We Don't Walk Slow

About Tom Stortz

Enjoying my last few responsibility free years left.

Wawa vs McDonald’s Sausage Egg and Cheese

Believe it or not, I’m growing tired of the Sizzli. The convenience of making your own coffee and getting the Sizzli in a mere minute is alluring. However, like everything else, you can grow tired of the same food over and over again that I was led a quarter mile down the road to McDonalds.

I don’t eat McDonald’s often. Maybe 5 times a year. I’ve had their breakfast before though and knew I liked it. I went through the drive thru and ordered a #2 with coffee. They asked me how many sugar and creams I want in my coffee which I was caught off guard by, but my quick thinking had me order the number 1. The price was $5.61 which was about a dollar more than the Sizzli / coffee combo I am so used to. I had to buy a new router (it increased my speed from 2mbs to 10mbs, whoops) so I sat in the Walmart parking lot and chowed down the sandwich which comes with a hash brown as an extra bonus. Here’s the review:

Price

As noted above the Sizzli coffee combo is about $4.60 but does not come with a hash brown. The McDonald’s meal comes in at $5.61 which seems a tad expensive for breakfast but not going to bankrupt you. With regard to value for the meal, I vote them both the same.

Draw

Taste

The Sizzli is a solid 5. It doesn’t knock your socks off but it provides reasonable sustenance. Since I can create how much cream and sugar I want in my coffee, its more personalized to me which is a plus. I give the taste of the Wawa coffee a slight edge. The McDonald’s sandwich is a bit better. There were black chars around the English Muffin which showed it was cooked properly and the egg is tasty. I give the McDonald’s sandwich a 7. Plus the hash brown combined with ketchup is a plus.

Mcdonalds

X-Factors

The lid on McDonald’s coffee is far superior to Wawa’s. I have no idea who is in charge of the Wawa lids but once that coffee gets swishing, it’s flying out of the top and on to nearby items. My coffee holder drinks much coffee from this spillage. The McDonald’s cup has a flip tab that stays shut and can be closed into itself. The drive thru process although I initially perceived as a disadvantage, may be an advantage. You don’t even have to get out and the time difference is minimal as long as no one is in front of you.

McDonald’s

Decision

The McDonald’s meal gets the nod. It comes down to the sandwich and the McMuffin is better than the Sizzli. More compact. Less soggy because the Sizzli gets killed by the heat lamps. Better taste. I prefer the Wawa coffee but it’s not a deal breaker. The hash brown gives the full nod as well because it’s gloriously delectable and unhealthy.

By Tom Stortz|2017-05-14T08:56:15-04:00May 14th, 2017|My Brain|0 Comments

EPL Non-Playoff System Is Disgusting

I’m going to flat out say it that the English Premier League non playoff structure is why Britain lost the Revolutionary war to America.

British Stereotypes

Bad Teeth
Well mannered
Witty and intellectual (think the Wolf from Fargo)

It seems odd to say that the future determined the past but there is nothing more emblematic about the Brits than this pitiful idea that the season champs should be determined by a point structure. So you are aware of what I’m talking about, Chelsea has won the league by week 36 of 38 and these last 2 weeks are only played to see what 4 teams qualify for the Champions league and who gets relegated. They may have even clinched weeks ago, who the hell knows.

Don’t try to defend this is a good way to decide who the league champions are. I’m purposely not reading any reason why the league may do this because I don’t want to be convinced otherwise. This is a perfect example of the Brits being spineless. We here in America love the playoffs. Pressure. Do or die. The cream rises to the top. Underdogs have a chance to knock off favorites (Leicester City was a fluke). The playoff structure is so American that it defines us as a country and shows why we now have 320 million people and the British are stuck at 65 million.

As an American who is mildly entertained by the English Premier League, this concept is such a turn off that I will continue to be mildly entertained. Do you know why I know who Kelly Oubre Jr is? Because he got knocked the shit out of Kelly Olynyk in a game that was meaningful. Athletes make names for the themselves in big games. The EPL doesn’t even have a championship game! This is horseshit. Soccer loving people please comment on why I’m wrong here.

