Ooh A Penny!

IAF II

2007-11-01T02:52:00.001-07:00

The International Accordion Festival was just that. This is the second time we'd been to this fest - 2+ days of music featuring the accordion. Some solo - some group. Everything from jazzy to folk to rock to tex-mex and on. There was even a hard-core polka band. Acts DID come from across the US and beyond - San Francisco, Quebec, New Orleans, Arizona, New York City, Argentina, Italy, the Canary Islands. Relaxed atmosphere, multiple stages, and free of charge. Accordions ranged from button boxes to piano style to concertinas. Some of the fun is watching the artists learn new things from each other in some of the workshops.

Lori and I signed up to volunteer at the event and ran the merchadise booth on Sunday evening. We hope to be even more involved next year. In fact, this would have been the third year in a row that we had gone, but Lori's grandpa passed away a few days before the event last year, so we cancelled the trip.

I was able to see all the acts and while most were very good Yves Lambert and Chango Spasiuk were two standouts. Lambert is like the godfather of Quebecois folk music - to me it came across as similar to creole. On most songs, one or both of his fiddlers kept the beat (no drums) with their feet on miked boards. Sort of looked like they were tap dancing while sitting down.

Chango Spasiuk and his group from Argentina played a more romantic style of music - very passionate with mood and time changes throughout some of the songs.

Best of all was seeing Santiago Jimenez, Jr. and his band - "National Treasure" as Lori put it.

The festival takes place in an arts village/historical site called La Villita, part of which is on San Antonio's Riverwalk. One of the stages features a stage on one side of the river and the tiered seating up a small hill on the other side. Not only do people walking along the river get a front row view of the stage, the boats (and ducks) are regularly paddling on through.

The picture is Santiago Jimenez and his group on Friday night from across the river (and high up). More pictures in part III.

San Antonio

2007-10-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

Attended the 7th Annual International Accordion Festival a few weeks ago - had a blast! Checked out the Alamo and the Riverwalk and listened to some great music. Saw some friends and made some new ones. And shopped for Webkins charms (sigh). A gift shop across from the Alamo had some.

The flower and fountain shots are from Hemisfair Park - a space developed for the 1968 World's Fair and recently remodeled. It houses a tower, complete with restarant at the top and several museums, fountains, parks, and more.

Other that plane delays on the trip home and a badly scraped knee from a tumble while jogging one morning, it was a great trip. An early highlight was dinner the first night at Biga On The Banks. Saturday morning there was even a sidewalk chalk drawing art event a few blocks away. Some pretty cool stuff.

More on the music and artists in part II...

Danish Puffy Pancakes Return

2007-10-11T04:26:00.000-07:00

Heading to San Antonio, TX and the International Accordion Festival tomorrow morning. More to follow on that - with pictures, I hope.

Big news around town, though, is Saturday, November 3rd is Aebleskiver day at Redeemer! Get your camp stoves and knitting needles ready - See you there...

Accordion Hero II is in stores!

2007-08-02T04:14:00.000-07:00

Click Here to take you to what I'm sure will be the best game ever! I can't believe it's here already - I haven't even mastered the first version! Better get squeezin'...

Baseball's Best Slider Doesn't Steal Bases

2007-08-02T03:49:00.000-07:00

I heard about this a while back, but with the busy summer haven't gotten around to posting it yet. Last year the concessions for the Gateway Grizzlies introduced Baseball's Best Burger - the one with a Krispy Kreme doughnut for a bun. This year it's Baseball's Best Slider - a battered and deep fried White Castle Cheeseburger with cheese sauce for dipping available on the side. I've GOT to work a trip there into the schedule next year. Click here for a link to the club's site.

Tulsa Law

2007-07-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

From Chuck Shepherd's News Of The Weird:

1996 -- In March, two convicted rapists, Allan Wayne McLaurin and Darron Bennalford Anderson, were re-sentenced by a jury in Tulsa, Okla., after an appeals court said the original sentences totaling 6,475 years were based on faulty jury instructions. This time, the jury said the crimes were worth an additional 260 centuries in prison a total of 21,250 years to McLaurin and 11,250 to Anderson. (Two weeks later, the same Oklahoma appeals court upheld a 1994 sentence, for the man who raped a 3-year-old girl, of 30,000 years. The only dissenting judge said he would have ordered the six 5,000-year sentences to be served concurrently instead of consecutively.)

Looking For A New Job

2007-07-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

Been thinking of a new job? Here are a few possibilities from Popular Science's "Worst Job In Science" article. I'm particularly fascinated by the human guinea pig nature of #7: Gravity Research Subject.

Wasn't Elephant Vasectomist an early show on the Fox Network?

Squishee Road Trip!

2007-07-03T01:56:00.000-07:00

I need a dozen pink donuts with sprinkles and a six pack of Duff!

Click for the Chicago area Kwik-E-Mart

Click for 7 Eleven

It's Almost Time...

2007-03-31T05:57:00.000-07:00

Who's Up For A Squishee Run to Richmond?

2007-03-31T05:12:00.000-07:00

Not much detail here, but here's another marketing strategy for the Simpson's movie.

Little Blue Scooter

2007-03-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

The red & black cow is gone. The new toy gets picked up in another week or so. Here's a manufacturer's rendition. For those who pay attention to such things, it's a 2006 Honda VTX1300R.

My Birthday Buddy

2007-03-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Ewww!
click here

WM

2007-02-24T04:30:00.000-08:00

I'm Wonder Man in a bag!

How Do You Like Your Dragon Done?

2006-11-25T05:10:00.000-08:00

A recent article in The Times reported on the "Welsh Dragon" brand sausage. click here

It seems that there's no dragon meat in these sausages at all and they must be renamed!

The new name, according to the article, will be "Welsh Dragon Pork Sausage" and should eliminate any customer confusion.

The Elements Were Braved; The 5K Was Run

2006-11-25T04:21:00.000-08:00

The 40 degree weather didn't stop Lori & I from running in an authentic, organized, outdoor 5K run. I don't expect this to become a habit or anything, but we had fun.

We can run the distance on the treadmills at the gym, but this offered such additional experiences like crowded running conditions, dogs, kids, strollers, potholes, hills, cold, sun, gloves, hats, gravel, wet grass, and uneven paths.

Lori's Aunt Donna runs more frequently and longer distances than we tend to and usually runs a race on Thanksgiving morning. A few weeks back, as we were finalizing Thanksgiving plans with her, Lori's Mom said Donna was running again in the Gurnee 5K.

Well, Lori and I talked and joked about running with Donna. At first we just laughed off the idea. We're not "runners". We simply go to the gym and workout and sometimes that means running and/or walking on the treadmills. Plus, there'd be 'real' runners there and people from the high school cross country team and it'd be cold. And who really wanted to get up at 5:45 on Thanksgiving morning if they didn't have to?

But we checked it out online. Turns out it was a fund raiser run/walk.

No numbers were pinned to chests and I don't think prizes were given out. Just sign a waiver, pay a fee and wait for the starting gun.

And we'd both covered the 5K distance before at the gym and ultimately concluded that it'd be a new adventure. We hadn't done this before, so why not?

Our biggest surprise on Thanksgiving morning was that Lori's Aunt Donna doesn't run in the Gurnee 5K on Thanksgiving morning, but somewhere else. We were hoping to surprise her by showing up and running, but she wasn't there.

End result - we both finished, sweaty and sore. We're glad we did it anyway - and the Thanksgiving dinner afterward was like a little bonus reward for our effort.

Back to the sterile gym environment today.

Lori's new Christmas shirt

2006-11-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

Just arrived today!

Anyone for Scrabble?

2006-10-30T03:41:00.000-08:00

The title's a link to Stephen Reed Industrial Design's website, where they have some cool furnishings - including Scrabble...I don't know if I'd call them benches or couches, but I think they're great. It'd be a neat piece for a game room.

Monkey Buzz at the Fair

2006-08-31T03:31:00.000-07:00

It's a stitch! It's bananas! Check out the Sock Monkey Dress at the MN State Fair. For best viewing, follow the link to the KARE video report. This beats the deep fried Oreos a couple vendors were selling at the WI State Fair.

Super Bunnies!

2006-07-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

I love the bunnies! Click on the title and check out the latest: Superman: The Movie.

Another Gift Idea For The Brothers

2006-06-27T03:55:00.000-07:00

Click the title and check out The Daddle - saddle (and kneepads available!) for the coolest horsie rides.

Phil's Birthday's Coming...

2006-06-26T04:16:00.000-07:00

Plug that ipod in anywhere, baby!

Speaking of the World Cup...

2006-06-10T04:37:00.000-07:00

Title is the link...

