Category Archives: fun

10 Things I Wonder About

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Recently, Kim at Eyes On The Dollar did a post about some random things that she can’t understand.  While I agree with her on many accounts (especially the one about popcorn ceilings…how did those things even come to be invented?), I figured I’d blatantly copy the idea and give a list of ten things that I often wonder about.

  1. Why do people insist on sharing any details about their juice cleanse? It’s gross.  Stop it.  I don’t care if you skip over the disgusting parts, it’s still disgusting.  If I owned a juice company, I would specifically put a note on each bottle of juice asking people to please not use my juice as part of any cleanse.  Because, you know, it’s gross.
  2. Why do people buy homes and then let the home or yard fall into disrepair?  I’m not saying every home and yard has to look immaculate, but for people who just neglect them, I don’t get it.  It’s not like we haven’t been doing this home buying thing for decades now.  You should sort of know what to expect.
  3. Why can little kids can magically pick up on any bad word?  Even if you say it in a regular tone of voice surrounded by fifty other words that you want them to learn, but they don’t, they will instantly pick out any naughty or swear word and being using it.  In context.
  4. Why do we think it’s OK to treat each so poorly when we’re behind the wheel of a car?  People think nothing of zooming around other cars or cutting other cars off.  Read that sentence again and it becomes clear why people rationalize it.  Because they see themselves as cutting off another car or going around another car or getting angry at another car.  People forget that there are other human beings driving those cars, and in most cases, people wouldn’t dream of treating another person that way in a face to face situation.
  5. Why has executive and management pay gone up (in terms of real buying power) but everybody else has pretty much stayed the same over the last 20-30 years?  Is management the only group doing a better job than other workers?  And, are they?
  6. How come companies could afford to offer things like pensions and full health benefits but now cry poverty and cut anything to do with those benefits without giving it a second thought?  Oh, wait, I guess that’s the executives doing such a good job, right?
  7. Why do people care so passionately about the political beliefs of other people?  Honestly, as long as you don’t try to push your beliefs on me, I really don’t care what you believe.  But, how many people now instantly dislike someone when they find out a particular affiliation or belief?  Too, too many.
  8. Why do computers know to ask if you’re sure you want to do the things you are absolutely sure of, but to give you no such consideration when you click something by mistake?
  9. Why do we think that it’s only today’s politicians that don’t worry about what the decisions they make down the road will cost ‘our grandchildren’?  Let’s face it, most of the infrastructure we have was put into place under politicians who are long out of office or dead, and while they approved the funding, they didn’t look ahead and plan for what do with it once it started falling apart.  So, this has been going on for a lot longer than many people think.
  10. Why does every Michael’s or Joann’s store have leaky ceilings?  I remember my grandma dragging me around to crafts stores as a kid, and every ceiling was covered with water stained tiles.  Now, every so often, my wife drags me to one of the stores, and the ceiling is the same.  Other stores in the same shopping centers are fine, but leaky ceilings in craft stores?  Every single time.

Thoughts?

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Time Lapse Videos I Want To See

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I think time lapse videos are pretty cool.  One of the first ones I saw was a few years ago when someone put together a time lapse of a picture taken every day of a child’s life for the first few years.  I don’t even want to try to find a link as I’m sure the one I saw has been joined by a million copycats.  Cool idea.

Recently, our family went to the RV show that is held in the area twice per year.  We usually go for the fall show but this year decided to go in the spring.  It was actually much cooler as there are probably twice as many RVs set up as I remember seeing in the two fall shows that we had attended previously.

Even though we have a camper and have no intention of buying a new one anytime soon, especially after dropping $700 bucks to re-seal the roof last fall, we still thought it would be fun to take a look around.  It gave us a different perspective now that we are ‘owners’ from our prior attendances where we were ‘hopers’.

One of the things that I’ve grown a fond appreciation for since I had to start dealing with it myself is the art of placing the camper properly.  Backing it into the driveway or the campsite is something I got better at, but still is a pretty heart wrenching experience, and most times I come nowhere close to getting it right on the first try.

