Five Guys vs. In-N-Out

We've already considered one of the great debates of human history here at Sean's Ramblings, Wawa vs. Sheetz. Today, we need to solve another:

Five Guys



vs. In-N-Out



I'm not sure whether or not we can truly determine if one is better than the other, but that's where you come in. Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

Police Seize 115 Pounds of Marijuana

Now that's a headline! Fairfax County, Virginia police seized approximately 115 pounds of marijuana during a highway interdiction operation last week. (I have no idea what interdiction means.) Two officers stopped an 18-wheeler for an equipment violation (always check your brake lights), and an investigation revealed the marijuana in the truck’s attached trailer.

Alexis Javier Paz, 38 and Felix V. Rodriguez, 45, both of Miami, were charged with transporting controlled substances into Virginia and possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.

Who knew that former Dallas Cowboy Nate Newton changed his to Felix V. Rodriguez?



Now how are you going to play pool with all of the marijuana on the table?

More about this story is available on the Fairfax County website. Click here to relive the Nate Newton experience.

Two Movie Questions (Trivia Tuesday)

Welcome to a very special Trivia Tuesday where we try to learn more about you and your movie-watching history.

1. What is the worst movie you ever saw in the theater?

This question came up among my friends last night. While Johnny Mnemonic was mentioned at least once going around the table, for me, The Wizard is the worst movie I ever saw on the big screen.



According to IMDB, this is the plot: "a boy and his two friends run away from home and hitch cross country to compete in the ultimate video game championship." I remember it as a 90-minute to 2 hour Nintendo commercial starring Fred Savage that I had to pay for. I wonder if there were people that saw this film thinking that they were going to see the Ozzie Smith story!

2. What was the first R-rated movie you saw?



I saw Zapped! starring the wonderful combination of Scott Baio & Willie Aames when we had a free preview of HBO that somehow managed to last several years. I really wish that Baio and Aames would be in a movie together again. Couldn't they have had these two have a cameo in Hot Tub Time Machine? Anyway, Zapped! is about "a teenager science-nerd [who] gains telekinetic powers." Although I haven't seen this movie in many, many years, this teenager used this power to remove shirts and bras off of attractive women. A magical movie for an adolescent!

OK, your turn.

Jersey Shore Cast Available For Adoption

I'll admit it; I don't watch Jersey Shore. For the most part, I've stopped watching MTV entirely. Call me when they put a new version of Remote Control on the air. Anyway, even though I don't watch Jersey Shore, my pop culture sensibilities require that I know about the show. With the new season about to begin, allow me to present some of the cast members courtesy of Fairfax County Animal Services.

J-WOW:



PAULY-D:



SNOO-KITTY (get it for Snookie):



All of these cats and many others are available for adoption at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter.

I hope that The Situation was already adopted since that would be a great name for a cat.

Pittsburgh Sports Jobs

In another attempt to use this blog for good instead of evil (I’m contemplating an evil post for next week), I thought I would share some job opportunities with some Pittsburgh area sports teams.

Inside Sales Representative – Pittsburgh Pirates

This sales position is entry level and focused on selling ticket plans and group tickets. Two words are all that you need to make a sale: Pedro Alvarez!

HD Radio Internship (Fall 2010) – Pittsburgh Penguins

This is an unpaid internship for a college junior or senior who will be responsible for helping to create the on-air production of a 24/7 Penguins Radio Station. Although it doesn’t say this on the job description, you will likely work with, or at least meet, Mike Lange. If you get this internship after learning about it from me, please get Lange to say “Buy Sean and drink and get his cat Ziggy one too.”

Sponsorship Account Executive – Washington Wild Things
This individual is responsible for generating leads and closing advertising and sponsorship agreements. I suggest getting some type of sponsorship involving Tone Loc, so that he can perform Wild Thing at every Wild Things game.

The Steelers also have some jobs on their website. Did you know that seat attendants are union positions? Now you know.

Hollywood Casino Excursion

Charles Town Races & Slots recently changed its name to Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races. The good news is that this name was prompted by the addition of table games. The bad news is that the Charles Town Races & Slots song appears to have been retired. (Unfortunately, I can’t find this extremely catchy jingle anywhere online.)

