Its coming. I haven't had much to say, or better put I haven't said much in a long time. I feel it is nearing the time that I begin to write on this thing again.
Recently I traveled to Tahoe to ski with some good friends, Ben and Brian. It was awesome to the 10th degree. There were many great moments, none topped by the the first 18 hours there. It was a night filled with craps, poker, and makers on the rocks. it was a night so fun that it didn't end until 7.30 the next morning. The only reason I called it a night was we were going skiing at 8.00 and I needed to be in tip top form as I hadn't slid down a mountain for nearly 5 years. needless to say--the best way to get back into that sport is a good solid 8 hours of whiskey drinking and cards.
1.25.2008
8.15.2007
More Pictues
Pictures:
1 and 2--two views of our master bedroom. It is in the attic. It was a bit warm until we added the a/c unit
2--my office. very blue. not pictured--my indoor jungle (will post in the future)
3--sissy's office. nice yellow.
4--our 1950's kitchen. i installed the countertops (with much help from nels and jay)
5--our red wall in the basement. its my man cave. i love it.
6--small picture of master bedroom (could figure out how to get rid of it)
Long TIme No Update
So its been awhile. How is everyone in cyber-land? Good. Great. Excellent. I thought I would put up some pictures of our new house, for those of you that won't get to see it in the near future. Note: Everything looks a bit brighter in the pictures than the place is in person.
Later.
5.25.2007
Mountain Biking in Ketchum, Idaho
Sissy and I have spent the last week ‘relaxing’ in beautiful Ketchum, Idaho. This unique ski town is nestled between two mountain ranges, flanked on the West by Bald Mountain and on the East by the Sawtooth Mountains.
We have filled the week with amazing mountain biking, brilliant golf, and wonderful dinners (never thought I would be able to come up with three different synonymous adjectives).
The mountain biking is spectacular here. With our trusty guides Naomi and Brad, the two courses we have tackled are Corral Creek and Adam’s Gulch. Both are extremely taxing from a cardiovascular standpoint, and technically very challenging. The thoughts that cross my head (on both rides) can be summed up as follows; “how awesome,” “how beautiful”, “oh fuck”, “holy shit”, and “I survived.”
Corral Creek is an out and back eight mile ride that has some great slaloms and scary mountain passes. The ride out takes around an hour and a half; while the ride back takes around twenty five minutes. It is great ride and offer many views of the Sawtooth range.
Adam’s Gulch is North of Ketchum. It included several passes over a little stream, a very difficult climb, and a very intense downhill ride.
These rides are both extremely challenging and dangerous, with several opportunities to break limbs, crack heads, and fall off mountains. Both rank 1 out of 5 in difficulty (5 being the most difficult). Needless to say, my abilities as a mountain biker are completely taxed by the ‘easiest’ courses Ketchum has to offer.
My best wipe-out was dog aided. This needs some clarification. Ketchum is an outdoor paradise, it is also a dog haven. Amsterdam has more bikes than people (among other things), Ketchum has more dogs than people. It is great. I love the dogs. They love my bike. As I was coming down a steep mountain pass on the Shady-Side Trail of Adam’s Gulch, a dog ran directly at my front tire. Trying to stop my bike with the fancy disc breaks proved much too simple of a task; thus I locked up wheels and bike, yet I continued on the same course (see physics from freshman year of college). As I flew over my handle bars, I thought, “I am sure glad I have this nice bed of rocks to break my fall.” A couple of scrapes and a bruised ego were the extent of my injuries.
I have found the best remedy after any taxing ride is a burger and a schooner of fat tire. Can’t wait to do it again.
We have filled the week with amazing mountain biking, brilliant golf, and wonderful dinners (never thought I would be able to come up with three different synonymous adjectives).
The mountain biking is spectacular here. With our trusty guides Naomi and Brad, the two courses we have tackled are Corral Creek and Adam’s Gulch. Both are extremely taxing from a cardiovascular standpoint, and technically very challenging. The thoughts that cross my head (on both rides) can be summed up as follows; “how awesome,” “how beautiful”, “oh fuck”, “holy shit”, and “I survived.”
Corral Creek is an out and back eight mile ride that has some great slaloms and scary mountain passes. The ride out takes around an hour and a half; while the ride back takes around twenty five minutes. It is great ride and offer many views of the Sawtooth range.
