Alabama Grad Marissa Daleigh Is A Rising Star, Shaq Curls Reggie Miller & Dogs Enjoying A Wide Open Weekend
Who's going to the massive National Restaurant Association show in Chicago this weekend?
After a two-year delay due to the 'VID, the NRA (Restaurant, not the guns) show is back on in Chicago and I'm heading out with my wife who is in charge of designing her company's booth for this insane trade show with vendors from all over the world. This is where I was introduced to food items like Tater Kegs, which are in bars all over the country at this point.
It's the show where I first saw robots making french fries which are now making their way into fast-food restaurants. It's the show where attendees get to taste-test gelato from approximately 40 vendors. There's even a vendor that sells hospital crunchy ice makers. You can stick a cup under the ice maker and get a fresh cup of crunchy ice as you walk around McCormick Place.
If you think Costco Sample Saturday is something, you ain't seen anything if you've never been to the NRA show.
But this one isn't open to the public. If it were open to the public, it would be one of the largest gatherings of humans on the planet. Seriously, this show is a highlight of my year and it just happens that I have an 'in' to this one.
Remember when I was looking for Screencaps bucket list trips? This one is on that list. It's a huge highlight of my year and I think you guys are going to love the content I'm able to slap together.
Let me know if you're going to be there Sunday/Monday and we'll try to connect. And if you have a booth, I'm definitely stopping by.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
Let's get this out of the way early because Screencaps readers are fired up over Aaron H.'s attack on cyclists
• Aaron H. in Iowa stirred up a hornets' nest Friday with his email on cyclists and how they refuse to use the trails around his house and instead ride on the road and don't obey the traffic laws. Aaron mentioned how the cyclists get sloppy at the bars and it's a big concern of his.
Enter the Screencaps cycling community. Here we gooooooo!
• Darren E. sent in an email as I was working this morning. He writes:
As I prepare for our Saturday ride (50 miles - Do Hard Things), I have a message from cyclists (bikers ride motorcycles):
Hopefully we won’t see as many vehicles passing us that cross over the double yellow lines. On hills.
And curves.
Lots of
• Patrick W. is on Team Aaron H. P-Dubbs writes:
Hey Joe, Patrick from beautiful southwest MO here. Long time Outkick reader and returning SC reader since I'm back working 8-5 again. When Aaron from Iowa complained about cyclists I knew I had to finally jump in.
My take has always been this: adult cyclists are just weird. I don't care if this offends anyone. It's the truth. If you are an adult (especially a man) and you ride a bicycle I just have to assume you are a very strange individual. Why would you consciously choose to ride around on a toy meant for children when motor vehicles are available?
Additionally, the gear these people wear is insanely ugly. And they actually have stores specifically for bicycles and parts and gear. I have never seen a man walk into one of these stores without chacos on. Those ugly sandals that should never see the light of day on anyone.
And Aaron was 100% correct when he pointed out that these people couldn't care less about traffic or laws pertaining to. Anytime I see a grown adult riding a bicycle I instantly fill rage. Maybe that says more about me but oh well. Bottom line, if you are a grown adult (especially a man) riding a bicycle, just know I am judging you every time.
Now that that's off my chest we have had a ton of rain so far this spring in SW MO. Here is beautiful Stockton Lake where I will spend nearly every warm weekend during the year. Have a great one SC nation! (Unless you ride a bicycle).
• Tommy in Texarkana wants in on this cycling topic. He writes:
Ahhhhh, Aaron H. In Iowa must like swatting the hornets nest! Just a couple of thoughts, as a cyclist and runner, on his email...
First, just like there are good and bad drivers, there are good and bad cyclists. No doubts, no argument. Always nice that the shitty ones ruin it for the rest of us that try to do it the right way, and that goes for both sides.
I'd be interested to know what kind of "highway" he is referencing. I'd also like to know the surface of the "trails." There are obviously different surfaces for different bikes and tires. I ride a road bike. We follow traffic laws and work hard to share the road, according to law and doing right by mankind. However, sometimes we have absolutely ridden a couple wide because inconsiderate people texting or just with an overpriced wooden stick up their ass like to rev it up and fly by a foot or so to the side of us, when the other lane is free and clear ahead. Again, it goes both ways.
Regarding stop signs and traffic signals, we make it a point to always stop if it is a stop sign or red light, however, if visibility is ample and nobody is in sight, we do cruise through, but only then.
Does Aaron H. cycle himself? Has he experienced the other side of it first hand? Just curious...
"A little respect from them is going to be received in respect coming back their way." Is he inferring that we have to give to get here?
I am in complete agreement that things need to be better, and I do call my cycling brethren out when I realize something could be done better and be avoided. And I am in complete agreement with Aaron H. when it comes to sidewalks and walkers/runners. If there is a sidewalk, use it. We do down here in Texarkana.
