Well, it’s been one heck of a ride! But after the remarkable sixth seed playoff run and SuperBowl XLV win and going another 13 games undefeated, one loss to Kansas City and then a second string win over the Lions to cap the season, the wheels fell off last night.

There's No Crying In Football!

What a let down! The Packer’s arrived on their home field to take on the rival New York Giants and after a hard earned bye and with all their top starters in tact, they quickly began to crumble before our eyes. The loss was marked by an incredible 4 fumble turnovers (honestly should have been 5) and 8 dropped passes. It’s almost as if by script, the Falcons, Saints and Packers all lost by turning the ball over much more than they normally would.  The haters are out in full force today, gloating over the misery of the entire Packer Nation. So how do we deal with Football Depression? Usually we’d recommended drinking heavily, but that’s no solution…

Here’s our 7 steps to quick recovery after a season ending loss:

1. Remember it’s only a game, but if ya gotta let it out, let it out big fella!
2. Remember, 32 teams fight for the coveted Lombardi Trophy, all but 1 team will enjoy that success.
3. Get back to normal life. Put away the jerseys and the decorations.
4. Start an activity to take your mind off football, read a new book, enjoy another sport, start a diet or start working out.
5. Don’t dwell on the loss, it’s part of the game.
6.  Ignore juvenile remarks from gloaters or haters from other teams who think their words mean anything.
7. Start looking forward to next year by building your own Home Bar!

Finally, if you are a true Packer fan or even a bandwagon fan, remember that Green Bay has their four Lombardi Trophies safe and on display at the Packer Hall of Fame. Take a trip there soon to soak up the everlasting glory.

You may have some other way to get over the depressing days following a season ending loss, please feel free to share.

Finally – Good Luck to the final four New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49er’s and New York Giants.
Three of those four teams will soon be here, crying in their beer along with the other 31 NFL team fans.

Hummingbird webcam. Click the arrow to watch a time lapse video of the past 24 hours of activity. Notice the feeder fluid level drop as these combative little pilots fight for feeder supremacy all day long. Use the time lapse recording library to check out the entire summer.

Of course the females all get along, but the males are constantly starting fights.
Observation as of March 14 2011:
Four Females – Two males – a half dozen marauding Orioles.
March 15th: Replaced four hole feeder withe a six hole feeder. Moved four hole’r around the corner. Orioles are a major pest to the hummingbird feeders!
March 18th – many of the hummers have moved on…now it’s down to one pair. Have finally appeased the Orioles with grape jelly.
August 15th – we’ve had about three or four pairs and their broods feeding all summer. So far, we’ve gone through over 5lbs of sugar! One day we counted 13 at one feeder.
August  – September – sorry camera was down – needs to be reconfigured.
You’ve been getting the Kelly Lake East camera feed by default.

September 10th – as of yesterday the flock flew south. Went through 20 lbs of sugar and about a dozen jars of grape jelly through this summer.

September 18th – over the past week, we’ve seen a few migrating hummers passing through, even with night time temps in the low 30′s.
We’ll keep the feeders up for a few more weeks for any stragglers or until it freezes.

Click here to view the full webcam time lapse history.

Check our other webcams at Kelly Lake East and Kelly Lake West.

Saturday March 21st 2009 a Manitowoc Man walked into Bob & Geri”s Black Otter Supper Club in Hortonville Wisconsin to take on the massive 160 ounce Extreme Cut Prime Rib in one of the wildest encounters of Man vs. Food I’ve ever had the privilege to witness. The Black Otter Supper Club has been offering up prime rib challenges going back to the late 1980′s and nearly twenty years ago I myself had taken on and tackled the comparatively tiny 104 ounce King Cut.

The 160 oz. Prime Rib King

Movies have depicted Northern Wisconsin restaurants with lumberjack sized steaks, like the old 96′er which the late John Candy barely accomplished (The Great Outdoors, 1988) and which may seem obscene to health conscious folks in California or to New Yorkers who pay hundreds of dollars for a 6 ounce steak prepared by some fancy pants chef, but here in Wisconsin, the cholesterol challenge begins in the over 100 ounce club.

A mere 45 minutes after starting,  the challenger Andy Frank swallowed his last bite of the monster 160 ounce prime rib and was declared the winner and new reining King of Prime Rib!

Still feeling a mite peckish, Mr. Frank topped off this monumental task by polishing off his fried potatoes and salad. Shown above is a photo of the new King of Prime Rib. The 160 ounce Extreme Cut has been offered since 2003, but so far only 3 have conquered the mountain of meat. The 104 ounce wall of shame includes photos from hundreds of carnivores who have downed the now retired 104 ounce King Cut.

