Civilization Again

We made it back to Minneapolis safely last night about 10pm central but then had to repack everything for a 6:00am departure at the airport. But at least we had time for a shower. I'm not up for recapping the entire adventure now, but since I've got no plans this evening and my wife is headed into DC I'll have plenty of time to relax and rejoin the real world...I mean hook back into the internet.

Minnesota Facts

Whenever I'm going to go visit with someone whether it be a friend or family I try to learn at least a little bit about the area. It helps as conversation starters, but also shows you take some interest in their home and so it causes them to want to like you. So here's a short list of interesting Minnesota facts/links that you can use on your next trip to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. And tonight was spaghetti night. (just explaining the pictures at the bottom.)

1. According to the Department of Natural Resources there are over 11,842 lakes (10 acres or larger) in Minnesota.

2. WWF superstar Jesse "The Body" Ventura was governor from 1999 to 2003. And actually, he had the highest approval rating of any governor in Minnesota history. Learn all you can stand about "The Body" here.

3. State motto: "L'Etoile du nord"

4. Politics: Blue State

5. Coldest temperature ever recorded: -60F in Tower, MN Feb. 2nd, 1996. Ouch.

6. Current Miss Minnesota: Nicole Swanson.

7. A list of "can't miss" tourist attractions.

8. The Mall of America.

9. It's the home of Target Inc.

10. The state fair is the center of the known universe....if you live in Minnesota.

Game Night

Hanging out today here at AB's house with the kids. I got my butt handed to me in two different games by my 3 year old nephew. First up, a game of Uncle Wiggily. I had the upper hand going into the second half. Dr. Possum's house was right in the cross hairs. All of a sudden....wham! 20 space card.....wham! 12 space card.....wham! another 12 space card! The nephew comes from behind and finishes first leaving us stunned in our tracks. And he wasn't even wearing pants.

Next up...The Wizard of Oz board game. The pantsless phenom was at it again. Every trap avoided. Every bonus won. First to Oz with the rest of us fully clothed competitors duking it out for a distant second.

There's certainly more competitive people in the world than myself and I know that the whole point is spending quality time with family but come on...losing to a 3 year old who can't read...makes me think about retiring from boardgames.

Into The Wilderness

Tomorrow morning we are headed off to Minnesota to visit Liz's brother and his family and go on a little camping escapade in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

It will be 4 adults and 3 youngins in 2 canoes with 1 purpose, coming out alive. You see, there's no motors allowed in the wilderness. You have to carry everything in either on foot or by canoe. Also, you can't take any food with you, so you have to forage or kill animals in order to sustain yourself. And the best part is that entire park has been taken over by gigantic man-eating bears that can only be killed with advanced weaponry.

But besides that it is one of the most pristine and beautiful landscapes you can imagine. Endless lakes, lush forest, no noise, camp fires and lots of time to reflect on all the advantages of modern life....like comfortable chairs and real toilets. I would take pictures, but cameras aren't allowed either so I will have to sketch everything I see and scan them when I get back home. Don't worry, I'm an excellent artist. Here's a sketch I just did of my car so you will know what to expect.

FDA Approves Seconds

The People Have Spoken

My legions of blog fans have communicated to me through their selected representatives regarding the future nature and subject matter of Cy Blog posts. As Mike told me last night. "If I wanted to learn about the real estate market I'd read the Wall Street Journal."

So with a new mandate in hand I will boldly lead this readership into the future with more of the same stuff I've been giving you all along.

So click here boys and girls and teach yourself a new skill today that will serve your country well in these troubled times.

Why Blog?

I was wondering about this the other night. Should I blog more about what's going on in my business? Should I blog about opportunities that come up for investment? Or should I just keep it fun and goofy? Do people give a sh** about what I did over the weekend or do they really want to know what kind of personal or emotional dilemmas keep me up at night? Should I write more about my family? Should I write more about the real estate market...or any other markets for that matter? I guess a lot of bloggers wonder about these same questions.

I wonder this because a fair number of people will go and google my name after initially meeting me. The inevitably come to my blog where I immediately either lose or gain credibility depending on the reader.

So if you want to know more about my business and/or investment interests let me know and I can write more about that. Otherwise I'll just stick with the "what I did this weekend" stuff and the occasional funny thing I find on the internets.

Jefferson County African American Heritage and Cultural Festival

Liz and I were sitting in the office Saturday when we heard this cool drumming coming from down the street. I thought it either must be a world cup soccer match or some kind of parade. We hurried down the street so we wouldn't miss any of the action. I'm glad we did since it was probably the most fun parade I've ever seen in Charles Town. Not to slight any of the other parades which are all great, but this one definitely had a better beat. I liked how that Maine slide show turned out yesterday so I did it again with my photos of the parade.

