Category: Lists

10 old technologies to never throw away

There is one thing about consumer technology that has always confused me. Let’s say you have a toaster. It’s a good toaster. It makes great toast. This toaster looks good on the counter, cleans easily and has been extremely reliable for all the years you’ve had it.

Now let’s say that you just found out that the new toasters are being released. Your version is Toaster-6.0 and the new Toaster-7.0 are now out and being gobbled up as soon as they roll off the assembly line. If you don’t move fast, there won’t be any left.

So you grab your wallet and run to the store — dropping that boat anchor of a toaster at the curb on the way out — to get your new, improved; Toaster-7.0. You stand in line as they count off how many toasters are left. You wait and —. You make it. You get the new toaster.

Whew, that was close. And you get home and display the new toaster on the counter proudly.

Now, as goofy as that sounds, we are actually doing this to items like toasters — not as rapidly as we do cell phones, but that’s the danger in it. It’s more subtle. More gentle of an erosion. And then one day we wake up and we miss our old toaster because this is the third toaster we’ve had since we’ve tossed it.

So here are the ten old technology devices that fit in that category. Here are the ten items we should never throw out.

10. Old cast iron

Yes, you can still buy cast new iron pots and pans. Sure. But it’s pricy and is not as durable as the old stuff. And the thing about cast iron is that it never, ever dies. You can find a cast iron frying pan in a garage sale that is rusty and flaking and looks like it has been through three wars. And within a week you can have it cleaned up, seasoned and ready for eggs on the campfire. These things are great and should be held on to forever.

9. Battery operated radios

In our world of cellular access to everything, battery operated radios are becoming harder and harder to find. But that old boom box in the garage will come in pretty handy if you loose power and cell coverage. These are worth keeping — and keep the batteries out of them so they don’t corrode.

8. Coffee pots

Not coffee makers, but coffee pots, are becoming very rare. If you have one, keep it. If you don’t have one, get one — and I’m not talking about the fancy forty-dollar camping pot, I mean a real stainless steel coffee pot. It will cost you about ten bucks and since it has very few moving parts it will last forever. These are great for camping and fishing trips, if the power goes out, or just when you want to control how strong your coffee is.

7. Metal coffee cans

These are becoming harder and harder to find since most mainstream coffee comes in plastic containers. But if you have the old metal ones, keep them and use them. Display them proudly because they have hundreds of uses.

6. Old landline phones

Again, if you lose power, an old landline phone — one that you can plug into the phone line and doesn’t require power — is a pretty handy thing to have. Keep at least one in your house.

5. Old metal fans

It’s probably too late for these beauties because they have moved from the hard to find to the collectable. But if you find an old metal fan, grab it. They last forever and the motors are much larger than the modern plastic versions.

4. Turn tables/tape decks

Sometime in your life you will come across a collection of cassette tapes from your talent show in 1970 or some of Uncle Walters old 45’s. You’ll need something to play these on. If you have one, display it and use it.

3. Small appliances build before 1970

In my house, I have the milkshake maker from my parents diner in 1956. Besides the constant use it took then, it has been used for decades and still makes amazing milkshakes. These old appliances were replaced by lower quality versions and the old ones will last forever and when they are gone, they are gone.

2. Old Mason Jars

You can buy mason jars anywhere but the new design are thinner glass, cheaper fittings and aren’t designed to last as long. If you come across some of the thick old Mason Jars, grab them. They can be used for a thousand different things and they just aren’t making them any more.

1. Metal fishing reels

I am still in mourning over giving my brother-in-law my old Mitchel 300 fishing reel when I got my new shiny plastic one years ago. He still has mine and I am four reels down the road. The old metal reels last forever, are rugged and can take a beating.

August 4, 2016
The 10 films that every man needs to see before he dies

There are great films and then there are great guy films — and I’m not referring to movies that have that all important catch phrase or the chase scene of the Corvette down the escalator that you will be a social misfit for having not seen. But great films — movies that make us think and feel while remaining a pure guy film.

10. THE LONGEST YARD. (1974).

Of course I am not referring to the 1974 Burt Reynolds film not the Adam Sandler version — which I’ve never seen. The Longest Yard is just a great all around guy film and although the plot seems a little thin — NFL quarterback goes to prison and is forced to lead the ‘cons vs guards’ football game — the movie has intensity, excitement, humor and is one of those films that gets under your skin and stays there. In Burt Reynolds long career he has only made two great films — Boogie Nights and The Longest Yard.

9. SLING BLADE. (1996).

Although there are moments of acting and dialogue in Sling Blade that still make my cringe, the characters are so strong that you really don’t care — in fact the first ten minutes of Sling Blade are probably the best dialogue ever written for film. A great guy movie.

8. ARMAGEDDON. (1998).

Okay, hear me out on this one. Armageddon is not only a great action film but is practically a blue collar opera. The idea of the world being saved by finding the best deep core drillers, is right up there with needing to find the best dry-wallers or small engine repair guys. The writing is solid, the story is strong and the acting top notch. A great movie.

7. THE FULL MONTY. (1997).

If you had asked me if I wanted to see a film about a group of down on their luck blue-collar English guys who decide to become exotic dancers to pay their bills, I would not have rushed to the ticket counter. But The Full Monty is one of the greatest guy films ever made. There is not a character in the film that you don’t care about and the movie is emotional, real and powerful. You’ve got to see this one.

