Manny will be Manny Elsewhere

When the Red Sox traded Nomar in 2004 at the trading deadline, I expressed shock and dismay. Then the Red Sox went on to win a World Series title.

When I heard about Manny today, I was similarly stunned. I can only pray the Sox will have similar results. His is one tough bat to replace in the lineup. He is, quite simply, the best hitter in baseball. I always liked him, despite the shenanigans. I wonder where he'll end up next year. I just hope it's not the AL East.

Bye bye Manny. The Hotdogman will miss you!

San Francisco Treat

I never could figure out why Rice-a-Roni was the San Francisco treat. My aunt, uncle and cousins who live out there don't even like the stuff!

I used to visit them when we were younger (when my mother took us for a visit in the summer) and I have great memories of those trips. We'd see the sights and EAT. San Francisco is a great seafood town. I remember chowing down on crabs until I couldn't move!

Pier 39 is San Francisco's version of Fanuel Hall. We would always spend a day there when we visited. I rented roller skates one summer-back when "roller disco" was big and I boogied all over the pier. Good God was I a schmuck!

Mom was always good about taking us all over town to see the sights. We rode a street car, saw the crookedest street in the world, went to Golden Gate park, and we even spent half a day on Alcatraz Island. I always liked the zoo best. San Francisco has a fantastic zoo.

There are tons of things to do in San Francisco and mom always managed to find fun stuff for my brother and me.

I'd like to go back for a visit as an adult. I'm sure I could get into lots more trouble now! I wouldn't go with mom either. I'd have someone like Trusted Tours & Attractions run me around town. I like taking an organized tour of a city and then going back to the places that interest me. Of course when I was a kid, we didn't have online travel guides to review before planning a trip.

If I'm looking for things to do in Boston, I KNOW where to go. But if I wanted to go to San Francisco or Kennedy Space Center, I'd do some online research first.

There's a great site with tons of travel info called Trusted Tours and they've got a cool contest going on. Just for signing up for their travel newsletter, they'll give you a shot at winning a $150 iTunes gift card.

Just don't ask for Rice-a-Roni.

New Chili Dog Record!

Tyler from BOSE had a mission: to break the Hot Dog Truck's standing record of seven chili dogs in one sitting! While this title is not as prestigious as the Nathan's Contest (yet), holding this record is the mark of a true food champion.

Last week he managed to eat six chili dogs in a self proclaimed "training session." He came by yesterday with a determined attitude and an iron stomach.

Here's Tyler with his first three chili dogs. Note the cheery disposition exhibited in his facial expression.

Midway through his fifth chili dog, it appears the task is wearing on him.

Tyler is contemplating the seventh and eighth chili dogs: one will tie the record, the other will make him a Hot Dog Truck immortal!

Just one chili dog between Tyler and GLORY!

THE NEW CHAMPION stands with his completed trays, a testimony to his will and his appetite. Two things come to mind, one is TUMS. The other is GET A HAIRCUT DUDE!
ALL HAIL THE HOT DOG TRUCK CHILI DOG KING!

Link Love

Do you want more visitors to your site? Then you need TRAFFIC. Let's face it, without traffic, nobody is reading what you have to say. On the internet, as you know, LINKS =TRAFFIC. Links are an essential thing for any website, blog or otherwise, to get noticed by the search engines. People sell links, buy links and exchange links in order to get to the top of the Google page. There are many good programs that explain ways to get more traffic, this one is the best (I have been implementing these strategies on several of my websites).

A few years ago, I started a group on Blog Catalog Called Link Love. At the time, I had the best of intentions and I even highlighted some of my members' sites on my Hot Dog Truck site in the Link Love tab. It was an effective way to help promote fellow bloggers and to get some visitors to my own site. It worked very well. New readers were introduced to the Hot Dog Truck and I found many new, interesting and useful blogs as well as a host of like minded bloggers. As the focus for that site evolved, I got away from doing those types of posts and, unfortunately, did not promote the Link Love Group the way it should be promoted. PLEASE FORGIVE ME! (forgiveness is an essential component to Love, Link Love or otherwise).

I have decided to resurrect the Link Love community and try to make it what I wanted it to be before I went in other directions. I have linked EVERY MEMBER of the group here and on the Hot Dog Truck.

I have a few simple Rules for Link Love:

Must have an Active BlogCatalog account
Must be a Member of the Link Love Community on BlogCatalog
Must actually have a blog/website-I won't link to profiles
Any sites that get a "Malware warning" don't get linked
No hateful, mean, hard core pornographic or overly spammy sites allowed

There is no need to reciprocate with a link if you don't want to, but it is appreciated! As the Beatles said: "The love you take is equal to the love you make." That includes Link Love!

