Dad Therapy

How To Take Advantage of the Housing Bust via Near Catastrophe

Three years ago the missus and I — married for a year or so — bought what we thought was our dream home in a hip Chciago neighborhood. It was a rather large duplex and it was all new with nice fixtures and top-end appliances. We decked the place out with brand new furniture, built-in closets and a home theater system. Less than a year into ownership I woke up one night to the sound of water dripping. I rooted around in the dark to find it coming from an electric outlet in the bedroom.

“That’s weird” I thought, figuring the night’s rain was causing it or there was a leak on the roof.

New & Vintage Music Monday: Clutch and Down By Law

There’s a pretty standard hashtag used on Twitter these days called #musicmonday. The theory is that Twitter users share some music with each other to start the week. It’s a good idea but like most things on Twitter it’s really unfocused.

For my contribution I’ll add two songs a week. One will be new or at least current to highlight something I’m listening to a lot at the time. The other will be a vintage track form my library of seemingly a gazillion records. The vintage track will have to be at least ten years old and I hope to tie it into the new track in some way or at least have meaning to today’s music scene in general.

Clutch, 50,000 Unstoppable Watts
I’m a bit of a Clutch nerd and they’ve actually been around for over 15 years. They border on the alt-metal fringe but they always sound stripped down to me. On their new album Strange Cousins From The West that stripped feeling has never been more apparent. The disc is bluesier than some in the past and this is one of my favorite tracks of the disc. By the way, if you’re going to buy this album, buy the album. The disc packaging is one of the most intricate I’ve ever seen.

Clutch: 50,000 Unstoppable Watts

Down By Law, At Home In the Wasteland
Punk was going through some growing pains back in the early 1990s before Green Day broke everything crazy. Dave Smalley of Dag Nasty formed Down By Law and it was pop-punk in the best way, catchy hooks, guitar solos, and an upbeat vocal style. They sounded very little like Bad Religion or other angrier SoCal punk bands.

Down By Law: At Home In The Wasteland

Cardboard iPhone Case Reminds Me of Moving a Bit Too Much

I have no idea why anyone would actually want one of these cases, but at $.99 it's probably the cheapest one on the market.

My co-worker @mattraskin handed me one after a bunch were delivered to him at the office — I know, sounds sketchy right? You can access all the buttons but it sure won't fit in my pocket easily. 

Just seeing the broken down, flat cardboard in miniature — below — was like a flashback to our move. I can't escape cardboard boxes!

One Dad's Dream: Edzo's Hamburger in Evanston

Many a modern dad likes to think of himself as the best griller in the neighborhood. Or the guy with the best barbecue ribs in town — that would be me. But then there are dads who are actual chefs who open their own restaurant. For Chicago based father Eddie Lakin he’s living the dream and preparing to open his own restaurant, a burger joint in Evanston called Edzos.

The cool thing is he’s detailing the whole process on a blog which is really detailed — although I’d like to see more pictures. Right now he says he hopes to open by the end of the month and the only thing he’s waiting on are city inspections. So far he’s got three down with two to go.

Here’s what he told me about the type of burgers he’ll be serving: “we're grinding our own beef fresh daily and cutting potatoes for fries.  We're offering two "styles" of burgers;  the thin, crispy on the griddle kind and the thick, juicy on the char-grill type. It's cheap and kind of old school.”

He attached the picture you see here which looks like grilled perfection to me. It reminds me of a Five Guys type burger done by a local dad. Check in with Eddie’s blog for word on the opening day. I hope to take the kids on an adventure to Evanston when it does. 

Tap to Focus: iPhone Photo Blogging

A few of my more digitally and artistically gifted coworkers came up with an idea to share their better iPhone images via social media hacks and the result is called Tap to Focus.

The line-up of contributors is as eclectic as the photos with amateur and pro photogs along with joes who just like their iPhone. And at least two dads and one dad-to-be. Here's the roster via Tapper Ian.

