Destination: Florida coast

The Disney trip keeps sneaking up on us and in just two weeks from tomorrow we will be leaving for Orlando. Fortunately we do not need to be in Orlando until Saturday afternoon so we will have 3+ days to get there. I think we have decided to take a drive along at least the Florida portion of the gulf coast at least until we get down towards Tampa. We are anticipating being able to arrive in the Pensacola or Panama Beach area on Thursday. While we are certainly interested in the beach we would also be interested in any tourist attraction or things to do while we take a pretty leisurely Friday in the area. Ideas? Anyone been in that area? What did you see? Where did you stay?

Our vacation depends on it, we're counting on you Internet (or should I say Gabe and Colleen, Blake, Joneses, Mom and Dad, Elena, Baileys, and David F, because as far as I can tell you guys are the only ones who ever read this thing, maybe I'm wrong though)?

I'm sleepy now, I think I will go to bed.

PS G Money, all documentation has been acquired. DSM delivery tenatively scheduled for this weekend.

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I tremendously enjoy strawberry lemonade and chocolate cake and I hope the thing E posted today is some sort of sick joke. Plus, I think Mom gets her halo off tomorrow, yippee. Good luck, Mom!

Ok, too much sugar, and now I am really going to bed, really.

Thoughts of a fat man

Right now I have an extreme dislike of ants. We've been finding them in our kitchen constantly for the last week, we've tried spraying Raid, but since the ants only seem to appear on surfaces that we need to use for food and such we cannot let the spray stay and do it's job for too long, after a day of no ants they are back. I'm not quite sure what to do about them. I have sprayed the exterior with a supposed ant deterrent to no avail. We have ant spikes outside and ant poison inside as well as the aforementioned spray, yet still they come. This year seems to be worse for some reason. I fear that we will have to completely empty our cabinet, spray, and then not use half of our kitchen for a couple of days. Maybe I should just call the Orkin man.

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On another note I have recently become interested in the concept of IPTV. For those who don't know, that is the concept of watching TV over an internet connection instead of a cable connection. I read an article in Wired that listed a number of IPTV related startups. The idea of being able to ditch our $50+ cable bill for a $10 one sounded appealing. I checked out Akimbo. Initially I was excited about it until I figured out that the channel lineup is not particularly strong (compared to a digital/satellite cable package), I like my ESPN and HBO, and Shel likes her E! and VH1 so I am not sure how we would work around not having that sort of content. Also upon futher review they don't do a great job of being upfront about the amount of content that is not included in the $9.99 base price and the premium content is not easily distinguishable. I could see something like that getting out of hand quickly. The idea is good though and with more "free for all" content, more mainstream content, and an interface that distinguishes between premium and normal content more effectively Akimbo could be a great service and I would definitely consider ditching regular cable for that.

Anyways, despite my initial hopes being quelled I am certainly entertained by the idea of being able to download TV content over the web, so now I am interested in maybe using a combination of BitTorrent and RSS feeds to get interesting shows and clips. I am, however, a novice in this arena. I downloaded Democracy earlier tonight and was a bit confused by how it works, so I deleted it. I also happened upon Videora which appears as though it would be compatible with our Media Center (huge bonus if true), but I haven't taken the time to download it yet. Anyone out there with any BitTorrent/RSS experience? What do you use? Is there anything else compatible with Media Center besides Videora? Maybe I am just confusing the terms "internet TV" and "TV," but when the day comes that I can download any classic game, or a favorite episode of name that series, or the latest episode of Sopranos, or the latest viral clip and watch them on my TV at home with great resolution and audio will be a day where I am a happy man. I just hope they hurry up.

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Great Bear Adventure: Bahia

The Guatemalan Corona, nuff said. 3.5 bottle caps out of 4

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Ok, I have to go now, Suns and Clips, game 7, second half just started. Go Suns.

Great Beer Adventure: Schell Caramel Bock

Schell beer hails from the North Country of New Ulm, Minnesota, and I picked the Caramel Bock because I LOVE CARAMEL. The label states that Caramel Bock is "Authentic Bock Beer Brewed with Caramel Malts." Of course I dont' really know what Bock beer really is but I do know that this one didn't really register with me, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either, just kind of neutral. I would not get this one again. 2 bottle caps out of 4.

Great Bear Adventure: Sleeman IPA 46* Ale

A product of Canada, I picked Sleeman IPA 46* Ale mainly because a) it is an ale and b) the bottle is pretty cool because it is a stamped bottle, so there isn't really a label. Bonus points because Canadiens are pretty cool people. I liked the beer, it is in the Beck's/Heineken vintage with a snappy taste. I would drink it again. 3 bottle caps out of 4.

A Message From Batman

So, I've really been into YouTube recently. If you haven't ever been there then you should check it out, you may find something you like. Right now my favorites, among other things, include a bunch of soccer clips, some rugby clips, a Tupac biography, and the video below, a public service annoucement from you friendly neighborhood Batman. Enjoy. Oh and if you sign up, go ahead and and me as a friend (caflores22), I like friends. Plus as a bonus they give you the code to embed so that the video shows up right on your web page, rockin!

WWCND?

Prepare to be entertained dear readers because I am about to blow your minds.

Last Friday Michelle's students presented her with a unique Mother's Day gift. It was a onesie for Luka. But this onsie is a little bit different. On to the pictures.






Are your minds sufficiently blown? Chuck Norris, action hero, Stonehenge creator, dodgeball judge, Texas Ranger, and first team all-BAMF. Luka hasn't worn it yet. Soon. Very soon. The world better be ready.

A boy and his helmet

Despite our recent lack of posts I assure you we are still here. We have been busy though. I got back from Vegas a week and a half ago and spent most of the last week getting caught up at work and on chores around the house. Shel and the Unit also bought bikes last week and we also got a trailer to tow Luka in. Of course, being safety minded we got him a helmet. Which naturally leads us to pictures like this.....


What you can't tell from the picture is that the helmet is nearly as wide as his shoulders. So far we've been out on one family bike ride and though Shel and Unit certainly ride slower than I prefer it is nice to get out as a family.

Other than that I went with Loren and Blake on Friday night to see Mike Doughty at The Mill in IC. Not really my type of music but I enjoyed it none the less, it was nice to get out with friends for once. Also, we took a quick tour of the tornado damage in downtown. Impressive to say the least, I was surprised by the scope of the damage, as there were numerous tarp covered roofs and boarded up windows.

Saturday I helped a friend move but the story of the day was that Michelle and I went to prom. How romantic, only not really because we were chaperones and except for the free candy and punch it was pretty boring.

Anyways, I think I am going to try and stay up to watch game one of the Clips and Suns, so I will write at you guys later.

PS I added a bunch of recent Luka photos tonight to Flickr. So go check em out if you like.

"These people just came here because England sucks."

If only a few eagles could solve this whole issue.

The Immigration Debate