Outdoor Kitchens: The Wave of the Future!

The outdoor kitchen has really come a long way. A good friend of mine just had one installed on his backyard deck and it’s really great, with high-tech appliances and awesome functionality. It’s got a state-of-the-art grill, a refrigerator, a kegger, some incredible track lighting, a full wet bar and much more. The outdoor kitchen is the new wave of the future and is really worth looking into.

Shaking One for the Home Team

CBS NFL analyst Charlie Casserly reported on yesterday’s pregame show that the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams last week informing them that home teams are not allowed to tell their cheerleaders to warm up, stretch, or otherwise do anything in front of the visiting team's bench that might distract the players before the game.Apparently there were concerns around the league that some teams had specifically told their cheerleading units to warm up prior to the game right in front of the visiting team, in hopes that the visiting team's players would be too distracted checking out the cheerleaders to pay attention to their coaches' pregame instructions.

“Some of the girls were getting a little too close to the visiting teams,” said Perky Areolas, head cheerleader consultant and official pom-pom inspector for the NFL. “There were actually a couple lap dances going on. We found dollar bills in some of the ladies’ cheering shorts, which is highly inappropriate.”

Some cheerleaders were also allegedly wearing tiny microphones in their tight-fitting outfits and asking opposing players to divulge plays and formations. “We were just doing what the coaches told us to do,” an anonymous NFL cheerleader said. “I was able to get a little bit of one team’s game plan out of a rookie who couldn’t keep his eyes off of my undulating breasts. Hey, if it gives our guys an advantage, we’ll do whatever it takes.” There has been no word on whether it's legal to videotape the opposing team's cheerleaders. “This is getting crazy,” said one unnamed NFL official. “Pretty soon they’re going to make the cheerleaders wear burlap sacks so that they don’t distract people. Hey, they’re cheerleaders. If they’re not distracting folks, they’re not doing their job!”

(Portions of this article cam from aol.com, while others are pure fiction provided for entertainment purposes only.)

What's Up Dog!

I found a great little place in San Francisco that does one of my favorite foods right. I’m talking about hot dogs – those wonderfully flavorful little meat sausages that bring me indescribable joy. A good hot dog reminds me of so many things from my childhood – going to baseball games with my family, summer picnics, hanging out at the beach. One time I ate 14 hot dogs and won a contest in college. I got really sick later, but I didn’t care.

The restaurant that I’m talking about is called What’s Up Dog! Owned and operated by a couple of hard-working young guys in San Francisco’s trendy Union Street district, What’s Up Dog! is a hot dog lover’s dream.

They have 13 links/sausages to choose from – from your basic hot dog all the way to gourmet sausages like kielbasa, Italian sausage, Louisiana hot links, bratwursts and more. Then, they feature 12 customer favorites, consisting of classic dogs, produce and condiment combinations that will have you waxing nostalgic. Some of these include the Chicago Style, the New York Style, the Texas Dog and the North Beach Dog. They even have some unusual selections like the BLT Wrap Dog, the Pastrami Dog (I can go for pastrami on anything, so why not my dog?), and a Four Cheese Dog. My favorite (and I’ve tried most of them) is the incredible Southern Dog, with chili and cole slaw. The chili at What’s Up Dog is awesome – full of meat and flavor. Throw in the creamy cole slaw and you have one amazing dog.

They grill all their hot dogs at What's Up Dog! which is the way to go. I used to like my hot dogs boiled, and I had a very intense argument about the concept of boiled vs. grilled a long time ago with a good friend. But, as I got older, I began to realize that grilling a dog brings out the flavor and is really the only way to go.

What’s Up Dog! also has sandwiches if you’re all dogged out, featuring things like hot pastrami, rib-eye steak, meatball and grilled chicken. They also have great French fries, chili/cheese fries, garlic fries, onion rings, and get this – bacon cheese fries! These guys are my kind of people – they’ll put chili and bacon on just about anything.

One of the main things I like about What’s Up Dog! are the buns. A great dog can be ruined if the bread surrounding it isn’t perfect. And, believe me, WUD! has the ideal buns – large, soft and delectable.

What’s Up Dog! is located at 2211 Filbert Street at Fillmore, San Francisco, CA 94123.
You can phone in your order ahead of time at (415) 776-DOGS (3647). To take a look at their extensive menu, visit their web site at http://www.whatsupdog.com/.

