Not yet... but it's getting close!

The most heartening time of year in the northern climes is when the earth nods toward the sun, the temperature spikes, and the streets fill with women sprung from the prison of bulky winter clothes. Ignore the calendar; the appearance of the sundress marks the first day of summer. The little black dress, the miniskirt, the belly shirt all deserve praise. But the sundress - so strappy, so revealing, so sexy - fairly sings of warmth and possibility. The ladies enjoy it too. "Women jump at the first chance to put one on," says my fiancee, who looks both tart and sweet in the lemony yellows she prefers. "They've been waiting and waiting all winter." As have we. Gentlemen, the wait is over.

- Larry Smith, Men's Health

Pains worth enduring

I obviously have a hell of a reading backlog, as this is from the Jan/Feb issue of Men's Health. Still some good stuff (full list here). I've experienced many of these... some are good stories, some not-so-good. Either way, I'd like to think I came out of each a better man.

- Going all in, and losing. Your rush will fade as fast as your hopes--and remind you that gambling is actually nothing more than entertainment you can control the duration of. Why hurry?

- Buying a Saladshooter. Even a strong man can succumb to a late-night huckster. The useless plastic doohickey you bought still serves a purpose, though. It's hard evidence that many thing in life really are too good to be true.

- Dating a high-maintenance bombshell. She'll drain your savings and sap your sanity. Then you'll learn why a woman who looks good in sweats and loves Chinese takeout is a keeper.

- Drinking green beer. Yeah, we love St. Patty's, too. But once you try the holiday booze and its novelty wears off, you can move on to a more authentic fare. Ask the 'tender to pull you a Beamish or pour you two fingers of Redbreast. You'll enjoy what you're drinking (for once) and look way more debonair in photos.

- Taking all-you-can-eat wing night literally. Oh, the heartburn! Cramping! Stinging toilet sessions! There's not better endorsement of moderation than a Kobayashi-size food hangover.

- Lying to your mother. If you always told your mom the truth about where you were going, you never would have touched your first breast.

- Training poorly, then competing anyway. Sure, you should have worked up to a taper before that 10-K road race. Probably should have stretched better, too. But there's nothing like being passed in the stretch by that 52-year-old, 14th-place masters-class finisher to motivate you the next time out.