Off to Seattle, well Bothell

2006-06-07T03:45:00.000-07:00

Nephew Brian's Confirmation is coming up and Lori and I are leaving on a jet plane this weekend for the event.

We only have about a day and a half for the non-family, traveler experience, so I'm glad I've been out there before. We're planning on venturing up to Mount Rainier and one of visitor centers and so on.

I asked Lori what she wanted to do. Both she and I have been to the area before. Lori's been there a few more times with Brave Combo (and not me), but of course those trips are business and there's little, if any, time to be a traveler. She said that she just wanted to have a nice meal. All the band trips, you're eating at the venue or scrounging on the road at convenience stores, so eating enjoying dinner at a real restaurant in the area might be a treat!

Heart Transplants

2006-06-07T03:40:00.000-07:00

Hey, a new post and it's not even a month since my last - Here comes the writer's cramp.

Anyhow, I'm fascinated by this story (click the title) about a girl's heart transplant. She had a transplant when she was around two years old. Doctors left her damaged heart in her body. Years later, when the transplanted heart was giving her problems, the Doctors went back in, restarted her own heart - and now we're good as new. Just incredible.

It Was A Spectacular Spectacular

2006-05-31T03:56:00.000-07:00

Lori and I saw Wicked last night. It delivered on the bombast and bigness and there were many parts/portions/bits that were interesting, inventive and well done.

There were also plot holes and confusions and disappointments. Glad I went, but wouldn't recommend it.

Little Blue Beetle Boy

2006-05-30T04:17:00.000-07:00

If you've never checked out any of Worth 1000's photoshop contests, this is a good one - superheroes in art pieces. If you enjoy this one, find a recent one with monsters in art. Click the title for the link.

Sony Lawsuit Over Online Royalties

2006-04-29T03:31:00.000-07:00

Cheap Trick and The Allman Brothers, among other artists, have filed suit against Sony regarding practices related to royalties from online 'sales' of songs.

The suit is essentially about more fair royalties. Online sales don't have the same costs that pressing and shipping hard products will. The artists, therefore, are looking for a bigger piece of the pie.

Beyond this, though, the apparent need for Sony to change the rules to their own benefit at the expense of their customers and artists is a shame.

Artists' contracts generally stipulate one rate of royalty for sales of songs and a higher rate for song licenses. Licenses, of course, stipulate limited usage and no 'ownership' of the material.

Sony has historically taken a strong position that online purchases of tracks are not 'sales' in the traditional sense, but are licenses. Based on this, their position is that the purchaser of the license is not covered by all the rights of a purchaser.

For example, a concept like personal use, allowing a person to copy music from a CD they own and play the music on a different device for their own enjoyment, has no place in licensing. Much like software licensing, the terms are very specific as to how many devices you can use the program on and whether or not it may be legally copied for any reason.

Well, it seems that even though Sony's position is that online purchases are licenses and NOT traditional sales, the suit(s) allege that Sony is paying royalties for these online purchases at the lesser regular sales royalty rates.

Getting back to the article, this may only impact older artists, with contracts set up before the online sales alternative was a possibility. But as a consumer, ugh!

Ninja: "Be Able To Kill Your Students"

2006-04-29T03:17:00.000-07:00

As someone who works in the Education field, I was fascinated by the quote at the head of this story. Click the title for an article about "the oldest living ninja", as he bills himself. His likes are teaching students and he does have notches on his belt for some non-student kills. Among his dislikes are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Spring is Springing

2006-04-27T03:49:00.000-07:00

Yay! The motorcycle's out. The summer weekends are filling up. The lawn mower comes out in a couple of days. Gonna be a busy one.

Lori and I joined the local Y a couple of weeks ago. We're still in the honeymoon phase - there for about an hour, five times a week. Mostly treadmills, but in few minutes in the weight room every couple of days. The pool might look more inviting with warmer weather.

U.S. Citizenship Test

2006-03-26T04:01:00.000-08:00

Happy I passed! Give it a go...

I just need to go back and see which one I missed.

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

See You At Stark's Pond

2006-03-22T04:08:00.000-08:00

Here's your own South Park character development workshop! Click on the title and get crackin'.

Just try doing this and not make yourself - I don't think it's possible.

Baseball's Best Burger

2006-03-20T04:05:00.000-08:00

The Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League are getting ready for the 2006 baseball season. They recently announced a new item at their concession stands - Baseball's Best Burger.

It's unlikely that I'll be getting down to Sauget for a Grizzlies home game this summer. But I DO think will have all the right ingredients at a cookout sometime this summer. It sounds great! At least once, anyway.

Danko Jones and The 69 Eyes

2005-12-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

A couple of great CDs I've picked up recently and from Danko Jones and The 69 Eyes.

I know I've mentioned The 69 Eyes here before. Their latest full length CD (Devils) came out recently, and it's cool. The 69 Eyes are a Finnish band that's been around a few years. www.69eyes.com

Danko Jones is a trio from Canada and they rock. Their latest is We Sweat Blood, but they have a new disc coming out in February, I think. Check 'em out. www.dankojones.com

Not the new Mr. Blue

2005-12-28T20:03:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night we pick up our new car - a Toyota Camry. It's blue. We will NOT refer to it as Mr. Blue or any form of that name, based on our experience with the old Mr. Blue.

Something else will come to us, I'm sure, as we replace the Combomobile.

Spidey or Supes?

2005-12-28T19:50:00.000-08:00

I'd pick Spidey.

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman		75%
Spider-Man		75%
The Flash		60%
Iron Man		60%
Robin		58%
Catwoman		55%
Supergirl		51%
Hulk		50%
Green Lantern		45%
Wonder Woman		31%
Batman		20%

You are mild-mannered, good,
strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Look sir - Droids!

2005-12-25T02:51:00.000-08:00

Wow! Almost a month or so since my last missive. Let's all blame a busy holiday season and work, too. Lots going on all around.

Hey! First things first - check out angryalien.com and the 30 second movie parodies reenacted by bunnies. They recently added Star Wars to the lineup. I love the bunnies!

Do You Not Hear What I Don't Hear?

2005-11-30T20:15:00.000-08:00

Check it out, check it out, check it out!

Click the link for a New York Times story about an invention to drive young people away. Fascinating. If we control where teens do not go, we control where teens DO go. What possibilities!

Remembering Mr. Blue

2005-11-13T04:51:00.000-08:00

We didn't know him long, but he'll be in our hearts forever.

Mr. Blue's recent extended trip to the repair shop was unsuccessful in saving him. The short(s) in his wiring, it's believed, blew up 2 more motherboards before we ceased efforts at repair. Mr. Blue was built from components made by different manufacturers, and it's not clear which component, or components, are at fault. Although it received significant kudos from well known references, the company that cobbled together this beloved PC is no longer in business. As such, the remains of Mr. Blue lay in state in our basement until such time as we figure out what to do with them, other than simply throw them away. The owners are considering contacting attorneys close to the family to identify and evaluate additional measures. In the meantime, the family is thrilled with their Toshiba laptop and is committed to brand name electronic purchases for the time being.

Just Born

2005-11-13T04:39:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to the Just Born company website. Just Born, among other things, manufactures Peeps and Mike & Ike candies.

I was thinking about Peeps the other day and found the website. Fascinatin' stuff: in 1953 it took 27 hours to create a Peep. Today it takes 6 minutes. The Peep candy is laid out on a belt coated with the sugar for the outer color, so the bottom is coated immediately. Afterward, the line travels through a machine that blows the remaining sugar around to coat the sides and top of the Peep - a cool sugar windstorm!

You can also "tour" the manufacturing plant - series of pictures, really.

I'll admit that when I first read the company name Just Born, I thought it was kind of stupid. Until, that is, I further read that the company was founded by Sam Born.

Peeps are not kosher!

Click the title for the link.

Hello Stormie

2005-11-13T04:18:00.000-08:00

Love the Hello Kitty Stormtrooper. None of the others has really grown on me.

Happy Halloween!

2005-10-30T05:44:00.000-08:00

Boo! No big updates today - just changed all the clocks and gonna go buy gas to fire up the leaf blower. Wheeee!

No More Mr. Stinkypants!

2005-10-30T05:41:00.000-08:00

Now THIS is a great idea! Does it filter farts on the way out, too? Click the title.

The Shining Redux

2005-10-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

The is getting around pretty good, but I'm linking it just in case you haven't bumped into it yet. Just a redone trailer for the movie The Shining. What a hoot! Click the title.

Back (part 2)

2005-10-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

More thoughts from San Antonio trip:

There were more trees there than I expected. Probably because of The Alamo, I was expecting dry, sparse land without much foliage. There were lots. The Riverwalk was loaded with beautiful trees, tons of noisy birds every morning in the trees. Even the Alamo area had been built up into a pretty park-like atmosphere.

