Check this out

Preview of Mom's Christmas video
Click on this:

Kurt Segment


Family Segment

RVIA 2006

Pictures from the RVIA show in Louisville, KY. Nov 26-30, 2006.
My camera broke so I didnt take too many pictures. But I did borrow a camera
and shoot a couple of shots.

Click here for pictures

Next years Halloween Costume

here is what I am wearing next year. I need my friends to help me out on this one.

Golden Domers VS Golden Domers?

What is the deal with Notre Dame and gold helmets? I know this not always the case every Saturday. But it seems that everytime I turn on the television I see the Irish playing another team with similar helmets. It's like they have this weird narcisstic fasination with their own likeness.

Here are some teams on their 2006 Schedule.

Georgia Tech

Purdue

UCLA

Army

Navy

Wierd huh?

Chaparral Pines

Played Golf at Chaparral Pines.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/burntheship/sets/72157594342042246/

Also played in the Alaska Airlines Employee Tournament at Silverado. Good Times.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/burntheship/sets/72157594347891548/show/

Thanks to a friend

I just received a wonderful gift from a good friend. I have received many gifts in my lifetime. I was very lucky growing up that I always got something cool for Christmas and my birthday. When I say I a wonderful gift I mean something that is very special. So how do you define what is a "special" gift and what is a "nice" gift? For me it's the thought and effort that went into selecting just the right item. Like I said I have received many nice gifts books, music, clothes, computer gadgets, what have you. Although they were all nice items to receive and I enjoyed them all they were all given with a certain amount of convenience, meaning that they were not personal to me. The latest best seller is the just the latest best seller to everyone it's not personal.

The gift I received was a bottle of Macallan, single malt, 18 year old Whiskey. This is something that really hit home for me. It is my all time favorite Scotch and I have no idea how the person giving me this wonderful gift would know that about me. Did I tell them once that I liked it? Did someone else? I don't know. What I do know is that the person who gave me this gift didn't just go to the store and grab a bottle and put a bow on it. They took a moment to reflect and they must know me pretty well because I love it.

Here is how I like to drink Single Malt Scotch. Grab a highball glass, put in 3 cubes of ice, not 2 or 4, it has to be 3 cubes. 2 cubes doesn't chill the whiskey enough and 4 will water the Scotch down too much. Also the cubes have to be dropped in exactly 2 inches from the top of the rim. If you drop the ice from more then 2 inches the cubes break up and become water too fast.

So tonight I will go home, crack open the Macallan, grab 3 cubes and drop them 2 inches, then raise a glass to you friend, you didn't have to do that. But it was SO thoughtful and I thank you so much. I was just grateful to spend some time with you. I will see you soon and here is to your health.

RVDA 2006

Didnt take too many pictures this year. I don't know why, but here are a few.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/burntheship/sets/72157594304184501/

Labor Day Party at The Dovalis'

Went to a party at the Dovalis home on Sunday. Great time.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/burntheship/sets/72157594271264074/show/

Golf in Oklahoma and Arkansas

I got a chance to play a few times when I visited my brothers. One brother lives in Okalahoma and the other lives just across the state lines in Arkansas. Here are some images.

Grand Lake

I am at Grand Lake in Oklahoma this week.

Here are some pictures.

Five Movies

Five movies that I love and don't know a single person who even thinks it's so-so.

Every once in a while I will see a movie that I think is wonderful. Yet when I try to discuss it with other individuals I can't even find anyone who as either:
1. Seen the movie or
2. Thinks it's any good.

Here are 5 movies that fit that category.

1. ocean's 12


Steven Soderberg's excellent sequel to Ocean's 11. There is a lot of humor in this movie. However, it comes fast and subtle and it's very under appreciated.





2. The Aristocrats
This movie is unusual in that the premise is a simple one. 100 comics telling the same joke in their own individual way. The joke is the most vial, distgusting thing you can image. However, the interesting thing for me is to see the comedians in their own element. These are truly talented people and their interpretations are all very interesting.




3. Rushmore
I love all of Wes Anderson's movies. This was the first movie after the critically acclomended Bottle Rocket. It was also co-written by Owen Wilson who at the time was not very well known. The humor is well hidden and subtle. You have to work for it, but when you discover the jokes they are well worth it.





