Monday Randomness

The past week or so has been tough on the work front because (a) the last week in June was spent vacationing in Mexico, (b) this past weekend was the 4th of July holiday weekend, and (c) I, like everyone else, would rather be doing anything besides working during the warm months in Denver. Nothing like some time off to make me want some more time off. Onward. . .

• Although the Rockies have sucked hard this year, they sure did entertain this weekend. My company bought tickets to the July 3rd game, which the Rockies ended up winning in 11 innings. Then, we all headed down to the outfield grass to watch the fireworks. Great day. Follow that with a come-from-9-runs-down 18-17 victory on Friday, they sure did keep the folks in Denver on the edge of their seats.
• Sunday marked the first day of rest that I have seen liquor sales in Colorado. Glorious. I celebrated by doing nothing. In fact, I had forgotten about it until I read about it here:
• I stole Jorge's copy of Super Mario Galaxy when he was in Mexico. Great game. Incredible game. Might be my favorite game for the Wii. Might be my favorite game of all time. It is that good.
• Speaking of the Wii, NCAA Football 2009 comes out pretty soon on that platform. I was upset they didn't have this game before. As fun as Madden is, NCAA Football is always way better.
• When is my next paid holiday?
  
• A few of my buddies took a 5 day trip through remote southwestern Colorado with nothing besides the packs on their backs. Pictures, videos, and stories can be found here and here.
• Our trip to Mexico was incredible. The week was relaxing, fun, relaxing, and relaxing. There are three albums of pictures at my Picasa site.
• Now that our Mexico trip is over, it is time to start looking forward to our next couple trips - camping at Horsetooth the weekend of the 19th, Seattle (Barr family reunion) the weekend of the 26th, Milwaukee (G&G's 60th wedding anniversary) the first weekend of November, and possibly Tampa (Sarah has a conference) the next weekend. I'm trying to hit as many corners of this country in one year!
  
• It is 2:35 and I am starving. Don't think I can make it to dinner. . .
  

Monday Jeep Update

My "Saturday = Jeep day" turned into a "Saturday = Lawn and Jeep day". After mowing the lawn and all that jazz, I turned my attentions to good old Olive. I started by trying to follow the electrical lines through the car to see if there were any discontinuities. After seeing no obvious gaps, I tried to turn her over again. Same result. The next plan - wait for Papa Flick to show up with a voltmeter to figure out where the problem sits. The problem with that plan - Papa Flick could not make it over. So the day was spent doing more cleanup of both the Jeep and the garage. I do think I might know what the problem might be. I found out this weekend that the solenoid on the Jeeps are a pretty finicky part. They tend to go out fairly regularly, so I may just have to replace that for the electricity to get to the starter. Determining if that is the problem, for now, is my next step to getting that baby fired up.

On Saturday, I did end up getting underneath the passenger seat enough to remove it. I also cleaned the storage bin under the passenger seat and gained access to the side step bolts in that bin. I got all but one of the bolts off on each of the side steps - the ones I removed were all hex head bolts. However, the two remaining bolts have a regular screw head on them. Add the rust factor and you have a strip/no torque situation. After struggling with that for a while, I decided that maybe cutting the bolts off might be the easier method. It is really too bad I did not go get that angle grinder when Robert found those on sale. Also a possibility - breaking the nuts off the bottom of the bolt. Either way, I need to buy a new tool. Dang!

This week is going to be fairly hectic as we have a lot of stuff going on (softball game tonight, Rockies tomorrow, Sarah has a haircut on Wednesday, we are doing a Sam's Club trip with Mama Flick on Thursday, a work BBQ after work on Friday, the dogs are getting groomed on Saturday, Kourtney comes in on Saturday afternoon, picnic at my parent's house on Saturday evening, leave Sunday morning for Mexico). Somewhere in there, I have to pack for a week on the beach. Based on that schedule, I don't think there will be much work done on the Jeep in the next couple weeks. Good news is that July is pretty open, so I will most likely be elbows deep in grease for that month.

I love being able to take my time on a project like this. I don't need the car on a daily basis (or ever, really), so I can get things done when I have time. And having the Jeep in the garage means anytime I get bored or need something to do, I have something waiting for me!

Friday Brain Farts

• At Tuesday's Rockies/Giants game, Taveras is on 3rd with 2 outs. Helton hits a ground ball on the right side. Travis Denker makes a great diving stop in the hole, flips the ball to the Aurilia at first, end of inning. Some moron behind me says, "at least Taveras scored." I wanted to punch him in the face.
• Speaking of the Rockies/Giants game - it was nice to actually see them win a game that we were at (that was not played against the Twins).
  