6. SEVEN SAMURAI. (1954).

Although I’m not a big fan of subtitles, you need to see the subtitled version of Seven Samurai to appreciate this film. Seven Samuria is a story of 1587 Japan when the feudal system is fading and the once and powerful Samurai are now unemployed. Seven of these men join forces to protect a town against marauders because, well, they have nothing else to do and in effect create a great friendship. This is an amazing film and was the basis of John Sturges; The Magnificent Seven. You’ve got to see it.

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5. THE STING. (1973).

The Sting is the con artist move to which all other con films are judged. It’s a great film and a great story and keep you guessing all the way to the very end — when you’re still not exactly sure the ride is over. This is one of the top ten American Films of all time.

4. RAIN MAN. (1988).

Although I am not a big Tom Cruise fan, Rain Man is one of the greatest films ever made; a true road film that documents the relationship of a twenty-something, self involved man and his estranged older brother — it also is an interesting example of what the motion picture industry thinks of men as this film was almost not made because the producers didn’t believe men would watch any film without a chase scene.

3. THE GODFATHER. (1972).

Although Goodfella’s is an amazing film, The Godfather still remains the big daddy of mob films — and of motion pictures in general. It’s an epic story of the rise of an Italian Mafia family. An incredible movie that has influenced American culture and for those thirty or so men in the US who have never seen the Godfather – go see it.

2. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST. (1975).

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is not only Jack Nicholson at his very best, but it’s also one of those rare occasions where a film is actually better than the book. This movie launched many careers and is an incredibly powerful story that doesn’t stop until the credits roll. You only need to see this film once and you will remember every second of it.

1. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. (1998).

Not only is Saving Private Ryan the greatest World War II film ever made, it is also one of the greatest American film’s ever made — one of the reasons I stopped watching the Oscar’s was when Shakespeare in Love beat this film out for best picture. Are you kidding me?

If you have never seen Saving Private Ryan, stop what you’re doing and see it right now.

July 30, 2016
9 older products that are better than their newer versions.

As the great Billy Joel said, the good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow’s not as bad as it seems.

In 1955, 38,000 people in the country had polio — now there are less than 300 cases in the entire world. In 1960, 30% of Americans lived under the poverty line and that number is now below 10%. And in 1950, almost half of all American homes didn’t have a telephone. Today there are roughly six internet connected devices per household.

So yes, we’ve come a long way. But still, there are some areas, some products and services, that have suffered from the modern march of advancement. Which means that there are a certain number of areas where the older versions are much better than the new ones.

9. FANS

The vintage fans of the 1940’s and 50’s were amazing. They had metal blades, huge motors, moved air around like a jet engines and lasted forever. Modern versions are basically disposable with tiny motors, plastic cages and thin plastic blades.

8. SILLY PUTTY

The old Silly Putty was this amazing stuff that bounced, floated, stretched and held any image that you put it to. It fit back in its egg shaped container and unless it got covered in gunk from the floor, could be used for months. The newer version is less pliable, doesn’t bounce and worse yet, does not pick up any image that you press against it. And is this strange purple color now.

7. FISHING REELS

In the 1980’s many spinning reel manufacturers went through a process to remove cost from their products. Metal housing and gears were replaced with plastic ones and mechanisms were simplified and redesigned. The result of this was a reel of far less quality. In fact, in 1994 I gave my brother-in-law my old Mitchell 300 reel when I got my new Mitchell. He still uses my old one and I’ve been through four replacement reels since.

6. CROCK POTS

About five years ago, the great crockpot cartel got together and decided — for whatever reason — to increase the low cooking temperature on new crockpots. I have no idea why, but the result is a crockpot that cooks higher. So now slow cookers, cook faster. And if you’re not careful it is so much easier to overcook meat in a new crockpot than it was in an old one.



5. LINCOLN LOGS

Lincoln logs are great. They were these logs that were etched out at the end so you could build cabins, forts and outbuildings. And of course because they were logs they were made of wood. New ones are not. They are made of — plastic. How can you have a plastic log cabin?

4. UMBRELLAS

And umbrella was once a well-crafted, solid, piece of adornment. It had a thick wooden handle, solid metal bracings and heavy canvas to protect you from the rain — in fact umbrellas were coveted by thieves because there was always a market for them. Modern equivalents are made to be replaceable and disposable and in fact you can buy umbrellas from The Dollar Tree.



3. PAPER ROLL CAPS

Cap guns came out in the 1950’s and were these guns that shot paper caps that exploded and smoked like real guns. The caps hid large dimples filled with black powder that created this exciting bang. Modern equivalents are completely flat and contain very little powder and make a soft pop — about as load as bubble wrap popping.

2. CRACKER JACK PRIZES

The prizes in Cracker Jacks used to be amazing — small pinball games, cars, charms, plastic guns, everything. In fact, that was part of the charm of Cracker Jack was getting to that prize. The prizes of today are not even worth mentioning — usually a piece of paper — and is the equivalent of getting socks for Christmas.



1. AIR TRAVEL

Even before 911 air travel had lost its glamour. Gone are the days of warm towels, full meals and a cheery attendant that is only a button push away. Air travel is now no frills, sit down, shut up and keep quiet.

