Viva Las Vegas!

It's kinda hard to get excited right now because I feel like I'm going to die. But it was all worth it. Vegas was a blast! Check me out in this picture. That's right, baby. All hundies! I like to call this picture "I'm rich, bitch!" I hit a $2000 jackpot on a $5 slot machine at the Excalibur. No, that's not the machine in the picture. We ended up giving a lot of it back before the weekend was over but this was still our most profitable Vegas trip ever.
We also discovered two awesome restaurants. Both were a bit on the expensive side but it was worth it. Taru Sushi (inside Benihana) at the Hilton kicks ass. My new favorite Italian restaurant is Battista's Hole in the Wall behind the Flamingo. All entrees include a great salad, all you can eat garlic bread, bottomless carafes of red and white wine, and cappuccino afterwards.
Here is a picture of some goombah eating manicotti. Just look at him. He loves it. I think we all left there on the verge of bursting.
Traffic on the way home sucked. We killed a few hours at state line waiting for it to get better. It was a lot better by the time we left but there was still some bumper to bumper. We got home at about 2:30am so I'm operating on about 3 hours sleep right now. Death would be sweet release at this point.
I'm kinda sad that we most likely won't get to do another group trip before we move. But our door will always be open for anybody to come visit. Any time you are in Vegas, we will be ready to party at the casinos or at our place.
Anyway, good food, good drink, good gambling, good friends. Who could ask for more? Well, maybe a mechanical bull. Or a monkey.

Is it Friday yet?

Man...this is turning out to be the lllooonnngggeeesssttt day EVER!

The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg

Since this blog does have a significant Iron Maiden reference, It's about time there was a post about Iron Maiden. I was going to wait until post number 666, but by that point all of this would be old news. The following song is the new single from their new album A Matter of Life and Death, due out in September. I am very pleased with this song and can't wait for the new album (obviously).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNttRSMqOe0
And if anyone is wondering what Bruce is up to in his off time, he was airlifting Brits out of Cyprus after fleeing Lebanon.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news_detail.html?sku=234

An Evening with Kevin Smith

If you haven't already, watch "An Evening with Kevin Smith". If you liked his movies (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks 2) at all, you won't be disappointed. It is 3.5 hrs of excerpts from Q&A sessions he did on a college tour. That might sound boring but it really is freaking hilarious. He talks about his movies, writing a script for a Superman movie, filming an ill fated documentary for Prince, and trying to blow himself among other things. You might be able to catch it on cable (I don't know if they play the whole thing) but it's available on DVD. Move it to the top of your Netflix list.

Leaving (for) Las Vegas

So do you guys have a set time on when you will be heading out on Friday? Emily and I are entertaining the idea of leaving around 8, maybe before. That will get us there in time for lunch and we can start the festivities early. I am playing golf Thursday night but I think I will be able to wake up for Vegas.

Lunch Theater

I went to Jack in the Box for lunch to get my eggroll fix. As I was standing in line, I saw three pre-teens approaching the door on their skateboards. Two of the three slowed and came to a stop a few feet from the door. The third, however, was unable to stop and slammed into the glass door with a tremendous thud (the glass survived). As he fell to the ground, the others pointed and laughed. I laughed also. As I was eating, the same group sat down at the table next to mine. Within seconds, one of them managed to knock over his soda drenching the crash test dummy. I laughed again.
This poor kid was obviously having a bad day and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Does that make me a bad person? I don't really care... I'm going to hell anyway. In the words of Mark Twain, "Go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company."

Take me to Paradise Island

I just read some interesting info about the history of Wonder Woman. The creator, William Moulton Marston was a Harvard PhD and lived with his wife and lover for decades. He fathered children with both and the women named the kids after each other. They continued to live together following his death.
The bondage imagery in the WW comics was no coincidence. He believed that BDSM was a force for good in the world and fulfilled a universal subconscious longing to be bound and submit. In light of this information and because he (and WW) was a symbol of women's liberation/empowerment, I have to wonder if Hef's son, Marston Hefner, was named after him.
Another factoid that I found most interesting is that Marston invented the lie detector, a systolic blood pressure test that could detect deception used in the modern polygraph. I guess he was on to something with that Lasso of Truth.

