Kearney, Nebraska - a vacation paradise!

Wow - forget Iowa. if you find yourself looking to take a fine midwest vacation this winter, why not consider lovely Kearney, Nebraska. Centrally located in the middle of nowhere along the Platte River, picturesque Kearney guarantees to deliver a true midwest experience. With nothing for 400 miles to block the wind, you can bet it'll feel like winter outside, as you stay nice and warm in your room at one of the many fine hotels here in town. Want a Super 8, Comfort Inn, Motel 6, Days Inn, or Best Western hotel experience? Well then Kearney is for you! They have several of each!

But what about fine dining? Well shoot - It doesn't get any finer than Perkins, does it?

Joking aside, if you do ever happen to find yourself with a day (or 2, as in our case) to kill in Kearney, you'd better do yourself a favor and head down to the Platte River Brewery. Adam brews up a fine selection of hand crafted brews in a cool little establishment just off Central avenue, across from the tracks. This place is solely responsible for me not going ballistic at being stuck here for two days... I can't WAIT to get the repair bill.

Lexington, NE

Here's a great riddle... What does a Jeep Cherokee transfer case (pictured here) and Lexington, Nebraska have in common? Answer: A problem with the first has led me to get to love the other, or something like that. Yes - Hank has taken a shit on me. Hopefully the problem is only a failed gasket in the transfer case. What ever it was, I coated I-80 with the transfer case fluid just seconds prior to making a high speed manouver across two lanes at 85mph to land us safely in lovely Lexington, NE. Fortunatly, Hank was properly stocked with Linenkugel's beer, lessening the blow of the mechanical failure. Also, the Vikes are IN THE PLAYOFFS as the reigning NFC North Champions, and the late game is a "Do or Die" for arch-rivals Denver and San Diego. Ho Ho! AND I don't have to drive until 2am to get home! Of course, this sucker might hit me for a grand or more in fix-it costs...

That does it... Iowa Sux!

From the Iowa DOT:

I-380: Roadway is completely covered with ice.

The roadway is completely covered with ice. Towing services are prohibited.

Real nice. Per the last post - I LOVE THIS PLACE.

Iowa.

This is a photo of Northern Iowa on Saturday.Real nice place to be this time of year. Shortly after this was taken, the snowfall picked up, whipped to a frenzy by the 30 knot winds. Dandy. Just dandy. I love this place.

Stupid Pack.

Well, what I had hoped for last night looks a lot like what is happening in the picture below, it was not to be. Rather, the stinking Bears tied the game late, and then rolled over the witless pack in OT for an uncontested field goal to win the game. Just Dandy guys. I hope you loose to Detroit next week.

GO PACK!!!

Ho HO! After a season of talking trash, the Vikes now need the Pack to destry the Bears tonight to grab a playoff slot. Knowing the sneaky pack, they'll pooch this just to spite the Purple Headed Warriors. Go Pack!

Snow in Colorado

Thanks to the State of Colorado DOT website,
I was able to do some recon on the road conditions across our lovely state this morning. This is a picture of Wolf Creek Pass north of Pagosa a short while ago. Looks nice. But what about heading north to I-70 through Grand Junction? Nice try, but no luck:

US 550 Red Mtn Pass
Existing Conditions: (sno)(icy)(snpk)
Restrictions in Place: CLOSED. Snow slide. Avalanche control crews working.
Comments: CLOSED. Snow slide. Avalanche control crews working.

Hmm - how about continuing through Pagosa straight west to I-25?

CO 17 Cumbres-La Manga passes
Existing Conditions: (icy)(snpk)
Restrictions in Place: Chains all commercial vehicles, including buses, vans 16+ capacity.
Comments: Chains all commercial vehicles, including buses, vans 16+ capacity.

Ok - we could try that. Let's see what it looks like in Pagosa:

Hmmmm - doesn't look good.

18 inches of the Fresh.