You can copy and paste the link list to your site-in a post or elsewhere- or you can announce your Link Love affiliation by downloading the Badge. Simply copy the HTML in the box below and put it on your site!

kshippychic
Boston Bachelor
Funny Clean Videos !
Blog Blond
Fantasy or Prehistory?
KIWIPULSE // EVOLUTION OF ART
EsmeraldasBlog
Much of a muchness
La Vie En France - Life In France
The Paradox That Is Elmer Q Gooseburger
Planet Earth Peace Party
mezica
Council of Truth
Nutrition for Vegheads
Enigmanuts Blog Page
Real Words from a Real Writer
motherofallgeeks
Quoth The Raivyn
pitchu pitchu
STRANGE THINGS TO KNOW
Cardiophile
For All Your Blogs
Pachecus.com
mastersofseo
Advanced Life Skills
ejcross.com
Niche Blogging
Random
Internet Marketing and Making Money Online
Entertain
The Kerala Articles
Bikini Destinations
Inspired Geek
Life, in progress.
Your Successful Mind
..::Creative Arts::..
Cool Desktop Wallpapers
My Thoughts
Gizmo Coded Name
Sherrylove.net
Amazing pictures from all over the world
Make a pound
Electronic Gadgets Garden
FilmoFilm
SpicyBug
Just Sharing Tips and Tricks Information
The Pinklatex Show
SKY
Anime Search Site
Personal Finance
Seo New Technique
Ongaku - The World of Anime Music
Fast Cash at Home
Virtual Synapses: Mind Power Blog
Web Marketing Stuff
Blog-Professional
David Odang dot com
Money Bleeding...
A Moms Connection
2016er
REAL ESTATES
American Bankruptcy Blog
WORLD NEW TECHNOLOGY
AFTER EFFECTS PROJECTS
vetea.com
the blue speckled diary
Why Zrii (tm) and what is Amalaki?
EUREKOS , a Belgian guy on a mission
The estetic of senses!
How to live a more fulfilling life
The Native Sentimental Maniac
Bipolarchick.net: Reflections of a Crazy Life
Wicked Cool Videos

Veggyhead

The Punch Buggy Game
Hot Dog! Money Online
How to Coach Kids Baseball
The Hot Dog Truck
Hot Dog Stories
Boston Hotdogman
On Coaching Kids: Baseball
Natick Red Sox
All Around
Winning Football Picks
The Spam Folder
Just Goofin'
Splibble
Our Sea Glass
Go Fuck Yourself Google
Bite Me Google
Why Does Google Suck?

Happy Link Loving everyone!

Ultimate Paintball

Paintball is quite possibly the most fun you can have with your pants on! I have played in rural settings and simulated urban environments. It brings me back to my childhood when we'd play army out in our neighborhood. There's nothing quite like splattering one of your buddies with a paintball gun-maybe I ought to bring my kids along some day and show them what a crack shot dad is.

Nowadays the game has become very sophisticated. There are a wide variety of paintball guns, helmets, eye wear and paintball vests. You could easily spend a few thousand dollars on paintball gear. Some of the BT Paintball guns look like they're real military issue stuff. (Ultimate Paintball is the best place to get all this gear-they even have free shipping which is a HUGE bonus in these days of "fuel surcharges.")

While you can find plenty of places to go shoot-em-up with friends, there are tournaments and leagues in nearly every city in the U.S. There is even a National Professional Paintball League that has ESPN coverage! How cool would it be to be a "pro" paintball player?

Paintball has become big business, but it's still fun!

Basic Training

There used to be a guy who'd stop by my old truck and order FOUR chili dogs on a regular basis. Two chili dogs is usually more than enough for most patrons, but this guy would woof down four like they were Tic Tacs! One day he ordered six and ate them. After a while, he stopped coming by-the remodelling job he was working on in the area was completed and he moved on to the next job.

Not long after that, a skinny guy (it's always the skinny guys who can really eat) came by with some of his buddies and ordered four chili dogs. I told him the record was six. He ate seven!

That record still stands after 2 years, but there's a new challenger on the horizon: Tyler from BOSE. He pledged to break the longstanding record last winter and he came by today with some of the other BOSE regulars. He ordered three chili dogs and declared that he was officially training to break the record.

After polishing off three, he came back for three more!

I thought for sure he would break the record today, but his buddy told me he lost his momentum about half way through his fifth chili dog! He finished the six he ordered, but he couldn't cram any more chili dogs in his tummy. He was a bit worse for wear too-heck so would you if you ate enough chili and hot dogs to increase your net body weight by 15%!. He wanted the guy who drove to go REALLY SLOW back to the office and even considered a borrowing a bucket for the ride.

While Tyler didn't break the record, his efforts should be commended. I am confident I'll have a new chili dogs king by the end of the summer!

Here's where he ran into the wall-midway through he fifth chili dog

Here he is with his empty chili dog holders. Note the glassed over eyes and squeamish look on his face

Men Jokes

All in good fun...