The legendary 160 oz Prime Rib featured at the Black Otter Supper Club , Hortonville, Wisconsin

UPDATE: we didn’t have a photo of the monumental mountain of meat at the time this post was originally published, but here is one from the Black Otter menu.

The biggest question in most peoples mind (besides is he still alive) is “wow! how many calories is that?”

Well, we’ve boiled that down for you in the following nutritional facts label that should accompany the plate.

These values were calculated using a 10 ounce serving  data for Prime Rib Steak. Keep in mind, the 160 ounce Extreme cut is “bone in”  and includes a pound or two of bone and fat which of course you do not have to eat.

Other interesting extreme eating videos:
Watch Furious Pete Czerwinski break the world time record for downing a sizzling hot 72 ounce steak in 7 minutes, a total of 10 minutes for potato & salad.

Nutritional Facts for the Black Otter Supper Club’s 106 Ounce Prime Rib:

Serving size: 160 Ounces

Calories: 15,569
Calories from Fat: 11, 376
Cholesterol: 2,976mg
Sodium: 52,528mg
Total Carbs: 149g (Hey it’s low carb!)
Fiber: 32g (but you’ll need more fiber to push that baby through!)
Protein: 848g

All calculations are based on nutritional data of a 10 oz portion and simply multiplied out.
Calculations do not take into account extra bone or fat content.

please feel free to post your comments…

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makes exercise addictive!

Ok, you’ve been sitting around all winter drinking beer, watching TV, sitting on the computer and getting fat. You know that exercise is a bummer, so why not mix one good habit with one bad habit?

The XR GameKit PC interface works with your stationary exercise bike, treadmill or elliptical trainer to control your PC while your play video games or surf the web.  You can also track your exercise progress with the included software.

Now you have the perfect motivation to exercise as you drive thousands of scenic miles powered by your own foot pedaling. You’ll be fit in no time!  Set it up in your bar area to burn off some beer calories.

How does it work?
First off, you’ll need an exercise bike, treadmill or elliptical trainer, just about any model will work  (don’t worry if you don’t have and of this equipment, because you can also buy just the pedals with the PC interface for even less ). Then attach the wireless  sensor  to your exercise equipment, plug it all in, install the software and you’re ready to get fit.

Works with hundreds of sports games.  It’s basically a game controller powered by your work out. Pedal forward and you move forward, pedal backwards and you go backwards.
Control direction simply by moving your head. The head sensor clips on to the visor of any baseball cap.

Regularly priced at $299.00 – you can save $50 when you order today!
Turn your PC gaming & surfing into a leaner new you for only $249 – ORDER NOW!

Video Demonstration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oTHB54pU5c

Prayers answered - Green Bay Packers WIN Superbowl XVL!

Time to do some re-arranging in the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame.
Need room for Superbowl Trophy number 4!

10pm CST and we anxiously await Superbowl 45. Good luck to both teams, but GO PACK GO!
I decided that since I decorated my front yard snowbank back in 1996, I better do it again in 2011 for good luck! Below is my last minute Packer shrine and tribute to the football Gods for good vibes and a big win. Bring the Lombardi Trophy Home!
Gold colors will likely be added as the game progresses. My dog had to be the first.

It’s off to bed, then up early to cook brats, deep fry some wings and crack a few early morning coldies. Stay tuned for post game coverage.

Snowbank doubles as Packer SuperBowl Shrine.

Sunday February 6th 2011 marks the forty firth Superbowl featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Green Bay Packers.
You can enjoy the game by driving to your favorite local tavern or you can watch the game in the safety and comfort of your own home.
If you’re staying home, invite a few friends over to cheer on your favorite team.  If you already have a home bar, you all ready have the best place in town to watch the big  game.  If you’re a Vikings or Bears fan, well, there’s always ice fishing (just kidding).
Drinks: Getting ready for the game means deciding on what food and drinks everyone can bring. As the host, we usually provide beer, and depending upon how many people you expect, you can do either cans or if you are so equipped you can do a keg.
Our keg box usually has a home brew on tap, but for this game (we live near Green Bay) we”ll put on a quarter barrel.
If you’re not equipped with a kegerator or keg box, and you expect a lot of guests, just go with the tub & pump supplied by your beer vendor. If your fiends like cocktails and you’re too cheap to ante up for the Grey Goose, just tell them to BYO (bring your own) booze.
Don’t forget the Cherry Bounce or Jello-Shots for touchdowns & Field Goals!

fry buffalo wings outside if you can, avoids the lingering deep fryer smell

Food: Of course you’ll want plenty of food to soak up the drinks, and the pot luck approach works great for big parties. Just come up with a list of your favorite hors d’evours and let your guests know what they can bring.

