General
Topics that don't neatly fall under other categories are covered here - humor, politics, and other miscellaneous subjects.
Caption This Photo Contest
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ShareIn the proud tradition of Hot Sauce Blog and Peppers and More, I'm going to periodically hold a "Caption This" contest. The rules are simple: whoever comes up with the best caption wins a bottle of hot sauce from me. I'll decide who has the best caption. You have until 11:59pm Central Time this Friday, November 18 to post your entry in the comments section. Be funny, be creative, so let's hear what you have to say, folks...
Dexter Fan? While You Watch Season 6, Don't Go Without Following the 2GuysTalking Dexter Podcast!
The hit Showtime series Dexter is more popular than ever - the Season Six premiere's ratings were up 24 percent compared with its fifth season opener - and fervor in this show has never been higher! If you're a diehard Dexterite or "Dexpert", you owe it to yourself to listen to the 2GuysTalking Dexter Podcast, where co-host Mike Wilkerson and I review each recent episode from the current season and bluntly lay it out what we loved and hated about each show's writing and storytelling, acting, the our thoughts on the new theme of religion in Dexter's life and the "master and apprentice" baddy duo played by Edward James Olmos and Colin Hanks, the killer humor and more! You're invited to tune in and see if you agree or disagree with us on our ratings of each episode.
You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or subscribe to the RSS feed.
If you like what you hear and consider yourself a huge Dexter fanatic, be sure to "like" the 2GuysTalking Dexter Podcast page on Facebook or visit the podcast show page at http://2guystalking.com/dexterpodcast.html.
Mike Wilkerson and Scott Roberts in the studio
Ten Years Later... My 9-11 Thoughts
Everyone above the age of 13 remembers where they were 10 years ago. 9/11 has become the "where were you when Kennedy was shot?" of our generation. Here's my story...
I was working for Skywalker Communications, and it was an lovely, early Indian Summer day just like another. While doing whatever webmaster duties I was performing at the time, one of the middle-aged women in a cubicle a little ways away from me bounded into the cube alcove area in which my boss and I toiled and asked, "Did you hear? A plane just crashed into a skyscraper!"
"Really? Where?" I responded.
She replied with, "in New York City. It was one of the World Trade towers"...
Never Neglect Good Design
Are you ignoring one of the principal components of any successful product, service, or application? I'm talking about good design. The following is a brief introduction on recognizing bad design is and what to do to test for it...
Memorial Day Poem
This day is set aside
to honor those
who took the chance to die.
But they have died in vain
if we ever forget
the reason why.
Freedom can be like time
slipping away
before we even know.
But we all have the choice
more, a duty
to battle freedoms' foe.
Let us give thanks this day
to all those brave
who paid the highest cost.
Not take it for granted
and realize
it easily could be lost.
- by Del "Abe" Jones
DEXTER Fan? Don't Miss the Dexter Podcast Perspective Review of Season 4!
Mike Wilkerson and Scott Roberts in the studio
As much as I love talking and writing about fiery foods, it's occasionally refreshing to take a short break from that world for a short while.
This time I want to shamelessly promote a new project on which I'm working. I'm now the co-host of the 2GuysTalking Dexter Podcast. If you're a rabid fan of the hit Showtime series Dexter, you'll love mine and Mike Wilkerson's perspective reviews of what many consider to be the best-ever season of the program, Season 4!
Each podcast show will dive into an individual episode from that season, and Mike and I will bluntly lay it out what we loved and hated about each the writing, storytelling themes, acting, the edge-of-your-seat interplay between Dexter and Arthur Mitchell, the killer humor and more! You're invited to tune in and see if you agree or disagree with us.
You can Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, subscribe to the RSS feed, or directly download Season 4 episode 1 here or listen online via the player below:
If you're a diehard Dexter fanatic, be sure to "like" the 2GuysTalking Dexter Podcast page on Facebook or visit the podcast show page at http://2guystalking.com/dexterpodcast.html.