By Tom Stortz|2017-05-13T20:48:25-04:00May 13th, 2017|Sports|2 Comments

Taking it to Comcast

My bill from Comcast was $236 this month and that didn’t sit well with me. I have all the movie channels except TMC , 2 DVR HD boxes, and supposedly fast internet. I watch a decent amount of sports and HBO so it’s worth it to me. I truly have no idea how people live without this type of package. I assume they read more or just don’t know what they are missing.

My good friend Evan works Q and A at Comcast. He answers questions which sounds like a pretty needed job at Comcast. Just kidding. QA as quality assurance for their apps. He actually has nothing to do with customer support I only wanted to include a human being to make this my experience more personable.

I called up and got a customer service rep and we were reviewing my package. I asked what my internet speed should be and he said 200mbs. When he said “200mbs”, I spit out my coffee and I wasn’t even drinking any. I did a speed check while we were on the phone and it was 2.0. I moved on to demanding that he discontinue my modem rental fee as I’ve been paying for 3 years and I have to had purchased it at this point. He was giving me a hard time so I told him that I was done talking to him and I want to be transferred. He asked if I would like technical or retention first. I said what the hell does it matter, give me technical suppor.

Technical was going through my account and told me there was an ingress on my account. I was like what the fuck is that? She said that it was put on there on April 17th. I asked what year? She mildly laughed and said she would have to get a rep out to me which we scheduled for Friday. I then asked for her to patch me to retention which she did.

When the new rep got on she said they can give me the same promotion without the sports package, which I only want for Red Zone, for $164 which is $20 less than my current bundle. Then I said this to her, “If you ordered a sandwich at a restaurant, and I gave you half a sandwich, you wouldn’t pay full price, this is what is happening with my internet speed. I’m paying for 200, and your giving me 2, I would like some compensation.” She was only doing her job and gave me a $40 credit which even though minimal, at least admits they are wrong.

All that being said, it took 50 minutes, I shaved about 30 bucks a month off my bill, got the new modem and X1 boxes, and have a technician to make sure I’m getting what I pay for. If I don’t make this call, I’m sitting here in the stone age waiting 3 minutes for this blog to post.

By Tom Stortz|2017-05-13T20:04:37-04:00May 13th, 2017|My Life|1 Comment

New Music 5/13/17

Since 2 people said they read my post about what’s hot as new music, and actually liked it, I’ll continue because I stay up to date on new music. I follow the new songs every Friday, I listen to Advanced Placement on AltNation, and I check AlternativeAddiction for the latest tracks. No I don’t know the pop world that well. On to the music.

Paramore – Rose Colored Boy & Forgiveness
The new Paramore album was released and I haven’t had a chance to go through the all the tracks. I have listened to a few though and I like what I hear. I like the lyrics of “let me cry a little bit longer, I ain’t gonna smile if I don’t want to…” in Rose Colored Boy. Hayley Williams has a good voice and I like the beat. I’ll probably write about a few more as I get a chance to listen to more. I’ll add Forgiveness as a slower track that sounds nice.

Dispatch – Begin Again
4k views! Talk about an older type artist that is doing a great job distributing their music. This is the formula! Release a new track every week to give people a taste and then drop the album. This is the 3rd great track from Dispatch and I would 100% give the album a listen. Do you realize how hard it is for an artist to get people to listen to the entire album? Same type of slow build up to a flowing song which is well sung. 2 thumbs up.

Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes
On the opposite side of listens with 5 million in 4 days is the becoming over-hyped Imagine Dragons. The good news is that this song has a little more excitement to it. It sounds like Dan is caring a bit more than just churning out the songs. The sound is similar and different at the same time. Still not as original as they were when NightVisions came out but that’s just what happens when you create a popular song.

