Phew! Wells Fargo runs me ragged

Posted on December 11, 2006 by Steve

When we left for Vegas, I took the mortgage payment with me because I figured that I’d mail it while we’re on vacation. My logic went like this with it; I get paid while we’re there so I’d drop it off at the hotel’s outgoing mail the day before my paycheck was electronically deposited and Wells Fargo would receive it, process it and all would be great. The return address on the coupons have been somewhere in Los Angeles which is at least a five-hour drive from Vegas on I-15, what could go wrong?

Foolish me. Near the end of last week, I kept noticing the amount not being removed from my checking account. The Wells Fargo people stated they had no sign of it and here’s when it gets creepy, the barcode on the envelope gives them an inside scoop from the Post Office. Nice move Big Brother! As if the ACH law the corporations received in 2002 wasn’t enough. With no sign by Saturday I was all ready to jump through the hoops this morning: Stop payment on the check with my credit union and then find a local Wells Fargo branch to make the payment in person. The whole thing would bite $20 out of my butt. Once I completed the process of stopping payment via CEFCU’s site, I took one last shot at Wells Fargo’s site to see if any progress was made on the taxes. Surprise! They received the mortgage payment Friday. Ugh! Then a quick phone call to CEFCU to tell them not to stop payment or else Wells Fargo would be mighty irked. Lucked out there too, the request didn’t process because I must’ve flubbed something.

Pretty amazing how online banking has made this all so much easier?

Update Dec. 18, 2006: Someone commented that I should go with online banking. Outside of the gas bill and mortgage, I do. However, Wells Fargo charges $20 to do an electronic transfer that costs pennies to execute, unless I have an account with them. No thanks. I’ll stick with CEFCU because they believed in me 12 years ago when I left for Austin. Wells Fargo and other banks charge fees constantly and they act like they’re doing you a favor for keeping your money with them. I’ll stick with the 39-cent stamp route.

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Identity Crisis is more than a long-underwear book

Posted on December 9, 2006 by Steve

idcrisis

This mini-series appeared in comic book stores over two years ago but I waited until the trade paperback came out since back issues get expensive and DC Comics released it as a hardback collection too. I also got around to reviewing it now since I’ve loaned it to several other people with positive results, thus I would like to spread the word.

Identity Crisis is about the murder of Sue Dibny and how the event ripples throughout the DC Universe, affecting superheroes and villains alike because dirty little secrets amongst both camps are revealed. Who’s Sue Dibny? She’s Elongated Man’s wife. Elongated Man? He’s a member of the Justice League, has stretching powers like Plastic Man but he’s a skilled detective on par with Batman. It doesn’t matter that he’s an obscure character to the real world, the problem is his public identity in DC. Unlike Superman or Batman, Elongated Man’s name is public knowledge along with his deceased wife’s. Whoever killed her knew where the Dibny’s lived and how to get around the house’s super-high-tech security system. The culprit(s) might even know the real identities of Hawkman, the Flash, Green Lantern, etc. What’s worse and more frightening to the superheroes is that the murderer may use this knowledge to hurt those close to them like Lois Lane, a common tactic used by the Joker and Darkseid.

So a worldwide manhunt by every known and obscure DC superhero takes place leading to the villain community feeling the pressure. Meanwhile, Justice League members Hawkman, Green Arrow, the Atom, Black Canary and Zatanna join up with Elongated Man to pursue a lead they don’t care to divulge with the obvious choices (Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman) since this suspect is dangerous for secretive reasons.

I’ll stop here because anything further would be spoiling the plot and outcome.

Putting aside the usage of DC’s obscure characters (in the minds of the general public), Identity Crisis is a very impressive murder mystery showing how the personal lives of superheroes are changed, ruined or improved by the events following Sue Dibny’s funeral. There’s plenty for fanboys and those who are familiar with the majority of the DC characters (I was only stumped on who a few were) but again, the casual fan who only knows about the superheroes shown in movies or cartoons will enjoy this. When it is resolved, it doesn’t end like a sitcom or soap opera with all the players back to where they started before Sue died. The story has definite consequences which are still playing out today, namely in the latest Justice League of America comic.

Posted in Comic Books | 1 Comment

Feline Pine™ now has scoopable, clumping litter

Posted on December 8, 2006 by Steve

Last summer I posted a story about how I changed the cats’ litter boxes over to Feline Pine™ litter. As much as Wicca, Molly, Miette and Nemo protested via their Count Dookus being left on the surface of the litter, the conversion has been 90 percent successful (Molly still craps on the floor out of spite from time to time). This week during the post-vacation errands, I discovered Feline Pine’s new scoopable litter. It’s still the bio-degradable sawdust that excels at soaking up the number one’s moisture and smell. Now this clumps and it can be flushed down the toilet with the solid waste in the morning.

Personally I prefer the original because I only have to scoop out less in the morning but the other kind was on sale, three bags for 10 dollars and they’re the same volume, just different weights. I bought three bags of both for this experiment I’m conducting. The guest bathroom has two litter boxes anyway so the blue one has the standard pellets and the red one has the scoopable. What I am checking for are three immediate things:

  1. Do the cats have any preference?
  2. Does the scoopable absorb the ammonia smell as well as pellets?
  3. Does the scoopable make as much mess as clay and wheat? I haven’t really set a duration for the experiment.

This isn’t married to the Scientific Method, it’s probably going to be more anecdotal. When the scoopable runs out, I will weigh the results and I am not counting on the new FP to be always available at Target or at such a good price; normally FP regular is four dollars on a 10-pound bag or 11 on a 20-pound bag at HEB.

The current results? The cats demonstrated their preference within two hours of setting out the scoopable and let me say politely they’re voting with their paws. It was used several times that quickly. I have also been cleaning out the red box every morning and the blue box only needed it once the whole time. I think blue only got used because a certain cat (Miette is my guess) shoveled out a third of the red box’s contents on to the floor. There’s my immediate answer on the mess factor; leaning on it not being worth the effort, unless I buy a new dust buster (a cat owner’s other best friend). The smell variable will have to be decided by Somara and guests. Both types work well there.

