The Tip Jar

A recent restaurant fad that drives me crazy is the tip jar. I used to love the verbiage on the tip jar at the Red Pepper that said, "Tips - Never expected but always appreciated", but these days it seems that every shop has a tip jar and the cashier gets upset when you don't leave a little something extra in the tip jar.

It's really nothing against you cashier, but when I go to Subway or Blimpie or McDonald's I really don't feel like tipping you. You're getting minimum wage and for some reason I feel like it's your job to get my food back there.

For those in sit-down restaurants I feel like it's a little different. They don't get minimum wage, and if I sat down at a restaurant while you serve me for an hour bringing me refills and salad, you probably earned a few bucks. For me to tip someone that should already be getting paid a decent wage for what they're doing seems a little ridiculous.

A Barbara Walters Special

I know this is a little delayed, but it's fun to make fun of Barbara Walters.

Did anyone see any of the Barbara Walters interviews before the Oscars? It is absolutely ridiculous how clueless this old timer is. Someone should've given her a little more background on the past / present of the actresses she was interviewing.

Here's the background: Before the Oscars, Barbara Walters interviewed Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana & Ellen Paige. She asked several questions, but the best was when she asked both stars about the Spears girls and how crazy they are. She pretty much called both Spears girls as out of control and asked the actresses their thoughts.

Miley said that she was friends with Jamie Lynn and pretty much pushed it off. I'm not sure if Ellen knew exactly what she wanted to say, but I find this funny because neither Ellen or Miley are exactly "good girls". Miley has been showing up on the Internet for a few months with some scandalous photos, and Ellen was in a few movies before Juno where she was anything but innocent if you know what I mean.

Anyways, this post provides us with two valuable lessons ...
1) Do your research when you're doing an interview.
2) Don't get caught with your pants down ... See inserted photo.

Who's In Your Five???

Remember that episode of Friends when Ross and Rachel made their "special list" of 5 celebrities that they could hook up with and have no consequences from their significant others in return? Great episode for sure and a neat thought. I've heard my boss's list and I've spoken with a few people about who would you really put on your list if this worked out? Then I thought, who would I put on my list? Well, being as bored as I currently am, I've made out my list and although. It's not I laminated like Ross's list, nut I'm feeling pretty good about it. Here goes:

Padma Lakshmi
-Top Chef got pretty hot when Padma starting hosting. Have you noticed her scar on her arm? Super hot!
Jessica Alba
-America's hottie. Not too many guys would have this kind of list without including Jessica Alba.
Catherine Zeta-Jones
-I used to have a thing for "older" ladies so I had to include one on my list. Catherine Zeta is a pretty damn good choice and I'd bet you'll agree. ;)
Britanny Snow
-My celeb crush. Brittany Snow is a cutie.
Vanessa Minillo
-One thing you can say about Nick Lachey, he knows how to pull nice looking women (see J. Simpson, V. Minillo).

On the Bubble
Brooke Burke - Heidi Klum
Katherine Heigl - Rashida Jones
Jessica Simpson - Scarlett Johansson

America's Sport Returns

Spring is around the corner which means the 2008 baseball season is among us. Feelings of optimism surround each big league club & fan thinking this may be the year. For me, I guess I've picked on my team all offseason for moves they did or didn't make. The thing fans like me have to realize is that not every year is our year and there will be seasons in which our team surprises us (like when the Twins came from 10 games back @ the All Star break to win the AL Central over Detroit & Chicago - that was amazing) and times when our team let's us down.

With a 162 game schedule anything can happen during the season. One big injury or a player or two playing out of their mind for a solid stretch can mean swings either way but I'm making some predictions saying all things being equal for the season. Here they are:

AL East
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Baltimore Orioles

-The Red Sox are an amazing club and this is a tough division, one of the best in baseball. The Yankees have had tough starts for the past few years and are an older club with questions in their pitching rotation. I pick the BoSox to take the division and yield the best record in the AL.

AL Central
Detroit Tigers
Cleveland Indians
Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins
Kansas City Royals

-The Tigers are stacked & should compete heavily for the best record in baseball. Cleveland is an up & coming team & I pick them to take the AL Wild Card. Minnesota & Kansas City will challenge the White Sox for 3rd in the division which will be one of the better in baseball again this season.

AL West
LA Angels
Seattle Mariners
Oakland Athletics
Texas Rangers

-With an improved rotation, the Seattle Mariners will make a strong run @ a Wild Card spot as well as the AL West title but I pick the Angels to take the West because of their already strong lineup which only improved this offseason.

NL East
NY Mets
Atlanta Braves
Philadelphia Phillies
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals

-Newly acquired Johan Santana will help boost the Mets' roster after their collapse last season. The Mets have a decent rotation behind Santana & have a good lineup that will yield quite a few runs.

