Early this morning before I went to do more job searching I went to this old building next to the Anniston police department.  This building is being torn down to make room for the new justice center which is really needed in Anniston.  So I spent about 30 minutes and took some good photos of a part of the building being torn down.

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I have a list of my 20 best Super Bowl ads of 2012 on Young’s Blog.  But there were a couple of animated ads this year.  But just about all of them fell flat.  So here is my two best animated Super Bowl ads of 2012.

M&M’s – Just my Shell

We got to see the new Ms. Brown M&M.  And you know when you combine the two classic M&M characters red and yellow.  There is going to be trouble.  So the red M&M character stripped off his shell and performed moves that us people sometimes do when we are naked.  At least this was only a chocolate ball.  So no harm done but a very creative commercial.

MetLife – Everyone

I thought this was a creative commercial as well.  MetLife has used Snoopy from Peanuts in its ads for a long time.  And when you saw the entire Peanuts gang that is what I thought the ad was going to be about.  But then we saw many cartoon characters from classic cartoons like Scooby Doo; The Jetsons; Looney Tunes; and others.  It was a good ad.

Coca-Cola – Polar Bears

Now I might make some of you out there not happy.  But I thought the Coca-Cola ads with the polar bears were not great at all this year.  Sure they had the fuzzy feeling in them but nothing popped out as great this year.  And right now the ads are ranking very low in the ad meters.  Memo to Coca-Cola.  Try something new next year.

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This is a special edition of Video Roundup.  The best web videos I have seen over the last week.  But this is the 20 best Super Bowl ads I saw.  I think the winner of the ads is the dog.  The ads featuring dogs took the top spots this year.  But there were some other great and funny ads as well.  So here is my 20 best Super Bowl ads of 2012.

The Dog Strikes Back

Bud Light – Rescue Dog

Skechers – Go Run

Doritos – Man’s Best Friend

Doritos – Hot Wild Girls

M&M’s – Just My Shell

Audi – Vampire Party

Pepsi – King’s Court

Chevy – End of the World

Career Builder

Budweiser – Eternal Optimism

Acura – Jerry Seinfeld

Honda – Ferris Bueller

Toyota – It’s Reinvented

Dannon – The Tease

E-Trade – Fatherhood

Samsung Mobile – Thing Called Love

Kia – A Dream Car

Pepsi – Check Out

Chevy – It’s Halftime in America

Anyone who watches the Super Bowl.  Which is just about everybody.  Is going to have food that represents football.  Good stuff like pizza; chicken wings; potato skins; chips and dip; sodas.  The foods that can be unhealthy but you know everyone is going to eat this type of food during the big game.  Well I decided to make some of these items but homemade.  Sure it does take a little time and effort but the taste is worth it.

Chicken Wings

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 20 chicken wings
• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup hot pepper sauce

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt into a resealable plastic bag, and shake to mix. Add the chicken wings, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture.

2. Whisk together the melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl.

3. Dip the wings into the butter mixture, and place back on the baking sheet.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes. Turn the wings over halfway during cooking so they cook evenly.

5. Enjoy!  And yes they were good and had a kick too them.

Potato Skins

• 6 small to medium sized russet baking potatoes (total 3 pounds)
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 6 strips of bacon
• 4 ounces grated cheddar cheese
• Sour cream and green onions to top

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Scrub the potatoes clean then microwave the potatoes; rub all over with olive oil and cook on the high setting for about 5 minutes per potato.

2. Remove the potatoes from the microwave and let cool enough to handle. Cut in half horizontally. Use a spoon to carefully scoop out the insides, reserving the scooped potatoes for another use, leaving about 1/4 of an inch of potato on the skin.

3. Rub with olive oil and place skins on wrapped baking sheet.  Cook for 10 minutes on each side.  Then put cheese and precooked bacon inside skins.  Put back in oven until cheese has melted.  Then enjoy!

Quesadilla

• 4 flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup Mexican cheese

1. Place one tortilla on skillet.  Put 1/4 cup of cheese on top then top with other tortilla.

2. Flip and toast tortilla on both sides.  Then enjoy!

I enjoyed these Super Bowl snacks with some diet root beer.  So on Monday it will be back to walking.  And job hunting.

