Apparently screws are a meat additive now?

Last night I went with my family to Cheeseburger in Paradise on Southport Road (4670 Southport Crossings Drive, Indianapolis IN 46237, Phone: 317-883-4386, Fax: 317-883-4086) because my 3 year old really liked it the first time we went with my parents a month or two ago.  Last time they served up the best Mushroom & Swiss burger that I’ve ever had (and I’ve had a lot) so of course there was no argument from me.

So we got our food, ate our diner and everything was great.  I wasn’t terribly hungry so I cut my sandwich in half (left side above) and boxed the rest up to have for lunch on Saturday (today).

So around lunch time today (Saturday) I headed to the refrigerator to heat up my leftover sandwich, my 4 year old’s left over mini-burger (right side above) and my fries.  As I took a bite of my sandwich I immediately felt something hard in my mouth and thought that it might be gristle.  As I cleaned off the meat around it I suddenly realized that it was not gristle, but instead something metal.  I spit it out of my mouth immediately and was floored to see that it was some sort of small screw (next to the mushroom above).

Then I called the restaurant to talk to a manager who took my information and was going to get in touch with his supervisor and get back with me.  This is where we are now.

As I’ve thought about this more and more over the past hour I am getting more and more angry about this.  While I didn’t get hurt (hopefully there’s nothing on the screw or it was sterilized by the heat) what if this had been in one of my children’s sandwiches?  While my 3 and 4 year old would hopefully spit it out, I’m not sure that my 1 year old would.  And it’s just redicilious to have to worry about this when going out to eat.  I know that accidents happen, but this is downright insane.  Am I wrong?

Anyway, we’ll see what response I get back from Cheeseburger in Paradise.  In the meantime I’d suggest taking a metal detector with you when you go out to eat.

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But in the overall scheme of things, the loss last week wasn’t such a huge deal. It only means that there’s a better chance that we’ll have to play in Foxboro in January instead of the comfy Dome.

Now to the game tonight against the San Diego Chargers…

I’ll start on a positive note as to not sound too bitter.

• Our defense (which supposedly sucks according to all “expert” accounts) was excellent. They allowed only 10 points, all in the first half. They had two interceptions. And they recovered a fumble for a touchdown. Oh, and did I mention that they suck?
• Our offense controlled the ball for 60% of the game.
• We had 386 yards of total offense.
• We only had 21 penalty yards.

Now to the more negative, the excuses as to why we lost this one that should have been another mark in the “W” column.

• We just came off of a bad loss.
• Peyton Manning threw a career high six interceptions. Not one. Not two. Not three. Not four. Not even five. SIX interceptions. He had four interceptions total in the whole first half of the season.
• It was raining.
• Peyton Manning threw six interceptions.
• We only had 17 active offensive players (and 15 by the end of the game).
• Peyton Manning threw six interceptions.
• Our special teams were anything but special, allowing for two touchdowns and not realizing that a touchback, or even an out of bounds kick, is better than giving up a touchdown.
• Peyton Manning threw six interceptions.
• Vinny was apparently having trouble seeing where the uprights were located. Twice. (Dare I mention nightmares from our previous kicker who was also one of the NFL’s elite?)
• Peyton Manning threw six interceptions.
• We received the losing end of an “inadvertent” blown whistle after an interception.
• Dare I mention for a sixth time that Peyton Manning threw six interceptions?

Say what you will about the above game killer list, but in my opinion this loss has to rest on Peyton Manning’s shoulders with the ridiculous amount of interceptions. Sure, it’s tempting to point to the special teams issues and the fact that so many players were out of the game on both sides of the ball, but you can’t really do that when your quarterback has an extremely unusual “off night”.

Yes, a few weeks ago Tony Romo proved that you can pull out the win while playing very poorly, but he was really lucky with his five picks and he knew that. And yes, we had ample opportunities to win the game and came close to doing so, but regardless if we had pulled it off, the interception issue seriously needs to be evaluated so it doesn’t happen again. (And you know Peyton is probably already watching the game film as I type this.)