Magic Giant – Jade
For a band I’ve never heard of, this song delivers. If this group blows up, you saw it here first with 197 views on YouTube. The 2nd verse where it starts picking up with, “Hey Jade, go save the day…” is well done.

It’s not out yet but the Miley Cyrus song Malibu is not bad. The Katy Perry song Bon Appetit is fucking horrible. Good god, if she didn’t have that rack, she should be buried to stop these songs. 91k downvotes!

By Tom Stortz|2017-05-13T10:35:46-04:00May 13th, 2017|Music|0 Comments

Swing For The Fences

This goes right up there when Bovada writes, “your balance is running low” and I have $0.41. Thanks.

Aside from this little chuckle, I’ve been too busy to keep up with the blog. Jeff went away for 2 days and I’m stuck here at work. I’m not complaining, just haven’t had the time to blog. I’ll be back at it in no time.

Great music out by the way. New Paramore. The new Imagine Dragons “Whatever It Takes” is fire flames.

By Tom Stortz|2017-05-12T13:31:51-04:00May 12th, 2017|My Brain|0 Comments

Thank You Sir!

I hate writing posts like this because they make me come off like a phony. As if I’m playing the system when in fact I do this genuinely. Here’s my little trick, adding the word sir to people who aren’t normally called sir displays a sign of respect which isn’t shown nowadays. Here are some examples:

The gentleman who makes my sausage, egg, and cheese in the morning always asks if I want saltpepperketchup. I’ll reply with, “yes, please” and then a few minutes later he’ll hand me my sandwich. I like saying, “thank you, sir.” Now I guarantee he doesn’t get a lot of appreciation for his excellent sandwich making skills. I’m not saying this makes his day, but it’s noticeable.
Today I went to pick up some food and there was a man waiting to the right of the cash register. I couldn’t tell if he was waiting in line or if he was figuring out what to order. I was picking up so I went to the front ahead of him to pay. As such, he looked perturb I cut the line. Once I noticed what I did I said, “I’m sorry sir, I didn’t realize you were waiting in line, my mistake.” It’s hard to get mad at people who show the sincerity and respect like this.
The final example also happened today in the same time frame as the guy before. A woman comes rushing back in the door with here take out in hand and says, “whr R may FREE noodlz? Dey alwayz giv me may FREE noodlz!” Now her strategy also worked because she did indeed get her free noodles. Our methods of dealing with people vary slightly.

Treating people with respect isn’t rocket science. People just don’t do it so when you actually know how to, you get results.

By Tom Stortz|2017-05-10T18:38:27-04:00May 10th, 2017|My Brain|0 Comments

Back From Austin…Massachusetts

After a brief hiatus, the blog is back.

I traveled to Austin, Texas on Thursday morning for Big Steve McGrath’s bachelor party. A group of us arrived at 1ish in Austin to start with some beers and Bangers, the bar, near Rainey Street. The early restaurant experience gave a feel of a slower pace in the South from the Northeast, but overall likable people. I’m going to breeze through these days only because a complete write up at this point holds little value. Essentially most bars have outdoor patio areas, Lone Stars, and plenty of people looking to party. The first night had its array of arm wrestling contests, drunken conversations, and a bike ride back from 22nd street.

Our boat…not.

The next morning I awoke, chugged some coffee, ate a breakfast burrito, and got ready for the boat ride around Devils’s Cove on Lake Travis. We boarded a school bus that drove us 45 minutes to a lake where we had rented a party boat. Ian was encouraging a case race on the bus but the group was a bit frazzled from the night before and this wasn’t happening. Ed got Gerald some Cider’s and we killed a few cases of High Life and Tecate to set the tone. Noted that I drink beer faster than Ian.

It was a hot day and I applied sun screen to my face but not my whole body. Mistake. You’d think 5 hours on a boat with 18 bro’s would be a bit much, and it probably was. The day was perfect though and everyone enjoyed themselves. Survivor flip cup was a fun drinking game which Ian eventually lost for our team after saying, “this could be my moment”. We made sure to finish the keg on the way out and then kept drinking on the bus ride home. People were all over the place at this point and pretty exhausted. We rallied for BBQ at Cooper’s and a night at the Container bar. I called it a night around midnight but this was an all day drinkathon and people were dropping like flies towards the end.

