At some point Tuesday morning on the way to work, I started hearing some flapping sounds from my rear left tire.  The faster I went, the faster the flapping.  Flap-flap-flap.  I thought maybe I ran over some plastic bag or something that wrapped itself or connected to the tire and it was hitting the wheel well.  I wasn’t sure what it was.  

So it kept flapping.  As I stopped at a light, the flap-flap-flap would slow to a crawl and stop with me.  I peered into my drivers-side rear-view mirror to see if I could see anything.  I told the mirror to move via the little joystick doohicky and that didn’t help.

I looked over to a road neighbor or two on my left hand side to see if anyone noticed anything untoward on my car.  Nothing.  I stuck out my tongue at them for their non-help.

So I pulled over and looked. I even tried to time the flap-flap….flap such that whatever was flapping would be on top and be visible.  I didn’t see anything immediately and so I kept going because, well, I’m impatient sometimes.  GET ON TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH ALREADY!

Once I got to work, I checked more thoroughly and there was some hard round substance right there on the tire.  It felt like very hard gum and thought “wow, that’s weird”.  So I started picking at it and then realized… “That’s no moon.  That’s a Space Station.”

Now that I was coming full-face onto the realization that it was some kind of bolt or nail stuck in my tire, I thanked my lucky stars that the immediate visions I had of the tire exploding right there as I picked at the nail head and the bolt racing to my eyes or throat fortunately did NOT come true.  I didn’t even burst a jugular or anything!

So what did I do? I went on with my day.  I drove and drove… drove some more… probably drove 40 miles and then went to bed.  Ignoring problems frequently pays off in the short-term.

In my dreams…. Flap-flap-flap.  Always flapping.  Knowing that it’s probably gonna cost a ton of money to replace the tire and you know what? I’m not made of money.  So I slept on it some more and went into Lamb’s Tire and Auto the next morning on the way to work.

Fortunately (I’m a lucky person, did you know that?) I had bought Road Hazard on the tires so they fixed it up for free.  I was envisioning $200 a tire and you have to buy them in pairs, doncha know, and then they’d find some axle rose problem and I’d need a new trunk stabilizer and of course some “gasket” in the glove box was probably leaking fluid everywhere.

Nope.  I got out of there for $28 for the inspection I was overdue on and even got to keep the bolt as a souvenir.

So, wanna see the size of this thing?

What’s the largest thing ever caught in your tire?  Got any good flat tire stories I could use next time I need a good excuse, like when I’m trying to say why it took me six months to send Janna the book she won?  Or that I could give the other winners I’ve procrastinated on?

The ongoing love story between a 20% gay Blogebrity named Dave and a Texan named Wayne. Not exactly BlogBack Mountain, there still is an instance of Dave doing a striptease. And drinking.

And at least one soft piece that’s sure to bring a tear to your eye.

I have so many ideas of how to make this a cool, graphical multimedia and interesting blog post, but I just don’t have time.  So here’s a recap.

1. On Monday we drove out to in the middle of nowhere (1.5hrs drive) to some relative’s land in Bastrop so we could see the Perseid meteor shower (tips on viewing) without all the light pollution, noise, etc.  We packed a nice picnic, 2 dogs, 3 kids, 3 flashlights, tons of drinks and left the house around 7:15pm.  We got on the land just after dark.
2. Two of the kids were too freaked out by tall trees, tall grass, and honest-to-goodness-actual darkness, so we couldn’t stay.  Wife and I got about a 2 minute glimpse of the sky from out there and we could see millions of stars vs just the couple hundred you can see from the city.  Dangnabbit!   But what are you going to do? Force them to face their fears right that minute?  Nah.  So we went home. 
3. Setting a family policy that kids can no longer watch Blair Witch Project, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or Friday the 13th movies.
4. Got back home around 10:30pm so we went out on the trampoline and stare up for a while to see what we could see (that’s what the bear did).  Ended up seeing nada - lots of cloud cover and we just got tired looking.  And we were tired-looking.
5. Last night (Tuesday), we watched Nim’s Island (awesome movie!) and then went back out on the trampoline.  We saw several satellites, MARS (pretty sure we saw it), and some airplanes.  And then I saw a HUGE shooting star over to the side and tried to tell the wife - “HEY LOOK!” but it was gone.