4. Tristram Shandy, A Cock and Bull Story
If you like English comedy, like Extras on HBO or absolutely Fabulous on BBC you will love this movie. It's a movie with-in a movie as the plot is about a cast of a filming a movie and about halfway through you start to see behind the scenes. Hysterical. It took me 3 hours to watch this movie because I had to hit pause and rewind so many times.




5. A Prairie Home Companion

I was wodering how they were going to interpret this long time running radio program to the big screen. I was woderfuly surprised. Watch it for Lily Tomlin and Merrill Streep's performance alone.

DCI Show

The DCI Show on Saturday night.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/burntheship/sets/72157594209344082/show/

Fredricksburg-Austin

Drove to Fredricksburgh, TX on Friday. A little artist town out in the middle of Texas.
Then drove to Austin to check out the Texas State Capitol building, the University of Texas Campus and the city of Austin.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/burntheship/sets/72157594209354558/show/

San Antonio

My first time in San Antonio, TX. American Airlines lost my bag. It's 11:30PM local time and still no bag. What a day.

Did all of the touristy Stuff today. Saw the Alamo and the Riverwalk. Had a great time on the riverwalk, but these pictures are pretty bad. It was SO hot and sticky. I was pretty uncomfortable.

The Alamo was a lot cooler then I thought It was going to be. Learned a lot of Texas history.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/burntheship/sets/72157594206316661/show/

KM

I cant tell

This is a clip from this silly show on NBC called "America's got Talent"
Check out this 11 year old from Philly.

I can't tell if she is Lip Syncing or not. I just can't get over how an 11 year old can
sound like that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozDh4NQveJs&search=bianca%20ryan

Tee Pee Open

I played my 8th Tee Pee open this past memorial day weekend. Once again I come home empty handed and no buckle. Just like the Chicago Cubs, there is always next year. Or is there?
Big rumors that this is the last Open. Bob retired but hopefully someone will take his place.
I played so poorly that I did not feel like taking any picutures. Here are the few that I did take.

Tee Pee Open 2006

Time Check

The last time the Phoenix Suns were this good, this exciting, this much fun to watch was in 1993 when Barkely and the boys almost beat the Chicago Bulls to win the NBA title. If you are a long time Phoenix resident like me you remember those days like it was yesterday. I can still almost see every shot, every game. 1993 was only 13 years ago. 13 years ago was not that long ago. I mean I can still see Tom Chambers on TV these days. He looks like he could still suit up and play if he had to, he looks good. 13 years ago seemed like yesterday.

When your a tech guy you measure every thing in computer time.

I was thinking after tonight's Playoff win what some of my favorite blogs would say in the morning about the Suns? Blogs, they didn't have blogs back when the Barkley played for the Suns. As a matter of fact the internet was not really even around when the Suns went to the finals. (At least the internet we know today, ARPANET notwithstanding)
as a matter of fact..................................., here comes the reality check.

The last time the Suns were in the NBA Finals, Microsoft Windows 95 was still two years away from being released. It probably was not even in BETA. (Well maybe)

Now that was a long, long, long time ago!

Banned List

There is no new candidates for the banned list latley. Although special credit is due to Brad Meade for being the inspiration for the dreaded list.

P.F. Changs

Remember when P.F. Changs was all the rage? Remember the first time you had Lettuce Wraps? Now everybody has them. I have not eaten at Changs for a while. When I do eat there it us usually out of town on business. I haven't eaten at Changs in town for I can't remember when?. Lisa and I have been trying new Chinese places out we really like The Bamboo Club. Plus we have been going Thai Rama for Thai food too. Recently my brother Kraig was in town and he needed a good Asian fix and he wanted Changs. So we went to Tempe. I must say that I remember why I like we used to like it so much it was very good. We liked it so much we went back by ourselves the following weekend. That is when we discovered an unbelievable desert, Banana Spring Rolls. Oh my god! Lisa and I just sat there and stared at each other. "Let's not talk", she said as we sat there and savored every bite. I don't know if this is a new menu item or we have just missed it all of these years but be assured we will be hitting Changs more in the future.

