Video cop-out! Saw this for the first time during a Gator game this season.
Golden grapes? Check.
Real dogs playing poker? Check.
Golden remote? Check.
Miniature giraffe? Checkmate!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Vacation 2010 Part V - Denali Zai Na Li?
Due to the inexplicably complex logistical scheme my dad came up with, we were only able to stay in Anchorage for one night before heading on to our next stop, Denali National Park. Bonus points if you can figure out the little inside joke in the title!
Denali National Park is the national park formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, named of course for the tallest peak in North America. The name of the park changed to Denali in 1980 to pay respects to the name the Athabaskan people gave to the mountain, which means, appropriately, "The Big One".
Our trip to Denali would start off from Anchorage on the McKinley Express Tour Train:
This train takes about eight hours to take you from Anchorage to the outer edge of Denali National Park. The route is quite scenic, taking you across narrow bridges over deep ravines and through several small Alaskan towns, including the town of Wasilla, where one former governor Sarah Palin hails from! It even rolls by a military air base, stocked with a fleet of F-22 Raptors!
Being an 8-hour train ride, you're certain to get quite hungry. Fortunately, the train operators did not miss this opportunity to gouge the train riders, as the glass-top train also has several dining cars, complete with a full catering menu:
Before long, we had arrived at our destination in the outskirts of Denali National Park, where tourists that did not opt to camp in the park grounds itself can stay at one of the fabulous (and relatively inexpensive) tourist resorts in the mountains! We stayed at the one associated with our cruise line, the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. Each room is in a beautiful log cabin inspired building and comes with a view overlooking the woods about the resort. The rooms are adequately equipped with beds and showers, but amenities include free Wi-fi in the lobby, shuttles into and out of the park, and hot tubs overlooking gorgeous mountain views.
The Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge and the nearby shops would serve as our home base for the next several days during our stay in Denali National Park. Among the shops included the home of the $12 dollar footlong - a Subway restaurant!
Denali National Park is the national park formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, named of course for the tallest peak in North America. The name of the park changed to Denali in 1980 to pay respects to the name the Athabaskan people gave to the mountain, which means, appropriately, "The Big One".
Our trip to Denali would start off from Anchorage on the McKinley Express Tour Train:
This train takes about eight hours to take you from Anchorage to the outer edge of Denali National Park. The route is quite scenic, taking you across narrow bridges over deep ravines and through several small Alaskan towns, including the town of Wasilla, where one former governor Sarah Palin hails from! It even rolls by a military air base, stocked with a fleet of F-22 Raptors!
Being an 8-hour train ride, you're certain to get quite hungry. Fortunately, the train operators did not miss this opportunity to gouge the train riders, as the glass-top train also has several dining cars, complete with a full catering menu:
Before long, we had arrived at our destination in the outskirts of Denali National Park, where tourists that did not opt to camp in the park grounds itself can stay at one of the fabulous (and relatively inexpensive) tourist resorts in the mountains! We stayed at the one associated with our cruise line, the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. Each room is in a beautiful log cabin inspired building and comes with a view overlooking the woods about the resort. The rooms are adequately equipped with beds and showers, but amenities include free Wi-fi in the lobby, shuttles into and out of the park, and hot tubs overlooking gorgeous mountain views.
The Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge and the nearby shops would serve as our home base for the next several days during our stay in Denali National Park. Among the shops included the home of the $12 dollar footlong - a Subway restaurant!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Why Athletes Can't Have Regular Jobs
A classic courtesy of Kevin from work, who got it prior to me from some other colleagues here. Enjoy!
Why Athletes Can’t Have Regular Jobs…
1. Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson on being a role model:
“I wan’ all dem kids to do what I do, to look up to me. I wan’ all the kids to copulate me."
2. New Orleans Saint RB George Rogers when asked about the upcoming season:
“I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first.”
3. And, upon hearing Joe Jacobi of the Skins say:
“I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl,”
Matt Millen of the Raiders said: “To win, I’d run over Joe’s Mom, too.”
4. Torrin Polk, University of Houston receiver, on his coach, John Jenkins:
“He treats us like men. He lets us wear earrings…”
5. Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann:
“Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.”