Peppers and More Fantasy Baseball 2011
Passing along the information for a chilehead fantasy baseball league from Peppers and More:
"This season will be a first come first serve. The entry fee will be $20.00 per teams. The deadline to enter will be March 22, 2011, as the draft will be held on the following day. Any questions that you may have please feel free to e-mail us at doug @ peppersandmore.com. This league will be a head-to-head league."
Happy Valentine's Day!
I'm wishing everyone out there peace and love today!
Good Things to Come
Things are going great! I feel rejuvenated and truly blessed. Soon I'll be back on top, being the same old fun-loving Scott only with a renewed purpose, clarity and direction in my life. It won't be long until I'm once again crankin' out the spicy content for you all to enjoy.
Again, thanks for all your well wishes and prayers. I ask that you all direct your thoughts to our friend, Al "Buddah" Goldenberg, who has recently suffered a personal family tragedy. Please keep Buddah and the Goldenberg family in your prayers and thoughts, and that they be comforted and healed.
Another Personal Follow-Up
For those of you visiting this website who are only interested in hot sauces, Scoville Units or buffalo wings, feel free to skip this post.
For everyone else, here's a follow-up message to something I posted back in November.
If we're friends in "real life" or on Facebook, many of you already know the things I've been dealing with the past few months: divorce, love, heartbreak, desperation, confusion, moving away from my old job and the adjustment to a new one.
I'm not writing any of this to garner sympathy, but just to let you where I'm at. Lots of you reading this have gone through similar circumstances so you know exactly what I've been through.
My priorities have changed. It's incredibly difficult to put my whole heart and mind into writing about spicy foods. I just can't do it for the time being.
What do I have in front of me? There's a mountain of unanswered e-mail, a few large boxes of products to review, and several ideas for blog articles and Weekly Firecasts. There are also a few side projects I've yet to finish for friends in the fiery foods and BBQ communities.
I will get to that all; I promise to do my best to see that just about everything is answered, covered and accounted for. I'll still try to create an occasional post or review just to tide everyone over, but don't expect daily updates until sometime after the New Year.
Meanwhile things are looking up for me. I don't know if many of you are the believing kind, but God is doing phenomenal things in my heart. Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom to realize that He will always be there to offer a helping hand to lift you up and comfort you. Christ has really given me unbelievable direction and clarity. Now the things that really matter are God, my two sons, and family and friends. Nothing else.
I want to thank you all for the well wishes, the phone calls, the words of encouragement and the prayers for me and my boys. My friends, especially those in the hot sauce and BBQ world, are the nicest people on earth. I am not joking. I've cried many times in amazement and have thanked the Lord for all the generosity you guys have provided. I love you all and I'll come back stronger than ever through God's grace.
One last thing: if any of YOU need anything from me, do not hesitate to ask. Whether it's a prayer, or you just need someone to talk or vent to, I will always be here for you. My contact info is at the bottom of the right sidebar.
Where's Scott?
I don't want to violate a rule or two of my 8 Ways To Have an Unsuccessful Food Blog, but I probably will anyway. I want to reassure everyone that I'm still around, but I'm just going through some personal and family matters that need my attention and in the grand scheme of things are far more important.
Don't worry, I'll get back to blogging, recording the Weekly Firecasts, Facebooking, Tweeting, and everything else soon. I want to thank everyone for the well wishes, the offers to help, the friendship and for reading this blog during the past few years. In the meantime, you can check out one of the many other fine spicy food blogs over on my links page.
Merry Christmas!
I would like to wish EVERYONE a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Please remember what's important in your life, and work hard and stay positive.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Here's wishing all of the American readers of this blog a HOT, awesome and safe Thanksgiving! Today is a day to reflect on what's important in life, including God and family (and maybe football), and to be grateful for all the blessings we enjoy. So oven-roast, smoke, or fry up (my least favorite method) some turkey and let's all toast the day!
500th Post on ScottRobertsweb.com!