From the P.F. Changs website
BANANA SPRING ROLLS Six warm, crispy bites with coconut pineapple ice cream and drizzled with caramel and vanilla sauces. Delicious!
Ingredients:Fresh banana, eggroll wrapper, Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, vanilla sauce, canola oil, strawberries, sugar, pineapple dices, red raspberries, toasted coconut, blueberries, ground nutmeg, cinnamon

Kurt Boy

Kurt and Debbie were here last weekend. We had an awesome time. We played a little golf, ate some good food and just hung out. It was great. He took most of the photos.
Here are a few that I took. http://www.flickr.com/photos/burntheship/sets/72057594135097103/show/

Who is Michael Buble' ?

I don't have that many friends that listen to Jazz anymore but those who do are all giddy about Michael Buble. According to some people he is the next coming of, you know who..................Frank.

Buble' does not really do that much for me. There are so many good, young singers churing our good music right now. And so many of them are from the UK. Jamie Cullum and Russell Watson, (yes I know he does not sing jazz) Just to name a few. I also am on a big Chris Botti kick right now. It's not that I don't like Buble I just don't like the hype. He is ok but not great.

For my money I like Cullum more. In a word, OVERRATED!
KM

R.I.P. Professor Galbraith

One my heroes died this weekend. I guess hero might not be the right word but I defiantly was an admirer of John Kenneth Galbraith. When I was in high school, one of my economics teachers introduced us to modern economic policy by making us study the great economist of the past. Then all semester long we learned the different polices of John Kenneth Galbraith and Milton Freedman. Although I was too young to know the difference between Republicans and Democrats or between liberals and conservatives I was able to understand the basic concepts between Friedman's, supply side economics and the Keynesian theory supported by Professor Galbraith. Later that summer I went to the library and checked out Galbraith's "The Affluent Society." It was difficult reading for a 16 year old and although I had to read some chapters more then once and I did not understand all of it, I got enough out of it to realize I liked it's basic premise. That our economic system is a great one and although it is capable of generating amazing wealth and great opportunities our economic policy should also have the horsepower to do good for those who are left behind by the so-called invisible hand.
As I got older of course I started to develop new opinions and experiences but I always looked up to Professor Galbraith as a author who enlightened me. His book caused me to pause and try to rationalize and think about things for this first time. Rest in Peace Professor.

The List

"The 100 Greatest Guitarist of All Time" ?
So I knew that back in 2003 Rolling Stone Magazine published a list called "The 100 Greatest Guitarist of all time". I have heard refereces to the list on several occasions on the radio, but until today I had never actually looked at "The List". As with any 100 greatest lists of anything you are bound to stir controversy. Just look at AFI's 100 greatest films, NBA's 50 greatest players, and so on and so on. You just can't do a list of anything without, A. Leaving someone deserving off of the list, or B. having a whole bunch of people disagree with you.

So keeping this in mind I have just a couple of takes on this list.

1. This should be called the 100 greatest Rock and Blues guitarist of all time because there is not one jazz guitarist on this list. Pat Metheny, Lee Ritenour and Al Dimeola could blow 98 of these guys away with one arm tied behind their backs.

2. If Robert Johnson is on this list, what are you defining him as? pre-historic blues? I know that he is considered a pioneer on the instrument and he deserves his legacy but I will tell you this for sure. Since Robert Johnson died in 1938 there have been way more then 100 guys born who are better guitar players.

3. I don't know if this list is in any particular order or not. If it is not then what is the purpose of assigning numbers next to their names. So because Rolling Stone did assign numbers and since they put Jimmi Hendrix on the cover and he is guitarist number one I am thinking his list is in order of greatness. Also I wished I could get my hands on the original magazine because I want to define great. If you are talking about sheer chops then I have a big problem with this list.
Are you trying to tell me that : George Harrison, at #21 is a better guitar player then say, Frank Zappa, #47 then you are defiantly on crack. I will argue till I am blue in the face that Frank Zappa is a hell, I mean a ton of a lot better guitar player then George Fricking Harrison.

4. Left off of the list. I am not even going to think about this very hard. I am going to give you 10 guys right off of the top of my head that should be in here. I am not even going to try to think of a list.

