We've Moved

It's been some time since I've made any posts... at least here.

I just wanted to let the two people that regularly read this blog know that the RLO Today blog has new digs over at www.rlo.com (also known as RLOWorld). I spent a few weeks redesigning it and to put some new life into it. It sat dormant for a long time and I thought I should probably do something with it.

Along with the new and improved RLOWorld, I will host the RLO Today blog there. For now, I'll keep all the old posts from this Blogger site (it looked to be a lot of work, if even possible, to transfer all the blog posts and comments from here to there). Any future posts will be made at RLOWorld.

So we hope to see you there.

Apple vs Microsoft

I think my favorite commercials on TV currently are the PC and Mac commercials... the one where the PC character favors Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the Mac character favors Apple founder Steve Jobs. These commercials are sometimes more entertaining for me than the actual program I'm watching.

The battle between Microsoft and Apple has probably been going on for 20 years now. Most of those years, Microsoft has been the declared winner. But only in sales and marketing. I think for the most part, the Apple Mac product was probably far superior. Unfortunately, it never gained any traction with the consumer. I always speculated that Microsoft catered to the business and corporate users while Apple catered more towards desktop publishing. This gave Microsoft and PCs an early advantage as all businesses needed "number crunching" software. However, I believe things are starting to change.

Previously, Apple was pretty much on life support while Microsoft was making money hand over fist. I had read somewhere that if you had purchased $100 worth of Microsoft stock in 1989 and held it for 10 years, it would have been worth $60,000 in 1999. But with the Internet/tech boom of the 90's, you would have done really well if you got out in 1999. Since then, Steve Jobs returned to Apple and the company was once again innovative. Since that time, the company introduced the iPod product, the iPhone and have for the most part reinvented the Mac product line.

In the summer of 2008, I was in the market for a new laptop computer. I had first considered a PC laptop, but I knew it would have come equipped with Microsoft Vista. Vista is a full blown, multi-definition of "failure," "disaster," and "headaches." And I was tired of these computers that would take 6 or 7 minutes to completely boot up, only to then run in a slow, unstable environment. I had a friend who had previously purchased a Macbook. He didn't have enough time to fully review it for me, but claimed he liked it for the brief amount of time he did have it. Well, since I mainly use a laptop for surfing the Internet, e-mail and other generic uses, I decided to take the plunge into the world of Mac.

There's a bit of a learning curve to using a Mac, that is if you've spent 25 years using Microsoft. I got home with the Macbook and it was able to log onto the Internet by plugging in a Cat 5 line into my home network. My wireless router was too old and was incompatible with the Macbook. So then, another purchase... the Apple Time Capsule. This is a 500GB backup drive with wireless router. It took no time to start up and was many times faster. And it worked well with my PCs in the house.

Over time, I preferred working on my Macbook over my PCs. This summer, I replaced my office PC with a new iMac. Works like a charm. It is so much faster and stable. It also doesn't take as much space and it is by far quieter; there's no clunky fan sounds. And better yet, in less than 45 seconds, it is fully booted up vs. my PC with took about 7 minutes.

Earlier this month, I did encounter my first problem with an Apple product. My Apple Time Capsule crapped on me. I believe the hard drive in it was fine, but the power unit quit working. As with everything else, it stops working shortly after the warranty expires. I called Apple support and was able to talk to Dave, an American citizen in California. Dave was extremely helpful. To make a long story short, Dave worked with me to find an option to exchange out the unit for a minimal price. However, I thought I might have to get some files off of that hard drive. He also help me with that, though it turned out I didn't need to. Dave is the first customer service rep that I have ever dealt with that not only returned my call, but 5 minutes after he left a message on my voice mail, called me back again in hopes I was available. Apple customer service has to be the best customer service I have ever used.

In less than 2 days, I received a new Apple Time Capsule, I put the old one in the same box, sealed it up, tore off the top sticker, which then displayed a new one that was pre-paid and I simply dropped it off to be sent back to Apple. Incredible!

I have since purchased an iMac for my home computer and it's due to arrive on Wednesday this week. I have pretty much, 99%, converted to Apple. So, goodbye Microsoft. Yea, I know Windows 7 came out last Thursday. Good for you, but I think I'll stick with Mac.

If I were to make a prediction, I will say in 10 years, if that, Apple will have gained far more market share than PCs. Millions of consumers are using iPods and iPhones and are completely satisfied with them. This is their introduction to other Apple products. If these iPods and iPhones are so good, they will probably check out their computers as well. It's only a matter of time.

Shopping

Tonight I made a routine visit to the grocery store to pick up our usual staples. Nothing too exciting. I've lately been shopping at the Kroger's in Chillicothe. Not that I'm a loyal Kroger's shopper. Quite the contrary, I really don't care for Kroger's. But it saves a bit of time traveling to Schnuck's and better yet, the sales tax revenues will go to Chillicothe rather than Peoria. It's a safe bet that the town of Chillicothe will use those revenues far more efficiently than the city of Peoria. Let's get back to why I'm writing this post.

As I stood in the checkout lane, a manager asked the bagger if they had asked me if I wanted paper bags. Sensing that the bagger could get into some trouble because he didn't ask me and that he did not use plastic bags, I came to the rescue and said that it was ok. In fact, I even pointed out I would prefer paper bags. And that got me thinking...

There was a day, long ago, I remember when there were no paper bags. One day, sometime in the late 70's, Mom was interviewed on the local news about these new plastic bags. She gave it a good review. But after 30 years of plastic bags, is it really a good deal.

For starters, I like paper bags because you can place more goods and products into them. With plastic bags, you can put a couple boxes of cereal into them and then you're done. Another reason plastic bags suck is environmental reasons. Paper bags are biodegradable; plastic is not. Of course, paper is not the greatest. As the paper will decompose, the ink for anything printed on it will leak down into the water supply. Think about that the next time you're eating at McDonalds. What was it, 15 to 18 years ago, they replaced all the styrofoam containers for their burgers with paper wrappers. While styrofoam will last forever, it would just look unsightly sitting in a landfill along side plastic bags. Parts of this refuse might even be used by birds and squirrels in next building. But all that ink on those paper wrappers will wash down into our water supply.