Take a look at this video if you want to see more about it - it has some really cool photos, great info, and tips on watching.  I think you can still see the shower tonight if you try.

Yeah, so well I lost.  It’s still on my mind.  I can’t believe I got shut out on my first try. 

Sure, both of us had some issues with the calibration of the wireless guitars on the HD setup, but at least it was a fair disadvantage.  It’s not like just one of us had a messed up guitar or something.

Yup, the picture says it all - I bit the big one.

I was supposed to go on at 7:01 but they had a bunch of technical difficulties, so my match wasn’t until ~7:30 or so.  Most of the matches before us were easy decisions - one person getting 120,000 points and their opponent getting 40,000.  These folks just weren’t well matched up.  There was one match on Medium where one person got 45,500 and the other person got 45,800 - now THAT’S CLOSE!

My personal match was Pat Benetar’s Hit Me With Your Best Shot, and after a rough start we ended up neck and neck, with me scoring 118k and him scoring 120k.

ARGH!  This is so frustrating!  I *know* I could beat him.  I kept thinking of a way back in - is there a second chance bracket?  Can I compete at Expert level instead?  Can I buy my way back in?  BEST TWO OUT OF THREE?!?!?! COME ON!

So, let’s focus on other things.

For one, there’s a lively discussion going on at my FairTax Calculator post. 

Secondly, there’s some evidence that the media is actually treating Hillary like a Republican - a Reuters photographer took and posted the following photo:

Usually the Democrats don’t get such treatment in the headlines.   But just as I wouldn’t want this kind of photo done of a Republican, I feel sorry for Hillary.  One wonders if the Obama campaign “had this photo done and leaked” like some charge the Clinton campaign of the photo of Obama in a turban.  Blah Blah Blah, Barack Hussein Obama, Hillary’s cheating, Obama has no experience, Hillary has 35 years, blah blah blah - it goes in one ear and out the other.

Lessee, what else.  Oh yeah - I’m going to an Astrological Retreat for the weekend.  For me personally, it means sleep, rest, playing and no kids, no work, no responsibilities other than getting the spouse to and from the conference.  This will be the first “retreat” of its kind for me in a long time.  So far, I plan on filling it with possibly playing with Vista and VMWare more and maybe catching up on blogs and playing around on the internet.  Maybe I’ll work on our taxes (given the FairTax being on my mind).

I’ve participated in an online Guitar Hero tournament once, but I’ve never done a REAL Guitar Hero tournament.  Tonight is my chance.

They take entries for levels in Medium, Hard and Expert - I’m competing in the Hard category.  Winner of Expert gets an iPhone, Hard gets an Apple Touch and Medium gets an iPod.  Since the game is GH3, which I’ve played MAYBE a total of 3-4 hours since I got it, I’m not comfortable playing Expert. If it was GH2, I might consider it.  Having the iPhone as bait doesn’t help my decision, but I’m just not there yet on GH3.

Wish me luck!

Interesting tidbits about the tournament:

• The first few rounds are random selections from all songs, setlist and bonus tracks
• The semi-finals and championship songs will be selected by event staff (I predict crowd-pleasers such Stevie Ray Vaughn, Aerosmith, Metallica, Eric Johnson instead of the mostly-unknown crap that’s on GH3)
• It’s sponsored by a church
• The event staff can bump people up or down a level to prevent sandbagging (I’m hoping this doesn’t happen to me because some of these songs I can nail 99% but others I can barely get through)
• Caitlin (my 13yr old) and I are extremely disappointed that only 21 and over is allowed - I’m sure she can wipe most of the folks who would be there.  She’s spent a LOT of time with GH3 and has already finished expert on it, even getting 100% on a few of them (yeah, I know!)
• I’m very glad that they do not require costumes.

