Caucus Mailer Table Cloth

The mailbox has been full lately. With yuuuge fliers touting a candidate, or mocking a candidate. Below is just the last 4 days. I'm going to make a caucus tablecloth with them. Can you find your preferred candidate?

48 hour caucus predictions....

As I type this, the Iowa Caucuses will have commenced in 48 hours. Love the caucuses. Fun stuff, and I love having the candidates tramping around our fair state. Of course I like politics. Of course I have my favorites, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the political game, watching political ads, and commenting on the political maneuvering going on.

So I am going to make my predictions on the caucus. I've seen the polls. I've heard the speeches. I've seen Twitter and Facebook commentary. I've driven around Iowa and seen what yard signs are out there.

In the past, I always seem to over predict the vote totals of people I like. I think that is because I tend to gravitate to those I agree with. So I've decided this year, I'm going to give a minus 3% to the people I like in getting the final percentages. So here ya go....feel free to mock me now, or on Wednesday morning.

Let's start with the Democrats. I think Bernie's going to win Iowa. Hillary got 3rd in 2008, if you do not recall, behind 0bama and John Edwards. Iowans want candidates to go to the Pizza Ranches, and small rallies in coffee shops. Hillary rarely does that. And for whatever reason, Iowa is a state that has not been comfortable with women candidates. If you recall, Iowa has never had a woman elected to federal office until just 1.5 years ago when Joni Ernst won the US Senate race.

Of course Hillary has plenty of supporters. But I think in what is of interest to the Democrat electorate in Iowa, Bernie matches more viewpoints. Martin O'Malley? Dude is running for Vice President or something. He should have an asterisk by his name.

Bernie Sanders 52% ||| Hillary Clinton 45% ||| Martin O'Malley 2% ||| Uncommitted 1%

Now for the Republicans. Unlike the Democrats, there is something for everybody in the party here. Choices for the establishment wing, for the libertarian wing, the conservative wing, and Tea Partiers, and the "Blow it all up, it sucks" people. And some of that crosses over.

The big story is that Trump leads in the polls. He gets huge crowds wherever he goes. But I'm calling my shot. He is not going to win Iowa. If he does, the Republican nomination is set. He will be the Republican nominee. But like I said, I don't think he wins. He would if we had a primary, but I just don't think he will get enough people out to a caucus to win it.

Ted Cruz is going to win Iowa. He has a great organization. And he is going to get most of the evangelical vote, which is what makes up the majority of Iowa Republican caucus goers.

Rubio is going to come in 3rd, plenty of interest in him. 2016 won't be his year. But if he keeps his nose clean, I can see him being the R nominee in some future election.

Rand Paul could have been in 2nd and 3rd, but for whatever reason, he didn't seem to keep his father's coalition together. I think a lot of his constituency is at Bernie Sanders too. Younger folks that are not fans of the drug war, and the NSA spying, often have some same economic ideas as Bernie, and that hurts Rand.

Ben Carson had his chance, people like him, but I think in the year of Trump, people probably want a little more a boisterous president, and not one as cerebral.

As for the rest, Carly will get some votes because she is a woman, not for any other compelling reason. Christie has some establishment support, but he just didn't click in Iowa. Kasich has appeal to more moderate Republicans, and would do better in a general election than a Republican caucus.

I forgot about Jeb Bush. Last August or so, the incestuous media always talked about Bush. Anybody with any nose to the ground knew he was getting nowhere. Yes, he had a crap ton of money. But there was no, and I mean NO, ground roots support for the guy. I know people across the political spectrum, and never once, this whole season, did I hear of someone who said they were going to vote for Jeb. Which annoyed me that the media propped him up all the time. But I digress...

Ted Cruz 32% ||| Donald Trump 30% ||| Marco Rubio 12% ||| Ben Carson 8% ||| Rand Paul 8%

John Kasich 3% ||| Chris Christie 3% ||| Carly Fiorina 2% ||| Jeb Bush 2%

And at 1% or less Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorumdoesn't add to 100% due to rounding

I'm still pondering revealing my caucus vote. Maybe because I'm still pondering who to vote for.....

Candidates as NFL teams

Caucus season is coming to a close in Iowa, and the Super Bowl is almost here. So I was thinking about what Presidential candidate is like what NFL team. Here's my crack at it.

Hillary Clinton is the New England Patriots

This one is the easiest. Has their wide share of fans, but everyone else hates them. Cheats all the time, and gets away with it.

Bernie Sanders is the Denver Broncos

Old guy at the helm. Everybody wonders why/how they do so well. Legal weed in Colorado also suits most of the Bernie supporters too.

