Weekend Update (Slightly Late)

I saw the Pro Bowl Sunday. Let me tell you how fun it was. ..... Well, there ya' go. It was an experience that doesn't come around very often, so I felt obligated to try it once. The tickets were relatively inexpensive, my seats were good, and I wanted to see what it was about.

Evan's Blog sums it up nicely. Since we went together, it'll save me a lot of typing. Karen and I left about 10 minutes before Evan. And another thought on Shane's backpack. Shane is 6 and while he's been known to terrorize people, he's not a terrorist threat. Oddly, inside the gate if you bought a program (I didn't) it came with a free HUGE tote-bag. The point being, they opened Shane's backpack, every single pocket, found nothing in it of any issue. Then they told his parents he couldn't bring it in. Absolutely stupid.

The "Fan Experience" was boring as all Hell. There were a few neat things, though. They had the Vince Lombardi trophy. Never saw it in person before. Unlike the Stanley Cup, they don't let you close to it so you can't touch it or take your picture with it. And it's ugly. They had a nice exhibit on the history of the ball itself, the NFL logo, and they had one of every SuperBowl ring. That was some impressive hardware. Other than that, my experience matches Evan's so read his blog post. Now that I know what happened beforehand, I know why he was Mister Grouchy Pants. After I got home I read half of my new book Iorich the new Steven Brust masterpiece in the Vlad Taltos trilogy until I couldn't keep my eyes open.

I won't discuss the Monday night Panthers loss as it was sad. At least we played hockey and lost as opposed to our usual losing. We still have some tickets for our special group outing to give Jay Bouwmeester (J-Blow) a very special welcome home.

After the game, I came home and finished reading Iorich. I did that at the expense of sleep but it was well worth it. This, the twelfth Vlad book, is one of my favourites. It's a light read, to be sure, but it's got lots of personality and Vlad is very 'himself' and Brust is in his groove. We also get to spend a little time with Vlad's son and get to know him. I'm getting a huge sense he's going to be a major character in the next book or two. I'll avoid spoilers except to say Vlad survives the novel so you know the assassins on his tail will still be at it come the next book. I rather enjoyed the chapter openings which are part of military investigation. Also, Brust, in a witty mood to be sure has included "deleted scenes" in the back of the book. Nice touch. Adds nothing, but still.

I still have House and Heroes on my Ti-Faux. And I'll add Lost to what's sitting there since I'm going to spend many hours tonight as the plumber works in my house. More on that later.

Many years after Concorde's fateful crash that took the plane out of the sky, manslaughter trial against Continental Airlines has opened in France. The claim being a Continental plane that was not properly repaired dropped a scrap of metal on the runway which punctured Concorde's tire and that steel belted tire blew apart, puncturing the fuel tank causing the fire. That ultimately led to Concorde no longer flying. Continental claims they can prove the plane was in flames before it hit the piece of metal. (There is no defense that the piece of metal was there. Only whether it was the precipitating cause.) BBC News reports with all sorts of related links.

I wasn't posting this until I was done but Sue is badgering me.

Weekend Nears End

To start off, I am so glad Jace and Grant came to visit. It's just been too long since I've seen them. It was when the last Harry Potter movie came out. Really unacceptable. We all accepted the blame for this and we have mutually resolved to not let it happen again. I felt bad blowing off skating and my Aunt for it, but this was important to me (and I think them). Do the right thing and all that.

We had fun. The arrived very late Friday night. We went and had dinner at Fuegovivo and the food was pretty good. Adrian had mentioned it to me and they wanted something different. We went to the location on Bird Road. Service was excellent and the food was good (not great) but the atmosphere was lacking. It was too bright and that made the messy decor all the more noticeable. Next to our table was an electrical outlet that was removed and not properly covered. There were quite a few. The carpet wasn't so clean and in a higher end restaurant that isn't acceptable. We're not talking one spot, I mean overall just not clean. Beware, though, service is included on the bill: don't double tip. We came back and watch KungFu Panda on my BluRay player.

The next morning we ate at OHP by my house and then went to the mall, swung by my office to get them one of our legendary BitKit100 sets, and also toured Tiger Direct. None of that is listed in order. That evening, we hauled off to the Hard Rock to give them a tour of the facilities, provide a lesson in selecting a less-sucky slot machine, and whatnot. We then ate at Renegade which they loved and lived up to its usual standards except for the delay in obtaining our check. I managed to finish my food -- first time ever, though I couldn't make it through the sides. Jace didn't and so I have leftovers for tonight. Both of us got the brisket, albeit with different sides. Grant got the ribs and ate them all except for one or two which, I believe, are in my doggie bag. Bark, bark. We came back, walked around a different mall to work off a bit of dinner, and then came home and watched television. We went to bed pretty early.

Woke up, went to La Caretta for breakfast, Best Buy, then Barnes & Nobles. I bought them a copy of Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer to share. We came home, they packed, and left for home. I'm doing laundry right now, and then am off to Publix because I have no food in my house. I ate way too much this weekend. Sort of gross in quantity.

As a lovely parting gift, Grant sent me this URL about Concorde which pissed me off. I hope BA doesn't do it. I think this unique peice of British Aviation belongs in British hands. Cutting it up and selling it? Heavens no.

I am just on my computer after the weekend off. I needed the break, though I did miss a few people for sure. I'm really tired. I don't sleep well when I have company. Hell, I'm sure most of you know, I don't even like company. But there are some people I enjoy having but I still can't sleep when I have visitors. Ugh. And, Jace, if you read this, remember good friends are forever: it's not just words. Don't forget that.