As we paid for our tickets, the sign noted that there were over 500 RVs on the floor for display.  Walking through row after row, I started thinking about how much work was involved with getting all of these RVs set up in perfect fashion.  While I know the drivers are experts and likely got them set up so fast I could not imagine, I still thought it would have been fun to ‘watch’, and what better way than through a time lapse video?

As I walked through and admired how some RVs had their hitch ball less than two inches from the RV behind it, I really thought seeing it would be cool, and since then have thought of some other time lapse videos that I’d like to see.

  • Carpeting the library – Recently, our library announced that they will be installing new carpet throughout the entire facility this year.  With two floors of bookshelves, all sitting directly on the carpet, I envision that installing carpet will be no easy task. Will they unload each shelf of books, move them, then re-stock them, or do they have a way of moving the shelves?  Either way, I bet it would be fun to watch!
  • Building a new hospital – A few years back they built a hospital from the ground up in the local area.  For the first couple of months they had a webcam and actually had a daily time lapse feed where you could watch what happened.  Then, only about two months into the project, it went offline.  It’d be fun to see that, from the outside as well as the inside.  I know these exist for many building projects, but it’d be best to see this for a building you know or have access to go to directly.

Are you a fan of time lapse videos?  Are there any cool ones you can point me to? What time lapse videos would you like to see?

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My Roller Coaster Days Are Behind Me

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As a resident of Metro Detroit, one of the benefits to many has always been our relatively close proximity to the Cedar Point amusement park.  Cedar Point has always, for most of my life, been known as one of the top places in the world for roller coaster enthusiasts.

I’ve always had sort of a love-hate relationship with roller coasters.  I’ve always loved them but they didn’t love me so much.

While growing up, my best friend lived two doors away from me.  We were inseparable (we are still best friends, though we live about an hour apart) and one of the things I looked forward to every year was going to Cedar Point.  His mom always took him as part of a group of families who went, all centered around a hair salon that she had once worked at.  There were a lot of kids around the same age, and since his older sister didn’t usually want to go, we always managed so that I could tag along.   actually loved these trips because it was a couple of days with my best friend.  And, at a roller coaster park!  We’d always stay overnight so on top of it there was the hotel pool, and once we hit puberty, there was the ‘developing’ girl that was part of one of the other families.  Yeah for adolescence.

I loved going to the park and loved riding the rides.  I’ll never forget going the year (1989) they opened the Magnum, which at the time was the tallest roller coaster in the world.  At 200 feet, this was like nothing else ever seen.  We waited in line for probably three hours to ride this, staring in awe at the then-giant hill.  It’s one of the last truly great chain-pulled roller coasters, meaning that once we got on, that click-click-click during the ten minutes (or so it seemed) of climbing that hill gave true meaning to the term anticipation.

They topped that height mark easily with some of the other coasters and rides they put in.  Millennium Force hit the mark right around (you guessed it) the new millennium, topping out at around 300’.  To get that high, they couldn’t use chains and you go up the hill a lot faster (without the clicks).  The upside is that it’s a much smoother ride.

Top Thrill Dragster hit a few years ago, and was a ‘launch’ roller coaster that went up over 400’.  We were in our 30’s then but driving into the parking lot and seeing this thing was a sight to behold.  It launches you at over 90MPH within three seconds, pushing you up the hill and straight down the other side.

There have been others, and for a long time they had the distinction of having the most roller coasters of any park. They’ve since taken a few older ones down, so they are now second or third on the list, but it’s still a great place for roller coaster lovers.