Rand Paul is the New York Jets

Very dedicated and loyal fanbase. Some psychotic nut supporters. Liberty faction in the Republican Party is the redheaded stepchild of the party, just like the Jets are in NYC.

Jeb Bush is the Miami Dolphins

Very good pedigree. On paper, looks talented. But everybody laughs at the thought of a Dolphins Super Bowl or Jeb Bush presidency.

Ben Carson is the Tennessee Titans

Just like you can't hear Ben Carson, you can't really hear the Titans. You know they are there, but they don't really make any noise.

Ted Cruz is the Pittsburgh Steelers

A pick to win it all. A loyal and dedicated fan base around the country full of true believers. Opponents know they are good and resent it. Well coached and prepared.

John Kasich is the San Diego Chargers

Nobody really hates the Chargers, but a lot of times they are annoying like the talkative 9 year old that is always tugging at your arm. They are not going to win, but you are forced to acknowledge their presence.

Marco Rubio is the Cincinnati Bengals

All sorts of talent, but self-inflicted stuff that prevents going top tier. You always wonder, why don't the Bengals do better?

Carly Fiorina is the Detroit Lions

You start off saying, "No way." Then the Lions win 4 in a row, and you are thinking, "Wow, we are on to something here." Then by week 16, you kinda forget that the Lions are in the NFL.

Chris Christie is the Green Bay Packers

This is my weakest comparison. I don't really have a good one. I chose this because I like Christie himself well enough, and I like the Packer players. But when I look at his policies and most Packer fans, I want them to lose.

Donald Trump is the Dallas Cowboys

A lot of spectacular wins and buildings, and lot of bad losses and bankruptcies. I don't think there is a team with more Super Bowl trophies to go along with double digit loss seasons. Their fans love them, and the doubters think they are clowns (see Romo).

Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, and Jim Gilmore are the Canton Bulldogs.

They used to be in the NFL, 90 years ago. Unfortunately for these 3, they haven't realized their team has folded.

40 inch snow

There is some weather outfit (not the NWS) that posted about a potential of 40 inches of snow in Iowa next week. And that prediction has been making its way around social media.

Stop.

Please stop.

There is no way we are going to have a 40" snow event inside the borders of Iowa. It has never happened, and it is not going to happen next week.

If you are apt to believe it, please take a look at a map. There are no bodies of water within 1000 miles that can supply a 40" snowfall.

Now maybe if the world started spinning the other direction, maybe we could get 40" of lake effect snow from Lake Michigan in Dubuque. But I'm guessing the sun will be coming up in the east next week.

It's fun to talk about, just like winning the Powerball. But It ain't gonna happen.

And trust me, I got an A in Meteorology at Iowa State.

Z-Rock Metal Militia

Though terrestrial radio's influence is waning, with the advent of Sirius/XM, online radio stations, Pandora and so on, the almost 100 year old medium continues. And while I think people still have their favorite radio stations, I'm not sure there is quite the devotion of days past. There were live and local DJs that built more of a rapport with the audience.

My favorites went up and down the dial as I grew up. My first favorite radio station was 59 WOW out of Omaha. The followed by 13K KELO out of Sioux Falls, 62 KMNS out of Sioux City. Night time listening was at KAAY in Little Rock, and my all time favorite on the AM band, WLS out of Chicago. All of them were Top 40 stations, spinning the hits.

When I moved to suburban Chicago, I was awed by the choices on my radio band. I stumbled across some suburban FM station going by the moniker "Z-Rock". It was the greatest thing to a white boy tiring of Top 40 music. It was a hard rock/heavy metal station. Besides the more Top 40 hits by groups like RATT, Quiet Riot, and AC/DC, you would also hear Dokken, Krokus, Iron Maiden, Dio, Anthrax and other acts that were a bit to the left of Top 40 radio.

But Z-Rock wasn't local, it was the first national satellite music radio network. Wikipedia has a good rundown of the network.

Rightly or wrongly, this was the first shot in the battle of live and local radio.

They were on many stations across the country, including the one in suburban Chicago. When I got my travelling job with Motorola, I heard them in many other markets. It was always good to hear the same voices, jingles, and tunes.

A few years after I moved to Charleston, WV, they had a small local station at 1490AM pick up the Z-Rock network. It was a small 1000 watt AM station that I could barely get in my suburban home, but it was the same hard rock music that I live, albeit in scratchy AM. WCZR, AM 1490, Charleston's Z-Rock.

