when. Guess I was right.

And all this brings me back to my original comments about rich people in half a million dollar homes not being smart enough to ask about a master plan for a park behind their home before they bought it.........but thinking enough of themselves that they could stomp their feet enough and throw a big enough tantrum to change it and essentially work to keep a park that is for all of Leawood just to themselves.

I guess onto City Council they march?

Phillllllllll Kline back in the news!

2011-02-22T09:22:00.005-06:00

If you've been a reader of this blog you know I'm a Libertarian leaning conservative and I abhor abortion. I believe every soul is precious and God-created for a purpose.

I also believe that the ends don't justify the means. I also believe that hand in hand with that notion if you consider yourself a Christian is that doing whatever you do must be done above reproach AND with excellence. A zealot is a zealot regardless if they do it in the name of Christ or Allah.

I get that there is a vendetta against Phillllll Kline but I also think he has brought much of this on himself and that he has SO sadly kidnapped the support of the Pro-Life crowd and continues to use it for his own gain. I have said repeatedly that he would take advantage of the Pro-Life crowd and become their sweetheart and use it to get as rich as possible. So far he has leveraged it into a teaching position at Liberty University when otherwise after losing several elections he would have been begging for a job as an assistant trim carpenter for John Toplikar.

If he hadn't been so slimy all along the way he wouldn't have given people ammunition and he could have stood on higher ground. He brings us all who believe life is precious down with him. For that he should be ashamed.

The charges against Planned Parenthood deserve a fair and full hearing. Steve Howe's office is responsible to see that happens.

The problem for me is I like people like Jill Stanek who have made it their life work to end abortion but I'm puzzled why someone like her would want to be connected with a person like Phill Kline. I do not. I think it is horrible that she use this to raise money. I'm disappointed in her. Phill Kline is no martyr. Phill has duped good people on the national pro-life scene and it makes me sick.

I don't believe that the current action against Kline is meant to scare and intimidate future prosecutors from action against Planned Parenthood as much as it is meant to keep the integrity in our legal process and the two shouldn't be confused by either side. I've got no problem with hardball but I have little tolerance for a lack of ethics.

We'll have to see how this current action with the Kansas Ethics hearings against him turns out. I don't care either way. He will make his money from the Pro-Life crowd speaking and teaching but thankfully his welcome in Kansas is effete.

Phill Kline is no martyr. Just like Jerry Johnston.......what comes around goes around. The church I attend is debt free and lives within it's means.

Wine Friday!

2011-02-18T12:16:00.004-06:00

With all this cold weather we had we've had the fireplace fired up and it has brought me back to one of my all time favorite wines. Port.

I love it all the time but when it was so cold and you have the fire going you can't help but imagine yourself like some stuffy old rich English dude sitting by the fire at the lodge drinking me some port.

Port sales have been horrendous which is good news for those of us who love it. They still fetch a pretty penny but nothing like the rapidly escalating price of Bordeaux or cult cabs. Of all the wines Port ages the best, the most gracefully, and frankly in the most forgiving way.

There are great stories and traditions that go along with port. One of my favorites is the "Bishop of London". The English will tell you that tradition hold that a decanter of port is put in front of the host and then he pours first for the person on his right and then passes it his left. It should be passed continuously until it gone. If someone stops passing it the host will ask that person, "Do you know the Bishop of London?" and then proceed to say, "he was a nice old chap but he never passed the port." This was nice way of saying...Faux pas and pass the port jackwagon!

There are several styles of port and I could bore you to bloggy tears on the subject but today for my wine of the week I'll stick with one we've been drinking. Graham's 10 year Tawny Port.

One of the things I love about Tawny port is that they are stable and don't need to be finished in one night. Once opened they will last for at least a month and still taste the same. Unlike vintage port that get all the attention, tawny doesn't improve with further age.

Another thing is that they are versatile. In the summer you can put a little chill on them and they taste awesome....or room temp when it is a bit colder.

This is potent stuff.....like 20% alcohol so small portions and better to consume at home or have a driver. I like having it instead of dessert when I go out. Expect like a 2-3 ounce serving.

The Graham 10 Year Tawny has wonderful fruit aromas of ripe raspberry and some dried fruits as well. It has a beautiful florals as well. Then you get into the cocoa and vanilla bean richness and actually a creaminess. It is rich and pure pleasure to drink and the alcohol gives you that warm feeling all over your love when it is cold out. With food, I love a creme brulee with some fresh fruit on it. I also like walnuts, figs, strong cheeses. Delish.

Expect to pay about $30 for a bottle but again since you should....he he.....drink smaller servings it should last a while. I tend to over consume going back 2 or 3 times for refills. Port hangovers are brutal so be careful.

If you never have tried it I highly recommend it. Cheers. By the way....don't be tempted to try and save a couple bucks on domestic ports or even Australian ports. The best port still comes from Portugal. Period. My favorite producers are Dow, Warre, Graham, Taylor, Fonseca.

Vaya Con Dios.

Ironwoods Park Hub Bub

2011-02-16T10:58:00.006-06:00

There is big trouble brewing in laconic Leawood.

Leawood is this extremely well run little affluent city. They have few problems. People are generally satisfied. Amenities and property values are high....crime is low. It have everything except excellent water slides (bad reference to Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure)

I've been watching, getting emails, and following this issue regarding a proposed expansion of Ironwoods Park now for a little while.

The plan in a one line summary is expanding a outdoor theater that is currently there into a bigger one. There seems to be disagreement on some of the facts based on who you talk with about the size, the cost, who will pay, how many events, and how much it intrudes on the people living closest etc. Neighbors suggest big like Sandstone and Leawood Park and Rec says just a little bigger with bathrooms, dressing rooms and more parking.

For the issue for me has always been that this park belongs to all the residents of Leawood and not just the people who live directly around it. Generally, what I find is that people who live near parks prefer as much as possible to keep other people out of it so they can enjoy the green space to themselves. So, you can imagine that the reasonable debate is how to manage those two things. So we have a conflict.

I have been in favor of this new theater expansion and have written as such on this blog in the past. I've received nasty emails from Steeplechase people as a result. My impression from them so far is they are kinda assholes who want the park to themselves. One guy complained in an email about a school having a walk-a-thon in the park on a Saturday morning as ruining his day.

I was reviewing this website they put up and it does give me some questions. They suggest it might be a little bigger than I thought. Some of it is bullshit and clear exaggeration but of course I get where they are coming from to a point. Are they just frantic JOCO assholes with conspiracy delusions or is the City of Leawood really trying to pull a fast one on them. Good questions. The current residents already seem to think the events that are going on now out o line and would like them to stop. I've been out there and they seem reasonable to me. The man with the fake glasses and moustache plans to find out.

I need to research this more to understand it. If it is what I originally thought then I am still for it. I love the idea of having a venue like that to take my family to. However, how much bigger does it need to be? If they want to put a Shawnee Mission "Theater in the Park" in Ironwoods then I am not for it. Will there be basically just musicals and David Basse concerts and such or will they also have rock concerts? I'd say no to rock concerts, yes to the others. I'd say good if all shows are free, no if they plan selling tickets, using a management company, etc.

I think we deserve better information on this and details, details, details.

Support Senate Bill 54: Free the Wine!

2011-02-09T10:37:00.007-06:00

It is stupid to make arguments about access and the like when we have other states to look at as a model. Missouri operates just fine with wine in grocery stores.

The simple fact is that we would be more competitive, there would be better selection of goods, we wouldn't have to make extra stops to get a bottle of wine and there simply would be more revenue from sales tax because a good percentage of grocery store sales are impulse sales....meaning you buy what isn't on your list......and sales would increase versus having to make a special trip to a dirty ass Kansas mom and pop store or a trip over to Missouri. There would be at least a 15-20% increase in sales in the first year alone!

Finally, there would be real, decent paying jobs created by all the additional sales people it would take to visit all these stores and the drivers to deliver it and yes, people working in the grocery stores as well. Also, think about Trader Joe's and Dean and Deluca with a nice wine offering. Ever seen the great prices and selection at a Costco wine section? Holy shit please, please pass.

The talk of underage drinking, access and all that is tired. The only reason not to do it is because it will cause some mom and pop stores to go out of business. That sucks but it isn't a good enough reason to do for the Kansas consumer what should have been done 75 years ago. Plus, by phasing it in....they allow an opportunity for current stores to adjust and they will also be able to offer non liquor items which they can't do now.

Here is a story in the McPherson Sentinel. Write your Senator and tell them you want this bill.

Senate bill proponents, opponents clash over liquor sales

Source: McPherson Sentinel

By Chad Frey and Sean Wardwell

There is a fight brewing in Topeka, one about who is selling alcohol, and what kinds of alcohol they are selling.
The "Jobs and Consumer Choice" coalition is pushing Senate Bill 54, which would allow grocery and convenience stores to sell full-strength alcoholic beverages - the kind currently only available in liquor stores.
Stores like Eric Kraisinger's Trail's End Liquor on Meridan in Newton.
"I think this will happen eventually," Kraisinger said. "Depending on how close you are to how close to those facilities, it will hurt you."
Currently grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations in Kansas are allowed to sell only wine coolers and cereal-malt beverages. The bill would allow those stores to sell liquor and full-strength beer and wine.
The coalition, made up of retailers Casey's, Kroger/Dillons/Kwik Shop, Wal-Mart, Quick Trip, Hy-Vee, Henhouse, Price Chopper and Balls & Cosentio's, claims passing the bill would mean more jobs and economic growth for the state of Kansas.
It's a claim that does not ring true with Kraisinger, or liquor store owners and the "Keep Kansans in Business" coalition.
"For every job it creates there, it will eliminate one at liquor stores," Kraisinger said. "It just spreads sales out more to more vendors. Just because Wal-Mart gets into the business does not mean there will be a 10 percent increase in sales."
Still, legislators will debate a bill with the following numbers backing it: 15,367 jobs, $343.6 million in wages and $72.5 million in revenue, according to the Jobs and Consumer Choice Coalition Web site.
Those numbers are disputed, and ring hollow for Rep. Don Schroeder (R-Inman) who represents House District 74, which contains portions of Harvey and McPherson counties.
"While sales of liquor may increase, mostly near the state borders, I seriously doubt the number of jobs, and revenues, will increase nearly as much as the study says," Schroeder said. "Some stores will be put out of business, and the large grocers are very good at making the best use of existing employees."
Schroeder said he has other questions as well, like how close the state is to saturation for liquor sales - if there is really room for sales to go up - and if there really will be more revenue generated for the state.
"Two reasons for doubting the study are that bordering states already have more liberal liquor laws, and the Kansas sales tax is higher than the border states," Schroeder said.
The state currently has 766 liquor stores. According to a study by Art Hall of The University of Kansas, about 341 of those would go out of business if the bill passes. The same study concluded there would be 116 new grocery stores open.
In McPherson County, support for the bill among grocers is lukewarm at best, and has provoked outrage among liquor store owners.
"I don't think I'd be interested at all. I know there is probably money to be made there but I'm not inclined to," said Orville Koehn, owner of Canton Grocery.
Terry Culver, owner of Culver's Wine and Spirits, said that he and his family opened the first liquor store in the county 35 years ago and doesn't appreciate the state changing the rules his store has operated under.
"There's a lot of reasons the state set this up and kept it separate from grocery stores," Culver said. "It seems to me like they're changing the rules. It makes no sense at all."
Culver also pointed out that allowing hard liquor in grocery stores would make it more accessible to minors.
No matter what numbers, or how many numbers, get thrown at Topeka in the coming weeks, there is another aspect of the proposal that has some legislators concerned.
"I find it very difficult to allow grocery stores and other similar retailers to sell liquor because I do not support making alcoholic beverages more available," Schroeder said. "In terms of social significance, alcohol has a much bigger impact for problems like domestic violence and poverty than does tobacco, so why should we make alcohol more available than it already is?"
If retailers are successful, Kraisinger said it will not be a death knoll for his store, but there will be changes to how liquor stores do business.
"What I have studied is in other states that allow it, there are still liquor stores, but they handle more specialty items," Kraisinger said. "You have to get more into the craft beers and high-end liquors and wines."
The bill would freeze the number of liquor licenses allowed in the state for three years to allow liquor stores to adjust to the new competition.
Under the bill liquor stores could add gasoline. The bill contains language that would allow liquor stores to expand their offerings, becoming more like a convience store or the old-time community grocery store.
That is a change Kraisinger would support.
"If they allow them to get into that, they should allow us to sell other things to allow us to be more of a convience stop for people," Kraisinger said. "The only downfall I see is it will cause the state to hire more agents to police it all and they will not bring in more income from the increased number of vendors."

The Other Guys.......sucks.

2011-02-08T11:09:00.006-06:00

The frigid cold and well, this lag between the NFL and March Madness have brought me back to movies.

I really have been woeful at watching them even though I love them. It might be kids. If I want to watch something I actually want to watch I have to wait until the kids go to sleep so I usually haven't bothered.

The wife and kids have always embraced Redbox. Me? Had never tried it until a few weeks ago. Pretty cool overall.

So anyway, I have been watching a few and I gotta tell you about prolly the worst movie I've seen......maybe ever with the exception of The Madness of King George which rates as the all time worst movie I've ever seen....The Other Guys.

I am a Will Ferrell freak. I love his movies. I think he is one of the greatest sketch actors we have. To say I didn't like something he made I thought was impossible.

The Other Guys. Horrible. The premise looked like a typical Will movie like Blades of Glory, Old School, Wedding Crashers, Talledega Nights......Anchorman. Hell, I even liked Kicking and Screaming. But no.....it was right up there with The Madness of King George. Not even a part by Eva Mendes could keep my attention though even that bit with a good premise (dorky guy with the hot wife) was poorly written and executed.

See the thing is when you read a review of a Will movie you expect the review to be bad and then love it.....and feel a little guilty for loving it so I don't even pay attention.

This movie sucked BIG time. I'm just saying.

I've always liked this little sketch though......

We need legislation!

2011-02-03T10:03:00.005-06:00

Freaking Egypt is coming apart at the seams. Blah, blah. I'm kinda tired of hearing about it. I mean can't they get that thing resolved in a like an hour?

Government is huge and while I can't sleep last night I'm watching idiot Senators discuss adding a VAT tax and holding up Canada as a model of success. Start by finding ways to spend less before you talk about taking more. Mostly Senators ask questions of experts and then interrupt them and argue with them if they don't get the answer they like. Why bother.

But I've been super pissed off for awhile now about something really important to all people with like 9 DVD players in their house and car so their kids and constantly be entertained.

A good majority of the children's DVDs and rentals are set up so you can't bypass all the effing previews. I'm not kidding we have some that have like 15 plus minutes of previews other stuff they want to sell you. We put in a movie in the car and when we get across town they movie hasn't even started yet. Now, on like the 20th snow day of the year and I'm trying to digitally babysit my kids so I can get some work done and I've got these DVD issues. If we paid for a movie we should be able to skip that crap if we want. I'm serious. It is complete bullshit. Protect my liberty to skip all that crap. Maybe pass a law that says they can't do that? Simple. A one sentence law.

Now that would be progress.

I did see this as something to try. I'll give it a try next time. Still, you shouldn't have to call the Geek Squad and find a secret code to get right to the movie.

Yo, Tom.....maybe this is a good outlet for your activitism.......

By the way in case Congress forgot this is how a bill becomes a law...........

Falls under "In case you missed it": Tom Scherer weirdness

2011-01-31T07:57:00.001-06:00

I really had put Tom Scherer away into a dark corner of my brain.

To catch you up our little mental friend, Tom is living down in Florida where he is doing basically what he was doing up here. Writing hilarious stuff, suing everyone, talking about how he was supposed to go to Harvard, and continuing to be obsessed with running for Congress.....except now in Florida. One of my favorite things is reading about Tom's trips to the institutions of power and government and his utter surprise at their lack of cooperation and understanding. I hadn't checked up on him lately.

However, I was a little bored and clicking around and saw this little tid bit.

Tom Scherer is engaged. Now this news alone would beg for further investigation but I'm thinking Tom is reading and answering email from his SPAM folder again and still eating lead paint.

You have to read about it for yourself. I can't wait to get my invite. Please, please Tom, can I come to your wedding??????? Congratulations Tom. Now, will you have time to see me when I'm down in Florida for Spring Break messing with all you "locals" like all the rest of us rich sojoco people?

Is it Wine Friday already?