FINALLY! I kick down a month ago on a BOLD and BEAUTIFUL piece of American engineering in the form of the Ariens Model 11528 Professional grade snow blower and I am forced to WAIT 3 weeks for the first real snowfall of the year. I would curse mother nature at this point, but that's about as lucky as mooning the vicker. How real you ask? Well, 18-19" inches of champagne powder here with more than 3 feet above 10,000ft. With 6-10 inches expected here tonight and more to follow tomorrow evening, WINTER IS ON here in the San Juan Mountains!! Woooo - Hooo! Believe it or not, we grilled steaks on these last night. The light was bad, but you can see the results of my morning's handiwork with the Snow Thrower in this photo. The white thing on the left is the car. Let it be know here, once and for all, that a Ford Focus Wagon IS HANDS DOWN THE WORST @#(*&^$@%^ VEHICLE I HAVE EVER - *EVER* - had the misfortune to have had to operate in snowy conditions. How serious am I about this? $3500 ask, $3250 if you tell me you saw it here first. 2001, DOHC, Cali Car, 112,000mi, auto, Serious AZ-grade Tint, 20-inch Lorenzar's, Street-Demon engine chip, twin 18" subs, 400W Pounding stereo, blood red shag roof / platinum white pleather interrior, dice, good-runner. This here is a very tense video sequence of the action earlier today out in the driveway. I had the Ariens Model 11528 Pro grade snow thrower locked into full 2-wheel drive for *FULL POWER*, which made turning the 200+ pound thing quite a challenge. As I complete the turn and am about to commit to another thrilling run down the driveway, I am surprised (happily) to see my good buddy and neighbor approching accompanied by the vicious, yet wise, attack-dog "Ari". As it turns out, he has been wrestling with his own machine all morning, trying to get it started so that he too can experience the "thrill of battle" with the flacid white foe laying at our feet. As can be seen, I pause my endeavor, and we take council. Ari, in his wisdom, suggests that we all meet at the site of the offending machine, and focus our energies on expelling the evil newt that has obviously taken residence in the fuel line over the summer. How wise, Ari... How wise. After some poking around, we dump PURE HIGH OCTANE FUEL striaght into the cylinder, replace the plug, and hit the start button. With a quiet fury born of Thor, the god of Thunder, the Yard King roars to life, it's throaty growl echoed in our cheers, and the ferocious barks of Ari.

Vikes Route Cardinals, put The Fear on the Bears.

Don't look now, but the Vikes are playing inspired football late in December. Chicago stepped up against New Orleans on Thursday night, making the game in AZ this weekend a "must win" for the nobel Purple Headed Warriors. The team aptly accepted the challenge, pounding the hapless Cardinals in what can only be described as a brutal mob-style hit in the desert. Ho Ho! With a win this Sunday against the Falcons, Chicago's season will be over, and the Vikes can prepare to shower themselves in post-season glory. It will be a tough game, even in the Dome. I look forward to watching the match from within the borders of the Northland. Sorry mom - I'll be drinking beers at your house on Sunday! In other news, the wayward Pack continues to wallow in shame, dropping yet another game in what has turned from a bad strech of track to a season gone completely off the rails. Truly a gift of Joy in this fine holiday season.

Sunrise this morning.

Taken from my POS camera phone. Sorry about the quality. This is east over the HD mountains (the old HD Ranch) towards Pagosa Springs.

For Sale: Land Tamer Snow Cat

Hola Suckers! It's gettin' towards the time of year where ol' Lance is doing hisself a little Christmas Shopping. I bet you're wonderin' where a dude like Lance shops. We'll amigro, I'll let you in on my secret. Craigslist baby! Heeel yeah! There's more hot deals to be found there than at Pick n' Pull on "Half-off Wednesday". And just *LOOK* at what I found on the local D-Town list Ta-day! Dude - if you check the description here, you might notice that this thing COMES WITH PADDLES, MAN! I mean, this sucker FLOATS! I love the Honcho and all, but that baby would sink like a stone. This little beast has options for 8 MORE WHEELS and two different styles of track for winter trippin'! Man, I haven't been this excited about a machine since my neighbor put that for sale sign up on his '79 Ford Ranchero.

Worst Christmas Present EVER!

So I got to thinking, what would a really crap christmas present look like. After a little digging, I concluded that this CD, purchased from eBay, would be a strong contender for the WORST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER! A cat would be a close second. Seriously, 'nothing' might be a better gift than either of these things.

Guitar Hero - 'Cause you're too stupid to play real guitar

Yeah - work got me all riled up today, so a helping of "Early Grinch" is hitting the blog page. The title syas it all. I'll be the first to admit that I play terrible guitar, and that this video game is probably pretty fun. But a 'world tour'?! Please. Thast might be cool for the clown in the photo. I'll stick to late night air-guitar versions of Freebird. Rock!

College Bowl Time! - Naming rights SUCK!

While the controversy over who is really #1 in 2008 College Football, and wither Teaxs got screwed or not rages, I call your attention to the travesty that the sale of Bowl game naming rights has had on the Holiday Season. Gone are the Rose Bowl, The Sugar Bowl, and the Orange Bowl which actually gave you a clue as to who might be playing in them. In place is a bunch of corporate brand-name garbage. *Note* the Cotton Bowl has somehow managed not have some tacky corporate name added on to it's traditional moniker. Something strange is afoot in Dallas...

In no particular order, here are some of my favorites.

Navy vs Wake Forest - EAGLEBANK BOWL
HUH? Eaglebank? Must be a regional S&L with an HQ in the Cayman's or something.

South Florida vs Memphis - MAGICJACK ST. PETERSBURG BOWL
What the shit? MajickCat? Like Cat Stevens?

Rutgers vs North Carolina State - PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL
Their pizza sucks, and so does their Bowl name. Extra Cheese, please.

No. 21 Missouri at No. 23 Northwestern - VALERO ALAMO BOWL
Aye - Arribbbe, Andele, Arribbe, Vamanos! Aye!

Nevada vs Maryland - ROADY'S HUMANITARIAN BOWL
but what does it *MEAN*?