July 25, 2016
The 10 greatest guy inventions of all time

There are inventions and then there are guy-inventions — these are the gadgets, tools and innovations that are so deeply embedded in our man-lives that the idea of going without them is completely unthinkable.

Here are the top 10 guy inventions of all time.

10. Ramen Noodles

Whether you buy them now or not, at some point of your life you have consumed many bowls of Ramen noodles, cup o soups, or similar products. Why? Because it’s completely a guy thing; cheap, simple and portable. We lived on this stuff in college and we still buy them when no one is looking.

9. Dish sponge and soap dispenser

If you are not familiar with this one yet, stop what you are doing and run to the store right now. I’m not sure who to thank for this dish washing miracle but it is a clear handle filled with dish soap and a sponge at the end. That’s it. But now you don’t need to fill a sink with water — which men hate — instead you can wash a cup, a bowl, a dish with just the dispenser. Run some water, soap up the dish with it and rinse. Done.

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8. Digital Video Recorder.

This innovation still amazes me. The ability to pause and rewind live TV should be a candidate for The Nobel Prize. Now, we can pause anything we’re watching, get a drink, take a call and come back and not miss anything — as well as skip through the commercials. Also it’s great for those ‘what did he say?’ moments when you can rewind and settle a TV bet.

7. Energy drinks

Sure women buy energy drinks — in fact the largest demographic of energy drink consumers are young mothers trying to get through the day with as much steam as possible. But the idea of energy drinks is completely a guy thing. It’s fast, cold, comes in a can and gets the motor going.

6. Microwave Oven

Microwaves are everywhere men are; construction sites, break rooms, garages. They are these inexpensive little boxes that you plug in, press a buton and within a minute or so your food is hot. What’s not to love?

5. Global Positioning System

The GPS system was the freedom rally-cry for all men. Never again, do we need to hear the words, just stop and ask someone for directions — which in the guy world is equivalent of wearing a dress. And if we keep the volume down and just look at the pretty directions, we actually feel like we’re getting there by ourselves.

4. Safety razor

When is the last time you walked into work and saw a fellow co-worker with those little pieces of toilet paper stuck to his face to stop the bleeding from shaving? For some of you, probably never. That’s because it rarely happens anymore but it used to happen all the time. New razors are so well developed that it’s almost impossible to cut yourself shaving any longer and the shave is close and fast.

3. Cordless drill

When the cordless drills first came on the scene in the 1980’s they were very expensive and the only group that could afford them were professional contractors — while the rest of us looked on with lust. Now, the technology has been so well developed and the price point has dropped so much, that everyone has one. And the new 20 volt models keep their charge forever — months without a recharge.

2. Duct tape

Duct tape is a pressure sensitive tape coated with polyethylene. It was first developed in World War II to seal ammunition cases and make small repairs because of its water resistance. Now, we use duct tape for everything because it’s fast, easy and it works.

1. Television Remote Control

Yes, it’s a cliché, but the truth is the remote control is the greatest guy-invention of all time. It puts the world in our hands, caters to our short attention span and lets us bounce all around the TV universe increasing our programming productivity. In fact, for most of us, if we can’t find the remote — what’s the point of turning the TV on?

July 22, 2016
The 10 best animated male characters of all time

In the 1960’s, television executives from ABC were looking for a creative way to diversify their advertising customer base and sell the American consumers more stuff. Oh sure, they were getting their fare share of cigarette, car and dish soap ads — yup, got that covered — but the lucrative toy market was slipping by.

Now, at this time Saturday mornings were a soft slot in TV programming and were filled with 1950’s filler — The Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, Tarzan and some animated shorts used in feature films such as Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry. So, since kids were already watching at this time it became the ideal time to create some original animated content — something that had never been tried before.

What came to be known as Saturday Morning Cartoons was such a huge success and such a big deal in the kid world, that the idea of being sick on a Saturday morning or just plain oversleeping and waking up near noon — when the shows were over —- was the weekly equivalent of missing Christmas. And add to that, now being a social pariah because you would be the only one in fifth grade who didn’t know what mischief Speed Buggy got into — it was enough to ruin your whole week.

As cable television grew the 24 hour cartoon networks grew with it and The Saturday Morning Line Up faded away, replaced by the round-the-clock access to cartoons. But this did not change the impact of cartoons on our lives, in fact it actually expanded it.

THE TEN BEST ANIMATED MALE CHARACTERS OF ALL TIME.

10. UNDERDOG

1964

Yes, he’s a dog, but he’s also a man dog and that counts.

Underdog is that perfect combination of strength and sensitivity. His ability to fight crime, have an active dating life with Sweet Polly Purebred and balance his stressful career as a shoe shine boy — makes him a character to admire.

9. PATRICK STAR

1999

No, SpongeBob didn’t make the list — a little over-performing tipped the scale a bit — but his buddy Patrick definitely did.

Patrick is that perfect combination of a best friend that we all want; strong, funny, willing to do anything we ask and not too bright. Patrick is the guy we all want around and miss when he’s not there.

8. POPEYE

1932

Popeye the comic strip existed long before the animation did — along with Olive Oyl, Sweet Pee and Wimpy — but the very first Popeye animation sets the stage. Here, he and Brutus come across a bevy of bathing beauties near a pool. We see them scanning all the voluptuous women – a little bored — until they came across the skinny, clumsy, Olive Oyle in her clod hoppers and 1920’s bathing dress. They are smitten and the rivalry begins.