2011-01-28T10:56:00.003-06:00

It is wine Friday already.

It seemed like the week flew by so quickly. Didn't get much posted. Sorry.

But that doesn't mean you should go the weekend without knowing what jocoeveryman has been drinking and thus.....what you should be drinking :-)

I went to Extra Virgin this week to nosh a little bit on some tapas and such and have a couple glasses of wine. What a hip place.

First, Extra Virgin is doing a pretty nice job with these small plates. One of them that was really spectacular is the brussel sprouts. When brussel sprouts are done well they are so delicious. They had some other vegetables mixed in but they were so tasty. Everything was good. Check it out.

They have a reasonable list of wines by the glass. Because of the food I decided to roll with Rose.

So, because I had such a nice time and because Rose doesn't begin to get enough attention I'm picking Borsao Rose from Spain as my wine of the week.

It was super cold and the snow was frozen hard and crispy and well, nothing makes me think of a nice warm summer day like rose. The color was beyond like costco salmon and more like Sockeye Salmon. It had very nice expressive strawberry flavors and maybe even a little more toward cranberry with a bright, clean acidity. I picked up a tiny bit of spice and it makes sense as it is made from Grenache or Granacha. The spice was definitely in the background and was like baking spices. For a rose it had a nice long finish.

I thought it could have been a little more aggressively priced but hey......a filthy rich joco guy shouldn't really complain when he gets the chance to dump some alms to the city poor.

So, remember. Rose isn't sweet and people in the know won't think you are drinking white zinfandel and if they do they are probably the same idiots who think Rolex is the best watch made in the world too......... Delicious and great with food rose is definitely hip with the real wine intelligentsia. It doesn't age well sooooo.....drink it up young. Mostly 2009 at this point and the best part is you can really nice rose for $12 and under. Enjoy.

Vaya con dios.

Culture of Saving $$ seems to be spreading

2011-01-24T10:30:00.004-06:00

Isn't it great to see all these signs that maybe, just maybe our government is starting to hear us? I know, I'm being super optimistic but hear me out.

Things like Johnson County deciding to get out of the housing business thanks to great reporting from Steve Rose (btw, proving that the paper can still be important) and saving us the taxpayer real money.

Other small things like Kansas NOT spending $20 million like Oklahoma did on a meaningless anniversary and the Governor NOT spending tons on an inauguration bash.

I read today how Jackson County....even democrats.......are upset they got a pay raise against their wishes and are figuring out how to give it back. Well done.

Talk in Washington is about pushing back discretionary spending to 2008 levels and some are pushing for 2006 levels. It can be done.

Jay Nixon however still believes that government should give every Missouri high school student a free 2 year college education. While admirable.....it isn't a right. Thank God I don't live in Missouri. People are squawking about how much he travels around on the state's dime....finally. There is too much of that from all politicians.

Also on the "still needs work side" of the ledger was the closing of a KCK post office. On one hand a good thing if because poor people no longer write letters or get 10 credit card offers a day we can close a government office but a little weird the report was quick to point out that nobody who works there was losing their jobs but being transferred to other locations. And we wonder why the post office loses money. How about we end postal service on Saturdays and maybe even Wednesdays? Shit, I haven't received much meaningful in the mail in years! How much could we save?

There was another article this weekend about the decline of union membership in the private sector and that the largest membership now exists with teachers and the government.

I'm telling you. There are signs they are starting to hear us. We aren't crazy. Not every good and worthy thing means it is something that should be government supported and funded. I'm convinced that the best displays of compassion are not corporate but individual. The sad thing about a big government is that people tend to stop looking at their family, friends and neighbors with responsibility toward each other and start expecting the compassion and aid to come collectively.

There is the great quote that goes something like "individuals with vision and purpose change the world while committees exist to share blame".

I had a professor in college teach that if a politician ever tells you they can find significant savings by eliminating waste they are lying or ignorant. I used to believe this. I think government has gotten big enough this is no longer true. How about this though....let's try. Let's freaking try it. It is an attitude and a culture. We need to cultivate this new attitude. Instead of saying every little savings is insignificant or symbolic let's see how many we can find?

What do you say?

Jayhawks are laughing....

2011-01-21T12:08:00.004-06:00

I have to admit I was a little frustrated at the out start of the season to see K-State ranked above KU.

A couple of my friends in purple certainly pointed it out to me......I uncharacteristically kept quiet.

Now the are appropriately UNRANKED. Now, it looks like Frank is feeling the pressure.

I said and wrote from the beginning I hoped they would hire Frank Martin as their head coach because I thought he would fail. He is failing. Badly. His kids are tiring quickly of his lunatic emotional and tough coaching style. People will tolerate it when you win. When you don't...........?

I didn't see him telling people they were overrated when they were number 3. How does it feel to play with a bullseye on your back? Kansas does it every year.

I predict this guy will be gone within 2 years. I hope not. He is the key to keeping K-State where they belong.

Dude is crazy.

Snuggle up for a Winter Wine Friday!

2011-01-21T09:14:00.007-06:00

It was a good week to stay inside and drink some wine from the cellar but I did also make it to the wine shop earlier in the week.

Malbec madness continues. Everyone is crazy for Malbec like Snookie for clothes that don't fit and vodka on a Wednesday night.

Malbec is hot like Natalie Portman's career right now.

Digression: I have always thought Natalie Portman was smoking hot but it seems like everyone else is figuring it out all at once. I tweeted about a month ago that this will the year of Natalie Portman. It will be. She looks like fun but if you read her Wiki you'll find we don't have much in common other than we are both really smart people! At least wine is acceptable to her vegan lifestyle...... Let's see I'd have to give up meat, leather shoes, become a Jew, support Democrats to have a chance........ way too hard. Sometimes better just to admire from afar.

Anyway, back to Malbec. For the most part affordable. Fat, juicy, rich, firm tannins are a recipe irresistible to most red wine lovers.

So, I've been drinking quite a few and the Alamos Seleccion Malbec is my favorite for this week. I'm sure you are mostly familiar with the regular bottling from Alamos if you like Malbec from Argentina at all. It is probably the most popular winery from that country and is in wide distribution. The Seleccion would be considered their reserve bottling and it is far and away a different bottle of wine. This is Peyton Manning compared to Eli Manning. Same family completely different player. This wine is much bigger and richer than the regular bottling. It shows Blackberry and Blueberry with some dark mocha flavors and just a little leather and for me the signature "meaty" quality I find in good Malbec. It also exhibits pretty hints of violet. It is rich and voluptuous and the tannins are nice, not too bitter but pleasingly integrated and long. The wine finishes long. Finally, at the end of the bottle as I'm squeezing out the last little bit I notice something that always pleases me just a little bit. Sediment. While wine doesn't have to have it to be good I've often noticed in many bottles of red, even younger big reds, that I've really enjoyed that it isn't unusual to see a little sediment in that last glass. It tells me that the wine hasn't been over processed. Not over filtered. I like to see this. I like to see this especially on a fine at this price.

This is a Malbec worth seeking out. At $15 it is a real bargain. I mean a great buy. I'm sure it gets regularly overlooked by premium Malbec buyers because they associate the less expensive regular bottling with the name. Don't make that mistake. This stuff rocks and is worth seeking out. I found it at Lukas.

I drank this while watching movie night with the kids and while it certainly went down all too well that way it made me really made me wish for a slow roasted pork shank or a hearty beef stew.

Enjoy and Vaya Con Dios!

SOJOCO business kids

2011-01-20T10:43:00.003-06:00

I read in the paper some kid in Olathe earns a patent for a chair with a blankie built in and then this morning another sign kids in sojoco do things a bit differently than the old paper route and lemonade stand.

By contrast this morning sojoco kids were DRIVING around the neighborhood with daddy's snow blower in the back of a pickup truck soliciting driveway clearing.

When I was a kid we got up early on a snow day, bundled up and took shovels to hand. First, we had to do our own drive (for no pay) and then it was off the knock on doors of neighbors looking to earn $10 per drive. There was an old couple down the road that told me some sad story about their fixed income but I knew they were too old to do it themselves so I wasted a couple hours doing theirs for free......well, I got some hot chocolate, old stories and the experience of old people stink because they insisted I take breaks and come and sit down with them in the living room. Old people stink is the combination of body odor and death with maybe a little Ben Gay mixed in. Never forget it.

Of course, now the sojoco kids want $40 to clear your drive in about 30 minutes using their pop's $800 snow blower. Nice. If you say no, you will probably get tee peed in the spring.

Our kids don't have side jobs. They start small business. They don't mow lawns. They start a lawn service. They file patents. They drive nicer cars than I do. Not because I can't afford it but it isn't freaking necessary. They will never know what a real day of work is in their life. Remind me not to hire kids from sojoco.

Giffords Walks on Water and Performs Miracles.

2011-01-19T08:52:00.007-06:00

I'll start off at the outset by acknowledging that this post might make some angry.

Okay, I admit it I understand it in advance and I'm still willingly posting it.

A woman gets shot for doing her job and the liberal press is deifying her. Okay. I said it. Did you see that Diane Sawyer piece last night? I'm as sorry as anyone that a lunatic shot her. I wish it hadn't happened and I wish her a speedy recovery.

But seriously. Nobody in the liberal media had much to say about this perfect public servant before she was shot although some called her a rising star in the democratic party.

Why do we do this? Why do we take someone who did a bad thing and turn them into Hitler reincarnate and turn people like Gabrielle Giffords into the second coming of Jesus Christ?

They are creating a folk hero right in front of our eyes. It makes my stomach turn. She is just a person. A person who very sadly along with some other innocent people got shot by a lunatic. Why is she the hero? Seriously. Why is Diane Sawyer doing an hour turning her into a hero?

Let's review the liberal (Diane Sawyer) notion of a storybook romance. One married and the other in a relationship. They meet on a government paid junket to Asia. They become really "good friends". Next time they see each other one of them is divorced. Was she a quiet home wrecker? A couple years later they are married to each other. I'm just saying. I haven't researched it but it seems like the timing is a finely crafted story that everyone is sticking too. Oh....and the continuation of the storybook romance and marriage in liberal terms is that they live in different parts of the country but have a great marriage. Isn't that the model marriage?

She calls herself a Blue Dog Democrat but Nancy Pelosi loves her. I don't get it. Her husband says she was warm and nice even to people who said tough things about her.....never once getting mad or upset yet she ran an incredibly negative campaign in the last election.

She seems like a reasonable person with a very complex life and it just got more complex. I don't blame her for all this.......she can't control it.

I hope she has a full and wonderful recovery. I can't wait to see her walk on water.

Freaky Friday Wine Post

2011-01-14T00:20:00.005-06:00

Let's see. It was fine week in wine drinking.

I think I had wine pretty much every day this week. That is a fine week.

And there was some mighty fine drink.

Further, it was shared with some mighty fine friends.

Laughs had.

Hard mornings endured. Thank you Excederin.

All good.

I think I had the hottest wine ever from Chile.

2006 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta.

For everyone who thinks wine from Chile was going to be limited to the $3.99 end at the grocery store I give you the awesome Clos Apalta.

While most of the big boy blends are based in Cabernet, Clos Apalta is based on Carmenere at about 40% and then backed up with Cabernet, Merlot and some Petit Verdot.

Carmenere is awesome. This is what Chile should be promoting. Dark color. Black fruits and mocha. A tad wild. Extracted yet elegant. Nicely integrated vanilla and spice from the oak aging. This is some big wine. Worthy of decanting to give this bitch a little air. It is big. firm. elegant. This is serious wine. Worthy of your best piece of meat whether you like docile grain fed and or the call of wild game. Dare I say, drinking Carmenere of this quality....really discovering Carmenere of this quality is like going out for simple cup of coffee in a shitty road side cafe in a mid Missouri town, meeting the hottest Peruvian woman in your life, spending the day and the night with her.........this most incredible day of your life. You wake up with a spent and tired look on your face but holding a winning lottery ticket worth 100 million. Okay, perhaps over stated and a little weird but I'm serious. This wine was stone cold bad ass.

It is a little pricey but in my opinion the best of what Chile has to offer. At $70 bucks it costs more than a typical Chilean worker makes in a month......but if you can drink it and not feel like you need to make a donation to "Save the Chilean children".....then by all means go ahead.

That's it. Come back to see what I drank next Friday.

Enjoy. Vaya Con Dios.

Cutie Crazy

2011-01-12T17:42:00.004-06:00

What is deal with Cuties aka Clementines?

This is the "it" fruit snack of SOJOCO.

When I was little it was simply the huge and hard to peel Navel orange. We even had a special little tool to peel it.

Is the Cutie the same as a the "mandarin orange" we used to eat from the can and that Grandma used to put in jello?

All I know is somebody did a freaking great marketing job because my kids don't even call them oranges anymore. They just say, "Can I have a cutie?"

Snow Daze

2011-01-11T15:11:00.003-06:00

There seems to be two kinds of SOJOCO parents when it comes to snow days. A quick run through Facebook confirms this notion with all the posts about what everyone does.

The first LOVE the snow day as much as the kids.....perhaps more. I can't decide if they are super parents and have special snow day plans that they have dreamed up in their heads just waiting to be unveiled or if they are the "best friend" types with their kids and just wanna "be" with them. Either way to me it is a little annoying.

The second hate the snow day. Clearly we fall into the number two camp. You have to scramble for something for everyone to do safely. You likely have a big meeting or project due. Most of us second types try to do our best to make the snow day fun and productive for the kids. My wife should be nominated for mom of the year for yesterday. She took the day off and played in the snow all afternoon with the kids. They had a great day. Of course she was up most of the night doing the work she didn't get done but it was a heroic effort.

We weren't expecting really a second snow day but since we did it was my turn to take the day off.....except I can't really so the basically end up turning their little brains to mush in front of the TV all day watching Disney so I can crank out some work on the laptop. Mom is good parent. I'm the crappy one.

Today was suppose to be an early release day.......any bets on if the teachers get a make up on the early release day?

Rumor is already rampant that tomorrow will be another day off because of the cold. I call bullshit.

Should I continue with the "back in my day" rant? I'll spare you.

Things I heard too much......some not enough in 2010

2011-01-10T08:15:00.000-06:00

One of my FB friends Laurie Arbore posted something along these lines and I thought........yea. I need to expand upon that. Some I hate. Some I used. Some I currently use. Some I never used and laugh at people who do.

My overused 2010 phrases and words.

Here goes.

Epic

Epic Fail.

Fail.

Baby bump

I'm just sayin.....

I know, right?

Facebook me

Friend me

Hot mess......as in you are a

I like me some_________.

Awkward (you kind of have to sing it when you say it)

Words. as. sentences. (bloggers like me mostly)

I-Everything and anything....how about I-Hate.

That's what she said

OMG....especially said out loud.

Inappropriate. (maybe just me cause I am so much?)

Creepy.

Literally....especially when used incorrectly by sportscasters

Leverage

Refudiate.....thank you Sarah Palin. You. Hot. Mess.

Mama Grizzly

Going Rogue

F-Anything or sometimes effing. Whichever.

Sexting

Viral
Don't be THAT guy

Rhino (Republican in Name Only)

Alisha Kirby

Stephene Moore

Todd Tiahrt

Tom Scherer

Any additions?

First Best Wine Friday of 2011

2011-01-07T00:27:00.003-06:00

I wrote this week about the crazy joco NYE that happened at my crib.

Most of that was inspired by tons of really great wine. It really is what I look forward to on NYE. We hold back pretty much nothing. The food while important is nothing more than the excuse for the wine.

I'm actually gonna do a throwback post and tell you the best and worst of what we drank.

The best really was a tough call. We had a bunch of 5 star stuff including The Prisoner, William Hill Bench Reserve Cab, Hewitt Cab, Beringer Private Reserve Cab but the winner was undoubtedly the Quintessa 2007. Wow.

The Quintessa 2007 is a red blend mostly of Cabernet. It is stupid rich and voluptuous. Big extraction and super luscious with soft tannins. Blackberrys, Black Cherrys, Mocha and spice. It is a blend of Cab, Merlot, Cab Franc and one of my newest favorite grapes Carmenere. This wine is a serious treat. Critics will tell you it too young to drink but I didn't find it tight at all. It was gorgeous voluptuous and well built like well......Scarlett Johansson.

