Kevin's Blogarrhea

Pacific Rim Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 01:48:00 +0000

Pacific Rim is the story of a future Earth that has been under attack for many years by an alien race that enters our planet through a rift at the bottom of the Pacific. We get the history of this in the first 15 minutes, then enter the story at a time where the world has, paraphrasing the movie's tagline, built monsters to fight monsters. The world has built giant robots (called Jaegers, German for 'Hunters'), controlled buy two pilots who connect via a neural bridge to control the giant machines from within, and go to war with these monsters (called Kaiju, Japanese for 'Monsters') when they enter our world. This has been effective up until this point. From there, we watch as our heroes fight to save our Earth from attack while simultaneously try to close the rift in the Pacific. It stars Charlie Hunnam (the gang leader from Green Street Hooligans), Idris Elba, Charlie Day (from It's Always Sunny), Ron Perlman, and others, and is directed by Guillermo del Toro.

This movie was SO much fun. It was a movie that I didn't have much advanced info on before going, so I had really no expectations. What I experienced was the type of movie that is just a ton of fun from start to finish. Watching these giant human brain-powered robots fight these alien monsters that were ever growing in size and threat was incredibly fun. Like 10 year old giddy type of fun. Now there were many reasons for that. The next two paragraphs are going to be my likes and dislikes, starting with dislikes.

There are always issues when you invent a new reality on film, which is what Guillermo del Toro did in this movie. Hard to build the scope, hard to build the circumstances, hard to build the stakes, in a 2 hour movie. Those that can don't have the scope of this movie. Now, this has a good side (which comes next paragraph), but it left a lot of holes and a lot of questions that I felt you need to really be invested. The overarching plot was simple, but the micro-scenes, those that are there just to drive the story forward, were bad. There was a lot of cheesy dialogue, a lot of flimsy relationships forced on us, and really no character development that's worth a damn. The worst was when Idris Elba emerges from the Jaeger in Mako's memory. It was so cheesy, and simply there to show us his connection with her. I honestly think it would have been more powerful as a dialogue. That is one scene of many though, which luckily are far enough apart that the action can pull you right back in. It was also a bit scattered, but honestly, I chalk that up to just not having enough time to show everything, while wanting to.

Now, for the good. ALL of those negatives I just mentioned, the lack of substance, are ALL made up for with the positive aspects. Number one, the scope. This movie is perhaps on the largest scale I've ever seen. By that, I mean sheer size of what we are looking at. Plenty of movies have a broader universe, span more time, or have larger themes. However, this movie does a fantastic job of first establishing how big we are (humans), and then showing us how large these monsters and robots we've created are. We are first introduced to our first Jaeger (older model) and Kaiju (category 3), which are almost equal in size. We're told this is what we've been dealing with for years, and we are now very profiencient at besting these monsters when they appear. However, throughout the movie we are shown larger and larger Kaiju (up to a category 5, "the first ever") that come more frequent and in larger numbers. The helplessness we're supposed to feel is clear. The end is near, if we don't do something drastic. Enter the plan to close the rift, etc. Going along with the scope, the visuals are incredible. I would say 80% of this movie is visual effects, and they are SOLID. Easy Best Visual Effects Oscar coming to this movie this year. A marvel in visual effects, truly. The third piece of the scope and visuals puzzle is, of course, the action. Just pure fun. Orchestrated and directed in such a way that there wasn't any boring Power Ranger-style fight scenes, but there was enough action to get your knucles white. A few times I caught myself with my hands clenched like crazy. Now that leads me to the comic relief. Charlie Day plays a GREAT Jeff Goldblum in Independence Day. Just great. Hilarious the whole time. But when he's with Ron Perlman, those are some of the best scenes in the movie. It is well done to give you a little break but not too long where you're begging to get back to the action. I thought this movie was unique in a couple ways, also: first, it's a unique script, not based on source material or a sequel. There should be a round of applause for that right there, we need more ambitious, creative, original movies out there. Second, this is one of the first movies I can recall that shows a global crisis, which is then fought by the entire globe as one. All countries coming together to fight for the greater good. Not America saving the world (looking at you, Michael Bay), no competition among nations, just good old fashioned human race vs. the rest. I liked that. The last thing I will say, and this may be the thing that proved to me how much I liked the movie, is that I really want to know more about this universe. I want to know the backstory, how we built these things, the origin and progression through technology, how we came together as a world to build and fight these things. I want more! I will see sequels or prequels if they are made, in spite of my previous commendation of this being original and NOT a sequel.