Of course there are 'touristy' distractions. Across the street from The Alamo, there are a Ripley's wax museum, Guinness records attraction - that kind of garbage.

There was a restaurant called Steers and Beers. When the lights were on, you could see a few lights were out and the lit sign spelled Stee and B. I thought it was cool because the name still rhymed.

Although we liked the hotel, apparently at least one person on the staff doesn't make enough. First night in town we ate at a place called Zuni Grill, but didn't finish our meals. So, Lori called the hotel from the table, just to check if there was a refrigerator we could use. 'Yes', they said, no problem, lots of room. The clerk put our room number on the bag and took it away. Lori had 2 thin grilled pork chops go in the refrigerator on Thursday, but only 1 thin grilled pork chop on Saturday afternoon when we had our leftovers for lunch.

With a 4 day trip and no band to work, we had room for 'dressier' clothes and time for a 'nice' meal. We chose Las Canarias, one of the nicer dining options on the Riverwalk - part of the hotel La Mansion. Very nice - great food and outstanding service. Check it out if you go there.

One afternoon, we went to the Mexican Market (there was probably another, more proper name for it but that's what it was. Not very impressive, but we did buy some Mexican candy.

The other worthy-of-mention dining was at Schilo's deli, just a couple of blocks from our hotel. German deli serving home-style cooking - great space - really good food. Lori and I both had Jaegerschnitzel - pork tenderloin with a mushroom gravy. We went back there for breakfast on the day we left. Nothing beats 2 eggs and a brat for breakfast!

We didn't plan it, but the Saints were in town to play their 'home' game against Atlanta - downtown was all abuzz on Sunday.

Finally, the International Accordion Festival - the reason we went in the first place - was terrific. The title links to the festival's website. I think we saw all but 2 or 3 of the bands. Augie Meyers and Los Skarnales were standouts. We bumped into Donna & Bill - Brave Combo fans we know from St. Louis. One of the stages actually had the stage on one side of the river and hillside seating on the other side of the river. Boats would cross between the stage and the audience frequently.

Even more fun - Lori won a plane ticket at the festival. Southwest Airlines was a sponsor and one of the booths sold strawberry shortcakes. If you bought a shortcake, you got a chance at winning a ticket on Southwest - anywhere they fly. They drew one name each evening and you didn't have to be present to win. Apparently they announced Lori's name on Saturday night, buy we weren't at the right stage. On Sunday afternoon, Lori went for another shortcake, was filling out her ticket for Sunday and the booth worker said "Lori Young? You won yesterday!" Way too cool!

Choke the Chicken

2005-10-21T03:44:00.000-07:00

Click the title for the link to an article about a controversial new toy.

Too many jokes to make here. Suffice it to say, as the toy company representative is quoted in the article, the Choking Chicken toy is "a toy that is used to relieve stress." I there is no arguing with that.

Back (part 1) and half gone again

2005-10-21T03:23:00.000-07:00

Back from San Antonio! Always good to get away, yet always good to come home.

Tonight Lori leaves for St. Louis - a quick trip with the band. This weekend is our graduation at work, so I need to be there on Sunday. The graduations are always fun. Couple hundred grads, all in there cleanest chefwear, about 1,700 guests. It's really cool.

So, we saw the Alamo. They've turned part of the area around it into a nice park. There's a Library/Research Center run by the Daughters of the Texas Revolution. Artifact displays, dioramas, brief film, giftshop, and the 'main' mission building itself. Worth the trip.

On Sunday, I was up early, got out and took a walk around downtown San Antonio. I wanted to find the Starbucks, buy a paper and a coffee, hang out and read the sports section before heading back. Unbelievable - couldn't find a Starbucks! Or any other coffee shop. So I ended up at the McDonald's. The funny part of this story is the McDonald's manager. Nice guy - good service. He must have said "Bada-bing, bada-boom" at least twice to every customer. "Okay, so that's a large coffee" He punches it into the register. "Bada-bing, bada-boom! That's one seventy five, please." I hand him 2 bucks. "Two dollars - bada-bing!" And so on. He also liked the phrase "Schwing - and a miss", but he didn't say it as often.

On the way back, I picked up some Shipley Do-Nuts. If you find yourself in the great American south east, track these down. Mighty tasty! Link to their website is through this post's title. Nothing fancy here, but a list of locations, anyway.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

2005-10-13T04:59:00.000-07:00

Quickly, my latest news:

-Lori bought her new laptop last Friday. Our PC, Mr. Blue, died on Saturday. It's either the mother board or flux capacitor. Mr. Blue's in the shop for now. We moved the hard drive data to the laptop and are up and running in the meantime.

-We're leaving for San Antonio in a few hours. The International Accordion Festival starts on Saturday. We'll do the Alamo and the Riverwalk and tons of other fun stuff, too, I'm sure.

-Hey, if you see the new Wallace & Gromit movie, get there early to catch the Madagascar short. Brave Combo Christmas music is used over the closing credits of the short.

-Bought a new spare ball last weekend and had some work done on my 'regular' ball. I thought when I bought my last spare ball that I'd probably never have to buy another spare ball. What would I need a new one for? Well, a few years ago I went to a 15lb. ball and changed my grip, but have kept the 16lb. spare ball with the old grip for about 5 years now since I made that change. I never changed the grip on the spare ball to the new one, either. I just always figured that by the time I spend the money on the plug and redrill for the new grip, I may as well just get a 15lb. replacement. So, of course, after I got the ball, I wanted to practice the 10-pin shot with this weight and grip. It was just funny to see my score of 40 or something at the end of it.

Beer News

2005-10-04T03:49:00.000-07:00

Click the title for a report on a beer with nicotine, marketed for those smokers who now find their favorite watering holes in smokeless zones.

This is great! Now, along with my catheter & piss bag, I have 2 things to help me just sit here and focus on the drinking!

Driving in a Pod

2005-10-02T03:18:00.000-07:00

Nothing about new music today, but about new-to-me music. Lori picked up a Spike Jones box set recently and we've been going through it over the last several days. Fast, loud, obnoxious, irreverent - very cool and the sound on most of the tracks is quite good. Highest recommendation.

Changing topics, the link from the title will get you to some information on a concept vehicle shown recently in Japan, I believe. The article makes a couple of points about the car, but I'm fascinated by the concept of the driver/passenger area being a cockpit/pod thing with the ability to spin. Either side of the car can operate as the front/back. No need to back out of a parking space, just get in, spin the pod around and now you're pulling out forward. I love the idea of this, even though I can't think of many really useful reasons to have this function.

Chicken bits as weapons

2005-09-30T03:09:00.000-07:00

The story itself isn't all that interesting. I mean, it's just a print version of an upcoming COPS episode. But, I love the graphic of the plate of wings. Photo editor must have been out sick that day.

Cap, Santo, and Evil Spidey

2005-09-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

The link from the title will get you to a quite complete summary of a Turkish film, "3 Dev Adam". Don't know much about the site this is from, but the film is fascinating. Evil Spidey? No!

Sharpen Your Pencils

2005-09-23T03:10:00.000-07:00

Things are getting back to what's considered 'normal' at my house. Lori's back from the month-long work in Texas and other parts.

This weekend we're heading up to good ol' Beaver Dam, WI to see her Grandparents. Last weekend we went to the Hideout Block Party and saw The Redwalls, The M's, The Ponies, and The dB's. All were very cool, but we ranked The Ponies on the bottom and Lori was bummed that The dB's didn't play their song that she likes/knows best.

Hey, check out link from the title to a pencil carving site - pretty cool stuff.

International Talk Like A Pirate Day

2005-09-19T04:20:00.000-07:00

Click the title for all the info! Yar!

Strong Bad at Trogdor-Con '97

2005-09-09T02:15:00.000-07:00

There's a new short up on Homestarrunner.com that you might get a kick out of. We love Homestar Runner at our house!

When the cartoon is done, don't forget to click on the period and on the 'tag' sign for bonus stuff.

No wonder Lori always ordered the beef chop suey at Ho Wah's

2005-09-09T01:43:00.000-07:00

From the Boston Globe - click the title to link to a story from Shanghai, China. Restaurant that was advertising dishes made with tiger meat, was ACTUALLY serving patrons donkey meat marinated in tiger urine.

There are so many great parts to this story. My personal favorite is that the article points out that it is unknown as to just how the tiger urine was obtained. Something to ponder on your next morning commute.

What Would 1,000 Peters Do?

2005-09-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

Click the title for the link. You'll find a brief story of a man, "Pete", who is trying to break a record currently held by 1,500 men named "Mohammed".