Now, let's talk the worst.....or at least most disappointing wine of the night. I left it out of the list above for dramatic effect (yea right). We pulled a 1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia which is THE original iconic proprietary red wine. I've been a life long fan. For the wine unordained this is not only top pedigree wine but a stone cold bitch'n vintage. I'm talking 96 point wine that lists all around the internet for $200 a bottle. We pulled the cork and decanted. The were disappointed. I'm hopeful it was just that bottle cause I own a case. It wasn't corked and it wasn't bad but it didn't have great color and the fruit was sadly muted. I felt compelled to drink it anyway but I didn't really want it. Shit happens. Anyway, we moved on. I'd be pissed if I had saved it for the big finale and if it was my only bottle.........

Cheers and Vaya Con Dios. Have a great weekend.

Monday check out my list of my the most overused words and phrases in 2010.

Osman seeds a conflict of interest to line his pocket

2011-01-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

I wrote during the election season of my concern about a developer on city council in regard to the candidacy of Andrew Osman.

I just want Mr. Osman to know I'm keeping my eye on him.

I want to point out from the minutes of the November 15th meeting Mr. Osman beginning to plant the seed for his first conflict of interest.

By means of background info I wrote of Mr. Osman's ownership in a piece of vacant property at 103rd and State Line and his campaign statements regarding avoiding conducting development business in Leawood. I stated at the time I was suspicious about his intentions there for a vacant lot. You can read that post here.

Mr. Osman has I believe made some of his intentions known by his simple statement in the minutes of the November 15 minutes in regard to a request to continue using a parking lot to store new cars at 104th and State line by a local car dealer. I want to remind you he owns property a vacant lot at 103rd and State Line and that his business is development. As noted in the minutes:

Councilmember Osman wanted the Governing Body to consider the opportunities in re-development. Over one-third of the business owners in this area have their properties for sale. He felt the current industrial zoning was outdated and requested that staff review this corridor to consider changing the zoning classification

I guess perhaps the motion should have read something like......."while you are at it please consider the opportunities in redevelopment of my property at 103rd and State because if you would rezone it the way I want it would be much more valuable"

This is exactly what I was talking about during the election. Mr. Osman should not be even requesting this from his seat on the council because he has a personal interest in the outcome.

Let's see how this unfolds.

My NYE.

2011-01-05T10:00:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year all. Hopefully you took some time off from reading worthless blogs as some of us worthless bloggers took some needed time off from pounding out worthless posts.

How was the New Year's Eve you ask?

I used to hate NYE. It was always such a let down. We would build up the night and it just never seemed to deliver. After 40 plus years I still don't know the words to that effing song. Somewhere along the way I guess either I got my expectations in order or just started enjoying it more. I just always end up asking myself, "where did the year go?" I not a resolution guy. Anyway on to NYE.

This year we were THAT house. At my age I didn't think we'd ever be that house again. It started off well enough. You know just a few friends for a dinner party. Put the kids in the basement.........perfect SOJOCO NYE.

We ended up with a full house which was fun. Dinner was fine although grilling was a bitch cause it was so cold out.

At midnight Champagne, er, uh Prosecco actually was flowing and then it happened. Somebody brought fireworks. I'm drunk so when they ask if I mind..........I smoothly say why not. I'm thinking a couple bottle rockets or maybe one big thing-a-ma-jingy that you light and run. What ensued was about an hour of 4th of July leftover mania. I knew there was a problem. Neighbors started turning on their outside lights. One kid hit my neighbors house with something that went boom. I thought the Leawood Po Po was coming for sure.

Yep, we just became that house. It was no longer a dinner party. It was a house party and it went until....well, last time I looked at the clock it was past 3. The only thing that was missing was wife swapping in the guest room or the bathroom.

At a dinner party people politely help to wash dishes and clean up. Not so much at a house party. The house was a disaster and reeked in the morning. My wife was conveniently too hungover to help with the clean up opting to stay in bed until the afternoon. OMG. I cleaned for hours. After the first hour it looked like I had hardly made a dent. Next time schedule the cleaning lady for the morning........would she even do that?

I realized I'm too old for that crap. I mean it was fun but it was a lot of work and other than cleaning up all the evidence of the fireworks display I staying in my house for the next 2 straight days.......when I did go to the front to grab a couple days worth of newspapers I realized proof that at least one of my guests had lots of fun and left puke proof on the street in front of the house. Lets hope for rain or snow soon.

I guess the real question is did I learn my lesson or do we do it again next year? Good question.

So, politeness dictates........how was your NYE?

It isn't the color yellow making me sad........

2010-12-29T23:35:00.002-06:00

There is no need to go to mamby pamby land to buy jocoeveryman some self confidence.

I have been enjoying a little break from blogging over the holiday. I've spared you the typical holiday crap. You are welcome. Tony, I'm generous all year long btw.

Anyway, I felt compelled to stay up tonight and write a bit because well, I'm feeling a bit sad tonight and I wondered if anyone could relate.

I'm sad tonight because I learned a person I was very fond of yet had lost touch with died. Another friend gave me the heads up and it truly set me back a bit for the rest of the day.

It is kinda strange because I haven't talked with this person for like 10 years but we had the typical Linkedin and Facebook relationship that you have with people you knew in another life, another time. You know where to find them but you don't go out of your way to do so.

Then I felt bad because I was like why do I have a right to feel so bad about this.........I let the relationship meander away over time and over distance. We both got busy with marriages, work, family, being in different cities.

She was a very special person. I knew the moment I met her years ago I'd have to rearrange my mind and soul to make room for her.

While we met long, long before blogging.....or really even Al Gore's internet, she was a very successful wine and food blogger and writer. We shared a passion for wine and she had an amazing palate and an uncanny way of being able to demystify it to people who were less experienced.

She died this week. She died of cancer that she fought heroically for several years. She was like my age. I read she was concerned that she was letting people down because she couldn't fight anymore. It is about the only thing that really makes me feel old. People my age who die. I'm always like WTF?

Is it fair to miss someone and grieve for losing them when you haven't in fact been involved with them in a decade?

I tell my kids that "fair" (or fare) is what you pay to get on the bus........that there really isn't fair.....but there is injustice for sure in the world.

Well, I was proud to know her for the time I did. I reflected today on some of the fleeting interactions and time when shared.....fondly........mostly recalling her quirky humor, her confidence and her warm, easy and disarming smile. She was in a word brilliant. Tonight after the rest of the family has gone to bed I've opened a bottle of very nice.......but not cultish Napa Cabernet because she would abhor it.........and am quietly drinking it and thinking of her. Cheers Chris. Be at peace my friend.

It is a Big Gay Day

2010-12-22T10:18:00.004-06:00

If you follow the blog you'll know that I'm a libertarian leaning conservative that believes that homosexuals deserve the same right to have the government out of their life as us poor dressing straight boys and I have written as such before.

I think many more conservatives agree with this position than care to admit. Especially conservatives that are in their 40's and younger. To most of us we see it as a civil rights issue and one our party has been on the wrong side of for way too long.

I thought it was very courageous for some Republicans to vote their heart and allow DADT to come to a vote and pass. I thought it was a good day for the President and he offered a decent speech today prior to the signing. I took time to watch it because I thought it was another important moment in our civil rights history.

Anyway......

So, how do I respond today to my gay friends? Do I say congrats? I seems weird. None of them are in the military. Did people in 1964 go up to black people and say...."Hey, Congrats on the big win, you are now equal?"

In 1920 did dudes tell chicas, "Hey congrats on the 19th amendment passing. I know it only took us 70 years to decide you were smart enough to vote"? I kinda doubt it.

But I kinda feel like it should be recognized with people who have fought for it for the past 20 years. Not sure what to say.

I have gay friends. I guess I'll figure it out when I see them.

Dual Flush.....

2010-12-21T10:15:00.003-06:00

Funny how little things excite me.

I had to do a little home maintenance with some leaky toilets.

One of them was leaking to the point that we turned off the water supply when we weren't actually using it. That is pretty bad. Going to the bathroom was a multiple step process. First, turn on the water valve. Second, take care of business. Third, flush. Fourth, turn water back off. Wife was reasonably getting pissed at me.

So, off I went to Home Depot. I found these dual flush toilet valves. Push one button for pee-pee and another button for poo-poo. In essence, a half flush for liquid and a full flush for solids. In our house, I figure we will easily save 10,000 gallons of water a year. No joke. Maybe more.

I don't know what it means in money but I thought it was pretty cool.

All in all, installation was easy and they work great. I paid less $20 each for them. Check it out next time you are there.

The kids think they are ultra cool and as an added bonus for now they are actually flushing the toilet after they use it...........so the house smells better too. I know......genius kiddos, right?

Aren't you happy you read the blog today????

Zack Greinke traded to another Midwest Town

2010-12-19T09:35:00.004-06:00

Word is this morning that Zack has been put out of his misery in KC and instead will be heading to another town much like KC except they have baseball owners that want to win.

Word is he has been traded to Milwaukee for 4 players.

It was inevitable that he would be traded especially in light of his desire to go elsewhere but still, I'm saying it now. KC will never have a pitching talent on their roster again like this kid. If you a big baseball fan watching this kid pitch was like pure magic. My only joy will be if he can finally show the world what he can accomplish with a real offense behind him.

I'll also say this will be the first of many teams Greinke will play for as he now becomes a hired gun for rich teams looking to make a push over the top. Good for one's mental health for sure.

The online forums were a buzz with how this trade would never happen.

History tells you this will not be a winner for the Royals but I hope that we'll buck the trend and end up with something that turns this franchise around. Dayton Moore just pushed all his chips in and we'll see what happens.

Prosecco is hot this season! Best Wine Friday!

2010-12-17T09:32:00.001-06:00

Have you noticed all the Prosecco showing up at the trendy places? I certainly have.

It makes some sense to me. It is cheaper than champagne and has a cleaner taste but has the romance of being from Italy.

I've noticed instead of champagne many nice and trendy places have started offering Prosecco as their entry level sparkling wine choice by the glass. Cheers to them.

I've been partaking of several and indeed I've been enjoying them. It is a excellent way to start an evening out..........or to be the drink of choice all evening long.

Prosecco is a sparkling wine made in Italy. The upper North East part. It is a grape, becoming more known as Glera, and a place and a style of wine. It typically is light with nice fruit but dry. One big difference between champagne and prosecco is in how it is made. Champagne goes through the second fermentation, where it gets the carbonation, in the bottle. This time spent resting on dead yeast cells for several years gives the wine a nutty and toasty quality. Prosecco by contrast utilizes a Charmat method where the secondary fermentation is completed in stainless steel tank. The french created a stigma to disparage sparkling wine not made in the traditional method. It is important prosecco is made this way because the fruit is delicate and wouldn't handle that process. Just like you don't see light whites like Albarino or Pinot Grigio barrel fermented and aged. The result is appropriately made, delicious sparkling wine that doesn't cost you a ton of cash. Unlike Champagne, it doesn't age well and should be consumed young and fresh. Although most Americans don't like aged Champagne either....which should explain why we are loving the Prosecco so much.....because as Champagne ages it grabs more of the nutty, bready notes.

I hope the trend continues. Many countries make nice sparkling wine. Maybe some of them will make it to the US someday.

For today, I'm recommending one I had at Houston's on the plaza called LaMarca but I've also had some nice examples from Lunetta, Mionetto and Zardetto. Yes, I've started looking for them when I go out.

La Marca is my favorite so far. It was bright with floral and peach and citrus fruits. The bubbles hit just right for my rendezvous with a friend for a holiday tipple this week. A tiny bit of googling also revealed to me that the Wine Spectator gave it 90 points. Nice.

Is there much hotter than a sexy, beautiful woman drinking sparkling wine?

I think it was like $8 bucks a glass and while I'm not into labels......this one is a very cool light blue that has a very upscale look to it......yep, I said upscale to describe prosecco.

If you are having a NYE party this would be the perfect thing to serve for guests. A conversation piece and affordable. If you only serve sparkling plan on 1 bottle per 3 or 4 people per hour and you'll be rolling right through to midnight.

Cheers!

Very little consequence

2010-12-15T08:46:00.007-06:00

Blue Valley is one of the best school districts in the country. I'd hate to see what they do at a shitty school district like KCMO.

I've had a few frustrations recently.

I wrote about lunch recently. God love knee jerk Sarah Palin recently who said government should stay out of the school lunch program and said it is the parents job. Shouldn't I be able to send my kid to school and not think that it is there they are eating the worst meal of their day? Why do they need chocolate milk? Why do they need fried potatoes at practically every meal? I don't like the increase in spending but I do support this new law. I would have found a way to do it without increasing entitlements.

Anyway, I'm on to something else today. Here are things I've had to learn about this year.

The Oops Pass. Each teacher gives kids a defined number of oops passes per semester. An oops pass is what they fill out when they "forget" their homework or when they flat out don't do it. They fill it out and submit it with their work. They get several per class. Then they get full credit for that work.

Late Work Slip. If they are out of oops passes they bring home a late work slip which they write why they screwed up, their plan to solve the problem and the teacher includes their "punishment". I put the word "punishment" in quotes because it really isn't punishment but an after school thing that they won't call detention. When this form is filled out and attached to the work they still get full credit for it. Parents must sign this form.

Re-do. Now, if they whiff on a test and their grade is bad the kids often get a chance to retake the test. Some teachers offer full credit on the retake but most don't.

My kid can't spell yet there are no spelling tests. They teach them to read phonetically and then we are surprised that they spell that way too. My kid thinks I'm a huge asshole because I make her look up words she spells wrong but if I don't nobody else will.

My kid mostly doesn't hold a pencil correctly yet when I ask the teacher about it I get a blank stare. My kid thinks I'm a complete asshole because I make her hold a pencil correctly. They don't care about teaching this and they certainly don't care about letter formation and penmanship. My kid's writing looks like she writes with a rock on the driveway.

You might be surprised to know my kid got all A's and one B last report card. I'm not impressed.

When I was a kid when your work was late a nice teacher would let you turn it in late for partial credit. Most teachers wouldn't accept it at all.

At school they learn very few consequences for not getting stuff done on time or right. When will they start learning this stuff? Life is like snow skiing. If you want to get better you have to fall down trying harder runs.

Most parents put their head in the sand and smile when they see the report card. My kid is smart. All A's and B's. Right. Brilliant. The kids are smart. Smart enough to know we are too stupid to understand they are playing us. Smart enough to realize that most parents will go after a teacher when their kid doesn't do well instead of demanding their kiddo hunker down and do better. Keep pretending Blue Valley.

I have a huge presentation tomorrow. People are flying in from several states to attend this meeting. If I don't do well and am not prepared will they all come back when I show up and hand them an Oops Pass? Don't think so.

I love this book......

2010-12-08T19:00:00.004-06:00

I just read "Shit My Dad Says" by Justin Halpern.

I laughed out loud so many times. You know like when you laugh like on an airplane and people look at you? That kind of funny.

I downloaded it on my I Touch. Fan-flipping-tastic way to take a book with you.

Anyway, I highly recommend it. A quick read.

Cheap too. You can find it here.

He started by Tweeting this stuff and turned it into a book deal.

Anyway thought I'd share. You should check both out.

Apparently there is a TV show as well with Billy Shatner? Not sure it will translate.

Dear Middle School Strings Teacher.....

2010-12-07T11:33:00.005-06:00

Dear Middle School Strings teacher:

I hate you.

I hate you for having a concert that includes kids from 4th grade all the way to 8th grade at the same time. No. It doesn't give me perspective as to how much my kid has progressed since they started. They still pretty much suck.....but it is more than okay. Simple....elementary kids together and middle schoolers together. Concert less than half as long.

I hate you for re-tuning everyone's instruments seemingly like before every GD song. Since they can't do it themselves you have to run around and do each one for them. It. takes. forever. It is like you are purposefully making it longer than it needs to me and regardless if they are perfectly tuned.........it is gonna still sound pretty bad.

I hate that you call it a concert but you think nothing of having the kids stop and start over if you don't think they are playing it to your liking. They need to learn there aren't always redos in life.

I hate you talking down to us as parents like we are musically illiterate with your seemingly sweet yet condescending tone. We are there. We obviously get it. We know music is important. You are preaching to. the. choir.

Unlike me, my father hated music. I feel so sorry for him now knowing what he had to sit through for 3 kids who all played instruments from 4th grade through high school. I'm learning how much of a saint he really was. Holy. Shit. He must have been in pure agony.

You are all the same and I hate you.