6. Senior basketball player at UNC:
“I'm going to graduate on time, no matter how long it takes.”
(Now, that is beautiful!)
7. Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach:
“You guys line up alphabetically by height…” And, “You guys pair up in groups of three, and then line up in a circle.”
8. Boxing promoter Dan Duva on Mike Tyson going to prison:
“Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to prison for three years, not Princeton.”
9. Stu Grimson, Chicago Blackhawks left wing, explaining why he keeps a color photo of himself above his locker:
“That's so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still find my clothes.”
10. Lou Duva, veteran boxing trainer, on the Spartan training regimen of heavyweight Andrew Golota:
“He's a guy who gets up at six o’clock in the morning, regardless of what time it is.”
11. Chuck Nevitt , North Carolina State basketball player, explaining to Coach Jim Valvano why he appeared nervous at practice:
“My sister's expecting a baby, and I don’t know if I’m going to be an uncle or an aunt.”
(I wonder if his IQ ever hit room temperature in January)
12. Frank Layden, Utah Jazz president, on a former player:
“I asked him, ‘Son, what is it with you? Is it ignorance or apathy?’
He said, ‘Coach, I don’t know and I don't care.’”
13. Shelby Metcalf, basketball coach at Texas A&M, recounting what he told a player who received four F’s and one D:
“Son, looks to me like you’re spending too much time on one subject.”
14. In the words of NC State great Charles Shackelford:
“I can go to my left or right…I am amphibious.”
15. Amarillo High School and Oiler coach Bum Phillips when asked by Bob Costas why he takes his wife on all the road trips,
Phillips responded: “Because she is too ugly to kiss good-bye.”
Why Athletes Can’t Have Regular Jobs…
1. Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson on being a role model:
“I wan’ all dem kids to do what I do, to look up to me. I wan’ all the kids to copulate me."
2. New Orleans Saint RB George Rogers when asked about the upcoming season:
“I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first.”
3. And, upon hearing Joe Jacobi of the Skins say:
“I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl,”
Matt Millen of the Raiders said: “To win, I’d run over Joe’s Mom, too.”
4. Torrin Polk, University of Houston receiver, on his coach, John Jenkins:
“He treats us like men. He lets us wear earrings…”
5. Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann:
“Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.”
6. Senior basketball player at UNC:
“I'm going to graduate on time, no matter how long it takes.”
(Now, that is beautiful!)
7. Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach:
“You guys line up alphabetically by height…” And, “You guys pair up in groups of three, and then line up in a circle.”
8. Boxing promoter Dan Duva on Mike Tyson going to prison:
“Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to prison for three years, not Princeton.”
9. Stu Grimson, Chicago Blackhawks left wing, explaining why he keeps a color photo of himself above his locker:
“That's so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still find my clothes.”
10. Lou Duva, veteran boxing trainer, on the Spartan training regimen of heavyweight Andrew Golota:
“He's a guy who gets up at six o’clock in the morning, regardless of what time it is.”
11. Chuck Nevitt , North Carolina State basketball player, explaining to Coach Jim Valvano why he appeared nervous at practice:
“My sister's expecting a baby, and I don’t know if I’m going to be an uncle or an aunt.”
(I wonder if his IQ ever hit room temperature in January)
12. Frank Layden, Utah Jazz president, on a former player:
“I asked him, ‘Son, what is it with you? Is it ignorance or apathy?’
He said, ‘Coach, I don’t know and I don't care.’”
13. Shelby Metcalf, basketball coach at Texas A&M, recounting what he told a player who received four F’s and one D:
“Son, looks to me like you’re spending too much time on one subject.”
14. In the words of NC State great Charles Shackelford:
“I can go to my left or right…I am amphibious.”
15. Amarillo High School and Oiler coach Bum Phillips when asked by Bob Costas why he takes his wife on all the road trips,
Phillips responded: “Because she is too ugly to kiss good-bye.”
