Happy Halloween!

I really, REALLY hate moving. And it seems that we've always done it on or around Halloween, and it always snows:



a little blurry, but gives you an idea of what the front looks like:



ok, have to get back to moving, but here's a few more overdue pictures

Way to GO St. LOUIS CARDINALS!!!

Congratulations Cardinals! See ya in the World Series!



Sorry it's been so long since my last update. There's been so much going on in the last few weeks that I really haven't had much time to post anything. My mom and dad were here for a week, and since they've left we've been doing nothing but work on our next adventure: buying a house.

That's the big news, by the way. We close on our house tomorrow afternoon. So now in addition to the dozens of photos I have to get uploaded, I'll have more of the new house... I really will get that done before I head back overseas... I promise!!!

How I spent my 35th Birthday (cont'd)

... at this rate, I might get this tale told just in time for my 36th birthday... Sorry about that...

... anyway, as promised, the following day was much better, simply because we woke up, had breakfast, and drove to the OTHER D&B's, which was only about 45 minutes away on a Sunday morning... it probably would have been twice that on a Saturday night, which was one of the reasons we didn't do it. The other was we were already checked into our hotel.

So we got there shortly after they opened, and had the whole place to ourselves. There was no one playing the Battletech sims, so we wandered around a bit, and found the Derby Owners Club game again. This turned out to be a lot more fun than we initially thought. Basically when you start, you have to create a horse by picking a sire and dame. You name your horse and pick your jockey's colors. Each round of play consists of a training/feeding session, race, and a brief session after the race where you praise or berate your horse, and receive gifts and additions to your stables. The round lasts about 8-10 minutes, depending on different factors.

Why am I telling you all this? Because it's ADDICTIVE! I can almost guarantee you're going to be seeing one of these in the near future, because there are all kinds of message boards and user groups online. People trading horses (you get a printed magnetic card to carry so you can use your horse anywhere), trading tips, and letting everyone know where to play the cheapest. There's an online version for your computer coming soon too, but it just won't have the same feeling. You can see what one looks like (and costs) here.

We spent a couple hours playing that, then we got to play Battletech for a bit. They have upgraded these since my last visit, and the cockpits seemed simpler. The graphics were a lot better though, and the 'mechs were a lot easier to control. I won't bore you with the details, since you patiently sat there and read the whole Derby thing...

After we had sufficiently purged the disappointment from the previous night out of our system, we hit a local computer store, then Hooters for lunch. Darryl had never been there, and it's my firm belief that every man should experience it at least once in his lifetime... I know every single female reading this right now thinks that it's all about the waitresses, but those of you that REALLY REALLY know me can attest that I'm not just making this up: I really like the food there. The wings and the grouper sandwich are probably in my top 10 favorite foods... but of course, keeping with the "Things Must Not Happen as Expected" theme for the weekend, they were out of grouper.

We made the drive back to GJ in good time, despite bad weather in different places. Other than an interesting guy at a convenience store stop that I talked to, it was fairly uneventful. The only thing that made that conversation interesting was a comment while I was looking at their music selection for sale. He held up Bruce Willis' - Return of Bruno tape and said he couldn't believe he made an album. He was a bit more shocked when I told him that he had actually made two albums, I owned them both, and really liked his stuff.

Continuing our journey, we made it back to the car rental place with about 10 minutes to spare. Finally, something had gone exactly as planned in this trip.

FAST FORWARD to the NEXT WEEKEND------->

Shelley's mom flew up from Arizona so we could spend a night in Glenwood Springs. This was the offical "Color Weekend", where all the leaves are supposed to be changing, making for a beautiful view. For some reason, I waited until the middle of the week to make reservations, and all of the places we usually stayed were booked. I did find a B&B that had a wedding cancel at the last minute, so she had the "best room in the house" available...

Unfortunately, it seems that the curse of "Not As Expected" was to hang with me a little longer. The B&B was disappointing, to say the least. The house was over-stuffed with "stuff", the room was tiny... our "private bath" was in the hallway (not connected to the bedroom, as "private bath" implies), and the hostess was a bit crazy. Fortunately, dinner was amazing, the company was even MORE amazing, and we made the best of it.

The next morning, after a very bland and unimpressive breakfast, we went up to the Glenwood Caverns. There's a tram ride to the top of Exclamation Point, where they have a restaurant and tours of the caverns. This was very cool, and we got lots of pictures ... which I swear I'll get posted one of these days.

