Party Tip #1

Tomorrow night, New Year’s Eve, has the fixn’s to be a night of fun, friends, drinks, and yes.. the opportunity to get arrested… I just want to give a word or two of advice and that is to dress in a way that if you are arrested or caught on film doing something “less than favorable” that your choice of attire doesn’t add to your embarrassment or shame..

Like this guy. I’m sure when he bought this shirt at Spencer’s Gifts it seemed funny and cool, he he…. I bet now he would re-think that purchase…

Cool t-shirt and I do love that little people porn..
JULY 14--Since you usually can't anticipate an arrest for drunk driving, a motorist does not have the luxury of planning a wardrobe for the mug shot session. Floridian Jon Matteson, who last month pleaded no contest to a reckless driving count, knows all about that predicament. The 28-year-old was wearing a rather distinctive t-shirt when he posed for the below Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office mug shot following his December 2004 DUI arrest. We're sure Matteson was more appropriately attired in Circuit Court on June 1, when he was sentenced to a year's probation, fined $775, and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.

IVR Cheat Sheet

Tired of talking to computers (IVR) when calling customer service? Try this CHEAT SHEET of prompts that may help you bypass the computer and actually get you through to a real live person.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a list for what language you must speak when your wish is granted and you get to talk to a person….

Special thanks to the people that provided this info to me.. (Becky, Jon, and Jon’s Dad)

Cheap Drinks, Free Rides..

Only in the UP can you plan a New Year's Eve night out and no one has to be the DD. Ah, the sweet UP!

OSF St. Francis Hospital and Rampart EMS are stepping up to the plate in Delta County again this New Year's Eve. In conjunction with JN Taxi and Escanaba Taxi, they're offering free rides for New Year's Eve from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m.

They've offered "Liferides" for 20 years now, and there has not been a single alcohol-related traffic injury, they say, since the program started. Last year, the two taxi companies served almost 1200 people on New Year's Eve.
To alleviate the anticipated long waiting times this year, Liferides is also running a charter bus with routes through Escanaba and Gladstone. The bus will run from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m.

The message, of course, is "If you're going to drink on New Year's, you don't have to drive. A free taxi and bus service will take care of you."

Tipping on To-Go Orders?

It seems like all of the chain "sit down" restaurants are pushing the Curbside Take-Away, Carside To Go, or a similar service. The question is.. When the meal gets to the car and the server asks you if you want change. What do you say? I didn't know, Amy didn't know, and I was too embarrassed to ask the All-Knowing Jon.

So, I have decided it was time get to the bottom of this nagging etiquette question. I wasn't real happy with what I found out, but it does make cents, well maybe not to Rudi.

I found that only when you pick up a pizza, a tip is not required. Most likely based on pay. In all other pick-up cases, your tip is for the waiter or waitress who has to prepare and package your order. Again, most likely based on pay. If you buy into this as a good reason. How much of a tip is appropriate? Well, according to one source, it depends on the establishment. If it's a restaurant that features take-out meals, 10% is appropriate. If it's a restaurant that is really more of a dine-in place, the typical 15% is in order.

For me the real reason to leave a tip? Well if you don't, you may be pimping your waiters and waitresses because at some dine-in restaurants, takeout orders are added to a waitperson's total sales and fall under the 8% rule. Which the IRS requires servers to report 8% of their total sales as tips. Even though you may be eating at home, the waitperson is still providing you a service by preparing and packing your food and in most cases paying Uncle Sam for it.

My opinion... It would be nice if restaurants paid their people, so I don't have too.....

BUT... When in doubt, leaving a couple of bucks is always appreciated.

Santa's Crib

All of the Christmas presents have been delivered so now what will Santa do? Retire to his phat crib of course…

Clips can also be viewed at the bottom of this page... for those of you that refuse to click on the hyperlinks!!!! However, the clip at the bottom of the page will change every couple of days to keep the blog fresh, but the hyperlink will still be the same...

Colorful Cabbage

Hartman's Colorful Cabbage

What will you need…

• 4 cups green cabbage shredded (1 head)
• 1 small green pepper, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons pimentos
• ¼ cup butter
• ½ tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon floor
• ½ cup milk
• 1 cup mild cheddar shredded
• Dash black pepper

Let’s get cooking…

• Sauté the onion & green pepper in butter for 5 min
• Stir in cabbage & salt
• Cover & cook for 10 min on med heat
• Sprinkle flour over cabbage mixture
• Stir in milk, gradually for 3-5 min
• Blend in pimentos and pepper
• Sprinkle cheese
• Stir and Serve..

Serves 10 (4 Bradfields)

A special thank you to our Cajun friends, Mike and Goldie, for the family recipe.

Woof! Woof! Woof! Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Rich, Amy & Alex…

This year we are spending Christmas in Rochester because Amy had to work, nothing new there. My folks came in from the UP to spend the week with us and to dog sit while Amy and I go out to Las Vegas for New Years Eve. We are looking forward Vegas and seeing our good friends Becky, Erin & Loran..

