Oysters for CHKD

Crackerz has a friend who convinced us to give a little and go to an oyster roast fund raiser to support the Childrens Hospital for the Kings Daughters. A good thing to support. Anyhow us Chandy, her husband Keith and our good friend and neighbor Ann ate and drank our fair share a the Norfolk Boat club. A good deal on a chilly night! My personal favorite was the New Brunswick Stew. Good stuff.
As how it was a tad bit on the chilly side we decided to hoof it down the street to O'sullivans warf for an after snack cold and frosty warm up. Good thing to because the Michigan game was being televised. I was happy. A cold brew or two and it was decided that we should head on down to Cogans for a slice of pizza and some more beer. Glad JJ was driving, for the pizza was good and the beer even better. I think we all had a good time, even though I was in rare form when it came to the sick and twisted side of Nutz. No excuse really, was just having a good time. Hopefully I did not stroke anyone the wrong way?

Nutz and Crackerz Storm the Rockies.

In their most recent attempt to flee the ravages of Mother Nature, IE hurricane Wilma, Nutz and Crackerz headed west young man for the slopes in the American West.  Well ok, not really to avoid a hurricane and not really to go skiing. However skiing would have been fun, unfortunately none of the slopes are to open in the Denver area for a couple of more weeks. 

The purpose of our voyage across our great continent was to allow the Cracker to impress her bosses at a technology conference.  As Nutz was just a tag along, I think it was more of a beer and wine tasting trip then anything else.  Yes we did imbibe a little in the Denver area but why not.  We had a good time.  However what should prevent us from having a good time?

Ok, a little rundown of our time line.  We left the Tidewater on Saturday morning and by the magic of not so modern science we were in Denver by dinner time.  Amazing what technology can do for you.  We got the rental car, loaded up our gear and headed downtown to enjoy all the fun that Denver had to offer.  We had a good time on Saturday night and did not get too stupid.  Crackerz ahs some issues with time zones so that was a bit of a self inflicted handy cap on our drinking time. 

 

Sunday we were off and running looking for a good, western Sunday brunch.  The $39 champagne brunch at the brown shoe hotel down the street was bit out of our budgetary allotment so we settled on the drag queen hangout of Bump and Grind.  A decent joint if you are into trannies.  We enjoyed the walk for our hotel and we also enjoyed the food.  Although I did not tell Crackerz that I found a “cobra” in my eggs.. She might not have finished her meal.

 

Sunday ended where it started, in bed.  Crackerz was once again comatose before I was.  Go figure.  She had a busy day of hob-knobbing with people from around the continent who were here for the conference. I of course took the time to read, watch some football, take a nap and most importantly check out the hotels hot tub.  A great day, go Lions!

 

Monday, of course Crackerz had to go off to her coffee tasting activities.  After dropping Crackerz off at the convention center, I was free of her oppressive dictatorship and made a run for the hills, specifically the hills where my roots and family could be found, Nederland.  Nederland Colorado, that is.  The inhabitants here are not the tall, blond hair,

Blue eyed, big boobied brethren of the mini country of Holland but the wasted refuse of the folks who could not live in Boulder Colorado because of the tremendous amount of liberalism and illicit pharmaceuticals available in that city.  Actually my day was pretty good, a nice drive through Boulder and a ride through the mountains.  I even stopped at the Boulder creek waterfall for a quick picture on my way up hill.

As how I was out the door of the hotel early, and the only thing keeping my engine going was the five cups of coffee consumed while driving around, I was a bit hungry.  Bt the time I got to the apex of Colorado Route 119 I was a bit hungry and the town of Nederland and the day deserved a bit of a visit.  So with a cup of coffee and a coffee cake I sat on the back patio of the little “railcar” café and enjoyed the western sun while overlooking the mountains and a man made lake. 

Needing to get home, I continued on my great circle tour of route 119 and eventually wound up in the town of Golden.  This is of course after coming down the mountains through the town of Black Hawk where it should be noted numerous gaming facilities are available. 

As how I was now in the home of the Silver Bullet, I decided I needed to see where the bullet was made.  So it was off to the Coors brewery and sampling facility.  My hat is off to the Coors Family.  Budweiser sucks, especially those brewers who do not provide free samples at the end of their tours.  The Coors tour although a little disappointing from my point of view as a person who digs industry was great.  At the end of the tour we, the folks on the tour got three free samples of their beer.  Yum, note to the wise, eat some grub before you go on tour.  I needed to stroll thought Golden and get a slice of Pizza to soak up y barley and Hops before getting back into the auto for the short drive along US 6 to Denver.

Dinner on Monday night was started by hors-d-overs and free drinks in the basement of our hotel where Crackerz introduced me to many of here new found friends.  Lots of new found male friends by the way. After having our fill it was of to a joint called the “Brokers”, which was a restaurant in the bottom of an old bank.  A nice little place however I would not recommend the Fillet Mignon,  A little dry and a little over priced, however the rest of the meal was great for an all inclusive joint were the free appetizer is a gigantic bowl of boiled shrimp.