So there you have it, my 35th birthday in a nutshell... ok... a clam shell.. err.. maybe a camper shell? ok.. a big damn shell ... sorry it took me two weeks to tell it all.

I have a bit more news to share, but I'm going to hold off until everything is for sure. Most of you already know what it is, so don't think it's going to be a complete surprise... Those of you don't that know what I'm talking about, probably wouldn't be all that surprised anyway... but it's still news. More later!

Love to all!

How I spent my 35th Birthday...

I know I'm long overdue, and I'm going to have to post some of the pictures later, but I thought it was time to get something posted here... seeing as it's the last hour of my birthday celebration, which I kind of celebrated the last couple of weekends... in entirely different ways.

First, as I described in a previous post, I went over to Denver to spend the weekend gaming with a friend of mine. I had invited a few others, but Darryl was the only one with the time off and could afford to go... but that worked out just fine for us.

I rented a car for the trip (I'll post the picture of it tomorrow), and picked it up late Friday night. This would allow me to return in late Sunday night... which turned out to be a good thing. I think we made it back within 15 minutes of the time it was expected back.

So Saturday morning we headed out early-ish, after a mandatory stop at the new Krispy Kreme that has opened in Grand Junction during my absence. Actually, I saw that it was being built when I was home in February, and fully expected it to open shortly after I left... which indeed turned out to be the case...

So we got on the road around 10:30am, with an over-abundance of sugary sweets, drinks, and a cooler that Shelley had thoughtfully packed for us. Have I told you how cool my wife is lately? Well, believe it... she is one of the coolest people I konw! Just ask my son, he'll tell you (though we're both a bit biased...).

The first stop of the weekend was at a place in Glenwood Springs called Dragon's Lair, which is the place I first discovered Dragonsport a couple of years ago, just before I took the job that took me to New Jersey, then eventually overseas. I've always wanted to get back there, and this was the perfect opportunity.

You'll really have to spend a few minutes browsing the website to get a better idea what Dragonsport is about. If you've seen the movie Paycheck with Ben Affleck, you've already seen it in action. The websites are a bit cluttered, and of the couple of times I've visited there, it seems to me the website very much reflects the organization of this place. I really think this thing has a lot of potential, if the owners get a little more focused. Personally, I wish they would completely get away from trying to inject Star Wars themes (use The Force) into the realms of magic and dragons, but I get the impression that the owner is a big sci-fi fan, as well as fantasy (much like me), and can't resist the dream of becoming a Jedi... and who can blame him?

So after a couple of hours burning calories, we stopped at an Italian restaurant and put some back on, and resumed our trip.

Now something I haven't shared with you at this point was a bit of my last-minute planning. As I said in a previous post, the plan was to go to Dave & Busters and then go to Maximum Gamer the next day (a gaming LAN cafe). The night before we left, I was online and found that there was a D&B and MG right next to each other, in the same complex... there was also an AMC 24 Theatre in the same area. I thought it would be PERFECT...

... not so much.

First, we found the complex without a problem. The directions I had printed from Mapquest were dead-on, and as soon as we arrived, we spotted a hotel directly across the street. So far, so good...

A quick call to 411 and I was talking to the front desk of that hotel... $165 a night??? If that didn't include dinner, late night snacks, breakfast, lunch, and a foot rub, there was no WAY that was going to happen. So we jumped back in the rental car, and begin scouting things out. Fortunately we found La Quinta Inn a couple of miles a way, and it was a bit more reasonably priced. We checked in, changed our clothes (3 hours in the car after 2 hours of Dragonsport tends to make two tubby guys a bit ripe smelling...), and begin our night of fun and gaming!

It's going on 5pm, so we figured we could spend a few hours in D&B gaming and get something to eat there. Unfortunately, after about an hour and half, we were completely bored. I know that's hard to believe, but it's true. You see, this D&B didn't have the biggest attraction (in my opinion) that the other one has: Battletech simulators. This is another experience that you'll have to get a better idea of what these are about. Basically they're a "pod" that you sit in with MFD (multi-function displays) and large viewscreens that simulate piloting a 'mech against other pilots, or as a team.

Since this D&B didn't have these simulators, we briefly toyed with the idea of driving to the other one ... but when we were told that it was about 45-60 minutes away (with traffic that you can expect on a Saturday night), we decided we would just make do with what we had... There was something called the Derby Owners Club, which looked like a betting on virtual horses, but we didn't get hooked on that until the next day. More on that later...