So I don't know, take your pick on how you want to destroy the environment. But for me, I prefer paper bags as you get more bang for your buck!

The Russians Are Coming

The other night I had a dream that the Russians were after my convertible. The reason being was that they wanted to reverse engineer it and learn new technology. At one point in the dream, I was walking back to my car to get something out of it and to check on it. As I was walking to it, I was thinking to myself that if the Russians wanted this car so bad, why don't they just buy one for themselves. I mean, there no real classified technology in it. In fact, there's a car just like this sitting on the used car lot at Greene Chevrolet.

When I woke up, I realized I had yet another odd dream. "What made me dream that?" I asked myself. It occurred to me that I might be watching too many episodes of The A-Team. Hulu.com has episodes available of the A-Team. But seasons 3-5 are going down the first week of September, so I need to get them in when I can. So I guess I more or less have overdosed on The A-Team. But I love it when a plan comes together!

The weird dreams still continue and probably always will. Last night I was on an outpost on the planet Pluto, complete with warm temperatures, trees, grass and atmosphere. Who know where or what I'll be doing tonight.

Nothin' But Troubles

Earlier this week, we took Bubbles to the vet. She previously had some type of bladder infection or something and we though she was having it again. Good news is she was fine. While at the vet's office, they weighed her and she weighed 80 lbs. No longer a little dog.

Bubbles can still be onry if she wants to be. This week we noticed several small pieces of wood laying in the dining room. Bubbles often sneaks in a stick to chew on. But Beth vacuumed the dining room today and discovered these small wood pieces were not sticks from the outdoors, but rather from one of the legs of the dining room table. She chewed it pretty good, but we may be able to salvage it and fix it cosmetically.

This is probably the worst thing she's done as a puppy. So you have to expect damage to something eventually. It has now happened. Bubbles, Bubbles... she's nothin' but troubles!

I Finally Went To See Star Trek

... and it really doesn't sit too well with me. But I need to realize it was only a TV show, not real history.  But watching the original Star Trek as far back as I can humanly remember, this movie seems a bit like history revision. I read somewhere that the movie was to be a "reboot" of the Star Trek franchise. In doing this, and without giving too much away, the story calls for a change in the timeline in the 23rd century... so I guess it wouldn't be history revision. It was revised before it became history.

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a big Star Trek fan. I don't dress up in the ears or costumes and attend conventions (I will confess I did dress up as Capt. Kirk for Halloween one year). But from watching the show for 40 years, I've come to learn much about it and its characters. The one thing about the series in the 1960s was that it held a lot of consistency. More so that any other TV show of the time. That also continued into the Next Generation series. But the new movie loses some of this consistency. Over all it was good move, but if I were the producer, I would have made a few changes that could have maintained the original Trek story.

Spoiler Alert. Don't read any further if you haven't seen the movie yet or Star Trek doesn't interest you.

The main change I would make would be the removal of the Uhura, Sulu and Chekov characters. In the movie, the story is set during Kirk's days in Starfleet Academy. Uhura, Sulu and Checkov were a few years younger than Kirk. There was no way they would attend the Academy at the same time. Instead, the movie showed Sulu and Chekov as commissioned bridge officers on the Enterprise, while Kirk was still technically a cadet. I would have brought them in in a second prequel movie, if any.

I would have made minor changes with Spock, McCoy and Scotty. Come on... in the movie, Kirk was still a cadet, but Spock held the rank of Commander. That was his rank in the original series in the 60's. So you mean to tell me Spock had stayed a Commander for 12-13 years with no promotion.

There were many other things that did not stay consistent with the original series, but that can largely be explained by the timeline being changed. 

I did enjoy when Kirk's parents were deciding on a name for the future captain of the Enterprise. The special effects were great. The casting was done very well as the actors portrayed their iconic roles almost like the originals (Dr. "Bones" McCoy was exceptional). I liked the fact they kept the usual catchphrases (ie "I've given her all she's got, Captain"). I also liked the fact that they kept the same, although improved, Starfleet uniforms from the 60's original. 

I really didn't like the fact how Kirk became captain so quickly. And Captain Pike's timeline was largely changed. It appeared Kirk took command away from him. In the original Trek, Kirk mentioned that he met Christopher Pike only once.  Additionally, I did not approve the fact that the planet Vulcan was destroyed. That will be a major change in the Federation for the 23rd and 24th centuries.

But then again, it's only a TV show/movie... "get a life!"

Recent Happenings - May 2009

It's been a while since I've checked in. Here's a bit of what's been going on...

Bubbles & Elliott - The dogs graduated from obedience school on May 9. We were very proud of them as they both won awards. Bubbles came in second place with Buffy in the experienced handlers category. Elliott came in third place with me in the inexperienced handler category. We took the class with friends of ours, Jennifer and Charles and their dogs, Hazelle and Noah. Hazelle and Jennifer came in 1st place in the experienced handler category. And I don't know if this is something to brag about, but Noah and Charles came in 1st place in the senior category.

Nootril Drop - When it rains, it pours and I'm not talking about the recent weather. We go for some time without any gigs, and then we have been hit with many of them. We played Oliver's Pizza in Peoria Hts last week. Yesterday we played our first wedding close to Manito, IL. Both gigs went pretty well, though I was a bit nervous about the wedding gig. I'm use to playing to drunk people in a bar that will likely forget that evening as opposed to playing to people getting drunk at an event they want to remember. I think I'd rather be forgotten.

We've got another gig for Ambulance Days in Princeville in a couple of weeks and then Dennis and Shari's hog roast 2 weeks after that.

Unwelcomed Visitor - In late April, I came home to check on the dogs. I let them out the back where Bubble went out onto the deck.  I followed with Elliott behind me. There on the deck sitting between 2 different planks of wood was a 3 foot long black snake. Don't ask me how it got there. 

