Sparks taste test

Just had a Sparks alcoholic energy drink. It's aight if you're into Red Bull tasting stuff. I'd say it tastes a little better than Red Bull. And again, it contains 6% alcohol so it's got that going for it. Wikipedia says Joose has 9% so I guess I'll test that out too.

If you feel yourself getting a little tired while you're drinking--pick up a Sparks.

Happy New Year! Beau Knows...

For your New Year enjoyment I felt obliged to provide the latest stories heard from Beau.  You Biloxi High guys will remember Beau B. (last name the same as a previous MS governor that has a reservoir named after him in Jackson) and for the rest of you I will try to paint an accurate picture of him:

• This is the guy that lived on Nunnrey's couch for a little while in San Antonio before moving in with JT for an extended stay in Tulsa earlier this decade.
• Maybe JT or Nunnrey can clarify here, but I believe he has 3 kids from 3 different mommas.
• I believe he's been married two times before, but is currently divorced (and dating someone in a long term relationship).
• He was previously a Marine and has also served in the Army.  I believe he has also had a stint as a bounty hunter.
• Beau is a good guy and at a bar he's the type of dude you would much rather have on your side since his Marine training has taught him to kill with well over 100 different methods (and that is just with a paper clip).
• Beau has certainly made it through some tough times and lived to tell about some interesting experiences.
  

Some of my favorite one-liners from Beau (and sorry if I butcher them slightly, but you get the point):

• I get laid like a sack of fertilizer.
• I gotta be careful because I just walk into a room and b!tches get pregnant.
• When you say something is "frowned upon" do you mean they poke out their bottom lip and look upset or do you mean it is against the rules (this was more acted out rather than simply said).

Last Friday night, JT called Beau and we all met up at Treasure Bay in Biloxi for drinks.  Over the course of several hours and many beers, Beau caught us up on various happenings in his life as well as others from high school.  Here are a couple of the highlights:

• Beau's ex-wife made an appearance on Dr. Phil to explain how her life had been ruined by Beau.  Not sure if Beau was invited to the show or not, but amazingly enough Dr. Phil sided with Beau on this and told the ex that she needed to let go of the anger and move on with her life or she would be alone forever.
• While catching Beau up on Nunnrey, he told us of a story from the glory days of high school football.  Biloxi High was taking on St. Augustine in the New Orleans Superdome.  While out in the huddle, Beau noticed a short, stocky fellow running out to replace one of the other lineman.  Who was the stud coming in...it was Nunnrey.  The play was called and the huddle broke.  Nunnrey lined up on the wrong side of the ball and a timeout had to be called to prevent a penalty.  Not sure if Nunnrey got to play too much more in the Superdome game.

Wishing you all the best in 2009 (especially Beau, as he could use some good luck)!

The Project Lounge

One of my favorite places to hit while in Biloxi is The Project Lounge.  It's a very dark and seedy bar on Iberville drive that is a nice place to finish up a long evening of drinking.  The bar used to have hundreds of caps lining the ceilings, but recently it appears they have redecorated and replaced the caps with hard hats.  The bar is complete with a jukebox and free popcorn.  It's a cash only establishment and they have one of the best steak sandwiches known to man.

Friday night, after drinks at Treasure Bay, we (JT, Lisa, Shey and me) headed over to The Project for dinner and to wrap up the night.  The bartender/owner/waitress came by and took our drink orders and then came back to get our food order.  We all ordered the steak sandwich and she asked each of us how we wanted the meat cooked.  Three of us opted for medium and JT went for the medium rare.  As the waitress walked away she commented that she was surprised that it was a man at the table that knows how to take his meat.  She obviously doesn't know JT very well.  By day he is a 9-volt battery tester, but by night he knows how to work the meat.

Later in the evening Shey decided to switch from beer to water and went to the bar to get one.  As she ordered, one of the shady characters sitting at the bar commented about the bar serving water.  The bartender quickly reached over the bar and slapped the shady character to put him in his place.  You gotta like a place that will get violent with it's patrons.

