Public Service Announcement

This post is probably overdue, but I had to wait till the right moment. I know I have MILLIONS of fans out there waiting to hear my every word, so I had to think long and hard how to share the good news (for me - bad for others). So with great excitement I would like to announce that I.... BigShow of Rochester.... am officially off of the market. You might want to reread that sentence and yes, it's correct. So with deepest apologies to Britney, Brittany, and Hilary (you should have called me!!), I would like to introduce Hazel.



Hazel is an incredible person that I met through Kristi a while ago but she wasn't "available" till most recently. We've been seeing each other for a couple of weeks and I think we're at the committed point. So again, sorry to all the millions of women out there who have my autograph and the 555 number that I gave you, but I know this is the right thing for me:) She has beautiful eyes which her driver's license says are "HZL" - I'm not so sure about that but it's cute. Besides, everything on my driver's license is correct... isn't yours? Hazel works hard as a nurse here in town (shocker!) and not only has a kind heart, but is probably as talkative as I am. She and I are pretty bad together in a movie so I apologize in advance for all the people we'll piss off from here on out at a movie theatre. That's why I only go to one movie a year. She is a strong Christian and shares in a lot of my beliefs which is important to me. She's even met the folks already last week at Thanksgiving. She had to work all day so came over and enjoyed a feast along with Jan and Regan. I had enough food for 10 people I think!

I hope that each of you gets the opportunity to meet Hazel very soon. She'll be at post-bowl tomorrow night for anyone else that wants to join us.

So it's still pretty cold in Rochester. I woke up early and decided to come in and blog right away. Plus get some shopping for the Nephews done. No more snow yet but I think more is on its way this week.

I'll let you all off easy this morning with a shorter blog since I know yesterday's blog stopped production in the work force for longer than it should have!

Oh yeah, and still no donuts from Matt. Get on the ball buddy!

Song of the Day - Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash. As you'll read, Hazel and I went to Walk the Line the other night and last night there was an entire 60 minutes on Johnny Cash that was being replayed on the Hillbilly Network. Or is it CMT? Same difference right Pitzen? I've always liked Ring of Fire though. Nobody mentioned about him recording with U2 for The Wanderer for Zooropa. I think that was Johnny's best song (I'm biased of course).

Video of the Day - So for only the 2nd time in 2005 (and third in the past year and a half) I went to a real live movie theatre, paid $8 a friggin ticket, and sat through a live movie. Walk The Line with Joaquin Phoenix playing Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon playing June Carter was a great movie. It's similar to Ray where they show all of his drug and alcohol addictions and only a brief period of post-recovery. It was amazing how well I thought Phoenix portrayed Cash and was trained to even sing in the same fashion. But not only could I hear all the singing of the movie, but I could hear a lot of the singing from Rent which was playing next door. So this is the last time I go to Cinimagic for a movie. It was very annoying to hear singing while the quiet emotional parts were going on in our movie. Yet another reason I don't go to movies. Plus you can't rewind or pause to go to the bathroom. What fun is that?

Webpage of the Day - Yet more astonishing news about the King of Pop. Well, probably not astonishing to those of us that thought it was obvious but whatever....

HAVE A GREAT WEDNESDAY!!! and last day of November!!

A Nice Long Blog

I've spent the past 3 days progressing through the five stages of grief after the loss at Kansas on Saturday. Here is a good definition of the purpose of the five stages:

There are five stages of grief. If we get stuck in one stage or the other, the process of grieving is not complete, and cannot be complete. Thus there will be no healing. A person MUST go through the five stages to be well again, to heal. Not everyone goes through the stages at the same time. It is different for each person. You cannot force a person through the stages, they have to go at their own pace, and you may go one step forward then take two steps backward, but this is all part of the process, and individual to each person. But, as stressed, ALL five stages must be completed for healing to occur.

1 - Denial - "this can't be happening to me" or in the case of me "this shitty coaching can't be happening AGAIN"
2 - Anger - "why me?" or "why do we always lose the games that matter?" Trust me - I was in this phase most of the weekend
3 - Bargaining - I prayed for it all to be a bad nightmare and let us play the game again but no luck. God already pulled out all the stops with the Missouri loss and the Nebraska schlacking of Colorado to allow us the opportunity to be playing for the Championship spot..... God already performed two miracles and decided to let us win it on our own (we should have)
4 - Depression - This was me yesterday as I refused to wear anything that says ISU (which people will realize is probably 90% of my wardrobe. It either comes from Eddie Bauer or says Cyclones on it)
5 - Acceptance - This is the point where I can move on with my life. I have accepted that McCarney is an idiot and we will never win the big game when it matters. I have accepted that the Cyclones are a 2nd rate team and will always be such. I have accepted that we'll probably go back to Shreveport for a bowl game this year since we have idiots running the Athletic Department (who also refuse to fire McCarney). I have decided to move on to other things that matter like Iowa State Men's Basketball (3-1 already but who the hell is Iona????).

A light dusting again today in Rochester but it is really slick out with a lot of ice. Just means there are a lot of idiots on the road to avoid!! It's cold too so feels like Winter out. We might be stuck in this mode for a while!

But seeing the snow reminds me of a story to share:

THE LAST TIME ADAM WENT SLEDDING

In college at the south end of Ames there was the Hockey Arena, and a kick ass hill that we would always sled down in the middle of the night. It was about a 3 minute walk from Towers where I lived for 3 years which made it a lot of fun. Someone would always build a huge ramp towards the bottom of the hill and we'd see how many teeth we could break after an evening of drinking. We'd all steal (or "borrow") trays from the cafeteria to use as sleds. Put Pam cooking spray on the bottom of the tray and it speeds you up! Sledding is an engineering art form! There'd be stupid moments where we'd get 15 of us in one chain like a roller coaster and aim for the ramp. After a huge crash, it'd take 5 minutes to pull us apart and off one another. Never any broken bones from what I can remember.

One time in the post-dorm living days, we decided to go sledding and Eddie, Andy and I found Jamie whom also had the huge tractor tire tubes that we were using for sledding. We probably left around 11pm for the hill and I swear, only ONE PERSON (or BOY) was inebriated. And it wasn't me. We had a blast with the huge tires as we could fit two of us easily on each one. I would go down solo and hit the ramp landing face first on the ground on the other side. I remember having to feel my teeth swearing I had lost at least one of them. Luckily they were all there. Jamie thought it'd be funny to try to knock us off as we came down the hill so he'd stick his foot out and try kicking us or spinning us as we went down the hill.

Well there came a point where Eddie, Andy and I were at the bottom of the hill, and Jamie at the top with the other Tube in hand. So I yelled for him to come down and we'd knock him off. Bad idea..... I was in the middle and as he came at us full speed, the last thing I remember is lowering my shoulder. The rest of this story comes from the bystanders as I don't remember any of it. Eddie says he's never seen a guy of my size go flying through the air as far as I did. I was on the ground and speaking gibberish for a couple of minutes before they finally helped me up. My head had swollen on the top to the size of about half a softball within seconds of hitting the ground. Took the three of them to drag me up the hill into the truck (again, I remember none of this). We went to the emergency room and I started remembering things along the drive - especially the severe headache.

Once there, I had to get the insurance number so I had to call my folks. I caught them asleep (it was 1am by this point) and dad gave the phone to mom saying I'd been in an accident. Mom answered the phone like this "how's the car.....". I said "it was a sledding accident mom but I'M FINE if you care...." She figured I wouldn't be fine if I wasn't calling. Whatever:) Love ya ma! So once back in the Doctor's office, he had me stand still with my arms outstretched and my eyes closed. I thought I was doing a pretty good job of standing still but when I opened my eyes, Andy said I wasn't even close. So I was diagnosed with a concussion and sent home. I had a headache for 4 days and stayed home from classes the next day. I remember Jamie coming in to check on me before he went to work the next morning and if I was more mobile, I would have killed him!!! So Emily, don't trust your daddy when he says "let's go sledding!"

There - a nice long blog to start off your Tuesday with!

Song of the Day - The Family Guy Season 4 DVD set comes out today. I'll snag it sometime today I'm sure and get some laughs in over the next couple of days. But thanks to a submission by "Pat, The" - I have Rocketman going through my head. Click on the Webpage of the Day and you'll see why.

Video of the Day - Anything with Family Guy today. Sunday's episode was pretty funny even though Fox had everything delayed 15 minutes because of the OT game and screwed up my Moxi recording for Sunday night. Oh well, still got to see it all.

Webpage of the Day - Isn't Stewie the greatest? Enjoy!

Have a great Tuesday!!!

Catch Up

So welcome back to work everyone. I took pretty much all of last week off since I had class/graduation from my Leadership Class on Monday, then was out the rest of the week. I'm back at work today as are most of you so let's keep smiling and remember that it could be worse!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I apologize for lack of posts but it was nice to enjoy my parents in Rochester and pretty much do as little as possible. We fried 2 turkeys that turned out AMAZING (thanks to Pitzen for the helpful advice) and I'm still eating tons of leftovers (which is great this time of year). Watched a bunch of movies this weekend, and of course a ton of football. Still can't believe the Cyclones lost Saturday. How pathetic was that?

My Nephew Al turned the big 3 yesterday. So:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEXANDER

I talked to him last week and asked how old he was going to be and he didn't answer right away. I thought he might be showing me over the phone so I asked him to tell me how old he was going to be and he said "three". He said he wanted a spiderman cake so not sure what they ended up getting for him. Al was the one dressed as Woody from Toy Story back in my Halloween pictures. Elliott's next as he'll turn 5 in February. Actually my great grandmother turns 97 next week, and Pitzen has a birthday too. I think you'll be 28. I get confused since we still act like we're 20 when we're around each other.

Heather's dream came true recently as Nick and Jessica broke up. I know all the guys in the world are thinking he's an idiot for letting her go, but beauty can only take you so far in my mind. He will have very little problems finding someone new I'm sure and hopefully he can find someone with more than half a brain. I know she's good looking, but she is dumb as a doorknob. Only so much of "Nick, how do I make scrambled eggs" one guy can take. I guess that means there won't be any more Newlyweds coming out anytime soon. Honestly, who thought that would last?????

