Detroit Lions will be in the Playoffs

The Detroit Lions will be in the playoffs after getting in as a wild-card team.  I've been a fan of the Lions for a long time, so this feels great and I'm very happy for them!  My congratulations to the Lions and I wish them the best in the playoffs.  

Friday night Iced Coffee winner: Burger King gets a win over McDonald's on Fri. Dec. 23

Tonight the iced coffee at Burger King was better than at McDonald's.

I will write more later about why I thought Burger King had the better iced coffee drink

Note: I do not work for either fast food company or restaurant, and I do not make money for this opinion.

Note:  Sorry. I'm having problems with alignment of paragraphs and also with spaces showing up unexpectedly when I publish posts and have to deal with those problems from time to time. I don't like having to know a lot about blogging, and don't want to keep worrying about why the blog doesn't function sometimes. I like writing and blogs are just the way for me to do my writing and make it available for reading.

Burger King wants us to try their New Fries

The sign lets people know there will be "FREE FRIES FRIDAY" at Burger King and that's tomorrow, Friday, December 16.  The world famous fast-food chain describes its "NEW FRIES" as having "Thicker cut, more flavor".

These fries are a big improvement for Burger King.  That's my opinion anyway. I've ordered (and eaten) the new fries on at least three different days.  The new fries are best when fresh, hot to very warm, tender and easy to chew.  I don't know if I'll be there on Friesday -- I mean Friday -- but if I am, I will probably buy the large fries.  Then I can share with someone, or not.

My meal at Dairy Queen...sort of a part 2, after the peanut butter shake

                                          Me

                              Mountain Dew

                                  DQ Meal

               Closer view of the sandwich and fries

Last time, I wrote about the peanut butter shake at Dairy Queen. It was a large shake, I was just getting started drinking it but wanted more, so I asked if they had a cheese sandwich meal.  She said they could make it a meal. Here are some my pictures.  I liked this meal very much and will probably order it again.

DQ Peanut Butter Shake among my longtime favorites

I wanted to go to Dairy Queen today (Saturday) and invited my mother to go with me. We each bought our own treats, and I ordered a meal there after starting to drink this yummy peanut butter shake.  I liked peanut butter on just about everything in times many years before Fast Food Yummy. (B.F.F.Y.) LOL And I recall ordering peanut butter shakes at Dairy Queen in those days of much time ago.  I hope no future civilizations -- due to boredom or because they lost all historical records except my fast food blog -- base their calendar on when this blog started.  However, if I ever write an autobiography, which would mean I'd be famous, I will try to figure out when I drank my first peanut butter shake at Dairy Queen, and to the best of my ability be honest about when that was. (Before peanut butter shakes, I liked strawberry shakes and still do, but that really is ancient history.) It means you'd know my age, but it would be okay if you bought my autobiography, which would make me rich, to go along with famous.  I'm kidding.  I won't ever tell you my age and in exchange you can keep the fame and fortune.  But you can't have my peanut butter shake.

Smiled to remember a great shake

I miss Iceberg Drive Inn and the great shake I had there about a month ago. 

Thank you, Iceberg Drive Inn workers.

Iceberg Drive Inn to get great review

Monday was an interesting day.  I went, I ate, I drank, but first I felt some sadness because a fast food restaurant that I enjoyed about a month ago was closed.  I'm not sure what the word 'closed' means as it's used in the sentence "Iceberg Drive Inn Is Now Closed", which is what the note on their drive-thru menu said.

I'm talking about the Iceberg Drive Inn on North Milwaukee Street, Boise, Idaho.  I don't read the Idaho newspapers much or watch the local (Idaho) news, so I don't usually follow what Idaho businesses are doing.

Not wanting to give up, I went to another Iceberg restaurant location and found that it was gone and a new restaurant was there instead. I was disappointed and also getting hungry.

Iceberg Drive Inn will still get a great review, which was basically written in November.  I hadn't posted it yet because I was hoping to get a photo of the shake, like the one I ate about a month ago.  It was a delicious Ice Cream Shake and their fries were very tasty.  The radio program that I was listening to at the same time was about one of my favorite bands from the '70s, and it was a very pleasant surprise.  Everything seemed too good to be true, so I had to ask myself whether this had just been a dream.  I'm sure it was real.  We just need more of reality to be like those rare dreamlike occasions.

Борщ

 

Borshch (also spelled Borscht) is delicious! 

This morning I made this Borshch.  The bowl of borshch has a Bay Leaf on top.  Don't Eat the Bay Leaves. The borshch was cooked in the pot (as pictured above) and has cabbage, potatoes, beet, carrot, etc. 

I ate this soup today for lunch, but it was my first meal of the day, so I guess it was like a brunch or breakfast borshch.  I can eat it anytime. 

This note explains the last post about McDonald's Sweet Tea

I wanted to add to my last post that I meant the first time when I paid for this specific cup of Sweet Tea, that the tea was too weak.  Earlier in the evening, I went to another McDonald's and the Sweet Tea was even weaker and when I took the lid off, the tea almost looked like water with ice.  Not good!  Then I went to this other McDonald's and the first tea there was great!  Then, I forget what I did but, just listened to songs on the radio, then when I ran out of Sweet Tea, I went back to buy another one since it's only a dollar, and the first one of those was too weak.  The picture was taken after she remade the tea drink somehow.  I liked it better.

A large McDonald's Sweet Tea for a dollar

The McDonald's Sweet Tea this evening was too weak the first time, but this picture is after the girl at the drive-thru window made it again.  I'm not sure if she added more tea or replaced it completely with a new cup of Sweet Tea.  It's a sweet iced tea, and it's very good when they make it correctly. 

Mentioned in the article (below), this is my Egg Nog Shake from McDonald's this evening

I went to McDonald's and am still trying to finish drinking this shake as I post this picture.  I was parked outside McDonald's when I snapped this picture and was trying to think what to do later.  Writing is about all I could think of.  Well, that and playing guitar, so I've been doing both, and I'll listen to more songs on the radio too.  I was listening to a radio station that plays hit songs of the '70s and '80s, and that was kinda fun.  