Bubbles walked past it and never noticed a thing. I made Elliott go back inside.  While there's little or no threat of it being poisonous, I didn't what the dogs to get a bunch of snake bites from it. To make a long story short, I made the dogs stay inside. I speculated that the snake worked its way up on the deck in an effort to grab some robin eggs which were probably laying in a nest underneath the deck.  

I allowed about and hour and a half for it to leave but no go. It continued to weave itself in and out of the deck railing spindles. Interesting. In the meantime, I tried to look up what kind of snake it was on the Internet. I found a really close match, which said it likes to lay eggs around April/May in gravel and rocky areas. Baby snakes then hatch around July. We have a bunch of river rock under our screen porch. And that did it for me. I then issued the death warrant for our unwelcomed reptilian visitor.

Remembering an experience from when I was real little and my Dad did a snake in with a hatchet, I tried the same thing. Unfortunately, I was not as successful and only pissed this thing off. I allowed it to weaken and then finished the job with a flat shovel and a whack on the head.

Snakes are fun to watch, but I still hate them.

Review: The Fab Faux

F*ing. Great. Show.  

Dave Cookson and I travelled to Chicago to see The Fab Faux this past Saturday for a dose of some good Beatles songs. It had to have been one of the best shows I've seen in quite a while, with great music and some pleasant surprises. 

The Fab Faux is far different than your ordinary Beatles tribute act. The group attempts, and is successful almost always, to precisely perform an accurate reproduction of the music of the Beatles. There's no costumes. There's no wigs. There no phony English accent. Just music of the Beatles. And as a huge Beatles fan, that's all I want.

The band is comprised of Will Lee, bassist in Paul Schaffer and the CBS Orchestra (featured on the Late Show with David Letterman) and Jimmy Vivino with Max Wineberg's band on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Three other professional musicians, Rich Pagano (drums/vocals), Frank Agnello (guitar/vocals) and Jack Petruzzelli (keyboards/guitar/vocals) round out the main core of the band. Then include the Creme Tangerine strings and the Hogshead Horn and you've got one hell of a band.

From what I know of the group, it was originally conceived by Will Lee. He had lived in the same building as Jimmy Vivino and while the two were sharing an elevator ride going to their respective gigs, Will brought up the idea to him. Jimmy, trying to be polite, pretty much said that he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but Beatle tribute acts have already been done. But the difference was that the band would attempt to recreate the music as precisely as a symphony would recreate Mozart. Thus the band was on its way. And in order to learn the songs and how they were performed, they downloaded bootlegs of studio outtakes of the Beatles off the Internet.  

Dave and I left a little earlier than we had originally planned due to expected sleet/snow in the forecast. So I drove the truck which would prevent us from driving on Lake Shore Drive. Instead, I found an alternative route into the city, which I think got us there faster than LSD. Once parked, and that took a while with a big ass F150 in downtown Chicago, we ate at a place called Rockstar Hot Dogs. It was just down the street from the Park West, the venue for the show. It was a small place, but had quality dogs, brats, Italian sausage with rock star names to them.

We then went across the street to Gamekeepers for a couple of beers. We stayed close to the Park West as we wanted to be the first in and get a good spot in front of the stage. The Park West is a small, but nice place for a show. It is all general admission, but there is a balcony and on the main floor is a dance floor, booths and tables. And it has been kept up and maintained, despite the outside design (it looked like some late 70s or early 80s futuristic design).

There was some confusion about when the doors open and the band starts. At any rate, we were there very early. All was not lost as we got to hear some of the soundcheck and last minute rehearsals. Among this was the horn section working on Got To Get You Into My Life and the string section doing I Am The Walrus. We also heard some pieces of Day Tripper and Helter Skelter.

Once they opened the doors, Dave and I bolted for the front of the stage like we were two teenagers. And once there, we were the only ones standing in front of the stage. Everyone else took a booth or table. We wondered if we were going to be allowed to stand in front of the stage. And when I say standing in front of the stage, I mean it literally. There was no fence or barrier. We actually could lean on the floor monitors.

Having a Heineken and waiting for the show to start, I noticed what looked to be a guitar pick on the floor. I went to pick it up and found it to be a Cheap Trick pick. We were perplexed and wondered it belonged to one of the roadys or something. Then checking out all the gear and equipment, we noticed a guitar amp with a Cheap Trick sticker on the side of it. 

But finally, the show started. The band walked out and took their positions and started things off with Got To Get You Into My Life. At this point you could tell that Will Lee is the major frontman of the band, though he only sings lead on about 20% of the songs. We could see the set listing as we stood front and center in front of the stage. Dave even held his hand out and Will Lee came down to shake it; we were that close. 

I wouldn't look at the set listing as I wanted to be surprised with the selection of songs. And it was a good selection. Not only did it have many Beatles favorites and popular hits, but also a dose of some obscure and less known work. My favorite might have been Martha My Dear off of the White Album. In the song when the tempo picks up and the horn section and guitars kick in, it just sent shivers down my spine.

Towards the end of the first set, they played the last 3 tracks off of the Sgt. Peppers album. During the Sgt Pepper Reprise, I saw out of the corner of my eye someone casually walking onto the stage. For a split second, I thought "that looks like Rick Neilsen (from Cheap Trick)." He turned around with a Gibson Les Paul, sporting a bow tie and ball cap... it was Rick Neilsen of Cheap Trick. That blew our minds. Dave was so surprised, he first thought it was Bun E. Carlos (the drummer of Cheap Trick). So I guess that explained the guitar pick I found and the Cheap Trick guitar amp. They closed the first set with A Day In The Life. Very cool!

The second set was as entertaining as the first. During both sets of the show, we managed to score some Fab Faux guitar picks that Will Lee would throw out to the audience. Standing next to my right were 4 kids, with approximate ages of 5 to 8. They were very into the show. And the band members usually paid more attention to them and made sure the kids got guitar picks. I even helped them out at times to make sure they got one.

