I love skateboarding. I got my first board in middle school and have been hooked on it ever since. I really wish that I had gotten my start at a younger age though, as I feel like I would have been more comfortable with falling and scraping myself up. I'm not great at it, but I have a lot of fun and am better than most people. It's definitely a fun activitity, but let me tell you, I've had some gnarly spills through the years. 

My elbows and knees are certainly permantly scarred from all of the wipeouts, but the worst injury I've incurred was spraining my ankle. I have actually done it several times to the same ankle, and it's always from attempting flat ground tricks like a shove-it. Sometimes I'll  be walking and will take a step in the wrong way and will just crumble to the ground. That's why I prefer high top shoes with some support, these days. 

On a skateboard, there's a variety of different styles in which you can ride. There's vert where you skate big ramps at skateparks, street/flat ground where you do tricks, and cruising where you just push around and travel. I've never been great at tricks; the best I can reliably do is an ollie. I would love nothing more than to be able to grind a handrail. In terms of vert, I'm not half bad at it. I can drop in, do rock n' rolls, etc. What I've spent the most time doing is cruising, especially when I was in college. I would ride every day and everywhere, through the rain and even snow, but the university's rough sidewalks often did a good job of throwing me off my board. 

A big part of crusing is finding big hills to ride down, and I've had some scary times doing so. The absolute worst feeling I've experienced is known as the "speed wobbles," where you lose control of your board at high speeds. There's just about nothing you can do aside from hanging on and sending up a quick prayer, and thankfully I've never been launched off my board from them but I have come way too close. Speed wobbles are awful, but that's not what led me to quit hill bombing. 

My friend and I used to go around the neighorhoods looking for the biggest and steepest hills to test ourselves on, and one time we were somewhere unfamiliar. We asked a passing car about a decline we were approaching, and the driver assured us it was relatively chill. Boy was she wrong! It started out fine but got progressively steeper, and I missed my opportunity to bail before I realized what we were coming up on. Going just about as fast as I ever have on a skateboard, I flew through a stop sign into a 45mph road without a stop. Cars swerved and slammed on their brakes, and thank goodness they did or else I may not be here writing this today. So yeah, that was enough of that for me. Never again will I go down a hill that I can't see the bottom of, at least. 

I could write ten blogs about skateboarding and still have more to say. There's all the parks I have been to in the area and my thoughts on them, there's different types of skate gear like shoes and decks I could discuss, there's skate culture/history, etc. I'll save those topics for another time, and for now what I would like to leave you with is this: encourage kids to skateboard! It's a great way to get them moving and having fun, there's many places to do so (though never enough), and it brings people together. Start 'em young too. There's a rising problem with children getting too much screen time and not being outside and active enough, and I believe skateboarding is one solution to this issue. Thanks for reading!

This past weekend was another good one for me, and I am happy to have gotten to do most everything I had wanted to. On Friday my friend Ryan came over to hang, and we did some mountain biking in my woods, among other stuff. It was great to get some physical activity in whilst having fun, and as the weather cools off I intend to get back into biking more often. I felt uncomfortable on some of the really steep hills and on the jumps, but that's pretty much a constant for me regardless of how long it has been. 

Anyways, Friday night, I went over to my girlfriend's place. The evening prior, we attended the Jake Owen concert, and we were both whooped resultingly. It was nice to just get some Netflix-and-Chill time in, and I'd be surprised if I was up past 9pm. That early night helped me to recharge for Saturday, and on that day I did quite a bit. 

My Saturday began on a good note, as we decided to get some breakfast at the local joint, Molly Brown's Country Cafe. I tore up a coffee, some scrambled eggs, a big ol' slab of ham, some hash potatoes, and some toast. It was delicious, and I think I have been sleeping on this place for sure. There are a few options on breakfast places in my area, but I'm thinking Molly Brown's might have won me over. 

After breakfast, I headed back towards my place to ready my boat. The big plan for the day was to be out on the lake, and alongside three of my friends, I spent the afternoon putting around having a good time. Something about being out there on the water beneath the sun makes me so tired, and with my sleep deficit from the week before, I was ready to drop by mid-afternoon. We ended up making a stop at a lakeside bar to get some lunch, and soon thereafter returned to the boat launch to call it a day. 