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7. SPIDERMAN

1967

The Spiderman animated series began in the late sixties and is responsible for that classic Spiderman theme: Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can …

Although Spiderman was well known before the animated series it was here that the American public got their first inside look at the character of Peter Parker and was able to relate to his vulnerability and strength — plus you just cannot get that stinkin’ song out of your head.

6. BENDER

1999

Bender is a cigar smoking, beer drinking robot with kleptomaniacal tendencies. What’s not to love? He is the best friend of Phillip Fry and an employee of Planet Express in the animated series Futurama. Bender became so popular and made the transition from rogue to hero so many times, that his anti-social activities became largely unnoticed. And out of the six Futurama episodes that were determined to be the most heartwarming, four revolved around Bender.

5. HANK HILL

1997

It’s difficult to think of Hank Hill as a great animated character because we don’t really think of him as animated at all. He is so real that he comes across as more of a painted reality-series character — or that uncle we all have. King of the Hill was so different than any animated series before it, we responded to it as a live action show and found Hank so incredibly straight-laced that he actually became cool.

4. PINKY AND THE BRAIN

1993

You can’t think of Pinky without The Brain so you need to consider them together. Pinky and The Brain are two lab rats that each night, as the lab is closed, begin to launch their master plan to take over the world — well, The Brain’s plan and Pinky just comes along to mess everything up. It’s funny, creative and one of the best animated buddy teams ever.

3. BULLWINKLE

1959

Bullwinkle J. Moose is the big, dim witted, half of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. He lives with his friend Rocky The Flying Squirrel in Frostbite Falls, Minnesota. Each week he and Rocky are thrown in an adventure that usually involves defeating the evil Boris and Natasha. But it’s the subtle innuendos and creative puns of Bullwinkle that make him one of the great animated characters of all time.

2. BUGS BUNNY

1940

Bugs Bunny has been around so long and is so deeply entrenched in our culture that he is all things to all people. His flippant and relaxed attitude — along with that New York accent — makes him strong, curious and cocky. Plus, since he was developed for World War II fundraising and training films, he’s as American as they come.

1. HOMER SIMPSON

1987

Homer is a fat, lazy, simple minded father that at the same time is caring, thoughtful and brave. After over twenty five years of Homer he still amazes us with his diversity and depth. Homer is the guy we don’t mind loaning money to even though we know we’ll never get it back.

July 21, 2016
10 things to never buy from a dollar store

Dollar Stores are amazing — and by Dollar Store I am referring to Dollar Tree or others like it where everything costs a dollar; not any one of the discount stores where the word Dollar is simply in the name.

I frequent Dollar Tree a great deal and these are great places to get greeting cards, decorations, cheap hand tools and Millar balloons — nothing cheers someone up more than a dozen helium balloons from the dollar store.

But in my experience, I’ve discovered that there are certain things that you should never — and I mean ever — buy from the place. Here are the top ten.

10. Ear buds

How bad can they be right? They’re only a buck and if the sound isn’t that great you can just chuck them. No. First of all these things are designed for some race of ears much larger than humans have and even if you can cram them in your ear holes the sound will melt your brain. Stay away.

9. Glue sticks

A pack of four, Elmer’s glue sticks at Wal-Mart is about five bucks. A pack of four no-name glue sticks at the dollar stare are, of course, a buck. What’s not to like? Except that these are made from one of the few materials in the store that are not sticky and permanent. These don’t work so don’t waste your money.

8. Band aids

The Band-Aids at The Dollar Tree must use the same stick-technology as the glue sticks. It’s as if someone printed Google Images of band aids and put them in packs. They don’t work so skip by them.

7. Razors

Okay, we are getting in serious territory now because buying Dollar Tree razors will simply tear your face off. It will. These are dull and dangerous devices and even if you’re traveling and forgot your razor, it’s far better to walk into your meeting with a two day beard, then it is to do it while missing an ear. No.

6. Soda

I’m not even sure that Dollar Tree soda is legally soda. It’s more like Kool Aid with a very slight carbonation sound added when you open it. Horrible stuff. Buying the individual bottles of the brand name soda in the cooler up front is fine, but never get one of these three-liter horrors.

5. Knives

Dollar Tree sells many kind of knives; kitchen knives, utility knives even no name Swiss Army type knives. And the ones that are actually made from a metal — most are silver painted plastic blades — will never hold an edge and therefore are extremely dangerous. You will slice off a leg with one of these things trying to cut something, so don’t buy them.

4. Colognes/perfumes

Again we are getting in an area that is a danger to human life. The only thing worse than cologne from The Dollar Tree is the thought of the long term environmental impact if that same bottle managed to getting in the water supply. These things will set off smoke alarms. Stay far away.

3. Super Glue

Any super glue that is not made by Loctite, is just glue — my humble opinion, of course. And this stuff is barely that. It doesn’t work and don’t buy it.

2. Aluminum foil

Aluminum foil is expensive — especially if your barbecuing or using a smoker, when you’re going to need a lot of it. But there is not enough Dollar Tree aluminum foil in that entire store to do what you need to do. It’s thin, it breaks easily and it’s more like shiny paper than anything even close to aluminum foil. Don’t buy it.

