Today I'd like to introduce the anti-beefTM which is really pretty self-explanatory. I'm gonna roll with it in an effort to maintain a healthy balance of positivity. Doctors always say not to eat too much beef right? Looks like they're wise beyond their years...and their profession.
I'll kick off the anti-beefTM legacy with a shout out to the beef man himself. My local butcher at Anoka Meat & Sausage. If there's a place I'm more comfortable at than a butcher shop then it had better involve some ridiculously soft cushions.
My love of butcher shops started during my Seattle days with my discovery of George's Sausage & Deli on Madison & 9th. Polish meats and sausages were their specialty, so it wasn't your typical butcher shop, but their meats were so tasty that it warranted the bi-weekly trip to pick up the necessities.
Then came my Anchorage spot, Mr. Prime Beef. Oh my god. Bacon heaven. This is still my favorite butcher to date given their impressive selection of fresh meats and the fact that they wore white hard hats at the counter! I guess you never know when a slab of beef might swing around and knock you on the side of the head.
And now I'm in MN and I found my guy and his wife. I've been there a few times now and I'm starting to develop a good rapport with them. My most recent trip yielded their recipe for making a roast as well as a couple other slow-cooking ideas. I see a first-name basis on the horizon...and a potential follow-up anti-beefTM about it.
10.27.2009
10.23.2009
Stop Ig-Norv-ing The Facts
My beef right now is with the San Diego Chargers, and more specifically with their ownership. After being a loyal spectator to another disappointing start of the season (third year in a row) I must say there have been some very bad decisions made in the past few years. But two really, really stand out from the rest. I'd even go so far as to say that had these two decisions been reversed, we'd be in the Superbowl last year and have at least 4 wins right now.
The two decisions I'm talking about are...
1) Not signing Michael Turner to a long term deal. I mean, really. Every Chargers fan knew this guy was a premier back waiting his turn to bust out. Apparently the ownership isn't a fan of the team, because they let this guy walk for $5 million a year and instead decided to pay Sproles over $6 million this year. Don't get me wrong, Sproles is great. But Turner is an every down back that a) wouldn't have been stuffed on 4th and 2 against the Ravens and b) wouldn't have been stuffed at the 2 yard line against the Broncos. LT is on his way out...it's obvious. Turner would've been the answer. Honestly, this made no sense at the time and makes even less sense now.
2) Keeping Norv Turner around for another painful season. Lets face it, the guy is not a good coach. How does that team go 8-8 last year in a god awful division, lucking its way into the playoffs, instead of having 11 or 12 wins like they should have. I'll tell you why - Norv. Plain and simple. Norv.
Now I'm not going to pretend like I know anything about coaching football, because I don't. But you can tell when a team is not well coached, just like you can tell when a company is being run into the ground by a bad CEO. Starting off slow three years in a row while your coach stands emotionless on the sidelines is one indicator. Another might be going with a running back who weighs 185lbs when you desperately need three yards in a game clinching situation instead of a bigger, stronger back that can push through the initial contact by the defense. Michael Bennett was huge for us last postseason and had a solid preseason too. Why isn't he getting these carries?!
Because Norv just isn't the guy. That's obvious at this point. And to make it more urgent, there are about 5 quality coaches that don't have jobs right now. We already missed the boat on the aforementioned bad decision #1. Lets not make bad decision #2 last any longer than it needs to.
The two decisions I'm talking about are...
1) Not signing Michael Turner to a long term deal. I mean, really. Every Chargers fan knew this guy was a premier back waiting his turn to bust out. Apparently the ownership isn't a fan of the team, because they let this guy walk for $5 million a year and instead decided to pay Sproles over $6 million this year. Don't get me wrong, Sproles is great. But Turner is an every down back that a) wouldn't have been stuffed on 4th and 2 against the Ravens and b) wouldn't have been stuffed at the 2 yard line against the Broncos. LT is on his way out...it's obvious. Turner would've been the answer. Honestly, this made no sense at the time and makes even less sense now.
2) Keeping Norv Turner around for another painful season. Lets face it, the guy is not a good coach. How does that team go 8-8 last year in a god awful division, lucking its way into the playoffs, instead of having 11 or 12 wins like they should have. I'll tell you why - Norv. Plain and simple. Norv.