Is pre-Black Friday like a taste of hell after the Thanksgiving feast?

I drove to see if the McDonald's near the freeway entrance in Ontario, Oregon was open on Thanksgiving night, after finding that the one on the other side of town wasn't open, but that McDonald's wasn't open either, and neither was Burger King, as far as I could tell.

Across the street, it looked like Carl's Jr. had lights on, but I didn't think it was open. Oh, by the way, the sign at McDonald's said they were open for breakfast, but I was busy watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and then the Packers-Lions game, so, you know, I was doing what was most important. The Packers won and I'm not making any excuses.  They were the better team and deserved to win.

I'm a Lions fan and also a fan of the Redskins and Jets, which I previously wrote about in this blog, but knew the Lions would have to play their best to win. They weren't quite at that level on Thursday.

However, I thought the Lions played great in the first half, though they had several penalties which prevented them from scoring a touchdown or field goals in that first half. The score was 7-0 Packers at halftime, and the Lions were staying close. But then in the second half, the Packers got their amazing offense going the way they have most of the season and of course going back to last season leading to their Super Bowl win.

The Lions fell far behind in the second half but didn't give up, and that's admirable. It's a game they clearly will learn from and hopefully it will make them better.

In my opinion, too much has been made of the Ndamukong Suh being ejected from the game in the third quarter, and almost as though writers think it helped swing the momentum over to the Packers. I don't think the momentum changed because the Lions never had the momentum.  But losing Suh for the rest of the game was a problem. So many penalties were a bigger problem.

But let's not forget that some of the great teams of the past at times had lots of penalties and they kept winning. Tough, aggressive play will result in penalties, however there is such a thing as too many penalties especially when playing the best team, and that's what the Packers are right now.

Some of those great teams in NFL history also had tough players who made some very questionable and controversial hits on opponents, some were fair and within the rules of the game and other hits appeared like they were trying to intentionally injure an opponent. That was the worst part of the NFL, in my opinion! However, most football players were and are just playing the game and it is a very rough, physical sport. Suh is a great player and I hope everything works out for him, and that he figures out how to continue playing at the high level he's reached without too many penalties and distractions for his teammates.  I think he can continue to be great and play within the rules.

Well, getting back to what was and was not open last night... There was the local Wal-Mart superstore with more action than a football game.

In small towns, people go to Walmart the same way they used to pack into shopping malls. I have no idea where everybody is hanging out these days but don't see much going on at malls except for during the pre-holiday shopping blitz. Many people, I suppose, just sit at the computer, which is fairly safe, though that can be quite boring too.

Anyway, when I reached the Walmart parking lot, it was almost like looking for a parking space at a football game or a rock concert. In other words, a real pain in butt. Also good for causing tension headaches. Dammit! I knew shopping on Black Friday would be way too much stress for me -- on Friday (and I didn't go shopping Friday) -- but I had no idea there would be so many people on Thanksgiving night.

I drove over near Carl's Jr. through another large parking lot. I think all the small stores over there were closed for the night because it was around 10 pm.  Most of this other parking lot was filling up with vehicles just like the Walmart parking lot. I wondered if maybe there was something *interesting* (that would be a different and very limited definition of interesting) going on in Walmart, such as -- I was imagining -- what if a rock band is there. Don't get on me about an overactive imagination, because daydreaming helps me survive.

It turned out Thanksgiving, by Thursday night is only the beginning of Black Friday. Holidays have taken a backseat to money-making in America. We even forget which day it is now.

That noted, I got out of the vehicle and walked through two parking lots, and for some reason I had an earache. I saw many people walking there. A few were almost the size of football linemen, and maybe two or three looked capable of 'unsportsmanlike conduct' -- though shopping should never become a sport. But it's okay with me if searching everywhere on a holiday for open fast food restaurants becomes a sport. I could start training early next year and maybe even improve my shopping statistics. Oh yeah, I don't think there are statistics in shopping! So then I'm just kidding.

I'm also glad I didn't get tackled at Walmart, fumble my wallet, or get sacked by shoppers coming in when I realized I couldn't walk much of anywhere inside there, and decided to leave after about two minutes of absolute shock and horror caused by seeing so many people packed into one building. I don't know what the specials or discounts were but they must have been good.

I said there could be people getting into fights, and if there were a fire, it would be very dangerous and people could get hurt or die. Why doesn't Wal-Mart have managers who think this through ahead of time. I'm not a prophet or psychic, okay sometimes I get it right, but when I turned on Google News on Friday afternoon, the top story was about violence, fighting, and people getting pepper sprayed at Wal-Mart stores on Black Friday.  Not the local store, but still it's a problem that Walmart has created and needs to solve.

Shopping is a sport if the measure of a sport is how physical and tough the participants are but maybe it's closer to "Rollerball" or "The Running Man", or "Planet of the Apes", but I guess that last one wasn't a sport, though violent at times. (Of course all were movies.) Get your hands off of me, you d$$$ d$$$$ Walmart shoppers.  Just kidding. Oh well, I tried to bring this back to some kind of sense of humor though 'common sense' isn't too common and it's not something I want to mention in regard to the Walmart crowds and the Walmart management.  They'll have to show me they can do better first.

I'm not ready to refer to shoppers as athletes, but it might help to be one in order to go shopping these days. I'm a writer, sometimes in the past I picked which teams I thought would win (I'm opposed to gambling, I only wrote about it) and my best guess is that the shoppers on Monday or Tuesday will win more than the ones on Black Friday! I don't consider saving money and at the same time putting oneself in harms way to be winning.  I hate shopping a little bit more each day!  Yes, I used to like shopping but this year on pre-Black Friday, what I saw was just plain awful.

In case someone was curious, I ordered the Supreme Croissant at the Jack in the Box drive-thru the night of Thanksgiving, between 10 pm and 10:30 pm.  Remember, I said I would go out but not for any specific reason.

First, I wanted to see if McDonald's was open because Sweet Tea would have tasted good. It wasn't open.