Fun day in NFL yesterday. Vikings won (woo-hoo!), Packers lost (bummer!) so I get to listen to all the Packer Fans whine all day blah blah blah..... Eagles won which means donuts in the lab. The OT game yesterday between the Giants and the Seahawks was fun to watch as well. I was middle of the pack in my football pick pool this week. Worst part is there is no way of beating my roommate Wheeler after tonight's game. Oh well. I have yet to win any money this year which is pretty pathetic.

XBox 360 is out and we saw a line last Monday night in front of Best Buy for it. I thought people were lined up a week early to get the Family Guy DVD (which comes out tomorrow!!!). I've read about all the problems they are having with the new XBox and just wonder how Microsoft continues to get away with releasing stuff way too soon. They do the same thing with every operating system but people continue to upgrade. Oh well.

Song of the Day - Bach's Air on a G String was on the radio on the way this morning. Yeah, I have it going through my head still. Need to find my recording of that to get rid of it.

Video of the Day - I watched a bunch of these lately. The one for today is Mind Hunters which has Val Kilmer and Christian Slater, and L.L. Cool J (Mama said knock you out). It was different but still pretty good. About a bunch of FBI trainees that are sent to an island to try to "profile" a situation there. Snag it on NetFlix if you want.

Webpage of the Day - I am going to create a new site called www.firemccarney.com and get a petition started. Till then, enjoy the Phallic Logo Awards....

HAVE A GREAT MONDAY!!!

Fire McCarney NOW

I hate you Dan McCarney. Not only do you lose the 3rd OT game this year (when we should have won all 3 in regulation) but you blow yet another big game to put us in the Big 12 Title Game. You have to be the worst coach (as I've continued saying for the last 11 years) and you are a poor leader that will never win a big game when it matters. For the Iowa State AD, please fire Dan now and hire a real coach that knows how to win a game, not play conservatively in order to save a lead. What a pathetic performance for the cyclones.

I need to go break something... not in a good mood right now.

Give Thanks to God

Again, it's Thanksgiving week so I am continuing on my Week of Thanks theme....

I'm thankful first off that the Vikings won again last night. Too bad I'm not at work to listen to all of the Packer Fans whine.... it's fun listening to them sometimes and laughing in return.

Philipians 4 in the Bible was one of the readings at Church on Sunday and I think it's quite appropriate for this week. I'd love to share it with you....

(NIV)
4 - Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
5 - Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 - And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

How incredible is that? Thank God for everything He gives us and everything on this earth that He has created. If you put your trust and faith in God, look at what we get..... peace of God in our hearts and minds. That's all I can ever hope for. I always pray that I can keep my trust in God at all times but it's so difficult. But if you think about it, why fight Him? Why would I trust anyone else (including myself) to guide me from day to day through life? Don't fret, God's in control.

8 - Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
9 - Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Again, keep your eye on the prize and stay on God's path and look what we get.... God's peace. I frustrate myself for straying from God from time to time in my life and I also see those as times when I'm not at peace in my life. Coincidence? I don't think so;)

11 - I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
12 - I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

WOW! Being content in any and every situation. Remaining calm and knowing that whatever is happening, God is in control. Having faith that God will provide for me and my loved ones as long as we have trust in Him.

13 - I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

I've used this one before but that's an incredible thought. The Bible also talks about moving mountains by having faith and I do think it's possible. Remember that Christ wasn't the only one that was able to perform miracles in the Bible. Other prophets and apostles did as well but that was because of their unwavering faith in God. I think all of us are capable of miracles.... just depends on your definition of miracles.

20 - To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

To my Creator and controller of everything around me.... give praise and THANKS!

Just some inspiring words for this Tuesday.


Song of the Day - I'm listening to some Moses Hogan chorales lately while in the car. He was a composer that did a 2 week composer-in-residence stint at Iowa State while I was there and has some wonderful gospel chorales that are fun to sing and listen to. One of my favorites goes "My God is so high, you can't get over him. He's so low, you can't get under him. He's so wide, you can't get round him. You must come in by him through the lamb". Good stuff I tell ya!

Video of the Day - I also watched Skeleton Key this weekend which was ok. It wasn't as scary as it could have been. But it's worth a viewing. Kate Hudson's kind of cute in it too which helps. Interesting plot.

Webpage of the Day - Top 11 Signs You're at a Geek's House for Thanksgiving

A Week of Thanks

This is going to be a great week! I'm in class this morning for our Graduation from my Leadership Excellence class. We've had 16.5 days of class this year (that's 132 hours) and it's been one of the most informative and enjoyable education I've ever had. We've discussed all kinds of subjects to help make us more aware and how to deal with different people, situation plus how to hopefully make a positive impact on others and our work. I love talking about it (as I love to talk just about everything in my life) so if you want to know more, just let me know sometime when you have some time to discuss;)

But After graduation tomorrow, I have the rest of the week off from work. I had a bunch of projects planned but I've already done them all. I have some things to do in the garage (hanging some shelves, tool racks, etc.) and some cleaning to do for my company on Thursday, other than that I'm catching up on some movies and some relaxation! I'll keep blogging though. Sorry for the lack of blog on Saturday, my modem wasn't connecting for some odd reason.

It's Thanksgiving week and my folks will be coming to Rochester and my new townhouse to enjoy a feast as only I can provide!! I love cooking! But in the spirit of the holiday, I'm using this week to remind myself how truly blessed I have been by God and how lucky I am for having the gifts I have and the family and friends (not to mention my MILLIONS of fans). So I'd like to share with you some random thoughts of what I'm thankful for at the moment. So just like we did in 2nd grade:

I'm Thankful For....

1) The Amazing season by Iowa State in football.
2) The loss by Missouri Saturday that would allow a trip to beat Texas if ISU wins and Colorado loses next weekend.
3) Rivalries and the emotions and camaraderie they create. Go Vikings!!!
4) That I was raised properly in a good Christian Home and taught the difference between right and being a Hawkeye fan.
5) That I am able to play bass professionally with La Crosse and create music with my friends in hopes of the glorification of God.
6) That my last concert is over without too many casualties. Read the wonderful review (and it's knock on the music) here.
7) JEN DON'T READ THIS ONE!!! Clay is finally gone from The Apprentice and I'm thankful that Randal was saved despite a minor screwup. Hoping that Alla is next!
8) That Chipper Jones is a real role model for our kids by giving up some of his salary in order to help the team effort financially.
9) U2 and the fact that they KICK ASS!!! There was a little blurb on them on 60 minutes last night that talked about the rock and roll vs the political activist side of U2, but especially of Bono. I thought it was interesting and Bono had a great line towards the end when asked if 50 years from now if they'd be remembered as a rock group, or for their political stuff. He said "definitely as a rock group since most of the political things we're fighting for will have been solved by then". I thought that was a cool way of saying it.
10) Harry Potter and all of you FREAKS out there who worship these books. I am proud to say that I have not jumped on this bandwagon yet and will never watch a movie or read a book..... and mainly just to spite my mother who thinks they are the greatest books ever written. Love ya ma! Just glad Harry can entertain all of you.
11) The fact that Hy-Vee is open 24 hours a day so I can do my shopping at midnight when there's nobody there in my way, and there are 30 stockers who know exactly where everything is when I can't find the Karo syrup or whatever else is on my list.
12) We are only 3 years from electing a new president. I wish I could fast forward time....
13) Slippers and blankets that allow me to keep the house cold and save money. I'll turn the heat up when you get here this week Mom!
14) My new Turkey Fryer to make the most kickass turkey ever this week for my Thanksgiving dinner! I'll let you know how it turns out but Pitzen promised to direct me towards a successful turkey!
15) And last for today - I'm thankful for God, Family, Friends, and U2.... not necessarily in that order.

Song of the Day - Hazel brought over the new Madonna CD Confessions on a Dance Floor which is pretty cool. I like how the songs run together creating a kind of DJ mix, or a more artistic feel to it. I like how Madonna also keeps redefining herself and she's probably one of the few artists out there that can do that. Reminds me of another band I've mentioned once or twice before that starts with "U" and rhymes with "U2".

Video of the Day - I watched a couple of movies this weekend to discuss, but the first was Madagascar which was the cartoon with Chris Rock and Ben Stiller in it. Again, I still don't like Ben Stiller, even when he's a cartoon character. It was cute and I'm sure kids would like it, but wasn't as good as I was hoping. It's always hard to measure up to The Incredibles though!!!

Webpage of the Day - I'm not a fan of Pink but this was kind of funny. Why you'd name your dog "F**ker" is beyond me but whatever.....

Have a great Thanksgiving Monday!!!

Dangit!

This has to be the worst day ever! The Brews Brothers did not show up last night for bowling and the Lightning Dorks beat the living crap out of us. 7-0. That's the worst thing that could have happened. All of us have a share in the blame, including me not able to attend more than the first 20 minutes of the showdown. I think a game of "kick me in the jimmy" with a class full of 3rd graders would hurt less than this. Congrats to the Lightning Rides-Girls-Bikes team. In your honor, I am writing you the following haiku:

You kicked our asses
Up and down and all around
Now we have nothing

And in honor of our pathetic Brews Bros coach, you get your OWN haiku:

Pat you are worthless
Does Hockey Coach have value?
Where are the donuts

So that's all I've got to say about that.

It's snowing again in Rochester. There must have been a lot of people that read my rules for driving on the new Highway 52 yesterday as everyone was following the rules this morning on my drive in. A pleasant surprise!

Concerts tonight and tomorrow night in La Crosse. Lots of different styles of music but still a decent show for what you pay. Just wish it were warmer though! I'm off most of next week, but don't worry! I'll still be blogging!! Check back for a "Thanksgiving Week" theme! I'm also hoping to be able to blog tomorrow morning with my sports predictions as I always do on the weekends!