After boating, I needed a nap. I got a good two hours in and jumped right back into a weekend of fun. My friends returned to my place to join me in a bonfire, and the weather that night was practically perfect.  I could not have asked for a better time, and as the night progressed, my buddy Jesse asked me if I would like to come back over to his place. I obliged, and we ended up staying up for hours playing video games, before crashing around 4 or 5am. 

In the morning, I went back home and had some more delicious coffee. Sundays tend to be the day I do chores and rest for the upcoming week, so I really did nothing noteworthy aside from watching a little week one NFL football. Let's go Brownies! I'm so proud. I love my hometeam and will root for them up until the point it conflicts with the interests of my favorite team. I'm a Dolfan, and have rooted for the 'Phins my whole life. Truthfully, I have mostly just rooted against the Patriots forever. Of course, as soon as Brady left and they fell from the top, the Bills had to become a powerhouse, but this may be a topic for another blog. 

I just wanted to share with you a little synopsis of my weekend, as it really was a good one. I even saw the Goodyear blimp over the lake whilst boating! My only complaint is that the time flew by so quickly, but I guess that's how it is when you're having fun. I hope you had a good weekend as well, and if you're looking for plans this upcoming weekend, WQMX has got some for you! Sarah Kay will be at the Dusty Armadillo Friday night from 9-11pm for their Friday Night Live, and she'll be back on Sunday from 3-5pm for another Sunday Funday, with prizes and Dusty tickets for both. 

There are also three seperate concerts happening Saturday. Brandi Carlile is playing Blossom, Hardy is performing alongside Lainey Wilson at the Covelli Centre, and Chris Cagle will be hitting the stage at the Dusty Armadillo as part of their concert series. You can snag tickets for that last one and see who's all playing there this fall on their website, DustyA.com. On top of all of this, Jason Aldean's makeup date for Blossom is also this weekend, on Sunday. It's bound to be another nice weekend, and I hope you have a great week until then!

I've been looking forward to the Jake Owen show in Cleveland for months now, and Thursday evening, it finally happened. Let me tell you, it was an awesome concert that was well worth the wait! He did not disappoint me one bit, and the crowd seemed to carry the same sentiment and excitement as I did. 

Doors were opened around 6pm, and we made it up to the Agora around 6:45 or so, and I am thankful that we did. The opening act was called Dave's Highway, and they were super cool. It was a trio of three siblings (two sisters and a brother) who sang beautiful melodies paired with a single acoustic guitar played very well by the brother. They sounded bigger than they looked on stage, if you know what I mean. I'll be looking into their music more, as I liked what I heard!

Next up was Tyler Booth, and he came in hitting hard with his song 87 Octane. Compared to the first band, this act was loud and had the energy cranked up. Tyler was dancing around the stage clearly having fun, and the crowd soon thereafter was also compelled by the music, just buzzing with excitement. I could see this band playing somewhere like The Dusty Armadillo and just blowing the roof off the place. They played for roughly the same amount of time as the first act, for about 30 minutes each. Tyler Booth was a perfect warmup for Jake Owen, and the audience was more than hyped for the headliner come the end of their performance. 

Jake Owen was as good as they get in concert. He played all the songs I wanted to hear, and the band sounded great. He did stop the show at one point to explain how he has been under the weather and almost had to cancel the event, but up until that point I didn't notice any issues with his vocals. Sick or not, Jake Owen was on point singing. My favorite one of the evening had to have been Down to the Honkytonk, but they really did not play a bad song. (Not that he even has any.)

The Agora was a super cool venue and it was my first time there. I'd say it is similar to the Goodyear Theatre here in Akron, if you're familiar. It was easy to get to, and the traffic in Cleveland was a breeze with it being a Thursday night without any other major events like a ball game going on. I'd definitely go back, and if you would like a chance to see a show there, you're in luck! WQMX is giving away tickets to see Warren Zeiders perform on September 21st with our Winner's Weekend. Keep it tuned through Sunday night for your chance to snag a pair of tickets, and be listening for your cue to call in to win! 

I enjoy writing my longer blogs, but for this one, I figure it would be cool to do a little ranking. If you like this, maybe I will do a top ten on a different topic each week. I think what inspired to make this list was an out-of-the-blue craving for Skittles on my way into work tonight, and thankfully there's some in the vending machine here.

