How bad I want an I Phone

I don't know why, but I really want an I Phone. Don't know if I'd ever fully utilize all that it has to offer but it doesn't matter, I want one. I looked at them at the Apple Store and I was messin' around with the I Pod Touch at Best Buy and I was convinced that I need to go all in and get the I Phone. The thing is just rad...

So as I was reading something on espn.com, up popped the banner ad for a free IPhone. Anybody that has ever been on the internet has at least seen one of those Free I Pod banners. I've never ever have been tempted to look at one of these but for some totally un-intelligent reason, I clicked on it and filled out the survey along with my email address thinking for some reason at the end an I Phone would magically appear along with a hologram of Steve Jobs telling me out to use it...I tell you right now, I didn't get the I Phone. What I did get and I'm so happy about is lots more email. It seems I'm a popular guy now and everybody is offering to give me a great interest rate, enlarge certain limbs on my body, sell me prescription drugs...You get the point...

Everyone has idiot moments and I had mine...Mr. Jobs, if you're out there please see my passion for your product and just hook me up dude...

Jack Daniels World BBQ Championship

This past Saturday Amanda and I headed up to Lynchburg, TN to an event that I've wanted to go to for the last four years....The Jack Daniels World BBQ Championship. This may have been one of the coolest things I have ever been to. Basically, it's all things BBQ and you have to have game to get into this thing. You either have to win a state championship or be invited. 60 teams in total...4 Categories - BBQ Sauce, Ribs, Pulled Pork and Brisket...

The food was absolutely insane. So good. Makes me want to buy a cooker and start cooking for a living. Probably not going to happen but you have to have dreams. There were several international teams there sporting their colors and bringing some good grub....

Besides for the food, the highlight of the trip was the tour of the Jack Daniels distillery. First of all, it was free and that in itself is freakin' cool. Second, we had a tour guide named Ron that was awesome. He gave a great tour of the facility that lasted for about an hour. Learned about the process from start to finish. Some interesting facts that you may have not known:
1) Built specifically on this site because of the Iron Free cave water they use
2) 77 Barrel houses around Lynchburg holding one million gallons of Jack
3) Jack builds their own barrels and torches the inside...That's where the brown color comes from
4) You can buy a single barrel of Jack for 8-10 Grand...Apparently it's a big deal...George Staight did
5) Drip raw distilled booze through charcoal - 10 ft. worth
6) Only place in county to be able to sell booze

I highly recommend this tour as well as the event. It was just cool. Lots of food and lots of cool people.

I've attached a slide show below and have all the pics right here

Children of the Corn...

So I got to experience something new this past weekend...A Corn Maize...Not just any Corn Maize but the World's Largest Corn Maize. Straight up Guinness Book of World Records style...

After work on Friday, Amanda and I met up with Amanda Jean, Rebekkah, Renee and Chris for a little dinner and headed up to Cagle's Dairy for the Corny experience...We met up with Jim and Jen and a few more Buckhead Church folks as well. I have to say that it was a pretty gnarly maze. They have hints throughout the maze that don't really help much. At first it was kind of fun but after a while, it was kind of frustrating not knowing where to go. I think it took a couple of hours to go through the entire deal. Fortunately we didn't have any encounters with Malachi. If you're in the Atlanta area, I would recommend it. It's worth the 10 bucks.

Here's a few pics of this corny experience...


The Gang...

Lots o'Corn...

So Lost...

My little Monkey Girl...No bananas baby...

Bummer...

Pay Day for the machine and that's about it...

My New Best Friend...

So I get home a couple of nights ago from work and I noticed that the house had been vacuumed. Did I do this while sleeping? No, I don't do it while awake so why would I do it when sleeping...Did Mac (Roommate) hire a service? No cause the rest of the place is a disaster. Did Mac do this? No, he's in Brazil...

But wait, I then suddenly realized that Mac last week had purchased the Roomba...The lazy man's vacuum. So I walk around the place trying to find the little guy and there is was in my room all tuckered out...Apparently he had run out of juice before he could make it back to his resting home.