Look what I just saw in my email from our local Alamo Drafthouse, a movie theatre where they took out every other row and put in tables and then added a bar and grill so that you actually can have dinner AND a movie, literally at the same time.  Awesome idea, and we love the place.

It starts out with these graphics:

And continues with this info: 

Have you taken an IQ test lately? Are you a member of Mensa? Would you say you’re brilliant? Figure it out, dumbo, because we’re putting on our thinking caps this weekend and preparing all sorts of smart entertainment for the truly brainy and the wannabe geeks alike. First off, of course, we have our REAL GENIUS QUOTE-ALONGs happening on Wednesday and Thursday, and I’m happy to say that not only will we be encouraging everyone in the theater to yell out their favorite lines, but we’ll also be handing EACH and EVERY person in the audience their very own LASER to shoot all over the theater whenever there’s a laser on screen (and we’ll also have our own laser guns to shoot at audience members who cheat and shoot their laser when there’s no laser on screen, don’t worry). We’ve also got our staff at all three of our theaters working overtime right now to produce enough popcorn for the grand finale when (spoiler alert) Dr. Hathaway’s house gets hit by the laser and destroyed by Jiffy Pop. That spectacle alone would be well worth the price of admission, but that won’t be the only surprise we’ve got ready.

Then you click and read more:

Hey there actual geniuses, we’d like to invite you to join us for the REAL GENIUS QUOTE-ALONG. Val Kilmer stars in this 1980s comedy featuring the misuse of lasers, ice-skating in college hallways, and a mysterious man named Laslo who lives in a subterranean world accessible through Mitch’s closet door. But you knew that already, didn’t you? Because we’ve seen and LOVED this movie for years. That’s where the Quote-Along aspects come in - we’re not just going to watch the movie, we’re going to completely celebrate it. We’ll have lasers in the theater, a jell-o eating contest, popcorn exploding through the walls, and the film itself will be subtitled on key lines so that we can all yell them out in unison. Plus - Jon Gries, Laslo the closet-dweller himself, will be there live in person to host the event and run a Q&A after the film!

So I’m all like — I GOTTA GO TO THIS!

But then my wife suffers a serious leg injury (dislocated kneecap), rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and then we spend all day in the ER trying to fix it.  I keep trying to tell her, “yes, honey, I KNOW you need a reduction of your left patella, and you’re orthostatic, and you’re still wearing off the effects of the etomidate, but, (pause), it’s REAL GENIUS!”. 

I tried telling her that she said “ok” to me going while she was under the effects of the etomidate anaesthetic, and since EVERYONE knows you completely lose any memory of anything that happens while on that medication, I thought it would get me by, but no.  Evidently she’s too smart for that trick.

*sigh*

Meanwhile I’ll keep nursing her and her leg back to health, now that we’ve inconveniently discovered that Vicodin has basically no effect on her.  None.  Codeine, however, seems to be a godsend.  Yay codeine.

(side note: I was very pleased to see online that they’ve scheduled this for not only tonight (1/10) but also the next two Thursdays.  Yay me!)

Who else loves this movie?

Almost half a year!  Now if only I could make GOOD habits last that long…

XMAS Tree, round 2

Last week I posted a picture of our almost-done XMAS tree, and now it’s finished.  Here it is with a complete bottom AND top:

and this picture has 100% more Jaden for your viewing enjoyment.

Live Free and Die Hard ROCKED

Sure, it took me three sittings to actually watch the whole thing because I kept getting interrupted left and right, but I really really liked this movie.

It was funny at the right parts, had PLENTY of action, was superbly acted and it was somewhat believable (the “fire sale” part and many technical plot devices).  You can say Bruce Willis has this character down pat.  I liked most of the technical stuff in the background and paid attention to most of it, looking for mistakes.