However tonight, Saturday evening that is, I finally had the Sweet Tea at McDonald's, but I do have a mixed opinion about this menu item. The tea was weak and not sweet at all the first time.  This has happened before too.  I drank some sips and then threw it away because it was like drinking water and if I wanted water, I could just go to the kitchen.  Also, I could make better iced tea but I like the Sweet Tea when they make it right.  So I didn't give up as the night was still young.

I went to another McDonald's across town.  The Sweet Tea was great the first time at that McDonald's location, and I liked it so much I ordered it again about an hour later, but the tea was weak and not good.  I also ordered an Egg Nog Shake and it was very good.

But I had to go back through the drive-thru to tell the girl working there that the tea was weak.  She did it over and it was a little bit better.  I'm still drinking both drinks as I type this article.

This is an article, by the way, and I'm a great writer, even if some losers don't like my writing and even if some people wanted to keep me from getting a job as a writer.  They lose, I win.  I'm great, and they suck!

Anyway, the girl at the drive-thru window said that the Sweet Tea was weak because they were running out of tea.  I'm glad she remade my Sweet Tea... but Hmm... the shift manager or supervisor, or whoever is in charge needs to make sure that the tea is consistent, otherwise customers will be unsatisfied and go to another fast food restaurant.  Consistent fast-food beverages are an important part of attracting customers and keeping customers happy. I thought it necessary for me to emphasize this right now while it's fresh in my mind.  It's definitely something I concerned about.

I will writer more next time, and I'll attempt to finish this article with what happened on Thanksgiving when I went out.  I wish I hadn't...gone out that is.  What a bummer early Black Friday is, and perhaps the dumbest American tradition.

It's all about money, people only care about money these days, not all people, but far too many people.  It's sick!

I notice how nobody listens to me or thinks I have anything worth saying.  Yeah, that makes me depressed.

Is fast food becoming a modern Thanksgiving tradition?

Hope this includes evening and late-night

It's almost 8:30 pm on Thanksgiving, I already ate turkey and the other traditional Thanksgiving foods about 6 hours ago, and now I'll go out, not for any special reason except to see what's open.  The drive-thru at Jack in the Box --  where its sign (pictured above) promises "OPEN THANKSGIVING DAY" -- will be one of my stops.  I'll find out if it includes tonight.  We already had Egg Nog shakes from Jack in the Box at about 10:30 pm last night.  (There were three of us and three shakes, and I'd call that fair.) So, what should I eat from there this time? Oh well, I won't put in much thought on that one.

This picture was not the most recent time I was there.  However, Mom and I did drink Egg Nog shakes that time too, and this picture was to help us remember that JITB would be open for Thanksgiving. 

I think a lot of stores were open today, though I just don't get it. It's Thanksgiving Day, you know, and shouldn't people take a time for rest and relaxation!  Clearly stores are open because they want us to buy, buy, buy and spend a lot of money.  

Honestly, I don't like the human obsession with money, and reality is getting to be quite annoying, so I hope there's something else, for example heaven, or a dimension where all beings are nice and aren't superficial or self-centered.  If not, that would be very sad to think about.  

Also, while I'm at it, I hope that if there is something else, heaven or a similar type of beautiful paradise where everyone feels happy and cares about everyone else, then I hope fast food is served on Thanksgiving, not necessarily the main meal because I still want turkey with the rest of the holiday feast, even if they don't have Thanksgiving there. After all, if they do let Americans in (and everyone else too, but right now Thanksgiving and Americans are the subject of my writing), hopefully they will care about what we like and want to please us. haha, indeed. 

We humans just can't separate from our self-centered thoughts, and for me it's important to eat what I want, when I want it, and that's the way it's gonna be!  Sorry!  I'm kidding. But don't downplay the importance of humor in dealing with difficulty in life.  I think it's time to stop thinking for a couple of hours, and going out for fast food will give me a chance to do just that, and less.  Hmm...just have fun!  I need to listen to myself more often.

Because for me, football 'talk' goes with food

I ate a little pizza, sipped some coffee, and have gone back to drinking a shake, and thinking about football just to provide some variety in thought life and my writing.  As I wrote before, topics that typically might be discussed while hanging out with friends -- at a fast food restaurant -- will be written about here from time to time.  The NFL this time of year is one of the more interesting topics, in my opinion.

The Detroit Lions (7-3) are much better this year than they've been in a long time. I checked today's box scores & stats and decided to let fans know how the Lions did today.  Pretty good.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was 28 out of 36, passing the football for 335 yards and 5 touchdown passes in the 49-35 win over the Carolina Panthers.  That's great!  The only problem for us Lions fans, besides that the Lions were pounded last week by the Chicago Bears, is that Thanksgiving Day game on Thursday is against the Green Bay Packers who are the NFL's only undefeated (10-0) team.  The Lions play at home in front of their fans but will that prove to be enough of an advantage?

The defending Super Bowl champion Packers are a great team and still the team to beat, but can anybody keep them from repeating as champions?  I don't know.  Once the playoffs start, maybe the motivation for other playoff teams to try and knock off the Packers will be looking back at what happened to the New England Patriots in their undefeated 16-0 season four years ago when they also won their AFC playoffs games, then lost a very close Super Bowl to the New York Giants, who won the big game on the heroics of Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

Am I implying that mean all playoff teams are equal?  Uh not really, but even if most teams can't hope for a Super Bowl championship this year, they can hope for some hope.  I was going to attempt to recite some Emily Dickinson poetry but aren't you glad I didn't.  Sorry, I'm tired.

Long story longer...

Well, I'm happy the Lions are back to being a contender but they will have to play their best football to win on Thanksgiving.  It's not a must-win game though they need to keep winning to have a chance to reach the playoffs as a wild-card.  The Bears (7-3) are and exciting team, and some other NFC teams are coming on strong as the wild-card chase gets interesting.  I'm not going to say anything is for sure for the Lions, however I'm glad they are an improved football team and hope they'll be good for years to come.  We'll have to wait and see!