1. Alex Lifeson, Rush
2. Yngwie Malmsteen
3. John Petrucci, Dream Theater
4. Tom Petty
5. Kerry Livgren, Kansas
6. Tom Scholz, Boston
7. James Young, Styx
8. Steve Morse
9. Neal Schon, Journey
10. Jonny Lang

5. Lastly, I have recently gotten into Joni Mitchell music. I know, I know, call me an old foggie, but I had never heard Joni until recently. Her music is very real and interesting. I am a huge Joni fan right now. But the 71st greatest guitarist she is not! Good musician ? Yes. Good singer? Yes. Known for her hot guitar licks? Negative!

6. Ok now lastly, I am glad to see a few people on the list who I would have not expected.
1. Robert Randolph, one of my favorite's. I am surprised because in 2003 he was not that well known. Of course I have always been slow on the up-take.
2. Dereck Trucks
3. Vernon Reed



KM

Quick Hits

Just a few quick thoughts to start the weekend off.

• Is it draft time yet? I think it's interesting to talk about this weekend's NFL draft. It's fun to speculate what team will draft which player, where a particular player will land and all of the strategic positioning that goes on in the days leading up to the draft. But I have to tell you with three weeks of hype behind us I will be glad to get this over with. I have heard about as much draft talk as I can stand.
• Elizabeth I on HBO. I think that Helen Mirren's performance in HBO's Elizabeth I was some of the best television I have ever seen. I have liked Helen Mirren since 1981 when she was in Excalibur. In Elizabeth she flat out acts her ass off.
• It's official, Phish is overrated! A few years ago I spent a year in Boulder, CO. This was after the Grateful Dead had disbanded after Jerry's passing. Everyone in Boulder had split into two camps either you liked, Widespread Panic or you liked Phish but not both. It was kind of like belonging to a political party you did not associate with the other group. So my friends were WSP fans and they took me to a few shows and I bought a few CD's and I generally got into the whole Panic scene. But I always remained curious about Phish. So when I got Sirius satellite radio last year they have a channel that plays a ton of Phish. So I have been listening to a lot of Phish the past 15 months or so and I know that Trey Anastasio is suppose to be all that and a bag of chips but I just can't get into them. There are some tunes I like but generally I find them to be adolescent and although I know they have a lot of talent I hear a lot of junk from them.
• Funniest joke ever! this is my favorite joke of all time:

Q: What would be an inappropriate gift for Anne Frank?

A: A drumset !

KM

Vegas on Easter Weekend

Lisa and I went to Las Vegas over Easter weekend for a little getaway. We stayed at the Mandalay Bay Resort. Lisa had stayed there when she won the American Express Pacesetter award in 2002, so she was excited to go back. I had been to the House of Blues at Mandalay before but that was about it. It was very, very nice. I was really impressed. On Saturday we saw one of my favorite shows, Mamma Mia!, It was good as always. Then on Sunday we drove over to the Venetian and saw Blue Man Group. This was really, really interesting. If you have not seem BMG then I am not going to try to explain it. Short to say it was a spectacle in sight and sound. I loved it! Lisa like it too. It is kind of like Drums Corps. Either you have seen it or ou haven't. If I were to try and explain it to you I would be doing it a huge disservice. I don't have the descriptive language skills to get someone in the ball park of what this show is like. I don't know if I would recommend it for everybody. There was an older couple sitting next to us and I don't think the guy was diggin' it very much. They really interact with the audience a great deal and you have to be prepared for anything. Good show. I wished I would have had my camera for the show. I figured they would not allow pictures inside the auditorium so I left it in the car. As luck would have it Blue Man Group and the accompanying band stand out in the lobby as the patrons are leaving. Very, very cool. I first saw this at Blast a few years ago and I thought it was a cool thing to do. This would have been a nice picture.

People who know me know that I don't gamble very much. I go to Vegas a couple of times a year for business and I have not spent $5.00 in two years at the tables. But I always wanted to try craps and this trip I tried it for the first time. My buddy gave me a little 5 min. intro at the DiamondBacks the other night. Then I read a few pages on the internet and I was ready to give it a try. I played for about 45 mins on Saturday night at Mandalay Bay. I actually won a few bucks. Then on Sunday, anxious to try it again I drove over to the Frontier and won about $60.00 bucks. It was a good time.