Bonds Will Be Giant No More

Barry Bonds will not be a San Francisco Giant next year. Who he’ll be playing for is unknown, but one thing is certain – the man has worn out his welcome in the City by the Bay. After breaking Hank Aaron’s career home run record and having a mediocre season this year by Bonds’ standards, Barry will be looking for a job. It’s been a long run for him in San Francisco, the team he’ll always be associated with after his career is long over.

A lot of fans are saying that Giants Owner Peter Magowan is abandoning Bonds after his team benefited from all the fame, press and added attendance that came with the home run record chase. That’s a bunch of nonsense. Bonds was paid very well and if anything, the Giants could have sprung him last winter but didn’t out of loyalty for what Barry did for the team in the past.

Logically, Bonds will be going to a team in the American League, where he can DH and put his glove in storage -- which is a good thing, considering he’s lost a few steps in the outfield, where he was definitely a liability for the Giants this season.

And what team in its right mind will want to pay Bonds the big bucks he will no doubt be demanding? The Yankees? (Steinbrenner will love the press he’ll get) The Angels? (Bonds will fit right in at Disneyland) Or how about a small market team like the Royals or the Devil Rays where he can be a big fish in a small pond? Other stars played their last seasons on lesser-known teams. Babe Ruth ended his career as a Boston Brave and Aaron finished off playing for the Milwaukee Brewers. Maybe Barry would like to fade off into the sunset on a team that will adore him just for who he is.

This appeared on aol.com sports last night:

The Giants told Bonds they will not bring him back next season, ending a 15-year run in which he set the single-season and all-time home run records and became a lightning rod for the steroids debate in baseball."It's always difficult to say goodbye," Giants owner Peter Magowan said Friday. "It's an emotional time for me. We've been through a lot together these 15 years. A lot of good things have happened. Unfortunately a lot of bad things have happened. But there comes a time when you have to go in a different direction."On his Web site, Bonds said he wasn't done."There is more baseball in me and I plan on continuing my career. My quest for a World Series ring continues," he said.The 43-year-old Bonds did not join Magowan and general manager Brian Sabean at the news conference. Asked whether he had anything to add, Bonds said, "I already made my statement."Bonds had always said he wanted to finish his career in the comfort of his hometown, where his father, Bobby, played alongside his godfather, Willie Mays. Bonds talked with Giants Hall of Famer Willie McCovey and took batting practice in the cage before Friday night's game against Cincinnati.Bonds hasn't played since Sept. 15 because of a sprained right big toe and was out of the lineup again. Manager Bruce Bochy said he thought Bonds could play this weekend. The Giants' final homestand ends Wednesday night.Magowan said he and Sabean recently decided about Bonds' future. Magowan personally told Bonds in a 90-minute meeting during Thursday night's game against Cincinnati."I think he knew the decision was coming," Magowan said. "I don't think it was surprising to him. I think, naturally, he was disappointed, maybe somewhat saddened," Magowan said. "But he was really very respectful."Bonds broke Hank Aaron's record with his 756th home run on Aug. 7. Bonds helped revitalize a struggling franchise that nearly moved to Florida before he signed with the Giants as a free agent in December 1992.Bonds has spent the past 15 seasons of his 22-year big league career with the Giants. Re-signed as a free agent in the offseason, he made $19.3 million in a one-year contract, including $3.5 million in bonuses.Shadowed by steroid speculation for the past few years, Bonds has hit 28 homers this season, raising his career total to 762. The seven-time NL MVP is batting .279 with 66 RBIs and a major league-leading 132 walks."He can still play," Sabean said. "He's still one of the biggest threats of any No. 4 hitter in the National League."Prior to the toe injury, he had been mostly healthy, playing 125 games. The left fielder has 2,935 career hits and has said that reaching 3,000 is a goal of his."This is a guy who plays every day and is still leading the National League in some league categories, which is amazing," teammate Barry Zito said. "He's really done special things this year being at the age that he is. If Barry has the opportunity to go be a DH somewhere I'm sure that's only going to prolong his career."Despite Bonds' personal achievements, the season has been a disappointing one for the Giants, who are mired deep in last place in the NL West."We've heard for a long time that the Giants are an old team and want to get younger, so we're not surprised," said Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris. "Barry is their oldest player, but qualitatively, he's their best player.""He's still planning on playing next year, irrespective of whether it's an AL or NL team," he said.

Van Halen Hits The Road Once More!