I'm glad I was able to catch this in time. This very post is, in fact, my 500th post here on ScottRobertsWeb.com! Ever since I first converted my web design portfolio site into a full-fledged blog back in 2007, I had no idea I would be able to keep plugging away with new stuff 500 posts later, let alone 200. I know I've posted quite a few frivolous things, bits of unimportant junk here and there, but hopefully in all that there have been a few articles or reviews that have helped someone or entertained them in some capacity.
I want to give a shout out to those who regularly visit the site and have given a damn by helping to promote it or by linking to it from their own web site. Thanks! My hat goes off to all of you.
I find it noteworthy to see how the site has evolved from an equal 33%-33%-33% balance of spicy food coverage, technology matters, and general topics into something that focuses 98% on spicy food. I never planned it out that way, but I guess it just reflects what's interesting to me in my personal life.
And while I'm on the topic of the website, I'm pleased to report that September 2009 was the busiest month ever on ScottRobertsWeb.com with 25,890 visitors and 23,518 absolute unique visitors (the later of which means that the number wasn't produced by the same person reloading the page over and over). I've had a big boast in traffic since the August 2009 Weekend of Fire show, and the number has been increasing steadily ever since.
Again, my thanks goes out to the readers of this blog. I'd be nothing without you as an audience.
Onward to 1,000 posts...
Are You Ready For Some Football?
This weekend kicks off my favorite time of the year...NFL Football season! The temperature outside drops, bringing us beautiful Fall weather throughout a large portion of the country while we feast on wings, BBQ, chips, or whatever gametime food we choose.
Many of the games are already underway as I write this, and I await my Rams to start their first regular season matchup one hour from now...whether they continue to play lousy again this year, I don't care. I still can't wait for the kickoff!
And not every man needs to be a diehard NFL fan or be glued to the TV for every play. This time of year guys will be allowed to unabashedly act like guys. Every dude can celebrate in their maleness without having to be "politically correct" or "sensitive".
So let's revel in the season and raise our glasses. Here's to Sundays, God and football, and to Fall!
Grammar Pet Peeve Websites
While I'm just as human as everyone else and have had my fair share of typos and mistakes on my blog (including a recent misspelling of the word "reminiscing" that stayed up for almost a week), blatant idiocy and ignorance of the written English language drives me up a wall. I'm not part of some "Grammar Police" and I'm not a snobbish, elitist know-it-all, but everyone in the adult population of an English-speaking country should know the difference between "your" and "you're" and also "there" and "their" and "they're."
What about when folks slip in unnecessary apostrophes, where the word ending with an "s" is neither possessive nor a contraction? I get physically mad when I come across stuff like this...
Les Paul Dead at 94
One of the most influential and important musicians of all time, Les Paul, died of complications from pneumonia today at age 94. Guitarists all around the world are flying the flags in our hearts at half-mast.
Review - Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
Look anywhere online for foodies' and chileheads' thoughts on the Americanized version of the Thai Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce produced by Huy Fong Foods in California, and you'll see an avalanche of rave reviews and comments. People go bonkers for this stuff! Since I've never formally reviewed it, Glenn Suarez was kind enough to send me a bottle of Sriracha to review. After trying the sauce on many things, I have to admit I have different feelings about it than others do.
Is America Going to Have a Lost Decade like Japan Did in the 1990s?
Reason.tv has put together a short video explaining how Japan went through an economic slump in the 1990s - the "lost decade" - and how America might parallel it by going through with the current stimulus package, which includes massive bailouts of large businesses (something Japan also did in an attempt to jumpstart their economy).
How to Have an Unsuccessful Blog
Enough with vying for success. I know what you really want deep down - a blog that fails! Who cares about gaining and retaining an audience? That is SO 2008. Being utterly and completely disastrous with your blog endeavors is the new hotness. Follow all of these wonderfully ineffective tips, and no one will care about your site or ever visit it...
Spicy Food Reviews - Hot Sauces, Spicy Snacks, and more.