Now don’t get me wrong. Being 7-2 still isn’t bad. And looking at our schedule I wouldn’t be surprised if we lose one or two more games to finish the regular season at either 12-4 or 13-3, still winning the AFC South. But my worst rational fear is that we’ll do this sort of thing in playoff game against a team that can capitalize on these sort of silly mistakes (like the Patriots or the Steelers). It has happened in the past and I’d rather not go there again.

So let me stop rambling about the past and look toward the future. We have seven games left and have a good shot at wrapping up the division and possibly even getting a first round bye for the playoffs (depending upon how the Steelers play). So there’s an outside shot at one home playoff game and a handful of really good playoff games. Another trip to the Super Bowl will not be an easy task, but it is doable. Let’s see how the rest of the regular season shapes up first though.

NOTE: If you want to leave a voicemail comment for The Trolley Dodgers Podcast, you can do so at 317-565-425.

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Garden Ridge is a home décor store which sounds like it is similar to Old Time Pottery and the now defunct Waccamaw/HomePlace.  The only real competition around town is Old Time Pottery which is probably 25-30 miles away and when Waccamaw/HomePlace was located in Lafayette Square mall they seemed to do a decent business from what I could tell, so my guess is that they’ll do alright.

Being a northwest-sider, I’m looking forward to the changes in the area and will be sure to check it out when I have a chance.  And boy, does that statement make it apparent that I’m getting a bit older or what?  Getting exciting over a new Wal-Mart and a home décor store?  Wow!  Utterly amazing. I’ve got to go sit down for a minute …

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While I’m not overly interested in politics in it’s current state (it is what it is), please humor me as I ramble off some thoughts about the 2007 Indianapolis Mayoral Election…

VOTER TURNOUT

For this “off year” election we had roughly 25% of registered voters turn out to vote.  They say that’s an average turn-out, but to me that seems kind of disappointing, especially since the vast majority of Indianapolis is registered to vote.  (Over 75% of the total population is registered to vote, and note that the total population includes children and people who don’t have voting rights.  So my guess is that of the people who have the right to vote, probably at least 90% or more of them are registered to do so.)

Anyway, it’s not as if it’s difficult to vote and in other countries people would love to have a say in who their governing officials are. My stance is that if you don’t vote and don’t have a really good reason for not doing so, you shouldn’t be allowed to complain about the government.  Wouldn’t that be like an atheist complaining about “acts of God”?

POLITICAL TERMS

Am I alone in thinking that there should be an eight year term to just about every elected office (or at the very least, eight consecutive years with a four year break)? Beyond that you can fall into “career politician” land and I can’t see how you can truly remain connected with the “real world” without living there for a while. Sure, a career politician might be the best candidate for the job, but it just seems like it would be too easy to start to think of it as a career and to begin serving your own interests instead of serving the interest of the public. This is across the board, regardless of party affiliation.

POLITICAL PARTIES

Man would I love it if our political system truly allowed for 3 or 4 true candidates/parties for each election.  Sure, they’re there as a gesture, but it’s very rare that they come into play except for “stealing” votes from one or the other main party candidates.  And that’s just tragic.

BART PETERSON

I’ll give Bart Peterson credit in that he did make some major changes while he was in office. While I don’t agree with some of them, it is good that he has something to show for his time in office (good or bad).

When it comes to the campaign, Bart was a ringer as far as all of the political pundits were concerned. From what I saw this was solely based on the campaign funding differences, which is just plain silly in my opinion. I heard the “experts” say that 95% of the time campaign contributions is what an election comes down to. But I think they missed the fact that this wasn’t a normal election. Money came into play BIG TIME, but not within their usual evaluation box. And I think that the Peterson campaign caught onto that a little too late.

The obvious major blow to Bart’s bid for reelection was the whole mess surrounding the police merger which was supposed to save us $40M but ended up costing more money, thus lead to a tax increase in order to cover the payroll. When you consider that along with the fact of the whole property tax fiasco AND the recent sales tax increase to fund the new stadium, there are a whole lot of people not too happy. Even though the other tax items can’t be solely placed on Bart’s shoulders, it is messing with people’s money and people don’t like that.