So after we decided we'd had enough of this particular gaming venue, we decided to get some dinner at a Thai/Sushi place we had seen around the corner, then go see the movie Resident Evil: Apocalypse. These choices would just continue our string of bad choices during the course of this adventure.

Interesting side story: when we left, I (of course) left my Hard Rock Cafe Munich hat at D&B ... this is not interesting except for two reasons: (1)Shelley had specifically suggested I NOT take this hat because I tend to leave my favorite hats somewhere... and (2) I returned there some 3 hours later after dinner, movie, and realizing I had left it there and one of the employees had actually found it and put it at the front desk.

Dinner wasn't completely terrible, nor really was the movie, but neither were they shining gems in this saga, and at this point in our evening, it really wouldn't have taken much to catapult either of them to stardom... but such was not the case.

We did have a brief shining moment of seeming victory when we found out that Maximum Gamer was planning a "Lock-In" for that evening. Basically it means they will be open all night, and will keep the minors (under 18) from wandering the streets. However, there were only 5 total people signed up (including us), and the other three didn't show up. So it was just us and the guys running the shop, and with the exception of a few brief matches of Jedi Knight, it was pretty much a dud.

Even our "run for the border" was a complete failure since the Taco Bell was closed... we had to settle for McD's.

So that's how the first official day of my birthday celebration was spent. Nothing was really as we planned or expected, but I made the best of it, and despite it all, had a pretty good time. I didn't think this would turn out this long; and this is only the first day. I've still got the next day, then this weekend to tell you about! I'll post those in the next couple of days, along with some pictures! I promise that it gets better!

... I could have SWORN I was a bigger nerd...

42.857142857142854% of me is a huge nerd! How about you?

and a couple of years ago Shelley and I got into a friendly online battle... actually, it was a Battle of the Sexes type thing. This was shortly before we were officially dating, I believe.

Anyway, I found this the other day, and that's what reminded me of it...

Finally, the guys side of the story. We always hear
"the rules" from the female side. Now here are the
rules from the male side. These are our rules!

*Please note... these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!



1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl.If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday = Sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.

1. If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want us to answer, expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really.

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or monster trucks.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round is a shape.

1. Thank you for reading this: Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight, but did you know men really don't mind that, it's like camping.

Sorry honey, I just couldn't resist!

Email fraud... and a few movie thoughts...

Anyone else receive something similiar to this recently?



I especially like the warning that "failure to update your profile will result in account deletation." It's almost amazing how people that are smart enough to work a scam like this are too stupid to run a spellcheck.

If you gotten a similiar email, do NOT click on the link. It's a "phisher" trying to get your information... No matter HOW official it looks, do not fall for it. If you want to pursue it further, call your bank and ask them about it.

In other news, I went and saw Aliens v. Predator a few days ago. It was just "ok", and pretty much as expected. There were absolutely no surprises. As I was seeing the previews for other movies at the beginning, it occured to me that I hadn't seen a preview for AVP, so I had no real pre-conceived imaging... which made it even more interesting that it was almost exactly what I expected it to be...

However, I did see a preview for a movie that looked surprisingly good, and that I didn't know was coming out. Blade: Trinity is the third (and supposedly last) Blade movie. I really liked the first one, despite my intense dislike of Wesley Snipes. In my opinion, he's made a LOT of bad movies, and only a couple redeeming ones. Something about him just bugs me...

Here's a snippet taken from a contributor at IMDB:

Wesley Snipes returns as the day-walking vampire hunter in the explosive third and final film in the Blade franchise, Blade: Trinity. When the Vampire Nation hatches a plan to frame Blade in a series of brutal killings, he must join forces with the Nightstalkers, a clan of human vampire hunters, in an extreme battle in which the trail of blood leads directly to the notorious vampire legend, Dracula. Written and directed by David S. Goyer, Blade: Trinity also stars Jessica Biel as Abigail, the daughter of Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), who inherits the vampire-slaying duties that once belonged to Blade (Wesley Snipes); and Ryan Reynolds (National Lampoon's Van Wilder) as Hannibal King, one of the Nightstalkers.

I don't remember much about the second Blade movie, but I think I liked it. Guess I'll have to dig it out and watch it sometime.

And the last bit of movie news: I found The Adventures of Ford Fairlane in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart! I know, I know... you're all VERY jealous!