As the second set was starting to come to a close, Rick Neilsen joined the band on stage one last time to play Day Tripper (which Cheap Trick had done a cover of) and Helter Skelter.  It was during Helter Skelter where Jack Petruzzelli who was singing lead, took a semi-hollow body guitar and slid the strings against the microphone stand to make added noise for the ending of the song. He then lowered the guitar into the audience to let the kids next to me play. They were a bit hesitant, but I told them was ok and prodded them a bit to go ahead on play on it. Then Dave and I couldn't resist and we started playing on it. So I guess you could say that we had a guest appearance with the Fab Faux.

But then one last surprise... they closed the show with Surrender, a song of Cheap Trick from the late 70's. Once the show ended, Dave and I was able to shake hands with Will Lee, Jack Petruzzelli and Rick Neilsen. 

After the show, Dave headed to the rest room while I waited in the lobby. I bumped into a couple of the kids that were standing next to me in front of the stage. "That was cool, wasn't it?" I said to one of them. "Yea" he eagerly responded. He asked if I was able to get any guitar picks that were thrown out. I told him that I had got a couple of the Fab Faux picks, but none of the Cheap Trick ones, with exception to the one I found on the floor. "Here, you can have this one," he said and handed me a hot pink colored Cheap Trick guitar pick. I told him to keep it, but he said that it was ok because he got 2 of them. I still told him I had others from other shows, but he insisted. I then asked him if he played anything musically as I told him I played in a band. He said he didn't, but his sister corrected him and claimed he played the drums. I asked if she played anything and she said she played piano and guitar. Dave came back and we were ready to leave. The sooner we got on the road the better as we didn't know what the weather was going to be like. I told the kids to "Rock On" and we headed back to the truck in the rain.

The ride home mostly went fast and it was very easy getting out of the city. The biggest trouble was once we got out of Chillicothe, IL. It had started snowing at that time and the visibility got so bad you could hardly see. The roads became covered so fast, you could not find any dividing lines. But we arrived home without incident and was still too pumped from the show to go to sleep.

The Fab Faux show was the bomb! So I guess it is true as the Beatles sang, "a splendid time is guaranteed for all."

The "Hole" Story - Part Three

Wednesday, March 4 - This is to be our last full day in Jackson. Dennis and I were undecided about going skiing again. If so, we'd only do a half day as we were (1) wanting to do other things and (2) we were a bit tired. Our other options were to go on a horse-drawn sleigh ride into the National Elk Refuge and to go snowshoeing in Teton National Park. We opted to not ski and do the Elk Refuge and snowshoeing.



The sleigh ride was interesting. You get to head out on the range and come very close to wild elk. You also learn history of the Refuge and other facts about the elk that reside there. We had spent some time right in the middle of a herd of bull elk. Shortly after leaving the area, something spooked the elk and they started stampeeding. That was something you don't ordinarily see.

Next, we had scheduled our snowshoeing excursion for 2pm. Unfortunetely, we did not have an abundance of time for lunch, so we wound up at a Dariy Queen to eat. This was a Jackson Hole first.

We arrived at the Park HQ to sign up for the snowshoeing. At only $5 a person, it was very economical... until you think about that our tax dollars subsidizes the rest of the cost. So we might as well get our money's worth. We went out with a guide who explained and showed us much about the area and its wildlife. Though we didn't snowshoe an extraordinary distance, it was a good variety of terrain. It also included walking along the Snake River.

Heading back to Teton Village, we planned to stop at Jackson Airport to drop off our skis and boots on Dennis' plane. Since Dennis flew out on his own, I had him take my skis with him so I could avoid the baggage charges the airlines charge nowadays. But one mishap, Dennis forgot the keys to the plane. It was locked so we simply left the skis with the FBO. We said we'd be back within the hour with the keys to load the skis.

Our final dinner in Wyoming was at the Alpenhof once again. The food was good, but the service was terribly slow. We'd joke that the food prep was being outsourced at another restaurant. Appearently, only one waiter was working. I guess this is what happens late in the season... the ski bums are taking off for their next gig.

Thursday, March 5 - Pam and Bill's flight left early at 7am. Dennis could leave whenever he wanted since he flew out himself. He opted to leave early since a snow storm was coming in. Dennis feared if he waited too late in the day to leave, he'd be stuck in Jackson Hole until the next Saturday. Yea, stuck in Jackson Hole would be terrible. Beth and I were lucky enough to casually have breakfast and take our time. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 1pm. On the way to the airport, we experienced some white out conditions from the snow storm. Turns out our flight was only delayed for 30 minutes. This was a large contrast to the Delta flight which was to leave arond the same time as ours, but couldn't because the pilot didn't show up.

All our flights made it back home without incident and we were able to log yet another fun vacation.

The "Hole" Story - Part Two

Monday, March 2 – Dennis and I planned on skiing today while Pam and Beth planned on going into Jackson to shop. Bill unfortunately took some work with him and decided to grade papers (he's a college professor for those of you who may not know). He idly thought to grade these papers while relaxing in the hotel's hot tub. But students would wonder why their papers would be so smeared and crinkled.

Dennis had a free breakfast provided to him as a guest of the Alpenhof. I on the other hand went to have breakfast at the Rocky Mountain Oyster which is located underneath the Mangy Moose. Normally when I'd eat here in the past, the place would be packed with people. Today there was no one except one other person getting a to go order. I have no idea if this is because of the current economic crisis or the food and/or service got bad.

Dennis and I first headed up the Tram (4,100 vertical feet) and we were among the first 4 people on when they first opened at 9am. The conditions were very warm. The snow was slushy and by the end of the day, one could literally ski in a pair of shorts. Now I wouldn't recommend it as if you'd fall, you'd then be wet and cold.

Coming off the Tram, Dennis tried out his new camera and we both took plenty of pictures. But Dennis' camera is a bit big and he didn't want to carry it all day. So we took our time skiing all the way back to the base of the mountain where he could take it back to the room. While there, he changed clothes to something that wouldn't be so hot. I didn't make that choice.