Other than that, I think the decision maker for anyone wavering one way or the other (or towards the other Peterson in the race) was the negative ads that were put out over the final week of the election. This was a clean election up until that point and these ads just made my skin crawl (I’ll spare you that tirade). I can tell you that if I had been wavering at all, this would have sealed the “no vote” for me.

GREG BALLARD

While I can’t honestly say whether or not Greg Ballard will be a better Mayor of Indianapolis than Bart Peterson was/is, I will say that I’m happy to see some fresh blood in there.  And if people don’t like the job that he’s done in his first term, they can go to the polls in four years and make their statement.  But I plan on giving him the time to prove himself either way, as change does take a little time.  (But please, oh, please…I’m begging here…we don’t want another commando around like our current governor…and I’ll spare you that tirade as well, as I really don’t have the time to go down that road.)

I really love the fact that Greg Ballard won the election on a such a small budget AND that he’s a political unknown. And dare I mention that he really ran his campaign as an Independent Republican?  These things have that entrepreneurial flare that just lights my fire.  It’s like rooting for the underdog and I dig that.

Back in the spring I would have told you that you were nuts if you thought someone would beat Bart Peterson in the fall election, even with the police merger stuff going on. Carl Brizzi declined to go for the Republican nomination and the Republicans didn’t have a number two guy that they were backing, so the party basically just threw in the towel (until the very last minute when they saw that Greg Ballard actually had a chance). For reasons I won’t go into, I honestly don’t think Carl Brizzi would have beaten Bart Peterson though. And I’m sure the third choice would have gained enough votes to be the difference maker.

But anyway, congratulations go out to Greg Ballard on his Mayoral victory.  I’m looking forward to finding out more about him and seeing what his big picture for the city looks like.

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Now if only the “aliens” would abduct certain players and plant a “common sense chip” in them.

The site that this video/commercial mentions, worldunexplained.com, just takes you to the plain Pacers home page. I think that would have had some marketing potential for the season as a whole (and would be kind of fun to organize), but hey, it’s a start of thinking outside of the box, right?

(Shameless plug: we’re for hire if they need some help.)

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Here’s the Naptown Roller Girls / Tornado Sirens 2008 home bout schedule (a.k.a. “Season 2″). This coming season we’re treated to six home bouts instead of five. And while not officially announced yet, I’m assuming that the bouts are going to take place out at the Indiana State Fairgrounds again this year.

December 29 – “It’s a BOUT Time”
NRG vs. Kalamazoo Kamikaze Roller Girls from Michigan

February 9 – “Shove ‘em & Leave ‘em”
NRG vs. Burning River Roller Girls from Ohio

March 22 – “Lucky Harm”
NRG vs. Cincinnati Roller Girls from Ohio (WFTDA)

April 19 – “The Pint of No Return”
NRG vs. the Brew City Bruisers from Wisconsin (WFTDA)

May 17 – “Valley of the Brawls”
NRG vs. Pikes Peak Derby Dames from Colorado (WFTDA)

June 14 – “Hoosier Daddy”
NRG vs. Dixie Derby Girls from Alabama (WFTDA)

It’s hard to put into words the ambiance of a roller derby bout (and the crowd)…it’s just something you need to check out for yourself firsthand. I only made it out to one bout last year and was totally amazed at how much fun it was. The excitement was similar to when we had a “real” hockey team in Indy (the IHL version of the Indianapolis Ice)…and I might go out on a limb and say it’s even more exciting than hockey if you sit in the “Suicide Seats” where you’re actually right up on the track, sitting on the floor (remember, this is flat track, not that stuff you saw on TV in the 70’s and 80’s). And if you’re a fan of Arena Football, you’ll probably get into this.

I’d probably suggest leaving the really little ones at home, though there is a “family section” if you choose to bring them. That suggestion is based on your own enjoyment more than anything else…and there*may* be some things, mainly roller girls and refs “names”, that you don’t really want to explain to your kids in case they ask, or have them repeat them. Also, if you’re brave (or stupid) enough, like me, and actually want to sit in the Suicide Seating area, you do have to be 18 years old to do so.

