Top10: Fast Food Innovations

Last night for part of my lunch/tea i tried the new KFC Roller. It inspired me to do a piece on the Top 10 fast food menu innovations of the last decade. It will be controversial, but it's what i truly believe. Feel free to send me your suggestions.

KFC Roller (KFC)
It's a sensible size, cheap and delicious. I recommend the BBQ one. A great option for those who want to watch their weight but can't be bothered cooking something.

McFlurry (McDonalds)
On my trip to the US in '99 I discovered the McFlurry (pictured) and was taken away by it's tantalizing taste. I said while there "if there's a God, this will soon be availbale in Australia". Within weeks of my return it was on the menu. Take that atheists!

Cheesy Crust (Various)
Some genius found a way of putting more cheese into a pizza and cleverly put it in the worst part of pizza. Not even Einstein came up with that.

Lemon Chicken (Red Rooster)
Still yet to try it but it looks tempting.

McCafe (McDonalds)
Their best move of the last 20 years outside of the value meal. I recommed the jaffa torte and caramel fraoppe for a delicious mid-morning/breakfast treat.

Boneless Chicken (KFC)
They just somehow (probably with genetics) took out the bones. Best chicken you can eat.

Stunner Meals (Hungry Jacks)
I'm rarely that hungry, but when I am that gets me full, bloated and often needing a restroom.

Family Meals (McDonald's/Hungry Jacks)
Back in the days when i surfed (we'll get to that in another blog), this was a great meal to share with 1 other mate. 4 cheeseburgers, 4 fries and 4 drinks.
Mashies (KFC)
Wifey loves them more than me, but they are one of the best new sides in recent memory.

Upsizing (Various)
Sadly we don't sell the upsize sizes they have in the U.S, but the upsize if perfect when you're just a little bit hungrier.

It would be so nice.................

Headed over to the homeland friday to catch a few family and friends.

The drive went as well as could be expected for one containing two boys under 3 in the back. Luckily they were both asleep just after 6, meaning wifey and i got in a good hour of chatting without interruptions.

Got in just after 8:30 and sat straight down while Tara brought in the luggage to watch the Crows. After watching 3 quarters I concluded that Geelong are freaks and the Crows have some issues, then went to bed.

SATURDAY
Not so good sleep the night before due to Isaac being a bit spooked by his first try in Adelaide in a big boy bed, so he joined us, then later I joined him in his single bed. Got up to a lovely breakfast, then headed to the shops to grab some things, mostly cake-related. If you like cakes, check out the berlina range at the little bakery next to "Casanova's" on Henley Beach Rd. Amazing.

Went for lunch to "Hog's Breath" at the Bay with Darren, Michella, Ribar and Jessie. Took me a while to hit my stride due to tiredness but we had a lovely little catch up. Besides the great food and friends the music was fantastic. Mostly full of grunge and pop hits from the 90's. As we joked, it's like they took one of mine or Darren's mix tapes from the 90's. (for another perspective on this memorable lunch, read this http://www.darrenhunter.blogspot.com/ ).

After lunch came home and quickly headed over to Henley oval to watch the Henley amateurs play. Pretty scrappy/crappy game, the highlight being listening to the 3rd quarter address which contained the phrase "c'mon guys/lads/fellas" several hundred times. Saw "The Birdman" there too in a very 90's tracksuit. At night had dad and Mary over for dinner. Tara cooked a lovely carbonara which went down a storm. Chatted, then watched the end of the Swans v Pies.

SUNDAY
Hung around the house and had another delightful breakfast. Read the papers and chatted. Went out for lunch with the Osborne's to "Macca's". Good catch up. Came home and caught up with Tompy and Callan, then had a roast dinner with Breea as our special guest. Good night, highlighted by Isaac being able to entertain himself with a heap of toys Valda pulled out of the shed from the 80's.

Tv time at night, highlighted by "60 Minutes", "Rove" and "Dexter". Was really looking forward to Dexter and will likely tune in again. It got a bit disturbing at times but never went where I feared it would, so that was nice, although there were a few bloody scenes, but then he's a blood splatter expert, so...........Good stories, well written and some interesting characters.

