DAVE: I just spent $93 on Amazon on a textbook for my class.

JIM: I thought the web was making books obsolete. And now you have to spend that much on a book so you can learn how to build web pages that will make books obsolete?

DAVE: Ain’t life a bitch.

In addition to the textbook, the rest of the course is, in fact, online.

JIM: Yes. Life, in fact, can be a bitch.

Both of my parents use canes, and they each have a blue handicapped parking placard.

My father has become one of these fanatical retirees who regularly composes letters to the editor. Then he sends copies of the crudely cut-out letters to I don't know who, but I am among the recipients. He writes the letters when he is in Pittsburgh and in Florida.

When it snows, as it has so often in Pittsburgh this winter, car owners are responsible for cleaning all of the snow off their cars. I just want to remind drivers that cleaning snow off you car includes the headlights and taillights. It's just crazy to drive around in winter weather with your lights covered with snow.

Brewed On Grant: Pedu-Right 
Written by Rob Rogers on Wednesday, 22 January 2014.

In stark contrast to Pittsburgh's previous mayor, Bill Peduto seems to be doing all the right things as he adjusts to his new office. So that's what adult behavior looks like!

Actually, Bill got the chip implanted in his arm, not his neck.

Surgeon General
Written by Rob Rogers on Friday, 17 January 2014.

It has been fifty years since the release of a study showing a direct link between smoking and lung disease. Many people have taken the Surgeon General's Warning seriously ... while others can't quit despite the evidence. Meanwhile, the tobacco companies continue to get rich.

Why is Kevin Hart suddenly blowing up?

Brewed On Grant: Mayor's Office 
Written by Rob Rogers on Wednesday, 15 January 2014. 

Bill Peduto has been sworn in and it is clear he is out to change the culture Boy Mayor left behind.

DAVE: How’s that fancy new watch with all the buttons working out for you so far?

JIM: The only button I've used so far is for the light.

DAVE: Indiglo. Nice. Timex really hit a homerun with that little feature on their watches.

JIM: The Indiglo on my old watch probably hasn't worked in about 10 years. So sometimes now I just press the button on my new watch even when I don't need to. Just because I can.

DAVE: You’re a wild and crazy guy, no doubt about it.

JIM: I had some carrots that I dipped in hummus with my lunch. But not just any hummus. Sundried tomato and basil flavored hummus. I am kicking it up a notch.

No more of the Lukester and his shenanigans. Pittsburgh has a real mayor now.

DAVE: Ha. One of the problems of owning a $30 Timex is that it costs $9 to get the battery replaced at Touch of Gold in Oakland. I tried to take the back off, but I couldn’t do it.

JIM: To follow up, I got a new Timex Ironman Triathlon watch for Christmas. I needed it. It probably cost about $50-$60, so that makes it by far the most expensive watch I've ever owned. It has 10 different buttons on it!

DAVE: And we had been talking about watches. Nice. Ten different buttons.

JIM: I'll probably never learn how to use them all.

DAVE: That’s a lot of buttons. My watches only have one button. I did figure out how to open the back of the Timex, so I can replace the $6 battery by myself, rather than paying $9 to have someone else do it. It really wasn’t that hard.

JIM: Yeah, it's pretty easy. But if your watch is waterproof, be aware that once you open the back to replace the battery, it's not waterproof any more.

DAVE: There used to be a little rubber gasket on waterproof watches that was impossible to get back in once it came out.

DAVE: What kind of watch do you wear? How many watches do you have?

JIM: I have two watches. One is a Timex Ironman sports watch which I've probably had for 20 years or more. The other is a Timex that is a little more dressy, but I still didn't pay more than probably $20 for it many years ago. I've been through multiple bands and batteries for both of them. In fact, my "dressy" watch needs a new battery right now.

I always wear a watch everywhere, but the funny thing is I have never had the urge to buy an expensive watch.

DAVE: The Citizen Eco Drive that I bought 13 years ago is dying. I recently bought a basic Timex for $30 to take over for the Citizen, which was a really nice watch. I bought a new Citizen yesterday [Thursday] online. So, I guess I will have two watches as well.

JIM: I think most people nowadays find the idea of wearing a watch kind of quaint, for lack of a better word. But I am so used to it that I'm uncomfortable when I don't have a watch on.

DAVE: I think young people wear watches that are big and fancy. Otherwise, they just look at their ubiquitous smart phones for the time. Old-timers like you and me still wear a watch to tell the time. I like wearing a watch. I feel naked without one. And Citizen Eco Drives are the shit. They never need a new battery. But based on my personal experience, they may only last for 13 years before you need to get the power cell inside of them replaced, and that means sending the watch to Citizen. That’s why I decided to just get a new one. It was on sale. 

JIM: That seems to be a pretty astute observation.

Kathy's nephew who just graduated from college about a year or so ago told me over Christmas that he wears a Citizen Eco Drive watch. I was surprised by that.

JIM: Have I ever told you about my friend's wife who was dying of cancer? I think I must have mentioned it over the years. They have three young kids.

I got a text around midnight on Christmas that she passed away that day. That really sucks. Those poor kids have been through hell and then it happens on Christmas. So now every time someone asks them what they got for Christmas this year, they get to say, "I got to watch my mom die."

I forget sometimes how truly blessed and lucky my family and I are. We have a pretty good life. I suck that I need to be reminded of that sometimes.

I think that the Victoria's Secret models, past and present, may be the most beautiful women in the world. I can't think of anyone who would argue with that.

Brewed On Grant: Mayor College 
Written by Rob Rogers on Wednesday, 11 December 2013.

Bill Peduto was at Harvard last week for a gathering of newly elected mayors from around the country. They were there to study things like municipal finance, crisis management, public safety, etc. I wonder where Lukey went to school.

Courteney Cox Arquette, although attractive, has not aged as well as her gal pal Jennifer Aniston. But Jennifer Aniston makes pretty bad, straight-to-video movies. Courteney Cox Arquette stars in the TBS television show "Cougar Town." Also a bad career choice. Maybe it's time for "Friends: The Movie."

Oops! My bad.

Deer Hunter
Written by Rob Rogers on Monday, 02 December 2013.

Pennsylvania deer hunting season opens today [yesterday]. I have one question. If the NRA thinks arming kids and teachers is a good idea, how do they feel about arming wildlife?

Thanksgiving passed . . .

DAVE: What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

JIM: Having early dinner at my parents' house and then driving back to have dessert at Kathy's brother's house. You?

DAVE: I may forego my traditional leftover pizza Thanksgiving dinner in favor of going to one of the few restaurants opened in Pittsburgh. I need to make reservations.

JIM: I remember going drinking during a blizzard on Thanksgiving night one time years ago at a Mexican place that was open in Station Square. I don't know what possessed us to need to find a place to go drinking at in the middle of a blizzard on Thanksgiving.

DAVE: It's called youthful enthusiasm.

JIM: I wouldn't know anything about that.

Brewed On Grant: Boy Lincoln 
Written by Rob Rogers on Tuesday, 19 November 2013.

Luke Ravenstahl is trying to put a positive spin on his mayoral history. Meanwhile, the rest of us will be marking the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

Is there really a difference between regular bacon and the highly touted "applewood smoked" bacon now served at seemingly every restaurant?