Giving up alcohol for a month might be tough, especially with all the delicious Christmas beers I brought home. But I think I’m overdue for a little detox.

I really don’t have a problem with a drink or two or ten every now and then.  It’s more about proving to myself I don’t need it, rather than any holier-than-thou self deprivation.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

-Nick

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Great times in and around SF for Neil’s bachelor party weekend, executed to perfection by Mr. Tom Jones.  Thirteen competitors tested their skills at a series of 8 athletic and semi-athletic challenges, with the winner earning supreme bragging rights and a custom-designed trophy.  Plus, according to the official rules: “It is mandatory that each competitor consumes alcohol consistently throughout the day.  If at any point someone begins to slow his drinking he will be subject to derision and disqualification.”

What follows is my recollection and reaction to the events.  Not sure if anyone captured much photographic evidence  but your best bet is probably with Dan.

1. Field Goal Kicking

Having never kicked — or attempted to kick — a field goal in my life, I knew this would be a tough one.  Luckily most everyone else was in the same boat.  We kicked from 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 yards.  I was afraid of Charlie-Brown-ing it but at least made contact every time and even got my 20 yarder through the uprights.  Definitely earned a new respect for field goal kickers and there is nothing “gimme” about a 25-yarder from the right-hash; that’s really far!  Winner: 2 field goals.

2. Football Throwing Distance

Those professional QBs make it look so easy, hitting their receiver in stride with a tight spiral 50 yards downfield.  Not so.  We got 2 tosses, best ball counts.  Everyone was fairly evenly matched here; most people were between 40 and 50 yards.  After a wobbly first ball, I think I reached 47 on my second throw.  Winner: 51 yards.

3. Home Run Derby

As someone who plays softball 2-3 nights a week, I figured I could easily build myself a nice little buffer with a solid performance here.  But of course I choked.  We got 6 outs, with the last ball being a “moneyball” — good for 2 homers if it left the yard.  The fence was 250 ft deep but 20 ft high, so it would take a decent poke to get it out.  Made solid line drive contact but couldn’t even reach the warning track.  Weak.  Winner: 2 bombs.

4. 3-Point Shootout

Stressing after my goose-egg on the diamond, I really had to bring my A-game to the basketball court.  Which was troublesome, because I’ve played basketball one time in the last 5 years (and it’s not like I was amazing before that).  The competition was a total 10 shots from 5 locations around the arc.  I was very happy and pleasantly surprised to hit 3.  Winner: 6 threes.

5. Darts

I said semi-athletic.  Three darts, highest point total wins.  My first two didn’t even stick to board.  WTF?  Luckily hit the outer bullseye with #3 to stay out of the cellar.  Winner: No idea.

6. Mini Golf

Nothing like a busload of inebriated young men taking over the family-friendly mini-golf course and arcade.  The course had seen better days, and so had my short game.  I shot a 52, but an hour was a long time to be out on the “dry” course.  We were happy to get back to the bus and the coolers.  Winner: 47.

7. Closest to the Pin

My moment of glory came on a 120-yard practice hole at the swanky Ruby Hills country club course.  I lobbed an 8-iron up into the wind and it landed right on the green, about 15 ft from the pin.  Nobody got closer.  Thankfully we didn’t have to putt out.  Winner: 15 ft.

8. Bowling

The last competition of the day was a game of bowling.  Not my strong suit but rolled a 122, which was middle of the road.  Winner: 188.

After that, a “closing ceremony” was held and the overall champion crowned.  I was OK with my 6th place finish, given the range of events and quality of the competitors.  At least I didn’t earn the “most likely to become a cheerleader” prize for last place.

The spirit of the games lived on late into the night with several non-scored games of beer pong and flip cup, where everyone could be winners.

-Nick

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Last week I received my first shipment of Great Clubs’ Beer of the Month Club beers.  My membership was a birthday present from Bruce and Dana (thanks!!).

Included in the box were 12 bottles:

• 3 Appalachian Brewing Co. Mountain Lagers
• 3 Appalachian Brewing Co. Jolly Scot Scottish Ales
• 3 Abita Beer Turbodog Ales
• 3 Abita Beer Wheat beers

The Mountain Lager and Scottish Ale disappeared while cheering the Huskies to victory on Saturday.  Definitely looking forward to trying the others and seeing what next month’s delivery has in store for me!

-Nick

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Haha if we register I can totally see myself in this guy:

Looking forward to abusing my scanner gun privileges.

-Nick

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Fun times this weekend in Denver for Dan’s bachelor party, expertly orchestrated by Blake.