As I said, I have a love-hate relationship with them.  The problem I always ran into is that I would inevitably get sick.  I am self-diagnosing here but I used to have a ton of inner ear infections when I was a kid, and I think that I have issues with my balance and such, which roller coaster riding always got me.  I’d be fine with the first one or two, start getting nauseated as the day went on, and as much as I loved the roller coasters, I was always forced to stop riding them earlier in the day than the group I was with.   (One of the most embarrassing moments of my life was when I got pushed into riding ‘just one more’ and threw up while the ride was still in motion.  I still blame my aforementioned best friend; I was not enjoying the ride but felt I would have made it to the end until he looked at me and announced as loud as he could ‘He’s Going To Be Sick!’ At which point I was.  Those poor, poor people behind me).

For some reason, I never thought to use motion sickness medicine until I was in my 20’s.  I tried out some Dramamine and it worked.  Like a charm.  By then, the trips were less frequent, but they were a lot more fun.

We hadn’t gone in a while, so when an opportunity presented itself last Saturday (which also happened to be our wedding anniversary), Mrs. Beagle and I took it.  I’d read that it was a lightly attended day, as many people waited for ‘Hallo Weekends’ which started the following weekend .  We didn’t think we were going to make it due to some rain, but it cleared out before the morning, so we headed out.  And we weren’t disappointed as the weather was beautiful.  Cooler with partly cloudy skies.

We stopped to eat and like clockwork, I took my Dramamine a way before entering the park as was my new tradition.  Sure enough, predictions were true and the place was the least busy I’ve ever seen it.

This would be awesome.

Famous last words.

We knew how not busy it was when we got right onto Millennium Force, waiting less than fifteen minutes.  This has always been one of my favorite rides and even though it’s over ten years old, is still ranked one of the best in the country, which usually means long lines regardless of when you go.  So we went.

Because it’s not chain driven, it’s always been very smooth, not getting bumpy as many steel coasters did when they were chain driven.  I commented to Mrs. Beagle that it was a heck of a way to start the day.  Usually, with the park busy, we would start off on some of the smaller roller coasters, but didn’t need to today.

We rode the ride and it was definitely fun.   Definitely fast.  Definitely a heck of a way to start the day.

I said “Hmmm…that was fun but a little bumpier than I remember.”

Next we went on Maverick.  This opened five years ago, the last time we were actually there.  With it being brand new then and there always being kinks it’s first year, it was shut down the entire day in 2007 so we never made it on.  The only thing I knew about it is that it has a drop that is over 90 degrees, meaning you’re not just going straight down but actually more of an angle.  Sounded cool to me.

What I didn’t know is that the other defining fact was that the rest of the ride was twist and turns.  Lots of them.  Very smooth twists and turns but many twists and turns just the same.

My wife loved it but I came away definitely feeling it.  I figured all the twists and turns were hitting me harder than I thought.  I took a second Dramamine, figuring that it would combat what I had.

Next we went to Top Thrill Dragster.  After all, with the park not busy, why not hit the three most popular roller coasters right off the bat?  And, though I was feeling a little bit of motion sickness, I figured the second Dramamine, plus the fact that this didn’t do any real twisting or turning to speak of (it shoots you straight up and then comes straight back down…the entire thing lasts about 20 seconds), it couldn’t give me any motion sickness effects.

Wrong.

I came off feeling a bit sick.  Which was surprising because having ridden it many times over the years, this never happened.  It couldn’t.

We walked around for a bit, went on the antique cars and such, and decided to go on one of the really easy roller coasters, the Iron Dragon.  I figured the 45 minutes or so that I’d taken would help ‘clear my head’.  This seemed fine until the ride started and I instantly realized that, although it was easy, the ride swung from side to side.  This didn’t do me good at all.   After fifteen seconds, I just wanted it to be over.  I knew I wasn’t going to give a repeat performance of my previously mentioned embarrassment, but I knew I was lucky we hadn’t picked a longer ride!

When I got off the ride, my wife thought I would get sick right there on the spot.  I didn’t.  We walked over to a bench where I sat down.  It was touch and go, and I almost walked into a nearby bathroom, but managed to keep everything down.

Even so, I knew I was done for the day.  I was disappointed and Mrs. Beagle was disappointed.

