For the Holiday Weekend

Houston's forecast for the Holiday weekend: Partly Cloudy, Breezy, High in the low 90s.

What is loaded in the car for my friend Craig's Lake Party: Swimsuit, sound cube of death, ipod, SPF 100, tooth brush and some flip flops.

Summer is definitely here.

Here are some of my 'Best Of' for the summer.

Best Margarita Ever...Period. It's easy to make and probably one of the healthiest margaritas you will ever drink because it is just alcohol and fruit juice. The orange helps reduce the acid bite that most margaritas carry.
1 oz Patron Silver
1 oz Patron Orange
1 oz Triple Sec
Squeeze/Juice of 2 limes and 1 med orange (best to microwave the fruit for 20 seconds to get more juice out)
Mix well with lots of ice (no salt or sugar on the rim).

Best Steak (that I have ever made)
Choice cut of meat
Brine for an hour prior to grilling
Heat grill as hot as it can get
Season steak accordingly (I like to use a little brown sugar, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika)
Sear the steak for 2-3 minutes on each side
Finish steak by heating oven to 400* and baking for about 7-10 minutes.
Serve with a little butter.
Note: If you have a really thick piece of meat, you will get the middle cooked faster (more evenly) if you put a few nails in the steak. The metal acts as a conductor of heat and it is perfect for those who don't like rare steaks.

Best Suntan Lotion for intense summer parties

This sweat and water proof 'spray-on' lotion is simply magic. I spray it on at the beginning of the sun exposure and it lasts all day long. No need to reapply. Heck, I have to scrub in the shower pretty good just to get it off. I think it absorbs into the blood stream!!

Best Shoes for the Summer

Old man slippers?! No sir. These are Reef's Slip On Shoes and they are just as comfortable as sandals. They have their uber soft insole and I wear these all the time. Another pair I own is made by Sanuk. Being a golfer, I have an unsightly sock tan line and these shoes help people from noticing the stark contrast of my normal skin tone and my tan legs. Plus, getting older = ugly toes.

Best Summer Beers

Blue Moon is always a safe bet. Blonde Bombshell is perfect for pool side. Dos XX is like a good dog, always there to greet you when you get home, never leaves your side, and always has a smile on its face.

Headed to Lake Conroe!


Numerical Summary for the week:

4 - AM...which the time I woke up this morning. The power went out in my apartment and all the clocks were flashing 12:00. I have black out shades so I didn't know what time it was. Once I found my phone, I was already awake. Still didn't make it to work until 8ish.

1 - year away from Facebook. I decided to reactivate my account...but I am already starting to regret it. So many incriminating photos out there.

15 - estimated crowd size for the lake party. I know the house can sleep a bunch of people but since I will be the 15th wheel, I have a feeling I will be sleeping in a closet. That may sound bad to some of you, but if you knew my vacation sleeping arrangements growing up...a closet is an upgrade!!

More Music...Less Silence

If you know me or my lifestyle, you know there is always music playing. I live alone so the silence is usually filled with either Slacker or Pandora online radio. The last time I posted about music, it was more about websites, etc. This post is about what I am actually listening to these days. Judge my music all you want, make recommendations, it's all good.

First off I have to mention the best portable sounds system...ever. Sure you have seen the portable speakers for your ipod that maybe pumps some high treble but no bass. This 'sound cube of death' is well worth the sticker price (and extra $100 battery so you can use it off a/c power) and provides ample amounts of all-around great sound.
This is the Bosch Power Box Job Site Radio. The cage around the unit allows it to be dropped from a height of 7' and still operate without a hitch (I haven't tried it yet, nor do I plan on it anytime soon). It comes with a remote that is handy when you are too lazy to turn it up. It can operate in all environments; Bosch recommends just not submerging it in water...duh. It's perfect at the pool, beach, tailgate, etc. It is truly incredible with all the ports to hook up an iPod, a satellite radio dock, flash card, sim card, and cigarette lighter port. If the unit is plugged into a power source, then there are 4 a/c outlets so you can charge your phone, etc.
It has a nice subwoofer as well on the bottom of the cube so you get some nice bass.
Alright, on to the music...

I have been on a Ray LaMontagne kick recently. I don't know if it's me getting older, the dating scene, or my ever-changing life but Ray gets the job done.
Beg Steal Or Borrow - Ray Lamontagne by mickmgmt

Repo Man - Ray LaMontagne by mickmgmt

I also recommend the following songs from Ray: Henry Nearly Killed Me, Jolene, Empty and Three More Days.

Ben Harper just recently came out with a new album and I really like these two songs (Feel Love and Don't Give Up on Me Now)




I would also recommend Amen Omen from Mr. Harper. Darn good song.

OK, onto something more upbeat. Raphael Saddiq is way underrated in my book. I hope he makes it big time cause he has a very unique sound. Here are two of my favorites:





You want something more along the Indie/Alternative scene? Try some of these:

Idiot Heart - Sunset Rubdown
Grown Ocean - Fleet Foxes
Something Good Can Work (RAC Remix) - Two Door Cinema Club
Go (feat. Karen O) - Santigold
Maximalist - Baths
Houdini - Foster the People
Botanist - Guineafowl
Let's Get Out of Here - Les Savy Fav
Stay Too Long - Plan B
Answer To Yourself - The Soft Pack
Under Cover of Darkness - The Strokes
Still Sound - Toro y Moi
Will Do - TV on the Radio
Comin' Through - War on Drugs
King of the Beach - Wavves
My Body - Young The Giant

I hope I have been able to bring you some music you may not have heard of already. Remember, check websites like myspoonful.com and rcrdlbl.com for daily updates of free new music.

