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Overrated / underrated

Up: beer; Down: iAnything

May 29, 2010 at 6:39PM

FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2010 file photo, the iPad is shown after it was unveiled at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. (Associated Press - Ap/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Overrated

iAnything. When somebody shows off his or her new iPad or raves about a favorite iPhone app, I play along, smiling and nodding stupidly. But after our family burned through a series of iPods, I'm happy to leave new Apple products to the Early Adopters for a while.

Underrated

Good ol' American beer. I love craft beer and lament the Budweisation of America as much as the next geek. But on a steamy summer day, there's a lot to be said for the simple pleasure of plunging your fist into an ice-filled cooler, pulling out a 12-ounce can of lager and making that snap/fizz sound that's the best summer song of all.

TIM CAMPBELL

FOR USE WITH RELATED KRT WORLD NEWS STORY SLUGGED: USIRAQ-MILITARY KRT PHOTOGRAPH BY PHOTOGRAPHER'S MATE AIRMAN RYAN O'CONNOR/US NAVY NEWS PHOTO (April 22) Sailors ice down beer during a �Steel Beach Picnic� and �Beer Day� on the flight deck aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) April 20, 2003, in the Mediterranean Sea. Traditionally, a �Beer Day� is held after a ship is at sea for 45 continuous days without a port visit. Truman and Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3) are currently on deployment conducting missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (skm) 2003 (Krt/The Minnesota Star Tribune)