The countdown has begun. You've got exactly 28 days to grab your mug, drinking glove, and funky hat. Oktoberfest 2007 is almost amongst us! If China couldn't keep me away, nothing will!
Not sure who all is in this year, but from talking to some of you, it sounds like we'll have a good sized crowd. And best of all, Derek and Nicole will be back in town! Now, about those drums...
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Everything On A Stick
On Thursday, Kelsey and I decided to attend the Great Minnesota Get Together, aka The MN State Fair. If it's known for anything (and I'm sure it is), it's for having food on a stick. This year I took pictures of the food we ate, and all the things available in stick form. Unfortunately, I forgot the impressive Deep Fried Candybar On A Stick. I have tried this, and it's overwhelming. The sweetness, it simply numbs you. Not unlike Jimmy Eat World.
We didn't eat all the food below, but did gorge ourselves silly. My favorite on the night? I'm a 'Sconi, so probably the cheese curds. Although the corn was also excellent. Least fav? The crappy gyro I had to finish the night. The Pronto Pup was also underwhelming. I know, blasphemy.
We didn't eat all the food below, but did gorge ourselves silly. My favorite on the night? I'm a 'Sconi, so probably the cheese curds. Although the corn was also excellent. Least fav? The crappy gyro I had to finish the night. The Pronto Pup was also underwhelming. I know, blasphemy.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
2007 AGRA Fantasy Football
The 2007 AGRA Fantasy Football league is now in play! As always, the draft featured lots of smack talking. With 5 teams in attendance at my house, we had the largest draft party. Hopefully next year we'll all be in one location. This was our first year with a keeper, which added a new angle to the entire process. I was also drafting 12th (out of 12), which also makes things a bit mroe difficult. How's my team this year?
Here's the party. Shooter's Showgirls, Dirtcutters, Youngstown Yeah Baby's, and Sniffer's Row GM's all in attendance.
The Commish (and Whitetrash GM) was available via Skype.
One rule was the worst pick of each round had to do a shot. In our league, that's Moutai. Retched, retched, Moutai.
The 'after' pictures are always the best. Good luck to all!
- Edgerrin James
- Maurice Jones-Drew
- Jon Kitna
- T.J. Houshmandzadeh
- Todd Heap
- Vincent Jackson
- Deion Branch
- Michael Turner
- Brandon Jacobs (keeper from 2006)
- Greg Jennings
- Jason Elam
- DST Packers
Here's the party. Shooter's Showgirls, Dirtcutters, Youngstown Yeah Baby's, and Sniffer's Row GM's all in attendance.
The Commish (and Whitetrash GM) was available via Skype.
One rule was the worst pick of each round had to do a shot. In our league, that's Moutai. Retched, retched, Moutai.
The 'after' pictures are always the best. Good luck to all!
Car Porn
Sunday morning I went to the Wheels of Italy car show at Lake Calhoun. It was a fantastic day for a little car porn. Obviously, it was an Italian focused show, with a larger number of Ferraris being show. But there were other beautiful machines as well.
There weren't many Lamborghinis on site, but this Diablo caught my eye. The first thing you notice about this car (as well as many others), is just how LOW to the ground it is. It looks like your butt is literally 3-4 inches off the ground. The seats are very thin and reclined. Of course, the Diablo has those awesome scissor doors.
Many of the Ferraris were very recent 360 and 430 models. But those aren't so interesting to me. Any rich person can buy one of those. It takes a certain kind of madman to buy a vintage Italian car.
This car reminds me of the 250GT California in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I'm certainly no Ferrari pro, so I have a hard time telling what model they all are.
Many of the cars see actual use, including racing, as the next two show.
This was easily my favorite vintage Ferrari. A 250 GT SWB, fully race ready.
Six Weber carbs on the V12.
Next I wandered into the slightly more modern GTs. The Testarossa was every boy's dream in the 80s. They used real gold foil to shield the engine cover from the flat 12's enormous heat. 5 liters and over 380 hp. Doesn't sound nearly as impressive these days, with run-of-the-mill Nissans putting down 300 hp without sweating.
But no Nissan leaves people with a view like this!
Next came the "junior" Ferraris. This was led off with a Dino. Not even labeled as a Ferrari when new, it was named after Enzo Ferrari's son. The Dino 246 eventually paved the way for the most popular Ferrari of the late 70s/early 80s.
The Ferrari 308. Would Magnum P.I. have been a hit show without this car? Probably not. One of my all time favorite cars, just dead sexy body. Although I always felt the targa top of the GTS model took away the clean lines.
Here's what it should be. A 1976 308GTB. Fiberglass body. Weber carbs. 255 tempermental horsepower. This specific vehicle was for sale, but without a price. Given that it's the first year, in nearly perfect condition, it's probably a bit pricey.
