I'm breaking the streak at Day No. 2,055

After 2,055 consecutive days of blogging, I'm taking a break.  Tomorrow, for the first time since March 2, 2011, I'm not posting anything on LucidSportsFan.com.

I originally started this site at the suggestion of someone who enjoyed my sports takes on Facebook.  A good friend of mine urged me to write something "at least once a day," so I stuck with that philosophy.  I soon discovered that I might be able to use it as a tool to help me pursue a career outside of bartending (which I officially announced my retirement from on Thursday).  Because of this blog, I was gradually able to write for (and later edit/manage) bigger and bigger sites until I eventually built up a legitimate resume.  Throughout that time, daily posts on LucidSportsFan.com were what kept me motivated.

In a week, I'll be starting a new full-time job as Creative Copywriter for WHOOP.  I can't say for sure what my plan is for the blog going forward, but I do know that it's time to take a day off.


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Everybody figured everything out way too quickly on "Fear the Walking Dead"

In The Walking Dead, it took quite some time before the characters were anything but 100-percent terrified of the zombies (and why don't they call them zombies, by the way?).  But after several years, everyone still alive finally seems to know what they're doing.  The zombies are no longer the primary concern--people have all learned how to handle them at this point.  Other humans are now the greatest danger.

However, in Fear the Walking Dead, the writers decided to hand over many seasons worth of Walking Dead knowledge and experience to the new cast basically right from the start (I guess they assumed that since the viewers already have this information maybe the show wouldn't work if the characters didn't have it too?).  After only a handful of Fear episodes, everybody is walking around all bad-ass, covered in dead blood and killing zombies with their bare hands.

I don't like it.


RELATED: 'Why don't they have bicycles?' and other similar questions about 'The Walking Dead'


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Presidential debate moderators need more power--how about a mute button?

The moderators in presidential debates should have the ability to stop the candidates from speaking when their time is up, and also force them to actually answer the questions that are asked.  Here's the best available solution in my book:

Moderators of political debates should have the option of silencing the mic like they do on @AroundtheHorn.

— Taylor C. Snow (@taylorcsnow) September 27, 2016

A couple other possibilities I'd also support:

- The candidates' microphones could mute automatically for 10 seconds after their allotted time has run out.
- In addition to a moderator-controlled mute button, how about a black curtain that pops up and hides the candidate from our view?  That way, when they fail to answer a question they can be muted and/or blocked from sight until the do.


UPDATE:
Around the Horn host Tony Reali clearly read this blog and decided to voice his agreement on Twitter:

pic.twitter.com/Mjor0EiloW

— Tony Reali (@TonyReali) October 10, 2016

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Does the meat on this sandwich look good to you?

I am not a fan of pork belly.  Some people love it, but I don't understand the enjoyment of eating a giant glob of fat.  Having said that, I feel like the pork belly in this Arby's sandwich has to look fairly unappealing even to those who do appreciate pork belly.

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I need to be able to send myself email from my brain

Most of my best ideas come when I am doing one of the following three things: Jogging, showering, or lying in bed trying to fall asleep.  I guess that makes sense though, since those are the occasions that my brain is unoccupied and free to wander.

However, it's a sad irony that those are also the times that it's most difficult for me to make note of these inspirations.  Solution?  I need to be able to send myself an email directly from my brain.  Then when I wake up/get out of the shower/get home, there it is, sitting in my gmail inbox.

That should be doable, right?  I mean, it looks like people first started figuring out how to send emails between brains back in 2014, and I don't even need to get my messages into a second brain.


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Memo to Toronto Blue Jays: Two locker-room celebrations in three days is weak sauce

The Blue Jays celebrated clinching a playoff berth on the final day of the season Sunday with a champagne-soaked celebration in the visitors' locker room at Fenway Park:

On Tuesday, two days later, Toronto beat Baltimore in the Wild Card Game to advance to the American League Division Series--and then went through the entire ordeal again:

New t-shirts.  Probably new goggles as well.  And a whole bunch more champagne.

I get it the first time--you're celebrating the success of a 162-game season.  But seriously, what's different about your mindset 48 hours later?  "Woo-hoo!  We haven't been eliminated from the playoffs since we qualified two days ago!  Let's get nuts!"  I have to think some of the players must have been thinking "Seriously?  Are we actually going to do this again?  Do I really have to put on all that stupid crap and get soaked in booze for the second time in three days?"

This reminds me of that episode of How I Met Your Mother where Ted throws a party so he can hang out with Robin, but when she doesn't show up he hosts one the next night too, then the night after that also:



The postseason continues for the Blue Jays in Texas at 4:30 pm Thursday.  Hopefully they can still play after two days of partying.


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How awesome is this hypercolor chameleon car?

I jogged by this spectacular hypercolor-looking car today (Miami Vice might also be a good description):

As I passed by it, I realized the colors were changing.  In the above photo, the side of the car is blue.  From the slightly different angle pictured below, it's purple:

It's a chameleon!  I need one of these, stat.

On a related note, it might be time for me to add a blog category (check them out, listed on the right side of the page) labelled "Weird cars I see while jogging at Castle Island in South Boston."