Numerical Summary for the Weekend:

60 - hours between showers this weekend. I had every intention to maintain personal hygiene but a trip to the beach and the pool delayed usage of soap and shampoo. Oh I was a sweet smelling dude this afternoon.

15 - pars made on the Cypress course at Cypresswood Golf Club here in Houston. I played with a buddy who just finished his 2nd year at law school. It was a pitch and putt style course but I enjoyed using a sick day!

5 - ingredients used for THE BEST MARGARITA...EVER! You mix a shot of Patron, a shot of Patron Orange, a shot of Triple Sec, the juice of 1 med orange and 2 limes...mix with lots of ice (no salt or sugar on the rim). They are soooo smooth and they hit you like a runaway truck! Perfect while in Galveston or poolside.

Huh What?!

Soooo....

It's been a life-long dream to own a car made by Carroll Shelby. Ever since I was interested in muscle cars, I have always wanted a '67 Shelby A/C Cobra:

Well, I can't afford a REAL Shelby A/C and I wasn't about to drop $40K on a kit version of the car.

My Honda has been hit with the injury bug as of late and I was pouring an insane amount of money in the old girl. I ran the numbers and realized I was spending more on repairs than a monthly car payment. Sure, I wouldn't continue the streak of major repairs because soon enough I would have replaced just about everything on that heap!

My childhood friend works in the used car lot of a Chevy dealership in McGregor, TX (just outside of Waco). Two weeks ago, when I was busy replacing yet another transmission on the Accord, he calls me and says there is a 2007 Mustang Shelby GT (#1694 out of 6000 made) on his lot with low miles. So when I traveled to Waco for a charity golf tournament I stopped by the dealership.

This is it in my parking garage.


I am in my mid-life crisis stage already...at the ripe age of 30. I will inform everyone once the memory fades, the grey hair encroaches, the wrinkles appear and I start eating a vast majority of soft foods. Until then...I am supporting the industry I work in by using as much gas as possible!!

Random picture of the week:
I was driving to my sister's house when I got to an intersection and noticed a small sedan attempt to take a tree home from the local nursery. I would hate for them to call a buddy with a truck to come help them out.


Numerical Summary for the Weekend:

12 - people I entertained down at the Morby beach house this past weekend. I was expecting anywhere from 4 to 24 so that was a perfect sized group. Smoked meats, cold beer, plenty of sunshine and a stunningly clean Galveston beach.

14 - lbs of picnic roast I smoked for 9 hours while we partied. Usually we are all so tired from the day, anything tastes good and the food didn't disappoint this year.

24 - inch red fish caught by my friend Matt Thursday night. We fished until about 2 am and the biggest one was the last one we caught. We were either going to run out of lures or beer by the end of the night. Turns out we ran out of energy.

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy!

So my cousin, Carter, is probably the most avid and skilled outdoors man I know. Whether it is hunting or fishing, the guy is always outdoors. About 2 or 3 years ago, he invited me down to Galveston to go night fishing. A lot of the homes in the Morby Beach house neighborhood have submerged lights in the canal which you can see the fish circling the lights going after bait fish. One of the 'mother nature' triggers to go fish is a sudden drop in temperature, aka a good cold front, which the Houston area received Monday night, Tuesday morning.

Tuesday after work, I gathered my fishing gear, grabbed some soft bait lures (Berkley Gulp! Saltwater Pogy 3" Glow) at Academy, threw some ice in a cooler and headed an hour south to the beach house. I arrived around 9:15pm, located a underwater light with plenty of fish and my first line in was at 9:20pm. My first fish was on at about 9:23pm...however I was so excited about fishing that I forgot to grab a net and the first fish I caught, snapped my line as I attempted to bring the fish to the surface. Disgusted with myself, I went and found the sturdiest net I could find and retooled the fishing rod.

Fish 1, Shane 0

Most of the time spent fishing is actually driving around to find the lights. You can catch 1 fish per light before they all scatter and you have to move along. However, one house had 4 lights in a row. It was a new house right on the bay and there must have been 3 to 4 dozen red fish in the lights. Because it was such a large area, I was able to catch one on the right side of the lighted area and then immediately hook another one over in the left zone.

I fished until around midnight, catching 9 fish (8 red fish, 1 speckled trout) in about 45 minutes of actual fishing time. How big were these fish? The smallest I caught was a 17" red and the largest was a 24" red. I only kept 3 fish (2 reds and the 1 speck). Want to see what they looked like?


It was a really fun trip...until I had to clean my catch. I had seen Carter fileted many fish but never had done it myself. Let's just say the dock where I cleaned the fish looked like a murder scene after I was done. I didn't eat any of the fish myself, but gave it out to friends and family. Apparently its good eats! I finally made it back home around 2am Wednesday and let's just say I wasn't very productive that day at the office.

Stay tuned for my next post in which I discuss my impending mid-life crisis!!


Numerical Summary for the Week:

36 - holes of golf played this weekend. Played in the Waco Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament Friday morning and then just finished playing another round at Deerwood Country Club up in Kingwood.

352 - yards my drive went to win a long drive hole in the Chamber Tournament. I won a $50 gift card to Academy for my efforts. Hey! More fishing lures!!

100 - SPF I use if I am going to be outdoors. It's perfect for the course because 1 application is all you need. I do tone it down and go with SPF 70 for my face. Getting old = wrinkles and sun spots.