Next time up, we chose the Bridger Gondola, another 2,700 vertical feet. Throughout the day, we delt with the 40ish degree temps and wet snow. We skied quite a bit around the Sublette and Thunder lifts and even took the Tram a 2nd time as well as the Apres Vous lift. And you get to meet some interesting people going up the lifts. While going up the Thunder lift, we met a couple of girls who obviously have some colorful friends. They spoke of them and their failed desires in life once they obtained a boy/girlfriend. "I tell ya, relationships are dreamkillers," claimed one of the girls.

At the end of the day, we accomplished a little over 20,000 vertical feet. Our math was poor as we roughly tallied around 22 – 24,000 vertical. Had we known it was a little less, we would have done another run.

So we then dumped off our skis and boots and adjourned to the Mange Moose for drinks. I thought that the others would meet up with us at this time, but this was not the case. Dennis and I stopped at the Village Cafe for a drink and then eventually stopped at the Fireplace Bar at the Snake River Lodge when we ran into the others. I was well lit by the time we went to the Mange Moose restaurant for dinner.

Beth and Pam shopped all of the town of Jackson. They even stopped at the Million Dollar Cowboy bar to have a drink while sitting on the saddle (instead of bar stools, this drinking establishment has horse saddle to sit on).

Tuesday, March 3 - Another day of skiing for Dennis and I. Although, it looked to be only a half day of skiing and with a later start time. As for Pam, Bill and Beth, they didn't know what they wanted to do since they already shopped all the stores. Instead they wanted to sight see, which Dennis and I were up for; only later in the day.

Yet again, Dennis and I headed up the Tram for our first lift up. There was some fresh snow on top of the mountain and the temperatures were a bit colder than the day before. We worked our way to the Sublette and Thunder lifts where the runs were really nice. Our legs were still a bit tired from the 20,000 vertical we did the day before. As the clock ticked closer to 12 noon, the snow was starting to turn slushy and my legs were begining to turn to jelly. And it was getting time to meet up with everyone else to sight see. But we still managed to ski over 13,000 vertical feet... and even with getting a later start, this was all before noon.

We stopped into Jackson first so that Dennis could pick up a couple of gifts and we could get some lunch at the Silver Dollar Saloon. Bill couldn't resist the urge to get a cowboy hat. Once loaded up, we drove north to Yellowstone National Park. No one can drive into the park during the winter, but we decided to stop at Flagg Ranch, which is a snowmobile hub just outside the park. We thought we could stop there and get a drink or something. However, we felt like the Griswald family in Vacation as Flagg Ranch was closed. But the dozens of snowmobiles still sat in the lot.

Note: Years ago, you could rent snowmobiles and ride in the park yourself. Today, you must have a guide with you to do that.. and no doubt at extra cost to you.

On the way back home, we were lucky enough to see some moose eating a ways from the highway. We stopped and got plenty of pictures of course. We made another stop back in Jackson to look around during night time and to eat. The town square has arches made from lost elk antlers from the local National Elk Refuge. At night, they are lit up with Christmas lights. But now, they have replaced all the old lights for new, modern, LED lights... and it looks cool!

After dinner, Pam and Beth went back to the Fireplace Bar for wine while Dennis, Bill and myself went to enjoy the Flintstones-style hot tub.

The "Hole" Story - Part One

We spent the last week vacationing in my favorite place in the whole world, Jackson Hole Wyoming. This trip was originally planned months ago between Beth, her sister and brother-in-law Pam and Bill. The idea came about last year at this time when we were in Banff Canada.

Bill wants to become the upper-intermediate downhill skier. But the only time he can learn to ski is during his “Spring Break.” After getting the skiing itch last year in Canada, we headed to Jackson this year to continue the tradition.

Our trip started as early as Friday, Feb 27 as Beth and I headed to Chicago to stay overnight outside of O'Hare. This way we wouldn't have to get up as early and travel to the airport. Everything went smoothly getting out of O'Hare, though the check-in line was a bit long. Airline travel has sure come a long way; computerized check-in, you now have to pay to get a box lunch and security... just because some knucklehead tried to blow up a plane by being a “shoe bomber,” we all now have to take off our shoes before heading onto the plane. But the strip search and cavity check we have for security went swiftly.

We arrived in Jackson, WY and met up with Pam and Bill. Grabbed a rental SUV and we were off to the Snake River Lodge in beautiful Teton Village. Our first stop after checking in was to one of the finest drinking establishments on the planet, The Mangy Moose (sometimes known as “the Moose”). Sadly, it was disheartening to see that new development has now obscured a substantial view of the slopes from the Moose. The last time I was in Jackson Hole was in 2004 and there has been a lot of new development since then. This includes a new, $30 million tram that carries 100 people the top of the mountain in 10 minutes. But a few pitchers of Moose Drool, things were off to a great start. Upon leaving the Mangy Moose, Beth and Bill arranged a snowmobile tour for the next day to travel along Grey's River south of Jackson.

Later that afternoon, we met up with Dennis, which to keep a long story short, adjusted his travel plans to fit ours when his Jackson Hole travel plans fell apart. Dennis opted to stay at the Alpenhof Lodge, which is located next door to the Snake River Lodge. We all ate (and further drank) at the Alpenhof. I have stayed at the Alpenhof a few times before and found it to be an excellent place. Nowadays, it a bit of old school as it is probably now one of the older hotels in the area. They still use real, metal keys for the room doors.

Sunday, March 1 - Early in the morning, we all met in the lobby of the Snake River Lodge at 7:30 where the snowmobile tour personnel were to pick us up to begin our excursion. We also had one other stop at the local Hostel to pick up 2 more people where were on the same excursion as us. This was a Pennsylvania ER doctor, David and his 15-year old son Eli. They were very nice and fit well in our group.

Our first stop was for breakfast which was included in the tour package. And it was a good breakfast; probably the best we would have for the week. We eventually got into Alpine, Wy where our snowmobile adventure would begin. Our tour guide Dave gave us plenty of debriefing on the operation and riding of snowmobiles. It was going to be primarily trail riding, but there would be plenty of places where you could “play around” and ride up an down hills and hit some deep powder. One stop we made was up about 8,000 feet in elevation where we could take pictures.