1. Batteries

Right before a battery dies, as its saying goodbye to its wife and children, they unplug the monitors and wheel it into The Dollar Tree. By the time you get the battery out of the store and into your car, the trip will be enough to kill it.

March 22, 2015
Five great peasant dishes

As far as fun, creative cooking, nothing can compare to peasant dishes. You know, comfort food. The meals that you grandmother made that tasted amazing, cost pennies, and you never, ever got tired of.

Peasant dishes have been given that name because they were made from ingredients that were inexpensive and readily available. These were the meals of the common folk and they usually consisted of one dish, were made from less desired chunks of meat or sausages and used whatever vegetables, grains and starches were easily found.

There is an art to creating great peasant dishes; it being more instinct than cooking. And my Aunt Isabelle — who ran a boarding house and provided a decent living for herself for three decades, after her husband walked out and left her penniless — could make a mouthwatering meal for a dozen hungry men, from a few cheap cuts of meat, some vegetables and a lot of practice.

There are many recipes for peasant dishes but using a recipe here seems almost blasphemous. The cooks that developed these dishes didn’t use recipes. They just looked at what they had to work with and they made it as rich and as flavorsome as possible. And anyway, by following a recipe, you’re just copying someone else style — robbing you of the pleasure of developing your own.

So, here are the top 5 peasant dishes of all time. These are all easy to make, cost pennies and have ingredients that are readily available. But more importantly they have few rules which allows you to experiment and get creative.

Have fun.

5. Shepherd’s pie

Like many classic peasant dishes, there are dozens of variations of shepherd’s pie — some have a brown sauce, some red, but the basics are the same. Ground meat and vegetables covered in mashed potatoes and cheese. What’s not to love?

4. Pot pie

Now, homemade pot pie tends to get some reluctance from cooks, because it involves making a crust. But basically this is just a simple biscuit dough — which is very easy to make. Pot pies are rich, tasty and so, so filling.

3. Goulash

Like shepherds pie there are so many deviations of goulash that there are actually serious arguments about it. What some people call goulash — dark gravy with sirloin mixed with egg noodles — are not what others consider the dish — red sauce, ground beef and elbow noodles. But whatever variation you choose to make, this a great dish to make, easy and cheap.

2. Haluski

Haluski is not only the lowest price dish here — the meatless version will cost you about fifty cents in ingredients — but it is beyond a doubt the most flavorful. My kids, who are pretty picky eaters, love this every time my wife makes it. All haluski is, is cabbage and egg noodles. That’s it. But many people add in bacon for flavor — my wife’s version also includes capers. Amazing.

1. Chili

Chili is, was, and will always be, the mack daddy of peasant dishes. It is easy to make, flexible and includes so many possibilities, that there are countless cookbooks dedicated to just making chili. It’s a great, easy and fun dish to make.

March 5, 2015
10 free things to do this weekend
When the kids were little — probably around age 7 and 9 — we had this Saturday tradition. I’d get them up, get them fed and dressed, and we would head out for the day; just the three of us. No girls allowed. Now, we could do anything we wanted to on those days. Anything. But there was only one rule. We couldn’t spend any money.

Now part of the reason for this was because we were a young family and were trying to be frugal — hey, just an afternoon of bowling or movies with kids will cost fifty dollars or more — but there was actually more to it. When you pay for something — especially when you pay for entertainment — it loses charm quickly. It’s less special, less personal, since it’s easily accessible and available to anyone who will pay for it. But if you have to find the things to do, to locate and get to them; there is a reward at the end.

So those Saturdays had to be free.

And today, if you asked the kids about those times — ten years later — they will tell you, in exciting detail, of all the goofy things we did. Of the battlefields we went to, of the time we took a bus tour of a landfill — which was actually pretty fun. They’ll tell you of open air concerts, of the wars we had in the woods, the street fairs and the concerts of Irish dancers. We went to museums and zoos. We toured churches and synagogues and we caught buckets and buckets of fish.

All fun. All free.

10 FREE THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND

10. Movie festival.

This may seem corny, but home movie festivals are a lot of fun — and can be as large or as an intimate as you want them to be. Break out all the DVD’s in the house and pick the top ten or so and that’s your film selection for the day — an entire guilt free Saturday of doing nothing but watching movies. If you want to open it up to family and friends, a quick post on your favorite social network showing the schedule, and you’re good to go. Or you can pull down the curtains, turn the phones off and just escape for the entire day.

9. Community Calendar.

Community calendars are amazing and much of what the kids and I used to do, came from these sources of information. On any Saturday, there are always little festivals, tours, classes and concerts. Always. And these folks are so glad to see you and to tell you about what they do.

8. Community sports

Professional and college sporting events are pretty pricey and even High School level sports will cost you a few bucks. But there are always community sports that are open to the public. Softball leagues, Little League Baseball and Pop Warner Football, are a lot of fun to watch. But what’s really interesting is to find the less mainstream sports — I just found out that in our area, there are Cricket Leagues. I’ve never been but we’ll be going this year.