I of course made the evening interesting with unyielding commentary of the vulgar kind.

 

Tuesday was a brand new day I wanted it to make some cents.  So Crackerz walked me down the street to the little café where I was able to get some morning grub before going to the Mint. Here is a little known fact of trivia Americana, did you know that the US Mints are one of the few profit centers in the US Government?  How is this you might ask?  Well we all know how much a nickel cost?  5 cents.  Well it only costs the mint 4.5 cents to make a nickel.  As how they, the mint sells them for 5 cents, they make .5 cents profit.  The mint makes lots of nickels however they make even more cents.  Pennies that is for you who choose to live by some terms left over from the revolution.  The tour of the mint was pretty neat and I did get a few Denver coins for my US state quarter collection.  However these items I picked up at other places.

 

Not having my fill of fun and adventure I decided to take a short drive to the Cherry Creek Mall for a little shopping.  I was actually on a mission to find some new shower shoes for the boat, my Addidas sandals are coming apart and I am tired of gluing them back together…Anyhow crocs are like clogs however they are quite soft and comfortable, additionally they are made out of rubber so they can be warn in the shower.  I think I might need to by stock in the company when they have their IPO like I should have purchased google at their IPO which is now trading at $300+ a share. 

 

After having bought what I was looking for, and of course touring the mall it was back to the hotel to read a little then wait for my darling wife to arrive so we could go exploring.  She did and we did.  I took her up to Black Hawk and the gaming facilities where she promptly one $40 then promptly lost her winnings and $15 dollars more.  Always good to give to the Indians.  We drove back down from the mountains taking a few pictures along the way.  A pretty ride and we both commented on how if we had to we could live in the Denver area for a while.

Dinner was at the old spaghetti factory and of course early to bed.  I did finish my Oliver North book Assassins.  A good read that could be very true and very scary.  Just makes me want to press home the point even more that the way of doing things in the past is a whole lot different then the way things need to be done in the future.  Thinking out side the box that is. 

 

So here it is Wednesday, we are back on the plane heading east. Hopefully we will be back in town for me to get some errands done around the house like cut the grass or something like that.  Denver was fun and hopefully we will be back some time soon to have some winter fun.

More Excitment in OV

Ok, so the neighbors are getting restless and started torching cars! The guy who owns this was looking for some carma! Well his carma is now a carflame! What a weenie!
Sony Magic

Nutz Goes to the Big Apple

Well not really but i did stay at a Holiday Inn Express in Bridgeport Connecticut. Well not even a Holiday Inn Express, but it was a Holiday Inn which was incedentlly located in the hood! The purpose for my stay was to sign for and deliver a brand spankin new helicopter from the Sikorsky factory. This is pretty cool. Anyhow the day began as a late night phone call asking if I would be interested in making the trip? Well I was and so I did. That is of course after I got the head nod from the wife.
A good trip and of course after signing for the aircraft we, Jon Kelley and PO McCullom my crew took the requisite trip west along Long Island sound. We crossed the easten Bourhoughs then turned south down the Hudson. I can say I have flown the Hudson and sailed the Hudson. Flying is quite unique however under sail allows one to really take in all that is to be offered.
We did a couple of laps around lady liberty then boogied over the Varizzano Narrows bridge to Sandy Hook, hugging the coast line all the way to Atlantic City for a quick drink of fuel.
I zapped a few coastie helos, even zapped an HH-65 in the cabin, pretty cool. I also bumped into a Coastie whom was aboard the mighty IWO down in New Orleans. I forgot his name a commander type. Good guy though.

We got our gas and proceded south across the mouth of the Delaware Bay and of course over Dewey Beach! Cool. The trip home was uneventful I Did get a chance to make one last pass over the house and along the beach back to the helport. Not a bad last flight if this was to be my last flight. A good ride!

Tell the Sierra Club about your fuel bill!

Talking about drilling for crude and gas off the VA Coast...

 

Don't let the little guy dictate your future!!

 

"We've drilled our way into our energy problems," said Michael Town, director of the Sierra Club's Virginia chapter. "We're not going to drill our way out."
Michael.town@sierraclub.org

 

Go John Warner & Thelma Drake:

"The events of the past month along the Gulf Coast have thrust the issue of energy supplies back into the spotlight," said Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., who reintroduced a bill this month to exempt willing states from the moratorium.

 

"People understand what they're paying for natural gas, and they want us to fix the problem," said Rep. Thelma Drake, R-Norfolk, a committee member who voted for the bill."

 

After all the Tidewater is going to need some new job opportunities for when Oceana closes and takes 30,000 people to J-Ville

 

One More Swing at the Proverbial Wedge.

Some interesting things to point out here with respect to the recent riots in Toledo. 