The Maine Slide Show

I have a cheap digital camera. It's a Lumix Mega O.I.X. made by Panasonic. It takes 5.0 megapixel shots and has a 6X optical zoom. I got it before our Rwanda trip this year for about $150 at Circuit City.

Memory is cheap these days so I have no problems taking tons and tons of pictures while I'm out of town on a trip. I get back home and now I have over 200 pictures over 4 days of vacation. But really, most all of them suck. I probably only have 10 pictures that are even worth saving. But as I was downloading them into my laptop using the Microsoft camera and scanner wizard I saw all 250 some odd pictures zip through in a slide show fashion in this little postage stamp sized box. All of a sudden all those crappy pictures didn't look so bad. So I added a little bluegrass and came up with this...our trip to Maine.

The Maine Wedding

Keep in mind that when we left home we were in the middle of a heat wave with temperatures in the high 90's with high humidity. Regan National Airport hit 101 the day before departure setting a new record.

As we cross over the border from New Hampshire into Maine it was sunny and about 70 degrees.

"Liz! They must air condition the entire state here!" It was like fast forwarding straight into October back home. The drive was lovely and as soon as we got off the highway Liz wanted to stop and buy a quart of wild blueberries. Luckily it was easy since people sell blueberries in Maine like they would corn in Iowa. This little stand wasn't staffed, but lucky for them, we're honest.

We eventually found our way up to Brooklin, which seemed to have 3 or 4 stores, but only one was open an any one time. We stayed at the Egg McMuffin Inn which was a nice little place right on the water. It was complete with a beautiful great room and a host of eastern European teenagers for staff.

The rehearsal dinner Friday night was awesome. It was right out on the end of this big point surrounded by rocky shoreline and views of smaller islands in the distance. On the menu....more lobsta! The bar they set up at the dinner specialized in drink called the Blueberry Push. It's Maine potato vodka with organic Maine blueberry juice and a splash of triple sec garnished with fresh wild blueberries. Mmmm, think of all those anti-oxidants! Not only is it a tasty drink, but you actually get healthier with every serving. At least in theory.

The next day was a complete success. We went over to the wedding house and helped set up for a while. Zeke and Ashlyn flew in around lunch time and we drove to Blue Hill to get some lunch. The wedding itself was beautiful, the weather was perfect, the laughter was genuine and the tears were joyful. Thank you Ben and Leah!

The Maine Event...Part 1

We're back. 1400 miles. Overnight stays in 3 different towns. 6 lobsters. 1 wedding. 8 new cousins.

In a lot of ways the trip was a total surprise for me. I talk a lot about how easy it would be for me to live in a place that is warm all year long. I'm half Polynesian so I like to claim that I'm allergic to cold. So going to a place like Maine is not something I would come up with all on my own.

Luckily, family is there to come up with great ideas even if I can't see them. Liz's cousin Leah was getting married to Ben in Sedgewick, Maine. I know for a fact that unless you were at the same wedding last weekend you have not heard of this place either. Ever been in a one light town? Or even a one stop sign town? They're much bigger than Sedgewick. No cell phone reception. No internet. Just beautiful waterfront landscapes and a great party. Actually, I take that back. Uncle Zeke did get cell phone reception there, but you have to ask him about it.

But now I'm getting ahead. First stop on the trip was Beverly, MA to visit our college friend Norrie and her boyfriend Mike. This broke up the drive nicely and they took us to this great little dive bar on the water called The Anchor ("Ancha"). Cheap beer and cheap Lobsta. It was wicked awesome.

No More Beer Jokes

Cy Blog Update: Liz asked me to refrain from writing or posting any more beer jokes. Something about my reputation in the community or that new job I just took at the rehab center. So hence forth I'll just have to be more subtle.

Mega Church

As I mentioned in a post from a few days ago last weekend we went to DC to visit friends and spend the day out on the Potomac. We ended up staying over at their place Saturday night since they had invited us to come to church with them Sunday morning.

McLean Bible Church is the home of pastor Lon Solomon who I believe is a big name in the area if not on the national christian scene. He's probably not as big a star as Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life), but he's in that same caliber. I actually have some audio tracks of a seminar he put out on CD called Christianity 101 and Christianity 202. I really can't recall specifics, but I remember thinking they were good and I also remember that Lon was a Jew who converted to Christianity when he was in his twenties or so. We were told that Lon wasn't going to be ther, but we wanted to go anyway just so we could spend a little more time with our friends and also to see what a true mega-church is like having never been to one. MCB has something like 10,000 people or more per week coming to Sunday services.