Posted in Cats | 2 Comments

Week Nine of NHL 2006-07

Posted on December 8, 2006 by Steve

I will keep my NHL diatribe short this week since this is late and the Vegas edition was too long, even for me.

Fortunately, the Flyers only went on to lose one more time while I was in Sin City but I intentionally chose not to bet on them, it was them against the Devils. This season it’s a sucker bet. It ended up being closer than expected yet the smart money was still with the Devils, my pick for the Atlantic Division. Now they’ve had six days off before they get a rematch tonight. Meanwhile, former GM Clarke has been moved to some position with Operations and Scouting. Great move. He can still saddle the Flyers with slow defensemen and washed-up forwards through influence instead of hiring them outright. They should’ve just given him a figurehead position like Flyers Ambassador as Brett Hull has with the Stars.

Turned out I wasn’t the only person demanding the Flyers take back John LeClair. I think Ed Moran of the Philly paper agreed. It would be more than a publicity stunt because LeClair has had more goals (2) in his few appearances (21) with the Redshirts, I mean Penguins, than the disappointing and overpaid Kyle Calder (0).

Phoenix is an enigma right now because I was out of the loop on them even more while on vacation. I’ll be catching up on them some too. Right now I see they’re within two points of the wounded Kings and have played three fewer games which could give the ‘Yotes six more potential points. Sure, this would only put them in fourth in the Pacific Division. It’s a start and a bit closer to the main goal of returning to the playoffs.

Finally, a big congratulations to Marty Brodeur. He is now tied with Ed Belfour at 461 wins for second place on the all-time list of goalies. Broduer is within reach of beating Patrick Roy’s record. I think he’ll do it too because he’s a talented goalie despite that he may succeed out of attrition; he’s only in his 13th season and all the big-time goalies played for over 18 seasons.

Okay, one last thing. Gary Bettman will be revealing the new uniforms for next season. The guy just can’t leave well-enough alone. I think raising NHL/Hockey awareness is more important and new threads aren’t going to solve it. We’ll see though. Everyone ridiculed the new Buffalo uniforms, including me, and allegedly they’re the best selling jerseys this season. I think it has to do with the novelty and how they’re still the dominate team to beat.

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Happy Belated Birthday to Sonia!

Posted on December 8, 2006 by Steve

I thought I would have the minimal energy to say something about Sonia’s birthday, the young lady I probably torture by considering her my wiser, savvier, globetrotting, little sister (and yes, I have two other unlucky women I have mentally compartmentalized as big and middle sisters); or as I call her ma petite soeur soeur from our French class days. I also see that I failed to mention it last year, d’oh! Well, better late than never.

Sonia will be given the more complete treatment that Helen received (on this day in history, etc.) later since hers needs more research beyond the obvious anniversary of Pearl Harbor. However, I will share with you a link to her site that is mainly dedicated to her beautiful daughter Julia. If there’s a link to contact her, wish her a belated birthday too. And you can say it in Spanish (her first language) or French (her other adopted language) and probably Polish or German.

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Thomas Dolby

Posted on December 7, 2006 by Steve

Due to the smoke generated by fog machines at the show, Somara didn’t have any luck getting decent pictures of the concert. No luck with an autograph either because he has been ill on this tour. No bother, Thomas Dolby still put on an enjoyable show to promote his new album The Sole Inhabitant, a live CD of him performing songs from his previous five (or four) studio albums. The CD is nice, it’s like a souvenir of the show you just saw, give or take a song in the set. He did have a new tune and I’ll have to dig through his site to check for plans on an entirely new album. Dolby founded a functioning high-tech company long ago and he recently received a check from K-Fed (a story he explained at length with humorous results) so this tour isn’t one of those “I’m broke and Eightties nostalgia is peaking” type of affair.

He opened with one of my personal favorites, “One of Our Submarines.” There was also “I Live in a Suitcase,” “Windpower,” “Europa and the Pirate Twins,” “Hyperactive,” to name a few and obviously “She Blinded me with Science.” I was surprised he did “Hot Sauce” for the encore. While peforming the songs Dolby had multiple cameras showing the performance from his perspective or being superimposed on a large screen behind him. Sometimes there would be editing effects from the software or sequences from his old videos when MTV used to show them.

Overall, a decent time. Fortunately he opened and let us “older fans” leave to get to work the next morning, there was some other electronica act I didn’t “get.” I do hope this small-venue tour works out well enough for him to write an overdue sixth album.

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My 15 minutes in the Statesman

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Steve

I know, I know, I know, I promised no politics on this site. Picayune is meant to be an open letter to my friends but I had to take a jab back at this jerk for his rather ill-informed comment in the paper on November 26th. I would link it but then you’d have to give Austin’s sorry excuse for a newspaper your information to get in and then search for which letters I’m talking about.

The crux of this Republican crank’s letter was the recent renaming of the Congress Avenue Bridge to the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. Quite a mouthful and everyone will still remember it as the Congress Avenue Bridge or the Bat Bridge due to the two million flying rodents living under it. Yet it’s always something with people like this guy:

Sunday, November 26, 2006
Re: Nov. 16 article, “Bridge renaming honors Richards”:

The renaming of such a visible landmark needs careful consideration, and then it must go before the voters. Even the bats feel railroaded.

Name the new water treatment plant after one-term Gov. Ann Richards, in honor of her vocabulary and the stench of her liberal politics.

ALAN GARRETSON, Austin

Before I left for vacation, I felt I had to bitchslap the Grover Norquist surrogate for showing his partisan ignorance. I carefully chose my 150 words. How surprised I was to get an e-mail from the Austin “paper of record” requesting my permission. I called the toll-free number to give what I would allow to be listed. Of course, the allegedly liberal publication didn’t print the whole thing, they clipped my closing paragraph (highlighted in bold).