In summary, I think this movie is as popcorn as it gets for all the right reasons. It's fun, it's unique, it's loud, it's exciting, it's got a huge scope, it looks great, and it's a pretty darn good movie to boot. Go see it on a Sunday afternoon and just enjoy yourself.

On the Reganometer, I give Pacific Rim an 8 out of 10.

Links: Trailer IMDB page Rotten Tomatoes Review page

Critical Drinking

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 00:33:00 +0000

One of the things I like most about doing Critical Drinking (besides the beer drinking part) is pretending to be critical about movies. I've always loved film, and the more I began to learn about it, the more I wanted to learn about it. This has been the perfect outlet to do that while also making light of the fact that I don't have any credibility to be doing so. The beer drinking and joking around allows me about 15-20 minutes of each 100-ish minute episode to talk seriously about movies while not pretending I should be. And that was enough for a while.

One of the reasons we have done episodes with movies like Salo, or the reason I've seen movies like Irreversible, Funny Games, and Antichrist while doing this, and actually LOVED them, is not because I'm some crazy, perverse lunatic (debatable), but rather because I recognize the larger context in which these movies are made and come to really respect them for what they are. Now that's not saying I'm some sophisticated cinephile who shits on major movies. Far from. I just came out of Pacific Rim (which I'll review in a bit), and really liked it. A lot of fun. But I like to think that seeing, respecting, and loving the afore mentioned movies elevates me above the folks who walk out of complete bullshit and say "that was good!" Movies like Grown Ups come to mind... But the films I mentioned before, the independent, disturbing, cerebral, beautiful flicks you would never catch in a major theater, are some of those where you really get to see a film crew at the top of their game. Strangely as it may be, you see top notch direction, cinematography, style, editing, writing, and all of those things. You see something that couldn't be done by your average Hollywood director. You get something that won't make $100M opening weekend. You see something artistic, something real, something that comes from passion and talent and vision. And sometimes it's fucked up.

Now, all of that braindump is illustrating my larger point here, which is that Critical Drinking has been enough for a while. Has. And my 140 character Twitter reviews have been enough for a while. But I realize I want another outlet to talk about movies a little bit more. Another avenue for getting my thoughts out on paper, even if just for me. So that's what this is going to be. I'm going to start writing movie reviews here, which I will title "... Movie Review" and tag with "Movie Review", and they will all be linked from the CD page as well.

Now, onto Pacific Rim.

I need a new outlet for my movie chatter

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 19:44:00 +0000

Hopefully by now, everyone is aware that for the past year or two, I've been doing a podcast called Critical Drinking. It all started when Ryan and I realized that one thing we did a lot of was drink beers and talk about movies. "Wouldn't it be fun to try a podcast?" we thought, and so it began. Well, we did about 52 episodes, each one more fun than the last.

Then I took a job that moved me down to Southern California, and away from my fellow host. Sad, yes. This looked like it was going to be the end of Critical Drinking as we knew it. But wait! One of my co-workers down here, it turned out, had quite a vast movie knowledge as well, and was interested in doing this podcast with me. So we've done a few episodes since we've been down here, but after about 5, I feel like I'm doing more forcing him to do it rather than him wanting to do it. And I totally get that, it's not for everyone.

Listening back to some episodes with Ryan, we had so much fun doing it and I hope it turned out to be half as funny to other people as it was to me. Ryan is actually going to be in town soon, and we're going to try to do an episode for old times sake, and in all honesty, I think it may be the final episode. Cut out on a high note.