Enjoy the Holidays…

Woot's Random Bag of Crap

Damn it!! I should have known that Woot would have had the Random Bag of Crap today!!!!

Stocking of Crap VIII: Santa Strikes Back
You don’t have anyone to share the holidays with. No kids to put presents under the tree for, no big group of friends to share a Christmas drink with. You have nothing better to do at midnight on Christmas morning than to look at Woot. Again.

You lucky bastard.

Santa knows all about your unusual tastes, so he’s saved a stocking full of crap for the least naughty among you. If you miss out, you have only yourselves to blame. We’re talking Santa here. He knows. He knows it all.

ATTENTION! Somebody misunderstands this concept every time, so please READ THE BIG PRINT:

1. WHEN YOU ORDER THIS ITEM, YOU’LL GET ONE BAG WITH (up to) THREE CRAPS IN IT.

2. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SELECTING THE QUANTITY OF THREE WHEN YOU ORDER.

3. YOU WILL WASTE FREIGHT IF YOU ORDER FEWER THAN THREE.

The item quantity you select is the number of crappy items we’ll put in your bag. Select THREE. You will only get one bag. Later, you can watch with smug satisfaction as a surprisingly large number of less observant Wooters complain on the forums about their two missing bags. We say again: YOU WILL ONLY GET ONE BAG.

We make absolutely no promises about the bags or what’s in them. You pay us real American hard currency – we send you the dregs of our warehouse stock. Funny how that works, huh? It’s like a blindfolded shopping spree at a dollar store!

THE HOLY CRAP COMMANDMENTS v2.0:


I. Thou shalt expect nothing beyond one bag of some kind and your chosen quantity of crappy items (which should be THREE).

II. Thou shalt not whine and complain when some people’s crap turns out to be nicer than yours.

III. Thou shalt take a moment to consider whether you might be better off just not buying this crap.

IV. Thou shalt not order just one crap and blame it on anything but your own inattention.

V. To paraphrase Stephen Stills, shalt thou not get the crap you want, want the crap you get.

Warranty: you wish

Features:

1 (one) bag
Some (some) crap

Cool Gift

Coolest gift a man can buy for friends without looking metro-sexual. (I hope)

ZapCap stainless steel bottle opener The ingenious and original ZapCap is also available in stylish stainless steel. The stainless steel model is a UK award finalist product, manufactured to the highest quality, offering superb weight and design.

• Ideal for home entertaining. (gives you a reason to open another beer)
• Operates on all crown cap bottles and metal twist off tops.
• Superb quality, offering first class design and weight.
• Designed and developed in the UK. (that's England)

In Rochester these can be purchased at Counterpoint Home in the Galleria Mall Centerplace (downtown). Amy and I love the store. They have really cool stuff that you wouldn't find anywhere else in town. Not to mention they are the best gift wrappers…

Best Christmas Card 2005

Congratulations to the Duncan Family. This is the best Christmas Card for 2005 that Amy and I received. It wasn't easy to pick one card but as you can see this card is pretty damn funny. This is actually their two kids... It cracked me up!!!!

We got lots of cards and letters this year and wanted to thank everyone for thinking of us. It was great to find out what everyone has been up to this year.

Thanks again,

Rich & Amy

History of Clan McIntosh

Probably the earliest authentic history of Mackintosh is traceable to Shaw or Seach MacDuff, a Cadet son of the third Earl of Fife. The son of MacDuff, for his support of Malcom IV, was awarded the lands of Petty and Breachley in Invernesshire and was appointed Constable of the Castle thereto. Assuming the name "Mac-an-toisch", which means "Son of the Thane or Chief", he began his own Clan. The Clan support of James I in 1429 resulted in large tracts of land being settled on the Mackintoshes. Clan Mackintosh was involved in the "Battle of the Thirty", a mass trial by combat, which was held under the judicial control of the King in 1396 on the North Inch of Perth, in which Clan Macintosh regained all lands taken from the Shaws.

Clan Mackintosh supported the King in the revolt of 1688, but in 1715, Mackintosh gave his support to the Jacobite Rebellion. At the "45 Rising", Angus, who held a commission in the Black Watch, could not in honor raise the Clan for Prince Charles Edward. His wife, Lady Ann (Colonel Anne), raised the Mackintosh Battalions for Clan Chattan in support of "Bonnie Prince Charlie". The Chattan Regiment distinguished itself at the Battle of Culloden under the leadership of the Chief of the MacGillivray's and was one of only two Scottish Regiments which did not lose their colors. Earlier, following "Colonel Anne's" tactics, five Mackintoshes, under the leadership of Frasier, the Blacksmith, had routed 1500 of Lord Louden's Troops who were approaching Moy Hall in an attempt to capture Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Clan Mackintosh is second to none. It's members have demonstrated that they are stalwart, fearless, and adventuresome people. In the United States, Mackintoshes have played an important part in it's history, especially in the Southeast. A group under John Mor Mackintosh helped guard General Oglethorpe's new colony in Savannah, Georgia and aided in extending settlements west to the Tombigbee River between Georgia and Arkansas. The Clan Mackintosh spirit is as strong as ever and binds our clansmen together in all parts of the world.