Song of the Day - To inspire my fellow Brews Bros, I have I Will Survive playing this morning (the kick ass Cake version)! Don't worry, we'll be back and we'll be better than ever!!!

Video of the Day - Haven't watched too much this week, but couple of movies on tap for this weekend including Madagascar, Skeleton Key, and another viewing of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles!

Webpage of the Day - I actually am linking to Kahn's blog from yesterday. Kahn described our experience with the Jones "Holiday" Pop Gift Pack. It was pretty crappy pop and I was ill all of yesterday from the Brussell Sprout Pop.

Enjoy and TGIF!!!

An Educational Blog

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!!!! Heather has always been able to call me "old" ever since we first met in college. She said she thought I was "OLD.... like 30 or something" when I was only 21. But today she herself is "older" and closer to 30. Heather is most likely the coolest band teacher in the state of Iowa. Not only does she have a music degree from the illustrious Iowa State University, but Heather is educated and licensed in the art of shopping. Seriously - I think she is the closest thing I know to a "professional shopper" which is awesome because she knows where to get the best deals and the nicest stuff! I'm always amazed when we're out looking for stuff and her ability and efficiency to shop! So Happy Birthday Heather..... hope the kids brought in cupcakes for you!

Congrats also to Rob and Leslie in New York (NEW YORK CI-TY?!?!?!?!) on the birth of a beautiful baby girl, Phoebe. I anxiously await meeting her and the donuts that come with a new birth!!!

So today's blog will be part of my BigShow's Educational Series. Unfortunately it will be directed to my Rochesteronians but it is something that everyone can benefit from. Today's topic is:

RULES FOR DRIVING ON A 6 LANE HIGHWAY

Now that the Great Wall of Highway 52 is complete and all 6 lanes of 52 are open, I think it is way overdue to educate some "individuals" (sorry, that's the nicest word I could think of to describe the idiots) on how you should drive when you see 3 lanes to choose from while traveling through Rochester.

Right Lane - This is the lane on the far right (your other right, Drew). This lane has one primary purpose, to allow people to get on and off of the highway. If you are just getting onto the highway, you are allowed to drive in this lane. If you are exiting the highway WITHIN THE NEXT 2 EXITS, you are allowed to drive in this lane. Note the capital letters in that last sentence please. Just because you have to exit in 3.1 miles, doesn't mean you can be in the right lane making it impossible for people to enter the flow of traffic. And if you do enter the highway traffic, you MUST get out of the right lane before the next entrance ramp. Remember, I don't make up the rules, I just help educate and enforce them. The secondary purpose of the right lane is one I reluctantly admit is a necessity but it's for the really dumb people that feel the need to go WAY slower than the posted speed limit. The speed limit from South Broadway to 55th Street will remain 55mph. Trust me, we have a similar road in Cedar Rapids where I grew up and while the speed limit has varied over the years, it has ALWAYS remained 55mph through the downtown area. The minimum in the right lane is 45mph though. Any slower than that, you should be taking a bus, cab, or side roads.

Center Lane - This is the center lane of the 3 (your other center, Drew). This is for the majority of traffic in Rochester. Once you have entered the flow of traffic, the center lane is the primary lane for traffic to flow in. It allows you to get from point to point without annoying other oncoming traffic from the right lane, and keeps you out of the way of the fast people on the left. We will get to these "cool" people in a minute. The minimum speed for the center lane though is 55mph... the posted speed limit. If you feel the urge to go 50mph, please reread the previous paragraph. If you have an unfortunate bubba in your way going under 55mph, PROCEED WITH CAUTION. This will be the most difficult decision you make all day.......

Left Lane - This is the lane ALLLLLL the way on the left (your other... nevermind). This lane is also known as the "fast lane" and going 55mph does not mean you're going fast. I know Minnes"o"tans have difficulty understanding the difference between left and right lanes on an interstate so please pay careful attention. The minimum speed for the left lane is technically 56 mph but that is not encouraged. Left lane is for passing only, not for driving and talking on your cell phone, or beating the kids in the back seat. Leave the fast driving to us professionals please and stay out of my left lane:)

So with that, I welcome the new Highway 52 and hope and pray that everyone has learned something valuable today. If you have 4 lanes (which there are stretches in Cedar Rapids like this), then the far left lane is the "new" lane and is the speed-trap lane. At this point, the police use helicopters and markings on the pavement to gage your speed so traveling at super fast speeds in that far left lane is highly discouraged!

Tonight is the biggest bowling matchup of the year as the Immortal Brews Brothers take on the Whiney Lightning Dorks. Both are tied in the standings and with 7 points on the line, there is a lot of tension in the air. I'll be there for the beginning but I have to go to rehearsal but hope to have minute by minute updates on my drive and I will of course publish the results here tomorrow. Drew is calling me names trying to derail me (called me Don Zimmer) so I accept that and nicknamed him Pedro. And like Pedro.... my team will show him "WHO'S YER DADDY!!!!"

Song of the Day - Roommate and I went to the public library last night to do some looking. Remember, per the "best of Rochester", that's the place where women like to pick up guys!!! And no Angie, no girl picked up your red headed stud!!! But I found the soundtrack to JFK which has some neat military music. I remember a buddy in High School had it and I always liked it, but it is now impossible to find. So thanks to the Public Library, I am listening to it. Has some really neat drumline tracks if anyone likes that sort of stuff.

Video of the Day - Only video you need to be watching right now is the new Vertigo DVD by U2 - Live from Chicago. Yes, I found Claire on there during Yahweh when i threw her up on my shoulders and said "you WILL be on this DVD"..... it's pretty cool! I haven't seen me up close yet, but haven't gone through the "extras" of the DVD yet.... more to come on my newest claim to fame!! The concert was so incredible though and reiterates the fact that U2 IS the greatest band on earth!!

Webpage of the Day - So in honor of the new U2 DVD, I thought this was pretty funny. But you HAVE to continue watching more than the first 10 seconds. Dad, your hero and idol is in the cartoon towards the end! Enjoy, I got a good laugh out of it!

Have a Wonderful Thursday!! GO BREWS BROS!!!

A Blog About Nothing in Particular

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOY!!!!!

It snowed in Rochester and SE Minnesota last night (still is out there unfortunately) and now it's cold as crap and ice everywhere. I had to drive to La Crosse last night for rehearsal and the drive over was much worse than the drive back. I had to go about 50mph the whole time which frustrates me plus when I arrived, I was still so tense from focusing so much on that drive. Same thing when I got home last night, couldn't sleep very well from being so focused on the drive home. We have 1 or 2 of these type of rehearsals (and sometimes concerts) with snow issues, but never as early as November!!!

I picked up the new U2 DVD yesterday (The Deluxe version of course) and am finally finding time to start watching it now. I did see one scene on the "Documentary" that I could see Claire up on my shoulders.... so we're still working on finding a clear shot of me, but at least I know that's her. Red shirt on the outside right of the ellipse for those checking at home. I think most of the footage is from the Tuesday night show unfortunately (Bono's birthday) and we were there on Monday night but there's still always hope:)

I hate this time of year and going to Best Buy... always see something I could use and since I'm the worst impulse shopper in the world. I saw the new Live Greenday. I listened to it on the way over to La Crosse and it's pretty amazing. I haven't had a chance to watch the DVD yet though. Don't worry Kahn, I'll have it up for your "perusal" in a bit:)

The Great Wall of Hwy 52 is finally done and all 6 lanes appear to be open... for today. Not sure if they're all the way complete yet as there are still a ton of orange water things and cones everywhere. Hopefully those will disappear today and we can have a celebration for finishing.... oh wait, they had that already 2 months ago when we weren't even close to being finished. Good timing I might add... had all 6 lanes open by the first snow fall;) Made it by an hour or so!!

Tomorrow is the most important day in Bowling History.... stay tuned for more details!

Rehearsal went well last night despite having half the people about 30 minutes late. Our clarinet soloist showed up with having too much to drink for dinner I do believe and was rather humorous watching him try to play in that state. I'm sure he'll be fine for this weekend's performances. I know some folks that are coming over on Saturday. Let me know if you're interested and I can get you more details!

Song of the Day - Well today is an obvious choice with the new U2 DVD on right now. I think City of Blinding Lights is an incredible way to start out this concert tour! I love it and it's one of those songs that gets stuck in my head like it is now;)

Video of the Day - I actually watched Sleepy Hollow Monday night (on a Tim Burton kick lately thanks to you HZL:) and remembered how amazing Tim Burton is at his use of color in his movies. Everything is so dark in that movie but he does an incredible job of selective use of color for effect. Pay attention to that next time you watch one of his movies. Batman is another example of this effect.

Webpage of the Day - Yet another ploy to try to derail the King of Beers..... Why would you want to "add more bitterness" anyway? And folks at Miller..... YOUR BEER SUCKS!!! Give me a nice cold Bud Light Bottle anyday (has to be bottle now thanks to Drew.... dang you!)

Best of U2

So in celebration of the new Vertigo U2 DVD today - I want to post what could be my most insightful blog posting yet. Let me know if you agree, disagree, don't care for any of my picks. I'm hoping to make some google search someday with this and get the band's attention. My contact information is here if you'd like to discuss over lunch someday guys!!! I'll buy!

Note that some categories may have more than one answer due to the impossibility sometime to come up with only one answer!