Along the tour, poor Eli almost ran his sled into the Greys River; Pam had troubles starting her sled from time to time and Dr. David got stuck in deep powder. But no drastic mishaps took place that day.

Lunch was also included in the tour package. We stopped at a place called the Box Y Ranch... don't ask me why they named it what they did. At the front of the cabin was an baby/adolescent mule deer that you could walk up to and pet. His name was Joe. For lunch, I ordered the grilled cheese, fries and cup of chili. Very good. This had to be the best chili I've ever had. Very tomato-ie. Everyone else seemed to have ordered chili and grilled cheese as well. After some rest and a potty-stop, we were back on the sleds to continue our excursion.

It was probably around 3:30 or 4pm when we finally got back and re-fueled the sleds. Our trip back to Teton Village was probably a good hour. It may have been a long day for us, but Dave the guide had even a longer day.

We finished our day at the fireplace bar of the Snake River Lodge having drinks and eating nachos and pizza.

Liver Sausage

This past weekend was our annual hog butchering weekend in St. Thomas, Missouri.  Our cousins and Dennis and I go in together to buy a couple of hogs and we then butcher it for the meat we want.  We always get a good amount of pork chops, pork steaks, ribs, roast and plenty of sausage.

This has also been done in my family in previous generations.  I don't know if it came out of the depression or whenever, but there is something known as liver sausage.  I won't go into any detail about how and what it is made from; it would gross out 99.9% of the 2 people who read my blog.  But suffice it to say, those old timers never wasted a scrap of meat... and some of it usually would find it's way into liver sausage.

Grandma Reinkemeyer always had it for breakfast when I would visit.  It was ok then as a kid, but as an adult, you appreciate it more and I bet you that was some really good eating!  In recent years, I would have it made by Agnus, a woman my uncle in St. Thomas knew.  She's now getting up there in age.  Last year she was ill at the time and couldn't make any.  Dennis and I then made an attempt to make some.  However, we got lazy and busy doing other things and the meat went bad (at least it didn't look good), so no liver sausage was produced.  

This year, I'm assuming Agnus was feeling better than the year before.  However, she just wasn't up to the task of making any more.  I guess she's now retired.  So this time, I made a solo effort to get this delicious meat product made. This was Monday night. And I was going off of 2 different but similar recipes. One was from Agnus; the other I believe was from Aunt Helen.

Angus' recipe did not list any real specifics. It called for flour and oats, but no amounts were listed. It said to bake the sausage, but no times or temperature. Helen's recipe at least had some amounts; and said to bake for 2 hours, though no temperature was indicated. So it looked like some trial and error was required.

The process started off ok.  But by the time the baking took place, I began to wonder if something had gone awry. Both recipes called to skim off grease after baking. Now if a recipe calls for skimming grease, it must be some good eating. Oddly, there was no grease. Totally dry. I might have created fat free liver sausage!  Probably not.

The meat looked to be somewhat fatty. I believed I probably used too much oats and/or flour in the mix and it "soaked" up all the grease. On Tuesday, I fried up... or tried to fry up a piece of it.  It tasted right and was good though it was a bit dry and hard. Dennis and I freezer-vac'ed the meat and it now sits in the deep freezer. Who knows if I'll actually eat any or all of it.

At any rate, it was a good learning experience and I look forward to my next attempt. If anyone wants some, or is intrigued to learn more about this little known meat (also known as brownswager), just send me an e-mail.

Superbowl

Just some comments, observations and opinions of the American tradition we call the Superbowl.

Currently watching the game right now with 7 minutes to go for the 3rd quarter, it looks like Arizona is screwed. Since I don't have any money on the game, I really don't care one way or the other. I usually like to go for the underdog team unless there's some mitigating circumstance involved.  So it would be nice to see the Cardinals take it.

Many times, my interest is more in either the Superbowl party I'm at or the commercials. Now is it me, or have the commercials seem pretty lame the past few years. Some of them are just plain dumb.  Few are funny.  Beer commercials are usually the best. I think the last batch of really good Superbowl commercials was about 8 or 9 years ago during the dot com era.  I saw some movie trailers for commercials today. A Land of the Lost remake with Will Farrell? Uhhh! Where's my Pepto Bismol? 

As for Superbowl parties, I usually attend the Peoria Jaycees "SuperFest." But this year, since we now have the dogs, we can't really leave for more than 2-3 hours. So we are just staying at home in the Doghouse Bar with a pot of chili and fire. We were at the dog park earlier today, so the dogs are sleeping well. They'll be wide awake by the time we want to go to bed.

There used to be belief that if an original NFL team won the Superbowl, then it would be an up year for the stock market.  It proved true for almost 25-30 some years if I remember right, with exception of a couple of years. So for many times, I wanted an NFL team to win... all for monetary gain on my part. But there's been so many changes in football, I really don't know which is what between the old NFL/AFL teams or if this superstition can even still hold.

Half time show. The 3-D stuff was alright.  Springsteen did a good job at delivering a show. It would be tough to pick out which songs to play for only a 12-minute show. He was a bit winded after doing a couple of songs, but the guy is in his mid-50s. However, I don't like the fact he sold out to Wal Mart, so I was leaning towards being in a boycott mode for the half time show. Either way, this year's half time show was light years better than that debacle MTV put on in 2004 with Kid Rock wearing the US flag as a poncho and Janet Jackson with her so-called wardrobe malfunction. 

Anyways, it's time to stoke the fire and grab another Heineken.

New Year Happenings

It's hard to believe that we are already to mid-January. It seems like yesterday was Christmas and New Years.  

The holidays treated us well. We had 9 of us with a total of 3 dogs staying at the house. Had plenty to eat; plenty to drink. Many gifts exchanged.  I got a lot of music related items like new earphones for the iPod and monitors for my makeshift recording studio in the basement. For Beth, she got more jewelry.  I guess if guys can't have enough guitars, chicks can't have enough jewelry.  