They’re baaaaaaaack! Van Halen is going on tour again, this time with a vengeance. David Lee Roth is back, and the bass player is history (Eddie’s son has replaced him), but the band is back together and hitting the road. I first saw Mammoth (the band that later became Van Halen) at a dance at St. Francis High School in 1974. David Lee Roth was just as obnoxious as he is today, and Eddie Van Halen was awesome even back then. This should be a great tour, so if Van Halen comes to your town, the Van Halen tour is a must-see!

Are Your Office Desks The Very Best?

A good office desk is vital to the operational success of a company within a structured internal office environment. If your company is currently using poor quality, sub-standard office desks, this is possibly why your organization is not operating at peak levels. Things like company morale, efficiency and productivity can all be adversely affected by office desks that are not the very best.

Creakiness Rears It's Ugly Head

As I get closer to 50, my joints are screaming and creaking just like this old house I live in in San Francisco. It happens as you get older, what can I say? That’s why I was very interested in finding out more about osteoarthritis relief, on a web site called http://www.naturalformulations.net/. These people know a lot about natural remedies and their site is just amazing. We all get a little creakier as we get older, but if there are natural remedies out there, why not check them out?

The Newest TV Sensation: "Kid Nation"

"Kid Nation," the CBS reality show that fanned concerns about child endangerment and exploitation, subjected its young stars to nothing more dramatic than homesickness and a pulled muscle in its debut episode. Whether viewers were entertained by Wednesday's hour - in which the most thrilling line was "We got the Port-A-Potties. Yeah!" Whether or not this show is any good remains to be seen, but we watched last night’s opening episode and it was great! It’s awesome to see children thinking for themselves, being team players and leading others, in some cases. To see these children step up and do their part in the running of what was previously a ghost town was amazing.

As a reality TV show, there is no doubt that the storylines will be manipulated and contrived, but hopefully the adults behind the camera won’t spoil it for the kids.

In the first episode, one of the very first things the producers did was split the kids into four groups. This way, they get to experience the early stages of being in a gang. They also gave them access (although they have to pay for it with the wages they earn working at different jobs) to lots of candy and soda. This way they can also become familiar with another modern-day phenomenon – childhood diabetes.

One little girl wanted to buy a bike at the town’s kiddy general store, so she danced in the street to get tips. A future stripper, perhaps? And one 10-year-old girl announced, “I don’t do dishes. I am a beauty queen!” Sounds like my fiancée!

Filmed over 40 days during April and May in a movie-set ghost town in the high desert just south of Santa Fe, N.M., "Kid Nation" gathered 40 children ages 8 to 15 and gave them the task of organizing and running their own lives. From the start, the kids are put through the physical and emotional wringer. They're told to drag supply wagons through the desert, while the youngest ones confront fears of being isolated and away from their families.

"I think I'm gonna die out here 'cuz there's nothing," one 8-year-old frets as "Kid Nation" gets the party started. "There's no President Bush. There's nothing," observes another dispirited youngster.

Kids say the darndest things. Oh, wait, that show aired with Bill Cosby nearly a decade ago, based on a 1950s Art Linkletter idea; consider this the modern version, with reality-show trappings galore to make it exciting for today's presumably jaded young set and, CBS hopes, their parents. CBS kept the finished product under wraps and away from critics, allowing media speculation and criticism to help promote the show. There were allegations that the production may have skirted New Mexico's child-protection laws and that youngsters faced unsafe conditions, which CBS and the show's producer denied.

No injuries other than the muscle pull were shown Wednesday. But one mother has complained to authorities that her daughter was splattered with cooking grease and that four other children accidentally drank bleach during production. The show confirmed that the incidents occurred but said first aid was immediately provided. Parents and children made available by CBS praised the production as a safe, well-supervised learning experience. As the "Kid Nation" kids begin to organize in the premiere episode, guided by the alternately comforting and menacing host Jonathan Karsh (he warns them of "rough" times ahead), rewards emerge in forms any red-blooded American child would treasure: candy, soda pop and the possibility of a TV set.

When the pint-sized four-member town council wisely picks outhouses over the television set, supplementing the one toilet that had been serving the town, the rest of the group breathes a collective sigh of relief.

Besides goodies they can buy with their earnings from chores, the kids compete for a weekly solid-gold star, worth $20,000, that goes to the most deserving child. At least there's the prospect of college funds getting a boost. Time will tell if the show gives CBS' Wednesday night ratings an ongoing boost.

(Portions of this story were taken from AP and CBS.com)

On the Road Again

I'll be on the road for both business and pleasure until next week, my friends -- but when I return, you can bet that I'll be back bloggin' and hopin' and Living Life on the Edge once more.

Takin' It Down to Dog Town