Nothing. What's new with you?

2005-09-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while since my last post. Nothing much to say recently, I guess.

Been working a lot. Riding a lot. Weather's been good. Yep. Let's se...what have I done the last week or so?

First night of bowling. God a new teammate. He used to be in our league, so I know him. Good bowler and good guy - he'll fit in well with our team. We're getting shirts this year, and free of charge, to boot! They'll be busy, though. We've got the team name on there and logos from a printing company and a dental office. The printing company's a vendor of one of my teammates and is providing the product at cost. Another teammate is a dentist and he's taking care of the cost as a team sponsorship business expense. Anyway, I shot a 723 on the first night, so we're off to a flying start.

Saw The Lion King last week. Technically, it was amazing - very creative how they put it all together. The singing, dancing, stage direction were all incredible. It's a shame there's not much story behind it all. Very glad I went, but no deisre to see again.

Saw The White Stripes last week, too. Great time. haven't seen before just two people on such a big stage put forth a solid 2 hour show before. Good songs - lots of fun.

Yesterday, Dad and I took the bikes first to the car show/swap meet at the lake County Fairgrounds and then to a Thresheree in Milton, WI. The Thresheree was a giant antique tractor (and other equipment, mostly farm) show. They had steam engines pulling implements working a field; blacksmiths; steam engine train you could ride in; old tractors for sale; old tractors for sho (dozens of 'em, if not hundreds); a tractor parade that was at least an hour long; car show; flea market; very large steam powered equipment; a calliope; woodworkers. And I'm probably still forgetting something. Just huge. There were at least 10 steam powered tractors in the parade. Great show and a great ride. If I go again, I'd skip the other car show and go stright to Milton. The title gets you to their website and pictures, but they don't do it justice.

I noticed that as of yesterday, I've put 10,000 miles on this motorcycle. When I bought it, it had 4,700 miles and I just turned 14,800.

Lori's been in Texas and on a copule of trips with the band for the last 2-3 weeks. She packs up today and starts back fro home tomorrow which means I should probably clean up the cigar butts, empty beer cans, old pizza boxes and porn (Rachel Ray cookbooks - Ohhhhhhhhh...) before she gets back.

Another Restriction In Gaming and a Reason Not To Move To China

2005-08-25T02:51:00.000-07:00

The title is a link to a Gamespot article detailing new on-line gaming restrictions in China.

I've said before that I don't generally support government restriction/control of legal activities. The Gamespot article doesn't get into much detail, but I'm fascinated with the new restrictions. Why a 3 hour limit? Is there great scientific evidence that this is an appropriate amount of time or this is simply the opinion of the drafters of the legislation of how much time people SHOULD spend gaming at one sitting? It seems so arbitrary. I have no data on the acedotal or other evidence the legislators used, but the recent Korean story about the guy who died after a marathon playing session in an internet cafe had been playing for 50 hours. So why 3? Why not 4? 5? 24? Besides the Schoolhouse Rock song, why is this a magic number?

And don't tell me there are health issues associated with playing for that length of time. Lots of activities aren't healthy, but shouldn't be illegal. Drinking binges, eating binges, marathon bingo playing...

I know the article doesn't contain all the facts in this situation, but I see legislators reacting to a few extreme and sad situations and creating significant impact on a nation of billions.

I'm sure there are ways around it and it'll be cracked pretty quickly. So actually, cracking the restriction will become a different sort of game. The article says you're hit with penalties if you play a character for longer than that period of time. So what if I use a different character after 3 hours? Can I keep playing? What if I go to a different PC with a different character?

I think this sort of topic always gets me going because:

-I loved music when the PMRC stuff was going on. There were some boundary-pushing songs and then they started looking for stuff in lyrics. Got congressional hearings in place and had great moments like John Denver, Frank Zappa and Dee Snider being questioned by Congress. Did '80s music ruin the world? Of course not. Is MTV a great place with only happy videos? We have guns, violence, sex. Where are the kitties and bunnies? I think their biggest worry is blurring out logos on hats and t-shirts. Tipper Gore, you're mission's not yet complete!

-I loved D&D when during sweeps periods, the local TV news would have a special report on the cult game sweeping the nation. Invariably, there'd be a remote from some poor geek's basement, with people in costumes. They'd have a couple of shots of these folks walking outside, peeking around corners, as if this activity was part of the game. 'Players create characters' was an issue they always played up, hinting that at some point players would actually BECOME that character and live full-time as that person - confusing reality with fantasy. Playing sessions lasted a long time and this, too, was a new thing for the world. I don't remember them reporting on dice being involved, but always laughed at the concept of the character in the real world. (Krieger the Ranger walks to the elevator door and pushes the 'up' button. You rolled a 4 on the 29 sided die. The elevator does not come yet.)

-I loved the Rocky Horror Picture Show when that got the same kind of treatment. The reports would always happen around Halloween, as if there was some relationship to the film.

Anyway, thank goodness that the Chinese gamers are all safe now.

Bolivian wrestling

2005-08-16T04:24:00.000-07:00

Readers might have seen this already as lots of local papers appear to have picked up the story. Click the title for a piece on Bolivian womens' wrestling. And they say all the new trends start in California!

Beat, but positive outlook with disappointed squirrels in the forecast

2005-08-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

Recovering from getting in at 4 this morning. Went to a Brave Combo show at FitzGerald's last night. Lori was with the band for the last week or so and this show was last on a week-long tour with shows in PA & OH. The show was great, but after load out, Lori and I had to go return one of the band's rental vans to the lot at O'Hare. Not that it took a long time, but hey, it was bed time.

Several shows coming up in the next few months that I'm excited early about. Pink Martini is coming to the Hothouse and King Wilkie to FitzGerald's in late September. The Skeletons to the Empty Bottle later this month. And Henry Rollins is doing a spoken word tour this fall. I'm even thinking of the Brian Setzer Christmas show at the HOB November.

I have to clean my gutters today. First, the one in the front IS clogged. I didn't get to it after the second wave of little helicopters fell and they all got stuck. I don't have little trees growing in there yet, though. Dad had foot high plants growing a year or two ago out of the gutters on his garage before he got around to cleaning them out.

My impetus for cleaning out is the squirrel I saw yesterday. I was pulling into the driveway and he was on the roof's edge, reaching down into the gutter and grabbing the little helicopters. It was like his own little snack bar. I know there's a ton of plant former life up there since ol' squirrely wasn't at the downspout end of the gutter, but at the opposite end. It must be loaded up there.

Die You Miserable Bitch

2005-08-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

The title provides a link to an article about neighborly relations in Hudson, FL. Bet they don't exchange Christmas cards.

France's Litigious Society

2005-08-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Bus riders take up car pooling. Bus company sues former riders for unfair competition and demands their cars be confiscated. Wonder what their demands would be if the former riders were walking to work instead of car pooling? Click the title for the story.

You pick the title!

2005-08-10T04:28:00.000-07:00

Your choice:

Video games cause death!

Finally figured out how to see Lara Croft naked!

The price to make it to level 4,009,534,676!

Terminal Hog gets what he deserves!

Woulda been The Last Starfighter if it wasn't for his being dead and all!

Click the title above for the story.

You got your strawberries in my fish! Well you got your fish in my strawberries! Hey...

2005-08-09T00:15:00.000-07:00

My rule of thumb generally is that I'll try anything once, but this might be reason number 2 not to move to Japan. As usual, click the title.

My Quick Wisconsin Tour

2005-08-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

It never happens as planned.

I scheduled off Friday, July 29 through Monday, August 1 to take the motorcycle to Glen Flora Days (click the title). The plan was to ride up early on Friday; maybe have breakfast in Appleton at the Queen Bee. The Queen Bee is a diner in downtown Appleton. I worked a couple blocks away for a few weeks in 2002 and we ate breakfast there several times a week. Great food. I'd arrive in Glen Flora in time for the Hog Rodeo and Turkey Trot events and the beer drinking there would surely be. A bed was already reserved at the farm and Dad was riding up on his own.

On Saturday, the parade, cookout, a ride, dinner at the farm, dance in town, and maybe a tavern. On Sunday, just hang out, maybe a long ride and then ride home on Monday, stopping in at the Capitol Brewery near Madison. This was the plan.

At work we're trying to fill one of our Vice President positions and taking advantage of scheduling opportunities, I decided early in the week to schedule two interviews on the Friday I was taking off. If I didn't, it would be a couple of weeks before we could see these candidates and I want to be done with this search by then. I decided to come into the office in the morning, get the interviews underway, conduct my portions, and be gone by 11 - noon latest. When I left at 3:30, I knew I wouldn't be riding all the way to Glen Flora that night.