Tuesday, December 4, 2006
Re: Nov. 26 letter to the editor, “Consult with public first”:

In his invective aimed at former Gov. Ann Richards, it seems that the letter writer forgot that the public has had landmark name changes foisted upon them on other occasions. Ever heard of Hoover Dam? It used to be called Boulder Dam. My recent favorite is the Reagan Airport in Washington, even after he fired all the air-traffic controllers and made air travel less safe. Both of these were pushed through by Republican majorities, and the public didn’t have any say in it.

Too bad the unfinished Intel building is being torn down. We could’ve renamed it after George W. Bush for the second term he never really completed because he started running for president the day after his re-election.

STEVE MAGGI, Pflugerville.

I still think it was a good rebuttal despite the Statesman taking out what I felt was my coup de grace on the jerk. Ann was no saint and there were many policies of hers I disagreed with but the people of Austin were fond of her. I even admired her toughness and wit. Besides, she got a bridge while Bullock got a museum, Clements has a state building and Bush’s daddy has an aircraft carrier and the Houston Int’l airport. Maybe Alan should move to Dallas or San Antonio so he can spearhead Norquist’s project to rename everything after Reagan.

Here’s the link of my letter to let you know it really happened if you want to jump through the paper’s hoops.

Posted in Austintatious, Brushes with Greatness | Leave a comment

Las Vegas Day Seven: Goodbye Stardust

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Steve
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Another landmark pushed aside for economic “progress.”

Sorry about the delay wrapping up the last day, it’s never really that great anyway. This day is always spent packing (taking back more than we came out with too), catching a couple of quick things and then waiting it out at the airport, the only other free wireless hotspot. Our flight also didn’t land in Austin until after midnight and it takes another day to recover from the travel plus getting our cats re-acquainted with us.

Although I was no big fan of Stardust, I was saddened to hear about its demise to make way for another monstrosity a la Wynn or Venetian. I only visited it once to have dinner during my four-week stay in 1997 but Stardust was featured in the movie Swingers when Mike and Trent go to Las Vegas thinking they’ll score comps by just dressing nicely. Upon further reading, the interior casino shots were done downtown but the movie had established or wanted to maintain the impression of the comical events taking place in a Strip casino. And although the movie that made Jon Favreau (Mike) and Vince Vaughn (Trent) more famous is quoted to death by annoying frat boys, I think it changed my opinion about dressing up in a nice suit and having a good time on the town. I guess that gives Stardust an indirect responsibility toward my growing up.

I always thought Stardust would be a survivor too. The owners would go through a massive remodelling or overhaul like Aladdin did. Then again, everything went badly for Aladdin which is why it’s slowly morphing into Planet Hollywood so throwing in the towel may have been the better decision.

We walked farther north on the Strip to see what else can be seen. Not much in my opinion but give it another few years as the land these other remnants of Vegas from the Fifties through Seventies become too expensive to maintain. Then they’ll be plowed over for other monstrous Wynn, Harrah’s or MGM-Mirage projects. Somara took a few more pictures, namely of the New Frontier which lies between Stardust and TI. We always have a few laughs about the place since José had to finish his first stay there when we got married. I’m still amazed he comes back to Las Vegas after his experience there. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t reside in the shadows of casinos which have more impressive features covering up their pricetags. It’s like Milwaukee’s vicinity problem with Chicago.

Then to the airport for the rest of the day waiting for our 8 PM flight. I know, I’ll get non-stop tickets for earlier, I just have a phobia about missing my plane that dates back to 1992. Waiting more than two or three hours is excessive and an old conclusion. I did use the spare time to tutor Somara on iMovie. Turns out she knew more than I thought (or maybe I hadn’t been paying attention), her only difficulty with it has been text to put on top of the clips. Check this out.

Despite the flight landing after 1230 AM, the house being nippy and the cats doing their “we’re starving” routine, it was great to be home. Now to recover, get back into the grind of work (today wasn’t a total disaster, only one ugly e-mail to contend with), plan for the holidays and scheme for the next trip in 2007.

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Las Vegas Day Six: I’m my own Cooler

Posted on December 4, 2006 by Steve
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Mark’s winnings thanks to 22 and lacrosse.

Thanks to my conking out pretty early the night before, this would be a take-it-easier day since energy for the final evening took priority. We were also going to have the opportunity to meet my co-worker Tony’s family and have a meal with them. After our “obligatory” trip to the Apple Store to post Day Five’s activities (and it needs some more proofreading as I’ve gone over it, how embarrasing!), we ditched the computers to the room’s safe and headed back to Rio. Somara wanted some pictures of Prince’s Club 3121 because she couldn’t take her camera earlier. Rio’s security was very agressive during the concert too, we saw some attendees get pummeled. We hoped Prince’s boutique would be open as well, no luck. The other gift shops stated that the Club 3121 was only guaranteed to be around for six months.

We didn’t get a very good look at Rio the previous night neither. My last trip only covered the Tilted Kilt (José wanted to eat there, they don’t have one in Orlando is my guess, just Hooters) and the Voodoo Lounge on the top of the main tower. With this time to kill, we had a better chance to scope out how well Rio has held up since 2003 and what I remember of it in 1997. For one of Harrah’s better resorts in Vegas, I think Rio has remained a clean, contemporary and vibrant casino. Adding Penn & Teller and Prince has helped them out greatly. Rio and Harrah’s (on the Strip) both have a Mardi Gras theme but Harrah’s feels cheap and dated. It’s mostly occupied by an older crowd that is probably thrilled over Wayne Newton’s holiday show. Rio is hipper and probably gives Palms (the most overrated casino in my opinion) a run for the money. I wasn’t having any luck contacting Tony over his cellphone (his battery died) so we killed some more time there. When I found a five-dollar craps table, I had the next hour mapped out. Sadly, the table wasn’t just cold, it was freezing. I got knocked down pretty quickly and never really recovered like the two games I had at TI. I should’ve quit sooner since I got ill in the stomach which was annoying. It’s just a game but I figured I’m just being a sore loser. I’ve spent as much money at Waterloo Records without batting an eye. The only guy doing well on the table was betting against the shooters. Probably should’ve taken his advice yet his strategy seemed like a grind. I held up my rule of one hour, cashed out but still tipped the employees. I would like to try again at Rio since they had more liberal wagers like the ones demonstrated by the instructor at the LV Hilton. The MGM casinos are stingy as another patron told me.