However, just because the podcast will be ending, doesn't mean I'm any less fervent about movies (or beer for that matter). I think it's time to start my search for a new outlet for movies. The podcast route is fun, so it may be something like that, but we'll see.

Posting here again was fun, maybe do that again?

Fantasy Football has become an obsession

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:27:00 +0000

I really am not that big a fan of the NFL. I don't have a favorite team, my favorite players are generally just former Ducks, and the only NFL gear I have is an old Randy Moss jersey Ryan gave me back in College. However, every Sunday, I follow the NFL like crazy. All because of Fantasy Football.

Sitting on the couch in front of my TV with NFL Sunday Ticket's Red Zone Channel pumping all the best plays into my living room with no commercials, the DirecTV Player Tracker TV app tracking the performance of all my players, my computer open with the Live Stat Tracker tracking the performance of all my teams, and my ESPN Fantasy Football app open on my phone just so I can have all my players at my finger tips.

I get pumped when any of my fantasy players do well. Like, physically pump my fist or jump off the couch. And why? Because they scored me points. Not because I care about the game itself. I could care less about the games, or division records, or even the early playoff games that happen after my leagues end even. It's all about the fantasy leagues. And it's an obsession. I think I'm addicted.

Obviously, this has to make the NFL so happy. Fringe fans like me that become raving fans without them really having to do anything? That's any marketing department's dream. But they have done a great job creating things to love about the NFL aside from the games themselves. Or at least cultivating those things. In Those Guys Have All The Fun, the book that explores ESPN from the inside out, they discuss the NFL contract negotiations and how important the NFL is to the success of a sports network. However, it's such an expensive contract because of the built in mega-audience with a rock solid demo that the networks end up having to build their entire week around it to drive ad dollars. And the NFL just keeps getting stronger.

But for me, the beauty of the NFL is in the fantasy league. Or in my case, leagues. I am in 5 this year. But only one is a cash league. Because for me, it's not really about the money, it's about the bragging rights. And NFL fantasy is built so perfectly. Having one match up a week so it's not too overwhelming, and having one day a week where you can sit there and get instant gratification throughout the day as the points grow. Then, of course, the trash talk with friends is so key as well. It all just boils down into such a nice, neat package that has me addicted.

And by the way, I won my match up in 3 of 5 leagues this week. The 3 I won all happened to be against Allen. Talk about bragging rights.

This was as exciting as expected early on...

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 05:08:00 +0000

I expected these numbers from Blaine Gabbert, but not Joe Flacco. And to think: Jacksonville won! Some Jag fans in Vegas are very happy right now. Jag offs...

What if I had just bought GE

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:45:00 +0000

Back in 2008, when I had just gotten hired with Reynolds and Reynolds and was in training in Houston, I had some disposable income and I was thinking of playing around in the stock market. It seemed like it would have been a great time to do so since the market was in the toilet, so my feeling was I could put some money in and not really worry too much because the market had to come back, right? Especially if I just invested in strong, steady companies.

I had done some homework, and was pretty set on buying GE stock at a little under $17/share. This was a crazy low price for GE, especially given their high just months before was double that, so I figured this would rebound and I could double my money within a year. Plus, it had a $.31 dividend, so even if it was stagnant I would still make some money. I had a solid chunk all ready to go in my E*Trade account, but just couldn't pull the trigger. Too many "what if" questions, and thoughts of "am I really patient enough to let this grow?" The answer was inevitably no.

Turns out, I would have been totally wrong.

Currently, GE shares are still trading for just below $17, and in June of '09 they dropped their dividend to $.10 (though it has been building and is currently at $.15). So, if I would have bought it then, I would be sitting on it now with maybe a few bucks worth of dividends to show for it.

In this rare instance, I'm pretty happy I missed out.