Lisa had been drinking 7-up and somehow or another I was tasked with getting her and Shey a refill.  When I went to the bar I asked for another 7-up (I believe it was her 3rd or 4th serving) and a water (Shey's 2nd serving).  As the bartender filled the glasses she commented, "...that is one 7-up sucking b!tch!"  I couldn't agree more.

Yuktown Highlights

For Christmas I spent Wed-Fri in Yazoo City (a.k.a. Yuktown) with Shey's family and then we headed down to Biloxi to finish out the weekend.  Here are some highlights from the Yuktown portion of the trip:

• Got to hang out with CAZPAdaGHOST (Shey's cousin) for a little while.  I am a little disappointed though...he did not have any of his CDs on hand that I could buy.
• Shey surprised me with a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas.  As she handed me the wrapped box she said I would never guess what it was.  I immediately said this is a Red Ryder BB Gun and she asked how I knew.  I'm not sure who she thinks she is dealing with, but I've seen A Christmas Story (one of the best movies ever) enough times to know what a wrapped Red Ryder BB Gun looks like.
• Shey's father took me deer hunting.  Not that big of a deal for some of you, but this is only my second time ever.  The night before Shey and her sister jokingly warned me not to shoot too big of a buck (better leave those for Daddy) or one of his pets (a couple of does that hang out and are seen almost daily).   As luck would have it, I didn't see any bucks, but I did get to see one small doe (which I did not shoot at).  
• The day before the big hunt, Shey's father let me take the rifle I would be using (.35 caliber Marlin lever-action) out to the backyard (they live in a very rural area) to do some target practice.  With my first shot I actually hit the bucket I was aiming at.  Then my next three shots missed.
• After my hunting rifle lesson ended, Shey's father then broke out the AK-47 so I could take a few shots with it.  Amazingly, I actually hit the target a couple of times. 
  

That is one crazy Asian...don't you know he's loco.  Now I'm ready for Red Dawn.

Driving Tip

We saw this vehicle while stuck in traffic near Baton Rouge on the way home last weekend.  I can appreciate the message they are trying to spread.  It wasn't helping much on that day though as we were at a complete stop.

John's New Hangout

Over the weekend Shey and I were in Biloxi driving around and checking out the rebuilding progress.  There are many landmarks that look different or are completely gone.  While on HWY 90 I was pointing out to Shey where things once stood and where various things had happened.  At one spot in particular I said I believe there used to be a gay bar that Mark went to (or had at least been to once) called Joey's on the Beach.

This made me remember a related topic that deserves a mention.  Known details are somewhat vague, but maybe John will indulge us and share more about his experience.  A few weeks ago, John and Stef were at her office holiday party somewhere in downtown Austin.  At some point after the party they were hitting some of the downtown bars and ended up at the Cockpit.  

What an interesting name for a bar.  No, it's not a bar for ex-pilots.  And it's also not a place where roosters fight.  I've not personally been, but I believe it is a bar where a bunch of bridgebuilders hang out with "great" music.  I'm not exactly sure what to think of this, but I am sure that the dudes there probably did appreciate that John is a man that likes to take care of himself with his manicures and micros.  

Thirsty anyone?

James bought me some glass beer boots (as seen in Beerfest) a while back. This year he's given me the ability to safely take Das Boots on the road with a fancy new case.

Ebinezer Scrooge

I just had a contractor leave my office in tears because I didn't award him a particular project. Now normally this wouldn't have bothered me a bit, in fact we all would have gotten a good laugh at someone who was unable to control their emotions. However, this particular guy has bid repeatedly and been unsuccessful each time. As he was leaving he stopped turned around and with a tear in his eye said, "Merry Christmas". How am I supposed to respond to that?

After taking a moment to reflect on things, have I become Scrooge? Here's someone who was depending on this job to get by, particullary with the construction market the way it currently is and all I am worried about is meeting schedules and budgets. Now don't get me wrong, I feel fortunate to be in the position that I am in and the only way to get noticed in my business to meet schedules and pinch pennies, so I gotta do what I gotta do, this just made me feel like a dick.

