Brickyard 400 Prediction

Alright, its pole day for the Brickyard, and that means time for some predictions. Here's a few thoughts:

1. Dale Earnhardt fails to qualify in the top ten, but will finish in the top five for the race.
2. Harvick looks strong and is my pick to win the race.
3. A fan favorite wins the poll. (Stewart, Gordon, or Johnson)
4. The Brickyard will be Sam Hornish Jr's best race, as he finishes in the top ten.

What do you think? Who's gonna win the pole? Who's gonna win the race?

It must be the race!!! A quick work story.

Okay, so I worked a pretty weird schedule today. I started work at 1pm and got off around 11 pm, and was able to work with both types of employee. We had are consistent day people. A little bit tenured (they've been around for awhile), pretty quick, and a little less edgy. Well, let me say this, the store wasn't busy. It was slow. Really slow. And we blew through a ton of hours. As I was restocking the food line, a comment was made about how the upcoming Brickyard race was effecting are sales. All the activities, games, events, etc... were keeping people from eating Taco Bell.

Fast forward 6 hours. We're short handing. We have lines waiting outside to order through drive-thru and line's waiting at the counter. Families are coming in and ordering 20 item orders, and guess what I hear. One of my team members say, "You know, I bet it's the race thats causing all this business."

You know, I don't mind the business, but it drives me crazy the excuses people come up with.

Anyways, Taco Bell just rolled out two new items. First, there's the cheesy Jalapeno melt. It's a steak, or a chicken and rice, burrito topped with our cheese blend and a sweet & spicy Jalapeno sauce along with a scoop full of Jalapenos. Don't worry about the Jalapenos being bad, becuase our peppers are processed. FDA investigation is only looking at Mexican peppers that do not go through processing. The Jalapeno melt has a cheesy sister, and her name is the Fajita Melt. Like the JM, it comes as a steak or chicken and rice burrito, but this melt is topped only with fajita vegetables and our cheese blend. In my opinion, these are good value items. Like the cheesy beefy melt, you get a lot of food when you order a melt, but for those who like items with a complex taste, beware. The Jalapeno Melt is very spicy, and will have a strong following, but I doubt either item will make our permanent menu. These items are also available as a box, and come with a double decker taco, cinna'Yum' twist, and a large drink. Value..value..value.

Enjoy.

Friday Foto Fiesta

This is a beautiful shot of the War Memorial in Downtown Indianapolis. I find so special about the photo is the lighting, which resulted from a the sun setting through the buildings. The buffalo head actually functions as a fountain, spray water into the pool below.

For more foto fun - check out Candid Carrie!

Crazy News

Rapper 50 Cent Sues Taco Bell

Football Strategy - The A11 Offense: 2 Qb's, and a bunch of receivers. Is this the future of football?

Basketball Rankings - Prestige

Barack in Berlin

I just watched Barack Obama's historic speech in Berlin.

Visit the website to watch the video:

http://my.barackobama.com/berlinvideo

In a city where a wall once divided the free from the oppressed, Barack talked about tearing down the walls that divide all peoples so we can address our common problems -- the threats of terrorism and nuclear weapons, global warming and genocide, AIDS and poverty.

Donate Blood - Save a life

The Indiana Blood Center is currently sponsoring several blood drives. Here's a short list of upcoming locations.

Monday, July 14 thru Wednesday, July 16
All Indianapolis locations, Anderson, Avon, Columbus, Kokomo, Muncie, Terre Haute,
plus mobile blood drives in those areas
One coupon for a free pint of Ritters frozen custard

Monday, July 14 thru Saturday, July 19
All Indianapolis locations, Avon
One free admission to the Marion County Fair

Monday, July 14 thru Friday, July 18
Kokomo, Lafayette, plus mobile blood drives in those areas
One free admission to Dancing in the Streets in Lafayette

Tuesday, July 15 thru Friday, July 18*
All Indianapolis locations, Anderson, Avon Columbus, Evansville, Kokomo, Lafayette, Muncie
One free $10 Target gift card
*Indianapolis and Avon locations - July 15-17 only

Tuesday, July 15 thru Friday, July 18
Terre Haute
One free $10 Wal-Mart gift card

Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July 19
All Indianapolis locations, Avon
One free admission to Splash Island Family Waterpark in Plainfield

Hours for all locations are:
Monday thru Thursday - 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday - 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Saturday - 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon


Or for more information, please call 1-800-632-4722 ext 5150 or 317-916-5150.