Advice From Assholes

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:30:00 +0000

In my endless quest to find an outlet for my... whatever it is, I have an idea for another blog/website/podcast I want to do. The title of it would be Advice From Assholes, and please, let me explain.

We tried to resurrect It's On Tap, but couldn't make it work. Ryan and I had a GREAT run with Critical Drinking, but with me moving away, we just couldn't keep it going. That one hurt, because that was so much fun. But now I am trying to start up something else, and it definitely could fail hard. It's name alone could kill it, but that name is Advice From Assholes.

The idea, hatched by Allen and I, is to start sort of an advice column, but instead of giving helpful advice like other advice columnists, we would just be assholes about it. For example, if someone was to say "My girlfriend just dumped me, what should I do?", we would probably respond with "strip club". Now, that may not be the right advice, but it's advice, isn't it? I mean, what else are you gonna say? I think you get the idea...

We figured this would be fun for a few reasons:

We're assholes
We think it's funny being assholes
It gives us an outlet and forum to be assholes
Living in the LA area kind of makes an asshole out of anyone

We also kind of wanted to do a podcast with some advice, as well as lists, similar to Critical Drinking. However, these lists would match the content of the site, and cover such topics as Top 5 places to be drunk in public, Top 5 profanities to yell at sporting events, and so on.

Now, by no means are we necessarily going to go out of our way to be hurtful or rude or offensive. I don't think either of us are "that guy", so the term "asshole" may be a bit strong. I think there are variable degrees of "asshole", and we both definitely fall somewhere in that spectrum. Plus, we thought the alliteration was too good. Plus I bought the domain name...

But yeah, look for that to hopefully happen sometime soon. I feel the creative podcast juices still flowing from CD, so hopefully this will be a solid replacement.

My bets for this weekend in Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:01:00 +0000

This weekend is the first weekend of March Madness, and I'm off to Vegas. Never been there on such a big betting weekend, but I'm coming prepared. I've done a lot of research the last couple days, read a lot of other people's locks, and put together a few locks of my own.

We're getting in Thursday night, so I'll miss Thursday's games, but here are my bets for Friday, and a little reasoning behind them.

Bet: (8) Michigan over (9) Tennessee straight up
Line: Tenn favored by 2 points

I think Michigan will win this game actually. But overall this season, and especially as underdogs, Michigan has done very well against the spread. It doesn't make sense to pick them to cover at +2, so I'll take them to win.

Bet: (2) Notre Dame over (15) Akron with the points
Line: ND favored by 13.5

Notre Dame is a very strong team that puts bad teams away by much more than 14. Plus, they're only traveling 96 miles to their first round game, the shortest distance of any team, meaning it will be all ND fans. Plus, Akron struggled with bad teams throughout their conference tournament, and Temple beat them by 35 earlier this year. Notre Dame wins easily, I say by 25.

Bet: (15) Long Island to cover against (2) North Carolina
Line: UNC favored by 17.5

This is a serious no brainer. They saw Duke blow out UNC, so they'll study that film. They are also 4th in the country in PPG (82.6). 17.5 points is way too high for a team that scores that well, so while UNC will win, it won't be by 18 or more. LIU to cover.

Bet: (13) Oakland to cover against (4) Texas
Line: Texas favored by 9.5

A lot of people are actually taking Oakland to upset Texas. While I don't think that will happen, I do think it will be close. Oakland is 2nd in the country in PPG (85.6) and FG% (.494), so they will get their points. They are also a very hot ATS team, which is usually a better indicator of how well they're playing lately. Oakland to cover.

Bet: (1) Kansas over (16) Boston U with the points
Line: Kansas favored by 22.5

Kansas went out early last year in a shocker. This year will be a statement. I have them winning it all, but for this specific matchup, I think they blow them out. Boston U is pretty good ATS, but Kentucky beat them by 35 earlier this season, which I feel this game will look like. Plus, in the past 4 tourneys, the average margin of victory for 1 seeds over 16 seeds is 29.3 points. Kansas with the points.