BTW, Just an observation. Seemingly half the kids in the orchestra are either Asian or Indian.......any clue that continue to kick the white kids collective asses in math and spelling bees????????????

Wine Friday........Sweet.

2010-12-03T09:07:00.005-06:00

I'm not a conspiracy theorist but many of us wine geeks have for a long time been complaining about the globalization of taste and homogenization of style in wine. Is it something to really be concerned with? I don't know for sure but sometimes I see a trend and it scares me.

This one centers on sugar. I think many wines are becoming sweeter. First, it started with Chardonnay....you know like Kendall Jackson and that signature nutrasweet flavor they have in their wine. Most of us were like big deal we don't like or drink that crap anyway. But of course, because of their success many other Chardonnays came along that "benchmarked" their style off the most successful one and now there are shit load of sweeter Chardonnays out there. I had one last week that tasted like a freaking vanilla creamcicle and that is just wrong.

When it was just white wine I was like, whatever.....let them eat their cake and I'll drink white burgundy! But......I'm seeing it just a bit in red wines now too. A little sweetness in red wine that is just below the detection threshold shows itself as smoothness and richness in a red wine, especially younger wines. I'm seeing it in the current Malbec craze. Many of these wines have elevated sugars for sure. How about Yellow Tail Shiraz? Tell me that wine was dry?

Now..........I'm actually seeing sweeter reds hitting the market but they aren't really labeled as such. I tried this one called Apothic Red over the holidays. It reminds of Menage a Tois, another red blend. This wine is decidedly sweet on my palate. Sweet isn't a problem. I like sweet. I like Sauternes. I like Port. I like Riesling. Hell, I even like Moscato. But I know they are sweet. This wine isn't that sweet. It is just sneaky sweeter than you would expect. Apothic and Menage a Tois kinda market themselves by their packaging and label as big, bold, dry wines. They don't seem to indicate anywhere I can find on the label that as a consumer I should expect them to be well......sweeter. It is kinda like getting the girl you picked up at the bar back to your place and finding out she has a dick. A bad surprise.

I'm not a hater by nature. I can't say I didn't like Apothic Red. It was a fine for a sweet(er) red. My friends absolutely loved it. I could see it going really well with a chocolate and cherry dessert. My mind started thinking.......hmmmm....what are they up to here? Americans are a sweet culture.....soda drinkers. Secretly appeal to them while because people want to say they drink dry but really like sweet? Maybe. Am I crazy?

So, no problem. I was glad my friends preferred this wine. This way I had a completely delicious bottle of 2007 Quintessa all to myself. And. it. ROCKED. If you have an extra $125 I highly recommend it. Huge, rich, dark.........did it too have a touch of sweetness? Nope. Jackass. Your mind is messing with you.

Happy Friday all. Cheers and Vaya Con Dios!

Who do you see?

2010-12-02T09:29:00.003-06:00

Let me tell you a little story.

This morning my young, naked son flopped on the ground after I told him to stop doing something. This is his current form of protest for things which he doesn’t like or want to do. He flops on the ground in the prone position and with his butt in the air. If you can imagine, he had his legs spread and if he had the letter “B” on each cheek it would have spelled “BOB”.

I was standing behind him as I looked down at him with his naked butt in the air. True Story.

I thought to myself it really depends on who you are right now as you look down at this little naked boy with his ass in the air and what you see.

To a pedophile or a priest this would be beyond something that is fair and would require….dare I say a response. My mother would have immediately pulled out her camera phone and captured a funny new screen saver. Me? Well, as the father recalling even as recently as last week when I threw up in my mouth a little bit as I had to do a middle of the night clean up of something so vile, foul……..and prolific both in terms of volume and aromatics which had come out of that orifice…I saw it quite differently.

I saw nothing but a little asshole stuck defiantly in the air wanting, no demanding, that everyone take notice that he had been wronged regardless of how petty. But, as his father, I loved him none the less……if not more because I knew he’d be a better man someday because of my admonition. Plus, I was also just glad it as was, well, in a word…..clean.

I hate MLM

2010-12-01T10:14:00.006-06:00

I hate MLM......for those of you not in the know....Multi Level Marketing.....aka.....pyramid scheme..........aka screw your friends. Here is a good link to a power point on it on the 5 keys to identifying a bad MLM. Here is another one. http://www.mlmwatch.org/.

Is it just me or are all of you getting hit up by your friends who think 1) you are a sucker and 2) that they are gonna get rich quick? I think half the idiots in my neighborhood are into it.

They all claim it is about the product not the organization but it isn't.

They all claim people are getting really rich.........almost nobody is.

Many of them make veiled health claims while in the same breath say they aren't. Something like, "I'm not saying this will cure autism because we don't make any health claims but my brother, with autism, starting taking XYZ and you know what? He doesn't have any symptoms of autism anymore"

Oh, they always cite Nu Skin and Amway as success stories of legitimacy........you know before the computer where people can educate themselves not only about MLM but the product as well. Back then I'm sure it was easy to get people on board.

These people are freaks. I mostly refuse to go to anything that remotely smells of MLM. Unfortunately, I had to this time. It was uncomfortable. It was twice in one freaking week. The first was an extremely ballsy waitress, although cute, tried to sell me some supplements while she was waiting on me.......if I owned the place and found out I'd fire her ass so fast. The second was a friend I just couldn't say no to......so we went knowing we were in for it....and we were.

I have one "friend" who I mock constantly but has their own big network of people who jump from one MLM to another......this next one is gonna be the big one baby. I wonder how many thousands there are? I admit MLM is a legitimate business model. Just a really poor one. Unfortunately, those who buy in fail about 99.9% of the time. Would you recommend anyone you know buy a business that has a 99.9% failure rate? Seems silly doesn't it?

MLM'ers are morally bankrupt or stupid. One or the other.

Out with the Old.......Welcome La Bodega

2010-11-30T08:41:00.004-06:00

A new restaurant certainly has it's honeymoon when they first open.

When JP Wine Bar closed at 119th people some wondered aloud if a wine bar could make it in that area. The question should have been can a poorly run wine bar make it in that area? Nope. Even a good idea poorly executed will fail in this day and age......especially a restaurant. So from the ashes of JP Wine Bar comes the second location of La Bodega.

We went with some friends and it was slammed. Quite the place to be.

I'll keep it brief today. The food was just as great as the city. The wines were a great mix of names you know and some you don't at a good variety of price points. Old guy in the red corvette can buy his trophy wine or you can get a cool, hip Granacha from Spain for less than $40. It was too cold for me to drink sangria but several were and looked appetizing for a summer day to come. We ate our way through 4 or 5 of the hot tapas and they all were very good. Meatballs in cream sauce, Goat cheese balls, Ahi Tuna in Olive Tapenade, Breaded Artichoke hearts wrapped in bacon, grilled beef tenderloin in bleu cheese were all very good and brought as they were ready so we had a constant stream of warm food. Potatoes in red sauce reminded me very much of 3 AM in Madrid at a bar near the Plaza Mayor.

The decor hasn't changed enough to make you forget JP Wine Bar which is fine. It was a beautiful build out. They are smarter about the use of the space and it seems to seat quite a few more people.

Don't think about walking in on a weekend right now......they are quite busy.....unless you don't mind hanging out at the bar for a couple hours. In a couple months things should get reasonable as far as access.

These are good operators with a track record. Tapas will be in SOJOCO for awhile. Once this honeymoon is over we will still be in love with La Bodega South.

Border Beat Down

2010-11-29T09:23:00.004-06:00

Man, are you tired of saying, "wait til basketball"?

I. am.

I know this is a tough season with a new coach but do we really see it getting better anytime soon? We all knew it was going to be a huge beatdown. We just all hoped it wouldn't be too bad.

The only consolation I have is that outside the midwest Missouri is really no different than Utah. Trust me. Someone in New York or California couldn't even tell you Missouri's head coach or QB and it makes me laugh because Missouri thinks they have some nationally known program. Very little consolation.

I'll admit it. I'm jealous of the Missouri football program. They have a good team. A good....not great program.....above respectable. A good (and thin) coach. Sweeeeet Uniforms. Damn it. I love their helmets. That black on matte black is freaking awesome. They are so sweet. It really pisses me off.

They ran the same running play 4 straight times marching straight down the field that resulted in a touchdown. Most fans wouldn't notice but that is a total smack down. I'm sure they will have a big laugh at our expense watching that on film.

With the changes to the conference next year this gets worse not better.

Listen to sports talk radio? Crazy Chiefs fans........they can't decide if Dwayne Bowe or Matt Cassel will be league MVP after they will the Super Bowl. A couple weeks ago they wanted to run them both out of town.

Shout out to Blue Valley for winning the 5A state football title this year. Rampy who? Well, done. Louisburg finally broke through too in 4A. Olathe North got punked by Wichita Heights and couldn't defend their 6A title. They did really well considering they weren't as talented as last year. Even being there back to back is damn strong though. South KC high school football was pretty strong this year.

SOJOCO Hair

2010-11-23T09:14:00.008-06:00

It has come down to this.

I am a grown (pains me to say middle aged) man. On the vanity scale I am medium rare if rare is fully vain and a still alive animal is a complete asshole. I feign being humble. I live in sojoco. My wife says I'm slightly man-erexic because I weight myself regularly......sometimes, yes, morning and night. I tell myself......"just checking". I care about how I look although it clearly doesn't always show. I'm also raising kids and have a hectic, active life and I don't like to get up early in the morning after a regular wine bender although I have to. I travel and I insist on carrying on my bags which means a limited dob kit. Typical. I am not a metro sexual but I like shoes and new suits. Given all that......

I have been completely conflicted with my hair. I know. Guy. Straight. Yes. I want cool hair. It is slightly embarrassing to admit I care.

At my age most guys are mostly concerned about keeping their nose hair weedwacked down and the eyebrows from looking like devil horns.

I insist on not having the Capt. Normal look like this...... Stan Weber dorky guy look.

I've been thinking about it for several months. I got an indecisive maintenance cut last time that pretty much looked like shit. I was thinking buzz cut. I thought it would make me look younger and it would be super easy to take care of......the forty plus year old straight guy in me thinking.

Then I've thought longer hair would be cool so I've been growing it out a bit.....you know to give me options when I finally decide.

I've asked opinions. They are varied. The hairstylist is effing worthless. She just puts it back on me. "What do you want?" Idiot. She is fat and wears too much perfume.

Where is the Sinic when you need her? She has lawyered up on us.

My wife insists I make up my mind for the holidays.....you know pictures and such......by tomorrow. She has made me an appointment. I decided to look at pictures on the web.

Any thoughts? Before you ask or snipe.........if I was as hot as these guys I could wear my hair anyway I wanted but not I'm not as hot...........just scarily close. I'm just saying.

Tomorrow I go under the clippers and scissors and I have no idea.

Worst Meal of the Day

2010-11-22T10:40:00.004-06:00

Why is it that WORST meal of the day is the one my kids eat at school? That is a sad statement.

I'm not talking about why the pasta isn't al dente..........I'm talking about the junk they get to pick and shove in their pie hole. Chicken effing nuggets, fries, tater tots......I mean come on. Don't get me started on processed versus real food. There is only one thing on that tray up there that isn't processed.

Chocolate milk every day? With all that sugar why don't you just give them some Mountain Dew? Chocolate Milk is a treat at home.......they drink it everyday at school.

Maybe they should only offer these foods one day a week.....give them something to look forward to on a shitty Wednesday.

Remember when we were little we would complain about how the food at school was kinda gross? My kids LOVE the food at school. Why not?

America has fat kids that are getting fatter and their palates are conditioned to eating junk. I have very little control of what they eat at school. I guess I could send their lunch with them everyday. Maybe we should do that. My kids will hate me but I think this is the new plan.

Sarah Palin's Alaska

2010-11-16T15:27:00.004-06:00

This show really forced to think about my whole "relationship" with Sarah Palin.

Serious, intellectual conservatives like me really don't like her as a political force. We put her and Christine O'Donnell in the same camp.....a camp with witches and moose hunters I guess. Most of us have long applauded the simple concept that government should behave more like most Americans and learn to spend less. We must stop borrowing money from our kids and grandkids. The lack of gravitas......we can do without.

As a dude though that is about her same age it is impossible to dismiss the MILF factor and while I'd never vote for her I'd find it impossible not to kick her out of bed. I hate the conflict between well, to put it bluntly, my two heads.

I watched the first episode. Put it on Hi Def on the big screen and was prepared for a beautiful travel type show on Alaska. FAIL. Okay, there is some great and beautiful scenery but even against her objections.......mostly a Sarah Palin reality show. Piper and Trigg are very cute.

I'll continue to watch but I'll probably complain about it because I hate reality TV.

St. Michael's steals $50K from less fortunate

2010-11-15T10:07:00.004-06:00

Everyone in sojoco felt a little giddy about the efforts of St. Michael when they successfully mounted an internet campaign to win $50,000 from Pepsi for their school.

They ask for the cash to buy something every PUBLIC school around them has had for several years.......smart boards.

I'm not a big fan of helping rich, catholic parents in sojoco raise or win money so the opulent school they send their kids to by choice can be even more opulent and rich.

Nice little school, eh? Marble and granite everywhere but no smart boards.

At first thought it was like everything else in sojoco these days......boring and predictable. But......it actually made me a little sad when I thought about the folks who actually lost out on the money because rich, catholic parents in sojoco made a run for the money. They should be ashamed of themselves. Really. Think about it. Kids at 143rd and Nall get smart boards for their classroom while a massive list of worth projects lost out. There are more than can be listed that are MORE worthy. Feel good about it now? Lesson to kids.......this is how earmarks work when you get older. Deemed less worth by St. Michael parents:

Sleeping Bags for the Homeless

Feeding Hungry kids

Books for Low income children

Care packages for the troops

Freezers for a Food Pantry

Let me break this down for you into simple terms. 100 parents could have donated LESS than they spend on their Mercedes car payment for one month and covered the smart boards they wanted for their private school.

Friday Fun with Wine

2010-09-03T13:30:00.004-05:00

I've ditched a few Fridays on the wine feature but that doesn't mean I haven't been drinking......oh to the contrary my drunk friends.

Actually probably too many great ones and no time to write about it.

This one really isn't fair. In fact, it is just plain bragging to even talk about it. In the world of wine it is like saying you partied with the Wilson brothers all day and then you met Rachel McAdams and you didn't just have sex with her but she feel instantly in love with you.

I had the chance to drink this little gem of a wine called DRC La Tache. One bottle costs more than most of your mortgage payments.....well not mine......I live in SOJOCO remember.

I know I'm bragging. I'm sorry. I have it once before in my life.....never sure if you will ever get a chance to drink it again.

I'm not going into the circumstances because I wouldn't want to embarrass Ms. McAdams and they really aren't important anyway.

For a wine snob this was an epic moment.

La Tache is Burgundy which means Pinot Noir. This isn't like your California or Oregon Pinots. This is different. It has incredible spice box, leather, funk, mushroom along with the incredibly integrated red fruits like cherries, licorice with nice violets mixed in. It had firm tannins but was beautiful for it's age and showed it could go longer but why risk it? Nope, for me this was drinking just about perfect.

It was a tremendous opportunity. Don't go buy this one. I'd never spend my hard earned money this way. Never worth it but fun with some other guy's cash.

Drink something affordable but delicious the holiday weekend and come back next week cause I have some stuff I need to tell you.

Vaya Con Dios!!

Mid America has plenty of room......

2010-09-01T09:09:00.004-05:00

I was reading the paper this morning and saw something that caught my eye.

Mid America Nazarene University, in Olathe, is a small kinda hard core Christian college. The article was saying how while all the other area schools are overflowing and out of dorm space MANU has plenty. They went on to explain, spin, that to make matters worse they require all students who are unmarried to live on campus unless you live with your parents in town AND THEY STILL HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM.

I have a little experience with this college in that a few of my friends went there. It was surreal hearing how different their college experience was than mine. If that is your thing then great. What I found was that many are hypocrites. It is like Footloose but in Olathe. Expensive and no fun......what a combo.

I thought the most interesting example of the law of unintended consequences was that it seemed like people got married really young there.....I knew several that were married still as undergrads. Have the people I knew who went there were engaged. I should have opened a jewelry store and a pawn shop across the street. You can literally get expelled for getting your Friday night college freak on not to mention getting caught pounding a couple beers or maybe going to a secular concert. So......get married and you can fuck all you want. Who cares if you are like 18 or 19 years old, right? While I have no stats I can say I've known several of these said friends to be on their second or third marriage at this point some 20 years later.