No. 24 Boston College at Vanderbilt - GAYLORD HOTELS MUSIC CITY BOWL
Awww Coach, Do we have to go play in this one?

No. 22 Ball State vs Tulsa - GMAC BOWL
I realize this is G-M-A-C, but it looks like G-Mac - perhaps a new McDonalds menu offering appealing to trendy hip-hop styled youth culture? An Apple laptop endorsed by Snoop Dog?

And my least favorite:
No. 5 USC vs No. 8 Penn State - THE ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY CITI
It's the Rose Bowl, suckers. No wonder your getting a bailout.

The Holiday Season.

Ahhh... Thanksgiving. What a great time of year. I give most thanks this year for the graceless belly-flop that the pack has taken,and the decent football that the Vikes have been putting on display. (OK, so they almost pooched it today in Detroit, but they held strong). Being alone on Thanksgiving, I headed down to my boy Chris' house for some festive celebration. This Hombre is a master chef, so I was pretty stoked on the meal we would be eating. This is the 23lb turkey that homebay had the CAJONES to do up on the grill. As always my friend, my hat is off to you. This is a great shot of me early in the afternoon explaining the multi-dimensional thoery we had in place for the grilling of the bird. The celebration was a complete success, and except for getting hit in the mouth by a snowball and the neighbors bitching to his land lord about the late-nite gunfire, everything went off without a hitch. On Friday, I decided to set up the christmas tree as a surprise for Erica. Here it is in all of its glory on Saturday morning when the sun came out. I followed this picture with a nice run, followed by a breakfast of hot coffee, biscuits, gravy, green chili, eggs, and a sour cream. Now that's good livin'.

This here is shot of the sunset down the Florida river valley on Friday night while I was coming home. Not to shabby.

Jared Allen's Mullett - in his own words.

I'll have to admit that I was a little afraid of the ferocious mullet that Vikes Defensive End Jared Allen had on display last Sunday evening when they whipped the Bears. By halftime, it looked like he had gone to the barber, refused the clippers, and had the haircut done with a beltsander. I am fully willing to excuse him for the fashion faux-pas that the haircut embodies based on the intimidating force that he brings to the Vikes line.Also, now residing in the Northland, the mullet has a sort of "hometown" flavor to it that likely endears him to all residing north of I-494. In particular, I have heard of a very popular social group, "Jared's little Allens" that has taken off up in Forest Lake. The mission statement outlines a "fanclub and social group" which in reality manifests itself as a Sunday afternoon excercise in binge drinking at the 'Little Dipper' bar & Bait Shop on the north side of Lake 2.

But what does the man himself have to say about his sense of hair style? Check out this video below.

What are they up to now? - BRIAN BOSWORTH a.k.a "The BOZ"

I don't know what got me thinking about our old boy Bosworth (aka The Boz) but once I did, I figured he was a shoe-in for this on-going joke of mine (Click the Labels link below for the rest of the posts). The Boz is seen here back in his glory days when hie played "John Stone" in the half-assed thriller "Stone Cold". This movie is so weak that it is no longer even considered for the mid-afternoon Saturday slot on USA network. Like his football career, The Boz's film career came to an abrupt end shortly after "Stone Cold" exited the theater it played in.

So what is such a fine actor as The Boz up to now, you ask? Why, good thing you did! Our friends at IMDB indicate that he has just put a wrap on a new movie starring none other than Gary Busey! With this "power duo", how could the end product cease to suck? Anyway - the movie is called, "Down and Distance". The plot is described below:

"An immature football coach's life is falling apart. Marital problems, mounting gambling debts, unemployment, two children who are distancing themselves from him and an aging father. He has the opportunity to get back to coaching college football if he can get his youth football team to win their championship game. So he breaks all the rules to make it to the finals, where he must confront an old rival with a powerhouse team and his conscience has to decide if it's about winning or fair play."

Hmm - If I didn't know who was in it, I might just geive it the benefit of the doubt. However, understanding that it stars NOT ONLY The Boz, but the illustrious (and bat-Shit Crazy) Mr. Busey, I can't help but feel that this sucker's gonna go over like a ripe fart in church.

Well done, Boz! 'A' for effort buddy!

Vikes take lead in NFC North, Shame Bears and Pack

What a great end to a great 4 day vacation. In addition to the Pack entering a nebulous late season quagmire of hopelessness and despair (seriously - they gave up 86 points in the last two weeks?!? HA!), the Vikes played a FOOTBALL game and pounded the punk Bears on national TV. This happy event puts the 7-5 Vikes on top of the NFC north with the Bears back at 6-6 and the lowly pack licking themselves at 5-7. ho Ho! The only drawback to the game was my old boy from Fargo, Jimmy Kleinsausser, getting the TD he scored called back. Also of note was the disturbing haircut on display by Jared Allen. The "Power Mullett" was truly a site to see, and will be the subject of more scrutiny here in the future. If you are so inclined, highlights of the glorious rout of the hapless bears can be seen here.