Bet: (8) UNLV over (9) Illinois with the points
Line: UNLV favored by 2

I wouldn't be surprised if Illinois gets blown out here. UNLV is great ATS, Illinois is terrible. These programs are headed 2 separate ways. UNLV is peaking and Illinois is plummeting. UNLV with the points all day.

Thos are the locks that I'll be throwing money on without hesitation. Some others I want to take are (8) George Mason over (9) Villanova with the points, (6) Xavier over (11) Marquette with the points, (11) USC/VCU to cover against (6) Georgetown, (12) Memphis to cover against (5) Arizona, and (14) St. Peters to cover against (3) Purdue. All these will be game time decisions. With 6 locks, I'm already putting a lot of money out there, and then there's always Saturday and Sunday games.

If you have any picks of your own or suggestions, let me know. Happy March Madness!

Heart Attack Grill's 575 lb Spokesman... dies? No way... (you can't make this stuff up)

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 23:10:00 +0000

There is apparently a place in Arizona called the Heart Attack Grill, which serves such foods as the Quadruple Bypass burger and Flat Liner fries. They basically celebrate being incredibly unhealthy and extreme fatasses. According to a November report from TodayShow.com, patrons put on medical gowns before eating, while the waitresses wear skimpy nurse outfits. They have a policy where people over 350 lbs can eat free, and their tag line is "Taste... worth dying for!"

(DO YOU SEE WHERE THIS IS HEADING?!)

Here is their commercial, which gives you an idea of just how shameless they are about being fatasses.

(HANG ON TO THE "IN SOME CASES, MILD DEATH MAY OCCUR..." LINE. DO YOU SEE WHERE THIS IS HEADING?!)

Well, guess what. SHOCKER. That 575 lbs dude in the commercial (yes, 575 lbs, he apparently gained 5 lbs since they filmed that) has died. They say the cause is yet unknown, but they think it was pneumonia. (I have my doubts about that...)

Even ~~more~~ less shocking is that he was only 29 years old. Wow.

You can't make this stuff up. Thanks to Jerrohn for the story. (link)

Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 23:36:00 +0000

ESPN is a juggernaut, no doubt about that. According to analysis from Barron's magazine in 2008, ESPN "is probably worth more than 40% of Disney's entire value." That's a lot... And it's flagship show, SportsCenter, has made celebrities out of its on-air personalities.

Coming in May, we get to pull back the veil and read about some of the things ESPN would rather you not know about. Here's the book's summary from Amazon:

ESPN began as an outrageous gamble with a lineup that included Australian Rules Football, rodeo, and a rinky-dink clip show called Sports Center. Today the empire stretches far beyond television into radio, magazines, mobile phones, the internet, video games and more, while ESPN's personalities have become global superstars to rival the sports icons they cover. Chris Berman, Robin Roberts, Keith Olbermann, Hannah Storm, Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Stuart Scott, Erin Andrews, Mike Ditka, Bob Knight, and scores of others speak openly about the games, shows, scandals, gambling addictions, bitter rivalries, and sudden suspensions that make up the network's soaring and stormy history. The result is a wild, smart, effervescent story of triumph, genius, ego, and the rise of an empire unlike any television had ever seen.

Apparently the authors, James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales, have interviewed over 400 current and former ESPN insiders, some who would rather remain anonymous, and have dug up some sweet dirt. They have also done another book like this about SNL, so I'm looking for big things out of this one. This is one of the few times I've actually looked forward to a book.

The book is due to come out on May 24th, pre-order on Amazon.com.

Advertising on Rooftops

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 01:36:00 +0000

There's an idea I've had ever since I was in college and Google Earth came out, and I'm surprised it hasn't become more prevalent. That idea is advertising on rooftops. With the advent and recent explosion in usage of satellite maps (Google Maps, etc.), there's a huge new medium for advertising, and it's very cheap.