For some reason, the Dramamine had failed me.  Come to find out, as you get older, your inner ears aren’t as strong as they were.  Since mine weren’t great to begin with, I guess the five years since I’d last been had taken their toll.   We ended up leaving the park after another hour.  Four short roller coaster rides in and my day was done.

When I still felt sick the next day, I knew that I had to call it quits.  For good. That was the first Sunday of NFL football, and I was forced to watch my beloved Lions huddled on a couch, dozing fitfully, finally rousing at the end long enough to cheer them on as they eeked out a win.

No more roller coasters for me.  I’ve read stories where people had long lasting effects from roller coasters, and I don’t want that to be me.

The second day after, I felt fine.  But to feel that way for over 24 hours after, that’s not a good feeling.  Even when I was a kid and would get feeling sick at the end of the day, I’d be fine as soon as we left the park and hit the hotel pool.  To feel sick over 24 hours later tells me that my body is telling me something.

And trust me, I’m going to listen.  I’m done.

It’s been fun, roller coasters, but it’s time I move on.  I’m sure you’ve got action and thrills and fun for many more people, but sadly, I will not be one of them.

Do you love or hate roller coasters?  If you’ve called it quits, what led you to stop riding?  What’s your favorite coaster?

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Watching The NFL In A Whole New Way

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Tonight kicks off the 2012-13 NFL season, as the Dallas Cowboys take on the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.  For the last few years, the opening game has always been on Thursday, but so as not to coincide with the convention acceptance speech, they moved it back a day.

Whatever.

But, this season will be a new experience for me.  Or at least one that I haven’t experienced in over ten years.

I started playing fantasy football around 2000 when everything started getting really popular online.  For the first couple of years, I played free leagues available through Yahoo, all with total strangers.  These were OK but they were pretty lame because:

  • You didn’t know anybody.  The leagues I joined were formed by people joining at that particular time, and when there were enough players, that started the draft.
  • Half the people didn’t bother.  After the draft, at least 2-3 people would never touch their team again, and another 2-3 would usually drop off.  This made things pretty frustrating.

In 2003, I was invited to play in a league by a friend who had another friend whom I’d met that ran the league.  Knowing two people was better than none, and everybody was active.  It was fun, but since most of the other guys knew each other through work, I was still the odd man out.

So, in 2004, a friend and I started talking and decided to form our own league.  We invited a bunch of friends, and soon enough we had ten of us, all who I knew personally.  I was the commissioner.  This draft and all of the others were held online.  In fact, that first year, I was down in Florida for a work assignment.

That league ran for eight seasons, until I finally decided to fold it at the end of last year.  After the first season, we actually added two more teams and ran with a dozen after that.  The best years were between 2005-07.  I never won but came as the runner-up in 2006 or 2007.  After 2008, the buddy that originated the idea ended up leaving the league under not-so great circumstances.  A couple of other people left along the way.  While I always found replacements, they were never as close of friends as those who departed.  The ‘chatter’ of the league message board also died off throughout the years.  People all maintained their teams, but a lot of the ‘fun’ had gone out of it.

When another really close friend announced he was leaving, that made up my mind to shut it down.  Because a lot of the ‘fun’ had gone out of it, I decided to shut it down, and let everybody know around May that we wouldn’t be continuing.  This let people have plenty of time to find new leagues, should they still want to play.  Some people were upset, but I know it was the right decision.  I also was ready to stop being a commissioner.  Putting everything together, managing the money and payouts, settling conflicts, and calming tempers was all part of the job.  The unpaid job.

But, it’s definitely going to change the way I watch the NFL.  When you have a fantasy football team, you watch games and stats based on the guys you have on your team.  There’s no getting around it.  You’ll get mad when a guy on your bench scores a TD and you didn’t start him.  You will see the stat ticker and realize that your opponent for the week had the guy that had a 4 touchdown game.

I realized that in many cases I stopped rooting for actual NFL teams, but was instead rooting on who I had on my team.  I always root for my hometown team, the Detroit Lions, but even then, when your fantasy opponent had Calvin Johnson on his team, cheering for one of his touchdowns still had a touch of bittersweetness.

