Favorite modern comedy specials

5. Adam Sandler - 100% Fresh

4. Trey Kennedy - Grow Up

3. Bo Burnham - Inside

2. Ryan Long - Problem Solved

1. Shane Gillis - Live in Austin

Top 12 Comedy Podcasts

I'm not calling this a list of my favorites, because I know this to be fact - not opinion:

1. Kill Tony
2. Take Your Shoes Off
3. Your Mom's House
4. Bad Friends
5. Matt & Shane's Secret Podcast
6. Harland Highway
7. Are You Garbage
8. We Might Be Drunk
9. The Tim Dillon Show
10. This Past Weekend
11. The Joe Rogan Experience (usually not comedy-focused but he is a comedian)
12. Story Warz

Honorable mention: Tuesdays w/ Stories, Flagrant, Whiskey Ginger, You Made It Weird, The Boyscast

Top Christmas Movies

• Home Alone
• Die Hard
• Elf
• National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
• Klaus
• Tangerine
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Places I've Been

Recently...

 

My Skydive over the Florida Keys

 

Fantasy Fest 2023

Visiting the 49th State

Alaska also happens to be my 49th state I've visited, with only New Mexico remaining. 

Shaahht ahht Vancouvah! 

Denali 

Alyeska

Glacier Bay

Skagway

White Pass

Klondike

British Columbia

Yukon

 

Fishers, Carmel among best places to live

Criteria: Population between 75k-500k and median home value between $75k-500k

Result: only 1 city with multiple communities landing in the top 10 of the list; Indianapolis.

Carmel, known for its award-winning Roundabouts and world-class Art scene has been hailed as the best town in America for a long time. The stats support what we all already know. 

With a Crime rate 5x lower than US avg, and a strong commitment to healthy living, innovative restaurants, and an expanding tech scene with unbeatable community amenities, Fishers also stands out. Now another Hamilton County town is getting some recognition...

[Player 3 has entered the chat] Noblesville joins in the mix: SmartAsset now lists Carmel, Fishers AND Noblesville among THE safest and THE most affordable places in USA. Whoa, didn't see that coming. /s

Indy 500 Pole Day sets several records

The first ever all-234mph front row in Indy 500 history also resulted in the closest gap between 1st & 3rd spot. The 4-lap averages of Alex Palou & Felix Rosenqvist were just 0.103mph apart, beating the previous record of 0.112mph between James Hinchcliffe, Josef Newgarden and Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2016.

Palou’s & Rinus VeeKay’s gap of 0.006mph is the second-smallest gap between 1st & 2nd in Indy500 history, the narrowest difference being 0.003s between Ryan Briscoe & Hinchcliffe in 2012.

The result means that the 3 front-row starters come from 3 different teams and both of IndyCar’s engine manufacturers, Honda & Chevrolet, are represented. While neither of those stats are unusual, what is remarkable is the fact that the trio’s combined number of Indy500 starts is only 10. That’s the lowest since 2004, when Buddy Rice, the late Dan Wheldon and Dario Franchitti started 1-2-3 and had only 3 starts between them.

A not-surprising corollary of that stat is that this is the 3rd-youngest front row in history. The only younger ones are 2013 – Ed Carpenter, Carlos Munoz and Marco Andretti (26 years and 9 months) – and 1930 – Billy Arnold, Louis Meyer and Shorty Cantlon (25 years, 7 months).

It is also the first time Indy 500 history that the front row consists entirely of European-born drivers; Palou is from Spain, VeeKay from the Netherlands and Rosenqvist from Sweden.

Indy vs. Boston battle for America's best suburbs

Joining Carmel as one of the best places to live in America (and the world), neighbors Zionsville and Westfield are now also ranked in the top 10 in the newest ‘Best Small Cities’ study, according to WalletHub: 

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-small-cities-to-live-in/16581

Boston & Indy suburbs dominated the top of the list, with Lancaster (PA) taking the top spot. 

Not only is Indianapolis one of the fastest growing cities in America, it's the only city on the list not located in the South or West: 

https://www.inspectionsupport.com/resources/the-fastest-growing-metropolitan-areas-in-the-u-s/

Cinematic wins post-Pandi

With Hollywood on strike, there's been a good discussion whether they deserve the money. And with AI takin e'rrbody's jerbs, I'd say there's a good reason to argue that maybe Hollywood is dead. Not so fast; allow me to play devil's advocate. I present to you, 

Recent films that don't suck:

1. Top Gun: Maverick
2. Super Mario Bros.
3. The Covenant
4. Tetris
5. All Quiet on the Western Front
6. Pinball
7. Air
8. Hustle
9. A Man Called Otto
10. Nobody

Roca de Durazno

Once upon a time there was a boy, and then that boy became a man, and that man had a dream: to retire peacefully. 

In his quest to find a place of solace, there were many ups and possible downs. 

Initially there had to be upfront capital, and then learning about surprise Central American taxes, overcoming a language barrier... while separated by thousands of miles. 

Next he needed a support system: Angel investors. Lawyers for the accountants. And hoes in different area codes. 

Finally, he put it to plan. Enter, F-I-R-E: Financial Independence, Retire Early. Once that was in place, all that's needed from there was just a steady stream of execution.  

Step by step, bit by bit, we went to work. Once the donkeys helped carve out rocks from the volcano, we laid the materials, built it up and after dressing it up, now we're in paradise, baby. First floor includes multi-unit bathrooms, electricity, warm showers and the best view in the world from the back porch - WiFi and kitchen included. Eventually the 2nd (and 3rd) floor will afford some more space to live and have private spaces for guests simultaneously.  I shall call it "Roca de Durazno".