There are 2 ways you could put this idea in motion. First, if you're a big company with big buildings, throw your logo on your roof. Especially if you're in a major city or area that would have a lot of map searches. If you're in the middle of nowhere, not sure it would be as valuable, but Target obviously thinks it is worth it, as shown in the picture above. It would only cost the amount of money it would take to get someone up there to paint the logo. That's it. Then anytime someone searches that area using a satellite map, there it is.

Second way to put this idea in motion is to sell your rooftop as ad space. Similar to how businesses sell space on the walls of their buildings, why not sell the space on the top of the building? You have a huge roof, but you're some generic manufacturing plant and it would do you no good to have your logo on there. Sell it. Make some extra money, and you will never see it, people who drive by won't see it, only online satellite search traffic.

Now, a few pitfalls. I'm not sure what the sign laws say about rooftop advertising (nor am I interested in looking it up) but that could limit this option in certain cities / states. Also, you wouldn't capture the eyeballs you have in front of the store, only those looking at a computer screen, but that's why you have signs on the side of your building already, and that's why you should probably throw your website on the roof. Also, there are many buildings that aren't actually owned by the companies in them. But in that case, those companies should sell that space to those companies. But this is inexpensive enough, especially if you own the building (like most Wal-Marts and Targets, etc. do), that it just makes sense.

I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes more and more prevalent in the near future. I would be surprised, as a former marketing student, if it does not.

Why I have a movie podcast with beer

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:38:00 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, let me start by thanking you in advance for listening to this week's episode of Critical Drinking. We're watching D2: The Mighty Ducks and talking Top 5 Movies From My Childhood. It's our 47th episode coming up, and every single one has been more fun than the last. I love doing it, and I hope you enjoy listening to it.

Now, the reason for this post is because I have recently been embarrassed by my younger brother. He doesn't know it, but he should be proud of it. A little history:

In college my freshman year, not having declared a major yet, I took a spin around a few departments seeing what clicked for me and what didn't. Ultimately business and marketing were the obvious choice, but before that I dabbled in English. Yes, English. You wouldn't know it by the content on this blog, right? Well it wasn't English English, it was film studies English. I took 2 film classes that were technically English classes, and I think the way they got away with that was by making us write 2 big papers each term. The first class I took I loved. I was fascinated by the content, but not so keen on the papers. I managed to walk away with a B, no harm done. The second class was the same content-wise, but clearly more grueling English-wise, because I walked out of there with a C, visibly worse for wear. I learned a lot about film, and also learned English would not be my major.

A few years later, my younger brother is in school, and I hear he's taking the same classes. I knew how I did, but he seemed to think they were no big deal. And they weren't for him. Now he's in a 400-level film studies English class, and I hear last night he just got a 98/100 on his most recent paper, AND the professor nominated it for a student journal. Well shit, clearly you win.

So, little bro, you are better than me at film analysis, that much has been proven by you're 98% / A+ in a 400-level class. That is just a little bit better than my C in a 200-level class. However, could you write that paper... while drinking!? Could you orate it while drinking!? Maybe you could, who knows. I may not have the knowledge or English mastery that you seem to have, but I can do both of those things while drinking.

And that, my friends, is why I have a movie podcast with beer.

Doug Fir Lounge

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:07:00 +0000

Last night Ryan and I went to see the Smith Westerns at the Doug Fir. For those that don't know, the Doug Fir is a bar/restaurant/concert venue/hotel. Well, the hotel is the Jupiter Hotel, but it's basically attached. It's a cool little place with a very 50s-style lounge / log cabin feel and a pretty big concert hall downstairs. It's cool, check it out if you get a chance. Same goes for the Smith Westerns.

We got there early and sat at the bar upstairs for a while and had a few drinks until it was time to go downstairs. When we went to go down there, we had to get our ID's checked. It was a 21 and over show, but they gave us a stamp anyways. It was a huge stamp of a palm (on my right wrist). I think I even commented when the guy stamped it on that it was pretty large and in charge. Then we go to head down the stairs, and another guy takes our tickets and stamps our other wrists for that. This was a motorcycle (on my left wrist). At this point, I definitely turned to Ryan and said "this is some serious ink."