I’m excited to get back to actually rooting for and against teams.  The Jets.  I hate them.  Same with the Packers, Bears, and Vikings.  After all, they are in our division, you have to root against them.  Before, I still held those allegiances but would still be OK with cheering a Packers TD if I happened to get the fantasy points from it.

I can see myself getting back into fantasy football after a year or two.  Not as a commissioner.  I’m done with those days.  But, for now, I’m actually looking forward to the break.  And to seeing football in a whole new light!

Do you play fantasy football?  How does fantasy football cloud your perspective when watching games and rooting for and against teams?

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The Real Money Beagle?

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Paula at Afford Anything sent over a link to a story that shows that there might just be a real live money beagle!  Maybe his owner reads him my blog!

Do I have competition? :)

Enjoy the link, hopefully it gets a laugh, I know it got one from me (thanks, Paula).  I’m off until Tuesday for the Labor Day weekend.  Hopefully you’re enjoying the last weekend of summer!

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Minor League Baseball Games Are Fun And Cheap

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Last week, my dad and a couple of his friends organized an annual get-together where they go to a baseball game. This time, they chose to go to a minor league game about an hour and a half away (the Lansing Lugnuts).  They invited me as well as the son of one of the other guys, so it ended up being the five of us.

In all my years, I have never been to a minor league game before.  And, I have to admit it was pretty cool.

We went on a Monday night so it was pretty lightly attended.  There was maybe 1,000 people in attendance.  Our tickets were in the front row along the first base line.  The field was pretty close to the seats so we had to be pretty watchful for foul balls (and the two teams seemed to hit a lot that night).

That was pretty light attendance, though the other guy around my age, who lives in the city, said that Thursday nights are pretty popular, because they have $2 beers.

Which leads me to my other point.  It can be pretty cheap.

The tickets were much cheaper.  One of my dads friends ended up getting the tickets and wouldn’t accept money, but they were $10 apiece.  The ‘regular’ price of a beer was $6.  These are much cheaper prices than at Comerica Park, which is where our major league Detroit Tigers pay.  Comparable seats would run at least $30 and the beers there, I believe are at least $8.

(And, they don’t have $2 beer nights…probably not since the 1980′s!)

We found a spot on the street to park about two blocks from the stadium, and the meters weren’t enforced after 6pm, so parking was free.  Tell me the last time that ever happened attending a major league game?

The drive is a little long, as I said, about an hour and a half.  Otherwise, I think it would be great fun for Little Boy Beagle.  A major league park is almost too overwhelming, and let’s face it, at his age, his attention span isn’t all that great, so he’d get just as much out of a minor league game as he would out of seeing the ‘Lansing Lugnuts’ play.

The game itself was entertaining.  They were playing single-A ball, which if you follow baseball, you know is about the lowest tier of the minor leagues that there is.  Loosely translated, it means that it’s full of guys who are either just getting started or who definitely aren’t talented enough to make it to the major leagues.  There were a combined five or six errors, not very good pitching, but this led to a pretty good amount of hitting (sixteen runs in total), and hits always spark excitement.

It’s a pretty laid back atmosphere, and the people there seem to enjoy themselves.  The weather was (as is probably the theme of the summer) hot but not really that bad.  The stadium is 16 years old, but honestly, looks almost brand new.

Unfortunately, because we have a major league team, this (as well as Toledo, the AAA affiliate for the Tigers) is the closest we can get as far as going to see a minor league game.  The owners of the major league teams don’t want minor league teams to draw ticket sales and such away.

If it were a bit closer, I’d probably go a little more regularly.  If you’re in an area where you have a local minor league team, I would definitely advise checking it out.  Chances are you can walk up and get tickets (avoiding service fees), but if you do, the games can be entertaining, the crowds lighter, and the concessions cheaper.

It’s definitely worth checking out!

Have you been to a minor league baseball game?  What’d you think?

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