MONDAY
Worked locally for the day then at night started heading home. Before I took off I looked up some motels online and wasn't overly confident I'd find something in Kaniva or Nhill that wouldn't have a Norman Bates-type as the owner. Settled on a place in Kaniva that looked semi-nice and the sign outside drew me in with listed features such as..........

"Colour Tv"
"Air conditioning"
"Tea and coffee"
"Soap" (this one was made up)

Seriously, aren't those things a given? I guess when you don't have a pool, foxtel, dvd players/in house movies and irons these are your main features. The check-in was scary at first when I noticed on the desk a "disconnection warning" from Origin, but I discovered this was for another of the owner's ventures. The owner looked good for someone who was over 100, but his age caught up with him when doing tricky things like using the eftpos machine. Within 10 minutes it was all sorted though and I could go to my room. The room was nothing special and after I found some form of heating, soap and extra lighting I was happy. Watched some tv then hit the hay.

TUESDAY
Did some work and headed home. Nothing interesting at all happened. Goodnight.

Stuff going on in my head

LITTLE LLEYTON
As an Aussie, I really wanted to stay up and watch Little Lleyton last night, then I remembered...

1/ He was probably going to lose
2/ It's great I can stay up to 10:30 to watch the match begin, but how could I last several hours watching the whole match?

I used to love watching Wimbeldon. When Rafter made the final several years ago I went to the Malcolm's to watch it. The game was delayed by rain..... for several hours. I quit and went home and turned on several times during the middle of the night. When i got up for work I turned on just in time to see him lose.

I love watching sports at night, but when games/matches go up to and including 1am I just can't do it anymore.

ISAAC
Isaac's current 5 catch phrases

"Bit later?"
"Special treat?"
"No get up"
"No hurting 'lijah"
"Naughty step"

SPORTS
Man sports are great lately. NBA draft, footy, Wimbeldon, cricket.........
The Melbourne v Lions game Sunday was amazing. Loved it. As much as Melbourne stink, they are in my "Teams I could watch when not playing one of the Adelaide teams" list. Generally I will only watch a game not featuring an SA team if

1/ They are playing another team on the "Team I could watch when not playing one of the Adelaide teams" list.
2/ Two of the Top 4 sides

Current teams on the above list are
-Hawthorn
-Melbourne
-Brisbane
-Carlton

EASTLINK
Been on the new "Eastlink" a few times now. It's not bad, pretty weird driving on a major road right around the corner you've never seen before. A bit annoying that on a 15min on some spots you only save a few mins, but overall it seems good. The Phillip Island drive should be the major winner.


SUPERCOACH
So you can't edit teams over a split round. Genius. Hopefully none of the 4 teams playing make changes this week.

Bee Movie

So we hired "Bee Movie" friday night (and it wasn't for Isaac). It seems to be getting harder and harder to find a movie these days that both wifey and i will like, so I went for an animation movie aimed at small children. The movie probably wouldn't have gotten a look in if not for Jerry Seinfeld's involvement as writer, producer and main character (well his voice at least).

"Bee Movie" is about Barry Benson (Seinfeld), a bee who's ready to join the workforce but is questioning the whole mundane bee existence. He wanders out the hive one day for a look into the real world and is amazed at all the new things, most notably humans and especially Vanessa Bloom (Zelwegger, who is still annoying even as a "voice"), whom he forms some sort of weird crush. Barry is blown away when he discovers humans eat honey and are making millions out of it, so he decides to sue humans and get the honey back to the bees. This forms an environmental catastrophe and Barry has to decide what he'll do.

Pretty good for what it is, with a few decent jokes in there and some great action sequences. Seinfeld is pretty good as Barry, but everytime he talked I had Jerry's face in my head, which was a bit weird. Kids should like it, although some of the storyline and humour is probably a bit above most pre-teens.

Success

On the weekend I achieved something I've been hoping to do for a long time- I got past level 2 on the golf game on my mobile.