At home, I made a reservation in Madison (Super8, woo-hoo) and was on the road by 6. Well, this was the road to Mom's so I could get the phone number for the farm and let Dad know I'd arrive the next day. Not like it was a big deal or anything, but didn't want him wondering which ditch I was in. Had a great fish fry in Whitewater and the hotel was fine.

Actually, this part of the trip is better than last year. Last year I left for the Madison stay-over at 10:30pm. So, over 4 hours better than '04 - Yeah! Maybe '06 is the year for the Friday drive-up?

Out the door at 6am on Saturday, rode up I-39, breakfast in Steven's Point, and stayed on the non-interstate roads after that. In fact, for the remainder of the trip, through Monday, we only rode 1 mile on interstate roads. Not a lot of roads in that area with twists and turns (a pain in the car, but fun on the bike). Went through part of the Chequamegon National Forest - A beautiful ride. Got into town just after 11:00 and made the parade at 11:30. Mini Tootsie Rolls seemed to be the preferred candy of the 2005 Glen Flora Days parade - had plenty of them.

After the pork dinner, Dad and I had a couple of beers in the shade next to the track for Glen Flora Days' newest event: Lawnmower Races. It was fun to watch - a couple good crashes and rollovers. And the rest of the afternoon went as planned - a good ride, little cruise through Ladysmith, dinner at the farm, checked out the dance, trip to the tavern in Ingram, hang out at the bonfire.

We decided to make a road trip of the next day. Dad wanted to go to a car show in Stanley and maybe visit Jerry Krisik in Amery. I didn't know where Amery was, but it was far enough away that we packed up everything and said goodbye to our hosts - after a quick toast and cinammon role breakfast - you know you want one right now.

We stopped in Ladysmith and visited some of Dad's friends and headed for Stanley. The car show was pretty cool once we found it. Stanley was a busy place that day with both a car show and a quilt show. The quilt show was well advertised with 13,000 signs along the main drag in town and arrows directing you and everything. One sign had numbers we thought might be GPS coordinates. We saw only 1 sign for the car show. We were pleased that we found the sign, but didn't want to leave town before seeing cars, too. A friendly lawn-mowing man pointed us in the right direction.

The show was great - totally open. Several from every decade back to the '30s - stock and modified. The 'star' of the show was a 1906 Cadillac - gorgeous - and mostly original. We finished by walking through the flea market, bought gas, and headed for River Falls.

Aunt Alice and her husband Ron live in River Falls. On the way we stopped for lunch in Menominee at a place with Spotted Cow on tap so you can't go wrong there, plus the food was pretty good. Found out later that Menominee is a college town - we noted at lunch that the place seemed to have their beers and liquor quite prominently displayed - more bar than grill, you know?

Now, when I ride with Dad, he likes me to lead. The only times when this is funny are when he knows the way to wherever it is we're going and I do now know the way. I have never been to Ron & Alice's. At lunch, he tried explaining which way I should go. Of course, he knows how to get there: "After the bridge, turn left at the 3rd light, take the next left, go down the hill, the next right, and there's is a big house with a driveway and there's a tree in the yard." Oh, and remember this because we have another hour before we get there. So, I'm sure much to his disappointment, I waved him around to lead as we came to River Falls.

But, Alice and Ron weren't home. I phoned my friend Debi in Minneapolis - maybe we could ride there - but she wasn't home. So, on to Jerry Krisic's in Amery.

Dad said we should stop at the Amery airport (Amery Municipal Airport) first. He had tried phoning Jerry before we left Glen Flora in the morning, but he had to leave a message. Jerry's a pilot and Dad thought maybe he was giving a lesson today. As we got close to Amery, Dad took the lead of course, since he knew where the airport was. I saw the airport sign and clicked my turn signal as Dad passed the turn. As I waited for him to double-back, I saw that this wasn't quite as small an airport as I had imagined. I don't think it has any commercial flights, but there were probably 20 small hangers and a couple new ones being built.

Jerry wasn't there, so we went to his house - Dad led from the start this time. After visiting a while, we went back to the airport. Jerry has been building an airplane for the last couple of years and we said we'd love to see it. It's more or less finished, but Jerry's waiting for a final inspection from the FAA. Apparently the inspections of non-commercially built planes are incredibly detailed and difficult - much more so than commerically built planes. Part of the inspection is that you must show proof that you actually built the plane and didn't hire someone to do it for you. Thus, he maintained a photo album of the various stages of building, with pictures showing him there working on the plane. Once the plane passes inspection, he must always prominently display a banner reading "experimental", apparently as a warning to any passengers "no professionals were used in building this airplane."

In Jerry's hanger, he also has a small 2-seater for giving lessons and a Cessna 6-seater. After we'd checked out his baby for a while (and I figured it's time to leave), Jerry asks: "So, you want to go up for a little while?" Well, alright - and he pulls out the Cessna, pumps some fuel in, and we're airborne. 20 minutes later we're back on the ground. And after a quick dinner in Amery, we're back at Jerry's for the evening. So much for my day of 'hanging around at the farm.'

I pulled out the map the next morning and plotted a route through to Baraboo. The worst area was a little construction around Chippewa Falls. The best section was 54 between Galesville and Melrose - it seemed to be almost entirely made of turns - some getting down to posted speeds of 15mph. So it was a great ride overall. Had lunch in Baraboo - again a place Dad likes to go, but I've not been there - get in front!

Stopped at the Harley dealership in Sauk City and the New Glarus brewery in New Glarus and home by about 8 or so. Saw a few deer during the trip; got one bug bite that's now just going away; and put over 1,100 miles on the bike total. And unlike last year, no rain.

Next year - breakfast at the Queen Bee for sure!

A reason not to live in Japan

2005-08-07T05:22:00.000-07:00

The title gets you to a Mainichi-MSN article about theaters in Japan being allowed to show a motion picture that depicts human genitals. Apparantly, this is something forbidden by the country's Administration Commission of Motion Picture Code of Ethics, or "Eirin". From the story, I gather that when a film is submitted to the board, Eirin can alter the film as it sees fit, including blocking out the offensive bits. Given the content of some of the Japanese comics I've read, I wouldn't have expected something like this. Huh. Do they then also have a rating system? Anyway, I've concluded, if nothing else, that it's a reason I don't want to live in Japan.

Science (and gaming)

2005-08-07T05:09:00.000-07:00

Click the title for a link to a Forbes article on 'remote-controlled humans.' The developers predict uses in the gaming industry.

Illinois Gov Blo Spins Wheels

2005-07-27T01:40:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich announced he's signing legislation making Illinois the only state in the nation to prohibit the sale or rental of violent or sexually explicit video games to minors - This according to Tuesday's Chicago Tribune. All the usual and expected bases are covered in the article - Retail associations filing suits immediately; Quotes from experts about censorship; Quotes from experts about impact to children; Quotes about government letting parents raise their children. While the article does not indicate how the legislation defines "violent or sexually explicit content", it indicates that the law contains these definitions.

-Trib quotes: "Other cities and states have attempted similar legislation, only to have courts strike it down as unnecessarily restrictive of free speech." Attorney Katherine Fallow for several merchant associations: "We don't believe any of these laws can be constitutional, which is what every court that has addressed this issue has said."

-The state is confident in the constitutionality of the law for many reasons, including the solid definition of the content in question.

-Gov. Blog says he got the idea for the law last year when he found out about JFK Reloaded, which is, I believe, a game ONLY available for download on the web and has never been available at retail/rental.

-The Gov's office cites the standard University study that shows frequent players demonstrate increased aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviors and decreased helping behaviors. Sounds like lots of normal teens to me. Plus, according to Fallow, every case has brought up this sort of point, and every court has rejected it as insufficient to warrant the free speech restriction. It seems we always get the university study references in these proposals. Where are the incredible, jaw-dropping statistics supporting the need for legislation? Where are the increased state-wide teen car-jackings and president assasinations? Where's the evidence that children need saving? Let children be children and let the parents parent.

The link (click the title) is to a 2003 article about a court decision concerning a similar law proposed in Indianapolis. It was struck down. I predict that's the destiny of the Illinois law as well.

My Bachelor Week

2005-07-24T05:15:00.000-07:00

I leave in half an hour to pick Lori up at Midway. She's been out east with Brave Combo for the last 10 days. I probably won't see her much today either, though. They played Johnny D's in Somerville, MA last night. I'm betting the show ended around 2am and they probably finished loading out by 3am. From there it was straight to Logan to return the rental cars and wait for everybody's flights. Her's took off a couple of minutes ago. It's like the kids coming back from camp - she'll be tired and stinky.

