Paige VanZant Enters The Jungle, Toolbag Jeff Bezos & CFB Extra Point Chaos
How are we feeling about this whole Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football experience?
Let's start with my experience which included my phone and two TVs in the man cave:
Here's the deal: The TV viewing public isn't 100% ready for streaming football games, but if I were to come back to this post in 5-8 years, I'll laugh at how ridiculous this all sounds to what we'll experience down the road. I get that things will get better. We'll iron out the problems.
My main issue with streaming is that I'm trained to flip channels and these apps make it impossible. I pray that one of these streaming services figures out a way to make flipping channels possible again because my brain can't keep track of 800 apps, which apps offer certain shows, etc.
I was at my buddy Chris's house the other day and he was running Hulu Live++++ or whatever they're calling it and I asked if there was a 'Last' channel button. Nope. What? I'm not ready to live in a world where I can't just hit 'Last' to flip back and forth from games. Can you enter numbers to dial up a channel? Nope.
• Jim M. in West Lafayette, IN writes:
Just as LA scored their last touchdown - my feed disappeared. It came back after the game was over. Picture got buffered on a number of occasions for people in our Gauntlet group. And the pixels were a bit wonky on occasion. I'm running on some old gaming hardware to turn my TV into a smart TV, so maybe that was an issue. But I am on direct fiber WIFI - not shared cable lines. Never would have been an issue on my DirecTV.
I'm curious what others experienced. No one is buying Sunday Ticket next year if this is how its going to work. Amazon has a gazillion dollars. They need to spend some of them.
• Danny K. from Chatt Hills, GA writes:
I think what the nfl is doing is way wrong!!! Amazon prime can kiss my as! When I was young we would get on the roof and turn the antenna to pick up a game from 50 miles away because of black out rules !! Understood years ago but now ?? Now they !!the nfl and their $$$$$ can kiss my grass!!! I know you hear it all the time! But this is wrong!! Just thought I should let you know because I love what you do!! And Dan leba retard!! Can fuc$$$& all the way off tooo!!! Go falcons and dawgs and yellow jackets too!!
• John in SD writes:
I’ll give the Prime team a B+ for their first try at this. Herbstreit doing pro games with Al Michaels will take some time to adjust to. Pre and post-game coverage was good enough. Overwhelmed with the AWS/Prime advertising.
I’ll offset my Costco shopping and gas purchases by continuing to eat at Chick-fil-A at a regular basis!
Been doing the garage/basement fridge thing for over 22 years, it’s a must, especially with kids.
Wait, this is in Ohio?
Now, I know the prevailing belief is that Ohio is cornfields, pavement, strip malls, rollercoasters, an algae lake, Put in Bay & Ohio State football, but there are some actual places that catch the attention of the rest of the country.
• Lou writes:
Wtf. Is this near you?
That's right, it's Ohio. It's the Hocking Hills region of Ohio, which is on the very edge of Appalachia and rolling hills of corn fields leading into Columbus. This is southeastern Ohio, but it's within striking distance of the Columbus airport.
Before Instagram came along, this part of the country was pretty much unknown outside of us Ohioans who would go to Old Man's Cave to feel like we'd left Ohio. Now you have Coachella-hat-wearing Instagram moms going nuts over this area and they're dumping a ton of money into Airbnb rentals.
The 4,000 sq. ft. Cantwell Lodge sleeps 18 people and will run you $3,970 for three nights in December.
Blowing 101
• Bill W. -- I assume that's him in the video, but I cannot confirm that -- writes:
Joe, this is how you blow grass off of a lawn. Work smarter not harder.
Heel pain update
I mowed just fine last night. The big concern is that I might've overextended the heel while hammering out a league night mow, trim, carrying tree limbs to the fire pit, but this morning I'm playing -- sitting at the HQ desk -- at 85%. I can feel a little bit of stiffness in the heel as I try to stretch it out.
BTW, I didn't think a throwaway comment about heel pain would light up the email inbox, but it turns out you guys know all about this problem. Between lumber prices, real chili, mowing, smokers/Blackstones, and now heel pain, this community never disappoints.
• Andrew L. writes:
Hey Joe, great work with Screencaps. About your heel…there are a few things that could be going on. Tendinitis is one, the other could be a Haglund’s Deformity. Both have similar symptoms, with the second being more severe over time.
I tore my Achilles’ tendon straight out of the heel bone the first time at age 35 due to a Haglund’s deformity. I had my other one fixed before it tore at age 44. I would suggest you get a quick x-ray to quickly rule out the potential of tearing it. Eric Berry, former Chief, had this same Haglund’s condition as a young football player. Better to fix it before the tendon goes. Easier recovery.
• Joe M. writes:
Change your shoes.
I had similar pain that persisted for months, and caused me to quasi-limp after I would hit over about 10,000 steps over the course of normal daily activities. I’d limp even worse behind my son’s Lacrosse goal shagging balls that went wide for hours on end at tournaments. A sports therapist gave my Achilles multiple workovers that caused me to sweat a puddle and not be able to speak while she was going to work (the pain is usually at the insertion point of the tendon into the heel, so they work on loosening it).