I dunno. To each their own. I guess on one hand if you go there knowing the rules you should obey them and if you don't want to then join the rest of us at Kegger U.

I just thought it was kinda funny that anyone is surprised that they aren't full and that it was worthy of a story in the paper.

No Body Yet.

2010-08-31T08:05:00.002-05:00

I was thinking there would be a quicker resolution to this search for a body in SOJOCO out at like 160-something and Mission.

Apparently Barney Fife hasn't stumbled across anything yet. My dog did drag a skull to the back door yesterday but I didn't think much of it. I mean we are just a few short miles from Missouri on one side and well.....thankfully quite a little distance from WYCO the other direction.

Has anybody heard anything?

Whew! Okay, I'm here.

2010-08-30T07:21:00.003-05:00

I wasn't taking an intentional break from blogging I've just been super crazy busy lately.

Busy in a good way I guess.

The kids are back in school and that is always an adventure. Getting everyone up early and off is new lesson in patience. New teachers, new friends, old friends....you get the point.

We've had back to school activities. Fundraisers. Games. Parties. Weddings.

I'm sure I've subtracted about 4 years from my life in the last 2 weeks. We did movie night with the children last night. Old Dogs. Not very funny at. all. I went to bed at like 8:30 last night and slept until 6 this morning. I. was. exhausted.

I also feel like I haven't worked out in like a month though I know it is only like a week. My body is in complete revolt. There is no way I am stepping on a scale this week. My body deserves a chance to readjust before I do that. Workout and eat right this week and we'll see where I really am. My asshole was on fire yesterday and I was shitting like a goose. Like a sick goose.

I drank some sick, sick, sick (yes....3 times sick) wines. I wouldn't even be fair to share. Well, okay....maybe some on Friday.

I'm back. This should be a reasonable week.

I'm getting some funny emails for Tom Scherer again.

Shocker!

2010-08-19T10:15:00.003-05:00

It may be where the Libertarian in me diverges from the Conservative Republican in me but I actually basically agree with President Obama on the Islamic Center and Mosque near ground zero. I'm in the minority. It is reported that 68% of the people disagree with the President.

Either you believe in religious freedom or you don't. Either you believe in the Constitution (hello Tea Party people) or you don't. It makes you look stupid to have situational ethics on it. How can someone with a straight face call for stricter interpretation of the Constitution and then say these Americans don't have a right to build religious facilities where other Americans are allowed to build their religious facilities? It might not make me popular.....but I think Muslims have a right to follow a false god and a false doctrine if they want. In short, they have the right to be wrong.

If you asked me if I think it is considerate and appropriate to build it there......well, no. I'd prefer they not.

My Christian brethren, I believe, don't really believe in religious freedom. They believe in religious freedom only as it relates to them getting what they want. They are lazy. Hands and feet people NOT mouths. Hands and feet.

Rush Adds Fourth Notch to Bedpost

2010-08-17T09:36:00.000-05:00

What do Rush Limbaugh and Larry King have in common?

Is it just me or is it a little embarrassing as a conservative to have good old Rush nailing down his fourth marriage to a hot little piece of ass half his age?

For a brief synopsis of his marriages here is a good link.

I used to listen to Rush all the time. When I was right out of college I thought it was so cool to have someone who wasn't afraid to say what I believed on the radio in a way that made sense and was funny at the same time. I've actually met Rush once.

Now I consider him more of "Intro to Conservatism". I check in from time to time....maybe 3 or 4 times a year.

He met Kathryn Rogers at a celebrity golf tournament where she was working as a VIP Liaison. Really? Shocker.

When I saw he was getting remarried..............for the fourth time to a woman who wouldn't have given him a second look if he weren't worth a gazillion bucks frankly made me sad.......for him.....well and for her. There is no way she is attracted to that man if he works at Home Depot. Completely sad. It is like that rich guy who married, er uh bought Anna Nicole Smith.

Anyway....kept saving for a slow news day but I thought if I didn't write it soon....well........you know..........I could have combined it with the announcement of a 5th marriage.

And Here is Why......

2010-08-13T09:20:00.003-05:00

Target is in the cross hairs of the gay community............who by the way wouldn't be caught dead wearing any of Target's knock off fashion apparel............and is trying to figure out a PR damage control plan.

That is why (since I was a new worker bee sales rep right out of college) you won't see me with a campaign sticker on my car or discussing politics at work or around customers. Around home and with my friends I am known as an unrelenting conservative with an eye toward being libertarian but at work I try to keep politics out of it.

I lost a nice piece of business when I was right out of school because I had a bumper sticker on my car and the account I called on didn't like it. I learned it can do nothing but hurt you. Especially in these times when the country is so split. About 50% of people will agree with you and the other 50% will hate you. Ain't worth it. You aren't changing their mind anyway.

Target is learning a valuable lesson. The Bullseye is a little ironic don't you think?

Steve Rose Reads Life in SOJOCO

2010-08-13T00:01:00.001-05:00

I might be one of the few people reading The Sun these days but I have to admit I was a little flattered that Steve Rose basically ripped off my post primary analysis specifically my thoughts on the Yoder-Lightner race for the 3rd and my continuing thoughts on John Toplikar and the dogmatic pharisee right of the conservative party. He just made it sound....well, nicer for broader publication. I don't have to be so nice.

Did you see my post on Monday?

You can compare to my post here. So, what do you think? Rose reads Life in SOJOCO....don't you think??

Well, at any rate, I'm honored...........though it would have nice to have been given credit for it. My dump of a blog needs all the support it can get.

Oh well............I'm a blogger not a member of the media and I steal stuff all the time. Oh, come back a little later on Friday and I'll still have a wine post for you.

Thanks Steve.

40 Winks

2010-08-12T08:37:00.006-05:00

You know times are tough. Ed McCabe saw tougher times I'm sure.

Ed currently operates an independent furniture store in Olathe called Forty Winks but not for long. It is over in West Olathe in a part of town most of us wouldn't consider the prime part of Johnson County. In fact, at face value it doesn't look like much of a business at all.

He has operated an honest business there for as long as I can remember and for as long as I can remember driving by there I would always see those ridiculous oversized (faded) plastic red and blue hands designed in to a chair. You know, like you are sitting the palm of someone's hand. I wish I could have bought those.

My mother is always one to patronize the little guy so we in fact shopped there many times. Contrary to the way the store looked from the outside Forty Winks had a full range of quality but I think he did his best helping people furnish their homes on a budget.

Ed McCabe was always there if we ever went in. He is a nice man perhaps looking a charactacure of a door to door encyclopedia salesman from an old TV show with a broom style mustache. Ed is a good man. I remember seeing him in tons of local theatre productions over the years. I'm not sure if he continues to act or not but he was huge in Olathe Community Theatre and the Barn Players to name just a couple and even a couple commercials over the years.

I'm sure business was tough but I'm also sure Ed is ready to retire. I'm sure there isn't much of a business to sell because well, the business there wasn't really furniture, it was certainly Ed McCabe. Forty Winks is closing her doors. He has been having a going out of business sale for the week or so. I saw a story on it on the news last night.

I write about it cause while Ed McCabe and I aren't friends I've felt like I've known him over the years and I want to wish him well. Second, I think it is symbolic of the continued passing of an era in American business in favor of mega stores and franchises. I won't lash out about the changing environment. It is what it is. It has good points and bad. More importantly.....he survived. Warren Buffet has nothing on Ed McCabe.

Well done Ed McCabe. Take a bow and make a curtain call. A fine performance indeed. Ask the stage manager to set out the glow light and get your butt to the cast party.

JOCO Schools Rule (8th place)

2010-08-11T08:26:00.005-05:00

I saw this MSN Lifestyle piece this morning. A school ranking story is like a dog and a squirrel for us in JOCO. We just love hearing about our great schools. We may need to hire a PR company. We are slipping.............. we took 8th in midsize city category in this analysis and they combined Blue Valley, Shawnee Mission and Olathe. I guess if they would have excluded Olathe we would have ranked quite a bit higher......you know it is so close to Gardner and all.

Anyway you can read about it here.

Say what you want about the Golden Ghetto but we tend to get schools right.

Timing is good for the districts as they announce property tax increases. Be careful though School Board....there is very little tolerance for more taxes..........even in Johnson County for schools. You are on thin ice. My property taxes are already too high.

Capish??

Rodeo Fun.

2010-08-10T09:39:00.004-05:00

I had a great American experience last weekend. I went to a rodeo.

It was actually a very nice night. I had not been to a rodeo since I was like in high school maybe even junior high.

Rodeos have changed. The Sidney, Iowa rodeo had a video board and the stands were mostly full. I'd say 5,000 people.

I always thought this scene from Borat was funny but I didn't realize how funny until I went to the Sidney rodeo. The announcer and clowns took open shots at President Obama and liberals all night. Just watch it again. You know you'll laugh.

14,894 Idiots in Johnson County

2010-08-09T09:46:00.005-05:00

Counting. We all break things down to make sense of them.

We all know there are Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes in a year courtesy of Seasons of Love from Rent and you know I count them all by LOVE.

We all know who won and lost last week but I thought I take a little deeper look into the number for a second.....a reality check.

John Toplikar received 14,894 votes in a losing effort. Is this the size of the voting extreme right in JOCO or is this the size of the No tax, No annexation group in this county? He beat John Segale as he garnered 7693 votes. John Patrick Segale is on suicide watch right about now. A dude who is a complete idiot and a criminal doubled his vote total. Ouch. I'm not sure if this is the size of the hard core, blind, dogmatic right but if it is on the one hand I'm pleased it is so small and on the other..........scared that there are 14,894 idiots in this county. I guess you could also say since turnout was only about 20% that 14894 represents just the VOTING hard core, blind, dogmatic right and that the real total is about 75,000 registered voters?

Looking at things another way.........I was interested in the power of packing the race with lots of candidates. In the US House 3rd District race where we all but conceded Yoder would roll to an easy victory had a decent challenge in Patricia Lightner. But the real story to me is that more people voted AGAINST Yoder than voted for him. Including Lightner's pull, 35,650 voted against Yoder combining all 8 candidates not named Kevin Yoder. Hmmmm......interesting. Had any three of the candidates in a crowded field NOT run and NOT supported Yoder we could be looking at a Chick Fight for the 3rd....well, some might contend it is still a chick fight. Now, we know Yoder would have pulled his share of those votes but you never know and now we'll never know. Just how big is the Johnson County Tea Party?

Another interesting question is how big is typical JOCO person's sphere of influence? With no money and no big organization behind you how many people like you enough to vote for you in Johnson County. It seems to be about 1,600. Of the "all others" most of them received about 1,600 to 1,700 votes. So if you are a good, decent person between your family, friends and the friends they are willing to encourage your sphere of influence should be about 1,600 people. Even Tom Scherer got 2,545 protest votes but because of the outrage of thinking that a elected job is a family right he should have seen an even bigger turnout. Should have been more. Can't figure that one out.

The lesson might be that to just be in the race when you know you don't have the financial backing or experience CAN have an impact on the final result AND just might hurt your cause mortally. While it might be your right as an American.....it might be just downright unAmerican to run when you know you can't win. But then again, if you are Tom Scherer....please by all meaning don't break the streak now....there might be world record for longest continuous campaign at risk.

Anyway, we now know that if you go missing in Johnson County you should be able to get about 1,600 people to help look for you or at least post a lame message about you on their Facebook page.

Friday Fun with Wine.......

2010-08-06T14:31:00.004-05:00

I had a great bottle of Pinot Noir this week. I was a big Pinot fan before that Sideways movie and finally damn good Pinot is as available as it was before the movie.

2006 Fiddlehead Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard Seven Twenty Eight. Long name right? This is a little producer making some killer Pinot from the Santa Rita Hills in the Central Coast. 728 represents the mile marker the vineyard is at on Santa Rosa Road and they make only 1900 cases. They claim they pick only the best 15% of the fruit and sell the rest off. This is good stuff. It displays upfront some delicate smokiness from French oak. I get some cherries. Ripe Bing and even Cherry Cola. I also get some earthiness in a little mushroom and some white peppery spice. This is really a good example of Pinot.

I paid $40 for it at a wine shop in Chicago.

I guess for Pinot 40 is the new 30? Is it fair? No, but I think that while the luxury end of the wine business is still in the doldrums I think this is the new price layer for quality Pinot Noir. I saw a bunch in the store on this particular day and many seemed to hover right around this price point. If it was all this good.............I'd never complain.

Have a good weekend. Drink good wine. Vaya Con Dios.

It Sucks to Be Right.......

2010-08-04T00:34:00.006-05:00

Nope. It feels great to be right tonight.

Only. Who were the 15,000 idiots who voted for John M Toplikar?

Seriously. WTF.

Jerry Moran will be the next Senator from Kansas and FINALLY a conservative will retake the 3rd District.

Lots of great work by many grassroots level conservatives.

I chatted with Patricia Lightner online last night briefly. She looks like Ann Archer to me. She ran a good race. Yoder was just too strong.

How can you not be excited about Moran and Yoder representing Kansas for a long time?

Truly, it is time for all REAL conservatives to come together and support our candidates.

Congrats to the people who worked so hard on these campaigns. I've been on both sides.

BTW, it was a good week on the blog. I surpassed 15,000 unique visitors since I started keeping track which was about when I started making fun of Tom Scherer...........and Dems send him packing to Florida tonight..........shocker.

Vaya Con Dios.

Go Vote. The American Taliban is........

2010-08-03T08:17:00.004-05:00

If you have time to read this dump of blog today you have time to go and vote. Kansas has some relatively unimportant primaries going on today but it is your duty as an American.

Literally. People died so you could have the opportunity.

Now, if you really have time or maybe you already voted...............

Why is it that among evangelical and the hard core right wing it is acceptable to be an asshole as long as you are conservative? I mean think about it.

Yesterday, I commented on an update from Darla Jaye about voting for Jerry Moran and I was called "milk toast". Some would say milquetoast. I guess it might be a little like one African American telling another they aren't showing their color? I'll admit it took me back a bit. I'm a pretty hard core conservative. Spineless to me is adhering to the Pharisee or Taliban-esque rigor of the ultra conservative right in our party and not having a thought of your own. They beat you down and say you aren't a real conservative. Believe it or not last night we felt looked down upon at a church gathering because we don't have 5 children and we don't home school them............complete shocker above all............my wife works outside the home!!!!!!!

If you claim to be ultra conservative you will get the support of the evangelical pro-life crowd even if you are a complete asshole. Phill Kline. Todd Tiahrt, John Toplikar........think about it. Slimy, even criminal. Do you see a pattern? It is okay.......they are pro-life. I'm tired of holding my nose while I vote. I'll not do it anymore.

Okay, that is my rant today........I'll likely take the rest of the week off. I've got lots going on.

If you read all this and you still haven't voted............go vote.

Early Voting Ends Soon! I Just Voted.

2010-08-02T10:23:00.005-05:00

I went and early voted this morning in Olathe. There were no lines at all. A sign on the door said "Early Voting Ends at Noon Today". That is just an hour away so run over there if you need to advance vote. I was literally in and out in less than 10 minutes.

That said I want to urge you again to vote either today or tomorrow for Jerry Moran for US Senate.

I've had some fun with this particular race.

I've become exceedingly weary of the way our government spends money. I'm tired of how they borrow and spend, borrow and spend, borrow and spend some more.

I've also tired of the same old arguments that feel like the same old nature-nuture arguments pitting government entitlements versus tax rates. Really, just like the nature-nuture argument it is almost always BOTH.

Our biggest problem is that we commonly have kept taxes low and spending high. It simply doesn't work. I've written before and I continue to believe that the worst crime our generation is committing is the debt we are putting on our kids and grandkids.

We can't afford the government we have. More importantly, our kids and grandkids can't afford the government we have. Nobody talks about this enough. Nobody has the courage to cut spending.

The government spending needs to be minimized the same way everyone else is cutting their personal spending.

I'm becoming convinced it isn't as much about tax rates at all. Of course keeping them fair and low enough to encourage investment is important but we all know from personal, simple experience that it is easiest to minimize what you spend than to find more income.

That is what drove my vote today. I believe Jerry Moran is a common sense Conservative. He voted against the stimulus spending and the bailouts. I believe he doesn't have a sense of entitlement and understands Kansas core values which includes living within your means. I believe character and ethics do matter.