Longing for those cool Vegas summers

Seriously, what's the deal with the weather around here. According to weather.com, it was 114 in Foothill Ranch on Saturday. Coupled with 40 something percent humidity, it might as well be 200. Our power went out Saturday, the hottest day in several decades here, and it took several minutes without air conditioning to turn our house into a pressure cooker. Sure, it's hot in Vegas but, with humidity in the teens, it's much more bearable there. Additionally, everybody's air conditioner is already on in the summer so there aren't any surprise black-outs when everybody simultaneously figures out it's hot. My biggest deterrent to moving to Vegas used to be the weather. I'm not so worried any more.

Update: Our power went out again last night at about 6:30pm. It occurred at a very inconvenient time while I was kicking some ass in Halo and Niki was posting items for auction on ebay. After trying unsuccessfully to sleep (it just can't be done when sweat is dripping down your face) we ended up going to Niki's parents' house to sleep. Apparently, the power is back on now but who knows how long it will last. I hate summer.

This is SOOOO wrong!

Check out the new Hasbro Oozinator (click to watch commercial on youtube). It is a super soaker that lets kids shoot each other with a milky white goo called bio-ooze. You think I'm joking but it's real.

Drunk Monkeys!

No, I'm not talking about Dan and I this time. Check out this article. I can't imagine anything more profoundly, mind-blowingly funny than drunk monkeys. They fling poo when they are sober... imagine what happens when they are wasted! This is the stuff dreams are made of.

The anticipation is killing me!

I can't wait to go to Vegas next weekend. It's not really about the gambling... I've done that recently. Mostly, it's about seeing Dan drunk. Weird things happen when Dan and I are drunk in Vegas. Last time I ended up cold, wet, and clutching shattered plastic. I don't think Dan remembers much of that evening. I guess it sounds a lot worse than it was. Fat Tuesday here we come!

US Airways to place ads on barf bags

There are some things that I admittedly don't understand. Along with dogs in Bee costumes, this is one of them. Who is buying this "ad space"? The next time your tossing your cookies or blowing chunks, think of us, your friends at A-1 Bail Bonds.

I'm speechless.

Really, what can one say about such a thing?

My new favorite web comic

Maybe it's just me but I laughed my ass off when I read this comic. Click on it to make it larger.

See more like this at Overcompensating.

Pirates 2 review

I was a bit disappointed by Pirates 2. The plot was too convoluted and filled with sub-plots. As one reviewer said "it goes absolutely nowhere and takes 2 1/2 hrs to get there". With attention constantly being pulled away from the main story line, it was just too hard to stay interested.
Also, there is a gaping hole in the story that really needs to be fleshed out. Since this movie was only half the story, it's possible that everything will be explained in part 3. I just don't know that I care anymore.
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad. There were parts of the movie that were very funny and had some good thrills. The special effects are good in a technical sense (with one exception that I can't go into without a spoiler) though artistically challenged at times. The score was good but some of the dialogue was a bit hard to hear/understand.
All in all, it has good laughs, good visuals, and decent acting (mostly by Depp) but it could have been a lot better if they just stayed on track.
BTW, if you recognized the voice of Davy Jones (the pirate, not the Monkey) but couldn't quite place it, that was Bill Nighy (the actor, not the Science Guy) who played Victor in the Underworld movies.

What next? Paté Popsicles?

In a shocking discovery, I found Clamato flavored tortilla chips in the vending machine at work. What kind of twisted individual dreamed up that concoction? I consider this equally as appetizing as the Twinkie Burritos and Chunky Bacon Ice Cream that I previously reported on. The difference is that those items never appeared in the vending machine at work. This one hits too close to home. I'd call for a boycott but I don't think I need to. Who in their right mind would actually eat such a monstrosity?

Separated at birth?

ROFL!

Back from Laughlin

We are finally back. We stopped in Vegas on the way to check out the progress on the house and show my mom the model. Here is a picture of us in front of our future house. As you can see, it is coming along quite nicely. Production is still on schedule. We also found out that our back fence will have a gate that opens onto the park behind us.
The funeral and family stuff went about as well as can be expected. I'd rather not talk about the gambling. Let's just say we don't plan on going back to Laughlin for a LONG time. The weather was strange. Not only was it hot but it was uncharacteristically humid. Thunder storms came and went and even knocked out the power in our casino briefly. We also heard that the air conditioning at the Colorado Bell was out for several hours. Yuck!
Here is a picture I took from the Ramada Express parking garage while a thunder storm passed to the north.

27th Annual Mooning of Amtrak

Why is it the day I have to take the train down to San Diego has to be during this?

http://www.moonamtrak.org/

I have GOT to try this!

Apparently, Coke + Mentos = Sticky Fun