Best Era for U2 Songs - The 90s!!
Best Album for individual songs - Achtung Baby
Best "Art" Album to listen to start to finish - Zooropa
Most Identifiable Song Introduction - I Will Follow; Sunday Bloody Sunday
Best Song Introduction - The Fly; Until The End Of The World
Worst Song Introduction - Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car
Best Introduction to a CD - Zoo Station for Achtung Baby
Most Intriguing Introduction to a CD - Zooropa for Zooropa
Best Bass Line - Some Days Are Better Than Others; Please; If You Wear That Velvet Dress; Playboy Mansion; Stories for Boys
Best CD for Bass - Pop
Best Ballad/Slow Song - The First Time; Running to Stand Still; All I Want Is You
Best Cover - Slow Dancing; Can't Help Falling In Love
Best Song to Rock To - Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me; Beautiful Day
Best Acoustic Versions - Desire; Staring at the Sun
Best Song for a Live Concert - Elevation; Pride (In The Name Of Love); Vertigo
Best Song to Sing Along to in Concert - City of Blinding Lights; Pride (In The Name of Love); Elevation
Song I still want to see in Concert - Exit
Most Interesting Lyrics - Until the End of the World..... The Passion of Christ as seen through the mind of Judas
Most Overplayed Songs - I Still Haven't Found...; Streets Have No Name
Least Favorite Song - When Love Comes to Town; Wild Honey
Best Cover of U2 Song - "40" by DC Talk or Mysterious Ways by Toby Mac
Best Drum Parts - Sunday Bloody Sunday; The Electric Co.; God Part 2; Beautiful Day; Mission Impossible Theme
Best Album for Playing For Company - All That You Can't Leave Behind
Worst Album for Playing For Company - Original Soundtracks I
Best Song done as "Passengers" - Your Blue Room
Best Video - Numb... gotta love the feet
Worst Video - Discotheque
Best Guitar Parts - Mysterious Ways; Sunday Bloody Sunday; I Will Follow
Best Song to have Kahn teach me on guitar - Trash, Trampoline, and the Party Girl; Mysterious Ways
Most Underrated Song - Exit; Please
Best Use Of Johnny Cash in a Song - The Wanderer
Best Dedication - Miracle Drug to "the amazing men and women, doctors and nurses of the Mayo Clinic"!!!!
Best Lyrics -
"You gotta cry without weeping, talk without speaking, scream without raising your voice" (Running to Stand Still)
"To touch is to heal, To hurt is to steal, If you wanna kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel - on your knees boy" (Mysterious Ways)
All of Please... "So love is hard and love is tough, but love is not what you're thinking of"
"Green Light, 7-11, You stop in, for a pack of cigarettes. You don't smoke, don't even want to, Hey now, take your change" (Stay (Faraway, So Close!))
"I know a boy, a boy called Trash - Trash Can. I know he does all that he can WHAM BAM..... I know a boy, a boy called Trampoline, you know what I mean" (Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl)
Best Melody - Original of the Species; Mysterious Ways; Beautiful Day
Best SongS - Elevation; Beautiful Day; Mysterious Ways; Zoo Station; Party Girl; Exit

And Claire being the 2nd biggest U2 fan I know (I would never give up standing 5 feet from Bono and The Edge for a wedding but it's all about priorities) offered some insight as to her favorites to compare to mine:

Best Song - Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Best Album - Unforgettable Fire
Best Lyrics - "one love, one life, when its one need in the night. one love, we get to share it, leaves you baby if you don't care for it.......one life, but we're not the same. we get to carry each other" (One)
Best Song for Live Performance - Pride (In the Name of Love)
Best Guitar Line - Beginning of Pride (In the Name of Love), Mysterious Ways
Best Beat - For Rock & Roll, Beginning of Sunday Bloody Sunday.... and for "other things" - With or Without You

Her closing thoughts were.... I love U2!! In no particular order: God, Family, and U2!!

I tend to agree

And my friend Jen had some contributions of her own:

Best Song - Where the Streets Have No Name
Best Song Live - Elevation

Anyone else?

Awesome Weekend

What an amazing weekend! This has to be one of the more amazing weekends I've had in a while.

My Workbench 3.0 is finished. I'll post pictures of it on here once I take some. I'm thinking of staining it or painting it. Not sure why really since it's just a workbench, but a $3 can of stain might make it look even cooler! Won't happen for a while if I do anyway. Workbench 1.0 was a design issue. Just like the real world, our design team on the Workbench project never spends time with the actual hardware so my first design was very difficult to make work. We sent off a new RIT for the weekend and came back with 2.0 which was a much better design (and relatively cheap to make happen with the changes from 1.0). But in the process of building 2.0, I made an engineering change (EC) that was bad. So I left it Saturday and came back on Sunday to implement 3.0 which works extremely well! My workbench now folds up against the wall when I need to park in the garage, but when I need a workbench, folds out to an amazingly sturdy 2' x 4' workbench. Plenty big for what I need it for.

The game Saturday was one of the more memorable. We had tornados all around Ames around 5pm (game started at 6pm) so they cleared out the stadium and delayed the game till 7pm. The sirens went off for Ames and we watched as the clouds would dip and swirl around. They finally had a tornado up by North Grand Mall but that was a good 5 miles from where we were. It's funny how you can tell those of us who grew up in Iowa around tornados and those who haven't (C - this means you! haha). Just different reactions to tornado warnings. We sat around and continued to tailgate while watching the clouds. No rain though, just a lot of wind. The wind continued into the game and played a HUGE role in the play of the game. I had some of the best Prime Rib I've ever had along with Pheasant, and some pork loins. I need to figure out how Ben made that Prime Rib and add it to my list of things to make.

Iowa State looked good for the first quarter, but that's because we had the wind at our back. We started to freeze at the game because of the cold wind blowing at us pretty much non-stop for the 3+ hours we were standing out there. Colorado came back when they had the wind including a 57 yard field goal with the wind. Things got scary in the 4th quarter with ISU unable to move the ball into the wind and only a 7 point lead. Poor clock management too and as usual I blame McCarney. So Colorado has 3 minutes to score a touchdown to send it to OT which I don't like since we're 0-2 in OT this year:( They run 4 screens in a row getting 10+ yards every time. We continued to run a zone defense so why wouldn't they run the screen. Finally Curvey backed up and read the screen perfectly and returned the interception for a touchdown.

Now I'm a big fan of almost everything in life, but one of the greatest thrills has to be with 60,000 other people screaming and jumping all over the place like we were at that moment. I can remember other touchdowns that were exciting, but the emotion of this touchdown was amazing. Put Cyclones up for good by 14 points with 1:30 left to play. Kansas is up next, but we need a lot of help to win the Big 12 North. Need both Colorado and Missouri to lose again and a big win over Kansas. Still not ranked but that should change after we beat up on Kansas:) The team is playing really well right now.

Concerts this weekend and I have more practicing to do.

And Happy Birthday Jeremy (was yesterday). Hard to imagine my "older" brother getting older but then I realize I'm getting old too. I'm one of the few people in the world that can call his older sibling his "little" brother too;)

Song of the Day - I have a couple of U2 songs going through my head since the new U2 Vertigo DVD comes out tomorrow. Check back tomorrow for some U2 fun:)

Video of the Day - I finally saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this weekend on Friday night. I give the movie a huge thumbs up, 10 stars, um..... you get the picture. I loved it as I love all of Tim Burton's stuff. Johnny Depp was incredible and I wonder why he wasn't nominated for anything in that performance. Funny how a movie like that isn't made to win awards but I think it should be. It was also fun watching it with someone that knew the original movie so well and could point out the similarities and differences so well. I really enjoyed it.

Webpage of the Day - This one's for you mom - When my mom was in China for a month this summer, she was amazed at the signs that would be translated into English and it was a very poor translation. With the Olympics coming, I think it's interesting that China is wanting to fix these translations for all the tourists. Good for them though but how are they going to do this?

HAVE A FABULOUS DAY!!

Winning Again

After a near death experience with the tornados coming through Ames, I finally was able to watch ISU win in person (it's been a couple of years since they won on the game that I went into the stadium!). GO CYCLONES!!

TGIS

I slept in till 7AM this morning!!! I think that's a record for me. Yes, 7am is considered sleeping in for me, even though I went to bed at 12:30 or whatever. I get it from my dad;) Thanks dad!

Today is going to be a great day!! I can feel it! Iowa State takes on the Colorado Buffalos and my roommate and I are headed down for the game this afternoon. I have my official BigShow Cyclone gear ready to go down with!

College Football:
USC over California, Texas over Kansas. Georgia beats Auburn, and I hope Alabama beats LSU so that the BCS still screws everything up. Wisconsin beats Iowa!! YEAH!! NDSU over SDSU and for you Kristin, woman of 10,000 schools - Moorehead St over Georgia Southern. Just let me know what school you're attending next week please.

Redwings continue to dominate! They beat the Wild last night at the Joe to go to an unreal 15-2-1. They're already at 31 points!

Only NFL game that looks interesting is Dallas at Philly on Monday night. Should be fun to watch. Rest of them look like "don't cares" to me.

And we're down to 2 races for the Nextel Cup. Hoping that Jimmy can catch Tony Stewart. Jill, your boy Carl has a chance. More of a chance than Kenseth does;)

Have a great weekend and GO CLONES!!!

Driving Games

I need to first thank everyone for their prayers and concerns this past week. Lappy is back and doing as well as ever!

I had rehearsal last night which was ok. Some of the music is pretty challenging so I have a lot of practicing to do this weekend. But with the big Iowa State dismantling of Colorado tomorrow in Ames, I'll have to find other times to practice in;) I've been so tired this week getting used to the late nights of rehearsal, that I am trying to discover new methods of keeping myself awake during my drive over to La Crosse, but especially on my drive home at 10:00 every night. It's about an hour and 15 minute drive for those non-Minnes"o"tan residents. Here are the things I've either done, or heard of doing. And a thanks to Nori for the idea for today's blog;)

1) The one I always played as a kid was trying to go through the alphabet by finding those letters on signs, cars, blimps (good for a Y in Good Year). There were all sorts of versions but the main one was that the letters had to be on the outside of the car (windows and on out). Other variations were that you could only use any sign just once. The only problem with this game is that it's so dang hard to get a J in most places. Plus it's not good for repetitive drives like mine because you start to memorize where the next letter is and there's no longer any fun in that. Oh yeah, there's no J for about 42 miles on I-90 west towards Rochester if you were thinking of trying it.

2) The one I always enjoyed was the memory game. My mom and I usually played it in the car but one person would start out "I'm going on a trip and I'm taking an..... " and then something that started with the letter A. Then the next person would say "I'm going on a trip and I'm taking an..." and that same thing with A and then add something with the letter B. This would continue and it challenges the ability to remember each and every item. Gets even harder when played multiple times and trying to keep each game separate.