Now I think I know what Les and all the other bleeding heart liberals feel like on a daily basis... good thing the feeling passed quickly.

Sailed into the sunset...

JT called to let me know that Capt Bob (JT's step father) passed away last night and is now sailing into the sunset. Thought I'd share a few memories....

I'll never forget Capt Bob introducing me Bananas Foster (still my favorite to this day).

Watching him sleep with a Winston hanging from his lip wondering if he could actually get thru the entire cig without the ash breaking free.

Capt Bob sailing us to the Bahamas for our senior trip and putting up with 6 punk ass teenage boys. As long as we kept him in steady supply of cold Kalik beer.

Knowing that after 4 years of high school and untold cases of beer that J and I lifted from his supply Capt Bob never once complained.

You will be missed....

Are you supposed to do that?

What little golf ability I had seems to have disappeared after Aaron left town, but at least I stayed on the cart path today.

Last minute gift ideas

1. Burger King Flame: Whopper Body Spray

Keeping the story alive

You may recall the origin of Nunnrey's other alias, the Chicken Lover. Just in case here is a small recap. Back in 2000, while I was living with boy Shay in Flowood (outside of Jackson, MS) there was a weekend when JT, Nunnrey, John came in town to visit for a weekend.

The night started off at the apartment and John was trying to get in touch with another high school friend known as The Dr. Come to find out The Dr. actually lived in the same apartment complex as me. After The Dr. and John got their bearings they figured out they were actually looking at each other on balconies across the parking lot.

The Dr. came over to have some drinks with us and reminisced that some African-American gentlemen used to live in my apartment before us. He went on to explain that they had this large, red couch that he could see from his apartment. At that point boy Shay interjected that this was actually his old couch. After The Dr. took his foot out of his mouth we all had a good laugh.  While I don't actually remember seeing the red couch I will never forget it.

Next, we all headed out to get our grub on at Outback Steakhouse.  While I know the name is misleading, this is actually a restaurant that specializes in steaks.  I seem to recall that we had a rather large party that included a couple of females.  When the food started coming out I can remember the waitstaff calling out entree names so that each of us could claim it.  I distinctly remember both females having some sort of beef related dish.

Somewhere along the line we heard Alice Springs Chicken being called out.  I believe the music must have come to a screeching halt as everyone around our table looked up to see who ordered the chicken.  While Nunnrey will tell you now that they messed up his order it was indeed what he had asked for and a new nickname was born.  We salute you Mr. Chicken Lover.

Fast forward 8 years to present time.  Earlier this month I was placing an order to Omaha Steaks.  My wife chimed in with a money idea, "How about you order some chicken from there for Nunnrey for Christmas?"  What a genius idea.  So I went ahead and placed a gift order for Nunnrey so he would receive some of the finest marinated chicken breasts from Omaha Steaks.

That package arrived this week and I received the following text message from Nunnrey:

Hahahha you fools... You ordered chicken and ham from omaha 'steaks'... What a bunch of morons!

Note: The ham he is referring to came free with every delivery.

Anyway, I thought it was an appropriate gift for the Chicken Lover.  Maybe he'll cook us up some chicken fajitas with it the next time we visit.

The Exorcist Steps

Was in and around Georgetown and DC earlier this week for work.  One notable site I saw this time is the staircase leading down to M Street that is shown in The Exorcist.  As you can imagine, I did not climb them.  It was a cold and raining, not to mention I don't think there was an ambulance waiting for me at the top had I tried.

Asians and Airports

What's up with Asians at airports wearing those surgical masks? I must have missed that day on Asian training day. I see that somewhat frequently and it sort of creeps me out. Don't like it at all.

What's the Holdup?

