From the yearly archives:

2008

This Job's A Real Wiener!

by Alan Rider

“Man, I wish I had your job!”   I get that a lot.  And while I readily admit that publishing XTRORD.com is as close to a dream gig as I’m ever likely to get, I have to say that I was briefly tempted to chuck it all when I heard the folks at Oscar Mayer are taking applications to drive the Wienermobile. 
The year-long assignment sounds pretty simple.  “Hotdoggers,” as the company’s goodwill ambassadors are called, get paid to drive one of six 27-foot-long four-wheeled hot dogs around to promotional events within an assigned territory.  Every few months hotdoggers get rotated to a different part of the country for a little change [...]

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What's On Your List?

by Alan Rider

If you could do anything you wanted—anything in the world—what would it be?
It’s a question I’ve asked myself periodically over the years.  One that has repeatedly led to some truly extraordinary experiences and altogether positive new directions in my life.  Like XTRORD.com, for instance.
So imagine my surprise when I discovered SuperViva.com, a website that lets you create your own “life list” of things you’ve always wanted to do.  If you need inspiration, the site allows you to check out  other folks’ lists, which is how I discovered SuperViva founder Susie Wyshak and I have both always wanted to attend Spain’s La Tomatina festival.  If there are “must-do” items on your [...]

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Spray-On Testosterone?

by Alan Rider

Maybe you’re a classy guy who likes the idea of having your own signature scent, but you’re not sure you wanna drop big bucks to create your own custom fragrance.  Or maybe you’re a more rough-and-tumble type who’s bummed because your favorite biker bar has gone smoke-free, making it just that much tougher to soak up that rugged “Wild Thing” aroma that’s become your trademark.
Either way, my friends at Rider Warehouse (alas, no relation) have you covered with what they’re calling Manly Man Cologne.  This quasi-mystical concoction is said to contain actual smells of whiskey and cigars to give you that “get-outta-my-way-wimp” aura without the pesky drawbacks that come with [...]

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A "Twilight" Tour You Can Sink Your Teeth Into!

by Alan Rider

I’ll admit right off that I have a hard time taking the whole vampire thing too seriously.  Probably has something to do with the fact that the first image that pops into my mind when I think of vampires is comedian Joe Flaherty’s recurring  “Count Floyd” character from the old SCTV series.
But, then again, I’m not a teenage girl (or a middle-aged woman, for that matter).  If I was, I might be as gaga over the new Twilight movie as these young ladies.
If you’ve got an equally vampire-smitten female in your house, you might want to check out the new Twilight Movie Fan Trips from the folks at Beyond Boundaries [...]

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What's New This Week on XTRORD.com

by Alan Rider

It’s been a busy autumn around here as I crossed the continent to squeeze in a few more extraordinary experiences before the flakes started to fly.  Here’s a quick look:
Digging Deep
C’mon, tell the truth.  You’ve driven by a construction site and secretly wondered what it’d be like to be out there tearing it up at the controls of a 10-ton bulldozer or tracked excavator.  Well, my friend, here’s your chance to do just that.
Sweet Smells
Walk by any department store fragrance counter and you’ll find dozens of “signature scents” hawked by all kinds of minor celebrities.  My advice?  Unless you really want to smell like thousands of other people, keep right [...]

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Possession Obsession

by Alan Rider

When it comes to our compulsive urge to find fulfillment by buying a bunch of expensive crap we really don’t need, I think my man Hank said it best:
 

“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.” 
 —Henry David Thoreau

 
In other words, I’m convinced we’d all be a lot better off if we could just lose this idea that having the “right” possessions will make us happy once-and-for-all.  Personally, I feel fortunate to be in a place in my life where there just aren’t that many things out there that I really need or even want  (a quality which, I’ll admit, drives my wife [...]

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The Upside of the Downturn?

by Alan Rider

Talking with a friend who’d just been laid off from his job last week reminded me of a quote a wise man planted in my brain in the dark days after my near-fatal motorcycle accident:
 

That which does not kill me makes me stronger.
—Friedrich Nietzsche

Those words and the personal belief that grew out of them over the past two decades—that good things can come from even the most difficult times in our lives—seem especially appropriate today. 
Whether the current economic downturn has affected you directly or not, there’s no denying that it’s making an awful lot of people take a step back and consider what’s really important in their lives.  Which, as [...]

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