For a little side note as you go down, if you are curious as to why there is no chocolate on this list, it is because I don't like it. Yeah, I know... how? Well, the best I can figure is that it was in response to something that happened when I was a small child. Allegedly, I stuck an M&M up my nose and sucked it in. The hospital told my mom to just let it melt down my throat, and looking back, I don't think that was a fun time. Anyways, here is the list!

 10. Skittles

9. Big League Chew 

8. Sour Patch Kids (Grape)

7. Bigfoot Blue Raspberry Chews 

6. Life Saver Big Ring Gummies

5. Airheads

4. Starburst GummiBursts

3. Hi-Chew

2. Chewy Spree

1. Welch's Fruit Snacks (Concord Grape)

For as long as I can remember, I've loved cars. Likewise, I have had a lifelong love for all sorts of video games. Naturally, I love a good car racing game, and I have recently been getting back into playing them during my down time. Lately I have been messing around with Forza Horizon 5 tuning cars and doing some races, and it is a lot of fun. The physics behind this game, in combination with the huge map, plethora of cars, sweet graphics, and extensive custimization options of the vehicles make for a fun time playing. It's surely an entertaining way to spend an afternoon, but my heart lies with older games- specifically those on the PlayStation 2 console.

My all time favorite racing game is Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, and I've easily spent thousands of hours of my life playing it. This may be a hot take, but there is no title from that era that even comes close to the perfection of this game, racing themed or otherwise. Gran Turismo's slogan is "The Real Driving Simulator," and it holds up to that. Unlike Forza Horizon, Gran Turismo is soley a track based game, without an open-world or offroad terrain. Additionally, GT3 lacks online competition, whereas Horizon 5 is a relatively current title which maintains that interactive element and promotes online features. Where GT3 wins out is in its splitscreen two-player compatability, and I love playing side-by-side with my friends. It's apples to oranges trying to compare these two games directly, but truly they are both great. 

I haven't played any of the newer Gran Turismos past 4 as I do not have a Playstation beyond the 2, but I'm sure they're awesome. Of course I have more advanced and visually appealing games than GT3, but they just don't hit the same. I would say it is the nostalgia factor, but I have consistently played this game for the last fifteen plus years, and it is unlike any other PS2 game I have. I just love it. 

I can't write a blog about racing games without mentioning Mario Kart. There are many iterations of the series, but the one that sticks with me was made for the DS. I vividly remember playing it on the bus with my classmates during long rides for fieldtrips and the like. I'm a Yoshi guy through and through. It's fun, but I consider it more of a party game, without much depth to it. A special shoutout has to go out to Crash Nitro Kart on the PS2. 

Apparently there is a new movie out called "Gran Turismo", and it seems pretty cool. If you remember the movie "Pixels," it involved translating video game skills into a real world setting, and this one seems to follow a similar general theme. The movie is based on the true story of a racecar driver, who beat the odds and rose from being just a sim racer to driving for a factory team professionally. Check out the link below if you would like to see the trailer for it, and game on! 

Gran Turismo: Official Trailer (2023) David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe - YouTube

I just can't wait to get on the boat again! Seriously, I am so excited to be back out on the water after too many days apart from it. Our pickup truck was down and out with a bad transmission line, but it is now back and better than ever, ready to pull the trailer wherever I need to launch. 

I'm very aware that my time on the boat the season is coming to an end, and I'm planning to make the most of it while I still can. There's a ton of stuff that still needs done in terms of restoring the vessel, but my philosophy this season has been to just run it. I put a ton of work into getting the boat water-ready at the beginning of the summer, and now, it is just time to enjoy it! I do need to readjust the controls, as it was running weirdly at anything above idle speed on my last adventure, but hey at least it runs. 

I consider this boat endeavor a complete success if I make it through the season without anything major breaking, such as the old Suzuki two-stroke motor we took a gamble upon. Additionally, my main priority is to avoid sinking the boat- or worse, the truck. I heard about both of these nighmare scenarios happening to locals this year with a Jeep apparently going in whilst launching, as well as a boat sinking to the bottom. I saw the recovery video of the boat, and as bad as this sounds thought, "Well at least I don't have the worst boat out there." Mine is rough around the edges, but it holds. 