7. Create a potluck open house

With a few phone calls, texts or posts, you can invite the world in for the day. Ask everyone to bring a dish to pass and break out the board games, the horseshoes, the video controllers or just sit in the backyard and catch up. People can come and go, arrive and leave, all day long.
1. 6. Learn how to juggle
Okay, hear me out on this one. On Monday morning, when your co-workers ask, “So, what did you do this weekend?” You can answer, “Oh, not much”. Or you can say, “Me? Oh I learned to juggle.” With a few tennis balls, some online videos and a couple of hours of practice, you can learn the basics of juggling — in a single day. And believe it or not, you will use this for the rest of your life.

5. Frisbee golf

Most of the Frisbee golf courses I’ve ever seen are open to the public and are inside parks. A cooler full of sandwiches, a few Frisbees and some friends, and you have another cool story to tell on Monday morning.

4. Pick up game.

With the exception of basketball, you rarely see pickup games of baseball and flag football anymore because organized sports are more the norm. But with a few phone calls you can organize a pickup softball game on Saturday. Bring a cooler and sandwiches and your all set — and if it’s a park where you can bring a charcoal grill, even better.

3. Have a yard sale.

I said you couldn’t spend any money, I didn’t say you couldn’t make any. Yard sales are actually pretty fun to host and can be quite lucrative; depending on the goods you have to sell. And it also allows you to clean out your attic or garage.

2. Habitat for Humanity

There are many organizations that don’t want your money as much as they need your time. Habitat for Humanity is a great example. On any given Saturday they have ongoing projects where they could use your help and the great thing is they don’t care if you’re a carpenter or don’t know which end of the hammer to hold. There’s something for everyone to do — and it’s a great way to learn basic construction skills.

1. A trip to nowhere

Probably the most fun I’ve had with my kids is when we would get in the car and head out with absolutely no destination or plan. Because when you do this, you’re not just focused on the destination — because you don’t have one — you’re enjoying the entire trip.
February 15, 2015
The 10 most amazing abandoned places of the U.S.

They’ve always amazed and intimated us; those great empty houses, abandoned factories and forbidden structures that lie just beyond the fence. The ruins of a previous time. There are so many to choose from but here are our top 10.

10. Glenwood Power Station, Yonkers, NY

On the banks of the mighty Hudson River, the closed Glenwood power plant closed in the 1960’s and is an abandoned industrial monster in one of the larges cites in the world. .

9. Fort Caroll, Baltimore, MD

You can see it as you drive across the Francis Scott Key Bridge, A weeded island on the water, that was once a defense against possible attack during the Civil War. The irony is that so many generations of birds have made the fort their home that it is now protected from development by US environmental law.

8. Mispillion Lighthouse, Mispillion, Delaware

Built in 1831 it served until 1929, when it was deactivated and replaced by a steel tower at nearby Cape Henlopen. The lighthouse had fallen into an extreme state of disrepair, and was considered by Lighthouse Digest magazine to be America’s Most Endangered Lighthouse.

7. Francisco Morazán shipwreck, South Manitou island, Michigan

Wanting to make one last trip before winter, the Francisco Morazan left Chicago on November 27, 1960 bound for Holland. Blinding rain and snow forced the shop aground at of South Manitou Island. The crew abandoned ship and was taken by the ice-breaker Mackinaw to Traverse City. The owners of the ship could never be found and nothing was done about removing the ship.

6. Michigan Central Station, Detroit, Michigan

Built in 1913, it was the tallest rail station in the world. By the late 1970s, it was falling under disrepair and the last train left the station in 1987. Restoration projects and plans have gone as far as the negotiation process, but none has come to fruition.

5. Hushpuckena, Mississippi,

Hushpuckena is a small community of abandoned buildings that lies behind Highway 61 north of Shelby, Mississippi. that includes stores and a small hospital. Old clothing an still be found in the stores as well as piles of medical records from in the small hospital.

4. Chippewa Lake Park – Medina, Ohio

Chippewa Lake Park was an amusement park that operated from 1878 through 1978. It was closed due to lack of attendance. The rides and structures were left largely untouched and unmaintained for almost 40 years.

3. Brookfield Air Force base, Brookfield, Ohio

Brookfield Air Force Station was opened in 1952 as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station. The squadron’s focus was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit’s radar scopes. It was closed in 1983 due to budget cuts.

2. Roseville Prison – Roseville, Ohio

The prison at Roseville is just across the county line Muskingum Ohio. Good behavior inmates were sent there to work in the ovens and make bricks. The prison was closed in 1977.

1. Palace Theatre. Gary Indiana.

The Palace Theater was built in 1924 and featured live stage shows, vaudeville acts and motion pictures. But when the US Steel plant went into decline, so did the town. The theatre closed in 1972 and has been abandoned ever since.

January 17, 2015
The heart of cool

There is a supermarket near us where Debbie often sends me to get last minute items — it’s a short drive from our house and is ideal when we need one green pepper or a dozen eggs. Things like that. And yes, it’s convenient. And yeah, it’s reasonably priced. But more importantly it’s where a kid named Ethan works.

Now, I’m using the word kid here because I have no idea of Ethan’s real age. He’s young — but every year a larger slice of the population look young to me — and he does have those weird double earrings that appear as if dime sized holes were drilled through his earlobes — but they’re not — and if I had to guess I’d say he was somewhere between 17 and the ripe old age of 20. Around there. Which by using the age barometer that we middle aged men carry; this puts him well within the kid range.