• Ian – Photographer - Chicago
• Matt – Data Geek/Web Designer – Chicago - (Chief Tapper)
• Jules – Amateur Photographer/Occupation Unknown – Chicago
• Joe – UPS Truck Driver/Bicycle enthusiast – Chicago
• JonYu – Industrial Designer – Raleigh NC
• Austin – Cartoonist/Author – Austin Texas
• Jay – Bar Manager/Beer Snob – Raleigh NC
• Mike - Web Designer – Chicago
• Steve (who has yet to post but has all of the info) - Number Guru/Information Genius/Computer Genius – Boston
• Haley – Matt’s Friend/Occupation unknown – Chicagoland
• David – Auto Writer/Blogger – Chicago (ME)
• Craig – Journalist – Chicago

The above image is of my goofy child taking part in one of his favorite past times, getting soaking wet before dinner.

Remember When Music Videos Were Good?

Or do you remember when you last actually watched a music video? The medium isn’t really at the forefront of the music industry these days and is far off the pop culture map, but this new video from Owen is worth watching. Great song and I’m going to give the album a listen when it comes out Tuesday. You can pre-order it here.

Pearl Jam, Backspacer: Review

I have spent a lot of time listening to, contemplating and overanalyzing this record. I did not want to post a review before I had given the entire record a fair shake. I’ve wrestled with the opinions I’m about to spew forth, perhaps too much. Ok, definitely too much. But it’s rare I get to critique music like I used to, and this is my favorite band after all.

There are two startling aspects of Backspacer that should quickly frame the rest of the review for readers. The first is that the band is in a good mood. Despite a love song here or there, most Pearl Jam music has come from a dark or angry place. That is why it the band resonated with children of the 1990s. Backspacer tracks like "The Fixer" and "Amongst The Waves" are overwhelmingly upbeat and positive. There’s nothing wrong with this in the least, and it’s a stark contrast to the overwhelmingly pissed-off Pearl Jam of the last self-titled record, which was quite powerful.

That power is not on Backspacer.

WET: One Video Game You’re Not Getting Past The Wife

Disclaimer 1: It’s not like I have to ask permission from my wife to get or play a video game or anything for that matter. I can do whatever I like. But I better understand the consequences. And there would be consequences if I plopped down a fifty on this title.

Disclaimer 2: I don’t play as many games as I used to. A little Madden here, a fair amount of Guitar Hero there. But I used to review games for a living and have something to say about this one.

WET: It appears to be an action packed game starring a female lead. I saw dozens of commercials for it this weekend. Over and over again I kept thinking “Gee, that name is not going to fly with moms anywhere if a kid wants it.” Clearly it’s aimed at the older male gamer. And, presumably, female gamer too.

A few reviews I’ve read say it’s a decent to above average third-person shooter, like the original Max Payne but with a definite nod to Tarantino’s Kill Bill. That sounds like something I might want to play if I had the spare time.

The one thing that wasn't on the commercials is that Eliza Dushku is the voice of the kickass female lead. Come on people, it’s Eliza Dushku. Heck, I think they should’ve made the character look more like her and called it “Dollhouse.” Would’ve made more sense and passed the wife/mom threshold a bit easier despite the M rating.  

DirecTV Sunday Ticket iPhone App: The Review

I promised it, so here we go. What was the first Sunday like testing out DirecTV’s live streaming iPhone app for the NFL's Sunday Ticket? Good. Not great, not bad, just good. It certainly isn’t $350 good as many gadget sites say it costs when you count for the price of the Sunday Ticket package on your DirecTV bill. Of course, I got five months of free programming when I signed up so I’m actually ahead on the deal.

As a stand-alone app however there’s a lot to like.

Madden 10 iPhone App Review

Yesterday, a co-worker was jazzed about Madden coming to iPhone. As someone who rarely pays for iPhone apps I was swayed to plunk down the $7.99 special price after I watched him play a game with my own eyes. The graphics were so good for the iPhone I thought this was a must have. That is until I took it for my own test spin.