I've never seen anything like it. First off, they have their own 3 level parking garage with perhaps 4 or 5 people directing you to the open spaces. There were hundreds of people streaming for the doors. It felt like we were going to a big show or concert. I asked Liz if she had remembered to bring our tickets. Once we got inside it truly was like being at a concert venue, except more comfortable. There's like 20 people ushering and they're very well organized. "How many?" "Four?" "Right this way." And before you know it, you're sitting down is these concert hall seats that are very well cushioned and complete with it's own bible. There were at least 5 big movie screens around the auditorium and the stage has about 25 people on it for their praise and worship. Then someone came out and they talked about the different groups that were doing different things and they made sure that all new people knew what to do in case they wanted to join MBC. Then an offering. Then the guest pastor. Then it was over. All told it was about an hour, but it seemed like it was only 45 minutes.

I didn't take any pictures, but I thought these floor plans which I grabbed from the lobby would give you a good idea of the scale. Book stores, coffee shops, cafes, gymnasium, auditorium, etc. And they're getting even bigger. They've already opened up a couple satellite churches in the area where you can watch all the action on a close circuit TV network. The traditional way for a church to grow was for assistant pastors to break off and start their own churches, but MBC is just opening up other locations kind of like a retail chain. "I'd like a number 1, with a coke, a baptism, and some community service hours please." "Do you want to mega-size that?" "Definitely."

I-Phone Downloads

I don't have an I-Phone yet. I'm going along with the "I'll wait till the next version" strategy. But it's amazing to me to see how many companies are right there providing TV shows, Movies, Music etc. outside of the I-tunes store. I wonder what I could sell to new I-Phoneites.

Click Here to see the store I'm talking about.

Beer Jokes

There's some pretty good ones in here which I found over at www.beer100.com

This post is sponsored by AutoPilot Profit System. Providing you with a lifetime's worth of beer money.

BEER JOKES

A pirate walks into a bar and orders a drink. The bartender looks down and says "You know that you have a steering wheel in your pants"
The pirate replies "Ay, it's drivin' me nuts"

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At about 3AM, I was drunk as a skunk. I came home just in time to hear the cuckoo clock cuckoo three times. Quickly coming up with a plan, I cuckooed nine more times, hoping my wife would think it was midnight. I was very proud of myself.

The next day, my wife asked what time I got home, and I replied, "Midnight, just like I said."

She said that was good, and for some reason she said we needed a new cuckoo clock. When I asked why, she answered, "Last night when it cuckooed midnight, it cuckooed three times, said 'Shit!,' cuckooed four more times, farted, cuckooed three times, cleared its throat, cuckooed two more times and then started giggling."

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What does a drunk walrus have in common with a woman at a tupperware party?

A: They're both out looking for a tight seal.

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An Irishman named O'Malley went to his doctor after a long illness.

The doctor, after a lengthy examination, sighed and looked O'Malley in the eye, and said, "I've some bad news for you.
You have cancer, and it can't be cured. I'd give you two weeks to a month to live."

O'Malley was shocked and saddened by the news, but of solid character. He managed to compose himself and walk from the doctor's office into the waiting room. There, he saw his son who had been waiting. O'Malley said, "Well son, we Irish
celebrate when things are good, and we celebrate when things don't go so well. In this case, things aren't so well. I have cancer, and I've been given a short time to live. Let's head for the pub and have a few pints."

After three or four pints, the two were feeling a little less somber. There were some laughs and more beers. They were eventually approached by some of O'Malley's old friends who asked what the two were celebrating. O'Malley told them that the Irish celebrate the good and the bad. He went on to tell them that they were drinking to his impending end. He told
his friends, "I've only got a few weeks to live as I have been diagnosed with AIDS."

The friends gave O'Malley their condolences, and they had a couple more beers.

After his friends left, O'Malley's son leaned over and whispered his confusion. "Dad. I though you said that you were dying from cancer??? You just told your friends that you were dying from AIDS!"

O'Malley said, "I am dying of cancer, son. I just don't want any of them sleeping with your mother after I'm gone."

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A drunk is driving through the city and his car is weaving all over the road. Eventually a cop pulls him over.

"Did you know," says the cop, "that a few intersections back, your wife fell out of your car?"

"Oh, thank heavens," sighs the drunk. "For a minute there, I thought I'd gone deaf."

---

Two fishermen were adrift in their rented boat due to an engine failure. While rummaging through the boat's provisions, one of the men stumbled across an old lamp. Secretly hoping that a genie would appear, he rubbed the lamp vigorously. To the amazement of the castaways, a genie came forth. This particular genie, however, stated that he could only deliver one wish, not the standard three.