The gambling at Rio wasn’t a complete bust. There was a five-dollar roulette wheel for me to place Mark’s bet. He was the guy who made the Brooklyn Bridge joke and he did call me while I was posting Day Five (typos and all). After our conversation regarding the timeshare (positive), he asked if I got his e-mail to place his bet on 22, his jersey number in lacrosse. Everybody else was losing, maybe Mark would continue the trend. Nope, he was a winner. Sadly, the only one out of four, maybe five we covered. Just seems the lawyers keep getting richer. One belated discovery we made at Rio was the shuttles they have to Caesar’s Palace, the Flamingo (the place founded by Bugsy Siegel) and Paris and they’re free, a new lesson or advantage for Vegas V.

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The Romans did conquer Egypt which would includethe Upper Kingdom so this guy is plausible. I think he was a US soldier due his very serious demeanor.

We wandered back from Caesar’s Palace in a rather indirect route back to our room at TI so Somara could take some better photos of Paris and other landmarks. Having steak for our last evening meal was an objective yet the prices felt rather overwhelming for one reason or another. Then I remembered José telling me about the improved buffet at Caesar’s Palace (oddly the locals don’t say CP like they do with Treasure Island’s TI). He was correct and they had decent prime rib to scratch our steak itch. I was pretty stoked over the made-to-order pasta plates and risotto along with some impressive fish. Worth the price, especially when I realized that all I had consumed since waking up was a latte. We did some wandering around CP, the Mirage and then returned to TI.

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The decorations at Mirage. Insert your own AC DC-based joke here.

With it being our final evening in Las Vegas, it would include our final gambling session. I decided to challenge Somara to a Video Poker Tournament (I think I’ll rename it a duel since there’s only two of us) rematch. Same starting money, 20 bucks, first one out loses. I shifted my strategy to go with wagering the maximum amount per hand. This was definitely not a plan for the faint of heart. I had dipped to as little as five dollars remaining after 20-25 hands and blammo, the Charlie Brown Christmas Miracle arrived with a four-of-a-kind putting me in the $30+ range. I pressed my luck and finally cashed out at $40, doubling the money (a drop in the bucket after craps). I shouldn’t have egged Somara on, she wanted to beat my $40 but never got over the $37 hurdle and then lost it all. It’s not that big of a deal. I think for the next duel which will declare a winner (we’re tied at one each), we’ll set a time limit or pay out as the other winning condition to overcome her guilt. Say the first one out loses or first one to double the starting money wins.

Then came roulette. Sadly, not one victory for good ol’ 27, the Maggi number. We got 21 and 26 at $10 a crack. Even the wins at Aladdin in 2003 and 2005 aren’t serious omens I would heed. It always just feel good to come back in the green, especially if it’s a significant amount.

GAMBLING FINAL RESULTS
Somara: -$23.71
Steve: -$149

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Las Vegas Day Five: Brush with Star Trek Greatness

Posted on December 3, 2006 by Steve
mmmmm

Not meeting Tim Russ would be illogical

One of the highlights of the Vegas III trip was running into Pete Rose and scoring an autographed photo of him for my friend Paul. Little did I know that he’s a frequent visitor. It didn’t matter, the thrill of actually speaking to him and discovering how cordial he was will never be eradicated by the previous fact. Running into a celebrity was a trend I hoped would continue with Vegas trips, just as winning once at roulette with our wedding date (this streak may end on this trip). On day four at the Star Trek Experience I saw that Tim Russ would be visiting between 1-3 PM on Saturday. Tim Russ? Tuvok from Star Trek: Voyager, right, the Black Vulcan. I twisted Somara’s arm into returning to the Las Vegas Hilton for this because I had to get his autograph for the biggest Star Trek fan I know, Nelson. Besides, I owed him big time for my panic attack over the timeshare, I mean vacation ownership, or I have seen in the comments, a bridge in New York someone sold me. I also feel that the mileage for the John DeLancie (Q) autograph I got him in 1998 has probably run its course.

The original plan was to rush in, get the autograph, get a picture (above), chat a bit, maybe take in a little gambling (Somara managed to still win around five bucks despite all her attempts to just lose a dollar, what a problem) and rush back to our room for a nap; we were drained from Prince and only had three hours of sleep due to an immediate errand with the timeshare (I’m feeling another look of disapproval from the bridge-joke-comment person). Instead we ended up staying two hours longer for a couple of great reasons; the aliens were walking about and they’re always a hoot, they never break character, making them the best part about the place; and I hope we made a new friend with this lady who was one of the most charming fans I’ve met, Karla (last name withheld by me). She adores Tim Russ, saying he was a better Vulcan than Leonard Nimoy. Karla enjoys all the shows plus other franchises; she teaches high school Spanish in the LA area; as the picture shows, she’s attractive (insert your own Star Trek joke here) but sorry guys, she’s married and to a Star Wars fan too. Sadly, her husband wasn’t around to meet us or Tim because he’s a storyboard artist for Futurama! Karla gave us a spoiler for the upcoming movie, I won’t share it though. We exchanged e-mail addresses and we’ll be sending her a picture or two plus she wants to replace her G4; always whoring myself out for Apple whenever I can. Again, I do hope we made a new friend, not for the connection to a favorite show but for the wonderful conversation and sincere enthusiasm Karla exuded. I think it’s something married people have too. When you’re married, you aren’t “hunting” anymore thus you can just relax with conversations because there’s no more worries about getting a repeat date.

fgsdg

Me & Karla, Spanish teacher, well-adjusted Star Trek fan

Moving back to Tim Russ. He let me have my picture with him and I had my geek moment by telling him that I loved his response to those who said there were no such thing as Black Vulcans. It was something along the lines of (paraphrased due to limited Internet access) “Why would the Vulcans lack the same level of genetic diversity as Earth?” He chuckled over it and said, “That’s right.” We discussed his music which made me feel a bit dumb, the fan magazines painted a picture of it being contemporary jazz like Acoustic Alchemy. Tim said it was more Rock & Pop. D’oh! The good news is that his material is available via CD Baby.com and the iTunes Store with new stuff appearing next year. Overall, a really nice man and I hope to see him play Tuvok again.