There were also a few Italian bikes on the premises. Aprilias, Moto Guzzis, and of course, Ducatis. Here's a Moto Guzzi cafe racer. The sideways V twin was always a weird design choice to me.
Everyone respects a Ducati.
Being an engineer, I love the fact that Ducati uses a desmodromic engine. What's that mean? There are no valve springs. The valves open and close by mechanical action.
Still in the Italian car section is the DeTomaso collection. Whether they belong there or not is a debatable point. Take beautiful Italian styling, add in good old American horsepower, and you should have the best of both worlds, right? The Mangusta was DeTomaso's first attempt. Meant to battle Shelby's Cobra, DeTomaso's naming was very much intentional.
Although the Mangusta was not a sales success, DeTomaso tried again, partnering with Ford to bring us the Pantera. A Ford 351 was the stock engine. 
Now, despite being the Wheels of Italy show, there were some non-Italian cars too. Although a few tried to pass themselves off as Italian purebread.
A stunning British example, an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. James Bond would be happy.
And the most unexpected showing, a Porsche Carrera GT. With a 5.7 liter V10 that was originally designed for racing, it sounded awesome! Each blip of the throttle ripped thru the crowd.
There weren't many Lamborghinis on site, but this Diablo caught my eye. The first thing you notice about this car (as well as many others), is just how LOW to the ground it is. It looks like your butt is literally 3-4 inches off the ground. The seats are very thin and reclined. Of course, the Diablo has those awesome scissor doors.
Many of the Ferraris were very recent 360 and 430 models. But those aren't so interesting to me. Any rich person can buy one of those. It takes a certain kind of madman to buy a vintage Italian car.
This car reminds me of the 250GT California in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I'm certainly no Ferrari pro, so I have a hard time telling what model they all are.
Many of the cars see actual use, including racing, as the next two show.
This was easily my favorite vintage Ferrari. A 250 GT SWB, fully race ready.
Six Weber carbs on the V12.
Next I wandered into the slightly more modern GTs. The Testarossa was every boy's dream in the 80s. They used real gold foil to shield the engine cover from the flat 12's enormous heat. 5 liters and over 380 hp. Doesn't sound nearly as impressive these days, with run-of-the-mill Nissans putting down 300 hp without sweating.
But no Nissan leaves people with a view like this!
Next came the "junior" Ferraris. This was led off with a Dino. Not even labeled as a Ferrari when new, it was named after Enzo Ferrari's son. The Dino 246 eventually paved the way for the most popular Ferrari of the late 70s/early 80s.
The Ferrari 308. Would Magnum P.I. have been a hit show without this car? Probably not. One of my all time favorite cars, just dead sexy body. Although I always felt the targa top of the GTS model took away the clean lines.
Here's what it should be. A 1976 308GTB. Fiberglass body. Weber carbs. 255 tempermental horsepower. This specific vehicle was for sale, but without a price. Given that it's the first year, in nearly perfect condition, it's probably a bit pricey.
There were also a few Italian bikes on the premises. Aprilias, Moto Guzzis, and of course, Ducatis. Here's a Moto Guzzi cafe racer. The sideways V twin was always a weird design choice to me.
Everyone respects a Ducati.
Being an engineer, I love the fact that Ducati uses a desmodromic engine. What's that mean? There are no valve springs. The valves open and close by mechanical action.
Still in the Italian car section is the DeTomaso collection. Whether they belong there or not is a debatable point. Take beautiful Italian styling, add in good old American horsepower, and you should have the best of both worlds, right? The Mangusta was DeTomaso's first attempt. Meant to battle Shelby's Cobra, DeTomaso's naming was very much intentional.
Although the Mangusta was not a sales success, DeTomaso tried again, partnering with Ford to bring us the Pantera. A Ford 351 was the stock engine. 
Now, despite being the Wheels of Italy show, there were some non-Italian cars too. Although a few tried to pass themselves off as Italian purebread.
A stunning British example, an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. James Bond would be happy.
And the most unexpected showing, a Porsche Carrera GT. With a 5.7 liter V10 that was originally designed for racing, it sounded awesome! Each blip of the throttle ripped thru the crowd.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Not Going Away
I thought I'd give a little update here. I'm sure many of you may have heard that I was investigating a relocation. For those of you that didn't hear, I was investigating a relocation. I was interested in a position with my current employer, but located in Nashville, TN. I even went down to interview, and was pretty impressed. Nashville seems like a nice place, and the weather sure is better.
Unfortunately, in the end, I just felt that the position itself was not necessarily the best option. My chances of success in the role seemed to be limited, and the role itself covered the entire Nashville District, from Mobile, AL to Lexington, KY. Instead I'll be staying in the MSP area for a while longer.
Unfortunately, in the end, I just felt that the position itself was not necessarily the best option. My chances of success in the role seemed to be limited, and the role itself covered the entire Nashville District, from Mobile, AL to Lexington, KY. Instead I'll be staying in the MSP area for a while longer.
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