Save the Honey Bees

Article from Wikinews:
Honey-bee decline has accelerated in North America beyond the steady attrition of the past 25 years according to scientists and farmers. A relatively new term - "Colony Collapse Disorder" is being used to describe this poorly understood phenomenon.
Colony Collapse Disorder (or CCD) is a syndrome evidenced by massive die-off affecting an entire insect population. The cause of the syndrome is not yet well understood. CCD may be caused by mites or associated diseases or unknown pathogens. CCD is possibly linked to pesticide use though several studies have found no common environmental factors between unrelated outbreaks studied. According to Dennis vanEngelsdorp, a bee specialist with the Pennsylvania State Department of Agriculture, "We are pretty sure, but not certain, that it is a contagious disease."
Honey-bees are responsible for approximately one third of the United States crop pollination including such species as: peaches, soybeans, apples, pears, pumpkins, cucumbers, cherries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries.
From 1971 to 2006, approximately one half of the U.S. honey-bee colonies vanished. The rate of attrition reached new proportions in the year 2006, which were alarming to many farmers and honey-bee scientists.
At least eleven different states as well as portions of Canada are known to have been affected by colony collapse disorder. The disorder has been identified in a geographically diverse group of states including Georgia, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and California. In some states the loss of honey-bee colonies is estimated as high as 75 percent of the population.
The phenomenon is particularly important for crops such as almond growing in California, where honey-bees are the predominant pollinator and the crop value is $US 1.5 billion. Total U.S. crops that are wholly dependent on the honey-bee are known to exceed $US 15 billion.

Video Information:






Help the Honeybees
Burt's Bees Information
Get Involved

60 minutes: Why are Honeybees Disappearing? Pt1


60 minutes: Whay are Honeybees Disappearing? Pt 2


Pesticides & Bees

To Stacy...Surprises

One of the things I was think about Stacy that not many people know about is her 'almost perfect' Kristen Wiig impersonation. If you don't know who Kristen Wiig is, she's a wonderful SNL performer who does some great characters. Anyhow, it always brings a smile to my face when Stacy acts like the female character in 2-A holes visit a travel agency. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the HTML to post, so you'll have to visit the KristenWiig Fan Club for the video, but here's the link.

Two A-holes visit a travel agency.

Missing Stacy - Pictures tell a story of a thousand words.

Lola's feeling a little lonely.

I've let the dishes pile up a little.

I haven't had a meal at the dinner table since she's left.

Needless to say, the bedroom not much better.

Lola really misses Stacy.

Beer Sampler - World Market 10 pack - Summer Brews

Okay, so recently I discovered the store called World Market. It's located in the Carmel/Fishers area on the north side of the city. This store is an excellent store for gifts. It's full of unique and fancy items. It has furniture and housewares, along with items such as spices, wine and beer. During my visit, we got a fancy little indoor composter, which my wife recently blogged about, a tea diffuser, and my Summer Brew Ten-Pack.

So far, I've tried most of the brews, but unfortunately, I tried them all at once and I don't remember most of their tastes. The reviews will be from other sites that I like to check out for beer reviews. The pack included :

• Berghoff Solstice Wit Beer ~ A refreshing, limited-edition summer love, craft-brewed in the tradition of fine Berghoff beers. Here's a review on the Berghoff from Liqour Log.
• Riverwest Stein Beer ~ From the Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Review from the Beer Advocate Website.
• Boulder Beer Sweaty Betty Blonde ~ Boulder Beer Company (They've got one of the neatest websites for breweries available. Recently won the best of the southwest (Wheat Beer) Award at the 2004 National Beer Tasting Championships. Another Beer Advocate review.
• Breckenridge Vanilla Porter - This chocolate and nutty flavored beer was one of the few I remember. Dark and full, it gives off a sweet aroma and an even sweeter taste. Here's some info on the beer directly from the Breckenridge Web Site and a quick little recipe for a Vanilla Porter Milkshake.
• The Shipyard Summer Ale - Check out the video. Here's a real quick review from Rate Beer

I also tried a few other drinks that day, and here's some reviews on them.

• Leinenkugel's Red Lager. Here's a review from epinion.
  
• Leinenkugel's Creamy Dark. Here's another review from the BA site.
  

Overall, the beer's were delicious and went well with my perfect (Bobby Flay quality) grilled burger and beans.

Reviews: Toro Flymo 19 inch

My brother-in-law, and his father, came across a Toro Flymo. This is a neat little hover-mower. It's gas powered, and uses a single standard 19 inch blade. From what I have been able to look up on this contraption, its especially useful when mowing on hills or inclines. When started, using a standard pull start, the mower hovers about 2 to 3 inches of the ground. It's louder than a standard mower, and significantly louder than most newer machines.

Here's a few photos of the mower.


I also want to just make a little comment about my brother-in-law's junk collection. During the few hours I was there he brought out the Toro Mower, an old power saw (which he gave to me), a scuba tank, spare parts for a kegerator, and a book featuring the city & town layouts from the late 1800's and early 1900's. He's got a pretty good collection.

Breaks...

I hand out so many smoke breaks at work that it gets complicated managing through these periods. Here's a cartoon that struck pretty close to home.

Fantasy Football ---- Official FF Rap Song