4-Wheel Derision

Well, to begin with, we got more gorram snow yesterday. UGH...

Anyway, by the time I was heading home the roads were pretty slick - not horrible, but definitely needed to be careful.

As most Colorado drivers can attest to, it's pretty common to be driving on a slick road and have a machismo jerk in a big truck pass you at about twice the safe speed. I'm pretty sure that what's going through their heads is "I'm in a 4X4, I won't get stuck - it's like driving on dry pavement for me. I can pass these losers that are too scared to go 65 mph". I always want to stop them, and give them a basic physics lecture (bigger vehicle = more mass = harder to STOP). Of course I would only have to follow them for a while and wait until they do lose control...

Case in point. Last night on my way home I passed a truck on it's side in the middle of the road. I'm not talking a little Toyota truck here, I'm talking a Ford F-250 dualie, extended cab. Fortunately, no one seemed to be hurt - the police were just showing up as I passed.

I know it's horrible, but it made me laugh. I just know the bonehead was taking the turn off Morrison and lost control. I have to wonder what he/she is thinking today. Is it "Wow, I guess if I suck at driving in the snow, it doesn't matter how big a truck I have" or "That was a fluke I'll be fine the next time I take a corner on ice at 30mph." Unfortunately probably the latter, and hopefully next time they're lucky enough to avoid any injuries, to themselves and others...

Evil on Ice

So yesterday was the trade deadline for the NHL. A number of interesting trades were announced, including Scott Parker coming home to the Avalanche (Woot), Ryan Smyth heading to the Islanders (while not a big Smyth fan - Vancouver fans must be reeling), and the king of cheap shots, Todd Bertuzzi is now a Red Wing.

Being an Avalanche fan - the Red Wings easily sit at the top of my "most hated hockey teams" list. With that being said, I find myself happy with this trade.

When Bertuzzi was a Canuck, I didn't like him even before his blind siding Steve Moore. While he's semi-talented, he's always been a thug on the ice. This incident only cemented my belief that players like Todd Bertuzzi don't belong on the ice. I could go into the many reasons I hate Bertuzzi, but that's really not the point of this entry.

My point is that now I have another beautiful reason to hate the Red Wings. With one trade, they have become a nice, concentrated source of hockey evil.

I'm looking forward to going to the next game against the Red Wings and booing #44 to my hearts content, an action that wasn't nearly as satisfying when he played for Florida.

Peter McNab put it pretty well (paraphrased), "Bertuzzi is a big, strong forward that plays a physical game. Detroit's got a lot of talent and they could use a player like that."

Maybe it's my biased ears, but that to me says "All the other Detroit players are skilled, they need a thug." Since Detroit lost McCarty, this is definitely true...

Of course I still hope Bertuzzi spends the rest of his career on IR (only fitting), but if he has to play, let it be for the Wings - I look forward to booing my throat raw!

The name's Next, Thursday Next

I recently finished the second book of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, Lost in a Good Book. This series was recommended to me by a good friend, and I'll admit I was skeptical. However, after finishing it I have to say I'm completely hooked.

This book follows Thursday's adventures in The Eyre Affair, and is set in an alternate reality England. It's a world where literature is king (there's a major Shakespearean political lobby), dodos, mammoth and neanderthals have been "re-engineered" and there's a "Toast Marketing Board". Thursday is an agent in a government agency called "Spec Ops", an organization that deals with everything from time travel to vampire/werewolf containment to botanical enforcement. Her specific department Spec Ops 27 - Literatech, is charged with Literary Detective work. Thursday's adventures in Eyre Affair involve her (among other things) jumping into the book Jane Eyre to save Jane from a criminal mastermind.

In Lost in a Good Book, Thursday finds herself in the media spotlight after her adventures in Jane Eyre. She finds herself enlisted by another agency called "Jurisfiction", an organization of fictional characters created to enforce the continuity and characters in books. Lead by such characters as Ms. Haversham of Great Expectations and the Chesire Cat, Jurisfiction adds a whole new dimension to the series.

I find myself excited to continue the series with the next book The Well of Lost Plots. It's a well written series that doesn't take itself too seriously. As I continue the series, I'll post my thoughts - as if any one is actually reading them ;)

Wii have spirit....How 'bout you?

So I folded under the pressure.

I valiantly resisted the urge to buy a Wii for months. Ultimately though, it was all for naught as I picked one up last week.
My big reservation was that I didn't know anyone that owned one, nor did any stores have any demo systems (understandably).
After spending a week with it I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised. While the graphics are nowhere near the "next-gen" mark, the game play more than makes up for this. Nintendo has never marketed this as a next-gen console, and rightfully so. Nintendo, wisely (IMHO) decided to go a different route and market to those that want a different gaming experience, and have succeeded!

Any console that allows you to hammer throw cows by swinging the controller over your head, or guide a paraglider by flapping your arms like wings gets my vote! Last night, I took my new toy to our monthly game night and we had a blast with it. Interestingly enough, we spent most of the time playing the game that came with the console, Wii Sports (even though I had rented Rayman & Warioware - both fun BTW).

Despite all the talk of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, I am satisfied with my decision. For $100 less than a PS3 console, I got the Wii, 2 controllers, 2 "nunchucks" and 3 games. Pretty easy math I think...

Baggage Claim Etiquette

OK, so Sunday night I picked my wife up at the airport and noticed something while we were waiting for her bags. We were standing in the baggage claim, maybe two feet from the carousel, and a couple walked up and stood directly in front of us. Now, there was a crowd gathering around the carousel, but there were definitely other spots available, some not 6 feet from where we were standing. I didn't think too much of it at first, and we moved to a clear spot and continued our conversation about her trip (once again, standing a couple of feet from the carousel). Not a minute later, another couple came and stood in front of us without a word.

My question is this...am I wrong to think that I shouldn't have to stand against the carousel to be able to have a clear view of the bags coming down the line? Plus it seems to me that a simple, "Excuse us" would have been out of the question either.

The Wonderful World of the Blog

I finally broke down. I've decided to give in to the desire to share my random thoughts on the world with anyone who may care (and probably a lot that don't).

So please be gentle, I'm learning as I go...

With that said, here goes: