It's OK to stuff yourself with burgers and Buffalo wings at winter tailgates because you can hide the resulting flab under sweatshirts and jerseys. But in the summer, going shirtless at pool parties requires a little more discretion when deciding whether to head back to the grill for seconds. Or thirds.

So how do meat-loving guys balance between eating the foods we love, and looking good in a pair of board shorts? I asked Chef Devin Alexander to give me her take on a couple of party favorites to see if we could get healthier versions without sacrificing flavor. Or resorting to using tofu.

Devin wrote The Biggest Loser Cookbook for the hit NBC show, and recently released her newest book, The Most Decadent Diet Ever, with recipes from her show, “Healthy Decadence” which airs on the Discovery Health Channel. Below are two recipes from her new book, one for a Bacon BBQ Cheeseburger that, by just changing a few ingredients, saves 180 calories and 22 grams of blubber-inducing fat; and one for Boneless Buffalo Strips with Blue Cheese Dressing that comes in 302 calories and 38 grams of fat lighter than the original. The waistband of your shorts will thank you.

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger
(Makes 1 burger)
4 ounces 96% lean ground beef
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 slices center-cut bacon ...There's more

Today's model, Martha, also hails from Vancouver, WA. Must be something in the water up there. (Get my real estate agent on the phone.)

When she's not traveling, Martha likes to stay in shape by working out, running, hiking, & hitting the slopes on her snowboard. How's that working out? See for yourself, here.

Clay Aiken Has Fathered a Child. Hell Has Frozen [HolyTaco]

6 Dream Jobs Every Guy Wants [Wall $treet Fighter]

Counterfeit Stuff Coming Out of China? Shocking. [Reuters]

The Marquis De Sade Designs Cigar Cutlery [GearCrave]

Aging Rock Stars May Be Gruesome Looking, But Their Daughters? HOT. [CoEd Magazine]

From way up in Vancouver, WA, comes today's sexy model contestant, Kylene. She's a part-time model and a full-time nursing student. (I'm volunteering to help with her sponge bath homework.)

To see her entry pics (that show off her 19" waist), click here.

Cleaning sucks. And since you can't even hire nude maids anymore without getting ripped off, you've gotta do it yourself.

Because cleaning is low on my list of stuff I want to spend a lot of time on (it's right below Take Girlfriend Shopping for Jeans), I asked the guys over at PartSelect.com for some shortcuts. Turns out a lot of stuff you usually clean by hand, can be tossed in the dishwasher. (Although they do sell replacement parts for damaged appliances, so this could all be a ploy, but I'm sure it's legit.)

Hubcaps and Wheel Covers
Don't spend hours scrubbing off the road grime and brake dust. Run them on the pots and pans cycle for a deep cleaning.

Baseball Hats
A little dirt adds character, but when you can't see the team logo anymore, time for some cleaning. Place the hat on the top rack to help retain its shape. (Several companies also sell ...There's more

No wonder all the airlines are going bankrupt [Yahoo]

Man arrested for having hot sausages in his pants [Palm Beach Post]

Attention Desperate and Dateless... we give you RoboChick [Complex]

I knew that perkiness was all a cover for pure evil [ABC]

This almost makes me a soccer fan [Break]

Panties for Peace [Asylum]

International Babe of the Day [DoubleViking]

When bearded banshee Billy Mays screams at me through my TV while I'm up late watching yet another Deadliest Catch marathon on Discovery (is it me, or is that show 80% of the programming on that station), it's hard to ignore anything he's selling. The other night he's yelling about Mighty Putty. And how it'll fix or seal anything. I've got some broken and leaking stuff, so I figure I'll give it a try. If only to make Billy stop yelling.

Basically Mighty Putty is very similar to the epoxy putty you can buy in any hardware store - two ingredients rolled into a clay-like form, that when kneaded together, become rock hard after about 20 minutes. (Insert your own Viagra joke here.)

Like most products you see on TV - which are always a little more complicated, and a little less amazing, than they look - Mighty Putty is a decent solution to most repairs, just don't expect miracles and keep your expectations in check. It did well on the "fix a mug handle" and the "stop a leaky pipe" tests, but I wouldn't put too much faith in the "pull a truck" test. ...There's more

Kira from Canyon Country, CA is 1/2 Austrian, 1/2 Filipino, and 100% sexy. And when she's not snowboarding or riding a dirt bike, she's a full-time college student studying broadcast journalism.

I can't imagine her interview subjects being able to focus on her questions. You can see why here.

75 Skills Esquire Says You Should Know [MSN]

What's Dangerous, and What's Not [MSN]

Keyboard Jeans - Fashion For Geeks [AfroJacks]

10 Hottest Pro Athlete Daughters [All Balls]

9 Reasons to Own a Monkey (There's only 9?) [DoubleViking]

Scoring Sisters [CoEdMagazine]

Guy Accused of Killing His Stripper Girlfriend, Strips for Police [WFTV]

Guy Hires Nude Maid, She Cleans Him Out [ABC]

Have Bar, Will Travel [GearCrave]

There are a few signs - working late more often, more and more "girl's nights out" when you want to get together, strange text messages from new "friends" - that can trigger paranoia that your girl is engaging in a little extra-curricular activity behind your back.

So how do you find out for sure? You can't ask her friends. They'd sooner broadcast their actual weight, than what you're girl's been up to. You'll have to do a little recon work of your own, so here are a few tools you can use to find out what she's been up to.

[Note: Is it ethical to spy on your girl? That's a gray area. If she is cheating, then you can justify invading her privacy. If she's not, you'll have to live with being a jealous loser forever. And make sure to check local laws too. Some forms of "information gathering" may be illegal. Living as a jealous loser may be tough. Living as a jealous loser who's locked up is tougher.] ...There's more

She's tall, blonde, models lingerie and lives in Vegas. If she owned a liquor store, today's Sexy Model Contest entrant, Sally, would possibly be the perfect woman.

You can see just how perfect by clicking here to view her entry pics.

Sure we need to learn more dance moves than the White Guy Shuffle we've been rocking since high school, but damned if we're gonna learn it from an instructional DVD. Especially one that says, "the guys show you each move full throttle, then slow it down, and teach it to you from the front, back and other angles with close-ups..." That could not sound more wrong if it was sung to us by Elton John in a bathrobe.

What they should do is let us learn to dance the way Emmitt Smith and Jason Taylor did... from an incredibly hot professional dancer wearing next to nothing.

DV's International Babe of the Day. [Double Viking]

Damn, soccer players really do score [CoEd Magazine]

Pirates prefer to shop in Macy's [HolyTaco]

What to do if you're fired [CareerBuilder]

Guy finds fly in water bottle, loses interest in sex [Reuters]

And finally... Mechaphiliac Admits to 'Having Sex with' 1,000 Cars [Asylum]

Jennifer from Grass Valley, California "LOVES" her job, "LOVES" her school, and "LOVES" to be pampered. Wanna know what we love? Here's a hint - click here to see her pics and help vote her into the finals.

It has been 19 years since we last saw Indiana Jones save the world from evil Nazis, marauding desert dwellers and general Armageddon. Dr. Jones may be an archeology professor, but he has taught us more than just artifacts. He's taught us valuable life lessons.


1 - If you throw a whip over any type of overhang, it will stick on the first shot and hold your body weight.

2 - Nazis are bad.

3 - Germans are really up on their biblical history.

4 - Egyptians are surprisingly good sidekicks... and a lot more helpful than little Asian kids.

5 - Always have a monkey around to eat the fruit before you do.

6 - Revolvers always beat swords.

7 - Airplane propellers beat revolvers.

8 - A solid gold statue weighs as much as two handfuls of sand.

9 - If you are at a party and someone says "Hey, let’s open up the Ark of the Covenant ...There's more

Stage a backyard brawl. Pay for it with the PPV receipts. [Gear Crave]

Yet he wonders why he's single. [Afro Jacks]

Sure he's old. But he still gets more tail than us. [Double Viking]

Most annoying people in Starbucks. [HolyTaco]

Douchebag of the week [Tasty Booze]

Your newest American Gladiator: Fainty [Break]

He should have gotten life for this. [Complex]

Game consoles contain hazardous chemicals. [Yahoo]

An illustrated history of the bikini. [The Guy Report]

Top 42 Functional Shoes - Footwear Beyond Fashion [TrendHunter]

Bree comes to us from Santa Cruz, CA. She loves meeting new people, snow boarding and eating ice cream in bed. (And wearing hardly anything.) I wish they all could be California girls...

See Bree's entry pics here.

Vodka makers just keep pushing the envelope when it comes to developing new infusions. Case in point: the new flavored vodkas from the UK's ultra-premium vodka-maker Three Olives.

Their new Triple Shot Espresso isn't that unusual. Only in that it one-ups their competition's Double Shot. It's the other two flavors that raise eyebrows - Tomato and Root Beer.

Tomato-flavored vodka may sound completely ridiculous - until you read the entire flavor profile: fresh tomatoes, pepper, horseradish and spices. Instant Bloody Mary. And killer ingredient for adding serious heat to other cocktails.

And their root beer infusion isn't some kid stuff. It's got a spice-filled combo inspired by the classic root beers of the 1800's, with vanilla, cherry tree bark, licorice root, sarsaparilla root, nutmeg, anise, and molasses. Full flavored and able to stand up to a number of strong ingredients for serious drinks. (Or vanilla ice cream for an adult root beer float. Recipe below.)

To give you an idea of how these unusual new flavors can enhance your cocktail-mixing here's a few recipes to try this weekend. For more, hit www.threeolives.com.

Diablo Rojo
2 oz Three Olives Tomato Vodka
Splash of Bloody Mary mix to taste
Couple dashes Hot Sauce
Sliced jalapeno peppers
Mix in a glass filled with ice. Garnish with speared peppers.

Tomojito
2 oz Three Olives Tomato Vodka
Cherry Tomato ...There's more

Here's the deal: Shirley of Hollywood is celebrating their 60th year of creating some of the sexiest lingerie in history, and in honor of six decades of adding spice to the sex lives of millions, they are searching for a fresh, new model to grace the pages of their catalog. And you get to help. (It's a tough job, but I think you're up for it.)

Every day or so for the next few months, I'll be posting the latest entrants in their Sexy Model Search contest. Hot girls from all over the country are entering in hopes of winning a modeling contract and following in the footsteps of some of Shirley's most famous models - like Brooke Burke, Leeanne Tweeden, Victoria Silvstedt and recent Playmate of the Month Tyran Richard - who all got their start being photographed fro the pages of Shirley's catalogs.

You can vote as often as you want for your favorite, and help push her into the finals. Voting ends August 15, and the top ten finalists will battle until October to see who gets announced the winner. So if you know a hottie who may just be what they're looking for, send her over. You might be in for a reward.

Click here to see the first four models.

When you're outside this summer doing whatever it is you do outside in the summer, chances are good you'll also be rocking some tunes. But the dangling cord from your earpieces can be a tangled pain in the ass while you're biking/beach jogging/generally recreating. So the tech guys over at Oakley decided, hey, you've already got something hanging from your ears, who needs cords?

Two new products in their Sports Performance line, the O ROKR PRO (pictured top), and the Split THUMP (bottom), pair their premium quality sun-killing eyewear, with top audio electronics, to give you outdoor listening pleasure, without wires.

The O ROKR PRO houses a Motorola Bluetooth headset that wirelessly streams music from your mobile phone or bluetooth adapter-equipped iPod, right to the multi-adjustable ear pieces. The only storage limit is set by the device streaming the music. If a call comes through, a single button push switches you over, and you'll hear the convo in both ears. Loud and clear.

Available in a variety of colors and lens tints, the Split THUMP houses an MP3 player ...There's more

A couple of months ago, I posted about a pocket-sized DJ system called the Pacemaker. (Read it here.)

Tonium, the creator of the Pacemaker, has announced a contest to let amateur DJs show off their skills someplace other than their living room, and win some prizes. Here's how it works: You create a mix with a summer theme. Upload it to the Pacemaker Community site. Judges decide whose mix is the most rockin', and that person gets a trip for two on a three-day trip to the Sonár Festival in Barcelona, Spain, June 19-21, 2008. Plus two Pacemakers and two exclusive Pacemaker kits. Four runners-up get a Pacemaker and the exclusive Pacemaker kit. Not bad for spinning a few tunes together.

The contest runs from now until May 30th and you can get the rules, listen to other entries, and enter your mix at www.pacemaker.net/contest.

When you need to take out a second mortgage just for a week's worth of food and to gas up your car, there's little left over for discretionary spending. Like buying lingerie for your girl. (Because keeping her happy keeps you happy.) So I spoke with NY model Isobella Jade to find out where guys can find gifts on the cheap - without pissing off their girls - so you can still get your groove on at home, when you can't afford to go out.

She came up with a list of lingerie you can find for under $10 - that your girl won't want to use to dust the furniture. Valuable info? In this economy, maybe. Cheap way to get a model to send in a pic of herself wearing a pair of thongs she got for under $10? Absolutely.

Here's what Isobella suggests:

Go to H&M.
"It's the hottest place to shop right now. The selection is huge and most panties run only about $4.50. It is hard to believe since the style and designs are so sexy and can involve lace, beads, and I've even bought an exotic leathery pair of panties with a matching bra here. (I'll give you a second to let your imagination run with that.) You can ...There's more

What makes a Timeless Gentleman? According to the oft-inebriated duo over at The Foggy Monacle it's the ability to drink like a college student on the last night of Spring Break and still make a contribution to society.

So, as a guide to men striving for greatness in the face of a slowly deteriorating liver, they have compiled their list of "men who have defied 'conventional wisdom', living life on their own terms, with booze on their breath and good times always on the horizon."

Included in this wide and varied list are Colt 45 pitchman Billy Dee Williams, bulbous-nosed statesman Winston Churchill, drunken Little League coach Morris Buttermaker, top hat sporting legume pusher Mr. Peanut, and sometime thespian and all-time lover of distilled spirits Peter O'Toole.

Makes you wonder what they were drinking when they made their choices. To read the entire list, click here.

Just what reality-video fans have been waiting for: an inside look into the everyday life of an actor/model/orangutan trying to make it in Hollywood. Watch as he rides the bus, texts his buddies, and chows down at his favorite taco stand.

You also get to watch him in what could be one of the most disturbing auditions of all time. I'm not sure if his bus ride was to the Valley to try out for some illegal monkey porn, but watching him strip naked and dance around... it's more uncomfortable than sitting through a Gary Busey interview. ...There's more

I don't know what the guys over at TeamHard are hunting, but judging from the camo they're wearing, you can count me in.

From far away, it looks like any other traditional camouflage gear you'd see worn by a guy hunting, fishing, hanging out at a NASCAR race, or buying a tin of Skoal at the Piggly Wiggly. But get up close, and you'll start to see something more familiar in this camo: Strippers.

Yup. Morning Wood Camo is made from the overlapping silhouettes of strippers in 67 different positions. (Says Team Hard's Craig Olson, "Had I been thinking, I would have added two more.") The gear, which includes hats, t-shirts and even wallpaper for your computer and iPhone, comes in traditional Green, black and white Urban, and Safety Orange (so you don't get inadvertently shot while wandering among a pack of exotic dancers).

And to help you better blend into your surroundings the next time you're in your local pole palace, Team Hard and I are giving away an Urban Morning Wood Camo hat to twelve lucky readers. All you have to do is enter your email address here for a chance to win one. I'll pick the dirty dozen this Friday, May 23rd. Always remember, never hunt strippers without your Morning Wood.

Check out other Team Hard gear here
Enter to win a Morning Wood Camo hat

Since May is National Barbecue Month and this week is American Craft Beer Week, I figured why not celebrate this perfect storm of barbecue and brew with a recipe that takes advantage of both?

The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, based in Chippewa Falls, WI, has been brewing craft beers for 141 years, and two of their handmade brews won't just quench your hot weather thirst, they'll also add some kick to what you're throwing on the grill.

Their Summer Shandy combines a blend of select malted wheat and barley, with lemonade and Wisconsin honey. Add this to your shrimp marinade, and it'll make you want to slap your grandmama. Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat is brewed with malted wheat and pale barley malt with a little coriander that spices up its citrus flavor. Use this brew as a base for an Asian-inspired chicken glaze that kicks boring grilled chicken in the beak.

Both recipes are below, and if you want more, head to www.leinie.com. And apologize to your grandmama for me.

Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy Shrimp Skewers
24 medium shrimp, shells on, deveined
2 lemons, cut into wedges
8 skewers ...There's more

If your gonna do a little grilling away from home - some tailgating at the game, a cookout at the lake, a flame grilled burger for lunch in the office parking lot - this portable barbecue and cooler set from VW DriverGear,let's you bring the party wherever you want it to be.