Scott McLean ".tVog n't NyETbody" (original) - new

Scott McLean: Singer, Songwriter
Prog-rockapella, progressive rock, spontaneous, semi-spontaneous, impromptu, extemporaneous, improv, classical, medieval, strange lyrics and vocal style, themes include Internet, freedom of speech, government trying to be like a god, God, philosophical nonsense. Some of my influences include Progressive Rock, Grunge, Gothic Metal, while specific influences are the bands Gentle Giant, Family, Yes, Yezda Urfa, Nirvana, Lacuna Coil, and many others, also Hymns, even a few Hers, especially my Mom's singing from the time I was a kid up 'til now, and of course Scott McLean (me), which means my earlier singing and songs (mostly unreleased) influenced this song.

Try to figure out the song title:

".tVog n't NyETbody" by Scott McLean

Breakfast is just as good at night

Here's a Jack in the Box breakfast meal for only $2.99... it's the Jumbo Breakfast Platter with Bacon.

I couldn't eat all the food that night even with a little help from a not-so-little friend, but I ate enough to make me feel better. I had a stomach problem earlier in the evening, perhaps from eating something (before, and not from a restaurant) that didn't agree with me.

So in some sense, this breakfast meal helped my stomach.

Read my mind

No new taxes! Just kidding. Do you have my Jack in the Box order?

Not on Halloween but still looks a bit scary!

T'Pring

I still love you, T'Pring. haha (but I'm serious too)

Her shiny dress was a boy magnet. Well, I'm speaking about myself when I was a boy, so for Halloween, I'm going to butterfly effect back into my mind n' brain when I was about ages 12,13,14 because that should prove to be very frightening. I was a good kid so nothing bad or too strange. Just wouldn't want to get stuck back there. haha

See for yourself what this is all about and why this episode of Star Trek, "Amok Time", from the original series is great! Not for kids, umm, let me think how to put this, unless you saw it on TV? haha Sounds like a lot of modern-day hypocrisy. There's some fighting over a Vulcan chick they don't really want, but I did want her back in my younger years, when I watched this on... umm yeah, TV. I'm not saying I wanted to fight for her, just wanted to watch it again, which I did whenever it was on TV. Maybe that explains why I wanted to be Spock when I was a kid. Also didn't want emotions, etc. I think my goal was to build a spaceship, or better yet a starship, or a time portal leading to beautiful Star Trek women everywhere.

At first I wanted to visit "strange new worlds" and mainly that, then a bit later I wanted to meet some strange new girls. haha As far as I knew, no boy had ever boldly gone there--to meet them-- before, and as you realize this is just writing, a blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and humor, which is supposed to be interesting. Actually, I just let my mind run wild. Same as now. My imagination takes me beyond boredom. Well, most of the time.

If you just want to get right to the sci-fi action with some real primitive-style fighting of the future, from the '60s TV show, then follow this link and enjoy! It's Halloween, have fun!! I want mine to last for a week or two. I'll eat some candy and forget about T'Pring. Yeah, right!

fast food, sci-fi humor, and music

I decided to check in here after midnight (Sunday AM) because not much was going on. After being sick during the week, I'm still not completely better but wanted to go out and pick up some fast food. Tonight's orders (on Saturday night) were McDonald's large french fries and the Jack in the Box Jumbo Breakfast Platter with Bacon, and an Oreo Cookie shake. Those two fast food restaurants are across the street from each other.

Someone needs to start a big, all-night food court here, where guys and gals can hang out and get better acquainted... acquainted with food, that is... well, no, you knew what I meant, a place so available people can get to know one another, but two or three, or a dozen would be fine too. haha By the way, haha means I'm joking and besides, I can only handle one gal, preferably at a distance, except when I return to Vulcan to fight Spock, or his Vulcan stuntman-body double, for the right to romance a beauty with pointy ears. I'm very, very much joking in the last sentence. So, you know, Forget! But I have no special powers to make forgetting possible so you'll have to do that on your own.

What else is fascinating? I have no idea. Wait!

Oh yeah, I finished my 100 Best Rock Songs List (1970 to 2010)-- a serious and legitimate list, after spending more than two years comparing many, many songs -- and about a week ago I posted the list on The Overcast Inside. That's my music blog. I will update the list to include some songs from 2010.

Jack in the Box has Holiday Shakes

The most recent time at Jack in the Box was Friday and the person working at the drive-thru window was very nice and polite. This is a picture of three Pumpkin Pie Shakes, and of course only one was for me. Pumpkin Pie is a good flavor and makes me wish it was available year around. Another JITB holiday shake flavor is Egg Nog, which could be my choice closer to the holidays. Well, it's a few words--and moments--closer to the holidays now.

For the most recent time I went to Jack in the Box, please see the post above. The shakes were almost perfect in my opinion, and the cherry was fine.

Someone may be thinking it's too early for the holiday flavors, and I can understand that.

However, I'm not able to avoid the kind of fun that comes from a having food or drink I can't get all the time. The seasonal shakes give me a good feeling.

Note: The pit is in the middle of the cherry that I'm holding up. It was difficult to see inside the car, and that's why I held it up out the window to get a better picture.

Danger! Cherry pit

On a rare occasion, something like this will happen. That's a cherry pit, and I was kind of unhappy but since I went through the Jack in the Box drive-thru to buy this shake, I didn't want to drive back through to give it back to them. I didn't bite down hard --so I was lucky--and I think maybe the cherry was cut open a bit, so when I put it in my mouth I felt something hard in my mouth. Held the cherry up near the light in the car and that's what I saw two weeks ago. I didn't think this kind of cherry was served with pit still in it and never got one before, so it was a rather unpleasant experience for me. However, this hasn't stopped me from going back there again for shakes. I'm just very careful. And maybe I will tell them no cherry next time.

I hope Jack in the Box, and all fast food restaurants, will be more careful and make sure there are no hidden dangers in their food. For example, make sure there are no pits in the cherries on top of your shakes. That could really harm your customers' teeth.