The boat itself is a 1958 Magnolia, made from fiberglass. It's truly a classic, and even has fins reminiscent of a 1956 Bel Air, as well as other period stylstic touches  like the steering wheel. It is not set in stone, but I really enjoy the name "Sweetbay" for the boat, as sweetbay is a variety of the magnolia plant. It is a nice little play on words with the nautical nod in bay. Corny boat names always make me laugh, but I'm thinking Sweetbay is going to stick. 

Whatever you call it, I love my boat. I don't have a radio in it yet, so I make sure to always have my Bluetooth speaker charged and ready to crank the tunes. You already know I've got it locked on WQMX, and you too can listen any time and anywhere with ease. It's Your Country: on the radio tuned to 94.9 FM, here on our website under the listen live tab, on our mobile app, and even on your smart speaker at home! 

I can hardly believe that we are already in September! Summer went by as quickly as it always does, and despite my excitement for all things fall, I am totally dreading the cold weather that's on its way. On the plus side, it is about that time when I can bust out all of my favorite flannels, sweaters, jackets, and hoodies. Right now I'm actually in my cozy WQMX hoodie, and I just love being able to layer my clothes and have more options when dressing.

Ironically, for this first week of September we are expecting some hot days with highs in the upper 80's. I expect nothing less when it comes to Ohio weather. I'm personally just hoping we actually have a decent fall season where the days are in the 60's for more than like a week; maybe it's just me, but I feel like we really did not even have a spring this year. It just jumped from winter to summer in my opinion, and I'm really hoping that it doesn't do that again with fall and essentially skip the season. Additionally, looking ahead, I sure hope we actually get some snow this winter too. I usually make decent money from plowing driveways with my quad, but last year I felt robbed of that opportunity. On top of that, if it's going to be cold, it had might as well be pretty outside!

I have so many hobbies, from fishing to skateboarding to playing video games, and one that I tend to overlook is disc golfing. My uncle, who was big in the disc golf community back in the day, introduced me to the sport as a kid and I've had a lot of fun going out and doing it ever since. I have tons of discs and no excuses for how little I have gone out to play this season; I hate to admit it, but I think I went out substaintially more this past winter than I did in this summer. Whoops!

I get this bug where I just want to do one of my hobbies and nothing else for months at a time sometimes, and the story is the same for disc golf as it has been riding my mountain bike or playing my bass guitar. I did however just yesterday take my bike into the shop to be repaired, so I am excited to get back into that. I simply go through these phases, and right now I'm heavily into riding/working on my powersports and vehicles. Last year I spent months training and honing-in on my shots for disc golf and even competed in a few amateur competitions, but the desire to do that comes and goes.

If you're not familiar with what disc golf is, I'm sure you understand the basic concept behind the gameplay of traditional ball golf, and it's not much different at all. Instead of going for a hole in the ground, we go for a basket with chains about a yard up into the air, and instead of clubs we use discs. You still tee off, have strokes, and utilize the par system. Most courses I have played are about 3-5 shots for par on each hole. There are different discs for different purposes, and the three basic categories from furthest to least range are drivers, mid-range discs, and putters. On top of the different discs, there's different ways to throw the same disc to make it fly differently, and it is fun to experiment with all the combinations to figure out what works best for you.

There's a few variations on how to play, and my favorite is Doubles, where alongside your teammate, you compete against another duo to get the lowest number of strokes on a nine or eighteen hole course. We typically take the best shot on each throw, essentially giving a team two attempts at each shot instead of the single attempt a player would get shooting solo. Resultingly, playing doubles with a competent partner should lead to a significantly lower score (better) than playing alone, as well as a quicker game.

Discs come and go, and I have found many more than I have lost. The rule of thumb is that if you find a disc without contact information on the flipside to return it to the owner, you're good to keep it. With that, I'd advise you to put your name and number on any disc you care about. From time to time I will actually take my canoe out and search in the lake for discs, and with some holes bordering the water, I always come back with a couple. Some people will do this regularly and resell what they find, but I do it primarily to compesate for the ones I lose and also for the genuine fun of the discovery and recovery. It also helps to keep the lake clean!

Most discs are in the $10+ range new, and used go for about half of that. The Quonset Hut in Canton is my favorite place to shop for new discs, and I'd recommend Play It Again Sports for cheaper used ones. Some places sell starter kits for a deal, which include three discs: a putter, mid-range, and driver. That's not a bad option if you're just getting into it, and compared to the cost of traditional golf, disc golf is super inexpensive. I've never been to a course that charges anything to play there, and most tournaments are well below the $50 mark. There are many people who volunteer their time and effort to maintain the courses and organize events, and to those who do this, I say thank you!