Good picture of 6th st

On Saturday there was a street festival down 6th which made the day quite packed with people and activities. We tried to find a breakfast establishment but this was not as easy as it seems. It appears that Austin can’t serve alcohol until 11am which puts the kabash on most breakfast joints. The group found a luxuriously weird breakfast spot in the Marriot. After that we gathered together and bar hopped for the day watching the Kentucky Derby somewhere in there. The night found us rendezvousing and eventually staying out all night. Details excluded.

Death called on Sunday as we gathered to head to the airport. I’m sure everyone was feeling it at this point. I slogged through the 3 hour plane ride in an almost catatonic state that wouldn’t leave me until 8:34pm Tuesday evening as I type this post. Either way, I wouldn’t change a thing. It was a life experience I’ll never forget.

Special thanks to Ed for doing all the planning. To Ian for being a weirdo and taking the verbal abuse away from everyone else. And Steve for having a great group of friends. Til next time.

By Tom Stortz|2017-05-09T20:48:30-04:00May 9th, 2017|My Life|0 Comments

Pliny the Elder

Yesterday I had the opportunity to consume the beer called Pliny the Elder at North Bowl. I’m going to assume most of you have never heard of Pliny the Elder. I was recently introduced to this beer when I was traveling bar to bar with a friend and we went to Jose Pistola’s who has a long list of Russian River beers. We started asking how beers can be priced at $18 ea and this topic lead to Pliny. We were told that when Monk’s had it tapped, there was a line around the street. Of course this piqued my interest now that it was a block away from where I lived.

North Bowl opened at 5 and I figured I’d get there early and hope there wasn’t a line. To my surprise, no one was there. I ordered this 8.0% ABV double IPA for $5.50 and drank the first one in about 10 minutes. I ordered a 2nd one and bowled 5 games. After bowling, I drank 2 more and went home. I had a pretty good buzz. To speak to the beer itself, it is quite smooth for an 8%. I would have guessed it was 5%. It’s quite smooth but I found myself full after 4. I couldn’t actually drink a 5th one without moving passed buzz to super buzzed. For $5.50, the price was right and I enjoyed the beer.

Follow rnningfool

I’ll note that I did go here by myself which as I get older is becoming less odd. There are numerous people who I could have asked to go, but I’m 99% sure everyone would have said no and I wasn’t passing up the chance to try a rare beer. I posted a few Snaps as well which are viewed by 20 total people. C’mon people, wake up, and follow me on Snapchat for entertaining updates. I guarantee more than 20 of you read this post.

By Tom Stortz|2017-05-03T16:21:09-04:00May 3rd, 2017|My Life|0 Comments

Here’s a Warm Message Ori Fire-Bush

Most people will have little interest in this story if you aren’t living in Philly, but for those who do, pay attention.

Here is a sign posted in Point Breeze.

What happened last night was 11 houses in Point Breeze being damaged or destroyed by fire at 20th and Wharton. Shocker to know that Ori Feibush is the owner. If you don’t suspect arson, you don’t have a career as a detective.

Why are the “black and brown people” so upset that their area is becoming nicer?

If they own – their property taxes will start to increase
If they rent – their rent will start to increase

The original residents, believe it or not, want their place to be a shit hole. This keeps the property value down.

Here is the best comment on why this is not the appropriate way to handle this.

“Smash Gentry Scum”? Really? Can you imagine the moral outrage in Philly if similarly worded posters went up up in mostly White neighborhoods targeting Blacks and Hispanics. There would be a crescendo of outrage. This poster is racist, offensive and plain obnoxious. Fuck the people behind it.

Tough situation going on. The lower income folk being pushed out against their will. The developers want to create a nicer space to live. Both sides can’t be happy.