At McDonald's tonight

A large McCafé Caramel Frappé from McDonald's was $3.49 but I didn't mind that price since it had been a long time since I'd had one. It's on my shortlist of best coffee drinks and fast food beverages, but I still like americanos, lattes, iced coffee, soda, shakes, iced tea, fruit juices, and more.

This was from tonight, and after realizing the Frappe wouldn't last very long, I went back through the McDonald's drive-thru and tried to order a Sweet Tea but they said they were out of that tea for the night.

Winter Melon Candy

This is my winter melon candy. Winter melon is also known as wax gourd and some other names.

I made this candy in a pot on the stove, and then refrigerated the candy seen on the plate. This is a very sweet, rich candy, and I think it's delicious! There was more than this amount, and I later refrigerated it separately.

In my opinion, this would be a good dessert to eat at a fast food restaurant, or any restaurant.

I got a medium iced hazelnut latte at Dutch Bros. which was nice for a change since I've had very little coffee and espresso drinks in recent months. The latte didn't have the strong espresso flavor I like, but I still enjoyed it.

Last time at Dutch Bros. Coffee

I couldn't get into the partying mood without an espresso drink, for example a latte. The lines were too long to get one so I decided to come back another day. But it was clear to me that a lot of customers were having a blast, and how else would they feel since Dutch Bros. was giving away free drinks all day for the grand opening.

This new coffee place is in a very convenient location for me, near where I like to shop. I did go there again last week and of course paid for my drink which was an iced latte.

Kurt Cobain and Nirvana

I want to do my part to keep alive the memory of Kurt Cobain and continue to love his music, Nirvana, and other Grunge bands. My hope is that the music of Nirvana and grunge itself as a whole will really live on forever. Today is a special day in rock music history. It was 20 years ago today that Nirvana released "Nevermind", said to be one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

Scott McLean "Other" original - grunge

Scott McLean - singer, songwriter

Scott McLean "Raw Sound the Sugar" (song)

Scott McLean: vocals, guitar, songwriting

Free Drinks All Day today at a new Dutch Bros. Coffee in Meridian, Idaho

I nearly missed out on this fabulous party today, put on by Dutch Bros. at a brand new location close to Fred Meyer in Meridian, Idaho. This evening when I arrived, the music was loud, the crowd seemed quite pleased, and I could tell caffeine fans were having a Friday to remember!

The drinks were free all day, according to signs. A drive-thru worker happily shouted back to me that the drinks were free. Wow! Cool! I wanted to get in the line of cars in the drive-thru and tried to do exactly that, however it turned out the line was two lines. The first line had maybe five vehicles waiting, but then we were told to go back around another building to enter the line and it looked like several more cars in that line too. I decided to go to Dutch Bros. another time. It looks like a fun place to drink a latte, mocha, cappuccino or coffee. They can count on me to be there again, and soon. I wish them much success. Note: In 2007, I wrote about a Dutch Bros. Coffee stand in Portland, Oregon.

If gas goes to less than a dollar a gallon, I'll be in heaven or at least in Portland and Seattle

You have to look for anything you can to make conversation, and also get interesting pictures. The price of gasoline on the left was just a mistake, I suppose, because $10 only allowed me to pump 2.764 gallons of gasoline. Note: This picture was not doctored or altered; that's the way it was. I have no idea if it was a mistake or God... I mean Fred Meyer's got an odd sense of humor, or maybe they had a sale on gasoline and I missed out on it. This didn't do anything for my love life either, because the gal I talked with didn't seem to admire the ease with which I starting talking to her. I think Idaho is a state of mostly married people except for one girl (another girl that is) who said she doesn't like mainstream rock, she likes Tool. I think she was talking about the band. Either way, I should talk to her again. haha

Too 'Yumazing' for the average reader but it's for a good cause: promoting humor

For ADULTS, even though I'm sure all the kids are probably hogging the computer watching Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga videos. That's sort of double funny because Lady Gaga's videos go way beyond anything I ever do here in terms of getting teenagers to think about something other than their homework. Ok I'm never going to dance around in whatever it is she and her dancers are (almost not) wearing. Well, if I do it's private and if I know what's good for me, I won't even look in the mirror. haha

Now, let me see, just some oohed for ought! Like food for thought, but different.

Any other guys out their wish Serena Williams would yell at them every day. (Girls could wish that too if they are into that kind of thing.) That would probably mean she'd be the special girl in your life. It's worth dreaming about. I wanted to post a link to a rather 'yumazing' (combine the words yum and amazing) video of Serena on YouTube but some misguided people want to censor America these days, and the U.S. Congress is into chilling effects but honey child, you can't chill--or rather cool off dem pics, or rather the 'knee-jerk' (haha) reaction it tends to promote. Yeah, that kind of promotion is very pro human species. I believe in procreating. I remember reading somewhere that Serena said guys are afraid of dating her. I'm not scared. I'm ready! That is what I'd call a haha truth, both funny and real. But I'm very rusty at tennis -- don't think I've played this century--and other stuff, not that much time. But I could be faithful for the right girl/lady, even if yelled at but make sure to make up with me the right way. I like good food and... etc.

On a serious note, Serena is a great tennis player.

Then, of course, I was hoping Pamela Anderson and any other pretty girl in bikini lending their 'help' to PETA would protest me the way I like best, in err... their professional attire, or lack of it.

On a serious note, I like Pamela and PETA.

Oh! I just found a video of theirs and oh my gosh! even I was nervous and embarrassed so I know I'd love it. haha But I can't watch it right now, I'll do it before bed because there's sort of a partial strip search in that video but it's all for a good cause, to protect animals. I agree and I'm opposed to cruelty, and in favor of Pamela -- in my dreams -- doing what I saw at the beginning of the video. I only watched the start of the video, but I give it umm, not two thumbs, but you know, up.

