Post Celebration III Reactions

My four days in Indianapolis for the Star Wars C3 convention were a total blast! With all the time we had at the convention center, I still did not get to see all I wanted to see, let alone everything that was there. It was great fun to see how the crowds reacted to all of us in costume. Jim, Christy, Grant, Seth and Beau showed me how much fun you can have at one of these things. We have about 400 some pictures of the whole thing, and we should have some of them posted up on the Redshoe Galley soon. One of my best highlights was actually getting recognized by my costume and getting asked for a picture. Not bad for a poor moisture farmer from Tatooine.

Getting Ready for Celebration III

The costume is almost done, and the bags are almost packed. I am on my way to my first Star Wars convention. Celebration III is the "official" convention of Lucas Film and the Star Wars Fan Club. This thing is supposed to be huge and have everything you could think of for a Star Wars nut. I'll be spending 4 days in Indianapolis, IN partying and being a geek. Just so you know, I'm going as Owen Lars, step-brother to Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and uncle to Luke Skywalker. Guess what? It's not black either. Check back soon for some pics of the whole thing.

Happy Birthday Evan Dealy

Congratulations to my good friends Beau and Angie Dealy on the birth of their new baby boy, Evan Miles Dealy. He is a healthy boy with all his fingers and toes :) He weighed 8lbs 5oz and is 20 inches long. He has a good set of lungs to keep everyone up late at night. Good luck and much love for Beau's little "experiment" :D

I should have some new stuff up soon, baby pics, new car pics, and maybe some more. Stay tuned...

My Next Car (already?!?!!)

Maybe when I pay off the Benz, I'll be able to afford one of these. And don't even ask, it will be black. Check it out here.

Made it

10 hours from Houston to Wichita, including Houston at rush hour and stopping to eat a late night breakfast. If I would have actually planned it, I could have made it in 9; with a catheter, I could do it in 8 :) But for now, I'm beat. I'll get all the good details later.

To the Stars and Back Again

I'm off to pick up the new ride early in the morning. With any luck I'll be able to keep clear of the storms on my way to the layover in Atlanta. Into Houston by 2pm, get the car inspected and paid for by 4:30 or so, some Texas BBQ for dinner, and on my way home that night. I'm probably going to drive straight on in overnight to avoid the weather brewing over in Colorado. No need to drive the new Benzo through the harshness on my first trip. The map says that the trip from Houston to ICT is 9.5 hours plus time for rush hour and traffic. The speedo goes up to 160 mph... We shall see who wins.

p.s. I'm in love with Adriana Lima. I want to have her babies. What else would you expect from a Brazilian supermodel.

Need Some Tunes That Go Zoom Zoom

One thing about my new car that I do not like is the factory radio/tape deck that it has right now. WTF? A $43,000 car when it was new in 2000, and all they get is a tape deck? So since I want to put a new head unit in this, I wanted to get something that had all the stuff that I wanted. Things like in-dash CD player, MP3 and CD-R compatibility, and fit in the same as stock. That last part turned out to be the issue. I had purchased a nice simple Pioneer unit about a year ago that did all that for $150, but no aftermarket units would fit in the SLK320. After searching around, I found that the only real option I had is to get one of the European models that are their stock systems. Evidently, the euros are more up on car stereos, because they ones they get are cool, much cooler than a freakin' tape deck. I found the Becker Monza 7882 fits my needs and it is on the net here and here. Evidently, MB stands for Mo' Bucks...

My New Car

I finally broke down and got a new car, well new to me at least. I had to settle for and economy car, if you consider "settling" and "economy" a 2001 Mercedes Benz SLK320 Roadster. I got it off of eBay for $21,500, and I think I've got a pretty good deal. It's down in Houston, so I will be flying down there next Wednesday to pick it up. Hopefully everything will go smooth and it will be a nice drive home. I need to get a new Venom...


2001 Mercedes Benz SLK320 Roadster

Time For a Tune-Up

This personal frustration with my extra weight has nearly reached a boiling point. Lucky for me, the Raytheon Fitness Center is offering a free class once a week on healthy lifestyles and eating. The good thing is that they let you use the facilities to workout for free during the 13 week class. Hopefully this will be the swift kick in the ass to get me back in the gym and back in shape.

There is one thing I have noticed about the way we think as a whole and it's really starting to irk me. When I talk about being fed up with my weight, the first thing people say is "You're not fat, you look just fine." Now I don't know if it is because we are so used to overweight people that we are blind to it, or if we are just to polite in our passive-aggressive consumerism that we just give everyone lip service to make them feel good about themselves so we can feel good about ourselves. Either way, I'm tired of it. So if you hear me talking about weight and lazy people, make sure you remind me that I'm one of them too and to get my ass moving. I'd rather have honest and healthy over fat and polite any day.

Give Me the Damn Car Already...

I'm still tryin to get the dealer to come down on the price of my Z3. Just $3000 less and it will be worth it.