Boxed Wine Really Is Good Says NY Times!

Vindicated!  There was a big article in the New York Times about boxed wine today and they were very complimentary of my favorite!  It even made the top ten!  Look for yourself if you don't believe me!  New York Times Article!

Would you let this guy pick out your next wine purchase?

I am not exactly a sophisticated connoiseur of wine.  I don't know what in the hell bouquet, dry, sweet, and all of that other fancy-dancy stuff means.  But I am here to tell you - if there is a fairly cheap wine, and it tastes good, I can sniff it out.  I love to sample lots of different bottles.  I start at the low-mid range of the pay scale and try all of them.  Surprisingly I have found many wines that I enjoyed that were relatively inexpensive.  In some cases, in a newly discovered brand, I would notice that over time as the brand caught on the prices would rise.  When this happens I move on to another search.  I find this to be a highly enjoyable way to sample many different brands and varieties of wine.  One of my first
wines that I fell in love with is Torresella Pinot Griot.  Again I don't know all of the names but I found this to be a really good bottle of wine for the money.  I drank quite a few bottles of this but noticed the price start to rise a bit as it caught on.  The search was on again!  Mommy's Time Out.  This was a nice tasting Pinot Grigiot wine and I believe I started buying it at 2 for $12.  Damn good wine for the money.  Eventually it went up a bit but it is still a great bottle of wine for the money and your wife will get a kick out of the name.  I like to bring it home when I know Cathy has had an exceptionally bad day.  Time for a time out!  Also a favorite of mine is Cellar No. 8 Merlot.  Very nice for the money.  Don't look for fancy terms from me - if your too cheap to take a chance on a $7 bottle of wine go read another blog!
     Next I got intrigued by the whole box wine phenomena.  It was first recommended  to me by my old buddy Billy.  If anyone knows his cheap booze it's Billy.  Anyway I went out and bought a box of Black Box Merlot.  I was skeptical at first but was soon won over by it's solid taste and consistency.  There was no bad aftertaste, no hangover, no "Ripple" or "Boone's" hangovers.  Just good product at a fair price.  Black box is about $19 for the equivalent of 3 bottles of wine.  Then I took a little turn to the dark side.


One night my 93 year old grandfather shows up with a box of "Almaden Mountain Burgundy".  This is like $12.50 for the equivalent of 5 bottles.  Definitely some bang for your buck!  My grandfather after testing out the black box and the new "Mountain Burgundy"  declared "I myself find this a more satisfying wine than the Black Box".  Keep in mind that this guy grew up in the depression with bathtub wine.  Well somehow I got hooked on the stuff and the price.  I always had a box on the top of the fridge and turned the handy little knob whenever I wanted a glass.  Heck it lasts forever when it's a five bottle equivalent!  Then one day I had a bottle of Cellar No. 8 and forgot what I was missing.  The Almaden actually wasn't all that satisfying!  Sorry Papa!  The problem was though, that I got accustomed to paying for the cheap box and not the bottle.  The search was on again for the "perfect box wine" - and this time I have delivered for all of my blog readers out there!  This stuff is hands down the best box wine I have had to date, and I stand by it 100%!  It is called Bodegas Osborne Seven, a Spanish Varietal.  At $16.99 a box and a 4 bottle equivalent this stuff is hands down the best box wine I have had and honestly trumps most bottle wines in its class as well.  I have to say that the octagonal box was what captured my imagination, but the wine inside is delicious!  I am extremely happy with this wine and will continue to buy it until the price starts to rise!  Once it hits $19 the search begins again!  What a way for a cheap skate to sample all kinds of fun wines and have a great time with it!  Drink up and please comment on your experiences with my favorites!


Cheers!


Wacky Dad     
     
P.S.  This is about as sophisticated as my dumb ass gets - don't expect it again any time soon!

Meatime Reverse Psychology!

Ever struggle getting your kid to eat?  I have to say the reverse psychology method really works incredibly on my 3 year old Mia, and has worked on all 3 kids.  Here is a quick video of how it's done!




It Doesn't get much easier than that folks.  Sorry about her eating habits - she takes after her mother! ; )


Happy Dinner,


Wacky Dad

Welcome To Heckle A Husband!

I have just started a new blog called Heckle A Husband. While Wacky Dad will continue to be my blog about my personal life, Heckle A Husband is a blog that gives women/moms out there a place to come and vent about your husbands to another husband! I thought this would be a fun idea, and I don’t know of any other sites out there that are doing it. Basically I am going to be the hit man for your hubby when he’s in the dog house. I have been married to my wife for 16 years, and we have known each other since I was 10, so I do have some knowledge about how to make a marriage work. I also have 3 daughters 10 and under, and a dog so I have a good sense of the dynamics that most of us face daily. I have big shoulders ladies, but I will bite back if your old hubby seems to be on the right side of the argument. Of course all in good fun! I’ll be posting on a daily basis about what might be contentious subjects to all of us who live the married lifestyle. I am really excited about this idea, and am looking forward to your many fun, mean, and venomous comments. Whatever you might want to throw my way is welcome. Of course all of you guys out there are welcome to come and peruse the site – just beware! Have fun with it everyone. I welcome your suggestions since this is a new blog topic to me.

