Shane’s Drivel

There’s a new entrant in my realm of energy drinks, Full Throttle Zero.

Its was a typical Mississippi-style hot, humid Sunday afternoon in July. On a Sunday drive in the Mustang, the rumbly exhaust tones begged for the A/C off and the windows down. As the wind blew my hair and the Stang gargled down Hwy 471, all was right with the world. Until I got thirsty.

A quick stop by a gas station revealed Full Throttle Zero, which I’d not seen before. Sure, why not.

One sip, and I knew we might have a winner. Full Throttle zero was almost as smooth as Mountain Dew and not over-carbonated like most energy drinks. Also unlike most energy drinks, Full Throttle tastes great – similar to a Mountain Dew with more of a citrus flavor.

Unfortunately, the drink was still lacking something. Full Throttle Zero was full on taste and low on throttle. The can mentions Guarana, Ginseng, Carnitine, Caffeine, and Taurine, but doesn’t say how much is there. I suspect just enough for truth in advertising. Because the drink didn’t phase me. It offered no more punch than an ordinary Diet Coke.

Still the taste is good enough to warrant a spot on my infamous list of top 5 energy drinks. So I’ll replace Sugar Free Amp Energy with Full Throttle. Its tough to leave Sugar Free Amp off the list. But Sugar Free Amp is also low on umph, and there’s just not enough space on the list for more than one drink that lacks umph no matter how good it tastes.

So heres my new top 5 sugar-free energy drinks.

1. Xyience Energy – Superb flavor, just the right punch. Unfortunately  drinks have become hard to find in stores
2. Spike Shooter – Best and most punch of any energy drink. But this beast packs far too much punch, probably enough punch to rival controlled substances.
3. Enviga – a bit mild in the kick department, but pretty good flavor. Very good price value earns this one a high ranking.
4. Full Throttle Zero – best in flavor next to Xyience and Spike Shooter. Lacking in…energy.
5. Rip-It Energy – Decent flavor, strong enough kick. Decent price. A bit heavy on carbonation.

Finally, it would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Red Bull sucks. They’re clearly the leader in sales and I can’t imagine why.

Here is last weekend’s subwoofer box project.

See ya. We had a good run.

Nortel is selling my old stomping grounds to Nokia Siemens, who also has their wireless headquarters in the Dallas area.

At Nortel’s peak, its stock made up more than 50% of the entire Toronto Stock Exchange, which some called “the Nortel Stock Exchange”. But now, Nortel has applied to have its stock de-listed. And all indications are the company is going to dissolve and cease to exist.

Where are thou, pension?

The Obama Administration has allocated Mississippi about half a Billion dollars to restore its barrier islands – Ship island, Horn island, and Petit Bois island. And by barrier islands, I’m referring to those uninhabited swaths of land which cause Mississippi’s coastline to be a stagnant, brackish enigma void of waves and emerald or blue water which most Gulf Of Mexico beaches are known for.

The islands which serve no purpose except to allegedly protect against hurricane storm surge (previous hurricanes beg to differ), were heavily eroded by Hurricane Katrina. Some argued the uninhabited islands should be left to themselves. Imagine that.

Some wanted them to be “fixed”.

Others like me would prefer they’d vanish, giving Mississippi a marketable coastline.

Sigh. What’s next? Shall search Mississippi’s other wilderness areas, remove stumps of trees overturned by Katrina, and replant them? Surely Bambi needs a bailout too.

Psychout MMA’s Capitol City Throwdown II took place last night at the Jackson Convention Center. The event showed commercial growth of MMA over Capitol City Throwdown I just two months ago. CCTII showcased sponsorhips from a law firm, Wing Stop, downtown-area hotels, Mississippi Sports Medicine, efusion, and most importantly – WJTV, which is giving air time to the sport.

In fact, WJTV put last night’s title fight on the their website. Here, Kelly Leo won a TKO over Alexander Ducksworth (a late replacement for Jon Lewis). The figfh was a back-and-forth brawl that either fight could have won. A few times, the fight appeared to be second from over. Finally, Leo landed several big shots to the head of Duckswroth late in the 2nd round. When it was time for the 3rd round to start, Duckworth’s corner threw in the towel.

The co-main event was entertaining as well. My man Chris Wright was upset by Wesley Little whom Chris out-weighed by about 30 pounds. Chris is a dominant striker, but for some reason he chose to fight on the ground. I suppose MMA fighters need to be well-rounded and now was as good a time as any to work the ground game. But Chris proved not-so-effective on the ground where he absorbed too many bombs. He did show some resilience in managing a kimora hold from his back, which I thought was going to result in victory. But somehow Little withstood it and continued his barrage with Chris lying on the ground.

There were plenty of other good fights as well. Overall, it was a fun night.

Psychout MMA is planning two more events for Jackson this year.

But there’s also a PPV MMA event coming June 27th to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, MS – The Ultimate Chaos. The main events there are former WWE star Bobby Lashley vs a 320lb Bob “The Beast” Sapp (no relation to Warren) and another heavyweight fight in former UFC contender Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo vs Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel.

The flier passed out last night listed Brandon, MS native Wes Shivers vs Greg Maher on the Ultimate Chaos undercard. But the website lists someone else vs Maher. I think this lends credibility to the rumor that Wes Shivers is headed to Vegas in June to fight in next season’s UFC Ultimate Fighter reality TV show.