3) My buddy Eric from the Symphony was one of the funnier ideas I've heard. He would drive with the windows open (a common idea for most people - that only makes it worse for me since I'm used to sleeping with a fan). But then he would drive with his hand pressed on the ceiling of the car, right above his face. So if he started getting tired or too relaxed, the arm would relax and his hand would hit him in the face and wake him up. I kind of liked this and tried it a couple of times, but I feel so goofy doing it. You're all going to try this one now!

4) Nori suggested a new one last night that I found interesting. (Remember that Nori is my hot friend that lives in Decorah, IA so of course she knows what she's talking about!!) She suggested taking a $20 bill and holding it out the window the entire drive home. Makes one concentrate on not losing that 20 bucks! I think most of the cheap engineers I work with would do this and it'd work with a quarter. Cheap bastards!

5) A game I try sometimes when it's just me, but easier when it's my brother and sister-in-law in the car, is you can't turn the radio station till someone names either the song, or the band singing. You see how fast you can get through all the stations. I think the 3 of us could win some championships with this concept if it were ever held. My brother has all the oldies and Christian channels down. My sister-in-law Rachael is a country music genius (sorry Pitzen, but she seriously has you owned when it comes to knowing who it is). Only bad thing is that Rachael will hum along and smile when she hears a song knowing we can't turn the station till she tells us who it is. She just likes the music and would rather torture me!!

6) Other ideas are to turn the radio up loudly (never works for me... I fell asleep at a Creed concert once and it was loud in there), singing real loud (only takes more energy that I don't have usually that late at night), but I usually find that I can kill some time and stay awake by checking a bunch of sports scores and stats on my cell phone. Plus I know Ruth is ALWAYS awake so I end up calling her or text messaging her from the driver's seat;)

The last thing I want to share with you all is a little bit of entertainment I thought up last night. The Pat who had a miracle week last week, had a horrible week this week I heard. So to inspire him to try harder next time and to punish him for being crappy again, I offer the following (click on the picture to enter) - picture was taken last night at the lanes. Those are the kick-a$$ shirts that I designed for the team! I can get you one if you'd like! Our fans are wearing them this year too!!! You have to do this in 2 steps unfortunately.... click on the picture, then click on the link afterwards to have fun with pat:

MAKE PAT SUFFER FOR BOWLING CRAPPY LAST NIGHT!!

Song of the Day - I finally got my U2 Minneapolis Bootleg from the September show. It's ok quality, but still nice to have for my digital scrapbook. The coolest part of the concert was when Bono dedicated Miracle Drug to the "amazing men and women, doctors and nurses of the Mayo Clinic". How cool was that? So many of my friends have now had a dedication song at a U2 concert!!! Notice he didn't say "to the nerds and geeks of IBM". Dangit!! I still have Miracle Drug going through my head. It's from their newest album HTDAAB.

Video of the Day - I have a bunch of movies to watch this weekend so I'll update y'all next week! And no, I haven't watched Apprentice from last night yet:( Maybe later today.

Webpage of the Day - Thanks to Brent (mr. Anti-U2) for today's WOTD. I got a big laugh out of it as well, but like Brent suggested, you have to watch the whole thing. It gets funnier and funnier! Thanks Brent!!

Have A Great Friday!! And check back tomorrow for some predictions for the big weekend in sports!!

Come back to me... I'm begging you please....

Sing it with me folks:

She'll be coming via DHL when she comes....
She'll be coming via DHL when she comes.....
She'll be fixed with a new monitor, then I can do real work again,
She'll be coming via DHL when she comes....

Laptop is fixed and on its way to Rochester. Although I don't have a tracking number yet which is the only thing that's scaring me yet. The status page says it is fixed and returning to customer. So we'll see. Not sure I can go another full day without it!

I'm off to the Dentist this morning for my biannual checkup. The Dentist loves me since I'm so low maintenance and never have cavities. I did ask him his opinion on me wanting to get a tongue ring and he said he has a bunch of patients that have one and their teeth are fine (get a plastic stud - like you said Kristin). But he said as a doctor he would never do it because he knows the big vain that goes through the tongue that he would be scared of hitting. So Kristin, put me into your new cell phone and next time you're home.... let's go get my tongue pierced and then I'll take you to Aquarius! Just don't drop your phone this time ok?

Sunday's premier of The Family Guy might be the funniest ever. Giggity. I have it saved on Ti-Vo so anyone that missed it, feel free to stop over sometime and watch it. If nobody is home, call my cell and I'll give you the code to go in and watch it. It's seriously that funny!!! Tonight is Apprentice although I probably won't watch it till this weekend since I have rehearsals tonight. I'm still picking Randal to win it all. I'm hoping Alla and Clay go at it again and one (or both) of them are fired! That'd be pretty cool. Not sure what they're doing with the Star Wars Theme yet but I hope it's not cheezy.

The Great Wall of Highway 52 is almost complete. I think they can finish up to the walk bridge today and then just have the last section south of 19th street to finish up. I'm hoping next week they can have it all finished and it looks like most of the painting is done so maybe we will actually have it all open before snow. I'm not betting on it though. My "negative attitude" again;)

The Brews Bros go without me again this week but I have faith in them using the recent momentum and sending the team to new heights. Next week is the biggest matchup EVER with the Lightning Dorks (2 of the 3 read this blog - the 3rd should read it but he's too busy for pre-bowl, where would he find time to read.... does Peeps know how to read?) but we have to focus one week at a time! GO BREWS BROS!!!!!

Song of the Day - Oh Happy Day is going through my head. The version by Acappella. Yes, one of the ones I "borrowed" off of you Jeremy so thanks;) I like their version a lot but a lot of their songs have a tendency to get stuck in my head. Come Home is another one I can easily get stuck there too.

Video of the Day - one of the greatest portrayals of a Dentist has to be Steve Martin playing the roll of Orin Scrivello in Little Shop of Horrors. A great musical and a great movie. Feed Me Seymour!! I know that Matthew Perry played a pretty good dentist as Oz in The Whole Nine Yards.... any other good Dentist rolls? Seem to always be Doctors, not Dentists!

Webpage of the Day - High School Student wins as a write in for Mayor in Michigan town. Too funny but that's a great place to start your post-High School resume!!! That has to suck for the incumbant that lost to the high schooler;)

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!! Thanks for all of your concerns for me over the past 2 days without my special girl.... We both appreciate it tremendously!!

I'm Having Withdrawal Already

I enter day 1 without my laptop. She was on the 6:30pm flight from Rochester to Memphis last night. I checked this morning and no update yet from the airline as to whether or not she made it yet. But it is early, I'm hoping to hear from her by 10 this morning. I'll let you know when I do. I'm really worried about her.

I can't stop thinking about her this morning. Probably because the computer I'm using has a horrible keyboard that is slowing me down. Baby, nobody and I mean NOBODY allows me to type faster than you. You're the greatest so I decided to write you some poems this morning since I was up ALL night thinking about you.

AMAZING

The way she types, the way she plays video games,
There's something amazing about her
The way she plays DVDs at 1.5x speed so I can save 30 minutes,
There's something amazing about her
The way she connects me to my friends and family
There's something amazing about her
The way I can surf the web from the couch thanks to wireless,
There's something amazing about her

next one was written some time ago when she and I first met:

Travels

If I had a rose petal for every time I press a key,
I could fill the Grand Canyon and scent the world around
And if I have to travel across the Atlantic Sea,
I would want you with me when I hit the ground
It's so hard to find someone else with so much power,
It's near impossible to find someone with so much speed.
When you let me use you, I know that I can climb the Trump Tower,
And I realize that in life, you are all that I need
You amaze me, you empower me, you complete me

And finally, two Haikus that I wrote this morning for my baby girl

You open a world
That I cannot find else where
I miss you so much

I am suffering
You were so easy to use
Please come back to me

Song of the Day - The only thing I can think of right now is I'll Be Missing You by P-Diddy and his funk. It expresses the way I feel this morning.

Video of the Day - Well i can't watch any movies at work today:( Something like Sleepless in Rochester would be appropriate. I know all of you are sympathizing with me right now, but don't worry.... she should be home tomorrow morning and all will be just grand again.

Webpage of the Day - nothing to add today. Sorry, check back tomorrow.

Have a good day Lappy.... wherever you are:(

Best of Rochester (Part deux)

This is going to be a tough time for me. You know that feeling when you lose someone close to you? Well I will be going through that same phase for the next 48 hours. My best friend in the whole wide world - "Lappy" has to go in for repairs. The fuzzy screen villain is back and after months of putting up with it, I can no longer continue to work and entertain the world with the current state of my laptop. So I have an appointment to send it in by the end of today and it "should" be back in my hands all fixed and happy on Thursday. But I know how many of my millions of fans are waiting to hear my every word so I have alternate methods of updating this thing, they will just be a little more difficult for me. BUT I'm willing to make that sacrifice for my fans.

So I thought of spending an entire blog on the biggest news to hit America ever, but decided that most of us were tying up the entire internet last night with doing websearches for more details. So I'll just leave it at that!

I finally found the "Single in the City" issue of Rochester Magazine, so I have the BEST OF RESTAURANTS ballot in hand and pretty much filled out. Thought I'd share my ideas. And thanks to Jen for helping me find the ballot online for anyone to fill out.