A Few Things

First, to amuse the hell out of everyone, my mother sent me a thank you note for her recent birthday plane trip. It's written on the back of a Virgin Atlantic BARF BAG. I really laughed hard. It was really sincere but that certainly sent mixed signals. I will cherish this always along with the typed translation that accompanied it. If you wonder why, then you try writing on a barf bag mid-flight and see what it looks like.

Second, off to a hockey game tonight. The first in nearly a month. I am excited. I am going stag since Timmy never answered me. I'll sit with Karen who is also going stag.

Third, Adrian cancelled on me again today. I gotta give him credit for being consistent if nothing else. I was expecting it though, so I am doing what I had planned to do before he made plans with me for today. I just knew this wasn't going to happen. I'm not mad at him, but consistency isn't necessarily a good thing.

Fourth, a shout out to a friend who is sick -- I hope you feel better. Also to Erin who is more fragile than a Ming Vase, I really hope you don't need surgery on that foot. Poor Erin, she's always broken :(

Fifth, I've got an add-on to the Birthday Trip post. I never did mention that on departure from Heathrow, I saw not one but two A380s. I dislike that plane, but I will tell you it's one huge Mofo. There was a MD-88 next to one, and it looked like it could have driven under the Singapore A380. The most astounding thing was the collection of landing gear on it. Wow. I guess it's to absorb the weight. The other A380 (Quantas) was parked next to a 767 and even that was dwarfed. I also saw Concorde as we took off. It's on the runway surrounded on all sides by blast walls whilst they prepare a final place for it. But as your plane lifts off, and if you're on the correct runway, you can see it. I was nostalgic.

Sixth, and last, I am sending a letter to BankUnited again. Once again the USPS -- the incompetent idiots -- are mixing my mail and BankUniteds. Complaints fall on deaf ears. Last time BankUnited's complaints helped far more than mine. If I were a crook, I'd have all I need to steal tons of identities, but I turn it all in for re-sort. BankUnited, however, is returning my mail to sender "not here" -- I don't fault them for it, but it does cause issues when my Amex card is held because they think I've skipped town. So I've written BankUnited again with some photocopies of past correspondence and also some new examples. Not sure how XX1598 and XX1599 is so confusing. They have big signs over both our boxes warning the sorter, but apparently he/she has his/her cranium shoved up his/her arse.

Why Murphy Rocks

Everyone who reads this blog or visits my website knows I am a fan of Concorde. Yay, Concorde. I miss her and remember my flights on her with great fondness -- and it still remains the most amazing thing I have ever done. I'll stop being effusive and let you read my several web pages about flying on the edges of the atmosphere and seeing the curvature of the earth outside your window and the dark purple of outer space (and it is a very, very dark purple).

Murph is a pilot. He flies 757/767 for AA if he has time between hockey events. Seriously, though he's a great guy. I've mentioned him before.

So here's the model he gave me as a present. It's real travel agent size and very high quality -- not some knock off or anything. These are two views -- a top down and a straight on. It's now in my bedroom. Click on the photos to go on to Flickr for the larger images and additional comments.





I'm tired and need to go to bed, but I was too excited to do so without posting this. So, in conclusion, THANK YOU MURPHY!!!!!

Shout-outs to Erin who is getting sick for a third time and Jose for helping me when needed even if he probably thinks I'm a nut-case.

Various Stuff

1. No news on fraud.
2. iDrive sucks. It's the one thing about my new car that sucks ass. I really hate it more with each passing day. I like my car but not the iDrive disaster.
3. Chiropractor visit today was helpful.
4. StateFarm appears to be paying doctor's bills through July so need for lawyer is shrinking. Though someone ought to sue Progressive just 'cause they're lying assholes.
5. The "all business class" airline concept is dead. SilverJet, MaxJet, and Eos have all folded. The last one L'Avion was bought today by British Airways.
6. Continental Airlines and two employees are facing criminal charges in the fatal crash of Concorde in the year 2000. The French claim that a chunk of a Continental DC-10 hit the tyre, which burst and sent shrapnel into the Olympic engines causing the fire that brought the plane down. I really like Continental, but I'm not seeing how they'll be found innocent here. Another article is here in the NY Times (thanks Mr. Rice).
7. Fox News has done something that many other REPUTABLE organizations have fired people for. It has digitally altered photos of people who do not support their views and passed them off as otherwise. The full story on Media Matters. It was done on the decidedly un-fair and un-balanced "Fox and Friends" show. Fox News has sunk to a new low. On Wednesday, the network displayed photos that its editors had doctored of two New York Times employees -- reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Radcliffe. You can see the before-and-after evidence showing that Fox purposefully yellowed Steinberg's teeth, widened his nose and chin, and photo-shopped his ears stick out further.
8. I am going to switch to FF3 later today because the Noia Theme is finally available. I will, sadly, have to switch from Googlebar to Google Toolbar. And, worse, I will lose PrintImage but I am pleased that I can finally make the switch. Beta versions of Googlebar and Favicon Picker were found making me even happier.
9. I'm really hungry. I am no longer hungry, though what I ate was shite.
10. Good luck to Mom who had an especially bad day.
11. I went to Publix and Walgreens today because they'll be closed today.
12. I will take Grandma to breakfast tomorrow.

(EDIT: Edited 8 and added 10+)

Great British Design Competition (Contest)

I am pleased to see Concorde has won the British Design Competition (link shows the winners) for the best ever in British Design, and in second place was the Tube Map! Congratulations Concorde!

You can see my Concorde page at http://www.darsys.com/concorde.html -- that will in turn link you to my other Concorde pages.

I love the Tube and map as well, but I don't have a page to send you to yet, but my great London Compendium may be of interest.