The Retro Dad

When I was suffering from a chest cold last winter, I told a couple of my work mates that I would give anything for a quick 40 winks.  While one of them chuckled, the other was perplexed by the phrase.  He of course was a wee lad of twenty something, and wasn't familiar with the term. The term "40 winks" was a widely used phrase when I was growing up.  It simply refers to taking a short nap (somewhere other than bed) that would roughly be equivalent to forty blinks of your eyes.  Of course.. no one really believed that said nap would in fact be that short, which made the phrase in itself kind of humorous.  This is because many of the folks who used this phrase most often, and would always push that nap well beyond a mere 40 winks. For instance, when staying over at my Grandparents house, I would often let my Grandfather know I was going to head out to the local 7-11 to get a Slurpee or a snack, and he would reply with "That's fine, I'm just goin...

I was near my old stomping grounds in Fort Collins Colorado recently, and took a moment to take this picture. The old Foothills Twin Theatre in Fort Collins, Colorado Back when my family moved to Fort Collins in the 70s, this was one of the only movie theaters in town besides the two Drive-In theaters within city limits .  In its heyday, this was a two screen theater, and was always buzzing with activity. As you can see.. the building has long since been anything but a movie theater.  The last tenants (a tire shop) modified the building in the late 90s, and installed garage doors on both sides of the building.  The building as it sits would not even resemble an old theater if not for the faded marquee that was never removed from the building facade. I stopped not only to snap this picture, but also took a quick walk around the front of the building to reminisce.  My old man took me to see STAR WARS at this theater among many other classics throughout the...

This an older article I'm moving here from one of my other blogs.  Enjoy.. About 5 years ago, my good friend "Doc" Moore e-mailed me during his vacation in Japan. Knowing of my fast food fanaticism, he wrote to inform me about a new hamburger that McDonald's was promoting overseas called "The MEGA MAC." This hamburger was just like the regular Big Mac, but with four beef patties instead of two.  He told me he planned on trying one, and promised me details and pictures of his adventure as soon as he got back to the states. I quickly checked the McDonald's web-site to see if there was any chance that the promotion would be heading to the U.S. The web-site had no information on the MEGA MAC, so all I could do was send their customer service department an e-mail, and wait for a response. A couple of days later, Doc e-mailed me and confirmed that he had in fact dined on the massive "Mega Mac", and sent me details and pictures for all to s...

On one of my last retro treasure hunts at the second hand store, I came across a few items that took me on a nice trip down memory lane.  Check out what I found.. My grandfather had one of these lighted magnifying gizmos that he used to read the bible and numerous publications with.  This must date back to the 60s or 70s from what I gather.  Close inspection shows that this one had never been used.  A steal at $1.49, I went ahead and snatched it up.  While I won't be using it to read, I do have plans on using it for some of my hobbies like model building, bicycle restoration, and working on electronics.  My mother bought me all manner of Avon cologne over the years when I was a kid.  I remember my brother and some of my friends owning Avon chess piece decanters like the ones above back in the 70s.  I couldn't believe there were multiple unopened sets of these decanters in one of the thrift stores I visited.  I'm thinking the...

by Darrin Vindiola Beer connoisseurs rejoice! It’s International Beer Day on Friday.. August 7th. Regardless if you’re a die-hard micro-brewed IPA fan, or would rather sip on a cold can of domestic beer, leading language learning app Babbel wants people to come together and celebrate beer culture from all over the world.  Check out this handy graphic below.. If you need a little help pronouncing the above toasts, the list below should help.. English – Cheers! German – Prost! French – Santé! Italian – Cin cin! Portuguese – Saúde! Spanish – ¡Salud! Swedish – Skål! Danish – Skål! Dutch – Proost! Norwegian – Skål! Polish – Na zdrowie! Turkish – Şerefe! Russian – За здоровье! (English transcription: Za zdaróvye! ) Hope this list provided courtesy of Babbel, helped to expand your beer drinking mind!  If you are interested in seeing what Babbel is all about, and want to learn abo...

Yes folks.. another Carl's Jr. post. I promise I'm not on their payroll or anything like that. It's just that circumstances had me dining there more than usual this summer. And.. when I eat something utterly delicious, I often like to blab about it to anyone who will listen. That being said, meet my new go-to breakfast sandwich in Northern Colorado.. The Grilled Pork Chop, Egg & Cheese Biscuit from Carl's Jr. and Hardee's! People are used to enjoying bacon, sausage or ham for breakfast but pork chops have been a rare treat until now. The new Grilled Pork Chop, Egg & Cheese Biscuit, is available now at all participating Carl’s Jr.® and Hardee’s® restaurants. The savory new breakfast sandwich features a grilled, boneless, pepper-crusted pork chop, fluffy folded egg and a slice of melting American cheese, served on the chains’ award-winning, freshly-baked Made from Scratch™ buttermilk biscuits, baked fresh inside the restaurants every day. I swear...

In case you've been under a rock and haven't heard.. UFC fighter “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey’s epic title fight from last weekend is burning up the internet. On the heels of her awesome brawl and major win, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's has announced that Ronda and her amazing knock out, will be Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s newest commercial star! Debuting in just a matter of weeks, "Rowdy" fans will surely be keeping their eyes peeled for this newest Carl's and Hardee's promotion!