One particularly crappy day at a tournament in College Station (that sounds redundant, but it snowed, sleeted, and rained in the same day,) I wore a pair of low combat boots due to the mud, and the pain was gone in under an hour. The UA trainers I was wearing (which I’d been wearing for far too long) offered very little heel support. The boots had a bit of a heel cup on the inside, and I laced them up a bit tighter than my daily trainers. The light bulb went on, and I bought a brand of shoe designed for extensive walking (GoRuck Ballistic Trainers,) and have never looked back. Not a scintilla of heel pain left.
• Alex U. writes:
Not going to argue with your plan for the heel pain. Seems like a sage medical opinion. However if you'd like to try something in addition to the pool and margs, I may have a suggestion.
I had pain in my heel/Achilles area the mornings after coaching my kids' soccer teams. It wasn't debilitating but had me just nervous enough to take it easy im hopes of avoiding something more serious. I worked out at a place that shared the facility with a physical therapy office. The head PT guy (who is truly a story on his own) overheard me and asked me a few questions.
After what seemed like some voodoo stuff, he had me put my hands on the back of my hips, push my them forward and look upwards while kind of arching my back. Basically, I looked like an apostrophe if you were looking at my profile. Counted to 15 in this stretch position. Heel pain went away instantly. It works every time it comes back too.
Apparently, it's some nerve issue. Not sure if it'll work for you, but that shit was a game changer for me.
Hope it helps.
• Gregg G. writes:
Big Screencaps fan here…..and if I had a lawn (I live in a condo), I would 100% be a TNML member.
About your heel pain….I suspect that you may be experiencing plantar fasciitis, which I’ve been dealing with for years. I’ve been able to manage it just by replacing the insoles in all of my shoes with orthotic inserts. Any good store that sells running shoes will have them, and you can get cheaper ones (but not as good or as long-lasting) from pretty much any drug store or grocery. Worth a try to see if the pain goes away.
Keep up the great work. The country needs you to keep doing what you’re doing.
Best from a hard-working small businessman.
The Art of the Garage Fridge
What a week it's been for this series. I have a ton of material that needs to be dumped out, but Screencaps would end up 5,000 words if that were to happen today, so we'll just do a couple of submissions. Keep them coming.
One thing I need to ask: Do you guys ever have anxiety over applying a sticker to a fridge where you start thinking about the fridge dying and you're out a sticker that cannot be easily replaced?
• Rob DeG. in Little Elm, Texas writes:
Retired LEO Rob back talking Garage Beer Fridges. These days the beer is generally Light (looking at you Yeungling) or seasonal (currently Oktoberfest time) and some space is shared with the wife's diet soda.
I've always thought of the beer fridge, and its contents, as a reflection of its owner. The Zen of the beer fridge then is to develop a personality that is shared with the owner. In some way, every sticker on my beer fridge is related to an experience (like visiting breweries & distilleries, or firearms I've owned or shot) or a passion (support for our Military and Law Enforcement), I won't generally affix just any random sticker. And, as someone who lives the Patio Lifestyle daily, the Beer Fridge as well as the patio fridge, are unfailingly a community resource. Friends know they can help themselves at any time.
The Beer Fridge is unique, in that the house fridge and the patio fridge are not allowed to be festooned with stickers, and I'm okay with that. Those should be 'sterile' and clean. A beer fridge should be a little rough around the edges (like its owner) and, like my 18+ year old, $25 garage sale Frigidaire, a beer fridge should be a survivor, also like its owner.
Keep up the great work at Outkick, couldn't imagine starting my day without Screencaps.
• Mark G. writes:
Man, I sent this photo in about six months ago but it didn't make The Caps. At the time the discussion was about keg fridges and I offered this up as a great alternative for those who couldn't make a keg cooler happen, for whatever reason: Commercial beverage dispensers.
These are spring-loaded, slotted trays that fit into any size refrigerator or commercial cooler. It's a little hard to see in the photo, but each row has a clear plastic barrier at the front to securely keep the beverage right at your fingertips. Each row is railed to keep the drinks from falling over. You grab a cool beverage and the next one pops into place like a Pez dispenser. The trays are available from Amazon in a variety of widths, depths, and drink sizes.
It works great and I'll never go back to a normal, empty shelf layout.
Keep up the good work.
Horseradish you should make this weekend
• Guy G. in western New York has you guys covered:
Horseradish is super easy! But, you’ll have to can it, as it’ll go weak quickly if you don’t. The faster you use it, the better.
1c peeled/cubed root
3/4c white vinegar
2tsp sugar
1/4tsp salt
Run through your Ninja processer, and then can. Boom. Beef on weck all winter long!
Wasn't it Beau in Toledo talking about Farmers' cheese?
• Kevin in Gibsonia, PA writes:
This is why I love screencaps. One of the reasons why I was in Tonawanda, NY (I sent the photo of the Assman license plate) last week is because my wife needed some farmers cheese to make her fall/winter supply of pierogies. Three days later, someone is asking where to get farmers cheese. Wegman's grocery stores (all over Western New York) always has it in 3 pound packages. Have never been able to find a reliable source in Pittsburgh. It's a hike for Beau in Toledo, but the border is open and a weekend at the Falls is never a bad thing. Good luck.
That's it for this morning. I have like 80 more emails to go, but they'll have to wait. You guys need to get rolling. I need to get moving. There's work to do.
Have a great weekend and try your best to enjoy one of the more ridiculous Saturdays of college football you're ever going to see.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com