So long as you get a legit disc golf disc and not some toy Frisbee type thing, there isn't really a bad brand of discs. Innova is the industry standard, making some really solid discs in a variety of plastics and styles. Discraft is another great brand, and together these two companies produce probably nine out of ten discs you'll see out on the course. I'm not exclusive to any one brand, but I prefer purple discs.

Courses I would recommend include the Portage Lakes State Park, Wingfoot Lake State Park, Massillon, The Arboratum in Canton, and Boettler Park. Boettler especially is a great one for amatuers with an easy to follow course, relatively short holes, and a low likelyhood of losing discs. Ultimately, It's all about being outside, having fun with friends, and getting the body moving. Whether you're birdie-ing every tee or unable to hit the side of a barn, disc golf a fun activity for all!

Not one, but two supermoons in one month? That's right, we began and will end the month of August this year with some amazing celestrial spectacles in the night sky! This time around, it is considered a blue moon, and unfortunately, it is not actually blue... disappointing, I know. It is still pretty sweet though, as this full moon will be as close to the earth as they get. This means the moon will appear slightly larger and brighter than usual, acting as a big nightlight up there, illuminating the ground in its eerie hue. It's the closest full moon we'll see this year, and it is very special for a few other reasons too. 

So, keep your eyes on the skies Wednesday night into Thursday, as this blue supermoon should (hopefully) be visible starting around 9:30pm on the 30th.  Looking at the weather, the NOAA is predicting partly cloudy skies in our area for the overnight, so it's 50/50 odds at the time of writing this. I'm optimistic, and worst case scenario I'll check it out on Thursday with the clear sky forecasted, as the casual stargazer like me apparently cannot tell the difference anyways. 

This full moon is also known as the Sturgeon moon, since fishing is traditionally considered bountiful at this point in the year. Some nighttime catfishing sure sounds like a lot of fun in the glow of a supermoon. For this one in particular, the moon will make a close approach to the planet Saturn, also. If you've got a telescope gathering dust in the corner, this is the time to set it up, if ever. It has been over two years since the last one, and our next isn't until May of 2026. Further, the next blue supermoon is not expected until 2037! So yeah, this is pretty significant. I mean... it's once in a blue moon, right? 

Special shoutout goes to blue moon ice cream, one of my all-time favorite flavors. Maybe I'll get one later on today to celebrate the occasion! 

I recently encountered some news online that I am excited to share with you. Hefty, the trash bag company, has officially relaunched the iconic Zoo Pals paper plate product. I'm personally stoked, and if I could, I would eat every meal off of these. 

Sadly, the hype around the return of such an iconic and culturally defining product has caused Zoo Pals to become out of stock and currently unavailable. It is unclear if or when they will be back in stock, but you know I will be checking in periodically to find out and order some for myself. 

My first (and potentially the only) meal I would eat from these plates would be the one I had countless times in my past: mac n' cheese, baked beans, and cut-up hotdogs with a slice of American cheese melted on top. No bun. Top it all off with some ketchup and lots of salt and pepper, and that's some good eats right there. 

Looking at the pictures of them, there are a few styles of Zoo Pals I do not distinctly remember, like the lady bug nor the bear. I assume they are still the same designs as were sold when I was a youngster, but maybe they changed a few. I wouldn't know the difference; they are the B-tier options anyways. I can say there are a few I used to fight over eating off of, and although there are some great options like the duck or the frog, my all-time favorite has to be the whale! 

The return of the Zoo Pals has been long awaited, and the memes about it keep cracking me up. Maybe it is just the golden hue of revisting artifacts from when I was a little kid, but I feel like I need some Zoo Pals in my life just about now. I've been tossing around ideas for other blogs about products that are no longer available or that were brought back after a long hiatus (only to be different and inferior to how they were). 

With that I have to ask, what's something that used to be around that you wish would come back? Or would you rather leave it in the past for fear it would be different than how you remember it? For me, no contest, it is the Mad Dog Dub Edition Monster Energy drink from like 2010 era. It came in a purple can and tasted like heaven, and I would pay an astronomical amount to have one again. 

Here's a link to the Hefty webpage: https://www.hefty.com/products/tableware/zoo-pals-plates