Best Appetizers: Beetles (pretty much anything but the Onion Rings and Cheese cards are top notch. As are the nachos and Mountain of Potatos. Just don't ask Pat to eat all of his food, he'll want a doggy bag).
Best Bakery: Daubes
Best Bar: Westfire
Best Bar for Friendly Service: not Westfire
Best BBQ Ribs: John Hardy's (duh)
Best BBQ Sandwhich: John Hardy's
Best Bartender....... um, any ideas? I don't know any bartenders on a first name basis here. I did in Ames;) Probably Chrystal at Colonial Lanes.
Best Beer Selection: Whistle Binkies
Best Bread: Macaroni Grill
Best Breakfast: Cheap Charlies
Best Brunch: Sebastians
Best Buffet: Sebastians
Best Business Lunch: Applebees (I know, lame but nothing else came to mind)
Best Chinese Food: CHINA ONE!!!! And you will never convince me otherwise you ChinaStar people you!
Best Coffee: McDonalds (yes, I'm serious - cheap and tastes like Foldgers)
Best Deli Food: Nelson Cheese
Best Desserts: again, looking for suggestions
Best Down-Home Cooking: Cheap Charlies or BigShow's hows
Best Fast Food: Chipotle
Best Greek Food: um.... is there anywhere else besides Zorbas? That's like asking "Best Restaurant that starts with an 'M' and rhymes with McDonalds"
Best Hamburger: Culvers
Best Health Food: not eating out in Rochester
Best Ice Cream: Cold Stoen
Best Indian/Other Asian Food: Jenpachi
Best Italian: hmmm..... I'll say Macaroni for now because that sounds good - lunch Wheeler?
Best Late-Night Dining: HA!! There is none in Rochester, everything closes at 10 in this town.
Best Local Chef: Big Show
Best Margarita: None - Tequilla is from the Devil and should be avoided at all costs
Best Mexican Food: Fiesta Mexicana (I still like that name better)
Best Mixed Drinks: Too expensive in this town. Probably Brothers though
Best Pizza: O'Neals
Best Pizza (Take Out): Zadeos
Best Place for Live Music: Same as last time, none
Best Place to Eat Outdoors: Westfire since the bastards took away my Moose!!! LONG LIVE THE SMILING MOOSE!!!
Best Restaurant for Kids: Whatever restaurant I am NOT eating at
Most Romantic Ambience: My new townhouse... Harry Connick, Jr. playing.... Fire going (now that the pilot light is lit).... low light with some Hollyberry candles burning.... nice dinner cooked.... I'm hungry again
Best Salad: Beetles
Best Sandwiches: Jimmy Johns (#8 - no Tomato)
Best Seafood: Jimmy Johns (#8 - no Tomato)
Best Service: nothing comes to mind. Colonial Lanes I guess now that they have twice as many waitresses during bowling
Best Single Food Item: Jimmy Johns (#8 - no Tomato)
Best Soup: Quiznos
Best Steak: The Babe (20 oz. Porterhouse) at Timberlodge
Best Take-Out: China One
Best Vegie Selection - none
Best Waiter/Waitress - um.... sure... how about that cute red-head at Beetles that told me she is no longer allowed to work the popcorn machine a couple of weeks ago due to her "bad luck".
Best New Restaurant: Jimmy Johns (#8 - no Tomato)
One Restaurant Rochester Needs: Pizzaria Uno or Hardees.
Best Category to Add for next year: Best meal for under $10

There ya have it! Best of BigShow's Rochester. Construction update: It's STILL not done although we're back to no swerving all the way through. They have the perma-wall finished all the way to 2nd street now and are north of there. I "think" they should have the perma-wall finished by next week if they continue to BEAR DOWN (for you Kahn) and finish it. It'd be nice to get 6 lanes open for the Winter so I can pass the idiots from other lands that think a light snow means you have to drive 5 mph on the highway.

Song of the Day - For the first time since I can remember, I don't have any songs going through my head. Maybe the Oompa Loompa song in honor of today's release of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Video of the Day - I watched Sahara last night which I really enjoyed. I think Steve Zahn is hilarious and he does not disappoint in this movie. I also like Matthew McConaughy in most movies and the two of them are pretty funny together in this flick. But I am probably going to be "labeled" by fellow Brews Bros but I guess I'm probably the only male in America that doesn't froth at the mouth over Penelope Cruz. Sorry, I guess she just doesn't do it for me.

Webpage of the Day - This is what I want for Christmas Mom..... Any color will do but the Red and Silver versions are pretty sweet. I could use it on the golf course for league next year!! How cool would that be? I'd walk far less if I had one of these!!

Successful Weekend

What a great weekend. Cyclones win big, Flopeyes choke (on an onside kick at that!), Vikings looked pretty good without Dante's Inferno, and the Slackers lost at home. Red Wings beat up on the Blues in St. Louis (sorry Kevin - Osgood was in net so they should have shot from the blue line more) and are an amazing 13-2-1. Let me know if you don't know how to read that record and I will explain and no, those aren't "ties" in the 3rd column.

I also was pretty productive around the house again. My motivation to make my townhouse more personalized continued as I redid the bathroom floor. I took notes when I was living with Drew and Kristi that a "weekend" bathroom renovation project can turn into a 5 month nightmare pretty easily;) Although their finished product is amazing compared to mine, but I didn't want to go as far as they did. My goal was to just change the flooring (was an ugly green laminate which I HATED from the second I moved in. Friday night it took me all of 15 minutes to pull the base boards off, get the toilet out of the way, and pull up the ugly green floor. Then an hour later I had all the goop removed (helps having a professional grade scraper borrowed from a professional hockey coach). The moisture and smell underneath the laminate was enough to make my head hurt but I figured the faster I get done, the sooner it goes away. I had 31 tiles to lay - they are the self adhesive 12"x12" tiles that are actually pretty nice for what I wanted. It was an easy project compared to doing real tiles and having to cut those. Mine were able to be cut using a utility knife and my kitchen scissors. I laid out the 18 full tiles by 9pm - and then the fun part started. The bulk of the project was cutting to perfection all the other 13 tiles to fit. So at about midnight, my bathroom looked pretty nice with the new floor. Here are some finished pictures (with caulking finished, base boards nailed into place and toilet back to it's rightful "throne" location:

I'm much happier now. I had one little piece of base board snap in half and needs to be replaced. It's the corner piece next to the cabinets so it's hard to notice anyways. As for painting, now I'm not sure if I really want to paint it and if I did, what color I would anyways. That's a much lower priority now that the floor is tolerable.

The other project for the weekend was my Workbench. Since I don't have a huge garage, I am building a drop down work bench that is for basic functionality. I am planning on just 2'x4' which is enough for me to get things done when I'm in "project mode" and not have to continue using my kitchen table for a workbench. Well Workbench dd1.0 has some flaws to it. So I'm in the process of implementing some design changes in time to rerelease the dd2.0 this week sometime and then I can reattempt it this weekend. Basically I am going to plan B which hasn't been fully thought through yet. I have all the wood I need, but need to make some design changes before I start.

I finished all of my touch up painting that was driving me nuts. I am 100% out of the blue color that I had but luckily I had enough drops to get all the spots that were quite noticeable when you walked in. Now to get things on the walls. And buy some necessities for that 1/2 bathroom.

I have rehearsals starting up again this week. Concert is the 18th and 19th if anyone is interested. We're playing the Copeland Clarinet Concerto and some other stuff. A little more modern in nature than our typical concerts and some of you might enjoy it. I'm determined to have a positive mindset this concert and try to actually enjoy the experience. I didn't enjoy the last concert at all but I also went to every rehearsal with a negative attitude and that attitude is the first step in changing the experience. Right Nori? We're gonna have fun this concert!! And gosh darnit, PEOPLE LIKE ME!

Ok, hope everyone had a great weekend.

Song of the Day - Our lab team has developed a strong connection to 50-cent (long story as to why) so today I am still listening to the Candy Shop by 50. I know most of you hate rap but it could be worst, could be country! HAHA!

Video of the Day - I watched a new movie called Millions this weekend that was pretty interesting and I enjoyed. Takes place in England and is about a kid that finds a million quid right before the change over to the Euro. So he basically has a week to figure out what to do with it. His older brother wants to live the expensive life but our hero is very Christian and talks to all the saints throughout the movie and tries to do good things with his money. It's inspiring but I'm not sure how many 10 year olds out there can name all of their saints and the miracles that they performed.

Webpage of the Day - This redefines the term "ass-whooping" in my opinion. High School Basketball team gets embarrassed. I would have loved to have watched this game (assuming I was cheering for the winning team!).

Have a great week - enjoy your Monday!!

Go Cyclones

Prediction Time

I have to wait till 7am when Menards opens so I can finish my bathroom. The tiling is done and turned out great! But I bought the wrong size of toilet ring. I learned that there are 4 inch connections, and 3 inch connections. Of course I bought the wrong size so can't put my toilet back. But I have that, then recaulk the tub, then I will be done with that project. I'll probably paint over Thanksgiving week but I don't know what color yet.

So today's will be short, just wanted to throw some predictions out there for y'all.

• Kansas State Pedifiles are in Ames this weekend and will be sent home crying to their mommies after the newly inspired Cyclones man-handle them 35-6. HURRAY BEER!
• The game that will help explain the Big 12 North will be Missouri at Colorado. Colorado takes them though.
• Texas better keep their eyes open this week at Baylor but they'll take care of them.
• Nebraska is at Kansas. Go J-Hawks.
• And Northwestern is my favorite team this week as they host the Crockeyes. GO NORTHWESTERN!
• Penn St over Wisconsin, USC over Stanford, Notre Dame over THE Pat's Tennessee
• And just for you C, Arizona takes out #7 UCLA in Tucson.
• Pro-Style - Vikes over Lions, KC over Oakland, Pittsburgh over Whackers, and New England over Indianapolis on Monday night!

Red-Wings lost (with Osgood in the net, I'm not surprised.... get rid of him like we did 5 years ago) but they beat Phoenix tonight with The Great One behind the bench. Go Red Wings!

Menards is open in 5 minutes, I'm on my way! Have a great weekend!

GO CYCLONES!!!

Unbelievable! (1)

Wow - Talk about your miracles in day to day life..... there was one last night. Unbelievable (2). You will notice that I am counting the times I use that word today because yes, last night was definitely "Unbelievable"(3).

So first off, the Brews Brothers were without our star (and league president) Fisher - he is on a boondoggle to Poughkeepsie on IBM's bill. Probably another 2 week all paid vacation for a 25 minute presentation that Fisher is known for. We were up against the Hanson Brothers team that usually bowl us pretty well. This was the night to prove our worth and show the critics of the alley, of Rochester, and of the world for that matter that we can bowl without having a single person over 152 average. We had a handicap of 265 last night which was pretty funny.