Back to TI via a second monorail pass which is still cheaper than a cab for the travel we have been doing. Anyone planning on hitting Vegas in the next year, call me because it should still have a few rides left on it and it remains valid until December 2, 2007 (too late, mailed to José in mid December). At TI came the mandatory and overdue nap.

After the nap, I hit the Apple Store which is my daily ritual because the Strip casinos don’t believe in “free” Internet access. Remember, you’re there to gamble or as they say, “gaming,” which puzzles D&D players; they have also turned that noun into a verb improperly; see tasking or tasked, ugh! I had some fun talking to the Mac Genius at the bar; the nearby tables being occupied for a Santa show. Nice guy. While I was uploading, checking and editing, we chatted about storage solutions, iPods, etc. He thought Austin was a nice place and we Enterprise guys are okay.

With Picayune and other matters tackled, I went back to TI for grown-up clothes and an evening of low-level fun. Since Somara’s dumb luck is keeping her ahead on this trip, I issued a challenge of a video poker tournament. My strategy versus hers. My crude logic versus her more intuitive style. We each had twenty bucks (I gave her the money since it was my experiment), first one out loses. I think my machine was broken! I was never up even though I was doing most of the right moves I’ve read in strategy guides. When I dwindled to five, I went with the max bets button until I was out. Somara was ahead by a few bucks then took a dive to as low as seven yet managed to break even by the end. Seems my relationship with video poker is still as lousy since our first meeting at Caesar’s Palace in 1997. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a long enough nap as my comp’d beer took its toll on my eyes. The rest of my body didn’t feel very tired yet I had to obey one of my cardinal rules of gambling, never play tired or impaired. I cajoled the wife into walking around Mirage (definitely much higher stakes than TI) and the mall at Caesar’s Palace. Talk about some overpriced clothing, especially this place called Agent Provocateur, aka expensive accessories for lap dancers. No luck there neither. My eyes remained bloodshot and we had to call it a night at the wimpy hour of 11 PM.

The losses may be growing for me but three things I have kept in mind:

  1. I have received free booze which is close to equitable if you drink at the clubs, remember the $26 for a pair of cosmos at Tangerine from Day Three?
  2. This isn’t money I “needed” urgently for the house or medicine even though I probably should’ve used it more wisely but I’ve spent more on music, comics, D&D and other geek junk without flinching.
  3. The most important part, I have had a great time playing, especially at craps. Again, I love craps for its social interaction. I just want a cheaper table to make my money last longer thus prolonging the fun. Rationalization or a fair explanation? Probably depends upon your opinion of gambling.

GAMBLING REPORT
Somara: $11.29
Steve: -$75

Posted in Brushes with Greatness | Leave a comment

Star Trek Gallery from Las Vegas

Posted on December 3, 2006 by Steve

Here’s all the additional pictures from my second trip to the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton. Geeky and silly (maybe pathetic) but the aliens are always the best part and they keep me coming back despite the price being a little high.

gornattack

Click for extra joke.

kjlj

This Borg is only a repair drone, even so he cannot assimilate my iBook without the root password.

andorian

This Andorian was enjoying the cold weather since it's like her homeworld. I know, I’m a supergeek for knowing the climate of Andor.

fadfadsf

Noggle, the Ferengi Alliance’s current representative. He thinks the Rules of Acquisition do apply to timeshares.

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Las Vegas Day Four: U Will B Assimilated 2Night

Posted on December 2, 2006 by Steve
xxx

Hey, we clean up pretty well!

This day (December 1, 2006) would probably go down in personal history as my longest Vegas Day ever. Technically our wedding day and the last two days of Las Vegas III: The Centennial were longer but we’ll all be the judges as I elaborate. For Somara and me, it will definitely be the second most awesome Vegas Day in our relationship. It also explains why this is posted even later than normal. I figured no one is any hurry to read my Web site over the weekends.

We took it easy getting cleaned up and ready for the day. I don’t like to schedule every day of my vacation, especially Vegas ones, with activities that MUST be achieved. I prefer to have a goal of tackling three or four events the entire time. The rest are optional and if they’re cut due to money, energy, time or bad reviews, I don’t sweat it. Those can be saved for the next venture. As you could see from the long-windedness of yesterday’s two entries, I had spent a considerable amount of time writing in advance. With Friday’s entries completed (about Thursday), we hit the Fashion Mall again to piggyback off the Apple Store’s free wireless connections…five mintues before the retractable catwalk rose out of the mall’s public area. It’s not so much the loud, thumping music that’s so distracting, it’s the comical strutting the models (all female this time) do as they parade back and forth on the catwalk. I may have said it last time yet it bears repeating, they look like some weird flightless birds and their ultra-skinny frames only amplify the comical nature of the strutting. Many of the dresses were pretty ugly too. Somara managed to capture a few movies of this. I hope to post these into a composite movie as a tutorial for her with iMovie and to tease avid Bowie-hater Roo (a young lady who works at the coffee shop) because it has his hit “Fashion” as the audio track. Trust me, it’ll be amusing.

After Picayune received its updates (stories, color-scheme changes which are explained later in the post), all our online banking was confirmed (paychecks!) and my correspondence was completed, we set out to the Las Vegas Hilton for the Star Trek attraction. Back in 2004, the ride was updated to include a 4-D battle against the Borg. José and Glenn had already seen it so I saved it for this trip. I had thought the first ride was replaced by the Borg thing. Nope, they’re both there which is great. Sure the ride’s price increased from $30/person in 2003 to $39/person but now you will definitely take in at least both once instead of repeating the same one from 1997 ad nauseum (literally, with all the jostling motions). I’m still politicking Somara to go with the buzz phrase for this trip to be “You will be assimilated!” No luck. This is why we needed an odd number of people to participate on this trip, namely José! I think I could win him over. Let me clarify, using the Borg’s catchphrase doesn’t sound very original, it’s downright uber-geek. No, you say “you will be assimilated!” and poke the other people in your gang in the arm. Again, José can back me on this since he’s also been on the Borg 4-D ride, otherwise, I don’t want to spoil it for my fellow Star Trek fans.