The grocery store in question is convenient and well stocked and the first time I met Ethan there he was loading yogurts in a dairy case. I walked right by him, to the next glass door. I had already looked in there but you never know, maybe I missed what I wanted so I looked again. Nope. And when I didn’t find it for the second time, I closed the door, turned and saw Ethan’s half smile.

“I look lost, huh?”

“Maybe,” Ethan smirked.

“I’m looking for the Bob Evans, Macaroni and Cheese. You know the ones that –.”

It was then that Ethan’s smirk became a wider smile. “I gotcha,” he nodded. As if in the history of franchise food shopping, Bob Evans Macaroni and Cheese was the greatest thing that anyone could be looking for. Ever. And only those like me — the rare, the connected, the exceptional — would even think to ask for it.

Ethan abandoned his pallet of yogurts and walked me over three aisles. He then opened a refrigerator case to reveal two shelves of Bob Evans food products. There. Just waiting for me.

I thanked Ethan and he smiled and went back to his yogurt.

After that, anytime I couldn’t find something I would seek Ethan out — I could have found it myself. Eventually. But even if I did, I would have missed out on that cool experience.

Because that’s what Ethan is. He is one of those rare individuals who are naturally cool. Not cocky. Not arrogant. Not proud, smug or conceited. But cool — because there is a big difference.

And cool is so much better than all of those other things. Cool is even better than just being confident and self-assured.

Because cool is — . Well, it’s cool.

Cool is the ability to be positive, but so much so that people feel confident around you. Cool is inviting. Cool is happy and content — it’s the attitude that no matter where you are, that’s the place to be.

Cool doesn’t hide anything but it celebrates everything. It can’t be bought, it can’t be faked and it can’t be forced. Because it’s not a destination it’s a side effect.

Which means, that is we try to get to cool — we never will. Ever. And by trying we’ll get lost or think we’re there — which is so much worse than not being cool at all.

Cool has nothing to do with what you wear, what you drive, how much money you make, who you know, or where you’ve been. Cool doesn’t care about any of that.

And cool isn’t perfect or flawless; cool makes mistakes and has errors and even regrets. But cool doesn’t hide those mistakes but celebrates them.

If you think your cool, you’re not. If you don’t care if you’re cool, you might be — but most likely you’re still not.

But whether or not we have the ability to be cool, we all have the ability to do things that are cool — which is almost as good.

Because every time we make someone feel important, powerful or essential — that’s cool.

Every time we ignore what is normal, standard or average and embrace what simply feels right — that’s cool.

Every time we turn the attention from us to someone else in a public way — that’s cool.

Every time we enjoy something from the background, every act that is kind, every chance we have to step forward even though we’re scared to death, for every aspect of beauty that we notice that we’ve never seen before …

That’s very, very cool.

December 30, 2014
The 10 films that guys are supposed to like, but aren’t very good.
There are films. There are guy films — and then there are great guy films and sometimes the term great gets placed on a film and we just end up accepting it. Then, twenty years later, these groups of movies are now considered classics and we’re not really sure how that happened.

This is the list of films of those films. Movies that we are supposed to like. Ones that every testosterone carrying male should be able to discuss and quote on demand and failure to do so could result in serious infractions applied to ones man card.

But in actuality, many of these films — these classic guy movies — aren’t very good. In fact some are actually quite bad.

Now the irony here is that being a bad film shouldn’t matter because we men love bad films — a great bad-film is sometimes better than a great good-film — see, Demolition Man, Time Cop or any of the Earnest movies as example .

But these, this list, are movies that are not good or not bad in a good way. but we are told they are great.

… and they’re not.
1. Point Break.
Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. Two guys who are very good at playing —. Well — Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze; that’s pretty much it. In a film about an FBI agent who infiltrates a group of bank robbing surfers. It’s a movie that shows a great deal of surfing scenes along with guys with long flowing locks of hair. And not much else.
1. Bullitt
Bullitt is the 1968 Steve McQueen film that every male car lover is supposed to love because of the Mustang chase scene — I actually had to study that exact scene several decades ago in a film class. But in actuality Bullitt is not a very good film. And it’s not even a fun film to watch and is really kind of boring. But it’s one we are supposed to like and now is old enough that we even seem cultured if we’ve seen it.
1. Slapshot
Slapshot is a 1977 Paul Newman film concerning a small mill town who is about to lay off workers where the town’s hockey team decides to save the day. If you love watching hockey players fight and a lot of toilet humor, Slapshot is for you — but you will loose about three IQ points when you are through — and then you’ll need to watch Shindlers List about halfway through to even recover.

The Grifters

I really wanted to like The Grifters — a film about traveling con-men, you’re off to a good start — and even saw it at the theatre when it first came out and for the first ten minutes I wasn’t disappointed. Then it just sort of — drifted off and tried to tie in this love story that didn’t work. But the film now has a cult following and I’m not really sure why. If you feel pressured to watch it, see the first fifteen minutes of it then turn it off and then you can tell everyone what a great movie it is and not be lying.
1. Days of Thunder
I guess no one told the male population that Days of Thunder was a marketing stunt — a way to make a quick film on the racing industry to get all those NASCAR fans into movie seats. It’s badly written, quickly produced and has no real heart. But men love this film. And again, it’s now been around long enough that new generations are being spoon fed on what a great film it is.