Of course, it didn’t hurt to have the “PC vs Mac” guy turn from a gutless wonder to someone who actually could do what he needed to do to save the day.  His comedic contribution to the movie was priceless.

Celtic Woman XMAS Special

Tonight I received a call letting me know that Celtic Woman was on TV again but this time it was a Christmas Special

WOW! I started my DVR recording late, so now I’ll have to go find where to buy it because I love Christmas music over almost any other kind of music, and I love Celtic Woman almost as much, so when they’re combined it just blows me away.

And I saw across the top of the screen that they’re coming to Austin!  I saw them in San Antonio earlier in the year and it’s easily one of my all-time favorite concerts ever.  Well, except for Schoolhouse Rock of course.

You can check me out on twitter on that night and you’ll be sure to get some full-on appreciate for Celtic Woman.

Seriously, if $1 was on your credit card bill this month, would you even notice?  or $2, or $5?

One dollar can buy a few precious moments of talk time for a soldier fighting for our freedom.  Tens of thousands are soldiers are deployed overseas and would love to talk to their daughter or son, or spouse and tell them they love them and miss them. 

Just one dollar can give a worthy soldier a smile for the day.  It’ll probably make his whole month!

So go and at least donate $1 for Operation Call Home - do it today, as I believe today is the final day for donations.  You can listen online at http://590klbj.com for updates on how they’re doing.  If you’re in Austin, turn your AM radio to 590 and listen for spots around the city where you can just drive up and donate (no need to get out of your car)

No matter your political affiliation, you can help a soldier talk to his or her family.  Remember, it’s justabuck. 

Voting is on my mind because, well, I voted yesterday (yay me!).  So today I hear about these red-light cameras that our City Council is going to be considering.

Argh.  Red Light Cameras coming to Austin.  At least, they probably are.

Now, THIS is something that should be put to the public as a vote.  There is absolutely no incentive for the City Council to do what “the people” want.  In fact, as far as they’re concerned, the red light cameras mean the following things:

• More revenue for the City
• No impact to them personally (I’m sure they’re exempt from the tickets, or there’s some system that would stop them from getting it)
• More control
• Nobody votes, really, so it’s not like people will actually remember this the next time their term comes up.

Since when do politicians NOT choose something that gives them more money and more control?

From my perspective, this move means the following TO ME:

• A platform for more control by the Government later on.

Sure, NOW they just want to do speeding tickets.  But don’t you think more intrusions are going to come, maybe 5, 7 years down the road?  What’s to stop them from doing the following?

• Excuse me, is that a beer you’re drinking?
• Your inspection sticker is expired, maybe we should fine you now since we have you on camera. 
• Hey, that looks like a joint you’re smoking!
• That car seat doesn’t look buckled in…
• Your car has been spotted with 13 Mexicans, so we’ll assume they’re all illegal. 
• Your seat belt isn’t on, MISTER!
• Hmm, you’re normally across town at this time of day, but here you are downtown.  Why is that?  And who is that you’re with?  We’ve never logged you with that person before.
• You look stressed, like maybe you killed your wife.  We haven’t seen her on any cameras for the last 3 days.  Where is she?  Is everything ok?

Why isn’t this up for a vote?

Vote!

Tomorrow is a voting day - here in Austin there are many proposals on the ballot.  Historically, the turnout for this middle-of-the-season votes is low, so I’m hoping I can urge you to vote.

So in general, people want to do 16 constitutional amendments and spend $9 billion dollars.  I say don’t spend any new money.  One is for more accountability for our lawmakers - and who can say no to that?

The ballot is online for our reading enjoyment.

Operation Call Home

The second thing is the Operation Call Home that our local News Talk Radio Station is hosting on Friday.  You can go online and donate if you’re not from around here.  It’s the 5th year of the thing, too - you donate money and they purchase calling cards for troops so they can call home during the holidays.  It’s a great great charity, and even $3 or $5 goes a long way to help a soldier.

I’m going to add a banner over on the right for this week.