We drove to Charles Town, West Virginia on Sunday to check out the new-and-improved casino. Before I get into the casino itself, can I mention the brilliance of West Virginia? You think I’m going to make a joke here, but I’m not. Every car in the parking lot had Virginia and Maryland license plates. I also saw a handful of DC plates and even one from Florida, but I don’t think I saw one West Virginia car. (The employee lot was probably elsewhere.) The Mountain State and the casino itself must make millions and millions of dollars annually from out-of-state residents.



So we entered the casino and found tables for blackjack, Pai Gow, roulette, three card poker, craps and more. This made me happy! As I approached each table though, I was shocked by the minimum bets requirements. $25 for roulette and Pai Gow! $50 for blackjack! Although that was too rich for me, the high minimums didn’t seem to impact others as the tables were packed.

Maybe the high minimums were due to the fact that I visited the casino over the weekend. Nope. A friend visited the casino on Monday and gave me this report:

‎10:00 AM - BlackJack: 2 $25 tables full & 4 $50 tables full. At 11:40, they were going to open 2 other $25 tables @ noon. So, we waited, but then the pit boss came & changed it to $50 just before they opened it. B.S.!!! So, we played a few slot machines & called it a day. Plus, they were doing very loud construction in the same room. Brilliant!

Hollywood Casino doesn’t need to have $5 or $10 minimums. Unlike Las Vegas or Atlantic City where you can walk to the next casino, Hollywood Casino is the destination. If you live in the DC area, you’re driving 60-90 minutes to West Virginia to gamble. There’s no competition and nowhere else to go once you arrive. Well, there is a Sheetz next to the casino, but you can’t gamble there (or can you?). There is a pending vote to open a slots casino in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, but that’s still months if not years away. Plus, no table games. Maybe you can drive to Dover (has anyone been there), but if you want to take a day trip for table games, Hollywood Casino is your only option.

In case you’re wondering, I lost $6 on the final horse race of the day and $10 on slots and that was it.

Charlie Batch Haunts My Dreams

I had a dream last night/this morning that I was on a school bus with members of the Pittsburgh Steelers. At some point, there was a radio announcement that QB Ben Roethlisberger would miss the entire season. This was not due to an injury but because he wanted to sort things out and get himself together. While this may not be realistic in real life, this seemed to make sense in my dream.

Anyway, there was certainly shock and surprise among the people on the bus. While people started talking to their neighbors about this development, I started a conversation with someone at the back of the bus even though I was a few rows up. I basically yelled to this person that the Steelers would be okay. I stated that I was confident in Dennis Dixon's abilities and that I was excited to see him play. I also yelled that Byron Leftwich is a solid QB. However, I concluded that Charlie Batch was D-U-N, done. There was only one problem: Charlie Batch was on the bus. I don't think he heard me, but I immediately felt bad about this. Charlie Batch has had a nice career, is a perfect QB to play a few games if needed, and has done great things in the community.

I questioned the person sitting across the aisle from me whether he thought Batch heard what I said. This person was a member of the Steelers, but I don't know who he was. For the sake of this post, let's say that it was William Gay, just so that I can write that I had a gay dream (not that there's anything wrong with that). He said that I needed to apologize to Batch, but that's where the dream ended. I don't remember anything else or even if there was more.

So let's analyze this dream shall we. Either I haven't written enough about the Steelers the past few months, or I'm ready for the football season! I'm going with the latter since I read Matthew's Berry fantasy football article on ESPN.com yesterday and also received an e-mail from a friend trying to finalize plans for the Steelers-Dolphins game. Are there other possibilities that wouldn't insult Charlie Batch?

Trivia Tuesday

Hello there. Today, I'm happy to present the magic of Sporcle. This truly may be one of the greatest sites on the internet.

Quiz #1 - Name the U.S. cities that have broken top 10 since the beginning of the census in 1790

I scored a 24 out of 31 U.S. cities.

Quiz #2 - Name the last 200-yard rusher for the NFL franchises listed.

Although I'm not in the football mindset yet, I think 26 out of 31 is pretty good.

Bonus quiz - Name the 100 Greatest Pop Songs of all time according to Rolling Stone (list from 2000).