We then took in a very late lunch at Quark’s place after the attraction. It would be cooler if they really tried to make futuristic and/or alien food and drinks from Star Trek instead of re-labelling contemporary dishes with the names of various characters. The Chicken Khan sandwich is pretty good but wouldn’t you rather spend $11 for a dish of something that resembles those worms Worf eats knowing full well it’s actually “disguised” pasta?

Leaving the Las Vegas Hilton took longer than planned too as I stumbled upon the afternoon craps lesson. The instructor was a pro. If she could drum the odds and payoffs into me pretty well, I can only imagine how effectively she could train some of my customers on TCP/IP essentials.

Time was getting closer for Somara’s awesome surprise but I had to try out my newly acquired knowledge of the game at TI’s craps table while the minimum bets were five bucks. Don’t fret! I always play with money I classify as “spent” so if it’s lost, I won’t default on the bills or mortgage. I also have a playing time limit and leave regardless of my status; winning or losing. I didn’t fare as well as I did earlier, I dropped $34 out of the hundred I started from. Many would be pissed and there was a time I would be too. Nope, I felt great and had a thrilling time. Why? The waitress managed to bring me a beer twice and free booze is always a gain; the TI employees working the table were funny and cordial; and I almost dropped $70 of my original starting money until the last shooter nailed three sixes or eights before he hit the point of five (a rebound of $26!). I’m not going to explain the game here, I’m still a novice. Craps is my favorite table game for the social interaction. On the downside, one guy to my right received the bad news about his fellow Midwestern buddies having to cancel as Chicago and St. Louis were snowed in. The lady and boxman laughed at me when I said to the guy, “dude, I’d fight through f@#%£∞’ al-Qeda to be in Vegas!”

My daily gambling itch had been scratched, so on to revealing the big surprise for this trip which many of you may have already known about from my numerous phone calls. Firstly, we got dressed up, hence the picture above. Grabbed a cab to Rio which will be another story (for the addendum). Then took her to the new Club 3121, Prince’s new Vegas gig! Her new outfit really helped celebrate the occasion. This was his seventh show and seven is a lucky number or a “perfect” number in the Classical World. They opened the doors earlier than the tickets claimed yet it worked to our advantage, we were camped on the floor within 30 feet of him when he finally hit the stage…way after midnight. Tardiness and pre-show vanity clips plugging how many people admire him aside, Prince is still an impressive performer and musician. Watching him interact with the crowd has brought me to the conclusion that he gets bad press because he’s really very mum on his private life. Think about it. Does the average person really know about his background as they would about Michael Jackson or Britney Spears? Anyway, his show is definitely on the must-see list of Las Vegas despite it being $140/ticket for general admission. His Club 3121 is really where the old Danny Gans Theater resided so it is really intimate. Rock concerts just don’t really work in stadiums or convention centers. You may be disappointed over him mainly performing his new material from 3121 over his older stuff, he did do “Kiss” with Dynasty replaced by Desperate Housewives in the lyrics. “Purple Rain,” and “Let’s Go Crazy” were missing yet it didn’t matter, his energy was contagious. The other great surprise was the appearance of saxophone legend Maceo Parker playing in his band. People who are into James Brown know the guy. Prince also demonstrated how he is still a generous performer, what changed my opinion of him in 1986 with an MTV contest. How? He would pull members of the audience on to the stage to dance during certain numbers and he even let one guy sing the lead on the first verse of Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music.” I think Bill Maher owes Prince an apology. My personal favorite of Prince’s generosity was bringing this woman on stage who was overweight and I won’t mince words, she’s the wingman’s date. Yet Prince had her dancing for the crowd and he heaped a ton of praise on her, made her feel like a million bucks for the evening and memory he gave her. It was really sincere too. Prince went on to do FOUR encores, the last one only on the condition if we came back tomorrow night (another demonstration of his little known sense of humor). He exceeded the standard 80-minute-with-one-encore set as the house lights came up well past 2:30 AM.

Prince’s concert is definitely the pinnacle of this trip as I planned but he overcame annoyances such as some people being totally loaded by 11 PM (morons in my opinion). Others I told about this show ridiculed Prince for going to Vegas, stating that this was a sign of his career fading. I say, not a chance. Once you see him, you’ll change your mind and besides, following in the footsteps of Elvis (not the first entertainer to do this, but the most famous one) is genius. Why tour? Stay put and have those who really want to see you come to a central location.

To close, the biggest thrill was revealed by Somara after I told her we were going to Prince. Back in 1984 when he was the center of the universe (remember how many times “When Doves Cry” was played?), she had a ticket to see him at the Erwin Center but she couldn’t go due to no transportation. How it broke her heart. Last night, I managed to fulfill her wish 22 years later.

Day Five will have mucho pictures! Keep reading, enjoying, commenting and e-mailing me!

GAMBLING REPORT
Somara: $11.50
Steve: -$50

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Las Vegas Day Three: Timeshare Mystère

Posted on December 2, 2006 by Steve

xxxx

Where the next Vegas Vacation will be, fingers crossed.

From now on you will probably think I’m an idiot. If you read about the previous day, I was grousing over having to sit through the timeshare spiel just so the wife could have cheap Mystère tickets. We went, it was amusing and to make this story shorter, the math and price were actually pretty good. You guessed it, I bought into it; Tahiti Village. Here are my reasons, or rationalizations if you prefer. We got the smallest and cheapest offering they had which was equal to the price of a cheap, compact car, more than an Aveo but less than a Yaris. It’s on South Las Vegas Boulevard putting the Strip a couple miles north of the place. One thing I really learned from the last Vegas trip, location matters, especially on foot. However, I didn’t need the presentation to convince me on how the hotel prices are still rising. I was here in 1997 when the vets complained about it being expensive then. Having a permanent spot at least every other year will be cheaper in the long run so the savings can be expended on a rental car if we don’t want to depend upon the shuttle bus. The place has a mini-kitchen, thus saving on overpriced meals such as breakfast.