5. Matchstick Men

Another con man movie I wanted to like because I loved the book. But of course, the only thing that was anything like the book was the title. A truly bad attempt and like everything Nicholas Cage has made since The Rock, it sucked.
1. Blade Runner
Every nerd born before 1980 is supposed to love Blade Runner — I actually saw it at the theatre the week it came out in 1982. In fact, I had a Blade Runner poster on my dorm room wall — because that’s what all Sci-fi fans at the time were expected to do. And then later, I realized that I didn’t really like it.
1. Dances with Wolves
I’m actually a big fan of all the Kevin Costner films that bombed — Waterworld, The Postman, those are great bad-movies. But the most successful one; Dances with Wolves, is not on that list. It’s a homogenized, preachy story that is a chick flick disguised as a western.
1. Top Gun
Want to piss a lot of guys off? Just say you don’t like Top Gun. Go ahead. I dare you. Well, here goes. I don’t like Top Gun. It’s sterile. It’s forced. And the best acting in it is done by the airplanes. And worse yet, when Goose dies — I really don’t care.
1. 2001 a Space Odyssey
Yes, I understand that the monolith is supposed to be a religious symbol. And yes, the bone used by the monkey men to win over the waterhole represents technology. Yes,. But any time a writer or a director answer interviews with —it’s open to interpretation, that’s a cop out. I’ve seen the film several times and I now openly admit that I don’t get it. And I don’t really like it.
December 13, 2014
10 things we hated as boys but love as men

In the long, warm Saturday’s of childhood, life remains a straightforward and clear endeavor. We have our friends. We have our family and we have the great big world; that incredible event that was put into motion simply to run through, climb over and dream about.

Then — and don’t ask me how this happens — a few Saturdays go by and then a few more. Then they come in by the dozen. And as they flip by, one-by one, we awaken to discover that we are now shaving, paying car insurance and there are other humans that have our last name.

Wow. Weird.

And even though there are many, many boyhood ideals that are worth keeping and preserving — honor, trust, dignity, faith — there are also areas that we never get to appreciate until we are older.

Here are the top ten.

10. Rarer meats.

Remember when we liked our hamburgers the same way we did our marshmallows over a fire? — charred to perfection? Then, over time, we came to appreciate all that moisture and flavor that is kept in the red parts. A rare piece of prime rib is something we will be excited for on New Years Eve but would have us gagging only a few years before.

9. Naps.

Naps are God’s way of telling us that he loves us. As kids we avoided naps; thinking that some amazing things would occur that we would miss. Then, as adults we found out that there is a way to reset the day. It’s this magical doorway that we get to walk through every now and then.

8. Spicy foods.

As kids, spicy means pain. Period. As adults spicy is not only the bragging rights to the macho, but it actually contains dopamine — the main ingredient in herion. As a kid, even pepper will have is crying. As an adult, we’ll put Red Hot on our cereal.

7. The party going on, without us.

Men, are pack animals. And the majority of our young lives — and our young-adult lives — are dictated by the extremely strong drive to be at every gathering, every time, no matter what — it’s as strong as the one that drives the salmon up river. If there is a party — any kind of party, anywhere, any time — we will be there because we couldn’t stand knowing there is fun going on without us. Then, one day, the world doesn’t revolve around us and we’re okay with that. That drive is reduced and we get to go only if we want to. Which is so much better.

6. Coffee.

Coffee is a gray area because it’s like booze in that it’s difficult to know if people actually enjoy the taste of it, or they just enjoy the feeling from drinking it. I’m not sure. But zillions of people drink coffee and as a kid we wouldn’t touch the stuff. Even if you poured in a pound of white sugar and added a few dozen Mars bars. No way.

5. Being alone.

What was once feared is now coveted. The boyhood idea of being alone means you were unloved, uncared for and unprotected. It was punishment. The adult version means that you are unplugged, unencumbered and free. We can do what we want with no one dictating or requesting. This amount of time, this space, is completely ours.

4. Cooking.

The act of cooking actually fits very well into our male frame of mind. It has structure, rules — the ones you can break and the ones you can’t — and involves building and constructing something. As kids we enjoyed that there were a tram of large humans that would no our bidding. As men it’s nice to not only be creative in the kitchen, but to serve others.

3. Haircuts.

Why did we hate these as kids? We would scream and yell as if they were removing bone-marrow not cutting hair? — but we took that lollipop at the end, didn’t we? Sell outs. And then one day we not only didn’t mind getting our haircut but we actually enjoyed the experience — the social aspect of it, the people watching and the ability to walk out with a new look.

2. Girls.

It’s ironic that the opposite-sex moves from the category of creepy and useless, to dangerous and fearful. One day we cant stand them and the next we are petrified of them. Then we pass though that whole dating and marriage thing and find ourselves having more and more women friends — who are the ones we seek when looking for guidance advice and empathy.

1. Being wrong.

For most of our boyhood and young adult life, there is this embedded need to be found right. We will research, Google, debate and interview if it means that we can be justified and found to be correct — preferably stated as such, preferably aloud in front of others. Then — one day — the credit for being right appears a bit hollow. In fact, when it comes to being right or being kind, our older self will choose kind.

November 26, 2014