Images of the trip.

Mom's house

Mom and Jim are building a beautiful new home in Payson. Check out the progress of the construction. Click here

Ride to work

I saw this blog the other day and the author said that some other bloggers where encouraging him to document his morning commute. Seemed like a boring exercise but then I started to think about it. The author documented fun and interesting places along the way. Restaurants he had been too, bars he had been escorted out of and historical monuments along the way. Well I don't pass a lot of history on my way to work but here goes nothing.

A Few background items.

• Ride - 2004 Infiniti G35 sedan.
• Destination - North Scottsdale Airpark. Starting Point - Gilbert, AZ approximately 34 miles one way.
• Refreshments - Diet Coke, an apple and some trial mix. I usually drink coffee on the way to work but I can't stand my own coffee. Lorry should have a fresh pot when I get there.
• Time - 6:24 am ETA Scottsdale 7:25. One hour exactly.
• Entertainment - I have Sirius satellite radio and an IPOD. Today I am going to listen to NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. One of my favorite talk shows. At this hour in the morning I get the previous day's show, so I am always 24 hours behind. Last Friday's guest was David Cronenberg the film director. I thought A History of Violence sucked and he is not convincing me otherwise. So I cut over to our local sports talk radio, 910 KMVP, Bickley and MJ. I need to find out what the hell happen to my NCAA Brackets, they are a mess. They spend most of the drive talking about a woman basketball player who dunked the ball twice during a tournament game. Just what I needed to be informed about.

I don't pass any interesting places along the way but two things to notice about my commute.

1. The length that drivers will go to in order to avoid the freeways. This is some of the worst traffic in the country and although I don't save a significant amount of time in going my indirect route at least I am moving forward the whole time. That start and stop stuff is dangerous and hard on your car. I like to cruise about 40 miles an hour and veg out.
2. The amount of constuction going on, both on the Indian Reservation and in Scottsdale. In Scottsdale every ounce of vacant land is being developed. If there is 1/50th of an acre vacant some developer will buy it and put another strip mall there. I am all for free enterprise and the opportunities that development brings but my gosh. I hope some of these guys take it in the shorts.

Ok, so I am going to head north through Gilbert and bypass the U.S. 60 freeway heading west. I am going forego that freeway and take city streets through Mesa, Arizona which borders the Salt River Maricopa Indian Community. Again I have another opportunity to get on a freeway , but the traffic is still to heavy. So I am going to cut across the Indian Reservation, where the speed limit is 35 MPH until I get to Chaparral rd. That intersects the 101 freeway northbound. By then the bottle neck should let up a bit and I should be able to go 50 the rest of the way, approximately 11 miles via the freeway.

Here we go !

Okay at this point I have too many images to upload to the blog, plus I don't like the formating so I am redirecting you to a page on our webserver.

http://206.80.214.134/Ridetowork.htm

KM

Oh Yeah

I forgot to mention that I ran into Rupert Boneham from Survivor, the TV show.

New stuff for the house

We bought some new stuff for the house.

http://www.dealershipsoftware.net/maxwellfurniture.htm

Traveling Salesman, or what I learned on the road

(Presenting software in Las Vegas)
I just got back from being on the road for business. I am by no means a road warrior, my friend Brent is a real road warrior, but I got a little taste. Being gone for 18 days including 3 cities in 7 days. In was in Cincinnati, Las Vegas, Indianapolis and Louisville, KY. Not exactly a world tour but it was fun. Here is what I learned from T-shirts wore by attendees of motorcycle shows.
1. "If it's got tits or tires, sooner or later you're gonna have problems"
That pretty much sums it up doesn't it.

2. "I burned a fatty at suck, bang, blow"
It turns out that, Suck, Bang, Blow is a biker bar in South Carolina and burning a fatty is a reference to smoking your tires (your motorcycle tires) in the burn out pit. A ritual of revving up your RPM's to the point that the back tires billow out white smoke as the motorcycle sits motionless.

3. Wide Open Choppers of Daytona, Florida does not refer to holding the throttle down at full speed.