Part of their deal for fans was to join the "Z-Rock Metal Militia." You could go purchase some dog tags at a local store, and then use the tags to get discounts at various stores. Not sure I got a discount for anything, but they were a pre-internet way of organizing listeners. I still have them, and went digging for them. Below is my Z-Rock Metal Militia dog tag.

Since they were running often un-manned stations they had audio jingles to start local commercials automatically. I currently use one of the riffs as my text message alert tone. Fun stuff.

I found a sampling of airchecks from that Chicago station I listened to. WZRC, 106.7 (Z-Rock Chicago). They had two tags lines that were great too. They've been ripped off by other stations, but I think they may have been the first.

IF IT'S TOO LOUD, YOU'RE TOO OLD!

FLIP US ON, AND FLIP THEM OFF!

LOCK IT IN AND RIP THE KNOB OFF!

Here is the aircheck

In listening to this, it is amazing how fresh and modern the imaging is. This above audio is from 30 years ago. I think you could put this on the air now, and still have it sound like a 2016 radio station.

Biggest Tweet Ever

I like Twitter. Probably my favorite social media outlet nowadays, supplanting Facebook. Great for brief snippets of news. However, the best part is the snark. NFL Draft night was probably my favorite. The wise guys come out of the bushes, for their takes on teams and players.

Of course, I like to offer my snark on the world as well. I tend to be a bit more course on Twitter than Facebook, because it is so easy to turn into a flame war between friends on Facebook. And that is no fun.

So last night, after ISU knocked off the #1 college basketball team, the Oklahoma Sooners, I had a little fun on Twitter as well. But it was at the expense of a Kansas hoops star. So anyway, ISU had not beaten a #1 team since 1957. And that was Wilt Chamberlain led Kansas. But currently, KU has a player named Perry Ellis. Ellis is a great player, been starting since his freshman year I believe. So in college basketball, that seems like forever. Added to that, he has a massive receding hairline, and to most observers, he looks way too old to be playing college basketball. So I tweeted this.

The last time Iowa State beat a #1 team, was 1957 against the Kansas Jayhawks. Back when Perry Ellis was a sophomore.

— Roger Fritz (@rogerfritz) January 19, 2016

Anyway, this tweet went cuckoo on Twitter. It has been retweeted (shared in Facebook terms) scores of times. Over 12,000 people have seen it. I know that is not a big deal for Donald Trump, a Kardashian, or ESPN. But kind of a big deal for little ol' me. I just thought I was being funny to try to amuse my 250 followers. But it really blew up. Reminds me of a certain lawn mowing video.....

Nissan Truck Ad

Those of us in Iowa are bombarded with political ads lately. I actually kind of enjoy them in a sick way. But 1/2 of them are ripping on the opposition. And such is how it is in a lot of advertising. Whether it is a politician or a can of soup. Differentiating yourself from the competitor.

Just saw one that breaks that mold. Nissan has a new ad out for their Titan pickup. Nissan actually gives a nod of appreciation to their competitors, and what they have done.

Of course this ad follows my rule of, "If you are on top, never mention your competitors, and if you are not, you mention them every chance you get." I'm not a marketing major, but that is my opinion.

So Nissan met my rule in this case, albeit briefly. But it is just a great ad. Pulls at heartstrings, nostalgia, and still shows the product at the end.

I'm somewhat partial to Nissans. Drive the Titan's little brother, a 2005 Frontier. My first car was a Datsun/Nissan, and probably am going to get a Murano later this year. But I'm ready to go out and buy a Titan now!

Warsteiner Dunkel

Vicki took a girls' weekend trip to Galena, Illinois. She took her credit card along, so that was bad news. But fortunately, the nice wife that she is, she returned with a gift for me. Namely a 6 pack of random beers. I honestly cannot remember 4 of them. One I didn't like. It was ginger beer of some kind. It wasn't "bad", but certainly nothing I would drink, given a choice of any other beer.

But there was one I really liked, and it was Warsteiner Dunkel. I'm no beer connoisseur, where I write about them, and know my IPAs from pilsners, from my lagers. I know them when I see them, but can't really explain them.

In short, it is a dark beer, maybe a hint of coffee taste to it. Here is a description from their website.

Anyway, I thought it might be one of those micro beers I would never see again. But after a look on the web, I found a couple places in Ames where I could get it. My store of choice for adult beverages, Cyclone Liquors, carries it. And right across the parking lot, Hy-Vee carries it as well. So anyway, if you like trying different beers, I give it my endorsement.

PS Here are some reviews from the beer connoisseurs.

Steelers!

Nice to see the Steelers come away with a win against the Bengals. With all the Steelers injuries, and the goofy end of the Bengals game, as a Steelers fan, it just feels like playing with house money now. I don't expect the Steelers to win against Denver on Sunday. So I'll just sit back and watch, and enjoy an extra game.