Everything you'll need is packed in this compact tote that takes up about as much space as an average sized duffel bag. (And fits in any car, not just V-Dubs.) The top part houses an insulated, waterproof cooler - with mesh pockets and a top elastic trap for holding ice packs - that zips out to reveal the charcoal grill and lid packed underneath. (And the grill comes in its own nylon bag to keep ash from getting everywhere after the event.) The front flap stashes the included premium tools: a large BBQ fork, easy-grip tongs and a spatula with a serrated edge and built-in bottle opener. (Which you should never forget, but somehow always do.)

Several additional ...There's more

Adding to their growing portfolio of flavored vodkas, (and proving they still don't have spell check over there), Stoli has introduced their newest infusion, Stoli Blakberi.

Made with natural blackberries married to their traditional Russian vodka, Stoli says its newest flavor's taste and aroma make it perfect for using in the many new "herbal" cocktails that call for ingredients like basil, sage, mint and lavender, that sound strange, but are gaining popularity.

If you want something unusual and don't mind some herb in your drink (which tastes better than it sounds), here are a few that are great for starting off the summer. More can be found at stoli.com.

Blakberi Blues (pictured)
2 parts Stoli Blakberi
1 part Stoli Blueberi
1 part cranberry juice
1 part simple syrup ...There's more

Or, after seeing this clip, rent him a hotel room.

I've returned rental cars in some sad shape. Like at the end of every Spring Break or road trip: putrefying half-eaten fast food in the back seat, beer cans on the floor, random bikini top hanging from the mirror. But nothing like Mike Rowe after a day of filming Dirty Jobs. Axle grease, mud, cow shit... I know they are running out of show ideas over there, so I'm thinking this might be a ploy to get "Rental Car Return Agent" listed as a dirty job. Sad, Mike. Very sad.
...There's more

You may have a cell phone that can make a call, play the latest video release, access the 'net, and give you turn-by-turn directions to the nearest steak house, but back in the late 70's, a gadget that could catch fish AND fit in your pocket is what got guys excited.

Early infomercials running on the limited channels of UHF television - many invented by the king of over-hyped gadgets, Ron "But Wait, There's More" Popeil - promoted products that made plaid-bell-bottom-wearing guys everywhere break out their BankAmericard and dial the toll-free number.

So in memory of a simpler time, before the number of apps in your handheld was a measure of your gadget-forwardness, let's take a look at the top five classic guy gadgets of the past.


The Pocket Fisherman
Essentially a toy version of a real fishing rod, it debuted in 1976 with Popeil proclaiming it as the wave of the future, ready to knock the fishing industry on its ass. A compact, folding rod and reel, made to fit in a pocket, some say that you can actually catch a fish with one. I'm thinking when the fish saw you with it, they gave themselves up because they felt sorry for you. Ridiculous a product as it was, by the end of 1976, one million units of The Pocket Fisherman were sold. And versions of it are still available today.




The Smokeless Ashtray
You gotta love a product whose commercial shows a guy, smoking in his car, windows up, wife and kids along for the ride, concerned he may be offending them. Never let it be said ...There's more

I don't care that the sports gods at ESPN choose to show professional bowling on Saturdays, and promote it with ads carefully created to make us think pro bowlers are "highly competitive athletes" and anything but the doughy, pasty adult-nerds they really are. Bowling is boring.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy GOING bowling. But watching it on TV? I'd rather watch an endless video loop of Roseanne Barr singing the National Anthem. So leave it to Howard Stern to make bowling watchable.

In his new show set off on on Howard TV this past Monday, Stern pits bikini-clad porn stars, Maxim models, Penthouse Pets and various other hand-picked hotties, against each other in a bowling tournament that makes for compelling sports viewing. (I'm kidding. It's a jiggle-fest.)

Can these women actually bowl? Who cares. Once they strap on their stiletto-heeled bowling shoes, begin the trash-talking and wriggle down the lane - sometimes sans tops - it wouldn't matter if they were throwing Nerf balls at the pins. ...There's more

Bored with the handle that came with your Mach 3 razor? Tired of shaving with something made of lightweight plastic? Upgrade to the '63 R series razor from John Allan.

Made of hefty zinc with a gunmetal finish, the '63 R has ergonomic lines inspired by the legendary roadsters of the 60’s that'll also give you a better grip on your shave.

A collector's piece, the razor comes in a custom leather box with its own zinc stand. For parking on your counter.

$195
www.johnallans.com

Last week I was invited by Saturn (corporate motto: "Not just for soccer moms. No, really."), to test drive some of their newer models and spend some time at the Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds in Millbrook, NY. A couple of days of blasting stuff into oblivion sounded good after the week I was having.