Hanson Brothers who? No, not the Hanson Brothers from Slap Shot (one of the greatest hockey movies ever made and probably the only Paul Newman movie I can watch without throwing up). And no, not the Hanson Brothers that most of you girls were in love with 8 years ago with their obnoxious song Mmmmm... Bop! Although I think I heard Stoen singing Mmm Bop! from time to time as he walked around socializing with the enemies.

I'd like to switch thoughts for a second to one of the funnier episodes of Family Guy (Jen, I know you loved this episode as much as I did) where the "boys" go fishing on a boat and are sitting around talking about whatever just to pass the time. Here's how the conversation goes from there:

Peter: If you could be stranded on a desert island with any woman in the world, who would it be?
Quagmire: Taylor Hanson.
Joe Swanson: Taylor Hanson is a guy.
Quagmire: [Laughs] You guys are yankin' me. "Hey, let's put one over on Quagmire."
Peter: No, he's actually a guy, Quagmire.
Quagmire: What? That's insane. That's impossible.
[Pause]
Quagmire: Oh God. Oh my God. I've got all these magazines. Oh God.

Guess you have to see it to laugh. I found a 5 minute Best of Quagmire clip that has it - around the 1:50 point if you have the time!

Anyway - so in the first game (out of 3) - I was on fire bowling a strike strike spare in the first 3 frames. Then we struggled as a team, but then I finished the 10th with strike strike 8 (I think it was 8). UNBELIEVABLE (4)!! A nice 153 for me (remember, a 119 average). Scary thing was that I was almost the high man that game for our team and I was only 6 pins from being high man out of all 6 of us rolling there! Two unbelievable (5) points for the Brews Brothers.

2nd Game, a pure struggle as the Mmm Boppers took charge and killed us. It's a faded memory although we developed quite the cheering section! Christine has really stepped up to her role as Goddess of Mt. Colonial this year (or whatever her self appointed title is) by bringing in the fans. Makes up for the fact that Stoen continues to ditch the team at any opportunity. A big thanks to the Goddess and the other fans that were there showing support, but we are sorry to disappoint in the 2nd game.

Then came the 3rd. As I continued to struggle in the 2nd position, Krabby stepped it up in leadoff with a 201 (I think). Then we come to "The" Pat (or commonly known as "Pat, The" for alphabetizing purposes. The Pat is usually pretty pathetic at bowling. While he is the captain, The Pat likes to mouth off whenever possible and overall is on the team for humor, not because he is a good bowler. Although he has done better this year thanks to actually listening to what our coach has to say, The Pat still carries a low average. In the 3rd, The Pat was in a zone that I've only seen when I watch Michael Jordan in the playoffs, or Tom Brady in the final 2 minutes of the Super Bowl. Strike after strike, The Pat continued to hit the head pin which in itself is unbelievable (6). Where did he finish up you ask? Two hundred and twenty two points IN ONE GAME!!! Yeah, 222 for those that can't read long hand. I am still in amazement. Not only did The Pat get his first 200 game EVER, but he broke into the realm of 500 series land that I will never see. 515 I believe. Unbelievable (7), unbelievable (8), unbelievable (9)!!

Score 2 more points for the Brews Brothers! Fisher who? Fish, you will be glad to know that we can indeed function without you. Sorry you had to miss the most amazing thing ever witnessed at the lanes. I think Pat gets about 20 patches from that performance. In honor of his performance, I'm putting his picture on today's blog for everyone to throw darts at. Sorry Ladies, he's happily married! But I'm always available!! haha!



So for those waiting for my weekend predictions - you'll have to wait till tomorrow! I have plans to retile the bathroom floor this weekend and try to build my workbench in the garage.

One more quick paragraph (ROOMMATE ADAM DON'T READ!!) The Apprentice FINALLY got rid of Markus who I hope was putting on an act for the cameras. There is no way a person who is that self centered and lazy should be on that show. I should audition for that show, I'd be perfect. After a pathetic class on "Sex at work", Trump should have fired more than just Markus. I again was impressed with Randal and still think he will win it all unless he does something stupid. Glad to get rid of all the whiners that were left, now the fun can begin. I did find it odd how "personal" Trump got with the candidates when asking about their homosexuality and sexual experience. I was glad to see Adam stand up and say he didn't feel comfortable talking about it in the boardroom although I would have preferred answering Trump with "I don't feel this is the appropriate place or circumstances to be discussing this matter" which would have been 100% acceptable. I'm curious what is going on next week with the whole Star Wars episode that they keep referring to. I'm worried it will be cheezy.

Song of the Day - While many of you are still singing Mmmm Bop! (Kahn, I know you have that one!) I decided to go a different path with possibly the greatest song from 1990 - EMF's Unbelievable (10) in honor of you Patrick. You inspire me now to greater bowling averages. Anyone remember what EMF stands for? Easy.... Mother... F-inheimers...... I remember the first interview when they told people what that stood for on the radio and the DJ was shocked that they actually said it on live air. Quality song that yes, I do own and listen to!

Video of the Day - I have a bunch of movies to watch this weekend, but Kahn, I did bring in Planes Trains and Automobiles so you can now become American by watching it. Nothing in my queue to write about I don't think but I should have plenty more next week for y'all.

Webpage of the Day - This is too coincidental. The Arkansas football team has a quarterback change for Saturday due to their crappy record. He's a true freshman and that's about as interesting as it gets right? WRONG - now read the same story that shows QB JOHNSON was pulled by coach NUTT in favor of freshman DICK to start against the GAMECOCKS this weekend! haha - seriously, you can't write better stuff!

Have a great Friday - GO CYCLONES!!!!

Halloween Cleanup

Sharing some pictures of the cutest Spiderman and Woody (from Toy Story) you'll ever see

Thanks Jennifer for the ideas of using Picasa2 for some neat layout options. Something for me to play with today and understand more of! If you haven't gone to Google to see their "extra" tools, I suggest going there. The ones I am using a lot anymore are Google Earth and Picasa2. Google Earth is the same as their Google Maps but has a ton of more functionality.

Here's also Emily the Turtle (not a Frog like I originally thought - sorry Emily.

I used the past couple of days to try to remember all of my Halloween costumes. I remember being a football player when we were still living in Texas. In fact, that's one of about 10 memories I have anymore of Texas. We put a big red "N" on the helmet which I think stands for "Knowledge". Sorry, I was young and didn't know that I should have been wearing Cardinal and Gold. I could sue my parents for child cruelty for making me wear that! I was a smurf in Kindergarten, and a red Crayola Crayon in 1st Grade. Now it gets fuzzy..... but I was a clown one year too. I'll have to go through my photo books at home to see what else I'm missing. Mom, Dad... any others that you can think of?

Speaking of Smurf costume..... you're gonna love this. One of the embarrassing stories of me out there (there are many if you get Eddie, Brian, and Boy drunk enough.... they'll tell you). So in Kindergarten I went as a smurf. My mother worked so hard and diligently on making my costume that had a white hat, blue shirt, blue tights, white shorts with a blue tail, and white shoes. I was "Cute Smurf" I like to think. Think of the generic smurf that never got any special attention from Smurfette (story of my life!! haha). So when we were paraded around the elementary school in our costumes, I was in a rush and someone had hid my shorts (i'm convinced someone hid them... I don't lose things). So I paraded around in my tights which you could see my He-Man underwear or whatever I had at the time and my brother was so embarrassed having me march around with no shorts on. It happens.

I'm rolling again tonight for the Brews Brothers. I'm 4th worst average in the league now after my stellar 399 last week. We are without Fisher so we will appear to be a sorry bunch to the average Joe, but to all of our millions of true fans, they know we are the Glue that holds the team together. Krabby in lead off, Me in the middle man roll, and Pat playing the money spot? Is that right? wow..... who needs Fisher and his 210 average that he can't hit!?!?!?

ROOMMATE ADAM - DON'T READ THIS PARAGRAPH: Any predictions for The Apprentice tonight? After getting rid of a lot of dead weight last week with the greatest defeat ever, I'm interested how he reshapes the teams. I thought it was hilarious watching Jennifer M try to talk her way out of getting fired. She needs to talk less. Notice how the three members that were told to go upstairs by Trump were all 3 that kept their mouths shut until they were directed to? That's called respect and in any stage of life, it will take you far. Nobody (including Trump) likes a rat (Josh and Toral) and nobody likes a bitchy whiner (Jennifer M and Toral) and nobody likes Toral whatsoever. I kind of liked Josh because he wasn't afraid to get in Markus's face and call him lazy and worthless. That was funny but unfortunately Markus is still around. I'm hoping he goes this week. I'm pulling for Randal because I think he's the best candidate at this point and has always seemed professional (as has Marshawn). I'm also pulling for Rebecca (yeah, the gimp) but that's because she's cute! haha.

It's a quiet and not as cold morning in Rochester. 37 on my way in but we hit 60-something yesterday. I'll keep today's short for y'all.

Song of the Day - Kahn got me started on Creed's My Sacrifice yesterday and I still have it going through my head. It's on the iTunes now (I mention another fine Apple product just for you Kahn) so hopefully will be out of my head soon.

Video of the Day - I borrowed Planes, Trains, and Automobiles from Regan and watched part of that last night. Man what a funny movie. John Candy at his finest. Just goes to show how us big guys are sweethearts (hint hint) that everyone loves! I know Uncle Buck was another good movie of Candy's, but I still think he and Steve Martin were a great pair in this flick. Del... why did you kiss me? Neal, why are you holding my hand? Where's your other hand? Between two pillows..... THOSE AREN'T PILLOWS!!!!!! How about them Bears?

Webpage of the Day - Joey Buttafucco is STILL around and making news. Still one of my favorite Beavis and Butthead episodes where they make fun of him. BRING BACK BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD!!!

Have a great Thursday. GO BREWS BROTHERS!!!!