Adam’s Gulch is North of Ketchum. It included several passes over a little stream, a very difficult climb, and a very intense downhill ride.
These rides are both extremely challenging and dangerous, with several opportunities to break limbs, crack heads, and fall off mountains. Both rank 1 out of 5 in difficulty (5 being the most difficult). Needless to say, my abilities as a mountain biker are completely taxed by the ‘easiest’ courses Ketchum has to offer.
My best wipe-out was dog aided. This needs some clarification. Ketchum is an outdoor paradise, it is also a dog haven. Amsterdam has more bikes than people (among other things), Ketchum has more dogs than people. It is great. I love the dogs. They love my bike. As I was coming down a steep mountain pass on the Shady-Side Trail of Adam’s Gulch, a dog ran directly at my front tire. Trying to stop my bike with the fancy disc breaks proved much too simple of a task; thus I locked up wheels and bike, yet I continued on the same course (see physics from freshman year of college). As I flew over my handle bars, I thought, “I am sure glad I have this nice bed of rocks to break my fall.” A couple of scrapes and a bruised ego were the extent of my injuries.
I have found the best remedy after any taxing ride is a burger and a schooner of fat tire. Can’t wait to do it again.
4.27.2007
How to Make the Guinness Tour 'Free'
Everyone always says that Guinness is much better in Ireland, and to avoid being trite, Guinness is superior in Dublin. if you ever visit, the Guinness tour is well worth a visit, and easy to make 'free.' The price is around 10 euros (if you have a student card). First of all you get a complimentary pint at the end of the tour--knock off 4.50 right away. There is a 'tasting lab' on the third floor. While it is designed for one to have a taste, it is easy to visit as many times as you like. I thought of it as more of a drinking lab.
4.26.2007
The Cold War Kids
Alright Carew--I will spill the beans. The Cold War Kids absolutely rocked. They play with such energy and enthusiasm; it is surprising that their songs don't all get 'up tempo.' The show was at The Ambassador Theatre, situated at the end of O’Connell Street. The theatre was an interesting structure, a round room but traditional theatre décor. It had great acoustics and a decent light show. We had balcony seats which provided a great vantage point and the sound couldn’t be better.
A Canadian band called ‘Pink Mountaintops’ was the opener. It was a duet with guitar, tambourine, and synthesizer. Various members of The Cold War Kids (in various configurations) came out and jammed with them on the last couple of songs. The complete setlist is a bit of a blur; We Used to Vacation and Hospital Beds were awesome. The second to last song in the main set was Hang Me Out To Dry; it brought the house down.
We heard most of the songs from the released Album, (We Used to Vacation, Hang me Out to Dry, Tell me In the Morning, Hair Down, Passing the Hat, Saint John, Hospital Beds, Pregnant, Red Wine Success, God Make Up Your Mind, Rubidoux). The only song that they may not have played was Robbers (I don’t specifically remember it). There was a new song (‘Daughter’), and even a Tom Waits cover.
All in all it was a great show, Sissy and I really enjoyed it.
A Canadian band called ‘Pink Mountaintops’ was the opener. It was a duet with guitar, tambourine, and synthesizer. Various members of The Cold War Kids (in various configurations) came out and jammed with them on the last couple of songs. The complete setlist is a bit of a blur; We Used to Vacation and Hospital Beds were awesome. The second to last song in the main set was Hang Me Out To Dry; it brought the house down.
We heard most of the songs from the released Album, (We Used to Vacation, Hang me Out to Dry, Tell me In the Morning, Hair Down, Passing the Hat, Saint John, Hospital Beds, Pregnant, Red Wine Success, God Make Up Your Mind, Rubidoux). The only song that they may not have played was Robbers (I don’t specifically remember it). There was a new song (‘Daughter’), and even a Tom Waits cover.
All in all it was a great show, Sissy and I really enjoyed it.
4.25.2007
How to get Box seats at the National Championship
Step 1. Find out that the day of the national championship of football league that the national championship is going on. Any planning ahead will surely ruin any hopes of getting box seats as you will have already spent money on other tickets.