Without giving much thought to the matter the man blurted out, "Make the entire ocean into beer!" The genie clapped his hands with a deafening crash, and immediately the entire sea turned into the finest brew ever sampled by mortals.

Simultaneously, the genie vanished. Only the gentle lapping of beer on the hull broke the stillness as the men considered their circumstances.

One man looked disgustedly at the other whose wish had been granted. After a long, tension filled moment, he spoke: "Nice going idiot! Now we're going to have to piss in the boat!"

---

A pig walks into the bar and asks for a pitcher of beer. He drank it all then asked the bartender where the bathroom is. Bartender replies "down the hall and to the left".

Another pig walks into the bar and orders 2 pitchers of beer. He finishes them off and then asks where the bathroom is. The bartender replies "down the hall and to the left".

Another pig walks into the bar and orders 3 pitchers of beer. Finishing them off he was just going to stand up when the bartender asks him "well aren't you going to ask where the bathroom is?" The pig replies " no, i am going to go wee wee wee all the way home."

---

The Lone Ranger comes into town during the hottest part of summer. He stops outside a bar and tells Tonto to run in circles around Silver his horse, waving his poncho to keep a nice breeze on Silver while he goes in to have a drink drink. A couple of minutes later a man dressed in black swaggers into the bar and says "You the Lone Ranger?" "Yes, I am" the Lone Ranger replies. "Oh," says the man dressed in black, "Did ya know ya left your injun runnin?"

---

Old man Murphy had worked down at the brewery for years, but one day , he just wasn't paying attention and he tripped on the walkway and fell over into the beer vat and drowned.

The foreman thought it should be his job to inform the widow Murphy of her old man's death. He showed up at the front door and rang the bell. When she came to the door, he said, "I'm sorry to tell you, but poor old Murphy passed away at work today when he fell into the vat and drowned."

She wept and covered her face with her apron and after a time, between sobs, she asked, "Tell me, did he suffer?"

"I don't think so," said the foreman: "He got out three times to go to the men's room.

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Yesterday, government scientists suggested that men should take a look at their beer consumption, considering the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer. The theory is that drinking beer makes men turn into women. To test the finding, 100 men were fed 6 pints of beer each. It was then observed that 100% of the men gained weight, talked excessively without making sense, became overly emotional, couldn't drive, failed to think rationally, argued over nothing, and refused to apologize when wrong. No further testing is planned.

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This post is sponsored by AutoPilot Profit System. Providing you with a lifetime's worth of beer money.

DC Waterfront

On Saturday Liz and I went in to Silver Spring, MD to visit with some of our friends. I knew that they had invited us to come out on some kind of boat, but I had no idea it was their boat. I was expecting some kind of dinner cruise or sight seeing thing, but it ended being a private cruise around the Potomac river and basin for the entire afternoon. Needless to say, it rocked.

The neat part was that it wasn't really their boat. They belong to a boat club and so anytime they want, they can just reserve a boat and take it out on the water anywhere on the east coast and they never have to worry about the maintainance or storage. Seems like a great idea. We were out on Miss Guided. Aptly named as you'll read later.



First off Derrick got some instruction on how to operate the vessell. You know, basic stuff. How to turn left and right, turning on the anit-aircraft radar and explaining the "pimp-my-boat" button and the "convert-to-hover craft" button.


Then we were off to check out stuff on the water starting with some familiar landmarks.



As well as some more practical monuments like the Wilson Bridge and some other bridge with a big train coming across it.



Then we headed south towards Mt. Vernon and saw some incredible houses along the water. These things weren't just houses. Tracy put it best. "That's not one house. That's like 7 or 8 houses." I agree.



It was a peaceful quiet and relaxing day except for the occaisonal phone call.


The best part was that towards the end of the day we started to have some engine trouble. Why is that a good thing? Because first of all, when you break down in the middle of the Potomac you're still out on a boat in the middle of the Potomac so it's beautiful and fun. Second, the boat didn't belong to any of us so no one was going to have to pay for a costly repair. Third, Derrick was able to sort of get one motor to work so we had a nice slow crawl all the way back to DC which was really quite enjoyable. Fourth, because of the engine trouble they didn't have to pay for gas. Sweet. We headed up to the Georgetown waterfront and had a nice meal at Bangkok Joe's and then headed back to Silver Spring.

Weird Video

I promise you. This will be the weirdest thing you see on the Internet today. Keep in mind, I didn't promise "good"....just weird.