Best of Rochester (part 1)

Happy Hump Day to everyone. Wednesday was always the day we'd go to Hooters in Des Moines after classes because they'd have tap pints for $1.03 (Lazer 103 sponsored and would broadcast from there) and cheap hot wings. Mmmmm.... Hooters Hot Wings.

Reminds me, I still haven't posted the coolest license plate I've seen in a while. Plus it has my hot friend Nori in the picture:

I'll have to remember that next time I need ideas for new plates for the Trailblazer. Which said it was 32 on the way to the RAC this morning. So long Fall, welcome Winter in Minnesota!

While watching the Red Wings DOMINATE the Blackhawks last night, I was in discussion with my friends Jan and Kevin over filling out the annual Best of Rochester. While I couldn't find that one online, I did find the "other" BEST OF ROCHESTER that is published and admired by everyone in Rochester. Just kidding. You can vote online at the link above for your favorites, but I thought I'd share my votes with you in hopes of inspiring you to fill it out and possibly even using my ideas! haha.. For all you non-Rochesteronianites, sorry, but I'd do the same for your town if you send it to me. I will try to find the one we worked out last night that is restaurant oriented and see if I can get a part 2 for you soon with those answers!

Best Actor - George W Bush

Best Actress - George W Bush

Best AM Radio Personality - What's AM? Amplitude Modulation? Thought that was big in the 50s.

Best FM Radio Personality - Anyone that isn't on KROC

Best FM Radio Station - 91.7 Classical Radio (Minnesota Public Radio)

Best Piece of Architecture - My Rock with the Cyclone Logo in my townhouse. Or the Tower by the Plummer House.

Best Band - VICINITY!!!!!!! When's the reunion tour Kahn and Mark? I'll still run soundboard for ya!

Best Bloody Mary - One not made by Pitzen who puts too much liquor in everything he makes. Dang alcoholics

Best Day Trip (within one hour) - KOD with Pat and Krabby. We can make it there in under an hour if we leave now!

Best Day Trip (more than one hour) - after a stop at KOD, a trip to Duluth on Lake Superior is pretty cool.

Best Fishing Hole - Since Rochester is in the only county without a natural lake out of 10,000 lakes to choose from, I'm sort of stuck on this one.

Best Florist - Hy-Vee on 37th Street. They've hooked me up many a times.

Best Gadfly - Well after looking up the definition on dictionary.com, I still don't get this category. On my list of "categories not to include next year".

Best Happy Hour - Brothers or Timberlodge (2 for 1!!)

Best Jeweler - Rochester.... Lapidary Jewelers (If you wanna look good). Come on, you're all singing it with me now. That is from the most annoying commercial on TV in Rochester. A close 2nd is Treasure Island commercials. But my buddy Karl "advised" me to visit Lapidary after he was there having his wife's ring fixed. He's right.... there are a lot of cute girls that work there. Anyone up for a trip over lunch?

Best Place to Live (Apartment) - Not Candlehood and not The Village

Best Jukebox - Nothing comes to mind since I really can't find anywhere to go that has a good music selection regularly.

Best Bar for Live Music - Do they still do open mic night at Rookies? I know I wanted to go there and play some Bach on my bass (aka "Jumbo Guitar", "Ukulele", or "Cello" for those that enjoy torturing me).

Skipping all the "Local Boy/Local Girl" dumb categories.

Best Locally Generated Web Site - BIGSHOW'S BLOG

Best Martini - Newts

Best Mechanic - Don't know of any since as long as I put gas in the Trailblazer after the low fuel light comes on, I'm ok. And if I don't, I always have Drew to save the day! MY HERO!! HER-CU-LES, HER-CU-LES!!!!

One Thing Downtown Needs Immediately (under $1 million) - Hooters

One Thing Downtown Needs Immediately (over $1 million) - a couple of Hooters. More restaurants in general.

Best Place for a First Date - UGH! I hate these but the easy choice is the Redwood Room. Just don't sit next to the stage so when the musician comes out, you can't hear what your date is saying.

Best Place to Meet Single Men - BigShow's house.... 1973 Topaz Pointe Ln SW.....

Best Place to Meet Single Women - unfortunately not the same answer as the previous question. I will NOT say Aquarius although that would be the answer to "best place to drop your cell phone and have it smashed into pieces" after stories I heard from last weekend (you know who you are)

Best Place to People-Watch. Chicago O'Hare or Mall of America are the best places on earth. But in Rochester, probably Westfire or BW3.

Best Public Restroom. Um.... nothing stands out at this time.

Best TV Newscaster. I don't watch local news, but I did see a cute redhead reporter on ESPN last night that was at the Seattle Arena reporting about the new dress code in the NBA..... anyone else catch her or her name? Really pretty green eyes too!

Worst Waste of Taxpayer Money - HWY 52 project that will NEVER finish.

Best Secret of the City We Need To Know About - well if i put it on my blog, it would no longer be a secret. It's no secret that there's nothing to do in Rochester if you're single but that's my answer for today.

Best Category to Add To Next Year's Best Of List - Best waste of 10 minutes every morning - BIGSHOW'S BLOG PAGE!

Song of the Day - I picked up the new Jamie Cullum CD yesterday. Although I don't like it nearly as much as his first cd, twentysomething, it's still pretty good if you like jazz/pop mix. He is only 22 years old or so and has a great mastery of piano and mixes jazz and pop together. As I discussed with Kahn yesterday after we snagged the new Star Wars Episode 3, it makes great background music for company (Jamie Cullum, not Star Wars).

Video of the Day - I also watched Bewitched this weekend (the new one) and Will Farrell is still one of the funniest actors out there right now. He makes this movie very tolerable although Nicole Kidman is cute (but a bad actress in this movie I thought). Still worth it to see crazy Farrell at his usual best.

Webpage of the Day - This has to be the greatest sign ever made for a football game. The best part is that Yahoo put it on their webpage and it's still there..... Can't stop laughing:)

HAVE A GREAT WEDNESDAY!!!

A Day To Catch Up

Congratulations to one of my closest friends Claire in her engagement this weekend. Her fiance Jeff finally popped the question and is treating her right. Claire and I have been great friends ever since freshman year of high school. I had a crush on her but then we were in the same small group in English class (I've hated Great Expectations ever since.... you, Allison and Erin ruined that one and you know why!) and she started to annoy the hell out of me. We went to I think Homecoming together one year, but ended up swapping dates since she was annoying me so much that night (She ruined Last of the Mohicans for everyone in the theatre)!! haha - But some 15 years later, she's most like a sister to me that I'd kill if I ever had to live in the same house with her. Jeff.... good luck! And if you ever hurt her, I'll hurt you! Here's the ring she wanted, not sure if her ring is as big as this but Claire's been talking about her wedding for at least 10 years now. She sent me this picture back in February believe it or not:


Cute.... Congrats Claire. Don't have the wedding on the weekend of April 29th, I have a concert in La Crosse - plus Jeff's Grandparents wouldn't be able to attend since they'll be at my concert;) And make that check out to Adam Dickinson please...... sorry, a reminder that she lost a bet as to who'd get married first! HA!

Bush continued his extreme right 2nd term by nominating yet another conservative judge. I know he has the experience that Miers extremely lacked, but he now takes our highest court too far to the right. There is no longer justice on the bench but rather a committee that lacks the open mindedness to create equal opportunity and equal treatment of all humans. Sorry folks, that's my view of "dubya" and his right that he claims to represent. Benefits to the small groups and of course they'll help the rest of America. Ha - whatever. I'm dying for a president that brings back unity and progression as Americans, rather than everything being a political war. I'm distraught that our country has come to a point where everything becomes a political game. I know, I'm part of the problem but I do believe we need to help our country first and ALL the people that live here.... we aren't doing that now.

So I was able to get up this morning (thanks to Day Light savings finally starting) and go work out. I'm trying to hit it hard again and I'll keep you updated every Tuesday as that's my Weigh in Day. Instead of telling you actual weight in pounds, I'll do it as a % towards my goal:) Starting with where I was last Christmas, and my goal of losing 100 pounds, I am currently 30% towards my goal (I gained 5 pounds over the past month being in Burlington and all.... dangit). But I did win the "Experienced" level for the Racopoly for the month of September and received a $15 Gift Certificate for the RAC. WOOHOO!! They even misspelled my name for the flyer! What a great feeling. And it sucks going to the RAC to work out and realizing that when I updated the firmware on my iPod Shuffle, it erases all of my music off of it. Then I have no music to listen to while working out which makes for a LONG workout.

Red Wings are 11-1 and are by far the best record in the NHL. Shanahan has 7 goals and 21 penalty minutes so far:) They host the Blackhawks tonight at the Joe and I'll hopefully be checking it out on NHL Ticket at my friend Regan's. YEAH FOR SATELLITE!!! I wore my jersey in honor of the Red Wings today. Osgood won the last game which makes me nervous because he's the reason they couldn't win a championship with him in net. Thought we got rid of him for a reason and now he's back to haunt me.

No pics yet of the nephews in their costumes. I'll call my brother again and see what I can get out of him for everyone to enjoy.

Star Wars comes out today on DVD (a week later than I thought). I'll pick it up either today or tomorrow when I'm out running errands.

Song of the Day - Superhuman by Velvet Revolver. They're supposed to have a new album coming out this Fall. I'll have to go surfing today to see what info I can find (unless any of you know!). The beginning guitar riff is pretty sweet and gets in your head. I heard this at the RAC this morning and it's a great song and CD to get you pumped for. Better than the pop crap they like to play there.

Video of the Day - I finally saw Batman Begins this weekend and it was pretty sweet. I still like the original Batman best (again Tim Burton) but this one had a lot of highlights. Katie Holmes is cute as can be in there too! Christian Bale plays a great Batman but the story was the part that I really enjoyed. Go check it out if you haven't already.

Webpage of the Day - At long last, the newest Halloween Potion Ma-Jig from Homestarrunner.com. Nice Big Labowski references too. And MechalechaHi dude!

HAVE A GREAT FIRST OF NOVEMBER!!