Previous examples:
Why would this guy take "professional" pictures of himself wearing a tux in front of a Porsche?
What's going on with this creepy spy van?
What do you make of this "Navy SEAL" car?
Have you ever seen a padlock on a car door?


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What if the NBA eliminated the short three-pointer in the corner?

Three-pointers are taking over the NBA.  Consider this: In 2014-15, Steph Curry set an all-time league record with 286.  A year later he hit 402, breaking his previous mark by over 40 percent.

There are those who think this sudden three-point barrage is ruining the game and that something must be done about it.  The obvious fix is to move back the three-point arc (suggested by Grantland in 2014 and again by FiveThirtyEight this year).  However, that'd be a drastic change which would forever alter the record books.

I'd like to propose an alternative idea:

Take away the closer line in the corner instead.  The NBA's three-point arc is 23'9" inches from the rim, except for by the sideline where it's is only 22 feet away.  I've never understood this.  Why did the league decide it was essential for players to be able shoot threes by the baseline in the first place?  What's wrong with having the arc continue at its regular distance until it hits the sideline?

There are many players who've become proficient at the corner three who can't hit from the normal distance.  Guys like Curry also make the shorter three at particularly absurd rates (sidebar--if the league had adopted my plan prior to the 2012-13 season Ray Allen never would've hit the shot that saved LeBron James' career).  Eliminating the 22-foot three-pointer could cut down on the skyrocketing number of threes made without fundamentally changing the rules of the game.


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"Acknowledgement of Intent to Proceed" is the dumbest form ever

Among the 46 pages (that's not a joke) necessary fill out and sign when applying for a home loan in Massachusetts, there is one called "Acknowledgement of Intent to Proceed."  Its purpose is to confirm that in the process of applying for a mortgage, you do in fact intend to apply for a mortgage.

Seriously.

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I don't want a "man cave," what's cool about a cave?

What's wrong with a man balcony?

I've seen/heard the term "man cave" referenced in a lot of commercials lately, as if it's some amazing feature that every guy should try to incorporate into his house.  I get the premise and where the origin comes from--usually the basement or garage is the excess room available to do whatever you want with.

The thing is, fundamentally, caves are pretty terrible.  They're dark, windowless holes below ground.  Why would I want to hang out there?  I'll take a "man roof-top balcony with an ocean view" instead, please.  Sure, building a waterfront vista into your home can be difficult, but I'd still prefer some sunlight and a tree or two rather than a cave.

I guess my point is "man cave" is a dumb expression and I wish we used something else.  Also, it's always nice to be able to see outside.


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Could you eat this avocado-bun burger?

Taste-wise, I think this thing would be awesome:

People are using avocados as "burger buns": https://t.co/fF7sYOfY2Y pic.twitter.com/68BwaVVbRM

— Kari Van Horn (@KariVanHorn) August 8, 2016

However, you might as well just put the burger on the plate with an avocado next to it because there is no possible way to pick that up and take a bite.  In terms of stability, you'd have much better odds of pulling it off with the onion slice on top and the burger patty on the bottom.  Avocado would still come squirting out, but at least you'd have a fighting chance.  As is, it'd be like trying to eat an ice cream cone without a cone.


RELATED: Could you eat this cucumber sandwich?


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How long before somebody invents carrot-celery?

I saw this truck yesterday waiting in line to get on the Martha's Vineyard ferry.  I know those things pictured on the back are carrots with the leaves cut off at a certain length, but what do they really look like?

How about some sort of hybrid half-carrot/half-celery?  Imagine how great that would be?  That's probably an even better idea than strawberries with mint flavored leaves.

I googled Gordon Food Service, and even though there's no mention of them being on the cutting edge of genetic engineering in terms of splicing vegetables together, I'm sure they're just keeping that side of the business quiet pending FDA approval.


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Would you wake up and go to school if David Ortiz told you to? (Papi could've helped Seinfeld's runner friend)

The Red Sox and Boston Public Schools have partnered on an initiative that will allow middle and high school students to receive wake-up calls from David Ortiz in an attempt to fight chronic absenteeism.  Here's the recording of Big Papi's voice that will play when kids answer their cell phones in the morning:



I think this is a great idea that's really easy to implement with hardly any overhead cost, so there's nothing to lose.  But, I'm also not sure how effective it'll be long-term.  I think the first day Papi called me I'd be pumped and jump right out of bed. (Which is why Seinfeld could've really used this to help out Jean-Paul):



However, by Week 2 I'm not even answering the phone anymore.  Here's an idea for BPS: Try to get as many celebs (or even quasi-celebs like local news people, etc.) as possible to volunteer, then switch up the person who calls on a regular basis.  I bet students would be a lot more eager to listen to the recording if it was a surprise who they might hear.



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Lottery tickets make convenience stores very inconvenient

When I go into convenience stores, I'm usually in a bit of a hurry.  More often than not, it's just a quick stop while I'm on the way to somewhere else.  That's what they're designed for, hence the name.  However, one aspect of them is decidedly inconvenient--the person who somehow always seems to be standing in front of me at the counter buying lottery tickets.