Speaking of guitars, I got Jack a kid guitar for Christmas along with an old, hand-me-down guitar amp. It was more or less a gamble as we really don't know if he'll want it and really get into it. His favorite band is Green Day and he's explained things to me in their songs that indicates to me he has some musical aptitude. Jack got a lot of Legos and a Rubik's cube for Christmas as well. At one time, I was trying to show Jack some easy riffs to play on the guitar. He stops me with the Rubik's cube saying that he could solve it by tearing off the stickers and placing them back in the correct order. I told him that his Dad when he was younger did that by taking the cube apart and putting it back together in the proper order. Then I went back to trying to show him some stuff on guitar. However, there's so much going on at Christmas, you're not going to hold the attention of an 8 year old. I looked up at him and he was intently looking at the cube. He says, "I wonder how he took this apart." Like father, like son.

New Years was alright as we just stayed in.  Having the 2 dogs, we can't leave for long; the longest we can be gone right now is 3 hours. So we decided to pull the couch up next to the fire, open a bottle of champaign and watch Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve. I think its time for Dick Clark to retire. Though it's sad he suffered a stroke and affected his speech, but keep his name on the show, give the guy a cameo appearance and leave it at that. He looks ok, he probably feels good, but should he really be hosting this thing? And why is it called "Rockin' New Years Eve" when most the acts they featured were hip hop or rap?

Even though this new year we've probably done nothing but stay in, it's been good so far. And however sad this sounds, I'm kind of liking it this way.

2008 Christmas Letter

Another year has come and gone and yet another one of these Christmas letters.

Beth and I were meaning to get Christmas cards out this year. We wanted to include pictures of the new dogs, but they just don't cooperate with photo taking. The paparazzi would have a tough time with these two. So it looks doubtful we'll get any cards out this year. Perhaps belated Christmas cards will be sent. 

Anyway, here's some of what's happened in the year past:

The Dogs

As you've already learned, we are now proud parents of 2 old English sheepdogs. This summer, Beth was training Elliott, an old English sheepdog, for some friends. They were going to relocated him to Chicago with his owner once he was trained. Beth got the itch for a dog at that time. It looked possible we might adopt Elliott as him relocating to Chicago did not look promising. But we were told that they wanted to keep Elliott. Therefore, we got Bubbles at 6 weeks old in October. In November, we learned that Elliott could not move to Chicago and life on the farm where he was staying was not working out.  Would we want him?

We briefly looked into finding him a good home. In the meantime, we brought him to our house, where he and Bubbles got along really good.  Elliott became housebroken in 24 hours, far faster than Bubbles. So we decided to keep him and make him a part of the family. We originally thought about getting 2 dogs so they keep each other company. Bubbles seemed like a bit of work and we started re-thinking that idea. But this arrangement seems to be working out... most of the time.

The pack is now complete!

The Band

Nootril Drop was on and off this past year. Over the summer, Daren, our drummer was off for 3 weeks in Germany to visit in-laws. Don't we all wish our in-laws lived overseas. But once he got back, I headed out for 2 weeks for Alaska. So not much happened during the summer months. However, we did get some gigs at Oliver's in Peoria Hts in May, Sept and Oct. One weekend, we played a benefit that got some exposure and media coverage. We even had a Halloween gig where Dave, our bass player, and I were judges for a costume contest. 

We're now working towards writing our own material. Currently, we have two originals in our set listing. They've gotten some positive responses thus far. The only gig we have scheduled is for January 24, 2009 at the Peoria Sportsman Club near Manito, IL.

Rock On!

Travel

Anyone who reads this blog read all about our Alaska trip. If not, search under the "Alaska" label on this blog. Alaska was the real highlight in travel for 2008. 

Our other trip Beth and I took was to Lake Louise/Banff, Canada in March. We met Beth's sister Pam and her husband Bill there. Bill wanted to try cross country skiing, which believe it or not, all the rentals and lessons were booked. I managed to get a couple of days of downhill skiing in. And in the process, got Bill hooked on skiing. I have to hand it to him, he's 10 years older than me and is just starting out. He seems to be sticking to it as we all have a trip to Jackson Hole for March '09. We also drove around and saw the sights of the Canadian Rockies.

We also took a couple of other smaller trips; Atlanta during Labor Day where we saw the DragonCon Convention (a sci-fi/comic book convention) and Charleston, SC.

Family

I am happy to report that everyone is feeling good and doing well.  Two-thousand eight is the first year in a long time that we did not have some kind of death in the family.  In 2000, it was Aunt Helen, '01 and '02 were ok, '03 Dad passed away, '04 Uncle Charlie went, '05 Great Aunt Jeanie died at almost 92 years, '06 Great Uncle Gene went with his boots on and lastly, in '07 Trixie had to be put down. Jim Rinkemeyer gave us a bit of a scare in November with some problems, but he's doing fine now. I guess there's not much of us left.

Mom turned 65 in May and we held a surprise party for her. Beth's parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary (where the trip to Charleston was their gift). Jack turned 8 and he started the third grade this fall. Dennis still likes to hunt and fish. He still oversees the operation of his smoke shops. Dennis has recently taken on the challenge of treasurer of the local PTA.

That's the past year in a very small nutshell. Hope everyone is having a Happy Holiday season and wishing all a great new year!

Welcome, Elliott

We couldn't stop at just one dog. Please say "hello" to Elliott, another Old English Sheepdog. He is the latest addition to the family as of last Thursday.

We essentially adopted him from some friends of ours.  This past summer, Beth was training him.  Once he graduated from school, he was to move to Chicago to be with his owner.  To make a long story short, it just didn't work out for Elliott to move to the big city.  We idly looked for a home for Elliott.  But we brought him to the house and he and Bubbles got along very well. And coming straight from farm life, Elliott has done very well in the house. Therefore, we decided to accept him into the family.

Before getting Bubbles, we originally thought about getting two dogs so that they would keep each other company.  Since Bubbles was a handful at times, we started re-thinking that idea. But Elliott is proving us wrong and they both get along as well as any other big brother and little sister.