 

1. Not one Neo-Nazi good old boy was hurt by stones thrown by the angry mob.

2. The Rioters threw stones at their police and public safety officials.

3. The Rioters only damaged and destroyed their own community.

 

And best of all, a quote from a mother of one of the rioters. 

 

A woman whose two sons face felony charges says "they weren't thinking."

 

The great thing about America is that you can pretty much "say" whatever you want, however the people have the choice to listen to what you want to say.  Think about that before you stone the bubba on the pedestal

Vino Bash

Some of you may have heard and some of you were in attendance this past Saturday at Towne Point park in sunny Norfolk for the 18^th annual wine festival. Well Crackerz and I went however we were not alone. We took a doctor, an upholsterer, a disaster recovery expert, a jar head and a shrink! So with this conglomerate of individuals, one can only imagine how much fun was had. If the consumption of aged grape juice is any indication, well we consumed about a gallon a piece. Good times.. I would be remiss if I did not mention our liberal friends who were there as well. Actually these left wingers were the catalyst of the operation. Pete and Madonna, actually Madonna is the left winger however that just makes the conversations that much more interesting. Yeah though I have digressed.

Anyhow it was a good time and a great opportunity to see old friends and meet new ones.

The wine was not too shabby either. Of the two wine festivals I have atteneded here, I would recommend the Norfolk, vice the Virginia Beach fest. However it is up to you to make the call.

For the Asses on the Road

A recent discussion of driving while drinking some beer prompted me to find this stuff... Mind you I did my drinking first then let the wife lead off with the driving..

The point I am trying to emphasize here is that if you are an asshole you also burn more gas which in turn costs more money!  Don't be an asshole!

 

How to Drive Economically

1. Slow down when possible - driving 55 mph can save up to 10% on gas mileage vs. driving 65 - 70 mph. This is due to wind resistance.

2. If your car has an overdrive gear, use it. Traveling at fast rates in low gears can consume up to 45% more fuel than is needed.

3. Manual shift driven cars allow you to change to highest gear as soon as possible, thereby letting you save gas if you "nurse it along". However, if you cause the engine to "bog down", premature wearing of engine parts occurs.

4. Keep windows closed when traveling at highway speeds. Open windows cause air drag, reducing your mileage by 10%.

5. Drive steadily. Slowing down or speeding up wastes fuel. Also avoid tailgating - the driver in front of you is unpredictable. Not only is it unsafe, but if affects your economy, if he slows down unexpectedly.

6. Think ahead when approaching hills. If you accelerate, do it before you reach the hill, not while you're on it.

7. Think ahead at stop signs and stop lights - no need to race up to a red lights and merges and then jam on the brakes to slow down. Plan to slow down before the light and merge before you have to!. If you can slow down soon enough to not have to stop at the light, you can save quite a bit a fuel versus starting from a standing start.

8. Stoplights are usually timed for your motoring advantage. By traveling steadily at the legal speed limit you boost your chances of having the "green light" all the way.

9. Regular tune-ups ensure best economy; check owner's manual for recommended maintenance intervals. Special attention should be given to maintaining clean air filters... diminished air flow increases gas waste.

10. Remove snow tires during good weather seasons; traveling on deep tire tread really robs fuel!

11. Inflate all tires to maximum limit. For each pound of pressure the tire is under inflated, you consume about 1% more fuel. Make sure you carry in your car an accurate tire gauge and know what the pressure should be. Check your tires at least twice a month and always before, during and after long trips.

12. Remove excess weight from trunk or inside of car - extra tires, back seats, unnecessary heavy parts. Extra weight reduces mileage, especially when driving up inclines.

13. During cold weather watch for icicles frozen to car frame. Up to 100 lbs. can be quickly accumulated! Accumulated snow and ice cause tremendous wind resistance. Try and keep your car clean at the carwash when possible..

14. Avoid using roof top carriers - they can cause serious drag on the car and lessen your mileage by up to 15%. Pack it in or leave in behind.

OV Crime Beat!

Beach man wanted for killing outside OV club
A Virginia Beach man is wanted for a killing outside a Norfolk nightclub.
21-year-old Kaief L. Cooper was killed about 2:00 a.m. Saturday during an argument in the parking lot of the Platinum Club on E. Ocean View Avenue.
Investigators on Monday secured warrants for murder and use of a firearm for Glenn S. Sanderlin, 21. Police say he's armed and dangerous.

Oh and dont want to forget about the hit and run!!
Norfolk police are on the lookout for a driver they say hit a 36-year old man Sunday night then fled the scene.
The incident happened around 10:00pm near East Ocean View Avenue and 3rd Bay Street.The victim was rushed to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Officials have not released the identity of the victim, but are looking for a late 90's model red Chevrolet Cavalier. The suspect vehicle should have extensive front end damage.
Anyone with information that may help authorities in their investigation is asked to call the Crimeline at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.

As a side bar, yesterday the phone pole in our yard was replaced! About time!