NL Central
Chicago Cubs
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
St. Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates

-The Cubs will be strong this season. They have a great lineup and a decent rotation. Look for them & the strong-hitting Astros to make a mark in the NL Central. I pick the Cubs to be the best team in the NL this season.

NL West
LA Dodgers
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants

-I think this will be the better division of the NL and will yield the Wild Card winner in Colorado who should have strong competition coming from the back. Joe Torre will have a strong team in LA which should be one of the league's best.

NL Playoffs
Chicago Cubs over Colorado Rockies
NY Mets over LA Dodgers
NY Mets over Chicago Cubs

AL Playoffs
Cleveland Indians over Boston Red Sox
Detroit Tigers over LA Angels
Detroit Tigers over Cleveland Indians

World Series
Detroit Tigers over NY Mets

We Now Return To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Hello blog & blogging buddies. It's been awhile. A lot has been going on recently and I haven't had a chance to really write too much. Here's my update:

Time to Thaw Out
Last week Andrea and I returned to North Dakota / Minnesota for a week. We spent a couple of days in Grand Forks catching up with family and a few friends that were around. We were able to view my cousins playing in their regional hockey tournament both of whom played great. After GF, we traveled to Bemidji to hang out with other family and were able to spend time at a friend's wedding.

It was very, very cold in both cities but we both had a lovely to be home and we were asked many times when we'll return again. The answer - most likely August for my cousin's wedding.

New Blogging Buddy
So you may have noticed I have a new link on the side of my blog. If you have time check it out. It's hilarious. I haven't had a lot of time myself to read up but the guy seems to have a lot of fun observations to make on a daily basis. If you're more of a copy & paste person here's the URL - http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

Tony Bennett To Boise
We went public with this last night and media starts running on Monday. It's very exciting to be working on a project that has a person so well known around the world. I've taken the role of AE with this project and am really excited about it. Our company will be doing all the marketing & public relations related to everything Tony Bennett & Children's Home. It's been very busy thus far getting everything firmed up but it's also been a lot of fun. Check out the website if you wish - www.childrenshomesociety.com/centennial

Hockey In Idaho???
I was amazed when I moved here to find out there was indeed hockey in Idaho. I officiated for only 2 months last year in Idaho before getting burnt out. After 10 years I questioned whether or not I really wanted to continue doing games at all. This season I took another crack at it only doing games on weekends. I was recently selected to do the Idaho State Hockey Tournament which was this past weekend. It was a lot of fun but I think I'm getting older as I'm having a tough time moving around.

Mr Hockey
Not really anything I've been up to, but a shout out to my cousin who won this award last night. I'm really happy for you hopper and so proud of your accomplishments. Good luck moving on to Juniors this season in Fargo and next season in Lincoln.

Also, Jake & Ryan, it sounds like you guys had a great weekend. I feel bad how your season ended but I'm glad you guys played well and wish you luck next season.

So I just wanted to use this blog as an update to my life I guess. So keep on truckin!

We're Gonna Rock Out With Our Caucus Out

How exciting has this caucus been? I can't say I've paid attention to every state caucus from the start but on the verge of the end of Super Tuesday, I think it is truly amazing to see what Obama & Clinton have been able to accomplish thus far. What an exciting time for our country.

We are in this great recession, we've been at war for nearly 7 years, foreclosures were up 75% over the last year and we're optimistic that change is on the way. Our country needs that change & that change comes in the form of Obama or Clinton. It's amazing to see that our country has finally accepted that a minority or a women could lead our nation.

I can't say I'd want to be in their shoes as there's a lot of work to do right off the bat. I heard that Hilary is saying that it took a Clinton to take care of the mistakes of the last Bush presidency and it's going to take a Clinton to do it again. I thought that was a great little line for her campaign. Anyways, should be fun to see what happens.

Cheers to the two Democratic delegates!!!

#@*! You Twins

Seriously, the Mets? Did you really have to give him up for 4 guys that are said to be starters (if that) at best? No Phillip Hughes, no Jon Lester, no Jacobi Ellsbury, no No. 1 starter in the rotation and amazing prospect. They're stuck with 4 guys that could very well be average players at best. I read recently that Carl Pohlad is the richest owner in baseball and we're giving away guys like Torri Hunter & Johan Santana.

Give the Twins credit in getting a long-term deal done for Morneau but am I really supposed to get all excited about this deal if I know the next 3 seasons are going to be crap? Can you imagine how amazing the Red Sox would've been if they were the ones getting Santana giving the Twins a player like Ellsbury in return? Forget about it, they would've had the best team in major league history. Santana would've been the No. 2 starter in the rotation and they would've kicked the shit out of everyone which would've been so fun to watch.

Enough of my ranting and raving ... I'm three states to the left and booing my team the Twins.