I believe in the value of life. I believe all life is precious. I am pro life. So is Jerry. This pro-lifer voted for Jerry Moran.

Happy Wine Friday!

2010-07-30T14:10:00.006-05:00

It seemed a little cooler for about 15 minutes this morning. I ran the last couple days outside and brutal is an understatement.

So, good drinking summer wines are always on my mind when it is this hot and I've been outside a bunch.

I was at Houston's on the Plaza at lunch this week and I found my wine of the week.

2009 Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc: This wine is from South Africa and it is a blend of mostly Chenin Blanc with a little Sauvignon Blanc. I had it with a great little dish at Houston's. It went well with the Sashimi Tuna Salad which was a nice a light summer lunch for those watching their girlish figures. I like the ginger, mango, avocado combo with seared tuna. Perhaps a tiny bit over cooked for my liking but many would think it was perfect. Anyway, the wine was floral with citrus like lemon and lime flavors. It was richer than I expected but still had decent acidity. Has a screw cap but don't be scared.

They sold it for $9 a glass so I'm sure you could acquire it at retail for $14-$15 a bottle.

Side note: This was a Mulderbosch week. I was at Julian in Brookside for dinner as well this week and had the Mulderbosch Rose of Cabernet and it was pretty good as well. I like Pinot or Grenache Rose more but I'm a lover of good Rose. I buy the Chenin again but probably prefer a different rose if I had the option for the same money.

So, friends, drink up and have a great weekend.

Vaya Con Dios.

A Rare Endorsement of a Democrat.......Pay Attention

2010-07-29T08:41:00.000-05:00

I think Tom Scherer is finally making some sense especially when he refers to himself in the third person.

I have been a big fan of Tom as a Democrat. I know what you are thinking. I've been a little hard on the man over the past couple years and there must sarcasm dripping all over the keyboard, right? Nope. Tom is the best man to represent Democrats in this election. Period.

I know some Democrats read this blog.

Next week is the Primary election and Democrats have an important choice in the 3rd District. Stephene Moore or Tom Scherer. You know you can't support Stephene Moore, right?

Tom has more experience running for Congress than anyone I've ever seen. While Tom didn't make it as a professional baseball player he could do this job. Tom brings a remarkably simple minded approach to government. I'd love to see Nancy Pelosi stumping for Tom Scherer.

I mean it. If you are registered as a Democrat I urge you to vote for Tom Scherer and he has the Democratic endorsement from this blog.

By the way........can somebody give Tom a ride to some campaign events?

The Simple Truths of Service Movie

2010-07-28T08:12:00.000-05:00

A friend sent this to me. It was not only very touching but.....you know made me think about how I can make a difference in my customer's lives and how to be a leader.

The Simple Truths of Service The Simple Truths of Service Movie

I, too, went to this grocery store to obtain Johnny's wisdom and encouragement.

Thought I'd share some of the "Thoughts of the Day" found in the bottom of my grocery bag. I guess these were the days he made them up.

"Don't sit by Jimmy Clark in the break room. He eats his boogers"

"Cindy the Checker has a nice rack"

"If you get poop on your hand when wiping DON'T wipe it on your pants. It will stink."

"If Tom the Manager catches you stealing candy he makes you become his special friend"

"Don't tell Mr. Siptek that his wife usually gets the other kind of condoms when she is in with his brother. It makes him cry"

"Don't ask John Toplikar if he wants paper or plastic. Just pick for him cuz it holds up the line for like an hour."

But this one was the best.........

"I'll bag your groceries cuz I have to but if you want me to carry them to your car you better give me a tip next time or I'm busting the fuck out of your eggs and smashing your bread! Get it?"

Of course I'm just kidding. Cool story. We could all learn something.

Toplikar Gets Worthless Endorsement

2010-07-27T08:44:00.002-05:00

Rarely am I at a loss for words. Rare. ly.

This endorsement from the Hope for American Coalition stopped me and left me speechless.

Of course, a group with no swag, no money, and no influence isn't really much to be concerned with except that I too am a firm believer in limited government, less spending, less borrowing....really much of what this group believes except that I believe that along with that ethics and morals you should actually be intellectually capable of doing the job.

It doesn't shock me at all that they endorse Todd Tiahrt. He has been successful at courting the ultra extreme right because he is perceived as "more" right to life than Jerry Moran. Okay, nothing if not predictable.

After that it gets weird quickly. They endorse my second favorite whipping boy, John Toplikar, for Johnson County Chair. Still the Dwight Schrute of Johnson County Politics. I guess in Olathe where the Nazarene's rule (although Toplikar is a Catholic) not only do ethics and morals not matter but apparently being criminally stupid is okay too. I know many people don't have time for County or City meetings but I've sat through my share. I've watched John Toplikar time and time again demonstrate his stupidity and ignorance. It is legendary in Olathe among those in the know. Then of course is his budding sense that the rules don't apply to him as revealed with the sign stealing which if rewarded with an election victory would make this idiot feel bullet proof. His actions, caught on camera, were both criminally stupid and ethically effete. Endorsing a person like that undermines the credibility of all the rest of the endorsements. Check out his website. You might even like the typo's. How many can you find? I love the slogan. "Of the People, By the People, For the People of Johnson County." Nice.....It sounds a little familiar to me though...........pretty creative throwing the JOCO on the end. You can volunteer by sending him an email at johntoplikar@gmail.com. I didn't see an opportunity to help steal signs.....guess he is gonna still handle that himself.

Here are some moments I took the time to write about in the past.........thought you might enjoy.

John Toplikar is a Spineless Pud.

John Toplikar is still an idiot.

Hayden-Toplikar Race Just Ended.

Toplikar-Out!

I can't resist...Toplikar...you idiot!

And then there is this reported on Tony's Kansas City that I thought was funny in it's own way: either Toplikar isn't smarter than the voting machine OR even the voting machine knows he is a boob. Either way......it isn't good for Johnny.

They also endorse Daniel Gilyeat, while a good man, can't possibly win and they pass on the pop fly endorsement of Sam Brownback for Governor. Guess they are teaching him a lesson. Wonder what Old Sam did to disappoint them?

Power and Light District Update

2010-07-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

I was at Power and Light this weekend.

I saw an average black man. I actually saw him enter. He wasn't hassled at all. He seemed to enjoy himself. Weird. From what I read around town I half expected the staff to be wearing Klan hoods. Nope.

I love that we can all just get along. Warmed my heart.

Now if we could just stop this reckless and ridiculous persecution of the letter "P". One of my favorite things starts with this letter.........

Wine Friday........Yes!

2010-07-23T14:40:00.004-05:00

I know it is 100 freaking degrees out but don't forget about your favorite big reds. When you keep your home at 65 degrees the summer doesn't get you down so much.........so big reds are always in season for us in joco, right?

Seriously, while I do drink a little more white in the summer, mostly outside, I still drink lots of big reds too.......especially with all the grilled meat from the grill. By the way........don't drink them too warm idiots. Of course mine is straight from my temp controlled cellar but for you poor cellar-less bastards you want to drink wines like this at about 60 degrees so pop it in the fridge about 15 or 20 minutes before you open it.

I found a shocker this week and this without question was the wine of the week.....maybe the month.

2006 William Hill Bench Blend Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the winery that used to have the big leaf on the bottle years ago but I haven't seen it in awhile. They have redone the label and it looks a little less 80's now. The wine was awesome. I was blown away. You can tell it is a bordeaux blend meaning it has some Cab Franc, Petite Verdot and some Merlot in it. It is big with lots of fruit. It is rich but it isn't over the top. It is refined. It is slightly understated........restrained if you will. Okay, I'll call it elegant with many layers. Besides the black cherries and cassis it has a little mocha, some cedar, some vanilla and some spice. This is a bottle of wine to take a second look at. This could become my new house Cabernet. They make a regular Napa version is well. I'll have to try that as well. I guess you would call this their Reserve Cab. Regardless, it is everything that Napa can and should be.............

How much: About $35.

Why Bench? You'll see wineries from time to time refer to a wine as benchland or bench, especially Napa producers. In terms of vineyard sites there are 3 kinds in Napa. There is valley floor which runs along the road, there is mountain fruit which are vineyards cut into the tree line and are usually on a fairly steep grade with poor soil conditions and excellent drainage. Then you have what is in the middle. Benchlands. These are the rolling hills between the valley floor and the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountain ranges that create the valley we know as Napa. They are prized vineyards and generally produce excellent quality. It isn't a bad notion to look for wines from Napa's Benchland vineyards.

I'm out. Have a great weekend. Vaya Con Dios!

I'm being watched from DC

2010-07-23T14:29:00.004-05:00

I have a neat little tool on my site that gives me some intelligence on visitors to the blog. I've noticed the past couple weeks I've had someone from through the server of the House of Representatives of the United Freaking States of America checking out the blog.

They seem especially interested in the posts on Todd T-Hard-On.

I'm sure they are just interested in what the average JOCO conservative is thinking........maybe some insight as to how he is getting his ass kicked in the polls so much.

Now, I know that wouldn't be any kind of campaign work because doing campaign work with the government's resources would be wrong..........and I know T-Hard-On would never consider something less than ethical. Prolly just a fan of the blog :-)

I just thought it was interesting that I have a fan over in DC. Keep reading. I am the jocoeveryman.

My wife and Lilith

2010-07-22T16:25:00.010-05:00

My wife went to the Lilith Fair Concert a couple weeks ago with her best friend. I've noticed she seems to be watching Ellen a quite a bit more, has taken to wearing flannel (even in this torturous heat) and has piled her Ipod full of Melissa Etheridge and the Indigo Girls. She calls joco moms in mini vans "breeders"....what is that all about? And what's up with the lip gloss sharing? Is that a lesbian thing I missed?

Do you think I should be concerned OR.........you know........

This is the lip gloss thing I was talking about.................

Zest is Cooked.

2010-07-20T09:22:00.003-05:00

I've been a fan and promoter of Zest since it opened.

I didn't see much play on this but to me this is a big deal. Depending on the spin you read Zest has sold or is going to be managed by the people of own Avenues Bistro in Brookside along with current partner Mike Schreiber.

Here is what is clear. KC restaurant icon Joe DiGiovanni is out along with one of Kansas City's most underpublicized and under appreciated chef's Linda Duerr.

Joe DiGiovanni was absolutely the heart of Zest and I definitely thought the food and menu got better when Linda Duerr arrived.

Thing is I can't see straight through the PR spin. Apparently business wasn't great or maybe overhead just too high. Mike Schreiber and Joe DiGiovanni might have had differences in vision. Bottom line is Joe is out and they are out. Avenues in. I guess Schreiber is still there?

Running a big operation like Zest is NOTHING like running a cute little bistro in Brookside and I predict Avenues staff will eff it up big time. They do a good job where they are but this is like the T-Bones and dare I say.........the Royals. Apparently they are adding a brunch and while that is nice and all you can't swing a dead cat in joco anymore on a Sunday without hitting a high priced breakfast brunch. It seems like every restaurant out here thinks it will solve their cash flow problem. I hope Linda Duerr finds a new kitchen soon........I'll be there when she arrives. Great resume. Lidia's, Frondizi's, JJ's and Zest......not bad company.

I guess I'll just say I'm skeptical. Not having Joe DiGiovanni will definitely be a loss. Good news....there are plenty of other Mission Farms places to spend your money.

For all of you who loved Zest I guess I'm saying be prepared for it to never be the same. Damn. Sad.

Tiahrt Pharisees Take Exception to Negative Campaigning.

2010-07-19T09:43:00.004-05:00

While the racist fringe that endorsed Todd T-Hard-On was being expelled from the Tea Party over the weekend I enjoyed having my blog stoned by the zealots over at the Tiahrt campaign.

The whole purpose of the over the top comments of my post of last week was to highlight the ridiculous nature of the charges being thrown around by the Tiahrt campaign.........and sadly followed by the Moran campaign. What we have are two guys whose views on the issues are basically the same and one who because he finds himself waaaaaaaaaayyyyy behind is resorting to the most negative primary tactics I've seen around here in quite awhile. You don't have to look at polls to see who is behind. It is almost always the guy who is the most desperate.

Just to be clear...........while I am voting for Jerry Moran on August 3rd.........I am not apart of his campaign in anyway. I'm just an idiot blogger and former member of the pharisee-fundamentalist right.....until I grew up and realized the world was bigger than Kansas.

I really enjoyed the church lady-esque comments..........."I could barely read that filth"....yet somehow she did.

Hello Pot........................Meet Mr. Kettle.

Matthew 7:2-5 (New King James Version)

2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the
measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Wine Friday is Back......well at least this week

2010-07-16T10:00:00.001-05:00

Listen......I'm just a typical guy who is afraid of commitment. I don't know if Best Wine Friday will be back next Friday or not. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. Well, I do actually but I'm not telling. The point is...........don't you love the unpredictable bad boy. I'll tell you....you do.

I may be here. I may not. For now I'm here so drink in the wisdom of Jocoeveryman :-)

I drank a great (and affordable) bottle of wine this week that freaking blew me away.

2009 Nederburg Lyric.

A South African white wine blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay. This shit was really delicious. A buddy of mine smuggled it on the golf course and we drank it right out of the bottle. Yep, I said South Africa. There they call the Sauvignon Blanc "Steen".....but you say it like STAIN if you are in the know.

I love the acidity and the peach and tropical notes. You know what I love the most.........so NOT joco.........it is really affordable.......like less than $10 affordable.

This wine is perfect for these really hot summer days. Did I say hot? Well, outside but in my house like most in sojoco it is a cool 68.........crap, I have to use a snuggie on the couch to watch TV. Hate me city bitches. We have electricity, AC and sewers. You should try it.

Seriously though. You'll love this wine and you'll love the price.

I seriously have no damn idea where you get it. Ask your favorite retailer to bring it in for you. You'll look like one smart snob for asking for it.

Cheers and Vaya Con Dios.

Tiahrt v Moran.....getting saucy

2010-07-15T20:09:00.003-05:00

Yes, I'm still blogging. Yes, I was serious that I am willing to let someone take this dump of a blog over. Just to be clear.....to say the blog is for sale was a joke....cause it would be free.

Until then.....I'll keep blogging. Probably nastier than ever.

For those watching the Kansas Senate race, which really will be determined in the primary, it is getting very saucy.

Negative stuff is flying. Both are trying to prove they are most conservative by saying the other is more liberal.

I've actually been a little perplexed that T-hard-on is getting the far right support and that he is still losing so badly. There is a change happening in Kansas Republican politics. Guys like Lance Kinzer are supporting him and he is perhaps the most conservative person I've ever met. It seems like he has captured the extreme pro-life support in a race where there is very little difference really in the positions of the two candidates. Really, they are more alike than different on the issues. It saddens me that people like Sarah Palin endorses T-hard-on too. I'm guessing Fred Phelps is for T-hard-on too.

The only difference I can see is integrity and common sense AND one guy who is grounded in Kansas and another who spends most of his time in Washington. I like the guy who hasn't forgotten from where he comes. I like the guy who looks forward to coming home.

I hate to be direct but Tiahrt looks like a guy who fucks interns. I'm just saying.

I'm ultra conservative......my liberal friends mock me and call me Rush when they are drunk. I like to party with them except they think everyone else should pay for their drinks.....and they aren't hot. Stupid eh? Hot people deserve free drinks, don't you think? Ugly people pay up.

Yesterday, I had my Moran sign delivered and placed in front yard by a handy little campaign worker. My only complaint......next time send a cute hottie. On a side note.....Jesus.....Mr. Tiahrt can you please tell you people to stop polluting our public spaces with your signs? Seriously.......does it help you for the median up and down Nall to be a big supporter?

My conservo-meter is as finely tuned as my gay-dometer (not that it matters cause I love gay people).....but I can pick'em. I can pick a fake conservative at 500 feet. Jerry Moran is a true, real, common sense conservative. He probably is the ideal Kansas conservative.

I am supporting Jerry Moran. I know most of you are too. Be proud. Moran will represent us well.

Okay....completely off the subject...............to my dumb ass neighbors............4th of July is long past. Will you please stop it with the fireworks. Damn....I'm trying to put my kids to bed.

Free Email Snobbery???

2010-07-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Awhile back I noticed a comment from a friend, er, uh reader I didn't understand about my blog's hotmail email address. I didn't think much of it.