I have a feeling the Chiefs might win. And I like the Panthers and Cardinals on the NFC side.

I probably jinxed the Chiefs. I'm not a Chiefs hater. And whenever I get on their bandwagon a bit, they seem to doink it away. But it would be nice to see them beat the Patriots.

Elf on a shelf/Trump on a stump

Got this flyer from Jeb Bush in the mail. Vicki and I have turned it into Elf on a Shelf. We just move it around our house. Why? We think it is funny. The Donald will bully us if we don't behave.

Samsung Gear VR Virtual Reality Headset Review

I bought a Samsung Gear VR virtual reality headset for myself for Christmas. Just wanted to comment on it, and give it a review. The above video is what it looks like, and how to install a phone. The video itself is not a review.

So I paid $99 for it from Amazon. To use it, you need a Samsung Note 4 or 5 (I think). I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 (it doesn't work on the S5 or lower). It has external jacks so you can charge while watching, or hook up a headset/ear buds. You can also adjust the focus and adjust the volume, on two other exterior "buttons".

I've never really used a VR setup before. And simply put, it is awesome. It is amazing how quick the response is, as you turn your head, and look around at stuff.

So what does it do? I'm not a gamer, but you can download games, and use a remote controller to play games. Haven't done that yet, but I imagine it is pretty cool, if that is what you are into, based on how other stuff works. Though it probably isn't a focus of the unit, where I got the most wows, when passing it around at a Christmas party, was the VR theatre, where you can watch your own videos on the phone. It plays your video (and I put some GoPro action videos on), and makes it as if you are sitting in a theatre watching your video on a big screen. Chairs are all around you, the carpet, and the whole theatre scene. Hard to describe, but basically it is like watching your movies in a theatre. You can also change from the theatre mode, to a home theatre, or if you were an ant watching on a smart phone, or if you were sitting on the moon, watching a video on a screen.

Of course they have the usual VR movies you can watch. I haven't watched a whole movie, but I've done the flying on a ship in a Star Wars short, and just their promotional videos. It is like putting you right where the camera is, as you have a 360 degree field of vision.

There are also apps to be able to watch YouTube videos, so that is kinda cool too. It is like watching a YouTube video in a theatre, if there is something you want to watch in that mode.

The headset has a foam "seal" that really cuts out outside light. It doesn't weigh very much. The phone itself is the heavy part. Generally speaking, it doesn't affect my eyes much. I watched some videos with a bunch of bounce, and that did give me a little headache. It has a headstrap to secure to your head, and there is enough room to watch with glasses, if that is how you roll.

All in all a fun gift to myself. I'm guessing gamers would absolutely love this. I'm not a big movie watcher, but I'm going to watch some on this. As content becomes even more available, I can see this catching on more than the 3D TV thing. I have a 3D TV, and it kinda cool, but this immerses you in what you are watching.

So if you have a compatable phone, and $99 to spend on fun, I endorse picking one up.

What does your pee smell like?

This may venture into the TMI area..but thanks to eating Golden Crisp this morning, I was reminded of it when I took a trip to the bathroom a couple hours later. My pee smells like Golden Crisp. Or Super Sugar Crisp, if you are old enough to remember that name, before the marketing people at Post wanted to hide the sugar content from fretful moms.

And apparently I am not alone. Searching "pee smells like Golden Crisp" brings 87,000 hits on Google. So what's going on? I clicked on the link for one of them, and found this.

Yes, this can happen. What's happening is that your body can't digest the chemicals responsible for the smell and so it basically throws them out, intact, via the kidneys and urine, making the urine smell like cereal. Some artificial dyes will stain your urine funny colours for the same reason, and asparagus is really bad for making your pee stink (but apparently not everybody can smell it). Edit: and yes, it can be strong enough that you can smell it from a good distance.

Oddly enough, the author that I stole the above from mentions asparagus. That is another food that makes my pee stink horribly. This is an even odder topic, from a scientific point of view. Apparently not all people can smell "asparagus pee". As an aside, there are 384,000 hits to "asparagus pee" on Google, so it is even more common I guess. Anyway, apparently 50% of people cannot smell the compound created that ends up in urine after eating asparagus. It's called "Specific Anosmia". So if you eat asparagus, and don't smell anything, you probably have specific anosmia.

HERE is a great article describing the phenomenon regarding asparagus.

I can't think of any other foods that do that to me. What about you, feel free to comment?!?!? In a future post, maybe I'll get in a discussion of what drink mass amounts of purple Powerade does to me.....