Saturday, September 11, 2010
More In-State Adventuring
With all of the traveling that we cover here on Grant's Pad, sometimes we forget that there is still some darn good attractions here in state as well. And I'm not talking about the big names like Disney or Busch Gardens, though those are certainly great attractions in their own right. Every so often, we'll still take a brief in-state trip. About five years ago, we hit up the first theme park in the state of Florida - Cypress Gardens. A few years later, we paid a visit to Jonathon Dickinson State Park. Last winter, we biked in the Everglades.
Well, this past weekend, we took advantage of a stupendous deal that is available to all folks who bank with Bank of America - their "Museums on Us" program. With this program, you can get free admission to a large number of museums all over the country during the first weekend of every month. Well, this past Labor Day weekend, we happened to be visiting South Florida, so we decided to put this deal to the test.
We had a few options of museums to go to. There is the South Florida Science Museum in West Palm Beach, the famous Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale, and the Miami Science Museum, and of course a bunch of art museums scattered in for good measure. Having been to the Museum of Discovery and Science several times in the past, we opted to try the Miami Science Museum.
The Miami Science Museum is just across the street from the Vizcaya mansion in Miami. It's quite old and a bit run down, so they are actually building a beautiful brand-new museum out on the water near Key Biscayne that is scheduled to open in about 2014.
However, despite its small size and aging facilities, I was thoroughly impressed with "MiamiSci". There is a planetarium that has several shows throughout the day. We watched an educational video about the development of telescopes, and we also watched a laser show re-telling of the myth of Perseus and Andromeda. The museum also has a science theater that puts on several live shows each day - we watched a grad student give a very educational live science show about energy complete with explosions and bad, bad jokes, as well as a lecture about Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The mainstay exhibit of the Miami Science Museum is its "Energy Tracker" exhibit. This is a series of exhibits that demonstrate various energy concepts - kids and kids at heart (like us!) can follow along and try to identify which types of energy are at work in each exhibit - e.g. chemical, kinetic, thermal, solar, light, and so on. Our personal favorite was the "Human YoYo". This awesome device allows you to launch yourself 10 feet in the air using essentially a spring coil that you wind by yanking down on a rope! It takes a little while to get the technique down, but once you do, it's pretty fun.
As fun as the "Human YoYo" is, the featured exhibit was even more fun. It's called the "Cabaret Mechanical Theater", and it's made up of a large collection of little mechanical structures that use levers, gears, and pulleys to create an amusing moving statue. See the video below!
I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to "MiamiSci", and am eagerly looking forward to their grand opening in their new location!
Well, this past weekend, we took advantage of a stupendous deal that is available to all folks who bank with Bank of America - their "Museums on Us" program. With this program, you can get free admission to a large number of museums all over the country during the first weekend of every month. Well, this past Labor Day weekend, we happened to be visiting South Florida, so we decided to put this deal to the test.
We had a few options of museums to go to. There is the South Florida Science Museum in West Palm Beach, the famous Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale, and the Miami Science Museum, and of course a bunch of art museums scattered in for good measure. Having been to the Museum of Discovery and Science several times in the past, we opted to try the Miami Science Museum.
The Miami Science Museum is just across the street from the Vizcaya mansion in Miami. It's quite old and a bit run down, so they are actually building a beautiful brand-new museum out on the water near Key Biscayne that is scheduled to open in about 2014.
However, despite its small size and aging facilities, I was thoroughly impressed with "MiamiSci". There is a planetarium that has several shows throughout the day. We watched an educational video about the development of telescopes, and we also watched a laser show re-telling of the myth of Perseus and Andromeda. The museum also has a science theater that puts on several live shows each day - we watched a grad student give a very educational live science show about energy complete with explosions and bad, bad jokes, as well as a lecture about Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The mainstay exhibit of the Miami Science Museum is its "Energy Tracker" exhibit. This is a series of exhibits that demonstrate various energy concepts - kids and kids at heart (like us!) can follow along and try to identify which types of energy are at work in each exhibit - e.g. chemical, kinetic, thermal, solar, light, and so on. Our personal favorite was the "Human YoYo". This awesome device allows you to launch yourself 10 feet in the air using essentially a spring coil that you wind by yanking down on a rope! It takes a little while to get the technique down, but once you do, it's pretty fun.