• After not meeting Jon and Holly for dinner for some time, Jon has convinced us to head to Jim 'N Nick's BBQ for dinner tonight. The fat kid in me is really, really excited.
• Yesterday, the transportation group at my work went to Elitch Lanes at 38th and Tennyson for the afternoon. I think these type of things should be mandatory in the workplace. There is a renewed energy, a greater sense of camaraderie, and a better overall work environment in the office today.
• Plus, Elitch Lanes has some sweet bowling deals Monday through Thursday.
• I got a new battery for Olive. I added some fluids. I turned the key. And I heard absolutely nothing. That means that Saturday = Jeep day.
  
• Slowly but surely, all my friends that have a Wii are getting Mario Kart. Online play with your friends is about as fun as it gets. Next step - dominate Sarah/Robert/Natalie/Jorge/Katie/Short/Josh/all-of-the-above in one fell swoop. If you have Mario Kart, shoot me your Friend Code. I will gladly dominate you, too.
  
• Agent Jamie of the BP was in town last week. It was nice to see him and hang out with the college crew a bit over the weekend. Tuxedo t-shirt!
• We (meaning whole Flick crew) spent a day last weekend in Breckenridge. Anna and David will especially enjoy some of the pictures. Seems like just yesterday Davey was wearing a toilet/poop hat and Anna and I were planning our lives after high school at Colorado Mountain College!
• I wish the NBA Finals would wrap up so I don't have to see all the articles in the papers and on the sports websites. The NBA is lame.
• Mexico is right around the corner. I cannot wait!
• Finally, the Friday Links will be up on the Cru Jones Society website sometime today. Make sure you check it out. I'm getting paid big money to mention their website (although I am still waiting for my first check. . .)
  

'Til the next post,
Mikey

My Annoyances - Silver Bullet Commercials

By now you have probably heard the Coors Light radio spots that go a little something like this:

Announcer: It may come as a surprise to you to hear that Coors Light is the new official sponsor of Green Giant Canned Corn. But the similarities are obvious.

First, the corn comes in a can. Coors Light? Comes in a can!

The corn has a yellow color. Coors Light? Yellow!

And the eerie part of all this - the word "corn" starts with a "C-O" and has an "R". Coors Light? Starts with a "C-O" and has an "R"! Amazing!

I don't care if you are trying to sell Coors Light by linking it to the NFL, tailgating, baseball, whatever. The "eerie similarities" that you point out are stupid, pointless, and most importantly, not funny. Beer commercials need to be on the level of "Real Men of Genius" and need to have guys like John C. McGinley running an imaginary (but totally awesome if it were real) More Taste League.

Coors Light, this time I will let you off with a warning. I think you deserve a second chance after putting T.O. in a commercial doing what he does best. That's HIS quarterback! That's HIS teammate! The tears don't lie! But next time you fashion a series of commercials that lulls your consumers (of which I am one) into lethargic doldrums, expect to hear from me again.

LP Convention

The Libertarian Party National Convention starts today in Denver. It looks as if either Bob Barr. . . . . .or Mike Gravel. . .. . .will be winning the nomination for President. I don't think it really matters who wins the LP nomination, I will probably be voting for them. Although I don't necessarily agree with Barr or Gravel on all issues, they are at least in the right ballpark. The Republican and Democratic nominations are not (meaning BIG, BIG, BIG, BIG GOVERNMENT).

Allegiances

I received a comment about my sporting allegiances earlier this week, so I thought I would fill the void and address this incredibly serious issue. Growing up in Minnesota, moving to Colorado at age 10, and having family in Wisconsin has muddled my views on fandom in general. Some of the information listed below may be difficult to view. Please refrain from showing this post to people with heart issues, pregnant women, and small children. And now, a sport by sport look at the mind of a Flick Fanatic.

NHL:
Background: Let's start with the easiest explanation of the bunch. I grew up in Minnesota and I had a pulse, so I was naturally a North Stars fan. However, the team moved from hockey heaven to, simply put, hell (Dallas) in 1993 and I immediately lost all connection to the Minnesota professional hockey scene. Although I still pull for Mikey Modano (one of, in not the last, remaining North Star), I cannot fathom cheering for a hockey team from Dallas that was stolen from my home state. Thankfully, after moving to Colorado in 1991, the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver in 1995 to become the Avalanche.

Verdict: I am an Avs fan through and through.
NBA:
Background: I was a Timberwolves fan until after I moved to Colorado. I remember going to Nuggets games with my Wolves gear on. After a few years, the glimmer faded and the Wolves apparel was gone from my closet.

Verdict: The NBA sucks. I do cheer for the Nuggets, but I find it hard to watch too many of their games without throwing up.
COLLEGE:
Background: My father attended the University of Minnesota. My mother attended the College of Saint Catherine. Take a stab at which of those two has Division I athletics. If you guessed College of Saint Catherine, please refrain from ever reading my blog again. You are too dumb to qualify for readership. I am the second of four siblings. I am also the second of four siblings to attend Colorado State University. This is where my Wisconsin relatives enter into the picture. They are all Marquette fans and University of Wisconsin-Madison fans. They have made sure that I had several Badger sweatshirts in my collection.