Was I bullied or pressured? I’d say a bit because that “oh this offer is only good now, you can’t reconsider six months later.” They were still very upfront on how much money this would really run annually and monthly. We were accidently shrewd negotiators through our honesty. “We like it but we’re conservative with money,” was what we stuck by (and it’s true). I’m sure they’re still getting paid and making a profit but I’m not that cold. I discussed it with Somara about how this was feasible and would be better after we ditch some other luxuries (cable TV and D&D minis namely).

Thankfully my friend Nelson was available to talk me down from the buyer’s remorse I began to feel. He works for JP Morgan-Chase-etc, etc (as those banks keep merging). From my crude understanding of his job, he oversees business loans and in his years of experience, if a bad investment idea has appeared, he has seen it. When I asked about all the horror stories and those TV commercials (sell your timeshare to them), Nelson bluntly said that timeshares are only a waste of money if they’re not used. He stated how I love coming to Vegas and I’m pretty likely to utilize at every interval. What a relief!

With the investment portion of the day ended courtesy of a limo ride back to TI, I know, I’m an easily impressed bumpkin; we got bitchin’ seats to Mystère; seventh row on the left side. The French-speaking lady to my left and I panicked when one of the trapeze guys came close to swooping over our heads off (they don’t, it’s all calculated). I saw this show nine years ago and as I predicted, they changed it up some while keeping key features; the two strongmen from Portugal, the baby routines and the dream theme. That jerk with his ‘Five Hundy by Midnight’ podcast talked smack about Cirque long ago, saying they were weird and pretentious. I don’t think he gets it is his problem. There’s many elements of old Vaudeville in Cirque’s antics in addition to the traditional circus routines. Mystère is a great starter show for the uninitiated, namely for the comedy of the Baby and Usher characters. In 1997, they didn’t have the Usher. I think he’s an update to the show as a response to their critics through his bits poking fun at the program’s characters and usage of Cocteau Twins gibberish.

On the gambling front, I think I covered the hockey pretty well with the Week Eight update. We used the remainder of my $25 of free play joining the MGM-Mirage Players (Losing) club. I burned up half of it and won nine bucks. I gave the rest to Somara who won 14.75 thanks to her second four-of-a-kind hand. Second? I loaned her five to play while I played the free stuff. She was down to a buck until she nailed the first four-of-a-kind to gain back what I loaned her and then some, four bucks profit. I’ve tapped out everyone on the roulette front, not one winner I’m sorry to say. I’ll post all the results later. We took a shot on our number (27) before bed as an omen with the timeshare, I mean, pre-paid vacation plan. As you recall, our number is our wedding day. The result was 10. “Big deal!” you’re thinking. On the actual wheel, 10 is next to 27 so we were off by a fraction of a centimeter!

Finally, we got dressed up to see Cirque and forgot to get a photo. I clean up well if you’ve seen me. As guests of TI, we had free admission to their nightclub Tangerine. It’s one of those places that entices people to come over through cheesecake ads mainly aimed at desperate, horny men. “Hey, come here, you’ll see bare butts and breasts. You may even score.” Somara wrote her take on it being pretentious. I would only go with it being overpriced; $26 for two cosmopolitans but I did insist on them using Stoli vodka. I’ve been to more of the Strip’s clubs than Somara so to me Tangerine was a standard, expensive place peddling potential sex (fat chance guys), filled with drunk people who can’t dance. I should talk though, being a white male pushing 40 whose skill is limited to DDR. However, I do know one key element to any successful dancing: picking your feet up off the floor! Otherwise you’re imitating the Frankenstein monster running away from the villagers. Do the Herman Munster!

Day Four promises to be really impressive. That’s the evening of Somara’s big surprise. Some of you already know about it. We also hope to hook up with my co-worker Tony for at least one meal and fun.

GAMBLING REPORT
Somara: $17.75
Steve: -$16

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Week Eight of NHL 2006-07, The Vegas Edition

Posted on December 1, 2006 by Steve

A rather late update on hockey due to me being in Vegas, probably a welcome respite for my regular readers and friends. However, the ugly truth is that Las Vegas is really the sports capital of the US and Canada. For the gambling? Somewhat. In my opinion it’s the best place to watch the game, celebrate and really get all the straight dope on the outcome of the event. Vegas wasn’t built on wild guesses. Hunches maybe (see Bugsy Siegel) but lately it’s information, research and expertise.

As for my Flyers, they had quite a Thanksgiving weekend. Traditionally, they play the day before and after Thanksgiving with the Black Friday game in Philly because the turnout is solid. Ottawa spanking them on last Wednesday was expected. The Senators may also be struggling this season yet they suck less. There was a chance to win and then the Flyers’ energy evaporated, giving the former Canadian hopefuls a morale boost. Things improved after Turkey Day. Two consecutive victories finally! The first had to be a gimme, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the last of the recent expansion teams which has never seriously improved and will beat the Washington Capitals’ sorry record of being the franchise that took the longest to make the first round of the playoffs. They are also the worst team in the NHL, giving Phoenix, Philly, St. Louis, Chicago and LA comfort. To add insult to injury to Ken Hitchcok, it was his first game as their third (or is it fourth) head coach. There were rumors circulating about the Ottawa gig being open soon while Columbus was interviewing Hitch and Andy Murray. I think he should’ve waited. The Blue Jackets will never be a good team this decade. They will just be known as the team where one of their fans got killed.