This has nothing to do with fast food, yet it makes sense because I'm a guy and I'm always thinking of something funny to write. People may wonder is this the kind of conversation one might overhear while out eating fast food. Well, they do tend to get quite loud at other tables. I don't know everything they say but I sure wish I did. Do I run humor writing like this by someone before posting it? Well, the dog, sometimes mom, but if I was married I wouldn't tell my wife. Yeah, I'd have to stop writing at night because I'd be *BUSY*!!!

And I'm all for that sort of being busy. Remember, this is intended as humor and doesn't mean I'm a two-timer. Heck, I'm not even a one-timer right now. No real dates, so I'll see if I can find a very specific dating site, where all people like whatever that is Pamela is doing to that guy at the beginning of that video. Because I'm all for good causes, and want to meet someone else who has that same cause in mind.

You will eat Chinese food: My idea for a before-meal fortune

Then no one could say their fortune didn't come true, unless they just sat there and stared at everyone else eating Chinese food. But don't do that, at least not if I'm eating there.

So, if you're like, umm dude, should I laugh or leave? Let me just say I'm no good at advice pertaining to whether or not you should like me. It's just, like, really up to you. The word like can be used many ways. For example, I like Panda Express.

Love might be pushing it a bit far, because I reserve the word for a girl/lady/gal who can't cook Chinese food and would take me to...you know, Panda Express. So then, I really like Panda Express.

Is it a subjective or objective statement? I don't know, but I do know good food when I eat it. Panda Express entrees are as good as when I used to eat at a few of their locations, in the Portland metro area.

While not perfect every time, they are basically consistent in offering flavorful, fast Chinese food. Customers get and purchase their Chinese food in a short, fairly quick buffet-type line, served by workers. I'm not sure what's the limit on entrees, but I saw 3 Entrees as a possibility. Most of the time, I order 2 Entrees with fried rice, steamed white rice, or Chow Mein. Sometimes it's difficult for me to decide, but I must be decisive, I must!

This time I asked for Chow Mein and the 2 Entrees (pictured) which are Sweet Fire Chicken Breast and Orange Chicken. I've had the Orange Chicken many times in the past and most times it's great! On a few occasions, there wasn't enough chicken in each piece but often this dish is excellent in being a generous serving with enough chicken and quite delicious too. The Orange Chicken is only a little spicy, though very sweet and filling, making dessert unnecessary... at least until later. I don't usually need more food for several hours, or until tempted. But I make up for it by being decisive at making decisions. Not really, but I'm still hoping for dates this century, even though I won't be around for all of it, unless the Borg Queen assimilates me, or something. My humor is way too darn human. Sorry.

Almost beyond the gravity of boring reality, was the Sweet Fire Chicken Breast, which was a delight for my taste buddies (yes, I need buddies, so I did add to taste buds) though I should eat this chicken entree again before I give my full opinion. A surprisingly spicy chicken dish, though not very spicy compared to what I'm sure many people are used to and some other-countries' cuisines I've eaten as well. Note: The chow mein was very good, but I couldn't eat all of it. I'm slim/thin and hope to stay that way.

Hot-spicy food always makes me feel that I'm alive, which I am, I think, but I'm not going to get into philosophy right now. Oh well, a little bit of philosophy.

While I think I'm thinking as I'm typing, maybe I'm just part of a computer program and whether a particular food is spicy, sweet, good or bad is just part of the program. All fortunes could come true if we're just in a big giant computer but too much goes wrong which makes me think we are all too real. Our wants are a defining characteristic of what it means to be human. Oftentimes we want more than we should have at that time and we don't get it. And this makes me think...if we opened the fortune cookie first, before eating, and it said "You will eat Chinese food" at least most of us wouldn't take those fortunes home with us, and get our hopes up that whatever it said will come true. Although I do recommend it because it's kinda fun. By the way, if I do find where I put my fortune, I'll tell you what it said. I think it was pretty good and I know Panda Express is.

Panda Express for fast Chinese food

If I didn't know a particular location of Panda Express restaurant, then this would be a good way to get my attention. But I already knew about this place and was glad I did.

What sounds and tastes SWEET?

Shortly after ice cream, I became rather thirsty and needed to quench my thirst somehow. I didn't have any place specific in mind though there were several options that entered into my thinking. I didn't think too much and went by instinct, or something like that. haha So I went to a McDonald's in Boise, Idaho. Should I go in and sit at a table? Well, I suppose I'm civilized enough for it. That's just more joking around. No, I'd rather use the drive-thru, I was thinking, and just about then some young guys began playing guitar and singing a song...let's just say it's a cover of a rock song that was a big hit, with the word 'Sweet' in the song title. Figured it out yet? These guys at McDonald's were talented and the song was very nice sounding the way they played and sang it. I hope they go far!

I had to get to the drive-thru and order the Sweet Tea, or the way the cup reads, in all caps: SWEET TEA

This time at McDonald's was awesome, dudes! And, of course, Sweet! My parents used to take me to McDonald's when I was a child and it was a favorite restaurant of mine, and let me just say O' how sweet it was to go to McDonald's. The last sentence was just my way of dropping some clues about the song title.

...but

when I ordered the Chocolate Fudge Brownie Shake at Ben & Jerry's on Friday, the girl working there couldn't get the shake maker/blender to do what it's supposed to do. She apologized and I ordered three scoops of the Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream. The ice cream was very good, although the shake was what I really wanted.

Now that I see the last picture here, I suppose that is a better smile than some people I've seen who said they were smiling. I'm not referring to my readers because I know they all have great smiles and are very nice people! Keep smiling.

My somewhat expressionless "I'm drinking a shake" look

The Ben & Jerry's shake I drank was great! I was so impressed that I went back there on Friday, but...

(please look above for more recent entries)

I can't really explain how I decided to write the song, released here last time. It's not about any specific relationship and there's not much more I can think of at the moment to describe the song.

Scott McLean "It's all your fault" original

Scott McLean: vocals, guitar, songwriter

Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Shake

I had been planning for some amount of time to go have ice cream or a shake at the Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop in downtown Boise, Idaho.

After looking over their ice creams, I ordered a large Chocolate Fudge Brownie Shake. It's a rich, creamy, and filling shake, with great flavor and my thinking is it's an excellent quality ice cream.