Saw Murderball yesterday - great film. It's about quadripalegic rugby players and specifically the U.S. quad rugby team and the time leading to the 2004 Paralympic games in Athens. Saw The Triplets of Belleville last week. Also very cool. When this came out a couple of years ago, I had it pegged for more of a kid's film. And I haven't payed attention to movie ratings in years. Anyway, it's inventive, sweet, unpredictable, and mostly visuals, music and sound effects. Very little dialogue. I rented Ghost In The Shell and still have that one. Maybe watch it while Lori's sleeping.

Saw Les Claypool on Friday night. Got about what I expected, but not really my cup of tea. Everyone was competent, but it was more jammy funk than I care for. The instrument line-up was great - bass, saxamaphone, xylophone, sitar and drums. Xylophone player moved to percussion from time to time and the sitar player moved to uke. Another sax player came in, too. The guy on xylophone was great - I can only think to describe his playing style (at times) like a heavy metal drummer playing the instrument - violent, fast, hard! It rocked!

I sat next to Bob Sirott at Mr. Beef for lunch on Friday. Lori's never interested when I relate these encounters. After all, "people on TV have to eat lunch, too." And I'm never one to bother them - hey, eat lunch in peace. I mean, she tells me when she talks to Matt Groening's assistant.

I ate at the Golden Nugget yesterday and when I was paying, the cashier asked if I was on 'XRT. She said I sounded like one of the DJs. Then, I was very conscious of what my voice sounded like when I replied. Argh! I just realized should have said 'yes' - maybe she would have given me a discount.

Been checking out lots of new music this week. Well, some just new to me, anyway. Some of it I'm really diggin'. Here goes:

Brand New Sin - Good, straight-forward hard rock - somewhere between AC/DC and Pantera.
The 69 Eyes - Gothy hard rock. Think late The Damned or Monster Magnet with a synth.
Kasabian - Rocking dance music. Not as hard as NIN and not as goofy at Electric Six.
Shout Out Louds - Pop/Rock. Haven't figured out a good way to describe them, but check out the Howl Howl Gaff Gaff disc - great stuff.

I also dragged out a lot of Talking Heads and Lyle Lovett this week. And Garbage. I never really paid much attention to these guys before, but I checked BeautifulGarbage out of the Library and really like it.

Hey, bowling starts in 5 weeks! Time to leave for the airport. Maybe I should bring Febreeze?

Elsie's Secret

2005-07-23T05:10:00.000-07:00

Maribou and lace must be less expensive than cotton or hemp. Click the title for a story on functional contraptions made for the moo cows.

I'll bet that cows have been saying for centuries that they'd feel better about themselves if they just had some sexy lingerie.

Access to the video's a pain, but the slide show gives you several good shots.

Happy Paul Ruebens' Day!

2005-07-23T04:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry I didn't get you a card! Click the title for all the necessary information. If you're in San Francisco today, don't forget to check out at least 1 of the 3 events organized to celebrate many aspects of the life and work of the man who is Pee Wee. As the website states: Paul Ruebens' Day "is a playful and naughty tribute to the unique work of actor Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman), as well as a public spectacle supporting sexual expression" So we're celebrating Paul Ruebens, but making our own public statement, too. And I'll bet we do it whether Ruebens likes it or not.

So, sorry Paul if you're trying to move the career along, we're gonna keep reminding people of the bits of your background you might want the public to be getting over by now.

I did like the snappy wording in this quote though: "we are not afraid or embarrassed by the pleasure we get from both Paul Reubens' work and masturbation. We want to bring those good feelings and child-like delight out of the shadows, into full view, back in the hands of the people."

Pac-Man gets stoned

2005-07-23T04:35:00.000-07:00

One of the studipest sales I've ever seen. As the ad states: "Re-live the '80s with this icon of fun." Click the title. I'd hoped to have more clever things to say, but I'm laughing too hard.

A reason to visit Delaware besides to visit a screen door factory

2005-07-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

Click the title and check out a recent brew from the Dogfish Head brewery in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

In fact, Sam Calagione, of the brewery, has a new brew coming soon. It'll be sold as Chateau Jiahu and was developed from residues found in China from 9,000 years ago. That brew used rice, honey, and grape and hawthorn fruits. Wonder if it goes well with nachos?

Cars and Birds

2005-07-18T04:43:00.000-07:00

The title's a link for a UK Ford commercial - car with a special feature allowing it to react and remain poop-free when a bird gets too close. Click the title to get there. I love it.

The commercial reminds me of when we first got one of our current cars, 2000 or 2001. I don't remember which car we had that day, but we went up to Summerfest for the day. Found a great place to park downtown on the street, not in a garage. Must have been a Sunday, because we didn't have to feed the meter and we could leave it there all day. Cool - a freebie!

Anyway, it was right next to this large tree. In fact, the tree extended out over the parking space - over the car's hood.

We came back about 12 hours later to a hood nearly completely covered in gifts from the birds. Didn't know exactly how to react! I wanted to be angry and upset for my new car had been so harshly initiated, but it just looked so funny, with the white splotches only on the front of the car - There was barely anything on the windshield.

Went through the car wash quite early the next day, as I recall.

Microscopic Hooks For Bad Fish

2005-07-10T04:36:00.000-07:00

Click on the title for a link to a London Times story about a device - more on the controversy surrounding the device, actually. The device is made for a woman to wear and, in the event of her being a victim of rape, the device attaches to her attacker's penis with microscopic hooks. The attacker will not be able to remove the device without medical assistance. I have no clever comment, just fascinated with the story, both the device and the debate.

Our Litigious Planet

2005-07-06T03:56:00.000-07:00

Russian woman sues NASA over recent events. Click the title for the story. Forget ambulance chasing, the future's in space probe chasing.

Music and Motorcyles - My Fourth So Far

2005-07-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

Busy weekend so far. After work on Friday, I went to FitzGerald's Great American Music Festival to see Brave Combo, Dallas Wayne, Jon Dee Graham, Ian McLagen, and Anders Osborne. They were all great.

Stopped by Pete and Sarah's on the way, just to say 'hi' and maybe park the bike in front of their house. (Turned out I found great parking right next to the club.) Anyway, as often as we're in that area, I've been scoping out different places to eat - we seem to have slipped into a rut as far as that goes. One of my missions is a place with good Gelato and Pete came through for me. He got a recommendation from a friend for a place called Freddy's in Cicero.

So, before the concert, I rode over to Freddy's and enjoyed a nice pizza slice, sitting outside and reading my book. Freddy's is a neighborhood corner Italian grocery with some hot food available and maybe 7 flavors of gelato. After my slice, I tried some Oreo gelato - yummy. Thanks, Pete!

When Lori got to the club, she hadn't eaten and wanted to grab something. She was happy with walking next door to Di Nico's - pizza's just so-so, but you got a lot and it's cheap. We enjoyed the quiet time away from the music festival, until the girl's baseball team came in. We left Di Nico's shortly after for the relative calm of the music festival.

On Saturday morning, my plan was to hop on the bike and end up on Sunday evening in Rock Island, IL for the Brave Combo show downtown - fireworks over the Mississippi and everything! I left at 11:20am - an hour and twenty later than I intended. I love trips with no itinerary!

I got off of I-88 right before the Quad Cities and took the local roads through Galesburg and over to Monmouth. (6 to 150 to 34 if you're scoring at home).

The ride on 150 was particularly nice. Once I got past some construction, it's a little 2-lane road, with some hills and a few twists and turns. Nothing challenging, but pretty after the interstate.

I didn't notice much change to Monmouth since the last time I was there, probably over 10 years ago. It actually seemed a little more depressed this time. I bought gas and a snack and called Lori. The band was playing in Ottumwa, IA - a private gig at a family reunion. Apparently, the public was invited after 9pm. Plus, she and the band were staying at a Days Inn, so I didn't have to get a hotel room, so I decided to make my way to Ottumwa. Straight west on 34 and you're in Ottumwa. Heck, I didn't even need to make a turn!

I stopped in Burlington (home of the Bees!) and wanted to go to the advertised casino there. I saw signs (casino parking that-a-way), but couldn't find the casino. The visitor information center, which was right next to the casino parking sign, was closed and the workers setting up for what looked like a wedding reception in the same building as the visitor info center said they didn't know where it was. What a curious place...Back on the road.

Dinner in Fairfield, IA followed. I stopped for gas and asked the clerk that I wanted to have dinner and was there a place in town she recommended? She said she hadn't eaten in Fairfield, but knew there were a couple of restaurants on the square and one on the edge of town called Kokomos. On that great advice, I ate at Kokomos and had a disappointing meal. "Open-faced turkey sandwich" was really 4 giant slabs of turkey on top of 1 slice of white bread with salty gravy and bland veggies. Of course, within a mile of leaving Kokomos, I passed 3 better looking restaurants, all with packed parking lots. The third was a barbequed rib place. It smelled great as I passed with a belly full of processed turkey and a curse muffled by my helmet.