See you there, down in front!

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The kids took in quite a haul last night since the weather was nice and since we took them to my parents neighborhood again this year since people actually give out candy there (including full sized candy bars…and hot dogs)…for some reason most people/households in my neighborhood don’t partake in much of anything that involves decorating, landscaping, mingling, etc.  That’s fine I suppose, but it makes for a boring Halloween through New Years.

(Our first Christmas in our house I lit up the entire roof with Christmas lights…which made it easy for people to find our house (and gave me quite an electric bill)…but lately I’ve just stuck with some “icicle” lights and can tell anyone who hasn’t been to our house to look for the house with Christmas lights…and I’m not exaggerating.)

Anyway, back to Halloween for a moment…

We didn’t get started until around 7 pm (so much for the “official” trick-or-treating hours) and wrapped things up around 8:15 pm or so.  Last year it was so cold that I think the kids might have lasted 45 minutes (probably less), but last night was truly ideal…a little brisk but not too cold, on the brink of raining but not raining, with the wind howling and rustling leaves down the street.  Very ideal indeed.

But Halloween is over and now it’s time to start talking turkeys, pies, football and Christmas and New Years parties.  There are only three weeks until Thanksgiving and eight and a half weeks left in the entire year.  Where, oh where, does the time go?

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In Marion County, trick-or-treat hours are from 5 to 7 pm.

Police are reminding parents to keep their trick-or-treaters safe this Halloween.

• Try to finish before dark
• If trick-or-treating at night, carry flashlights
• Costumes should be visible in the dark

Ugh, hello, McFly? Need I really point out why this doesn’t make sense?

I’ll be *lucky* to have my kids ready to go by 6:30 pm…and that’s if we skip dinner. And due to new DST nonsense, the sunset is 6:45 pm this year, so for us that means it will be dusk at 7:00 pm.

Man, what happened to the days of 6:00 to 9:00 pm “official” trick-or-treating hours where you’d actually stay out until 9:30 pm when every last porch light was out? And when it was dark around 6:00 pm here in Indy.

Not that my kids really need to be out more than an hour, but still, this window just isn’t very realistic. I’m sure the police are thinking saftey first, as there is an abundance of kooks running around, but come on, this is a weekday.  Even until 8:00 pm would be much better for parents who have “day jobs” and don’t want their children wandering the streets alone.

Anyway, there’s an excellent chance you’ll find me toting my kids around after the 7:00 pm “close of Halloween”.  At least until the kids are bored or the last light has been turned off.

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The main downside that I see is that my pepper plants are probably going to bite it.  We’d had a decent first crop, but with the warm weather the plants began to flower again a few weeks ago and there are a ton of new peppers growing.  No such luck with the tomatoes though.

Anyway, I think I’m going to have to retire the shorts for the season and break out the jeans and long-sleeved shirts.  And then to make a run for new clothes for the kids once we figure out what still fits and what doesn’t.

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…and I think the oddest thing is that I was outside last night sitting on my deck, in shorts and a t-shirt, getting “eaten”by mosquitoes. What’s up with that? Aren’t mosquitoes supposed to be dead by now?

But my complaint isn’t so much the fact of the warmth, or even getting eaten by mosquitoes, but the fact that we’re probably going to miss out on the normal Fall weather and that the changing leaves aren’t going to be quite as spectacular.

For those of you unfamiliar with Indianapolis weather, our average high on October 1st is 71° and the average low is 49°. On October 31st the average high is 58° and the average low is 38°. So the temperatures drop quite rapidly and you usually only have a few weeks of the really nice mid-60 degree weather that I really cherish. And right now our lows are around are average highs.

So I’m hoping that next week brings more normal temperatures and that we still get our Fall weather, just pushed back a week or two. Because it’d really be nice to take the kids Trick-or-Treating without needing to wear jackets for costumes.

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