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Well I picked the Patriots to win 28-24.  And the Giants won the Super Bowl.  This is why I do not pick or bet on games very much because I often get them wrong.  Anyways Super Bowl 46 was a instant classic.  Either team was capable of winning the game and it only came down to the plays.  Eli Manning took his team down the field to win the Super Bowl with only a minute left in the game.  Mr.  Manning will go down as one of the top elite quarterbacks in NFL history.  He has won 2 Super Bowl MVP’s and has defeated his arch rival the Patriots in two Super Bowls now.  Tom Brady is still an elite quarterback even after this loss.  He played a great Super Bowl and it just came down to special team plays.

From New York Times

The halftime show was okay.  Some people hated it and some people loved it.  I went down in the middle.  I gave the halftime show a 6 out of 10.  But one part of the halftime show might force NBC to pay some hefty FCC fines.  But this time many stations blocked this act from happening.  But it was put on YouTube quickly.  The performer M.I.A. decided to flip the middle finger during the halftime show.  I do hope she gets punished for this act.  This was not accidental and you could tell she did not care that she flipped the bird.

This is what Alabamas 13 (WVTM-TV) out of Birmingham did to block the middle finger.

Overall I really enjoyed the Super Bowl and the commericals as well.  More on that coming very soon to Young’s Blog.

RIP Andy Gabrielson

This weekend has turned into a somber note.  Andy Gabrielson was driving on I-44 in Oklahoma when a drunk driver going the wrong way slammed into him and was killed.

From newson6.com

He was about the same age as me but he was taken way too soon.  Professional storm chasers are very important in the warning process.  When the news came out Saturday night everyone who are weather fans like me were in shock.  Social media lighted up with comments of his passing.  But the storm chasers went even further.  Check out this image below.

Everyone associated with the Spotter Network turned on their GPS systems.  And many changed their location to form the A.G. initials over Kansas.  You know that Andy Gabrielson has to be looking down at that and smiling.  And I am sure that he would tell everyone to keep chasing and following weather.  Sometimes God can take people way too early.  It does sadden people who knew anyone taken way too soon.  But God would also tell everyone to live everyday to the fullest.  Live everyday like it is your last day on Earth.  Because you never know when your time will come.  The Weather Channel did a tribute to Mr. Gabrielson on Saturday night and check out a tribute video also below.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Andy-Gabrielson-Memorial/161509763963027

Super Bowl Pick

I am going to make this quick.  I think the Patriots are going to revenge the Giants and win Super Bowl 46.  I know there are many people going for the underdog Giants in this game. But teams who have a bad season and then have a magical run in the NFL playoffs usually do not win it at all.  And the Patriots have been on a roll lately.  So my final score will be 28-24 Patriots.  And I can not wait to see this next week as the show Jimmy Kimmel Live wants people to unplug the TV during the Super Bowl.  Video below.

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This is week three in my series of Shape Up!  The weekly post on what I did over the last week in my quest to getting healthier.

Well the last week has been pretty good.  I attended Food Blog South last Saturday and tasted a lot of new food products.  But at the same time I did a lot of walking back and forth during the day as well.  During the After Party I sampled lots of very good cheeses and some beer as well.  It was a very good day and I will be back!  On Sunday I went to my mom’s house and had some play time with her dog Georgina.  Yes the dog really loves seeing me come over and I have to love her for a long time.  I had a good home-cooked dinner and talked about what happened the day before.

During the work week it was back to the usual try to find a job in the Calhoun County area which is about to be doomed.  I have now started to look outside the area for work now.  And yes if I have to move I will have no choice.  The government leaders in this area have shot us in the foot and is about to have it amputated.  So I walked down to the career center with nothing new and lots of broken equipment.  That was my exercise for the week.  And having to sit in front of the computer on lots of job websites looking for jobs and filling out applications.  Yes it is a lot of fun.

So I never ate out at all during the week.  I had fruit; yogurt; oatmeal; and milk for breakfast throughout the week.  For my snacks I had some popcorn; Jell-O or baked potato chips.  And for dinner I had a protein like ham; a thin steak; chicken; or a french bread pizza one night with some brown rice.  And my desserts were very good like fruit bars; Jell-O; or low-fat ice cream sandwiches.  And you know with the Super Bowl tomorrow it will be fun.  But I am going to cook some game day favorites that can be healthy as well.  Here is my food journal for the week.

Saturday: Muffin; Samples of ice cream; Goo-Goo Cluster; Biscuit; Cheeses; Beer.  Pot roast and greens; Sub; Soda.

Sunday: Yogurt; Pot-roast; Roasted Potatoes; Carrots; Crepe; Diet soda.

Monday: Yogurt; Strawberries; Popcorn; Chicken; Brown Rice; Fruit bar; Milo’s no calorie tea; Milk.