I play "Golf" generally when I'm bored eg waiting in queues, waiting at airports etc and so have never really had any long, meaningful sessions. I completed level 1 early on but stage 2 has been a stumbling block. In stage 2 you have to beat "John", plus go 1 under par over 6 holes. On Saturday morning, while waiting for Tara to get her breakfast at Eastland, I decided to have another crack. I was playing beautifully and this seemed to be my day. Going into the last hole I was whipping John, but was 1 over par. Sadly, the 6th hole is a par 3, meaning I needed a hole-in-one. Unlikely. I lined it up, changed from the suggested club and gave it a whack. Hole-in-one! I think the game felt sorry for me, but I'll take it. Now onto level 3, which going on the past should be completed in about 2010.

Word Of The Day: Optimism

Definiton: Thinking of a really positive, against-all-odds outcome

eg. Def Leppard booking Rod Laver Arena for their upcoming Melbourne tour.

Now I love "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and their one-armed drummer as much as the next guy, but Rod Laver Arena? Surely they'd struggle to get 100 people to a 4 song set of "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Rocket", "Love Bites" and "Animal" at Eastland.

"Ten"

Listened to this classic grunge album today and thought I'd pass on some reflections. Amazingly this album is 17 years old.

1. ONCE
Strong start. Textbook grunge song (about being annoyed)
In a word: Solid
Best line: "Once upon a time, I could control myself"
Ranking: 7/10

2. EVEN FLOW
Never a huge fan, just drags a bit for me
In a word: Workmanlike
Best line: "Freezin, rests his head on a pillow made of concrete"
Ranking: 6/10

3. ALIVE
Disturbing subject matter, annoying chorus
In a word: Pass
Best line: "Is something wrong she said, of course there is, you're still alive"
Ranking: 5/10

4. Why Go
Just a song
In a word: Boring
Best line: "She could join the game, she could be another clone"
Ranking: 4/10

5. Black
The best song in the history of music
In a word: Masterpeice
Best line: "And now my bitter hands cradle broken glass"
Ranking: 10/10

6. Jeremy
Still holds up- amazing song
In a word: Timeless
Best line: "Jeremy spoke in class today"
Ranking: 8.5/10

7. Oceans
Not brilliant, but enjoyable. Shows off the compotent drum work of Dave Krusen.
In a word: Relaxing
Best line: "The currents will shift, guide me towards you"
Ranking: 7/10

8. Porch
Kinda catchy, kinda sucky
In a word: Meh
Best line: "Daily minefield, this could be my time"
Ranking: 4/10

9. Garden
Great guitar, great chorus
In a word: Powerful
Best line: I will walk, with my hands bound
Ranking: 8/10

10. Deep
Unlike cheese, didn't age well
In a word: Worn
Bets line: "Ponders his maker, ponders his will"
Ranking: 4/10

11. Release
Bit dull, to be honest
In a word: Sleepy
Best line: "I see the world, feel the chill"
Ranking: 4/10

I'm no Supercoach

Into my second year of doing "Supercoach" and I'm still a bit of a novice. My team stunk it up this week with a paltry 1595.

Here's where I got killed.

-4pts for Bassett who got injured a few minutes into the first quarter. Great.
-Kane Cornes got a measly 30. Sadly, I had him as captain and got 60.
-Just 68 for Buddy, who was well held by his team mate (on this team), Nathan Bock.
-0 from the injured Daniel Bradshaw and Justin Koschitzke.

Coing from an awesome fantasy league in "Yahoo Sports", there's a few dumb things about "Supercoach".

1/ The Captain. You get killed if you're select doesn't end up playing, has a shocker or gets injured early into the game.

2/ The bench. Only 2 players deep at each zone. You pretty much conceed at least 2 players a week getting nothing. The system should default and give you points from a bench player. You should also get to add extra players for long term injured guys.

3/ Positioning. Daniel Bradshaw is in my team in defence. Roughead also played here for me earlier in the year.

4/ Changes. You can't make changes over a 3-4 day period? Idiotic. Should be able to change players each morning when injury news comes in.