Now, aside from the fact that it was a 21+ show, so the guy taking the tickets could have also checked our IDs, that's not the lack of efficiency that bothered me most. It was the fact that it was a 21+ show and we got 2 stamps. One would work just fine right? Since getting in = I'm 21+. And then on top of that was the ridiculous size of these stamps. How much ink do they go through at this place? It holds about 250 people, and they have concerts at least 20 nights a week, so that's like 10,000 possible stamps just in one month!

Seems a little excessive, but I guess that's what my $3.50 High Lifes pay for...

Soda Fountain Taps Suck

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:51:00 +0000

You see these soda fountains everywhere. Fast food places, mini-marts, restaurants... anywhere you get soda in a cup or glass. Recently I was filling up a cup in a restaurant, just as I had a million times before, but this time I noticed the few droplets that came out after I had pulled my cup away. It was only a few drops, but it happened each time any amount of soda came out, whether it was a full cup's worth or a top off. So it got me thinking, and go with me on this one.

Let's use Subway as the example. There are some assumptions I'm going to make, but I think they're very conservative assumptions. Here they are.

Assume:

6 drops come out of the tap after it's stopped pouring, on average, per usage
Those 6 drops equal 1/2 oz
Everyone fills their cup to the top, leaves the cup to catch those drops, and then tops it off. So, 6 drops are lost per cup
100 cups are filled, on average, at each Subway restaurant
All cups purchased are the 21oz cups, which cost $1.79
All Subways have these soda fountains and costs are consistent

So then we can extrapolate that they lose 50oz per day, which is about 2.4 cups, or about $4.30 worth of soda per day, per store. That's $1,569.50 per store, per year.

According to Subway's website that has a current store counter, they currently have 34,101 stores.

That would mean that Subway loses $53,521,519.50 per year in potential revenue based solely on inefficient soda fountain taps. $53.5M a year. And that's only Subway. Imagine all the other restaurants, like McDonalds, that probably serve up way more that 100 cups a day.

Imagine how much money could be made if they just had leak-proof taps. Patent pending...

33 Bottles of Beer

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 06:24:00 +0000

I was in Powell's a few weeks ago buying books, and as I was standing in line to pay a little notebook caught my eye. I assume it was mostly the "33 BOTTLES OF BEER" in giant letters, but we'll never be sure. I picked it up and found it was a pretty great little pocket tasting notebook.

It has 33 pages for 33 entries, one beer per page. It has space for all kinds of info about the beer, such as the name, brewery, how much it cost, where you tasted it, the ABV, IBU, etc, etc... It's also got space for notes, and then a cool tasting wheel. Basically it has you rank different tastes on a scale of 1-5 around a wheel. Tastes like bitterness, citrus fruit, malt, hoppy, body, linger, and other things like that which describe the whole of a beer's taste. Once you fill out the wheel, it gives you a nice, visual snapshot of the unique taste of that beer, which helps you remember it in the future.

It was created by Dave Selden of BS Brewing here in Portland, and costs only $4. You can get it at Powell's like I did, many other stores around town and in other states, or online at 33beers.com.

He's also made one for wine and one for coffee. They're very addicting to fill out, and very handy for taking to brewfests or just working at home. If you're a bit of a beer geek like me, I'm sure you'll feel the same way. Check it out.

Look who it is...

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:51:00 +0000

Hey, hey, hey! Look who's back! Yes, you're seeing this right, after about 3 solid years of not touching this baby, I have decided it's time to resurrect the Blogarrhea. My glorious return to blogging could not come at a seemingly worse time though, because on top of Critical Drinking (which hopefully you're all listening to and loving! Check the sidebar and "like" us on facebook and subscribe on iTunes), we're starting It's on Tap up again. So I've got a lot on my virtual plate. But all this has done is reignite that little fire inside me to write. And write I will.