Why I have a fish wind sock hanging in the bedroom

is anyone's guess. But don't try to guess. One reason is I don't have a wife, which allows me to be myself. haha

All I'm sure of is the wind's not blowing in here. On a slightly different topic, I know I'll need goofier faces to even dare write about the legend's of comedy. But at this point in world history, which is continually being made, being funny is a lot closer to everyday humorless activity than ever before, and we should admit to (or not) the power of people posting their own funny guy and funny gal videos. Some are pretty darn funny and others, well, I may not understand them but I'm sure those people are trying their hardest. Just like me...look how hard I'm trying. haha

Yes, it's safe, I'm gone now. Going to see what other fast food or fast-food beverage I can find. Take care.

McDonald's McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

I drank this delicious sweet-tart lemonade before and wanted to try it again. Last time, my picture was somewhat dark and was difficult to see the beautiful colors of this lemonade soft drink, which is the reason for another picture (above). I was conflicted yesterday when going to look for a soft drink, wanting a fountain drink, too, from Love's (please refer to a recent post) and also craving a shake from just about any fast food place. I chose this large Frozen Strawberry Lemonade, purchasing it in a McDonald's drive-thru, but who knows what I will drink today. I don't know, but I hope to find out.

Use your fast food imagination

Maybe next time I'll get all of the Carl's Jr. name in the picture. Or maybe not.

Oh yeah, I should add that there were no pretty young ladies off on the other side of me in the picture (unless they are invisible), especially not Paris or anyone who looks like her. And if there was, you probably wouldn't see her because she would be mine or at least in my mind she would be mine. haha... It's my attempt at humor. And of course I'm making fun of fans who go too far in their near worship of celebrities, some of you thinking you are going to date or marry celebrities. Stop it! There will be more of my opinion on this subject and others, mixing in humor just so it doesn't get boring. Stay cool!

FRIES day

Yesterday's NATURAL-CUT FRIES at Carl's Jr. make me want to eat more of these fries again this evening. I like to eat a variety of foods, but when something tastes this good, I want to eat it again right away.

No map to find love

But no map needed for me to find the nearby Love's and get a fountain drink.

Now, do you see on the cup, uhh kinda looks like a highway map of how to reach a fountain drink? It's not a real map. Good thing too, I'm sure I'd get lost between the "OUNCE 32" sign and "pepsi" sign (see the cup). They really ought to ask Love's customers what should be on the cup in between those two signs. I would recommend a tropical beach with, well umm, yeah... I won't elaborate now because it's morning and after eating cereal with milk I'm much too average at the moment for fantasy. I can be boring too and predictable, though perhaps in my case means I'm unpredictable.

So then, I might also put signs on the the cup-map highway that read Coke, Dr. Pepper, and Diet Coke because that's what I mixed into the drink along with Pepsi, plus, as I was told by employee before that I could add, sweet flavor shots of lime, lemon, cherry and vanilla. But the cup would run out of space with that many words on it. Too many flavors also can prove quite confusing though it's not much different than a relationship, one day it's like a strawberry, the next it's starfruit, and before long it's like a grapefruit. Oh I should have just blurted out that a bikini beach (on a fake, though fun, highway map) would be a good stop on the way to soda pop. Conclusion: Reality sucks, choose fantasy!

Local Dairy Queen has high quality breakfast for a fast food restaurant

This was the second time today that I had eaten blueberries, and I felt very healthy. So, can anyone guess where I had this big, yummy blueberry pancake with butter and syrup, plus a cold cranberry juice? Oh yeah, the name is in the title above.

The local Dairy Queen, in Ontario, Oregon, has a nice breakfast menu with various breakfast foods including a pancake and blueberries can be added. Next time, I think I'll try something different: Two blueberry pancakes.

Jack in the Box shake, again

The drive-thru menu at Jack in the Box almost needs to be studied -- as in, oh no, there's an exam in two minutes and need to study fast (I don't but maybe somebody does) -- because there are a lot of choices including those "REAL ICE CREAM SHAKES" and I ordered "OREO Cookie" shake, again. And again some more times. The large size of shake was $2.99 but I don't know the price at other Jack in the Box locations.

A trend seems to be emerging in my shake drinking. This shake is very good and a lot of fun to drink. I could eat the shake with the spoon, though it wouldn't last more than a few minutes that way. Did I write that before? Probably. Who knows, maybe I'll write it again.

Arctic Orange Shake, then and now

This is a McCafé Arctic Orange Shake from McDonald's. (Same as the last post.) The shake is not quite like McDonald's Arctic Orange Shake from a few years ago. My first impression was that this McCafe shake isn't as yummy as the earlier shake. It didn't seem to have the pleasant orange flavor of the McDonald's Arctic Orange Shake of four years ago which I wrote about and later included in my favorite fast foods and beverages list.

You know where

Enough shake for me, but it's gone too soon. I'm swallowing the cherry now. No, right now! I saved it for last, though for no reason. Okay the cherry has been gone for a few minutes at the time this was posted, a minute before midnight.

Brownies aren't funny, they're delicious!

These brownies were hot out of the oven and cut while warm, just a few minutes before eating but not too many minutes because I had brownie hunger.

There's no logical reason for brownies showing up on a fast food blog, other than that it shows I'm real, I'm human, and also hmm let me think... if there were a combo meal of brownies, fries, and a soft drink I'd probably buy it. That's not intended as advice to fast food companies.

I'm attempting humor and while I should try harder, it's pointed out because someone could get the wrong idea and try to see how many brownies, fries, and sodas they can eat on a Saturday night, for example. Don't do that and if you are not able to apply thinking skills in everyday life, then please go away. Yes, another poor attempt at humor which of course would be better said by a really funny guy. However, I could be the writer, hint, hint.

