anybody ever done something like this? I have an old fixer upper I constantly work on. the exterior stair rail is steel with 1/8" diamond plate treads. clearly haven't been resealed in 40+ years. I pressure washed the entire thing, and 95% of the primer remained intact and probably 50% of the paint. The treads at some point has some sort of rubberized coating that pealed off with the pressure washer.

These things were built poorly and are in kind of rough shape to to how it was constructed. I will have to go over a small amount of rust and existing paint/primer/rubberized coating (still remains in nooks.

Thoughts? heavy duty exterior paint?
truck bed liner?

Randomly thinking of the Crash Davis "I believe" speech in Bull Durham here are my beliefs on superficial stuff. I believe in top shelf bourbon, Maduro cigars, stouts of no less than 10% ABV, steaks done no more than medium rare to light medium, dungeness crab is way better than blue crab, leaving no less than a 20% tip at a restaurant ever and no one will ever be as happy to see you come home at the end of the day as a dog will.

With all that's going on with insurance in Iowa, I thought there might be an expert in here, or people with real world knowledge on the subject.

Just got an email from State Farm that: "The insurance industry in Iowa has seen 100 companies leave the state. State Farm will be having significant rate increases, please call to schedule an appointment with us to go over the rate increases"

I already feel like I pay way too much for State Farm and this may push me to look other places. Who does everyone use for home, auto, and life? Recommendations?

Coach Otz and staff lock in their classes early so it is time to start the 2026 thread.

Catch all tread for interests, offers, visits, and prospect list for Cyclone Otz-Ball 2026.

Im sure a $1M paycut would make me humble......

I think Gundy will be judged by his actions and not the balance in his checking account. What was OSU thinking this would solve?

The Pokey Stix thread got me thinking about all the places I miss in Ames that have closed. What are yours?

Off the top of my head:

Gumby's: Pokey Stix and Pepperoni rolls
HomeTeam Pizza: Dirt cheap drunk food, 3 mediums for $10. Plus they had a cheesy commercial shot at Sterling.
Angies: Didn't seem to last long but that was a great after bar spot, always packed, good breakfast.
La Fuente: Margarita Challenge! Solid mexican food, although El Azteca topped it when they came to town.
The Truck Stop: Great food just a little out of the way. Cyclone Slam ftw
Battles: The original location, went downhill a bit once they moved to Welch and owner died.

Elwood Drive: Screw University Boulevard.

Australian Open Draws:

Check out this article from Des Moines Register:

Iowa State women's basketball coach Bill Fennelly impressed by 3 newcomers already in Ames

Chris Williams sits down with Derek Hoodjer, the GM of Iowa State Football, to discuss what the last few off-seasons have been like from his chair. The two look ahead to the 2025 Cyclone football team as fall camp will begin next week. Breaking down key position battles and more on the first episode of our summer series for 2025.

Hey Fellow Fanatics,

This is going to be pretty humbling for me to right this, but I think I gotta or else its only going to get worse. i have a serious problem on my hands. It is one that probably many of us face. We know it's a problem. We know that WE are doing it to ourselves. We feel guilt ever time we make the problem worse. But, we continue with our habits. In my case, it hadn't always been this way, but it is now.

I have got to face the facts. I'm fat. and only getting fatter.

A few months ago, I posted what order at five guys in its respective thread and stated how I spend $25 and don't even get full. I got a barrage of replies about how that's so much food and GIFs of fat bastard from the Austin Powers movies. I did take those as jokes, but I felt AWFUL because I did it to myself.

Well, I've gained 10 pounds since that post. I am now up to 270lbs. I entered college at 170, left 225. My back and knees always hurt. I have EMBARRASING stretch marks on my stomach. I get out of breath just walking up the stairs. My blood pressure is 160/90. None of my clothes fit (and I refuse to bigger clothes since I know it's because I'm gaining weight.

I need things to change or I'm going to die. If not, I'll be stricken with a life of painful knees and disdain for having to walk up stairs.

Therefore, I will begin my weight loss journey on November 1st with a goal of losing 50 pounds by April 1st. If I do not lose the weight, I will donate $400 to one of Cyclone Fanatics Charities. To make sure I'm not cheating, I will be positing my weight every Friday.

I'm writing this post so that I have accountability and to see if anyone else feels the same way and wants to join me.

B.T.W. Feel free to make fun of me for being fat. It will only motivate me.