For those that don't know, Critical Drinking is a movie podcast that me and my buddy Ryan started up over a year ago where we drink beer, watch movies, and talk about them. It's been a lot of fun, and a good outlet for both of us to talk movies.
It's on Tap is the booze blog that Bryan, Jake, Ryan, and I started up in college, which we're revamping and getting back on its feet. We're taking a much more controlled, serious approach to it, and we should have some solid stuff, so keep an eye out for that.

So, what can you expect out of this blog? Same old crap. Just spewing my thoughts all over these pages, hoping for some to stick. The description of the blog is still going to hold up I'm assuming, for better or worse... But I'll keep everyone up to date about the other sites, which I'm hoping you guys dig, and you can follow both on facebook also.

It's good to be back. Hopefully you feel the same.

For real

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:25:00 +0000

This is an actual email I just got that somehow managed to make it through my spam filter and into my inbox. Are they serious? How can this method of spam ever pay off? Oh, right... idiots.

Hello

We've had the opportunity to review your resume, please consider the following information.

Down Town Services S.A. is a real estate company located in Russian Federation, Moscow. DTS S.A. offers a whole range of professional services such as scheme land acquisition, real estate properties as well as legal and financial consultation. The company already has current annual turnover of 120 million; with growing plans for international awareness.

At present time we are exploring and analyzing US market in order to be able to open up a local office. We plan to carry out our activity through the regional Customer Service Managers.

We're looking for right candidates who will be able to support the sales and administrative teams in the fastest and most efficient way possible. As an employee of DTS Global Inc., you will contribute to a dynamic team focused on growth and development of our company and deliver the very best service to our customers.

Responsibilities of Customer Service Manager include:

- Manage the preparation, distribution, and reporting processes for transactions
- Ensuring promptness of transactions
- Ensuring that payments and reports are disbursed timely and accurately
- Collecting information for monthly reports

Benefits:
- Commission rate of 5% from each customer's transfer
- Base salary of $2,000-3,000 dollars once your trial period is over.
- Reimbursement of all your banking, Money Gram and cell phone expenses.

If you feel as you are an ideal candidate for this position, kindly reply to this e-mail downtownrjob@gmail.com within next 2 business days with your contact information.
Once we receive your response, we will forward you employment application form that would have to be filled out. As soon as we receive the application back one of our recruiters will contact you via phone regarding your employment opportunity.
Please, do not hesitate to contact us at any time if you have additional questions, a toll free number along with office hours and contact information will be provided if you wish to speak with our representative directly.

Thank you.

Natalie Freedman
DTS Realty

Top 50 Craft Breweries in the Nation

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:12:00 +0000

Here's a graphic of the top 50 craft breweries in the U.S. based on sales volume. I thought it was really cool to see.

(click to enlarge)

Not the right AdSense

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:26:00 +0000

What part about this article says "I want to buy a forklift, but I don't want to pay too much."?

Bringin' Back Memories

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 07:55:00 +0000

ItsOnTap Update

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:00:00 +0000

FYI, we're getting ItsOnTap.com up and running again on Monday. I've got a few posts lined up, and there are about 4-5 of us on to contribute. It'll be a good outlet for me, plus, and possibly more importantly, it's an excuse to drink beer.

Look for it on Monday, and let me know what you think.

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:39:00 +0000

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. For those in the Portland area, hope you all have safe travels and stay safe over the holiday. Go Blazers! And soon after, Go Ducks! See you all in San Diego for the Holiday Bowl!

Good Ol' KEZI

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:57:00 +0000

Well done, KEZI. You have proven once again that you know how to dominate the news hour in a college market.

Gee, what does that look like?

Jizz In My Pants

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 06:04:00 +0000

Andy Samberg's Digital Shorts with SNL have always been good, but comparatively, it's hard to top some of those first ones. However, every time I watch them I find myself laughing. They're so dumb they're funny, and a perfect example is the latest one. Take a look above.

Wishful Thinking or Foreshadowing?

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:52:00 +0000