This is a bonus since the quiz lasts for 15 minutes. I scored a 50 out of 100 which gets me in the 91st percentile. I also disagree with many songs on the list.

Your turn. Click on the links to take the Sporcle quizzes and share your results in the comments section. Good luck!

New Referrals

In looking through my archives, I realized that I haven’t done this in almost a year. For your reading pleasure, here are real searches, generally from Google or Yahoo, that real people used to find and visit Sean’s Ramblings:

Estelle Getty growth hormone
She probably got this just before filming Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot from Sylvester Stallone.



Doogie Howser Wanda licks ear
Now why did this show up as a search option. Oh yeah.

benny distefano married; benny distefano married to; benny distefano married?; benny distefano marries; benny distefano was he ever married?
These were five different searches. Someone (or five people) certainly care about the former Pittsburgh Pirate’s social life.

Hartsfield dildos
I haven’t been at the Atlanta airport lately, so this must be a new store that opened recently.

Freddie Prinze Jr torn rotator cuff
He was such a good pitcher in Summer Catch, so maybe this injury is why he never made the majors.



olay olay olay song opera
They have to use vuvuzelas as the instruments, right?

olimpian lilu gymnast
Not only is LiLu hopefully going to be the first MTV TJ (vote for her here), she could also be an Olympian gymnast.

Chukky Okobi speedo
The former Steelers’ offensive lineman retired a few years ago, so maybe he now has his own Speedo swimsuit line.

Who knows a guy named Sean?
I do! I do!

Sean On Fashion: Theatre Edition

When I was younger, I remember men wearing coats and ties and women wearing fancy dresses to attend plays or musicals. With the high price of theatre tickets, folks wanted to get dressed up for a nice night out of dinner and a show. While I understand that times have changed and people are more casual about dress, I still expect a certain level of attire to see a show. For example, while I would never wear jeans to a show, I’ve come to expect that other people will.

So last night, I saw Avenue Q at DC’s Lansburgh Theatre. While I don’t attend plays or musicals as often as I like, I witnessed something I’ve never seen in a theatre: someone wearing bike shorts!



The horror! There is only one place where bike shorts are appropriate. On a bicycle!


Click here to see previous Sean On Fashion posts.

Swan Dive

I love these Old Spice commercials. Here's the latest:

Links and Videos

Time for a little housekeeping. Here are some amazing posts and videos from the past few days (or weeks):

Do you see that icon on the top right of this page? That's the LiLu for MTV TJ logo. Well, it's time for you not only to look at the icon but also to vote. There's more information at Live It, Love It (where you can see the challenges) and you can vote for LiLu on Facebook. (I still don't understand why you vote on Facebook for a Twitter contest.) I highly recommend checking out LiLu's 2nd challenge to support animal shelters.

Pittsburgh Pirates' Neil Walker lives with his parents. [Wall Street Journal h/t Bucs Dugout]

Ginny met both Mario Lemieux AND Jerome Bettis. [That's Church]

Although the contest is over, TheStarterWife created an amazing Football Foodie World Cup. [Black and Gold Tchotchkes]

We finally hear from the dentist who refused to support Trident. [Carbolic Smoke Ball]

I posted my first book review for A Safe Haven: Harry S. Truman and The Founding of Israel. [Blogcritics]

Now for the videos. I'm not sure how I missed this, but what if Ron Hextall wasn't crazy?



Finally, I wasn't able to embed the video but check out Jewel going undercover to sing karaoke. Naturally, she sings Jewel songs. [Funny Or Die]

Trivia Tuesday: Random Edition

It's time for a very random edition of Trivia Tuesday. Good luck!

1. Who won the 2006 World Cup?

2. Name the Pittsburgh Steelers' primary kick-off returner.

3. Name the song title and artist(s) based on this lyric: "Is that your ass or your momma half reindeer?"

4. For people who know DC, I'm going to Gallery Place/Chinatown to see Avenue Q. Where should I go for dinner before the show?

5. What is the best George Michael song? (There is a specific answer(s) to this question.)

6. Name the two countries that start with the letter A but don't end with the letter A.

7. Who was the host of Rock & Roll Jeopardy on VH1?

8. Name all five locations of Bravo's Real Housewives.

9. With eight medals, who is the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete of all time?

10. What US university has the most billionaire alumni?

As always, please leae your answers in the comments section below and do not use the internet to find answers. Good luck!