Wacky Tax Plan - Exercise Watts = Tax Dollars Saved

Ok, you might all think I'm crazy but here is what I came up with while riding my bike yesterday.  In this day and age of more "universal" health care, I thought that this might be a really good idea.  We all know that there is a corresponding decrease in health issues with a proportional increase in exercise.  Here is my thought.  We should be given a tax break based on the amount of watts we create in a gym or on our own accord.  The government could provide watt meters for those who want to participate in the program.  The more watts you create, the more tax dollars you save.  I am sure it would be an easy matter to find the correlation between the amount of health care savings an individual would earn based on his/her watt output at the gym, running, etc.

Watts For Dollars!

Is this not genius?  It would reward folks for working to keep their bodies in great shape, thus lowering their need for health care.  Wouldn't this make the idea of universal health care more palatable, while encouraging the populace to maintain themselves physically?  It is a win-win.  Also national productivity would increase due to the beneficial effects of exercise on the the economy of an employee.  I really think this is a simple but effective way to solve many problems our country faces.  Stress levels would decrease, depression levels would decline, obesity would decrease, the benefits of a program like this would be countless.  The watt meters could be built and distributed by the unemployed, thus giving them a new skill and keeping them gainfully employed until they were able to find jobs.  I'd love your opinions on this idea.  Does this have any merit or am I losing my mind?  Please comment to give me your thoughts.


Pondering,


Wacky Dad   

A Boy And His Bike!

What is it about 2 wheels that brings out the boy in you?  I know you might be sick of hearing about my 2 wheel adventures, but I don't really care since nobody really reads my blog.  I think some of you pretend just to improve my ego - thanks for that!  Anyway this post is prompted by a ride on my "new" 1984 Honda Spree scooter tonight.

I had a little bit of time to reflect while I was out riding for 45 minutes or so.  Up until now I haven't had a motorized 2 wheel bike since I was a kid.  I grew up riding dirt bikes with my father and a couple of my close friends Jason and Billy.  After those days I really got into cycling.  I remember my first real bike.  It was a Scwinn Predator and let me tell you this thing was totally bad ass.  All of the kids in the hood were in awe of the thing.  We used to race around the block all of the time, and invariably the Predator would bring home the bacon.  I used to treat the thing like gold.  I think I ended up giving it to my neighbor across the street, but have thought about it a lot of times and wished I saved it for one of my girls (I'm only one step above a hoarder).  After that I started riding more seriously on the road.  I completed quite a few long rides as a kid.  Even a couple of 100 mile rides with my father who was off the deep end with cycling by then.  I loved the combination of physical exertion, being outside, and flying along on the open road.  To this day I still ride my bike.

 In fact in 5 weeks time I will be riding 200 miles in the 2nd Annual Karen Petty Memorial Double Century Bike Ride Against Pancreatic Cancer.  This ride was contrived by me last year to honor my friend Karen Petty who passed away from pancreatic cancer.  I have ridden many charity rides in the past, but this ride is very special to me.  The distance daunting even for the best of riders, and I chose to ride from Karen's house in West Warwick, RI to her cabin in Thornton, NH solo.  It was my way of feeling some of the suffering that Karen endured during her battle with cancer, as well as my own way showing how much Karen meant to me in my life.  When I came up with the idea to honor Karen while attending her wake, I instantly thought of the bike.  It took me a couple of days to work out that it would go from "RI house to NH cabin".  Last year we raised $8,500 for the cause.  This year I am chasing $30,000 and more honor for Karen.  Follow the link above if you would like to donate.

 Being out on two wheels requires focus.  I believe focusing on one action is as close to peace as we can get.  In this crazy world that we live in nowadays, it is very rare that we can focus on a single thought.  As soon as you try the cell phone rings in an email, text, tweet, facebook post, etc.  When I ride my bike or my scooter for that matter I leave the phone behind.  Being on 2 wheels requires your attention.  It is not a time to be looking at a phone or goofing off or you might end up wrapping yourself around a telephone pole!  That is where the singularity of action comes in.  Especially when you are on a long endurance ride like a 200 miler you only have one focus, and that is to make it to the end.  You have to be completely in tune to your body, sensing weakness before it becomes an issue.  When I rode up to New Hampshire last year I thought only about getting there, and the woman I was riding for.  That's it.  It is a strange sense of freedom to be able to be so singular in your thoughts.  A few years back I did a 5 day 450 mile bike ride for AIDS.  This might sound crazy but it was by far the most relaxing vacation I have ever had.  I came back more mentally recharged from that trip then I have from some of the other island type vacations that I have been on.  I believe the reason is the singularity of thought it required.  It is really akin to meditation, and it is an amazing elixir for the daily grind.  So I'm not all that sure where this post is going but here are 2 things for you.  Please check out the website for the 2nd Annual Karen Petty Memorial Double Century Bike Ride Against Pancreatic Cancer, and consider supporting a great cause and helping to wipe out one of the most deadly cancers. Secondly go out and get on 2 wheels and tell me whether I am wrong or right about my theory on why the bike is great!

Pedal Hard!


Wacky Dad