Tuesday: Yogurt; Strawberries; Jell-O; Ham; Brown Rice; Fruit bar; Milo’s no calorie tea; Milk.

Wednesday: Yogurt; Baked chips; Steak; Brown Rice; Fruit bar; Milo’s no calorie tea; Milk.

Thursday: Yogurt; Oatmeal; Popcorn; French bread pizza; Ice cream sandwich; Milo’s no calorie tea; Milk.

Friday: Yogurt; Oatmeal; Jell-O; Ham; Brown Rice; Ice cream sandwich; Milo’s no calorie tea; Milk.

So I will make my Super Bowl prediction on Sunday morning.  And I am going to make my game day goodies that can be healthy as well.  So the next few days are going to be fun!

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It’s time for another edition of Video Roundup.  The best web videos I have seen over the last week.  I will have the best Super Bowl commercials I saw on Monday morning.

Lunch Scholars

High school students can be forgetful.  This is sad to watch.

Dog Gives Receipt

This is a great way to train dogs.

Saint Bernard Invasion

It’s the invasion of saint bernard’s!

Hula Hoop Camera

Great video of an camera attached to a hula hoop.

Another Avalanche Survivor

This has been the winter of avalanche videos.

Young Accordion Players

Pretty good take on the song Take on Me.

Downtown Street Artist

This guy does an amazing performance.

Family Performance

Another great video of using household items to make a song.

Saying Words Backwards

I do not know how this girl does it!

5 Year-Old Girl Brand Views

Kids so young now know what brand logos look like.

Earth at Night From Space

Great video taken from the ISS.

Car Fire and Flip

Great slow motion video of a car wreck.

Snowmobile Front Flip

First front flip ever at the Winter X-Games.

Insane Slam Dunk

This is one crazy slam dunk!

Nano Quadrotors

This is an interesting video.

Flying in New York

Fake people flying around New York City.

Solider Return

A young kid is happy to see his dad again.

Open Letter to Nickelodeon

This is one reason why I do not watch SpongeBob.

One Man Opera

This guy is great!

The Spoken Word

This is a good Christian video.

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Today is National Wear Red Day.  No it is not celebrate the latest Alabama Football championship by wearing red.  People are asked to wear anything red today to raise awareness of heart disease in people.  Which is the #1 killer in people.  More women die from heart disease than from the next four causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.  This disease is 100% preventable with a proper diet and a good exercise program.  If you have any signs of having heart trouble or an heart attack.  Call 911!  For more information click on this link.  http://www.goredforwomen.org/

Now this post is all about the Susan G. Komen Foundation decision to stop all funding to Planned Parenthood.  On Thursday the news came out that the Komen Foundation caved to political pressure from the right and decided to stop all funding to Planned Parenthood because they perform abortions.  Many people down here in the south were very happy to see this decision made.  But just today the news came out again that the Komen Foundation will restore funding to Planned Parenthood because they perform many low cost breast mammograms.  Now the people down in the south are mad and many will not support the Komen Foundation ever again.  And the comments on social media are very negative as well.

My question about all of this is why is political pressure deciding what charitable organizations do?  I know many people are against abortion because of their religious beliefs.  The Komen Foundation should have found another provider to do low cost mammograms across the country before announcing this news.  Now they have lost huge support from both sides of the political aisle.  And you have to wonder if this could be the end of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  I guess we will see if we still have the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure races this fall.  But this is the latest example of extreme political and personal beliefs putting huge pressure on organizations.  And if this continues you have to wonder if this country could go down the tube for good?  I guess we will see.

And by the way; great job donating on Alabama Gives Day on Thursday.   There were 8,464 unique donors giving a total of $743,985 to more than 800 charities.  And here is the list of the top ten recipients of donations:

1) Restoration Academy, with 151 donors giving $54,528.

2) Marion Military Institute, with 31 donors giving $12,800.

3) Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama, with 101 donors giving $11,806.

4) Methodist Home for the Aging, with 105 donors giving $10,780.

5) Jefferson County Library Cooperative, with 313 donors giving $10,773.

6) The Redmont School, with 72 donors contributing $6,842.

7) Hand in Paw, with 139 donors giving $6,720.

8) Alabama Outward Bound School, with 40 donors giving $6,590.

9) Greater Birmingham Humane Society, with 165 donors giving $6,418.

10) Alabama Civil Justice Foundation, with 60 donors giving $5,925.

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