Here is an article from back in February about a meeting about the scenario.

A community meeting in a gentrifying neighborhood of Philadelphia was forced to end abruptly after local activists hurled anti-Semitic comments at Jewish real estate developers.
At the Feb. 22 meeting in Point Breeze, in South Philadelphia, activists with Concerned Citizens of Point Breeze yelled “Go back to Israel!” and other insults at developers who were making presentations, Philly.com reported.
“This was not one person with a screw loose. This was a mob mentality,” Ori Feibush, a local developer who is Jewish but was not presenting at the meeting, told Philly.com.
One witness, who asked not to be identified, told Philly.com he heard someone shout “Go back to Lakewood,” a town in New Jersey with a large concentration of Orthodox Jews.
It was not clear from the reporting how many of the developers presenting at the meeting were Jewish or if any were Israeli, but Philly.com said at least one was wearing a kippah. Feibush, according to the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent, has dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship, but grew up in and still lives in the Philadelphia area.
The meeting was adjourned after the head of the organization hosting the meeting learned of the anti-Semitic comments, but participants continued to shout at one another outside.
Concerned Citizens leaders, many of them African-American, have clashed with Feibush and other developers before, voicing concerns that new developments will displace lower-income minority residents from the neighborhood.
“This is not an isolated incident,” Feibush told the Exponent. “There’s been a crescendo over the last several years. But this was incredibly antagonistic. No ambiguity: This was 100 percent anti-Semitism.”
City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson said that while past meetings concerning gentrification have “become heated,” it “never rose to this level of disrespect.”
Johnson, who was not at the meeting but heard about it from an aide who was attending, added that “those comments — whether anti-Semitic or racial — are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
Attempts by the Jewish Exponent and Philly.com to reach the Concerned Citizens group for comment were unsuccessful. The group did, however, issue a strongly worded email denying its members had made anti-Semitic comments.

By Tom Stortz|2017-05-01T13:24:30-04:00May 1st, 2017|My Brain|3 Comments

New Music – 5/1/17

I look forward to New Music Friday’s. Artists have adapted to releasing a single on a weekly basis and you develop a connection to the artist’s newest work. That being said, this past week was a load of fire flames jams. You can stay up to date with these if you follow my Spotify playlist but I know you won’t.

One Republic – No Vacancy
No Vay-Can-Cee. I’m not sure if it’s the way Ryan Tedder says vacancy but this song delivers hard. The beat is sick and the lyrics accompany it excellently.

Imagine Dragons – Thunder
If we are being honest, all of Imagine Dragons songs are starting to run together. Big drum in the background. Nice choruses. Words that mean virtually nothing. I’m including this not as my favorite, but because it was released.

Dispatch – Curse & Crush
I was floored by the past Dispatch song Only the Wild Ones which is getting no play time anywhere. This song has the Dispatch feel and the build is great to the chorus. A fun song to listen to.

Foster the People – Doing It for the Money
Foster released 3 new songs and I found this one to be the easiest to listen to. Same sound as before and the chorus is catchy.

Sylvan Esso – The Glow
I actually listened to the entire Sylvan Esso album after hearing this sound and was underwhelmed. Die Young and Radio have been played on the Radio and they are OK, but this song was my favorite.

Lady Gaga – The Cure
Everyone knows about Lady Gaga at this point. Her huge range from pop, to whatever she does with Tony Bennett, to successful song after successful song isn’t going anywhere. She will forever be in the limelight whereas you see Katy Perry flopping with her mediocre skills.

Prides – What’s Love Got To Do With It
Not on YouTube so you can hear it on Spotify. Listen to this cover of Tina Turner’s song. It’s an absolute banger of a cover.

Also MisterWives Drummer Boy and Paramore’s Hard Times are worth listening to, but they were out last week.

By Tom Stortz|2017-05-01T10:44:54-04:00May 1st, 2017|Music|0 Comments