Now I'm not going to pretend like I know anything about coaching football, because I don't. But you can tell when a team is not well coached, just like you can tell when a company is being run into the ground by a bad CEO. Starting off slow three years in a row while your coach stands emotionless on the sidelines is one indicator. Another might be going with a running back who weighs 185lbs when you desperately need three yards in a game clinching situation instead of a bigger, stronger back that can push through the initial contact by the defense. Michael Bennett was huge for us last postseason and had a solid preseason too. Why isn't he getting these carries?!
Because Norv just isn't the guy. That's obvious at this point. And to make it more urgent, there are about 5 quality coaches that don't have jobs right now. We already missed the boat on the aforementioned bad decision #1. Lets not make bad decision #2 last any longer than it needs to.
10.15.2009
Your Magic Number
Mark my words, the nations car mechanics are involved in collusion. Not of the cost-fixing variety but of the bill total-fixing variety. I'm saying it right here, right now. There is a list. There's a nationwide list with your name on it that says exactly how much you'll cough up during any given visit to an auto mechanic without getting pissed. This list is referenced by your local untrustworthy, colluding mechanic before they call you to tell you what's ailing your vehicle. Doesn't matter how much the repairs are actually worth, all that matters is how much you'll pay.
For me that number is somewhere in the ballpark of $400. How in the world does EVERY mechanic know that I'll cough up an easy $400 to maintain my car but if they even approach the $500-and-over limit I'll react with the same rage as if he'd just spit in my face, sucker punched me in the gut and called my boyhood dog, Minners, a tramp. Seriously. I'm not joking about this. Every time. $400.
You might be sensing that this wound is fresh and you might be right about that. Just three days ago I took my car in for a routine oil change and to pull a trouble code for the check engine light that has been nagging at my peripheral vision for the last four weeks. I also had to get some 30k maintenance and winterization work done. The total: $396 and change. Amazing.
The check engine light then prompted a second visit yesterday. That's two days after the initial oil change visit for those of you that aren't counting. The trouble code was pointing to an oxygen sensor gone bad, so I decided that was harmless enough and shouldn't be too much to fix which was mostly right. Problem was, when they called to tell me exactly what was wrong they decided to throw in the ol' air-filter's-dirty-and-your-drive-and-power-steering-belts-are-worn trick. Total: $400 and some odd dollars. Seriously amazing.
I ended up getting ticked at the guy and asked him why the belts and air filter didn't show up as worn two days ago when they checked them out as part of the oil change. I mean, part of the oil change checklist is to check belts, hoses and the air filter. That's standard. BS response to that. Figures.
Back to my original beef and the moral of this whole episode. Pay attention when you take your car into the shop, 'cause you're on a list that's as unforgiving as a bad case of the Aztec two-step. You need to clear your name of sucker status, or at least whittle your number down to something you're going to be comfortable paying.
For me that number is somewhere in the ballpark of $400. How in the world does EVERY mechanic know that I'll cough up an easy $400 to maintain my car but if they even approach the $500-and-over limit I'll react with the same rage as if he'd just spit in my face, sucker punched me in the gut and called my boyhood dog, Minners, a tramp. Seriously. I'm not joking about this. Every time. $400.
You might be sensing that this wound is fresh and you might be right about that. Just three days ago I took my car in for a routine oil change and to pull a trouble code for the check engine light that has been nagging at my peripheral vision for the last four weeks. I also had to get some 30k maintenance and winterization work done. The total: $396 and change. Amazing.
The check engine light then prompted a second visit yesterday. That's two days after the initial oil change visit for those of you that aren't counting. The trouble code was pointing to an oxygen sensor gone bad, so I decided that was harmless enough and shouldn't be too much to fix which was mostly right. Problem was, when they called to tell me exactly what was wrong they decided to throw in the ol' air-filter's-dirty-and-your-drive-and-power-steering-belts-are-worn trick. Total: $400 and some odd dollars. Seriously amazing.
I ended up getting ticked at the guy and asked him why the belts and air filter didn't show up as worn two days ago when they checked them out as part of the oil change. I mean, part of the oil change checklist is to check belts, hoses and the air filter. That's standard. BS response to that. Figures.
Back to my original beef and the moral of this whole episode. Pay attention when you take your car into the shop, 'cause you're on a list that's as unforgiving as a bad case of the Aztec two-step. You need to clear your name of sucker status, or at least whittle your number down to something you're going to be comfortable paying.
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