11 awesome reasons why you should embark on an adventure travel trip as soon as possible

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The concept of "adventure travel" is a relatively recent trend that is gaining in popularity among Americans. It is loosely defined as a trip to an exotic locale where at least part of your agenda involves physical activity like hiking, climbing,…

My Top 10 Dad Tips for Incoming College Freshmen

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In a few short weeks, our youngest son, Pete, will be heading off to college. It’s one of those huge milestones in the life of both child and parent, and everybody is just a little freaked out. My do-gooder wife, Holly, is freaked out over…

The Top 10 Awkward Pre-School Moments for Dads

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Fatherhood is a lot easier in theory than in practice. Prior to actually meeting and interacting with their first kid, most first-time fathers imagine themselves as a combination of Sheriff Andy Taylor from “The Andy Griffith Show” and…

My Top 10 Reasons Why Bohemian Rhapsody Might Be the Greatest Rock Song Ever

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When word began spreading across social media that a biopic was being made about Queen singer Freddie Mercury, I was excited. It seemed to have the makings of something great and any movie that takes me back to the ‘70s is OK by me. (It is…

The Top 6 Ways to Cope When Your Teenager Drives Solo the First Time

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The day that your teenager gets their driver’s license and drives a substantial distance solo for the first time is interesting for a parent. There are other adjectives I could’ve chosen other than “interesting.” Appropriate choices would also be horrifying, terrifying, nauseating, and post-traumatic-stress inducing.

The Top 6 Ways for Dads to Avoid Pissing Off Their Teenaged Daughters

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Few things in life are more confusing and scary for a dad than a teenaged daughter. It's just true. When our daughters are cooing babies, Dads develop an idealistic fantasy that the father/daughter bond will strengthen into one of those “You…

The Top 11 Things Every First-Time Dad Should Know

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As a wildly experienced father of three who is a master of every parenting nuance, I felt it was time for me to impart some of my wisdom to all you new daddies out there. Upon the birth of a first child, we all feel a little unprepared (slang for completely freaked out of our minds) and it helps to have access to a little friendly advice, even from a doofus.

The Top 10 Reasons You Should Read This Post

These days, scrolling through the Internet is like sitting at a table with a dozen six-year-old boys at a Chucky Cheese pizza birthday party — it’s a cacophony of noise, it’s impossible to listen to any single conversation, and even if you could, it wouldn’t be worth your concentration. So with this in mind, I’m going to make your life easier by giving you clear, succinct, and easy to understand reasons why this post is worth your valuable time, and you can go ahead and forget about all that other stuff on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blah, blah, blah. You can thank me later.

The Top 10 movie moments that make this Tough Guy weep

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I ran across one of my favorite movies, "The Natural," the other night, and as usual, got sucked in and watched the whole thing. I've probably seen it 35 times. As I found myself wiping away tears at the end, I landed on the idea to write this post.

My Top 10 Christmas Traditions, including Rudolph’s PJ Delivery

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Christmas is my favorite time of year for a variety of reasons. I love the music, the TV shows and movies, the general feeling of good will, and all that other gooey stuff. However, it may be the family traditions surrounding Christmas that make it so ... Christmasy. If you look at them from an objective perspective, most traditions are meaningless. But the meaning WE attach to them is all that really matters, right? It's fun to do the same thing year after year as if the order of the cosmos somehow depends on it.