Step 2. Make sure to not have enough money to buy the tickets at the box office. If you do have enough, you surely will purchase tickets here. However, a visit to the box office is essential as this is where the ‘scalpers’ hang out.
Step 3. Make sure you appear as you have no idea what you are doing. The best way to appear this way is to, in fact, have no idea what is going on. The scalper will offer you tickets at face value, but you will get them for less. In fact, most likely whatever you say you have on you is likely to be the purchase price.
Step 4. Again under the guise of not knowing what you are doing, as you approach your gate make sure all high-school age girls notice that you have regular seats. This is where their boyfriends will be sitting, and undoubtedly, where they will want to sit. What happens next is pure brilliance. They will offer daddy’s box seats for an even swap of your regular seats-and feel like they are getting the better end of the deal—but you must, again, act like you have no idea what is going on.
Step 5. Enjoy hurling and football league; where no pretending is needed, you will have no idea what is going on.
Football League Basics—
As I said, it is somewhat of a cross between Australian rules football and football (soccer). The object of the game is score more points than your opponent. Points are scored by kicking a ball throw uprights (American football uprights) for one point, or kicking it into a goal (world football/American soccer) positioned below the uprights guarded by a goal-keep for 3 points.
Teams try to advance the ball down the field getting the best possible shot at the uprights or the goal. A player can only advance the 10 meters at a time. After 10 meters the ball must either be bounced off the ground, bump passed to a teammate, or kicked. Skilled players will choose to advance the ball on their own further than 10 meters by bouncing the ball to themselves (dribbling it) or kicking it to themselves. Why not just dribble it every 10 meters as this seams much simpler? I am pretty sure players can not dribble the ball in succession; each time they choose to dribble it must be interchanged with a kick to themselves.
Each side plays 15 players at a time, 2 halves lasting 35 minutes a piece. The game is played with a standard round soccer ball. That’s it in a nutshell. Oh yeah, the entire game opposing sides are absolutely whaling on and bludgeoning each other. It’s a real blood bath.
Hurling: Essentially a cross between the above mentioned sport, la-cross, and field hockey. Hope this is helpful. Cheers! Martois.
Step 2. Make sure to not have enough money to buy the tickets at the box office. If you do have enough, you surely will purchase tickets here. However, a visit to the box office is essential as this is where the ‘scalpers’ hang out.
Step 3. Make sure you appear as you have no idea what you are doing. The best way to appear this way is to, in fact, have no idea what is going on. The scalper will offer you tickets at face value, but you will get them for less. In fact, most likely whatever you say you have on you is likely to be the purchase price.
Step 4. Again under the guise of not knowing what you are doing, as you approach your gate make sure all high-school age girls notice that you have regular seats. This is where their boyfriends will be sitting, and undoubtedly, where they will want to sit. What happens next is pure brilliance. They will offer daddy’s box seats for an even swap of your regular seats-and feel like they are getting the better end of the deal—but you must, again, act like you have no idea what is going on.
Step 5. Enjoy hurling and football league; where no pretending is needed, you will have no idea what is going on.
Football League Basics—
As I said, it is somewhat of a cross between Australian rules football and football (soccer). The object of the game is score more points than your opponent. Points are scored by kicking a ball throw uprights (American football uprights) for one point, or kicking it into a goal (world football/American soccer) positioned below the uprights guarded by a goal-keep for 3 points.
Teams try to advance the ball down the field getting the best possible shot at the uprights or the goal. A player can only advance the 10 meters at a time. After 10 meters the ball must either be bounced off the ground, bump passed to a teammate, or kicked. Skilled players will choose to advance the ball on their own further than 10 meters by bouncing the ball to themselves (dribbling it) or kicking it to themselves. Why not just dribble it every 10 meters as this seams much simpler? I am pretty sure players can not dribble the ball in succession; each time they choose to dribble it must be interchanged with a kick to themselves.
Each side plays 15 players at a time, 2 halves lasting 35 minutes a piece. The game is played with a standard round soccer ball. That’s it in a nutshell. Oh yeah, the entire game opposing sides are absolutely whaling on and bludgeoning each other. It’s a real blood bath.
Hurling: Essentially a cross between the above mentioned sport, la-cross, and field hockey. Hope this is helpful. Cheers! Martois.
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