Back to the Broad Street Bums. The victory over Columbus was expected. The win over the Montreal Canadiens in the Bell Centre was a surprise. They’re still in last place so playoff celebrations remain on hold. When I arrived in Vegas, they wouldn’t be playing again until Wednesday which meant no sportsbook visit until then. One major thing I love about Vegas is its time zone. All the eastern time games start at 4 pm here. You can catch the entire game and then take in a great meal, a show or clean up for an evening of hitting the clubs. I knowingly put my twenty bucks on the Flyers against the Predators predicting they’d lose. Hard to imagine Nashville giving Detroit fits for the last couple of seasons too. Due to Treasure Island’s sportsbook being at the mercy of the Mirage’s TV feeds, I had to hoof it over to the house that Seigfried & Roy built. I had missed the first ten minutes but the Flyers were up 1-0. I was actually excited, “I may win thirty bucks on these jackasses!” raced through my brain, they just need to capitalize on Knuble’s goal with two more. Nope, they blew their lead as the Preds were up 2-1 into the third period. I mainly blame Niitymaki’s butterfly goalie style. Give me stand-up goalies any day, they’re out of position less often. Umberger scored to tie it up only to have hope dashed again several minutes later. Despite the loss, I figured I would still show my “patriotism” by wagering another $20 on them. The Islanders may have been favored but they’re barely doing better in the Atlantic Division. I would’ve predicted the odds being even on ‘em. I never made it to the sportsbook in time (see Las Vegas Day Three: a Piece of the Action). I figured it was for the best. They’d lose again and I’ll just go with the Coyotes over the Kings later. While I was getting ready for Cirque du Soleil, the ticker on ESPN showed them ahead 2-0. After my stream of profanity ended all I could think about is how my Flyers can’t do anything right this season, especially when they win. I know, the real fault lies with me not betting. The greater sting was forgetting Phoenix shifting back to mountain time and missing the betting deadline again! I agreed with them being favored due to LA’s injuries and struggles([much lower pay off, but still positive). The ‘Yotes won 7-4. I kept this scream in my mind to prevent scaring the hell out of all the exiting Cirque patrons. Contrary to a guy I used to work with who was also an annoying Avs fan, being a patriot (or what he called a homer) for your favorite team does pay! I may even put down a minimum wager for the Flyers to turn it around and win the Cup because 50-1 on five bucks would be sweet.

In other hockey news which is hard to catch up on with the limited Internet access and poor ESPN coverage despite it being on numerous televisions all over the Strip, I saw the Pittsburgh Penguins put John LeClair on waivers. Johnny Vermont may no longer be the 50-goal-a-season guy he was in Philly but I suspect he is being dumped to make room for the younger guys they intentionally lost for three seasons to acquire. He only had this season left on his contract. At least I know he won’t take it personally from an interview he gave back in his Flyers days when they were trying to unload his outrageous $9 million/year contract. Leclair said (paraphrased), the NHL is a business first and judgments must be made on such principles. Besides, the Flyers bought him out for a few million bucks, he’s a smart guy, he won’t be starving. Now if Philly could bring him back to be captain to fill the leadership gap Peter the Not-so-Great and Leadfoot Hatcher can’t fill from Keith Primeau’s place. The other trade I saw was unusual. Phoenix traded Tyson Nash (still playing in San Antonio I think) to Toronto. He’s a decent player, he should’ve been with the ‘Yotes because he has grit on my PS2 game. I hope Paul Maurice will give Tyson more ice time.

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Las Vegas Day Two: Gambling & Eating

Posted on November 30, 2006 by Steve

The theme for Vegas IV: The Pirate Vacation is nearing a consensus between Somara and me. Something involving static cling and getting shocked from walking around the casinos. This city is normally dry but the cold has created an annoying problem of us getting zapped every other time we touch a brass fixture. Makes you rather reluctant to come into any physical contact with living or non-living objects. My co-worker Tony arrived here Wednesday afternoon too. He may have some helpful input. Coining a catchphrase is easier when José is present.

Our timeshare escapade didn’t work out because we missed the bus. Primarily my fault and the Apple Store’s wireless set up flaking out in the final minutes of me trying to post Day One’s events. We are rescheduled for tomorrow and Mystère in the evening. The James Bond movie has been scrapped since Somara declared how she didn’t want to do anything we could do at home. I will be holding her to that when we get home then. With the Flyers loss put off until 4 pm, I actually had time to gamble at the game I grew fond of last trip, craps. But first, we got signed up for the MGM Mirage Players Club (TI belongs to that family of casinos), what I recall Rob Fedson called the Frequent Losers Club. Worked out well for Somara. They issued her a new card with five bucks of free play. It took only a dollar of her own money to activate it on a 25-cent poker machine yet she came out ahead. All losses with the game came from the credit while winnings went into a separate pool. When the free play was all gone, she had $4.75 in the victory pool so I’d say she’s up $3.75 or extracted that much from the free five bucks! Me? I have $25 free play on the card they issued me. I haven’t touched it, I’ll probably give it to Somara because it doesn’t work on the table games, unless you’re dropping $25 a bet. If I could afford to drop that much per bet, I’d be staying at Bellagio or Wynn. It didn’t discourage me from playing craps on the five-dollar table. I only used $60 and I effectively killed an hour with only a loss of five bucks and even that was just “lost” giving the casino people a tip. I think I came out ahead for the entertainment and a free beer. I couldn’t say I was as fortunate with my time in the sportsbook. I made the wager at TI but had to go to Mirage to watch the gam. By the time I made it to the Mirage, Philly was up 1-0 halfway into the first period. I thought my $20 would actually be returned as a $50 bill. Fat chance. As expected, they blew the lead and ended up down 2-1 against Nashville, another annoying, successful team from NASCAR country. Umberger tied it up in the third and again, it was short lived as the Predators scored several minutes later to finish them off. I already figured the 20 bucks was lost and getting the two free-drink coupons with the betting slip did soothe the sting of losing. I know better where to go for the probable spanking they’ll get from the Islanders.

I’ll close this brief entry (don’t want to miss the time-share shuttle again) with this little vacation score board on gambling losses and winnings. We better have a theme by then too!

GAMBLING REPORT

Somara: $3.75
Steve: -$20

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