Sandanona is the oldest permitted shooting club in the country (the main lodge was built when Thomas Jefferson was president), and is located in the Hudson River Valley, about an hour north of New York City. But the quiet and serenity of the grounds (except for the occasional shotgun blast), makes it feel like it's a million miles from anywhere civilized.

They specialize in teaching us stressed-out city guys how to shoot sporting clays (clay discs that are launched from different angles and locations to simulate birds in flight), and how to fly fish. Both pretty good alternatives to your usual pressure-relieving activity, drinking until everyone is your best friend and you can't remember where you live.

After our shooting instructor, Pete, a former military shooting instructor, gave us some basic training and tips - along with all the safety instructions we needed to know to keep us from blowing a hole in anything but the intended targets - he positioned ...There's more

London Times correspondent Tad Safran is like most guys - he's spent the majority of his adult life trying to figure out what makes women tick. But when he started spending time with his two-year-old niece, Lou-Lou, he had a revelation. He realized she possessed "the undiluted, unaffected essence – the 'id' – of womanhood." And learned more about dealing with women from her in two months, than he'd gathered from two decades of dating.

The first thing he learned is to ignore them. Safran writes: "If I come into a room and bounce up to Lou-Lou like a clown, trying to amuse and entertain, she blanks me completely. It’s as if I don’t exist. If I walk straight past her, however, I guarantee she will call out my name and want to play with me." Sound like every pick-up guru's advice? Apparently it starts early.

The rest of the list runs from Bribe Them (with two-year-olds it's stuffed animals, with grown women it's jewelry), to Don't Tell Them What to Do, to Don't Argue (you can't win an argument with a two-year-old girl any more than you can win one with a 32-year-old girl), to Don't Make Them Cry.

To read the complete list of ten, click here.

Laying up on a par five and hitting the green in three may be good strategy in a golf tourney, but seriously, it's for pussies. If you're not going to pull out a big woods and at least try to slam it onto the green in two, you might as well hit from the reds on the next tee.

So I don't know if you saw, but this past weekend at The Players Championship, Top-Flite had a team of people positioned at the two par-5 fairways wearing black masks and NeverLayUp.com t-shirts. Their sole purpose was to pressure the pros into going for the green. If the guy chose to stick to his strategy and lay up, they'd show their disapproval by turning their back on him, revealing the words "C'mon... Man Up!"

Did any of the pros actually succumb to the peer pressure of a group of masked chuckleheads in black shirts? According to a Top-Flite rep, on the 16th hole the group asked Ben Curtis' caddy if he was going to go for it. The caddy responded by pulling out a wedge. The masked men responded by turning their backs. The caddie put the wedge back in the bag and took out a wood. And apparently later in the day, on the same hole, Todd Hamilton, 2004 British Open Champion, was asked if he would go for the green, he said with a smile, “Well, I have to now, right?”

Neither broke the top 40, but at least they still have their manhood.

Jack Bauer has had some rough days over the last six seasons of "24", and on May 20th you can relive the 24 hours that launched the 17 Emmy Award-winning series.

The brand-new, seven-disc “24” Season One Special Edition DVD set comes in a collectible metal tin and includes all 24 one-hour episodes in widescreen format. It's packed with over three hours of never-before-seen special features including an introduction by Kiefer Sutherland, five extended episodes, over 25 deleted and extended scenes, two all-new behind-the-scenes featurettes, the documentary The Genesis of 24, a trailer for the upcoming seventh season, and an alternate season finale ending.

Fox Home Entertainment isn't releasing the box set until next Tuesday, but three of you loyal readers will know this Friday if one is coming your way. I'm giving away three of the $50 sets, and all you need to do for a chance to win is enter your email address here.

Get on it. The clock is ticking...

“24” Season One Special Edition DVD

If you haven't fired up your grill since last season, and were too wiped out from your final beer and burger blowout to clean it properly before hanging up your tongs for the winter, you're going to want to get it in shape before that first steak hits the fire.

I tested the Grill Daddy Pro (there's also a smaller Grill Daddy), to see how well it fought the leftover grease and grime. Both brushes use heavy-duty stainless steel bristles and a powerful cloud of steam to rid your grill's grate of all that caked on grease. No harmful chemicals. No soap or cleaners that could ruin the flavor of your food. That got my attention, so I wanted to see how well a $25 plastic brush could do against a couple year's worth of neglect.