Anybody else watching this live on the Discovery channel? They just launched the balloon and he is beginning his ascent to 23 miles. You can also watch live here: Red Bull Stratos - YouTube
Pretty crazy stuff! Going to be crazy seeing him break the sound barrier during free fall.

Looks like West O is introducing a new beer this fall benefiting the C&G collective called Blood Round! Can’t wait to try it!

Over the last few weeks I thought I'd check out some of the new taprooms here in Iowa. I have to say these two new ones from Singlespeed in Waterloo and Big Grove in Iowa City are by far the best in Iowa. I went to the best taprooms in San Diego and Big Grove would probably be in the top 5 if it was in San Diego.

Big Grove

Perhaps this already exists but I haven't seen it. I think it'd be helpful for the beer enthusiast community here at CF to keep a running thread of when local beer releases are happening, as well as when/where the releases are distributed. Kind of a continuous thread to keep us all in the loop and help each other find great beer.

A couple currently:

-Big Grove's Big Ed hit DSM metro stores this week. As of this morning, Ankeny Prairie Trail Hy vee had about 20 four-packs for $14.99. Big Ed may be the very best NEIPA made in Iowa.
-Big Grove Colorado Smuggler is getting released at the brewery this week, and should be in the metro around this time next week. IMO, this is the second best NEIPA that BG makes.
-There are still four packs of Founders KBS Mackinac Fudge floating around. Not an Iowa brew but I know one that has had alot of hype (and its very very tasty). Huxley Fareway is a little honey hole for it. 4-5 four packs left for $19.99
-Confluence DDH Des Moines IPA dry hopped with Cashmere and Nelson Sauvin is all over the state right now. Don't sleep on these; and stellar deal for $10.99.
-TG Hopsmack is in the metro if you still get excited about TG IPA's (IMO they've been surpassed by a few other local breweries). There was plenty at North Ankeny Hyvee this morning.
-North Ankeny HyVee also has a few bottles left of Surly Darkness 2020. I'd assume they're floating around most of the state right now.

My god has this gas station gone to ****. Employees are clueless and slower than humanly possible, bathrooms are terrible, etc. Using my rewards was almost an impossible task for the person working tonight. Using what I have in rewards left and switching full time to kwik star or QT. End of rant.

I would occasionally stop by the high school football forum by to see what the 7 people that still used that site had to say. Looks like it is now on3.com, or at least that is where I get sent when I type in iowapreps.com. It is still run by rivals but posting is behind a paywall. All the old forums are gone.

Looking for some advice/info. We have a family member that wants to attend a couple of home games this year. (She has a permanent handicap parking license plate.) Do the fill up fairly early. Also what about the handicap spots by Hilton? Any tips appreciated.
Thanks

All that I see available for the Iowa game are re-sale tickets.

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Since I've started a Marvel Cinematic Universe thread to post any updates on that front, I figured it was only fair to also get rolling a new DC Extended Universe thread too. For those unaware of what I'm talking about, what Marvel has done over the past 7 Years with their their shared universe movies/TV (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Incredible Hulk...etc.), DC is also trying to produce themselves with their own characters in a shared movie universe.

The very first film of this shared universe was Man of Steel (already released) and is soon to be followed will a whole new slate of movies:





NO previous DC movies are connected to this new universe (Examples: Batman Begins, Superman Returns, The Dark Knight, Green Lantern... etc) in any way prior to Man of Steel. Next up is Batman vs Superman being released March 25th, followed by Suicide Squad being released August 5th. Here are the two trailers for those:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WWzgGyAH6Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI3hecGO_04

This thread will be the place to post any new news or thoughts on the DCEU in the future. With that said, who else is looking as forward to Batman vs Superman as I am???

In the Des Moines metro, there is a brand new chain link fence that runs along the south side of Beaver Creek between the Des Moines River and the Merle Hay exit. And I believe that I saw a similarly placed fence south of the metro near Raccoon River and I-35. Other than attempting to keep flood debris off the interstate I have no idea why it was installed. I am guessing others know the real answer, so my question, why the fence?

On Wednesday's edition of CFTV, Jake Brend dives into the relationship between T.J. Otzelberger and Virginia transfer Blake Buchanan. We also hear what Audi Crooks had to say about her lifetime memory of winning a gold medal. Plus an update on Curtis Jones' big night in the Summer League.

Over the next two weeks, we will break down the 2025 Iowa State football team position by position. We start today with the quarterbacks. Enjoy.