High Fidelity

Rewatched this last night with wifey. Here's my IMDB.com review

"High Fidelity" is built around record-store owner Rob Gordon (John Cusack), a guy who's hit a mini-crisis and decides to track down why his relationships with women have turned disasterous by contacting his long string of ex-girlfriends. He makes up a Top 5 list (something he does frequently) of his most damaging relationships and tracks these women down. In the middle of this he keeps running his snobby record store with pals Dick and Barry (Jack Black, in his breakout role).

The film is all about a man on a journey discovering why he's become the man he is and making decisions to change his future. This is all good, but the film will be remembered for it's focus on making mix tapes and Top 5 lists (the best of which are "Top 5 Monday morning songs" and "Top 5 best first tracks on an album"). Good laughs and an interesting story.

The Weekend

Due to overwhelming requests, here's what the lowdown on what I did over the weekend.

SATURDAY
Woke up, got the boys up, and got them fed and into some activities/tv watching. Jumped onto the computer to look into last night's pc crash, did a bit of playing and got all eventually ok. Think it may be posessed. Pottered for a bit, then hit the backyard for a tidy up and a bit of weeding.

In the arvo we headed over to Knox. Tara and I have a great new agreement that when I'm bored shopping I can go to the foodcourt and read the paper. We grabbed a coffee, then i read my paper while the family went for a look around.

At night I watched the Crows v Hawks while Tara played on the internet. Here's my thoughts on this fantastic game.

-Andy Mc had an awesome first quarter then faded. Annoying.
-Bock was great on Franklin, obviosuly, but had pretty good help. Shame that one goal he did kick pretty much won them the game.
-Tyson Edwards's timing is getting pretty average, puts plenty of team mates in horrible positions.
-I love Jason Porplyzia (pictured). In a text message to James during the game I think I said something along the lines of that if gay marriages were legal here I'd propose to him. James replied that there may be a queue.
-Good to see Luke Jericho being useful. Makes a real difference.
-What is it that Michael Doughty does again?
-Luke Hodge is a gun.

After this went to bed, dejected, and fell asleep within about 3 minutes.

SUNDAY
Early start for church as I was on tech desk. One of the more challenging mornings but all went well. Came home, had a delightful hawaiian toastie, then had a nanna nap. Got up made some donuts in my donut maker, cleaned the kitchen up, then took the boys to Lilydale Lake.


Tonight I plan on watching a movie and eating Tara's delicious cabbage and sausage soup.

The Naked Gun

The second dvd up for viewing from our weekly grab was "The Naked Gun". I hadn't seen for a long time and figured I'd probably get more jokes in it than I did when I was 12.

The story, if you haven't seen it for some reason, revolves around Frank Drebin (Nielsen), a wacky cop who is given the responsibility of overseeing the security for the impending visit of the Queen. Also on his plate is discovering what happened to his closest friend Nordberg(O.J Simpson, before he did you know what), who was shot at repeatedly on a drugs investigation. Drebin soon discovers there's a link between the visit and the attempt on Nordberg's life and sets about catching a would be assasin before they get to the Queen.

From the same writers of the original "Flying High", there is some comedy gold in here. While some of it has aged, there's plenty of good stuff in there still. Besides discovering some innuendo I was oblivious to as a pre-teen, I found a few new jokes plus spotted the guy who played Elaine's dad in "Seinfeld" as a the Angels manager.

One of the great comedies of the 80's.

Flying High 2

For the first time in ages, we hired some weekly dvd's from our local "Blockbuster". I was crestfallen by the current "New Releases", so decided to go for some old school comedy. First up- "Flying High 2".

Early into the movie I realised I hadn't seen this, which surprised me as I see myself as a connoisseur of 80's comedies. The plot is kind of like the original, except on a spaceship. Pretty early on it was obvious this was going to stink it up....and it did. It wasn't written by the famed Abrahams/Zucker combo but by some guy called Ken Finkleman, who was responsible for another putrid sequel, "Grease 2", and the Madonna flop "Who's that girl?". The jokes are pretty much the same, most of the cast is back (except Leslie Nielsen who was probably the only one not that desperate for the work) and the story is about 10% different from the first. Just awful. Avoid at all costs.