I mean who gives a shit which free email account you use, right? I spend less than 2 minutes a day, er, a week on it.........most of us have an actual corporate email accounts that take up way too much of our time as it is, right? Hotmail.....it has the word "hot" in it....gotta be good.

Anyhoo.......I read something about it on Sinic's blog that she got from Cara and I got to thinking....shit man am I really missing something important here? Apparently not. But even if I was.........I'm not sure I was..........I mean hotmail still works great for Tom Scherer threats and propositions from chunky 40 something joco housewives who think I'm smart and apparently sexy even though they don't know what I look like.

If you want to join them.........I'm still at jocoeveryman@hotmail.com :-)

Race Whore.

2010-07-13T11:25:00.003-05:00

Can you mix idioms and make it still work?

So can we change Fonzie jumping the Shark to Lebron jumped the Shark and have it still make sense? I guess so.

Further, what the eff do you call Jesse Jackson's comments post Lebron's announcement? Well, besides sad. Could someone remind the Rev that perhaps $100 millionaire people don't need him to stand up for them? Who does he speak for? I've always tried to understand WHERE that guy makes his money.........you wouldn't think off the backs of poor black people would you cause that wouldn't make him much better than an actual slave owner. Oh, also......remind him that we have a half white President running the biggest plantation in the Northern Hemisphere who is treating us all like run away slaves............. This dude is seriously more mental than Tom Scherer during campaign season. While the Cavaliers owner behaved poorly it was more akin to finding out your hot girlfriend just left you for someone else..........on national TV.

Where is the outrage from Keith Olbermann and Rachel Mad-cow-dow?

You know what I really think Jesse Jackson was saying? "I'm feeling incredibly irrelevant since Barack was elected and I need to get my black ass back on the TV.....pronto." Correct. You are Mr. Irrelevant now. Your race card is expired.

Next stop for Rev. Jackson.........perhaps the Mel Gibson film festival?

We're #7

2010-07-12T09:27:00.005-05:00

Who makes the best "best places to live" list? God knows there are as many of them out there as empty champagne bottles in Lindsay Lohan's trash can.

Yahoo makes another attempt today. You can read it here. They list the 10 best places to live in America.......mostly based on unemployment rates and cost of living.

Overland Park is listed at #7 and in the process takes it right back by saying what is really wrong with the place. There is effing nothing to do here. It is cheap. It is clean. Great. That would be fantastic if I needed to hire a whore but for where I live? The unemployment rate is about half of that of the country........which would be almost everywhere if we could exclude third world Detroit from our numbers. Can't we give them to Canada??

They list schools and a bitching good new soccer complex as amenities we love. Gawd. How dull.

They list Eden Prairie, MN as #1. I spent a week there one day. It is just as boring as Johnson County. I talked to a twenty something dude there and he told me he had never been downtown Minneapolis....and he grew up in Eden Prairie. Sounds just like OP.

Leawood isn't on the list because rich people like us don't want to be on such lists. It is so middle class. We'd prefer you not even know how to get here. Let them eat their cake.

I can't resist......Toplikar...you idiot.

2010-07-07T13:17:00.004-05:00

Okay, while I'm looking for a new owner to take over this dump of a blog I guess I can keep it going......right?

When I first heard that Toplikar was in the race for Johnson County Commission Chair I thought it really must be a joke. Shouldn't abject stupidity be a parole violation????

Nope. It is true.

Gladly, it seems like nobody is taking his candidacy seriously. Except Kansas Progress which thinks that asking a bunch of conservatives if they want a more conservative candidate means that Toplikar has an opening. It was an interesting read but maybe they should have asked specifically if people would prefer a stupid conservative over Eilert or Surbaugh.

How incredibly ironic would it be to have Cal Hayden and Toplikar on the same Board?

It reminds me of The Hangover. It isn't technically illegal to be as stupid as John Toplikar it is just frowned upon like............... masturbating on an airplane.....maybe since 9-11 when everyone got so sensitive....thanks alot Bin Laden.

Has anyone spotted any of the fancy home made wooden signs Toplikar used to put up all over Olathe? I haven't. Maybe he will use some old Hayden signs and cover them up with construction paper and write Toplikar on them.......you know he still has some he stole in that fancy van from the Youtube video.

It has been a good run......This blog is for sale....cheap.

2010-07-06T14:35:00.005-05:00

This blog has been tons of fun. I've actually kept it going WAY longer than I ever thought.

I still have plenty on my mind just no time to get it down and hit the post button. I just can't keep it up on a consistent basis. I thought election season would inspire me. I noticed signs from people I didn't even know were running....and I follow this crap. Anyway.....Tiahrt seems to be getting some momentum but the outcome seems defined for JOCO and I'm more than comfortable with it. Yoder will win the 3rd and Moran will be our next Senator and is there any doubt that Brownback with be the Gov for 2 terms or possibly one with another run for President.

Anyway.......I've decided to end my regular postings on this blog. Some of you (should I say both of you) have been very loyal readers and I really appreciate that you were interested in anything I've had to write.

There are so many really good local blogs. SOB, Sinic, and Tony: you certainly inspired me and there are so many other really good bloggers as well....too many to name. Thank you for supporting me when Tom wanted to kill me :-) and for the encouragement. I'll keep reading.

I want to thank everyone who has read and contributed so much over the years.

So, seriously, if you or someone you know might want to take over as the voice of Jocoeveryman....or woman I guess for that matter let me know. It is isn't very technical. If you can write an email you can manage a blog. It isn't technically for sale but I'd be happy to hand it over to someone who wants to take a crack at it.

Send me an email at jocoeveryman@hotmail.com if you are interested.

You can have it all for one low, low price.

Assets include:

1 Facebook account with about 200 friends (more than most of you wankers)

1 Twitter account

1 email account (jocoeveryman@hotmail.com)

1 blog

When will IMAX 3D really go to the next level??

2010-06-21T21:43:00.004-05:00

I realize I might be a little late to experience IMAX in 3D but I went to take my family to see Toy Story 3 like a good dad. The technology is really amazing. It makes you wonder why they don't make all movies that way from now on.

Really, what I was thinking is simply that while Toy Story 3 was neato in IMAX 3D can somebody tell me where the hell is the porn in IMAX 3D???

Can you imagine porn in 3D? I'll just leave it to your imagination. Mark my word it will be hear sooner rather than later. Maybe the first one should be Sex Toy Story 1, 2 and 3. I mean what can you ask for besides a leading man named Woody?

Beebe is still an idiot.

2010-06-16T13:40:00.005-05:00

I was on vacation last week so I took a vacation from the blog too I guess.

I'm not going to redo the whole Big 12 thing but I was watching it while I traveled. I wrote awhile back why I thought Missouri wasn't going to the Big Ten and that was way before all this got started. I thought I was going to look, well, stupid because I was wrong......but.......in classic fashion Missouri got snubbed by the Big Ten and then according to the Star article even called and asked for a lifeline from them but was rebuffed again. Then they became very loyal all the sudden to the idea of the Big 12. Funny, they were ones that really started the whole thing when they got the shaft on the Orange Bowl a couple years ago. This could have been a disaster for Kansas. Colorado fits better in the PAC 10. They care more about lifestyle and scenery than winning and losing.....perfect fit.

But here is my real take.......

Everyone wants to give Dan Beebe all this credit for saving the Big 12 in his finest hour. I call bullshit. He isn't that smart and he is that proactive. If I had to take a guess at how it went down I'm gonna say that Fox Sports called him and walked him through how to save the Big 12. Fox is WAY smarter than all those Big 12 idiots. They have wanted to take a piece out of the college football action for awhile and are willing to pony up the money.

He has to be the most overpaid person in sports.

Credit Fox Sports for this not Beebe.

Friday, Friday, Friday.....Best Wine Friday

2010-06-04T12:28:00.003-05:00

It was a pretty good week getting back into the swing of some regular posts but it is Friday and that means Jocoeveryman's wine of the week.

It is nice out and I've got stuff to do so I'll give you the quick down and dirty on something you might like to drink this weekend.......maybe on your patio or at the neighborhood pool with your friends.

Today.....I'm going at little rogue. Why not?

Not a wine specifically.....but a wine cocktail. The White Port Cocktail.

What is it? Well, I had my first one in Portugal (because I might be the most interesting man in sojoco) several years ago and decided to make one this week. Delicious. Simple and refreshing. Get a good white Port. I like Fonseca's Siroco White Port. Dow and Churchill's make good examples as well. Don't expect your store to give you many options. I haven't tried cheapo options like Fairbanks or Sheffield and I'm not saying don't but I have no idea what it will taste like. Not sticky sweet like red Port but fruity and even a little nutty. Lighter than Sherry. Add some fresh whole mint, muddle if you want, add ice and shake it. Top off with a slash of soda to taste....more if you want it lighter, less if you want it a little sweeter. I garnish with a little lime slice. I like serving in a tall glass. Some people use tonic instead of soda but you all know soda is much less caloric than tonic, right?

Why? Your friends have never had it and you will also look like one of the most interesting people in the sojoco as you explain that this is a very typical summer cocktail in Portugal. Also, very easy to make. Half as potent and let's say Gin or Vodka and tonic so you can drink them all afternoon.

How much....you should be able to find the Fonseca Siroco for about $15 and the good news it will keep if you don't drink it all.

Cheers and Enjoy.

Vaya Con Dios!

Best Day of Her Life. EVER. Mine is still to come.

2010-06-03T10:30:00.008-05:00

Most of you I think get the general idea of this blog. I pick fly shit out of pepper about something that has caught my interest....anything really......because it is so sojoco to insert your own wisdom into other's stupidity or pain.

So last night I picked up my copy of Leawood Lifestyle and see it is the Summer Bridal issue (yawn). I start by skimming over the editor's letter from Lisa Harrison.

She writes about her wedding day being the best day of her life. Shit. I mean I've heard that before but it just hit me upside the head like Stacy Koon's nightstick on Rodney King.

Is it really a woman's most important day? I understand the whole growing up dreaming of the wedding, the church you grew up in, blah, blah, prince charming, blah blah but your most important day? Ladies, is this a universal truth?

If it is true then it is. I'm not slamming Lisa Harrison. I should be thanking her for helping me finally understand it after 20 years of marriage. If it is...........I am proclaiming it possibly being one of the saddest truths of human civilization with the second that instant replay could have fixed Galarraga's almost perfect game yesterday.

I can't imagine the best day in my life coming in my early 20's. That is like Office Space. That might be effed up.

I don't want all women to think I'm a cave man but I'm going to call it straight and strong here like cask strength whiskey. I might speak for all guys. While my wedding day was great it probably only barely makes the top 5.

Things that might rank higher than my wedding day:

Children's birth: An amazing and surreal experience. Definitely number one.

First Real Job: Sorry but yes. I think getting that first real job offer or promotion and realizing you are gonna make it out of your parents house and make them proud.

10th Anniversary: I don't know but I just realized at this point I've got a good marriage and a good life.

Losing Virginity: That was a pretty big deal.......if only a few seconds :-)

Jayhawks Win 2008 National Championship: Okay...that's a joke. Not really.

Moment 5: I'm saving for the future.

Saving moment 5 is really my entire point. It is the big point not the other things I've arbitrarily put on the list. There are some other personal moments that were pretty good too that I won't share. God, I hope I haven't had my best day yet. That was a good one but really, I was so immature, so young, I really am amazed I got it right. I mean....at my age shouldn't I be looking forward to several moments better than my wedding day?

Is it really your best day? Face it. Most of you aren't greeting Brad Pitt at the altar......you take that most important walk of your life and your dad hands you off to a goof like me......or Will Ferrell. And really.....this clip which is really well put together says it all.

New Airport? Ridiculuous.

2010-06-02T09:24:00.004-05:00

I was finally getting to the paper last night late and was reading the front page story on difficulties at KCI.

Okay Mr. Government worker..........let's put our thinking caps on for a second. Business is down. Reportedly way down and going to get worse due to consolidation as airlines get more efficient and costs go up. What does Mr. Government worker say we need?

A new airport. You know like Indy just built for a BILLION dollars. He says don't worry though cause most of it (75%) will come from the FAA (read federal dollars) and bonds funded by airport revenue. I realize they tried to dupe us with a lead about consolidating from three to one terminal but did you notice how quickly it really became about building a new airport? Nice try.

Hello. Mr. Dip Shit Government worker. All that money is our money. When business is bad you don't build new you make do especially if building new won't change the economic landscape. He pointed out that the current facility is inefficient and was built for a different era. On the other hand travelers like me LOVE the current airport. It ranks number one in customer satisfaction for its size. If you have ever lived in another major city and had to get to the airport 3 hours before your flight you might appreciate it too.

Going to one, maybe two.....or keeping them all open.....I don't care. If building a new airport won't increase air traffic, ie. bring more business and money then don't do it. It is unlikely that there are enough "efficiencies gained" to offset the cost.

I like how he says basically, "Hey, there ain't no government manual on this one so I don't know what to do!" I bet the private sector could figure it out and I sure with private money there would be no new airport. I'm sure they would make do with the old one just fine.

People in sojoco planned our pretty little suburban lives around the idea that we can bop up to the airport, short term park and sprint into the terminal and hop a plane to Cabo at a moment's notice. Don't eff that up.

Scherer Has Officially Jumped the Shark. I endorse Yoder.

2010-06-01T09:37:00.013-05:00

I have been busier than a one armed wallpaper hanger lately. I feel bad that I haven't written more. Really. I hope both people who read will forgive me. Maybe you needed a break too?

Anyway........I hate it that so many good sojoco blog topics whizzed past while I couldn't get the time to get to the computer but if you thought I was going to let Tom Scherer's party switch-er-oooo---redux---you are allegedly even more nuts than Tom (I allege). Am I being punked?

Tom Scherer has left the GOP and rejoined the Democrats.

I wrote this before as part of a bigger post quite awhile ago but I believe as whole heartedly as William Hung believes he can sing that Tom Scherer is absolutely obsessed with running for (and losing) the 3rd District. What would you call that? What kind of mania is that? Congressionalania? Thirddistrictialoserepeatedlyamania? I dunno.

What I do know is this.......Tom can sell everything he owns including every baseball card he has ever tried to buy on ebay and every nickel he has never gotten from threatening to sue the world and throw it at running for the Third Congressional district and he will still lose. I think Tom MUST know this. But the nomination? VERY possible if we all work together like Howard Stern pushing Sanjaya. I mean it. Get it? Let's make the geek homecoming king if only for just a night.

Tom, all us still residing in the GOP are cheering for you. Really. Give Stephene hell. If you get a debate with her I want a front row ticket. Oddly he might have a point in that he will obviously do better just getting the protest Democratic vote. I want to be the first one to officially endorse Tom Scherer for the Democratic nomination for the 3rd Congressional District. I want to see that win. I might even contribute.

Sinic wrote a great post on it.

I will say he writes some very funny stuff and I definitely think it is must read. When I saw this....seriously.......I thought I was being punked. I had to check to make sure it wasn't April 1st. I was looking for Ashton Kusher to pop out at any moment.

What comes after "jumping the shark".....hell........not even Happy Days had the balls to try to overcome that one.

And while I'm at it for 3rd District politics I guess I'll end any further anticipation from my friends in the GOP and endorse Kevin Yoder.

Yoder will win the GOP nomination and I predict get an easy win against Scherer in the general. I like that he is young and will in all likelihood hold the seat for many years. I accept that he might have been a little liberal in his youth but it seems plausible that one evolves in their politics as they start to pay taxes. Yoder is clearly the best choice and the safe choice. Yoder is a legit fiscal conservative.

He has stated his core priorities which I completely agree with regarding waste and deficit spending. That is what this election is about. Sending someone to Washington who will try to rein in the spending of our grand kids cash. I encourage you to support Kevin Yoder as well.

What do you think? Yoder v Scherer? I like the sound of it.

Vino Veritas! My wine of the week.

2010-05-21T08:59:00.004-05:00

Things have been a bit hectic in my life. I mean really, whose life isn't? But anyway, I keep thinking I need to get back more into the routine of Best Wine Fridays. Truth is......I really haven't been drinking quite as much. I need to quit slacking. I did pull a few corks this week.

I've found a Cabernet that I really adore. It might be my Cab for the summer grilling season. Only Louis Martini for a few bucks less can compete in my mind for quality and value. I'll probably switch back and forth between them if you know what I mean.