Santa's Nice-O-Meter

Have you been naughty or nice? Will Santa visit you tomorrow night? Click HERE to find out..

I guess Santa has me on the nice list. He said..

Nice, but has been naughty at times. Neatness and politeness have been very good over the last two weeks. Shows proper respect for others. Shares well, but could always be better. With a little more effort could be near top of "nice" list.

Thank you Dan for the website..

Blog Updates

The blog will now only show 5 posts at a time. This will make it easier to move around the page. It’s easy to see older posts just by going the archives in the right hand column.

Now at the bottom of the page you will find a video that has caught my fancy and a couple of count down clocks. I have also added to the links, thanks Dave.

Thanks for visiting and if you have any suggestions or comments send them to comments@richmcintosh.com.

-Management

Winter Solstice

Today is Winter Solstice, a.k.a. first day of winter. Hope you enjoy the snow. This is a photo of our home from last year after one big snow fall. Hopefully, we will have a good snowy winter this year.

If you’re interested in skiing in the Rochester area you only have a couple of choices...

•Steeplechase Ski & Snowboard Park, it’s not much, but it’s only about 10 minutes north of Rochester and its cheap. Typical Lift Ticket $28 (Good for a few hours at a snowboard park)

•Welch Village Ski & Snowboard Area, definitely better than Steeplechase, about an hour north or Rochester. Typical Lift Ticket $40 (Social atmosphere, they have a bar)

This is a Fully Operational Blog

After to talking to a fan today. I realized that some of you are not using the full power of the blog.

• Click on the underlined or colored words, they’re links. A lot of work goes into those. It’s the best part.
• Look at the right hand column. Lots of good stuff. (Links, Weather, Web Counter..)
• Comments.. You can comment on something.. It’s always good to see feed back.
• Polls. Vote baby..

But really, thanks for looking at my blog. I get about 100 hits a day and I‘ve also gotten several positive comments.

If you looking for a good time, Click HERE!! See EZ…

Santa "Probable" Clause

About time Law Enforcement cracked down on Santa Clause. It dosen't take a nut and bolt salesman to figure out where the money comes from and why he would deliver toys to thousands of homes for free.

Click HERE, to see the take down.

Nice Pair of Monitors

Once a year, Amy ropes me into stopping in to the WFMC. Normally I’m not to keen on the idea, but I remembered that the WFMC have some pretty sweet monitors.

Double the blogging… Double the fun… Ya, I'm a Dork...

Take My Poll

King Kong Burger @ BK

Why are people over weight? Geeee....

Burger King is rolling out the King Kong Burger, a new burger to feed king-sized appetites, the Triple Whopper with cheese sandwich, to help generate buzz over Universal Picture's new film King Kong.

This baby weighs in at over 1 pound, 1230 calories/740 calories from fat. The new burger includes three beef patties, American cheese lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mayonnaise, pickles and onions stacked on a sesame bun and retails for $3.99. Burger King has added the Triple Whopper as a permanent item to its menu.

In honor of King Kong, the QSR is selling banana milk shakes (16 ounces to 42 ounces) through Dec. 31. The large goes about 900 calories....

King Kong Burger, 1230 cal
King Fry, 600 cal
King Coke, 390 cal
Banana Shake (16 oz), 400 cal
Total = 2620 cal... That's over you daily allowance...

UMMMMMMMMMIE!!!!!

Post Your Own Video

I found, via a fellow blogger, this awesome site where you can post your own videos. Funny stuff!!! Some of it pushes the PG-13 envelope, but well worth a view.

Here are a couple of my favorites….

Dancing Chic, be sure to check out the dog in the lower right corner.
Dude Flexing, Why?
YMCA, PG-13..

Christmas Holiday Tipping Etiquette

Christmas is a great time of year to remember those people who serve you regularly. Since it only occurs once a year, holiday tipping can be a source of holiday stress, but it need not be so. I recommend a gift or a tasteful Christmas card with a tip inside. Delivery should occur in the month of December prior to Christmas day.

• Maid - one week's pay. If you use a service and never know who is coming out, don't tip at all.
• Mail carrier - $10-20. This is for mail carriers that are on foot, not ones in a car. Rather than money, candy or some type of treat. Also, if you get snow, make a path so the mail carrier can cut across your yard.
• Apartment building superintendent - $20-100
• Doorman/concierge - $50-100 or more, depending upon building
• Manicurist/pedicurist - $15 or more
• Hairdresser/stylist - $15 or more
• Newspaper carrier - Daily - $25 - 50, weekend - $10
• Baby sitter - two-to-three night's pay, plus maybe a gift
• Full-time nanny - one week's pay
• Day care service - $25-70 plus a gift
• Parking attendants - $10-20 each
• Personal trainer - $60-100 upon reaching goal.
• Teacher - $25-100. Give a gift certificate to a bookstore or office supply store.
• Country Club -$50 for your waiters, locker-room personnel, front-desk employees, and golf professionals. For head waiters or special service, make it $100.

If you would like to add to the list please leave a comment.

More tipping info, Click HERE.