Fun Facts about Denver:

• Don’t let the name fool you, the DEN airport is nowhere near the actual city.
• Where are the mountains?  This place is flat.
• Denver is the birthplace of the cheeseburger, a 1935 creation by Louis Ballast.  Despite this, Denver has one of the lowest obesity rates in the country.
• In the upper deck at Coors Field, there is a stripe of purple-painted seats to mark the “mile-high” altitude.
• In 1976, Denver voters politely declined the opportunity to host the Winter Olympics.  The Games went to Innsbruck, Austria instead, and Denver remains the only city to reject their Olympic bid.
• Coors Light doesn’t taste any better (or worse) when it’s died purple for opening day.

Unfortunately I seem to have contracted some sort of painful sinus disease.  The right side of my face is throbbing.  According to WebMD, things to avoid when fighting sinus congestion:

• Cold, dry air
• Alcohol
• Smoky bars

Apparently I was digging my own grave.

-Nick

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Four-sixths of our college house reunited in Seattle this weekend to watch the Huskies dominate Cal in their last game of the season.  We spent some time at the Duch, tailgated on Saturday, and had a victorious good time.  And apparently we were on TV, but I didn’t see it.

We’ll have to do it again sometime when everyone can make it.

-Nick

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Courtesy of Ms Ronan.  Her analysis:

This ad is phenomenal. It gets more hysterical every time you watch it.

What makes this ad so amazing is the perfect casting. The match up between the line and the actor/actress delivering it is spot on. The match of the message to the visual arguably couldn’t be any better. Messages are great but if the visual doesn’t match it doesn’t make the ad believable and vice versa. I feel like this should be discussed in the Marketing 300 class.

Spot on.

-Nick

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My favorite dive/college bar is The Duchess.  Just north of U-Village, the walls are covered in completely random decor and decades of Husky memorabilia.  They’ve got cheap beer, pool tables, lots of TVs, pop-a-shot basketball, even shuffleboard.

But within The Duchess is an example of marketing genius: their Beer Hunter’s Club.  Membership into this elite group is simple: consume one of every beer they have — 40 in total.  Once you complete the checklist (which has no deadlines), you earn an official Beer Hunter hat, and you get your name engraved on a plaque for posterity on the “Hall of Foam.”

So proud.

It’s genius for a few reasons:

• 40 beers is an attainable goal.  Other places have similar “clubs”, but their beer lists are 100 or 200 deep.  We achieved Hall of Foam status mostly during Spring Quarter 2005.
• It keeps customers coming back.  We could have gone to other bars, but then we wouldn’t have made any progress on our Beer Hunter punchcards.
• It brings in additional customers.  Other, non-Beer-Hunters would join us and spend money at the bar.
• It creates other non-beer purchases.  If you spend enough time there, you’re bound to get hungry, play pool, pop-a-shot, and even feed the jukebox.
• It creates other Beer Hunters.  When someone finishes all 40, the bartender rings the bell and announces your accomplishment to the whole place.  I’m sure this spurs an “I want to be a Beer Hunter, too” response in at least some other bar-goers.

All in all, The Duchess Beer Hunter gimmick is great marketing because it brings in a ton of revenue at very little additional expense.

-Nick

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Some friends from UW were married over the weekend on Mercer Island.  Congratulations to Erik and Katie and here’s to a lifetime of happiness together!  The wedding was a pretty laid back affair with the world’s quickest ceremony, buckets of beer on ice, and catered Mexican food.  The best part?  A nacho-cheese fountain a la Talladega Nights!

I couldn’t find the video, but here’s the dialogue between Ricky Bobby and his friend/enemy/friend-again, Cal Naughton, Jr.:

Cal Naughton Jr.: We missed you at the wedding.

Ricky Bobby: You missed me at the wedding?!

Cal Naughton Jr.: Oh man, it was so classy, we had a Styx cover band and a nacho fountain. Check it, it was a nacho fountain with six kinds of cheese on it.

Ricky Bobby: Liquid cheese? Like, it cascaded down?

Cal Naughton Jr.: Yeah.

Ricky: Are you serious?

Cal Naughton Jr.: Oh man, amazing, six different kinds; Swiss, Havarti, what was the other one?

Carly Naughton: Gouda.

Cal Naughton Jr.: Cheddar, Gouda.

Ricky Bobby: That is the greatest thing I ever heard of.

Cal Naughton Jr.: Feeding buffet in front of it, it was awesome.

It was awesome.

-Nick

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This guy had one too many Coronas last night:

-Nick

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