It needs heat to work it's grease-busting magic, so I fired up a grill at a buddy's community pool that gets a heavy workout, with minimal cleaning (if ever), and filled the Pro's huge reservoir with water. (It measures a long-ass 22-inches. You should have plenty of water without constantly having to refill.) Turning the Pro's valve to "on", lets water run out of the brush head, hitting the hot grill creating the grease-liquefying steam. (Not exactly rocket-science, but definitely a why-didn't-anyone-think-of-this-before feature.) And the makers of the Grill Daddy claim that regular cleaning with steam also helps prevent future grease buildup.

For really neglected grills, like the one I was up against, the Pro's rear handle and center knob give you the leverage ...There's more

A while back, I wrote a piece about classic drinks using bitters along with some updated recipes. (Read it here.) A few of you wrote and asked for more. As usual, I'm there for you.

Averna, the Italian amaro (a sweeter version of traditional bitters), I wrote about, held a nationwide search for the best cocktail recipe using their liquor. The five winners will head to Sicily in September to see whose is the best. In the meantime, just so you can invite a few people (read: "women") over and hold your own competition, those five winning recipes are below. They're a little complex, but I think you can handle it. Saulte!

San Francisco Winners:
Jeffrey Hollinger, Absinthe Brasserie & Bar
Midnight In Sicily
1 1/2 oz Amaro Averna
1 oz Tanqueray Gin
1/2 oz "Sicilian Style" Blood Orange agrodolce (sweet and sour sauce)
5 to 6 mint leaves
Flamed blood orange rind, for garnish

Combine ingredients in an ice filled cocktail shaker and shake for 20 to 30 seconds, or until well chilled. Double strain through a fine meshed strainer into a chilled cocktail glass. ...There's more

Remember back in the day when men were men, mustaches were cool, gas was cheap and muscle cars ruled the roads? Motorbrand USA does, and lets you relive those days with their retro-styled tees that pay homage to the muscle cars of yesteryear.

If there was a car that got mullet-sporting, jean jacket-wearing guys laid - like the Chevy Nova SS, the Chevelle or the big Dodge Hemis - they've got a shirt honoring it. Along with shirts sporting classic designs like Clay Smith's Mr. Horsepower and Ed Roth's Rat Fink.

They'll almost make you forget about that gas sipping, four-cylinder econo-box you have to drive now. Almost.

From around $18
www.motorbrandsusa.com

Touring pros get custom-made clubs tweaked and re-tweaked to fit their individual swings and course conditions, so why not you?

The interchangeable heads and shafts of Calloway's new game-breaking I-MIX technology let you reconfigure your driver depending on the course, how you’re swinging, or that day’s conditions. Need shot-shaping control? Grab the included precision wrench and lock on the FT-5 driver. Or is slamming it straight down the middle for yardage bragging rights what you need? Ratchet on the FT-i head instead.

And more than 70 of the most popular shafts are now manufactured with I-MIX shaft tips, which means you can choose from more flexes, weights, and materials than your golf-addicted brain can handle. Think of it as having an entire golf shop full of options in one bag.

FT-5 Driver - $435
FT-i Driver - $500
Shafts - $185-$435
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Made with Cuervo Black tequila instead of whiskey, the Black Julep works just as well as a Kentucky Derby drink (had I actually posted it for you last Saturday), as it works for celebrating Cinco de Mayo.




Black Julep
3 oz Cuervo Black Medallion
10 mint leaves
1 1/2 tsp extra fine sugar
Seltzer
Crushed ice
Mint sprig
Place mint leaves in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass or julep cup and add sugar. Crush with muddler or wooden spoon until the leaves begin to come apart. Add a splash of seltzer, fill glass 3/4 full with crushed ice, and add tequila. Top with another splash of seltzer, stir, and garnish with mint sprig.

Ever hear the lame expression meant to show humility: "I put my pants on same as you, one leg at a time"? Apparently these guys did, and decided screw that, we're better than the rest of you. Even though they are obviously jobless and have nothing better to do than spend hours sitting around, thinking up new and creative ways to put their pants on two legs at a time, to show the rest of us. (We can only hope a couple of them suffered ball-threatening zipper injuries during rehearsal.)