Actually, I'd be more comfortable being in, sort of, a comedy material assembly line. We would start with a very, very funny man or woman writing the jokes, then it would go to another funny person for inspection, then the joke would come to me and I would take out a screwdriver and tighten the joke down a bit so it won't cause any injuries from the audience laughing too hard, then it goes on to another funny guy or gal, and then you would have an actual comedian look the joke over -- yawn for about 45 seconds punctuated by some painful looking expressions on his face-- and try to come up with his own jokes to explain that his writers went on vacation, or at least their minds are like on a cruise or something.

Pictured are Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies made from what the box describes as a "Traditional Chewy Brownie Mix" and on the back of the box, it tells you what other ingredients are needed and what to do.

Back to whatever comes to mind. Sometimes I get mixed up when baking, using a mix, but I try not to let myself down when I'm craving brownies.

A shake in the morning at McDonald's

I drank the shake in the car after buying it at the drive-thru.

Shake? Not a shake

at a Jack in the Box minutes before 3 AM Monday morning, which is the night for most people and they are sound asleep, if they are able to sleep. But if they can't, that's not my problem.

Anyway, since I couldn't have the shake my second choice on the drive-thru menu was the Supreme Croissant. It was pretty good but I was weak due to hunger. I ate in a hurry, so sorry for no picture.

In the post below, the picture was from a different visit to the same Jack in the Box. This picture looked very nice and didn't need a description. It was much earlier at night so they could make a shake.

Then one day this week, not too early or late, I went to McDonald's and thought about going inside to eat. But it looked like there were too many people so the drive-thru became a logical backup plan. I ordered a shake and fries but it was breakfast time and they weren't over to the lunch menu, so they couldn't give me fries but I did get the shake, which was sweet and yummy tasting. And I'll put up a picture of the shake. If I'd had the fries, however, it would have been even better because I like alternating between a sweet drink and a salty food. Hmm... I think every fast food restaurant should serve French fries 24/7! I don't eat a lot. I just want to eat what I want to eat, when I want to eat it. And I have a smile on my face.

The real me?

Or is it me playing a character? Don't we all sort of play characters sometimes, especially when we smile for the camera?

Another angle on a shake

This is the Chocolate Malted Crunch Shake from Carl's Jr. I don't see the crunchy bits or what's in there to make it crunchy, but sometime I'll go to a different Carl's Jr. location and try again.

From top of the shake

It's hard to tell by looking at this shake from above but this is the "New! Chocolate Malted Crunch" Shake by Carl's Jr. I still like the strawberry shake better, but I think new flavors are the in thing and my guess is the shake will grow on me.

About a week and a half later (after what I wrote above and delayed posting) ... brings me to right now. There will be another picture in the next post as I just got back from Carl's Jr. where I got that shake again, using the drive-thru, but I wasn't able to see what makes the shake the way it is and the picture won't show much either.

I am posting my pictures from over the years. The picture at a Burger King was during the time of the first Fast Food Yummy blog and as I recall, my friend wasn't able to be there.

Talk is action too

This is a Burger King restaurant in Portland, Oregon, where I used to hang out with a guy who is a great friend. There are lots of nice memories. We also went to other fast food restaurants. We liked to talk about pro sports and look at the sports section of the newspaper. I liked to drink and drink and drink soda and we would talk and talk and talk.

Same place as last time

Sitting there in the car, parked of course, drinking the drink (pictured below) which I bought in the McDonald's drive-thru. I also listened to important news and thought about buying another one but went to Jack in the Box a short time later, ordered a strawberry shake and the girl working there at the drive-thru told me it was the last shake of the night because that was the last of ice cream they had. I didn't get a photo but that shake was one of the best I've had lately. So I'd better write that down. Last night, in a different location, I went to another Jack in the Box drive-thru and ordered the strawberry shake again, and it was just as outstanding. And the girl who gave me the shake, kept saying goodbye to me, and that's more than I can say for some ex-girlfriends. Wow! But she was just being nice. And that's what I like. Yes, I'm available and I can treat. No, I'm not being forward, I meant I'll take her, or someone like her, out for something sweet such as a shake. Oh yeah, this isn't a dating site, but humor does tend to cloud my judgment. I did choose to make this a very long paragraph so hopefully people will get bored and won't read it too closely and I won't get the miss-association of women wanting men to act like robots to come down too hard on me. Unless of course, that feels good. haha See, I should write that (haha) all the time, so people without a sense of humor won't get bent too far out of shape. Also, I don't want to see what that looks like.

How great is it?

McDonald's frozen strawberry lemonade was great Sunday night when I had it for the first time. I can't say how great, but I'm leaning towards 'very' although it would be a good idea for me to drink this again a few more times. And it's an idea I like very much, so that says something too.

Good Shake

Carl's Jr. has a "new" shake, and maybe I'll get to try it soon. I decided to drink a typical kind of shake on Saturday, so I ordered a strawberry shake. This shake is as good or better than many basic shakes I've had before, but it's very difficult to to decide which one was the best.

Sweet strawberry smoothie

This Strawberry Smoothie at Jack in the Box was very sweet and yummy.

I'll get it again... Oh yeah, I already did.

Eating fries, listening to songs

Wendy's "Natural-Cut Fries" with Sea Salt are good tasting fries, but I've always liked the flavor of Wendy's french fries. I will try these fries again during daytime hours.

It's my fault for getting to Wendy's right at or just before closing time, but the fries I ordered were not very warm. They were still warm enough for me, especially since I was hungry.

I like it when I can sit in the car and eat fries while listening to songs on the radio. That's a lot of fun, or at least as much fun as one guy can have by himself while sitting in the car with not much else to do.

Jack in the Box truck, the part I care about

After doing some more shopping (a week ago), I went looking for a new menu item at a fast food restaurant and I wound up over at Wendy's restaurant. When I got there, immediately I spotted this truck (on a back street) and the advertising on the side of the truck really caught my attention because what I saw looked very yummy. Since I hadn't tried one of Jack in the Box smoothies, I did go there in another town on the drive back.

I was tired and hungry so I used the drive-thru at Wendy's after getting the picture. I was lucky to make it there before they closed for the night so I ordered Wendy's new fries.