There’s plenty of prep work to do, so get started a few days before the big game.  Save your cooking tasks for before or during the tailgate party. If you’re frying brats, you’re no cheese-head! Brats should be cooked on a grill.  If you’re making buffalo wings (don’t forget the Franks hot sauce) then deep fry them outside.
To avoid smelling up the house, I do mine on the workbench in the garage.

Here’s a list of some of our easy to make favorites:
Brats (bratwurst, yes we live in Wisconsin)
Cheese & Cracker Tray (ditto)
Meatballs – don’t forget the toothpicks
Deviled Eggs
Shrimp w/ cocktail sauce. (Holland House)
Coconut Shrimp
Chicken Wings (the hotter the better!)
Rumaki (bacon wrapped water chestnuts or scallops)
Pizza Rolls
Weenie Tots (Little Smokies)
Avocado Dip
Reuben Dip
Chips & Dip
Veggie Pizza
Veggie Tray w/ dip
Pretzel dip
Fruit tray
Smoked oysters, pickled herring (for luck)
Nuts, peanuts, smoked almonds
Desert bars, rice crispy treats
Popcorn

That should give you some good ideas. If you can think of more please feel free to post a comment at the bottom of this article.

Be sure you have enough seating and of course a decent TV so everyone can catch the big plays. Our home theater adjacent to our bar area has a 65″ HD TV and in the bar area and 37″ LCD hanging from the ceiling. We set up our juke box with all the game related songs they play at the stadium like:
“Bang the Drum all Day” by Todd Rundgren
Ozzy’s “Crazy Train”
House of Pain’s “Jump Around”
Gun’s N ‘ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle”
Queen ” We Will Rock You”
Baja Men ” Who Let The Dogs Out”
and unfortunately Mambo #5 and Cotton-eyed Joe.
You get the idea….

Don’t pass up this opportunity to get together with your friends and cheer on your favorite team – GO PACK GO!

Brent Favre - the new face of the Chicago Bears?

By this guy maybe….???
Just seems like the natural progression.

The Packers Superbowl I, II and XXXI trophies and rings.

Today, 1/21/2011 we took a short drive to Lambeau Field to get psyched up for this weekend’s big NFC divisional playoff game.
No trip to Green Bay would be complete without a visit to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

There is no better way to appreciate the history and pride of this storied NFL franchise. The entire self guided visit took about an hour and a half, but you could easily spend all day there.

The 2011 NFC Championship Game in Soldier Field, Chicago Illinois represents only the second playoff meeting of the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears football teams.

The first postseason meeting occurred in 1941 and resulted in a 33-16 Bears victory. Considering the statistics over the years with NFC North Divisional rivals, the teams typically split games, so this would indicate the high probability of a Packer victory in 2011.

Praying to the Football Gods

The tour ended in the sacred trophy room, where I spent a few silent moments communing with the football Gods for a big win on Sunday.

All that’s left to do is sit back with some good food, good friends and a cold beverage of your choice (beer here) to enjoy this historical, once in a lifetime football match up.

If you need to get pumped up for the game, enjoy this rousing tune from the Happy Schnapps Combo – DA BEARS STILL SUCK!

Here’s another tune for Packer fans  – I LOVE MY GREEN BAY PACKERS

Good Luck to both teams and keep it a clean fight (which may be hard for dem Bears).

From the “who thought it would ever come to this” file:
A modest group of Packer faithful as well as local and national news crews gathered this gloomy Pre-Halloween October day at Tom, Dick & Harry’s Bar across from Lambeau Field to lay to rest the image of our once beloved Brett Favre.  The mock funeral ceremony included a procession of three hearses, one containing the body, one containing the ego and a third to act as a backup in case the deceased Favre comes back to life (waffles) and needs a ride back home. The whole tongue in cheek ceremony, intended to provide closure for some fans was organized by local Rock Station WAPL as a lighthearted roast of the Packer we knew as Brett Favre. The funeral included a purple velvet lined casket with a mannequin of Favre wearing Wrangler Jeans a purple #4 jersey and Vikings helmet. Mourning fans passed by to pay their last respects and fill the casket with now useless Favre memorabilia.  Mourner’s also wore black #4 arm bands which they received in exchange for donations that will go toward the Diana Favre Hope Foundation. Eulogies were delivered by Rick & Len followed by a musical tribute.

The showing will remain open to the public until game day November 1st 3:15pm at which time, according to Radio Host Len Nelson,  “Favre will be buried by the Packer’s Defensive Line”.

Favre returns to Green Bay one day after Halloween to lead the arch rival Minnesota Vikings in a showdown against his former team and heartbroken fans in what is shaping up to be a battle of historic proportions on the  Frozen Tundra.

For more, see the interview with Len Nelson on YouTube.

See images of the mock funeral festivities below…

related stories: Some Packer Fans Come to Bury Favre New York Times