What Happened to Erica Blasberg?

It has been over two months since the untimely death of my favorite LPGA golfer, Erica Blasberg. I’m not a coroner and I’m not going to play one on this blog, but why has it taken so long to determine how or why Blasberg died?



CBS News seemed to have some information.

Police may be a step closer to finding the cause in the mysterious death of 25-year-old pro golfer Erica Blasberg. Newly released search warrants reveal that just four days after her death on May 9, investigators raided the medical offices and home of Dr. Thomas Hess. "Early Show" National Correspondent Hattie Kauffman reported sources close to the investigation say Hess talked to Blasberg the night before her death. The next day, he visited her home, and was the one to call 911.

Oh, did I mention that this article was published on June 2nd? That’s nearly six weeks ago! There hadn’t been any additional information about the police investigation until July 2nd (one month later!!) when Mel Blasberg, Erica’s father, told RadarOnline.com that "it sounds like we'll hear something next week about the findings, whatever they are." Mr. Blasberg also stated that his daughter wasn’t suffering from any health problems. "From time to time she had some sleeping issues and anxiety issues, but nothing she was treated for. She wasn't under care for any of this...25 year-olds just don't die...I believe the investigation will show that Erica should not have died."

Once again, two months seems like a long time to determine a cause of death, especially of a public figure. Sure, Erica Blasberg didn’t have the celebrity status of an A-list Hollywood actor, but I’m surprised that there hasn’t been any media follow-up or coverage particularly since her death was covered by all of the major sports and non-sports networks.

Yuengling Is Dangerous

In preparation for a July 4th BBQ, we went to Harris Teeter to buy a case of beer. I should have known that not going to Wegmans would be a mistake. Anyway, we brought the case of Yuengling to the register, and that’s where the story gets interesting. The cashier picked up the case of beer to scan it, but she wouldn’t let go. Um, even though I hadn’t paid for it yet, I thought to myself, don’t take my beer, cashier!*

However, she wasn’t actually taking the beer. Somehow, she got her hand stuck in the cardboard box handle. She panicked and yelled for a colleague to come over. He arrived, assessed the situation, saw the fear and rage in the cashier’s eyes, and raced back to customer service to get a pair of scissors. He may have even run carrying a pair of scissors during his quick return to the register. That is even more unsafe than picking up a case of beer by the handle!

So Harris Teeter guy prepared to cut her hand out like he was using the “Jaws of Life.” Unfortunately, he was about to cut where the cashier’s fingers were located. She quickly stopped him to make sure the cut took place on the side away from her fingers. At this point, the manager came over and announced to the cashier that she (meaning the cashier) would do anything to get out of work in a jokingly, but probably some truth-in-the-joke way. Finally, the original Harris Teeter guy made the cut and the cashier was free. I believe that this was on the same level of Baby Jessica’s rescue from the well.

The cashier, apparently in pain from getting her fingers pinched, could not go on with our transaction. Did I mention that we didn’t have a full shopping cart? All we bought was one case of beer. The manager apologized to us and offered to get us a new case of beer with the handle completely intact. Not a free case of beer, just a difference case of Yuengling. We declined this offer because, honestly, we just wanted to pay, get the heck out of there and laugh safely away from the cashier.

It was truly an odd experience. I originally thought we were on some type of Candid Camera, but soon realized that the cashier was actually stuck. It was difficult to remain supportive yet attempt not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. You’ll be glad to know that after I paid for the beer, I successfully carried the beer to the car and BBQ. Oh this is the beer. Pretty scary, huh?





* The “Don’t Take My Beer, Cashier” phrase should be on a T-shirt. Get Fresh Designs should be on this immediately!

AT&T Rethinks Possible and Impacts Presidential History

I hate this AT&T commercial. It has nothing to do with the story or the product. My problem with the commercial is the first line, "Ladies and gentlemen...the 57th President of the United States."



The assumption is that the man and woman meet in the present day and their son becomes President sometime in the future. Now, let's take a look at American history, shall we?