Ottumwa reminded me a little of Appleton. Nice old town, right on the river. Ottumwa has a few hills, lots of trees, and a dam that looked very pretty right at sunset. The hotel was nice for a nap. The reunion was a bust. No one was dancing, so the host told the band to quit at 9. I arrived at 9 to hear the final song.

The next morning, the weather report showed severe thunderstorms throughout IA, due into the Quad Cities by evening. The next day they continued to IL and Chicago. The rain could be accompanied by high winds and hail, too. So after considering the alternatives, I decided to just go home that day. I left at 9:50 - greeted on the road by a super-strong headwind. Aside from a couple of hours in pouring rain one time, this was easily the most miserable I've ever been on a motorcycle. My helmet's visor kept getting blown up at least once every mile or so. As I headed north on 63, the sky ahead to the northwest kept getting darker and darker and the darkness kept moving eastward till it was directly in front of me. Finally, I got to I-80 and headed east. After about an hour, it was still merely windy - no longer dark as night.

Had a great buffet lunch at the World's Largest Truckstop at exit 284, just northwest of the Quad Cities. Really good cream of potato soup - creamy, bacony goodness.

Anyway, then I continued home. The weather got better. The wind died down. Took I-39 north to Rockford, then 20 to 23 to 176 to 45 to 120. The ride ended just as pleasantly as it had begun.

Best place stopped just for a break - Illinois welcome center on I-80 EB. Great view, clean bathroom, air conditioning, friendly people, travelers with actual picnic baskets. Worst place stopped just for a break - DeKalb oasis on I-88. Crabby people, crowded mini-mart, closed restaurant, construction, fresh tar. All-in-all a good trip. 730 miles, one hotel room, 2 sit-down meals.

Al's Lock & Safe does amazing work

2005-07-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

The link I found (click title) is more about the media attention than the story, but the story comes through loud and clear. Seems that Arthur Richardson accidently swallowed his friend's truck key. (A "couple of beers" preceeded this event). Luckily, Al's Lock & Safe was on the case.

Karnak says: July, Sheep Urine, The Simpsons

2005-07-01T03:19:00.000-07:00

Rip. Blow. Turn card around. "What 3 entirely unrelated topics are in this post?" (The only gag I can think of is that at one time they're all hot, but it's not very funny. Or "Name 2 warm things and something that's cool.", but I don't much like that one either.) On with the show:

Hey, Happy July, all! Enjoy the weekend and don't get blowed up by fireworks.

I know you up to date gamers may scoff at my raiding the bargain bins or being years behind the times, but nonetheless, I picked up the PC version of The Simpsons Hit & Run game a couple of weeks ago. This thing has been a ton of fun so far. Mr. Blue has delivered on speed and looks, too.

Click on the title for a link to a story about a new, very important use for sheep urine. Not sure what PETA thinks about this, but any organization named People Eating Tasty Animals probably doesn't care.

Venezuelian beer in the news

2005-06-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

Lovers can become wives with a diet of Regional beer. Click the title.

2005 rocks well

2005-06-23T03:22:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me yesterday that it's been a pretty good year for hard rock so far in 2005. I'm giving high marks to Nine Inch Nails's With Teeth, System of a Down's Mezmerize, Alkaline Trio's Crimson, and Judas Priest's Retribution. Check 'em out, check 'em out, check 'em out.

That said, tonight is the big polka show in Hartford, WI - LynnMarie, Kathy Vogt and a few others are squeezing out a show. See you there?

A Birthday, Cows, Tires, Nametags, Mr. Blue, and The Full Monty

2005-06-18T02:40:00.000-07:00

Not much going on lately, but plenty of it. So buckle up, pop some corn and settle in.

Went to Lori's Grandma's 80th birthday party last weekend - very nice, great day, saw the whole family. Stopped in Madison for the farmer's market. It was the annual "Cows on the Concourse" day. The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board promotes this as part of Diary Month. They have some pens set up with dairy cows, some adults and some calves. It was good - walk around, see the cows, buy cheese and coffee.

Get new tires on the motorcycle later this morning. Yay!

Went to River Splash, a street festival in Milwaukee. If I was all about just standing around drinking, it would have been perfect. We were in town getting Lori's rings cleaned, dining at Coquette Cafe and checking out the Hot Rod magazine sponsored car show/rally stop at Miller Park. After the jewelers, we drove to the lake and followed it back into downtown. Saw some beautiful houses going that way. All very cool and lots of fun. We had extra time, didn't want to go home yet, so we decided to check out this festival - first timers. The actual highlight of River Splash was speaking to the picture frame vendors (there was a small area with booths with stuff for sale). They had on these cool name tags with programmable, scrolling, electronic messages on them. They also had a cool set-up for processing credit card payments. After we chatted with them for awhile, we made our way to the other side of the festival where the only act on the schedule that marginally appealed to us was going to start their show. They didn't start on time and we got bored and left before they came on. Oh, the band was Light Up, a Styx tribute band.

Ultimately, it wasn't terrible, we just weren't into the festival. I mean, I enjoyed the tunes from the Beatles tribute band. And we talked to the picture frame vendors.

Got a new PC! It's superfast. I don't even remember just how fast, but I think it can do the Kessel run in 11 parsecs. It's just that clever. When we had 1 laptop and 1 desktop, we referred to them as the "laptop" and the "PC" in order to distinguish them quickly in the course of conversations. We've taken to calling the new one "Mr. Blue", mostly because it's blue. It has nothing to do with Eddie Bunker's portrayal of Mr. Blue in Reservoir Dogs, but we have discussed how the film would have been different if our "Mr. Blue" had actually portrayed Mr. Blue in the movie.

Saw The Full Monty at the new Drury Lane Theater at Water Tower. I've had the Broadway cast recording for a few years now and really like that - The papers all raved about the show - especially the wise-cracking, seen-it-all, piano-playing character. Steals the show, some said. In a word, the experience was 'Ugh'. The performers all performed well, the songs were good, but the book was dreadful and I didn't care for much of the direction. Blah! I thought the wise-cracking, seen-it-all, old timer was the worst part of the show. Theater was nice, though. Go rent the original film, which is great, and give the soundtrack a listen. Stop there.

Of course, because of the show, The Full Monty CD got frequent spins in the player over the last several weeks. And that led to other Broadway shows, especially Avenue Q and Little Shop of Horrors. A couple of new (to me) bands I'm playing a lot of this week are Kaiser Chiefs and Skindred. Kaiser Chiefs's debut rocks - very cool.

Jack Nine, Radio Nothing

2005-06-09T02:26:00.000-07:00

Big news in Chicago recently was a radio station format change from oldies to "Jack" radio, where they say they'll play anything. This was done based on the success of "Nine", that sells itself the same way - an open/no playlist. I knew I should know better, but based on the news, I decided to give them each a tryout.

What a great disappointment. As much as they sell on phrases like "we play anything", all I got were radio hits. There's plenty to choose from - What I heard went back to the early '60s and covered rock, pop, and country genres. When I was listening, there was no personality, no DJ, no song announcements.

Now I know the stations are owned and operated by giant corporations and should have expected what I got - music delivered by marketing as opposed to actual people. Like Icehouse and Red Dog are small brewery beers.

I know I'm not they're target demographic and I believe I'm the rarity, but I'd really listen to a station that played anything - Star Spangled Banner, followed by Dr. Dre, Jean-Luc Ponty, something from The King & I, and a XTC b-side. Surprise me! For a station that plays anything, could we at least get through an hour of broadcasting during which 1 track is played that we haven't already heard 50,000 times?

If you want something different, click on the title for a link to Guy Clark's website. Country-ish, singer/songwriter-type of stuff that's probably different than what you heard on the radio today.

Oh, well - Back to the digital jukebox. And more and more of my friends are saying they're satisfied with the satellite radio services, including the variety. I'm betting we'll get that with the next car purchase.

Ollie Tibbles becomes a train

2005-06-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

Metra recently named a new train for Ollie Tibbles - A heartwarming story indeed. It got a lot of press recently, so you might have seen it. I think it's worth a read.

Click on the title for the story.

Pete's future vacation plans?

2005-06-04T06:08:00.000-07:00

At first I thought Peter would start saving immediately. Even more disturbing to me, I think he may attempt this at home!

Clothes for chickens

2005-06-03T02:52:00.000-07:00

'nuff said. Click on the title.