I think there are a few things somewhat behind schedule from being posted here:

• Mark, where are your pics and stories from India?  Not very often someone from this group arrives in a foreign city the day after a terrorist attack ends.  Let's hear about it.
• Michael, did you make it out to The Playboy Mansion?  That camera is like an extension of your hand...you know we need some pics.  If you didn't make it out there then there better be a good story as to why not.
• Mark, when you gonna share some pics of your Biloxi mansion?  I'll get John to send his mother-in-law over there with a list of HOA problems if you don't.

And congrats out to Aaron.  He has a new boy as of last week.

ha ha

MSU Coach

From MStateAthletics.com:

December 10, 2008

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Mississippi State athletic department has announced plans to introduce its 32nd head football coach on Thursday, December 11. The initial event will be held at 10 a.m. in the Templeton Athletic Academic Center.  Doors will open at 9 a.m.

 

The fan event will feature the new head coach, interim president Dr. Roy Ruby and director of athletics Greg Byrne, and will be followed by a press conference.

 

After the Starkville event, Byrne and the new head coach will are tentatively scheduled to attend events around the state of Mississippi, and those plans will be announced when finalized.

Sounds like ESPN and all of the bloggers agree that it's going to be Dan Mullen, the offensive coordinator from Florida.  Sounds good to me...anyone have any interesting insight or problems with that?

Greg Byrne Wikipedia Page

Was looking at Greg Byrne's Wikipedia page and it's entertaining.  I took a screen shot just in case someone edits out the good part.  Here is the excerpt I'm talking about:

Byrne is the current athletics director. On July 1, 2008. On June 7, 2008, Byrne hired John Cohen to replace Ron Polk, who retired in March. Polk, who endorsed his assistant Tommy Raffo upon his retirement, protested the hire, and called Byrne unqualified. However, Polk had only underestimated the greatness that is Greg Byrne. It has been rumored that Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer wear Greg Byrne pajamas.

Ryder, beware of...

Four women in a white suburban that look like they've been eating a lot of McDonald's.

Women sought in Sixth Street abductions

Police say they are looking for four women suspected of abducting men on Sixth Street, stealing their credit or debit cards and running up the bills on those cards by buying as much as $3,000 worth of gift cards and other items at stores such as Wal-Mart, McDonald's and Walgreens.

Police have not released detailed descriptions or photographs of the suspects, or the victims' names.

Austin Police Department Sgt. Justin Newsom said that the women's three victims reported they were picked up in a white Suburban and awoke later with little memory of what else had occurred.

He said that one man said he was robbed Sept. 20 and the other two men on Oct. 18.

Newsom said that two of the men woke up in a hotel parking lot. The other was "kicked out of the van" and his wallet was taken, Newsom said. He said that all of the victims reported that they had been drugged, but that "there is no actual evidence of that."

More coach stuff

Think Auburn's search hurts us any, or they aiming higher than we are?

For you high rollers

The Black Card awaits.

What is JT Hiding?

From FOXNews.com:

Dozens of young Somali men in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area have disappeared in recent months, causing community members and U.S. intelligence officials to fear that they are joining jihadist groups in Somalia.

What sort of operation are you running up there, JT?  I know you used to drive that one guy around in college so he could run his "errands", but have you now escalated your role?  I don't like it at all.  Shouldn't yall be busy making garden gnomes and helping Santa get ready for Christmas?

Pawn Shopping

Holiday pawning is popular according to News 8 Austin:

"We have bracelets, earrings, rings, men's, women's, children's, watches, Rolexes, TVs, CDs, DVDs, computers, tools, guns," Vargas said.

The staff of Action Pawn in Round Rock said their store rarely finds itself this well-stocked. They said they've had an 11 percent increase in loans.

"It's been busy as far as sales and as far as people needing a little extra money to make it through the week. With the holidays ... to have an unexpected family member to stop by. So they need money for extra groceries or gas," Vargas said.

I think I know a couple of people that made a living in college by selling goods to pawn shops.  

Any of you guys ever buy jewelry from a pawn shop?  You ain't gots to lie.