If you don't like vacuuming but don't want your place to look like a dump, make the investment and do it...

I'm waiting for them to come out with the Coomba...Washes, folds and hangs up clothes...

Here's the little guy in his resting spot getting all charged up

Incredible....

Check out the video...You have to watch the entire thing though. Please trust me on this one. I get goose bumps every time I watch it...

Hotel Victor

Just got back from Miami and stayed at a kick butt hotel. I'm kind of a customer service freak and I really appreciate great service so receiving great service from a place that I'm patronizing I like to give kudos where kudos are due.

Most of the hotels in the Miami/South Beach area are pretty awesome but this one was absolutely first class. The coolest part was the jellyfish in the aquarium they had. Cool is all I have to say...

Check it out here...Pretty slick...

Holy Hawaiian Shirt Day!!

Tomorrow, could possibly be the best day I've had on earth thus far...No, not getting a raise...No, not eloping...Take another guess...

That's right, Hawaiian Shirt Day at Yamaha!!! Every once and awhile, Corporate throws us a bone and lets us wear jeans and tomorrow they're going deep into the "Keep the Employee Happy" handbook and allowing a Hawaiian shirt to be worn. This is monumental. I'm actually digging through my closet now trying to find the right outfit tomorrow to fully embrace the day...

The entire day will be dedicated to the author of "Hawaiian Shirt Day"...Bill Lumberg...

Here's to you Bill

World Series

It's playoff time for baseball and I'm a happy guy, especially since the Halos are in it. Anyways, with that being said, lets take a little vote on who's gonna win the World Series...On the right, a poll as been posted. Pick a team, let's see who's right...If you don't pick the Angels, consider yourself not my friend anymore...

On another baseball note, the ol' Yamaha team took 2nd place in the Monday night Men's Competitive softball league. Go team go...

If only I was granola and liked rain...

I greatly apologize for my lack of blogging over these past couple weeks. I know there are several thousand people that sit clicking refresh all day long just waiting to see what I'm doing...OK, probably not, but it makes me feel important if that was really the case...

Actually, last Monday morning I took off out of John Wayne airport and headed to the Northwest for work. I haven't been to the NW since I was a wee little guy when the family took a trip up to Peugeot Sound for Thanksgiving. And I was quite surprised at what a treasure this part of the country is...Lots of trees, high blue skies, rolling hills and squirrels.

The dude that I was traveling is a pretty cool guy that I didn't know very well before this trip. It was kind of awkward at first but we got through after I told him a few knock knock jokes.

Basically, I flew into Portland, we hit up Central Oregon, Oregon Coast, Portland again and ended in Seattle on Thursday evening. The weather throughout the week was perfect if you like 75 degree weather with not a cloud in the sky...I didn't see a cloud until we got to Seattle.

During our travels, we ate at some awesome roadside seafood places and I got to see from afar the University of Oregon (The Quackers), Oregon State U. (Beav Beav) and Washington U. (Wolf Wolf). After we got done on Thursday with accounts we messed around in Seattle for the rest of the evening. Great city. A lot more liberal and eclectic than I would have thought. I saw the first ever Starbucks too. And I saw Bill Gates throwing fish at the Seafood Market...Nope, but that would be cool...

Anyways, great week. Glad to be back home though hanging with my beautiful fiancee and getting back into a routine...

I'm going to get back into blogging a tad bit more as I have several little things I would like to share that may be joy to your life...

I'm out, I'm tired...Here's a few pics from the trip...

View from my Holiday Inn Express balcony...

The city of Roseburg at dawn...For some reason I was up way too early

Oregon Coast...

Great roadside seafood joint...Clam chowder, dungeness crab cocktail, Fish(halibut) and Chips and a Dr. Pepper...Way too much...But oh so worth it...

The world famous seafood market in Seattle where they toss fish around...I applied but they said I didn't have the arm strength...

Only clouds I saw all week...