The only redeeming value I can see for having this skill is for when you're jumping out some chick's window naked, after her husband comes home early. ...There's more

Is your iPhone battery draining before you're done with all your talking and surfing and jamming and video watching? You can double its power with a Mophie Juice Pack, and I've got one to give away.

Made to slide snugly right over your iPhone, the Juice Pack has a soft, rubberized finish to give you a better grip on things, and weights just 3 ounces. It comes fully charged right out of the box and will give you up to 250 additional hours of standby time, 24 hours of audio playback, 7 hours of video playback and 8 hours of talk time. For you web and email junkies, you'll get up to another 6 hours of Internet use.

The first external iPhone battery certified by Apple, it's designed to deplete itself first, so when it's done just slide it off and your iPhone will still be fully charged.

They run $99.95, but this week I'm going to let one of you score one for free. Just enter your email address here, and on Friday, May 9th, I'll pick one of you at random. You can send me an email from your iPhone to thank me.

Enter to win a Mophie Juice Pack

It definitely ain't easy being green. And someone is going to have to break the news to Al Gore that the real inconvenient truth is the only way the planet is getting saved is if the alternatives are not inconvenient.

While a very small minority of you (11%), said you'll do whatever it takes to keep Mother Nature alive and well, 62% said that you'd be happy to help, - as long as it didn't take too much effort. Or extra cash. In that case the bitch is on her own. And over a quarter of you (27%), said the sky and the trees and the birds and the animals and the people can kiss your gas-guzzling, energy-sapping, landfill-filling ass. Somewhere, an old Indian is shedding a tear.

For this week's poll, I want to know who gets more attention from you on their Hallmark holiday: mom on Mother's Day or dad on Father's Day.

Whether you're looking for something to feed a bunch of people for a Cinco de Mayo party, or just a quick and easy dinner for you and your girl, these Tequila Herradura Shrimp Tacos are something you should consider including on the menu.

They take only a few minutes to throw together, and call for a healthy dose of Herradura Silver tequila and Newcastle Brown Ale. Shrimp sautéed in tequila and beer? How could you possibly go wrong?

Tequila Herradura Shrimp Tacos
(Makes 10 tacos)
1 lb Peeled, uncooked shrimp cut into smallish pieces
2 Large cloves garlic, minced fine
1/2 Cup cilantro, chopped fine
Peanut oil for sautéing
1/4 Cup Tequila Herradura Silver
1/4 Cup Newcastle Brown Ale
10 Corn tortillas, warmed ...There's more

On his hit cable show, Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe showcases regular guys who keep this great country moving. Honoring the unsung heroes who go home every night, covered in the muck and the mud, the dirt and the dust, gathered from doing the jobs you and I thankfully, don't have to do. A very noble thing, indeed.

But who knew, when left alone in his motel room, Rowe was such a dirty guy himself? ...There's more

Everyone knows what the Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo, is all about: it's an excuse to drink more tequila than any human should. But this year it falls on a Monday. Which means many of us will be celebrating all weekend. And calling in "cinco" on Tuesday.

I'll have several tequila cocktails over the next few days you can mix to make your party muy especial. The first is from premium tequila maker, Don Julio. This recipe was developed by Brian Van Flandern, a mixologist who has crafted cocktail menus for celebrity chefs like Mario Batali. Light and simple, with a crispness brought on by the ginger, it's an impressive drink to pour for your CdM celebration.

Agave Ginger Margarita
1 oz Don Julio Blanco
1/4 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice ...There's more

Just when you thought we couldn't think up any more creative and ridiculous ways to kill ourselves in the pursuit of fame, fortune and easily impressed women, come a few more actual inventions by actual guys, that were granted actual patents. These were discovered by Scott Seegert, after the publication of his book, It's a Guy Thing, and they prove, once again, there's no limit to the male imagination.






Nicholas's Portable Rotisserie Tanner (1954)
Every wonder what’s it like to be a chicken? Me either. But apparently Nicholas did as he looked at the birds roasting at his local butcher shop, turning all golden brown as they cooked, and thought, "Look at how tan those guys are getting!" So he cooked up this great idea: strap yourself into giant roaster, be turned slowly around until golden brown on all sides (except for those white horizontal lines where the bars are), then get out and enjoy a Lucky Strike with your fellow future melanoma patients. This thing would work better fulfilling Frank Perdue’s sexual fantasies than it would as a tanning device.

...There's more