Q: How many men does it take to open a beer?
A: None. It should be opened when she brings it.
---------------------------------------- -------------------------! --
Q: Why is a Laundromat a really bad place to pick up a woman?
A: Because a woman who can't even afford a washing machine will probably never be able to support you.
---------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Q: Why do women have smaller feet than men?
A: It's one of those "evolutionary things" that allows them to stand closer to the kitchen sink.
---------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Q: How do you know when a woman is about to say something smart?
A: When she starts a sentence with "A man once told me..."
---------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Q: How do you fix a woman's watch?
A: You don't. There is a clock on the oven.
---------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Q: If your dog is barking at the back door and your wife is yelling at the front door, who do you let in first?
A: The dog, of course. He'll shut up once you let him in.
---------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Q: What's worse than a Male Chauvinist Pig?
A: A woman who won't do what she's told.
---------------------------------------- ---------------------------
I married a Miss Right.
I just didn't know her first name was Always.
---------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Scientists have discovered a food that diminishes a woman's sex drive by 90%.
It's called a Wedding Cake.
---------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Why do men die before their wives?
They want to.
---------------------------------------- --------------- ------------
Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
---------------------------------------- ---------------------------
In the beginning, God created the earth and rested.
Then God created Man and rested.
Then God created Woman.
Since then, neither God nor Man has rested.

Hot Dog Float

Frequent readers of this site will remember Jeff from Horizon Technology. He's my number one customer with 44 visits to the Hot Dog Truck since I reopened this spring.

Jeff has been a three to five times a week guy for well over two years. He only weighed 120 pounds when he started eating at my establishment!

Jeff often tells me about his pool; maintenance issues, pool parties, new pool gear-you name it. He recently purchased a new pool float that he claims looks like a giant hot dog. One of his "friends" at work snapped a picture of him on it and sent it to me.

Here's Jeff on his "Hot Dog Float."

BODY BY THE HOT DOG TRUCK!

OMFG his boobs are bigger than my wife's!!!

Even More Famous

My celebrity is growing by leaps and bounds. Today I am on the Helium Home Page! They're featuring my article on How to Organize a Little League Baseball Team.

I am SO the bomb lately....

Hot Dog Etiquette

I saw this video on TheBenSpark and I simply had to share it here!

More Inspiration!

I told you all about the guy from New York who said I was his hero last week.

Here's an email I got while away for the 4th of July Weekend:

"just wanted to put a shout out to you. My name is Jim and We Started
our business 2 months ago and we are doing well already. Here are
some pics of our truck. Thanks for being a good resource for some
info. call sometime or visit if you are ever down in Florida."

He sent a TON of pictures, here are a few:

SWEET rig, Jim! It looks brand spankin new on the inside.

I'll be sure to stop by Boxer Dogs when in the area.

I am glad to be an inspiration to hot dog men and women EVERYWHERE!

Bootin It

In the summer time, the only time I wear boots is if I'm working in the garden. Otherwise I'm a sneakers and sandals guy. In the late fall, winter and early spring, I wear boots. I like the support of the boots, but they get too hot. Maybe I need Tactical Assault Gear boots so I can wear them in the summer. Being on my feet all day, I like to have good support for my feet and ankles.

I have never ordered boots online before, but I was searching for some new combat style boots and found a site called LA Police Gear that has a wide selection of military boots and offers free shipping. Their prices seem good too!

Definitely NOT a Hot Dog

One thing you won't find the Hot Dog Man eating at a BBQ is hot dogs! I eat enough of them while working, so I tend to not want to have them when I'm not at work. Besides, I have yet to taste a hot dog as good as mine!

This past weekend was no exception-NO HOT DOGS!

I did attend a PIG ROAST at the beach- I haven't been to a pig roast in 20 years! It was loads of fun!

The Pig Roast was catered by Dale Bishop's Pig Pickin' BBQ Specialties. Dale's son-in-law, Brian, was the BBQ chef du jour and he was very friendly. He even gave me the ears and snout for my dog when the BBQ was over.

Here's the little piggy (about 125 lbs) after being butterflied and beheaded

I was a bit hungry, but Brian told me he takes 6 hours to cook

Here's Brian pulling all the meat off the bones once it was cooked (hence the term "Pulled Pork")

All that's left is hide and head (the cheek meat was very tasty)

Pulled Pork, Bisquits, Beans and Cold Slaw- not a traditional New England 4th of July Feast, but delicious nonetheless! I went back 5 times!

How else would you thank the little piggy for a wonderful meal?

Working for It

My fourteen year old is working with me two days a week this summer in addition to her job as a cashier at a local grocery store. Getting a job was her big priority last summer because she wanted to save up for a laptop computer. Now that she has the computer, she's got designs on some other things.

Her school offers educational travel opportunities. Next year, they are planning to travel to London.

The kids get to see a lot of England's historical attractions including St. Paul's Cathedral, Windsor Castle, Royal Albert Hall, Trafalgar Square and, of course, Big Ben. They're chaperoned by professional tour guides and the company provides security guards for the kids while they're touring.

They'll also get to travel to Dublin and Barcelona on this tour!

While it gets a bit cramped with two folks in the Hot Dog Truck, I like the idea of a kid seeing other parts of the world and learning about history. I don't care if they travel to New York or Rome, the experience is priceless. My kids are lucky their high school offers educational travel as an option. I also like that my daughter's taking it upon herself to earn the money for the trip. I'll bet a lot of the kids on these tours are going on mom and dad's dime. She'll appreciate it a lot more than many of those kids since SHE earned it.

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