Verdict: I am a Ram Fan through and through. I bleed Green and Gold. However, I am still a big supporter of the University of Minnesota. I don't follow them as closely as CSU, but I pay pretty close attention during football and hockey seasons. I have a slight bias towards Marquette and UW-Madison, but the roots aren't deep.

MLB:
Background: Baseball is my favorite sport so it would make sense that my strongest allegiances are in this sport. Again, I grew up in Minnesota. I like the Twins. It happens. But when it was announced in 1993 that the Rockies were coming to Denver, I couldn't have been more excited. Finally, I once again had a local team I could follow closely.

Verdict: My Wisconsin relatives are all Brewers fans. Although I don't root for them, I don't root against them either. But my allegiances are strong - Twins and Rockies. They are in different leagues, so this makes this much easier. They play each other in the regular season once every three years or so. And they would only meet in the playoffs in the World Series. One day, that should happen. You would find me drooling all over myself for that week of games.NFL:
Background: I saved the most muddled for last. My dad's family is from Minnesota, my mom's family is from Wisconsin. One likes the Vikings, one likes the Packers. Packers and Vikings fans don't get along. Throw in a move to Colorado, and you have yourself one big mess.

Verdict: As strange at this may seem, I am a Vikings, Packers, and Broncos fan. The Broncos are the only AFC team, so that makes following them the easy part. The Vikings and Packers are not only both in the the NFC, but also hated rivals. Can I really say that I like one over the other? I would probably have to say the Vikings, because I have never lived in Wisconsin. But it would kill my mom's parents to hear me say that.

NLL, AFL, MLS, WNBA:
Background: Who cares?

Verdict: No one.

Funny little story about my mom's family. My mother is the oldest of 3 girls. They grew up in Mequon, Wisconsin, which is about 45 minutes or so north of Milwaukee. They are Packers fans. My mom married my dad, a Vikings fan. My Aunt Patty married a Gary. Gary is a Bears fan. My Aunt Mary married my Uncle Mike, who hails from Detroit and is a bum (meaning Lions/Redwings/Pistons/Tigers fan). When our family gets together, we have the entire NFC North taken care of. Let's just say we don't tend to agree on things sports related!

To the next post,
Mikey

Firefox Update

Everything seems to be working fine today. I don't know what the problem was (maybe Google's problem? maybe Mozilla's problem?) but I have had zero issues today. Weird stuff.

Good news story of the day - my boy Harry is finally back in Denver after living in Vegas for a while now. Lucky for him, he's been able to experience all four seasons in the few days he has been back!

Maggiano's leftovers are incredible. I support garlic bread and gnocchi!

Lastly, happy birthday to Kellie O!

Complaints

I received a complaint from Dagger himself that I wasn't updating my blog enough. So here is a new post with a couple points.

1. Ask and you shall receive, Dagger.
2. Check out www.crujonessociety.com. I really think you will enjoy it.
3. Today is May 12th and it snowed in Denver this morning. Unreal.
4. Gmail is not really working with Firefox these days. Don't really get it.
5. The next week or so is going to be pretty hectic at work for me. Not real excited about it, but anything is better than the thumb twiddling I have done in the recent past.
6. It is hard to believe that we are in May of 2008 already. This year has been the fastest I have seen.
7. I am ready for a camping weekend. Who's in?
8. Not a lot to talk about on the Jeep repairs. I haven't had a lot of time to work on it lately.
9. The Twins come into town next weekend. I can't wait!

Are there really any other choices?

Baseball is the greatest sport, ever. Don't agree?

Join the discussion: http://crujonessociety.com/2008/04/23/why-i-love-baseball/

Time for a bleg

No, that is not a typo - this post is a bleg, not a blog. A bleg is a weblog that is begging for something (at least that's what the Freakonomics blog states). In this case, I'm begging for a name.

Here is a picture of my new baby:

She is a 1957 Jeep/Willys CJ5. Sarah's grandparents have owned her from sometime in the 80's. Grandpa used to take her when they went hunting and fishing and they used her to get around the woods. Since his bout with cancer, she has sat idle on the side of Grandma's house, waiting to play again. When Grandma started talking about finally selling it, Sarah put a bug in her ear that I would be interested. A quick discussion with the wife and I became the proud owner of she-who-is-not-yet-named.





Now that she is mine, I need a name for her. Sarah's grandfather loved this Jeep and he and I had many conversations about it before he passed. Because he regaled me with countless stories of him and the Jeep, I was thinking about somehow making the name a reference to him in some way. His name was Paul. Hopefully, we can come up with a great name for her. Thanks for the help!

To the next post!

Mikey