Lori granted a brief Pleasant time

2005-06-03T02:24:00.000-07:00

My wife, Lori, works for a band called Brave Combo. Recently, the band played an Art Fair in East Lansing, MI, home to Wally Pleasant. Lori and I have the couple of CDs that Pleasant's released, but haven't seen him live - just never saw him playing anywhere.

While Lori was looking into the Art Fair, another, bonus reason she was interested in this show was because Wally Pleasant has played that Art Fair for 14 years in a row. The opportunity to see Wally Pleasant perform might arrive!

As details were arranged and finalized, however, Lori got the news that Wally wasn't playing the festival this year. Lori laughed it off as she worked with the festival organizers on the Brave Combo gig - it's a shame that when we show up in Wally's home town, he doesn't play a show he's played for 14 years in a row.

Bottom-line, the Art Fair arranged a 2-song set for Wally Pleasant right before Brave Combo's time. The event was even publicized in the local paper's entertainment section - click on the title for a link to the Lansing State Journal. About halfway through the article starts the related material and quotes.

Advances in bumper technology

2005-06-03T01:51:00.000-07:00

New to a bowling alley near you - smart bumpers. Apparently when you type in the players' names, you also indicate whether or not each bowler wants bumpers. Bumpers will automatically rise into position when the bowler who wants them is up and lower when the next bowler wants bumper-free bowling fun. We big kids can bowl bumper-free with the bumper set! Click the title for Hawthorn Lanes' website and check out their ad.

Do I need to pray before eating my danish?

2005-06-01T03:26:00.000-07:00

I'm probably missing something either in translation, but I'm not so sure. The way the story reads, a Danish Lutheran minister was suspended after he was quoted in an interview stating "there is no heavenly God." He's been reinstated, much to the delight of his flock, according to the item in yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times. The link (click on the title) is for a Yahoo story.

Feeling not so creative in the studio? Record more polkas!

2005-05-25T04:11:00.000-07:00

In recent interviews, members of the band Green Day stated they were in a funk in the studio as they started writing and recording the "American Idiot" CD. In order to stimulate the creative juices, they recorded polkas, dirty Christmas tunes and salsas, among other things. Click the title for the Rolling Stone piece.

Clogged drain? Neighbor's barky dog? Hit by lightning? Find me the problem that polka can't solve.

Open Casting Calls for Tony's and Fred's voices

2005-05-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

A couple of voice artists associated with selling cereal died this week. Thurl Ravenscroft, who was the voice of Tony the Tiger, and Henry Cordon, the voice of Fred Flintstone.

Henry took over voicing Fred after Alan Reed, the original voice of Fred Flintstone, passed away in 1977. I imagine that most of his lines as Fred during the last 28 years have involved yelling at Barney to give back his bowl of Pebbles cereal.

An even greater loss is Thurl Ravenscroft. In addition to Tony, a role he voiced for more than 50 years, Thurl voiced Kirby the Vacuum in the Brave Little Toaster movies and sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in the Christmas special. Click the title for an obit link.

Bet you wish you got my mail

2005-05-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

Hooray, Hooray, it finally arrived! Our very own copy of "Music from the 2005 Wisconsin State Polka Festival" CD! 13 bands including good ol' Syl Liebl Jr. & The New Jolly Swiss Boys. Wheeee!

That aside, I've been in a wierd, but good, pop/prog mood lately. Listening to lots of Yes, Rush and The Moody Blues. And The Beatles, too, for some reason. Checked out the Kaiser Chiefs and the new one by Robbie Fulks, Georgia Hard. Recommend the Chiefs, but am not sure about Fulks' new disc. I need another listen or two, but highly recommend anything else he's done.

Off to Michigan for the weekend and am hoping to catch the new Star Wars at some point during the trip. I'm looking forward to the trip, but am bummed because I had planned this to be a motorcycle trip, but Lori needing a ride back (she flew to meet up with the band) put the kibosh on that. It's working out alright anyway as it looks like it's going to rain on Sunday, so even if I didn't have to pick her up, I wouldn't have rode this trip.

RIP Frank Gorshin

2005-05-20T04:25:00.000-07:00

Among so many other things, he was a great Riddler and will be missed. One of the icons of the old Batman series. Click title for obit.

I see 123, but where is 12345 Fake Street?

2005-05-20T04:19:00.000-07:00

I'm surprised the 5-digit adressing issue in Lake County is still going on. Still I'm disappointed in the article. I really wanted to read the quotes from the individuals who object. As always, click on the title.

Increase your vocabulary special! Today's word: seigniorage

2005-05-17T05:18:00.000-07:00

Another stab at the U.S. one dollar coin, eh? I like using them, but still don't think they'll catch on here for everyday use unless we eliminate the one dollar bill. Based on the article, everyday use isn't necessarily what the U.S. government is aiming for, rather tapping into the collector market similar to the U.S. quarter series. Create and insert your own joke about the U.S./Franklin Mint joint venture here.

Click on this post's title for the article. Good luck, Phil.

Love is blind with the blood in its eye

2005-05-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

I asked Lori about this story. She said she wouldn't post my bail if we were in the same circumstances. I guess ours is not an "as long as you both shall live" but is actually an "until I stab you in the head" marriage. Click on the title for the story.

Wizzing on advancement

2005-05-07T06:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Bulls for a fun season, but man, what a tough, frustrating way to lose game 6! Argh! Everybody get healthy and let's do it again next year.

Well, with the Cubs seemingly in the tank and no NHL playoffs, I guess it's a KC Cougars game this summer and then might as well start thinking football.

Putting a fork in Texas

2005-05-06T04:30:00.000-07:00

Checking out mostly new releases this week: Nine Inch Nails, Ben Folds, Mudvayne. Also listening to plenty of Andrew W.K. for some reason. I just love the nut!

Got back into town on Monday after being in Texas for a few days. The Harley rental process was a pain. It started out with well-intentioned, but untrained, employees from other departments trying to run the rental desk. Once we got through finding the reservation and filling out paperwork, etc., that's when I was told that not only didn't they have the bike I reserved, but they'd rented out all of their bikes and the scramble to put me on something ensued. Bottom-line, got a slightly different version of the model I wanted, a wonderful ride for the day, a discussion with the rental manager when she returned to the office the next day, and a reasonable discount for my trouble.

The rest of the trip was great. Lori and I had a fine time at the Cubs/Astros/Maddux/Clemons game. The Denton Arts & Jazz Fest rocked as usual.

The bowling year finally wrapped up. I was very pleased that I finished averaging 212, a personal best for a winter league average. Now it's time to be getting ready for summer - planning a few weekend rides and some projects around the house.

Perry Bible Fellowship

2005-04-24T03:30:00.000-07:00

The Perry Bible Fellowship comic strip is new to me and I think it's pretty cool. Offbeat, often funny (sometimes not), sometimes dirty (!). The latest one made me wanna post a link - just click on the title above. When you get to the site, check out "One More Day" and "Genius Sir" to start with.

I'm getting everything in order for our annual Spring trip to Texas this week. Lori packed up the car last weekend and I fly down in a few days. As per our usual plan, each day is loaded. Provided the weather holds, I'm spending the first day on a new Harley Softail Heritage. We've crammed in a drive to Houston, a Cubs/Astros game, 2 - maybe 3 - concerts, and a full-day Arts & Jazz Festival.

GO BULLS!

This week's personal heavy rotation review includes ZZ Top, Queens of the Stone Age, Rollins Band and Green Day. American Idiot is such a great disc - Check it out, Check it out, Check it out!

Headlines Neil Gaiman Didn't Write

2005-04-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

I love it when reporters report on reporters. For instance, when the Florida/Presidential election/hanging chad fun was happening, at some point there were the reports on the media coverage: "Look at all the satelite trucks behind me, Ken". Here's the media reporting on stories that would get media attention if only they were true. Sheesh!

http://www.comcast.net/entertainment/index.jsp?cat=ENTERTAINMENT&fn=/2005/04/13/106475.html

Just got a boil order until further notice. Although we were watching a great South Park at the time of the interuption/announcement, we were glad to get the news. Last time this happened, there was a little flier on our side door when we got home. Don't know how long the paper was there before we noticed it, as we don't walk past that door every day.

A diverse week for musical enjoyment, as usual. Digging Leon Redbone, Pantera, and Dogs Die In Hot Cars. Also Tears For Fears - always have a soft spot for them.

Been really getting into Aqua Teen Hunger Force lately - way too funny and I can't decide whom I like best.

Check out a new ESPN show on Tuesday nights, 7pm, called "Bowling Night". The show's pretty lame, but Brave Combo wrote and performs the theme song. The show's producers might start using more of the band's music for the music featured as the show goes in and out of commercial breaks, too.