Barack Obama is currently serving as the 44th American President. The commercial shows the inauguration of the 57th president, so if we go back 13 presidents before Obama, we have Herbert Hoover who started his term in 1929. That's a difference of 81 years. Granted, there was the 12 years FDR was in office, so let's go back 13 presidents before Hoover. That would be our 18th President, Ulysses S. Grant who started his term in 1869, or 60 years prior to Hoover.

Now, let's assume that the man and woman in the AT&T commercial are in their early 20s. I guess we also need to assume that they consumed the future president on the same day they met (possibly on the train!). If we go by the Grant-Hoover timeframe, the parents in the AT&T commercial would be in their early 80s during the inauguration. They don't quite look like they're in their early 80s, do they? Now, maybe they had plastic surgery, but I can't see AT&T promoting two individuals that need to get plastic surgery in the future. Perhaps, AT&T believes that there will several presidential deaths over the next few generations as well as many one-term presidents. If this happens, take a look at where AT&T puts its money. Look very carefully at campaign contributions.

Plus, shouldn't there be flying cars by the time the 57th President takes office? AT&T couldn't show one flying car or at least a Hoverboar at the inauguration?

Washington Nationals Want You To Vote For Texas Rangers Player

I'm confused. (Yes, that doesn't take much.) I received an e-mail from the Washington Nationals today encouraging me to vote for Ryan Zimmerman (makes sense) and Michael Young of the Texas Rangers (huh?) for the 2010 All-Star game.



According to the e-mail, "Last is certainly not least in the 2010 All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint. Vote often for the LAST players on the ballot, Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Young. Save the best for last and help Ryan and Michael get to the All-Star Game!"

Again, I'm confused. Apparently, we're not voting for our own team's players, we're now voting based on who is in your homeroom!

Perhaps the Nationals want you to vote for Michael Young since the Rangers originated in Washington as the Washington Senators. Granted, the Senators moved to Texas after the 1972 season, which is before Young was born, so that seems like a stretch.

Regardless, I think I'll pass on voting for either and wait until baseball puts Andrew McCutchen or Stephen Strasburg on the ballot.

Trivia Tuesday: Name That Van

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope that you had a nice holiday weekend. We’re back to a “regular” Trivia Tuesday this week, so enjoy. Your challenge is to identify the people who have “Van” in their name.

1. The eighth Vice President of the United States.

2. 1999 MTV Movie Award winner for “Best Breakthrough Male Performance” and lead actor in Dawson’s Creek.

3. Parody actor best known for his work on “Eight is Enough.”

4. Three-time Emmy winner for Outstanding Lead Comedy Actor and actor in Diagnosis Murder.

5. Full pen name of advice columnist Pauline Phillips.

6. Artist of “The Starry Night.”

7. 18-1 lifetime Belgian martial arts competitor slated to return to fighting later this year.

8. Designer whose company patented a self-folding collar in 1919.

9. Pittsburgh Pirate outfielder from 1987 to 1994.

10. Guitar great who divorced his actress wife Valerie in 2007.

As always, please do not use the internet to search for answers. Please leave your answers in the comments section below. Good luck!

This quiz is courtesy of Stump Trivia.

Happy July 4th

From Sean, Ziggy and everyone here at Sean's Ramblings (that would be me and occasionally Ziggy), have a Happy Independence Day!

NFL 101 Workshop for Women

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a really good offer. For only $30, you can attend a NFL 101 Workshop for Women course (assuming that you are a woman) and get a ticket to a Jags game as well as several other gifts.



I feel like there is a Jeff Reed joke that can be made here.

Personally, I'd want to go to the Maggiano's location. I would hope that the $30 also goes towards Maggiano's food.

More information about the Workshop for Women event is available on the PRI Productions website. PRI Productions also has all of your Bar/Bat Mitzvah needs!

You Would Even Say It Glows

While working as a soccer referee on Wednesday night, there was an ice cream truck in the parking lot. After running around on a warm, summer day, there's nothing like a refreshing treat from the ice cream truck. Plus, the familiar music of the ice cream truck takes you back to when you were a kid.

Last night, instead of the regular music, the ice cream truck played Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Sure, Rudolph was played by the ice-cream truck chimes, and not the Gene Autry version, but the tune was indistinguishable. I need a verdict here. Does the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer song increase your desire for ice cream?