As fun as the "Human YoYo" is, the featured exhibit was even more fun. It's called the "Cabaret Mechanical Theater", and it's made up of a large collection of little mechanical structures that use levers, gears, and pulleys to create an amusing moving statue. See the video below!
I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to "MiamiSci", and am eagerly looking forward to their grand opening in their new location!
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Vacation 2010 Part IV: Glaciers and Landfall
The last several days of the cruise were spent completely on the seas with prime opportunities for glacier viewing. The primary sites we stopped at were Glacier Bay and College Fjords - two long stretches of water between the North American continent and various ice-capped islands.
Glacier Bay also afforded us the first major National Park Junior Ranger opportunities. Sure, we had gotten some stamps for our National Park passports during our travels through the Tongass National Forest whilst on the cruise, but this was our first real chance to get the coveted Junior Ranger Badge here in Alaska. Since Alaska has among the highest number of National Parks in the United States, we would get several more chances later, but Glacier Bay was unique not only because it was our first Alaskan badge, but also because this was the first National Park we'd been to where the park office actually came to us! That's right, early in the morning, several park rangers from Glacier Bay National Park actually boarded our ship, the Beautiful Diamond Princess, to guide us as we floated by the mighty glaciers.
We also got to see glaciers "calving", which is when pieces of the glacier break off the main mountain of ice. Calving is a pretty impressive spectacle - both for the eyes and for the ears. You can hear the ice cracking and see huge chunks of glacier crashing into the water below. The blue color of the glaciers, I'm told, is due to the intense density of the ice - compressed so much that only blue light is able to be seen.
Early the next day (the last full day of the cruise), we headed on our way to College Fjords, another set of glaciers. But first, the head chef and the Maitre'd of the ship put on a fun cooking show and gave a tour of the galley of the ship, where over 3000 crew and passengers are served multiple meals a day, every day!
After the tour, we played a little mini golf in the upper deck:
Finally, we arrived at Glacier Bay to take our final shots with the ocean dwelling glaciers before we headed inland in Alaska.
With that, after seven days at sea, our cruise had come to an end. We made landfall in the great Alaskan city of Whittier (which has a population of just triple digits but is home to a hotel and a Chinese restaurant) and made our way towards the largest city in Alaska - Anchorage.
Glacier Bay also afforded us the first major National Park Junior Ranger opportunities. Sure, we had gotten some stamps for our National Park passports during our travels through the Tongass National Forest whilst on the cruise, but this was our first real chance to get the coveted Junior Ranger Badge here in Alaska. Since Alaska has among the highest number of National Parks in the United States, we would get several more chances later, but Glacier Bay was unique not only because it was our first Alaskan badge, but also because this was the first National Park we'd been to where the park office actually came to us! That's right, early in the morning, several park rangers from Glacier Bay National Park actually boarded our ship, the Beautiful Diamond Princess, to guide us as we floated by the mighty glaciers.
We also got to see glaciers "calving", which is when pieces of the glacier break off the main mountain of ice. Calving is a pretty impressive spectacle - both for the eyes and for the ears. You can hear the ice cracking and see huge chunks of glacier crashing into the water below. The blue color of the glaciers, I'm told, is due to the intense density of the ice - compressed so much that only blue light is able to be seen.
Early the next day (the last full day of the cruise), we headed on our way to College Fjords, another set of glaciers. But first, the head chef and the Maitre'd of the ship put on a fun cooking show and gave a tour of the galley of the ship, where over 3000 crew and passengers are served multiple meals a day, every day!
After the tour, we played a little mini golf in the upper deck:
Finally, we arrived at Glacier Bay to take our final shots with the ocean dwelling glaciers before we headed inland in Alaska.
With that, after seven days at sea, our cruise had come to an end. We made landfall in the great Alaskan city of Whittier (which has a population of just triple digits but is home to a hotel and a Chinese restaurant) and made our way towards the largest city in Alaska - Anchorage.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
And so it begins...
The 2010 College Football Season has officially started! Life has meaning once more! Aside from homeowner projects and baby-raising, that is...
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