With all that said, Aaron H's state hosts the premier domestic ride, RAGBRAI. It's one I will be partaking in over the next couple of years, as it crosses the state of Iowa. Check it out! Beer, concerts, casseroles, and camping. And, for the record, I appreciate the topic being brought up. Can't have progress without good constructive conversation.
Additionally, in my first email earlier this week, I neglected to mention concerts. My first was Michael Bolton at Starplex in Dallas when I was in 8th grade. Celine Dion opened, if I recall. I had a girl I liked and they had an extra ticket, and now I have a story for every time there is an "icebreaker" in a meeting.
The best was Robert Earl Keen. Every. Damn. Time. Beer drinkin, story tellin, live Texas country.
Enjoy the weekend, Joe! Hope your Costco trip is slow and enjoy full this weekend!
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That topic could boil over into an all-out Screencaps war. It's worth watching how people react as they digest Aaron H.'s email. I know, via Google Analytics, that many readers get caught up with Friday-Saturday Screencaps on Sunday night as they're sitting in the recliner, so I'm expecting emotions to pour out tomorrow night.
Live from the PGA
• Bill C. is in charge of sending in interesting content he runs across at the PGA and so far he's off to a fast start. He snagged an image of the PGA of America's water filling station where people could avoid paying $6 for Aquafina. Here's Friday's report:
I asked if there was any particular reason for the matching outfits or if their group had a name. Nope, just local guys having fun, drinking beer and watching PGA golfers on a Friday afternoon. Probably after a successful TNML cut.
Bill adds:
They do realize this is a major PGA golf championship in the month of May don't they?
Day 1 of Adam's golf trip is in the books
• Adam D., who used suggestions from Screencaps readers to create a weekend guys' golf trip to Branson, MO., writes:
Hey Joe, Late night for an email! We had a long and fun day golfing. The weather was sunny and windy early. Rivercut golf course in the morning was a blast. Long roughs and tight fairways made for a real challenge. Team 1 took most of the wins for the morning matches.
In the afternoon on Ledgestone Country Club, Team 2 fought back to get a little ground back, but still in trouble as we enter day two of 36 more holes of golf. We have a threat of some rain and potential lighting. We will be playing the other two public courses in Springfield tomorrow. Horton Smith Golf course is scheduled for the morning tee time. Bill and Payne Stewart Golf Course is set for the afternoon. The matchups have been fun and lots of laughing, mixed with some club slamming.
We had one of the guys smoke meat ahead of the trip and ate for dinner tonight! It was amazing and he did it on a Green Mtn smoker. He use to have a Traeger smoker, until it rusted out. Still anyone's match, but lots of pressure on Team 2 to play better tomorrow. Hoping for another great day of playing golf. This is the most golf I have played in one day before this trip. Most of the other guys are pros in comparison. Attaching some pictures of the crew and course. Thank you again for the inspiration to make this happen.
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Hit 'em straight today, fellas. Sounds like you might be at the 19th hole enjoying some lighting delay beers and watching the PGA where it has cooled off considerably and they could be under delays today.
Shifting gears
• Mark M. in Jefferson, GA writes:
I know that I'm late to the party, but with Memorial Day weekend coming up, I wanted to give the ScreenCaps community a book recommendation. My favorite book is "Deep Survival" by Laurence Gonzales. It contains the true life stories of people who survived (or didn't) extreme circumstances and what they did right or wrong. From being shot down by the Nazis, being lost at sea for months, breaking a leg high on a mountain, or being the only survivor of a plane crash in the jungle, the book examines who lives, who dies, and why. It turns out to be about the rules of life. It's an amazing book that I try to read every year.
Also, I want to encourage your readers to save as many of the classic American cars as they can. I have a 1965 Mustang that took 11 years to restore (revive is actually a better description). There are no cars being made today that can be purchased by your average consumer that will still be considered valuable 50 years from now. But so many of your average cars of the 1950's, 60's and early 70's are treasures that are disappearing from the landscape. The MSRP of my car was $2427, less than $20k in today's money. (Well, more than that now...) I think these cars are a reminder of a better America, one we can aspire to be again.
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These Saturday Screencaps posts are supposed to be quick hitters. Here we are on a Saturday morning and this thing is a monster. And the email inbox is STILL stuffed. Just overflowing. I'll get to all the TNML messages. Promise.
Now let's get out of the house and have ourselves a day. It's a tripleheader soccer-baseball-baseball day in this household before I head over to my father-in-law's house to help him with a project and I just might be able to sneak in some 'me' time at Costco today. It's beyond time to go spend an hour just looking around.
Take care.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com