The Hot Tub From Hell

I've been in a battle since August trying to get my hot tub water clear. I'm happy to report the battle may soon be over.

After coming back from Alaska, I did a fresh fill, where you drain the tub and fill it with fresh water. But this time, the water started getting cloudier and cloudier with the passing of each day. By September, I was taking water samples to my friendly neighborhood hot tub store for advice. Over and over, I tried balancing all the various chemicals. The funny thing was was the balance of chemicals was not that out of whack.

I did discover a loose hose on the ozonator. In late September, I went out of town, but arranged to have the ozonator repaired while I was gone, hoping that would remedy my problems. I returned home the first of October, only to find the tub in about the same condition... or worse. It was so cloudy that there was only about 2-3 inches of visibility. I decided to do another fresh fill since I had already dumped so many chemicals into it earlier. You should go about 3-4 months between fresh fills, depending upon how much the hot tub is used.

A couple of days after the last fresh fill, the cloudiness was reappearing. Here we go again.

I made a number of return visits to the hot tub store with water samples seeking advice. Finally last Tuesday night I washed my filters using the dishwasher. Upon removing them, I noticed one filter worn out and torn in a few places. I already had suspicions that my problem could be within filtration. I thought I'd pick up a new filter (these things aren't that cheap) and try things with a new filter.

This morning, things didn't look any worse; possibly a little better. I took the old beat up filter in the store, to which the store clerk claimed "it's shot." My suspicions are looking to be correct.

So with 5 new filters, I'm draining the tub right now to fill with fresh water. With a bit of luck, I'll have crisp, clear water for the Fall Bash this Saturday!

The Adventures of Bubbles

Our first week with our new addition to the family has passed. Bubbles is now 7 weeks old and getting braver, cockier and more feisty. During this time she's met her grandparents, Aunt Shari, Cousin Jack (pictured to the left), Aunt Kerri and Cousin Sara as well as a few of our other friends.

After her first 2-3 days, she has settled into her new home very well and she's exploring new territory more and more. Bubbles is starting to think she's a big dog and that she can jump on the couch anytime she wants. Though we'd give her an A for effort, the fact is there's no way she can jump on the couch just yet. It's just too high. But she keeps trying. She also likes to lay under the coffee table or the kitchen table when she naps. That is if she's not laying next to you or on your lap as Bubbles likes to cuddle.

When it's time to play, lookout! Bubbles likes to chew on your fingers, your nose or ear, your shoe laces or toes. And her teeth are sharp. She doesn't bite down too hard, but she does get carried away at times. This past weekend she made a new friend, Noah (pictured below). Noah is Jennifer Brackney's dog whom we dog sat Saturday night. We took both dogs to the Bradley homecoming/tailgate. Bubbles merely slept while Noah was busy scrounging for food. But the two dogs played very well together.

Bubbles has been doing better at night. She hasn't cried the last two nights and sleeps soundly in her crate. Although, after we let her out early in the morning around 6am, we do bring her into bed with us. And we have to keep an eye on her as she wants to try to jump down from the bed. It's too high for her and we're afraid she'll hurt herself. But this morning as I was sitting on the edge of the bed, tying my shoes with the little Bubbles next to me, she quickly jumped down. It was kind of a clumsy land, but she was unharmed. Bubbles can be fast anymore.

We haven't done much in the area of potty training just yet, but she's learning to go outside. We even suspect she understands the word "outside."

And the adventure continues with the Bubbles dog.

Bubbles' First Day

Bubbles' first day at her new home went well overall. She wined about 3 different times last night, lasting maybe 15 minutes each or so.  At some times, she howled like a wolf.  It was a bit amusing.  But she stayed by herself in her bed in a playpen.  At least until about 6am when put her into bed with us. 

We believe her first encounter with grass was last night before going to bed.  She kind of jumps around on it.  We think it tickles her somewhat since the grass is currently long.  Bubbles likes to chase and chew on leaves.  As the wind blows them, she'll chase them down and chew them.  Wait until she finds sticks.  She also likes doing the "Trixie roll" on the grass, just rolling on her back on the ground.

This morning Bubbles started chewing on my work boots.  A new toy for her I guess.  Her head is so small that she was sticking it into the opening of my left boot.  It was smelly so she had to check it out.

This afternoon she got to meet Grandma Hootie.  The treats will be coming soon!

We'll be going to bed in the next hour and we are guessing tonight will even go smoother.  Wish us luck.

Meet "Bubbles"

Please welcome Bubbles, our 6-week old Old English Sheepdog. We just picked her up today in Bloomington. Since Trixie's passing in March 2007, we knew we always wanted another dog someday. And today was the day.

Earlier this summer, Beth began training "Elliot," an Old English Sheepdog owned by Colleen Callahan's daughter Brittany. Brittany since moved to Chicago and that was part of the reason for training Elliot here. He would then later move to Chicago. But I guess that is not happening. We hoped we could somehow "kidnap" Elliot and he'd live with us happily ever after. Instead, Elliot is going to be staying on the farm, running with the other dogs. But having Elliot come and stay with us for a few afternoons and Beth working with him so often got her wanting a dog really bad.

We had been talking about getting 2 dogs so that they would have a companion, with one of the dogs being an Old English Sheepdog. The other we often figured a Golden Retriever, but if we go down that road, I'm thinking we might rescue a puppy somewhere.

So in the last few days, Beth had learned about a woman who was raising Old English Sheepdogs. There was a web site set up with pictures of irresistible sheepdog pups. I believe we came home a day early from South Carolina so that we could get a puppy.

Bubbles is now at her new home sleeping very quietly. She's wined a little bit but not a lot. Even though, we don't expect a full night's sleep.

It was a tough decision to pick one out of the 9 in the litter. We got it down to about 2-3, but finally settled on London, as she was earlier known, because she didn't seem as rambunctious as the others.

I'm sure all of you will see much more of Bubbles in the days to come.