2007 Chateau St. Michelle Indian Wells Cabernet Sauvignon. You could say this is kinda typical jammy, very ripe style of Cab that we've come to expect from the the New World but this is Washington State not California. You've got the black fruit flavors right up front and they seem rich and the oak is well layered with a hint of vanilla. Tannins are soft......smooth almost. This isn't an aging wine in my opinion and that is good news. Buy and drink.

I'd like this with a masterfully prepared rack of lamb with some kind of herb preparation.

Price: Around $17. I think this is fair. I've certainly seen lesser wines priced more. I wouldn't say it is a bargain but like I said.....priced right for what you get.

Widely available and I've seen it on several wine lists and in the regular JOCO wine shops we all frequent like Metcalf and Lukas.

My friends. If you have kids in BV schools this was the last Friday of the school year. They wrap it up Thursday next week. Jesus, where did the time go? I guess summer will fly by even faster.

Vaya Con Dios!

2010-05-20T13:51:00.004-05:00

This weekend as a dude I would think the place to try to hang around is the Just For Her Expo.

It seems like what all the joco milfs are a chatter about. I'm not sure MAWGs (Middle Aged White Guys) will stand much of a chance but you know what they say......fish where the fish are.

I've seen signs up all over town. People are talking about it. The site looks like they have a great lineup of activities and events...if you are a chick........not sure about the the kids pavilion........I would think this is a leave the kids with the baby daddy type thing and go over with the bffs, drink and get caddy and do stuff with strange men. Tickets are less than $10. What a bargain.

My guess is Friday evening will be more fun and end up being a girls night out. Maybe the nearby bars will be the place to be.

Apparently, the Her Life magazine is kicking the you know what out of the Old White Lady on the cover every month, Flourish, as the more interesting and hip woman's magazine of Kansas City and they are the one's behind this event. Flourish is the tired same old thing......yes, I've read it for years (always know what the competition is doing and thinking) but I'm finding that if you really want to know Her Life is quickly becoming it.

I wonder if Patrica Lightner and Stephene Moore will be there......wouldn't be a bad idea.

If you see a guy in fake glasses/moustache get up.......well definitely say hello......but be very quiet......we are hunting rabbit.

First National of Olathe might dodge a bullet

2010-05-19T10:23:00.006-05:00

It appears as if First National bank of Olathe might return to their roots and once again be just an Olathe bank.

This is a very old bank in Olathe with deep roots in the community and I know it has been the chatter of the Olathe insiders for some time. I wonder what RR Osborne would have to say? I believe it was the first chartered bank in Johnson County in the 1800's.......not sure if that is correct.

Once Kansas City's 11th largest bank they are selling several of their branches and loans to Metcalf Bank as was first reported today by the Star and a couple days ago by the Business Journal. The affected branches are all outside of Olathe.

I'm not a banking expert but this seems like an absolute best case scenario for First National because rumors were they were just waiting everyday to see if they would be seized and taken over.

Talk is that they got in trouble because they got involved in west coast real estate ventures. If you can't run with the big dogs you better stay on the porch.

They hadn't been making loans for some time and of course it is hard to make any money any other way in that business.

I guess they live to fight another day. But maybe just a few more. They still need to raise some significant capital. Maybe this young whipper snapper CEO Brian Roby isn't the big shot he thinks he is? I was at the bank one day meeting with a bank officer and he walked in and interrupted our meeting as if I was nobody. The bank employee I was meeting with stood up and introduced me and he basically continued to pretend like I wasn't even there......you know me.....the customer. Since then I haven't been a big fan of Mr. Roby.

Mr. Roby's manners aside. I hope they make it.

Free Email Education for JOCO MILFs. 10 Rules.

2010-05-19T08:49:00.005-05:00

Backstory: I'm involved in a little volunteer work and I get the pleasure of dealing with, ur, er I mean working with quite a few of south Johnson County's finest stay at home MILFs. They show up to meetings with I Phones, I Pads, laptops....any and all the best technology known to man. They are BIG on Apple products.

Today.......I've decided to offer my corporately challenged little hotties some free education on something very simple. Email. Jocoeveryman's 10 tips for better email.

Please read and follow the following rules for email and I'll love to work with you as much as I enjoy watching you suck down a cookie, a bagel and a grande mochaccino while still staying a size zero. Quite impressive.

1. Ask 3 friends and your husband before you even think about using the "reply all" button. When the soccer coach sends out an email asking who is going to be at practice I don't give a flying fuck that your little one has a conflict with a study session for the spelling bee. Save it for the coach not the whole team.

2. Don't forward me articles about what causes cancer and obesity in kids. First, I already know that the answer is EVERYTHING and second I have Google too. Same goes for jokes and chain letters. Snopes everything before you even consider forwarding it.

3. No meetings on email. Sounds efficient but it is a disaster. Debates on email always end badly and everyone has to read all of it.......all the way down each time to make sure they didn't miss anything.

4. Learn to write a fucking email. I know you were the best beat reporter in the history of whatever Shawnee Mission High School you attended but I'm not interested in reading your Opus of an email. Remember the 5 "W"s? Well, today us in the business world smart people use ABC. Sure, it is okay to start out with something nice and warm but then learn this template and follow it more closely than you follow Dr. Atkins. A better WRITTEN email will get a BETTER response.

A. Action Requested: The reason why your email is so
important. What do you want?
B. Background: Bullet point the information needed for a good
response. Clear, CONCISE, and relevant.
C. Close: Next Steps needed and niceties and I don't want to
get crazy here include an auto -signature or at least your contact info.

5. Put something in your subject line that gives me freaking clue what you want and when you want it before I have to open it. Example: " XYZ Board Reports *Due Friday at Noon*". Instead I usually get something like: "One thing I forgot about Friday's meeting.....". And then of course 20 responses that look like this, "RE:RE:RE:RE:One thing I forgot about Friday's meeting" and it says....."Don't you remember, I told you Wendy was giving it to you and I copied her on this email by the way about what we talked about at the coffee shop you are totally right......."

6. Use an auto signature. When I need to call you about your vague email it is so nice to have your phone number under your name so I don't have to look it up. For us Blackberry users we can just scroll over the number and press enter and it will dial it for us.

7. Don't use distribution lists inappropriately. So you have a distribution list that is 40 people deep who are involved in said organization and you know not all of them need the email but you are too lazy to take out the people who don't need it so you start out your email something like this, "Sorry to all you on this distribution list who aren't interested but I wanted to get something out on the year end thing-a-ma-bob. Just ignore if you aren't involved." First of all, your laziness and inconsideration just caused the 20 unintended people to waste their time. All 20 had to open it and read it. Not to mention all the "reply all's" that will follow. Think about how long it takes to open and read an email.

8. Don't expect a response in 2 minutes. WTF? "I sent you an email quite awhile ago (2 minutes) and was really wanting a timely response" Don't assume the rest of us are sitting at a coffee shop just waiting for your email. I think 24 hours is a reasonable starting point but don't freak out if it is a little longer. Remember snail mail?

9. Pass this on to your other MILFy friends. Keep in mind that while email may still be pretty cool to you it is like a 5,000 lb anchor shackled around the neck of anyone who has real job. We get sometimes 100's per day and everyone you add makes me hate you more. This really is one that they can use and then it is from that asshole jocoeveryman and not from you.

10. Because there really needed to be 10.......Do you even need to send that email? Could it be handled just as quick with a phone call? I had a girl who worked for me once who showed me her list of people she needed to email with angst.........."I'm so busy". We quickly figured out that about 75% of them could be called more quickly and I asked to sit down and do it. She had them all knocked out in 10 minutes.......not to mention if she had just done it from the car (with a hands free bluetooth of course).

Questions? Email me......at jocoeveryman@hotmail.com.

Heritage Park Triathlon

2010-05-17T08:28:00.004-05:00

One part of my life that I haven't been bragging, er, uh, blogging about is that I enjoy participating in triathlons. I like that the work outs have more variety and the swimming and biking give my joints a welcome break from running.

I signed up for the Heritage Park Triathlon which was yesterday. As you all well know the weather was a little less than stellar.

They get a pretty major FAIL for the event in my book, er uh....blog.

First of all the lazy bastards decided on Saturday to CANCEL the swim. Lazy. The weather in this town changes by the hour and to call it a day in advance to me simply means they didn't want to set up the course. We knew it would be cold. Just the time of the year alone you knew the water would be cold. That is just the way it works. Yes, there was supposed to be Katie Horner type storms approaching and true to form while it did rain/drizzle a bit there was no lightning and really no wind......in other words.........no reason to not do the swim. I mean what is the big deal with some rain? You are going to be wet anyway, right?

You say big deal........well..........here is why it is a big deal to me. They only reason my cheap ass will pay $70 for a race isn't the cheap poser T-Shirt it is for the open water swim. I can bike and run anytime and almost anyplace. Lap swimming isn't the same as a supported open water swim. Not even close. Why pay $70 so someone can put an official clock on my ass and certify that I'm slow? Actually, I was pretty damn fast (for me).

So, needless to say I was a little upset at the race organizers. I talked to several other racers as well and they were pretty much saying the same thing. When is it appropriate and acceptable to cancel a portion of a race to which people have paid hard earned money?

So instead we did a duathlon which is a run/bike/run. It was actually pretty fun. I've never done one before but certainly not the same.

They should make it a rule that if they want the event sanctioned by the USAT.....and they usually do........that they must NOT cancel portions of the race in advance and GO AHEAD with it if conditions are safe.......meaning no lightning and dangerous winds. Racers should decide if it is too cold for themselves.

Lastly, there were an obnoxious amount of flat tires on the ride. I'm not sure why. I wonder if running a street sweeper the morning of or the day before would be too much to ask? I don't think I've ever seen so many.

It just makes me think that attention to detail and a well run event are what make you want to do an event year after year. I like this one simply because it is so close to home and it is a great way to kick off the triathlon season. I'm not sure for the money it is worth it and unless improvements are made I'm not sure I'll do it again next year.

Friday Wine Pick........for Spring!

2010-05-14T16:14:00.004-05:00

I know it has been all stormy and crappy but my grass is growing like crazy and I have hostas bigger than Lisa Lampinelli's ass. Soccer is in full swing and I'm watching games in fold up chair with a sippy cup that I have to make sure my kids don't take a swig out of if you know what I mean. My wife and I like to chat with Mr. Daniels as we watch the game if you know what I mean.

Anyway, all that makes me think of Spring wines and I had one I really like this week.

Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

Wines from this part of the world have a very unique but identifiable aroma and that is grapefruit. These are the most grapefruity wines you've ever smelled. But they also have very crisp, bright acidity and the better examples sport more than just the pedestrian grapefruit flavor of some of the more popular brands. Nope this one also has some gooseberry and a very pleasant herbaceous quality that really does scream SPRING! It isn't really grassy though you might say that.......it is more like a garden smell. I love it.

This is a great porch wine, a great salad wine....especially maybe a seafood salad. I think I would love this with ceviche. I wonder if you could actually use the wine instead of lemon juice? I would love it with mussels. Serve it on the patio to your friends. They will love it.

Final note: Don't freak out. It has a screw cap but you know what??? I can't remember ever seeing any New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc not in a screw cap.

Where I had it: EBT...........and no I'm not in the AARP nor do I have blue hair. I know what you are thinking but I'll tell you something. These guys are doing something right. I had a very nice lunch there. Talk about under the radar.

Honestly.........

2010-05-14T10:08:00.002-05:00

I really hate it when people say stuff like:

"To be honest with you..........."

"Honestly?"

"To tell you the truth.........."

No....idiot. Please......lie to me. Why do people do that? I think they really mean "I'm going to be frank with you" or I'm going to tell you something I shouldn't tell you right now but to me it always sounds like, "I usually lie to you but for this one second you will get the truth"

Does anyone else ever notice that or is it just my warped brain?

Farmland 1985 Classic.......please stop

2010-05-07T08:30:00.006-05:00

We have to be the most pathetic city in the country.

Who else is completely sick of reliving 1985? It is so sad we have nothing else. Look, I love those guys. They were my heros growing up. George, Frank and Willie were my favorite players. I wanted to hit like George. I wanted to run down fly balls and steal bases like Willie Wilson and I just wanted to BE Frank White the man. Even then he was a classy, classy man who could really play the game the right way.

This is sad like an old man contantly talking about his high school football glory days.....like one game or play he had that was great. Like Al Bundy.

So we have the Farmland 1985 Classic......a softball game between 1985 Royals and Cardinals. Cardinal fans must think we are complete idiots.

But I AM SICK of hearing about 1985. Don't kids today deserve to have their own decent memories of Royals baseball? What are they gonna talk about? Fireworks and Zack Greinke?

I say we pass a law that says no more fucking tributes to 1985 until the Royals have a winning year. PA-THET-IC!

Seriously.....I can't figure out why I still care but I watched that game last night to the bitter end as they fought back and then Soria gives up not one but 2 homers.

Will I ever get another moment of glory with this team????? Yes, I actually still have this Sports Illustrated from 1985.

Moran for Kansas. I am for Moran.

2010-05-05T09:49:00.005-05:00

As the Obama agenda seems to progress like, well, a Joy Behar joke (not funny, no punch line but nobody will seem to stop her) it seems that the best thing to do is send our best leadership as reinforcement to Washington.

We need leadership.

We need Jerry Moran.

This is who I'm supporting for Senate. What this ad is saying in a nice way is that Jerry Moran hasn't lost touch with who he is as a Kansan and the conservative and common sense values. I think we have all seen the Washington types who forget what it is like in the very district or state they represent. They get too comfy in DC. They want to impress their wine and cheese friends. They start to "evolve" as they say. One weekend they decide to stay and attend a party in Georgetown and then the next they have a staff member's birthday party and the next there is some fancy pants person in from out of town so they stay for that little deal as well. Next thing you know you are smoking crack with Mayor Marion Berry....kidding about that part......but they get out of the habit coming home until it seems more normal to just stay except you know just for holidays.....anyway that is where their friends are now, right?

Wrong. Jerry understands that to represent us you have to know us and understand what is going on back home as well as in DC. This seems like the kind of guy we need as a US Senator.

Not shocking I'm sure from this conservative. This will be an endorsement that I'm sure the Moran camp will be incredibly proud :-).

JOCO goes garage sale crazy this weekend

2010-04-29T22:17:00.005-05:00

Every freaking neighborhood in sojoco is having their neighborhood garage sale this weekend. Jesus, I've never seen anything like it.

I guess they don't do this in the city. People just get their shit stolen in the city. No possibility of piling up a bunch of stuff you don't use anymore.....somebody already stole it if you weren't guarding it with a 9MM or a can of tear gas.

So this weekend is it. This is the weekend when us wealthy JOCO people sell our unwanted stuff to poor people for a deal instead of giving it to them. We used to drop it off at a charity now we sell what people will buy first and then ask the charities to come pick up all the crap that doesn't sell. Nice, right? Or....when JOCO people all buy stuff from their neighbor and store for a year to put in their own garage sale the next year.

Why do the neighborhoods have these official weekend garage sales? Simple. This way we will only have poor minorities running around our neighborhoods casing our homes 2 times a year......garage sale weekend and of course Halloween. I guess at least this one is during the day so we can keep an eye on everyone.

Tomorrow will be crazy. I think people are camping in our neighborhood tonight in shitty old Ford pickup trucks.

We take all the money back we just gave the poor people for cutting our lawn, cleaning our homes and serving us over processed sodium laced fast food and buy ridiculously expensive wine and drink it. Brilliant Lovey.

Can You Imagine a Worse thing? Social Media Sausage Fest in Lawrence.

2010-04-29T22:06:00.003-05:00

Holy shit. You have got to be kidding me. Attending this geek fest would be like hanging out with a sobered up Fun Bobby or like being with Jessica Simpson at a buffet that just closed 5 minutes early. Not fun.

Okay, Social Media is a big deal......almost dull I'm so tired of hearing about it.

Lawrence is a cool place to have it and of course I'm sure these folks know what they are talking about.......but the second shit like interests me this blog is coming down cause I've officially gone geek.

I like Tony but paying money to hear him talk and reading him write about these people attending like they are rock stars when really they are just people who have found a way to look anti-social......look, well, social. Should they even call it "social media"?

Social media club. FAIL. Sorry.

This blog is a dump like I'm the Merriam of Johnson County but at least I didn't waste a night and good money hanging out with these losers at a very cool and posh new hotel.