I honestly believe that roughly 50 percent of the total time I spend in 7-Eleven, Cumberland Farms, Tedeschi's, etc. is just waiting in line behind somebody getting lotto tickets.  Why do there have to be so many different kinds of scratch tickets anyways?  And why do the people purchasing them care so much about which ones they get?  The conversation with the store clerk usually goes something like this:

"I'll take two of those, on the top.  No, no, those--to the left.  Yeah.  And four of those, down at the bottom.  Not there, there.  Yeah, OK.  No, four of them.  OK, also two of that one over there.  No, there.  Yeah.  How much is that?  But I thought this one was $3?  It's $5?  OK, never mind, put those two back and get me one of that one in the middle instead.  No that one.  Yeah."

By now I've already drank the coffee I made for my trip to work and am debating just leaving without paying for it.


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What if the party conventions swapped audiences? Democrats speaking to Republicans and visa versa

I don't pay too much attention to politics, but after watching a bit of both the Republican and Democratic conventions I've come to the conclusion that there is something fundamentally silly about both of them.  In each case, the speakers are "preaching to the choir" for the most part.

They don't need to sell the audiences on what they're saying--the people listening already agree with them.  I feel like the goal of the speakers should be to try to convince the undecided's to swing their way and target the opposites party's less supportive members, not appeal to the masses of their own party.

So even though I thought this video was kind of cool (I love the song, and the Pitch Perfect style of it), I doubt it's going to win over many Republicans who aren't that enamored with their candidate:



Try filling the Democratic convention with a Republican audience and visa versa.  I'd love to hear the kind of speeches we'd get then...


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I'd like to see a genetically engineered strawberry with mint flavored leaves

I had this idea while prepping the bar the other day for strawberry mojitos.  First, I was ripping the useful mint leaves off the stalk, then I was slicing the useless strawberry leaves off the fruit.  Bingo.

Once somebody genetically engineers a strawberry with mint-flavored leaves, bartenders will be able to just throw the whole thing in the glass and start muddling.  And that's just option one--we've got a blackberry-basil margarita on the menu that could be easier to make as well...

If they can already put any flavor in the world in soda water (or jelly beans), this sort of technology can't be that far away, right?


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Why do banks have thermometers?

I just devoted roughly five minutes of internet research to this subject and didn't find anything even remotely close to an explanation, so clearly the answer to my question isn't obvious.  What is the connection between banks and large digital clocks/thermometers?  Who started the trend?  For what reason?  Why did it catch on?

I'm guessing it has to do with banks as a source of information, but that's only a half-baked theory and I know I'm missing something.

Also, why did it take me 30-odd years to first wonder about this?



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I'll pass on Summer Ale popsicles (even though they do sound kind of good)

I will say this--these things actually look pretty tasty and this is definitely a solid marketing attempt by Sam Adams:

Cool down with an ice cold #SummerAle BREWsicle!

Get the simple recipe here: https://t.co/bvGFT8lZAG pic.twitter.com/ONbayCTCD8

— Samuel Adams Beer (@SamuelAdamsBeer) July 6, 2016

However, there are two major flaws with the recipe (click the link above):

1.  It requires juicing a bunch of lemons and grapefruits, as well as shaving zest from the peels.  I'm guessing the type of person with a kitchen set up to juice and zest fresh fruit is generally not the type of person interested in beer-sicles.  It reminds me of this graphic (and the accompanying blog) from three years ago:

2.  If I'm making boozy popsicles out of lemons and grapefruits (with a bunch of sugar too), Summer Ale would not be my liquor of choice to add.  Vodka seems like a much more efficient and cost-effective option.

Here's my alternate suggestion for you, Sam Adams: Put the fresh juice and lemon zest in the beer yourself and brew a nice grapefruit summer shandy.  I'll buy a ton of those.


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A bathroom door opener for your feet is a pretty solid idea

I saw this thing in a restaurant bathroom for the very first time the other day, and I'm honestly shocked that they're not everywhere.

This seems like such a no-brainer.  Nobody wants to touch the doorknob of a public restroom after washing their hands.  I'm sure there's also a huge percentage of the population that has serious anxiety about it.

Problem solved.

It worked fairly well in my first-ever field test, although I could definitely envision it being difficult for some people to use with a heavy door.


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What's going on with this guy watching fireworks inside a bubble?

Sorry the photo isn't better, was afraid to get too close.

While taking in some July 4th (actually on the 2nd) fireworks on a crowded beach the other night, one man was 100-percent determined not to get any bug bites.  His solution was this single-person chair-shaped clear tent (pictured).  The funny thing was, when the fireworks started he didn't look up from his phone the whole time, so he might as well have just sat at home in his weird little bubble.

Something else I can't figure out--what's the intended purpose of this contraption anyway?  I can't imagine there's much of a market for transparent solo tents to protect yourself from insects during fireworks shows.

Could it be for watching sporting events in the rain?  That reminds of the absurd "Forever Lazy" infomercial that tries to convince you it's OK to wear their adult onesie pajamas to football games.


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