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    Sunday, May 31, 2009

    Trip to Cedar Point: Cincinnati

    Yesterday, my 13 (soon to be 14) year old daughter and I completed a 1500 mile, 4-day venture to Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio, with a stopover in Cincinnati.

    For those who are roller coaster fans, Cedar Point is probably the US destination with the highest concentration of roller coasters, and some of the largest in the country. Since we're pretty much bored with the local Six Flags over Georgia offerings, we decided the trek would be a fun way to cap off the school year, and semi-celebrate a birthday (hers) as well.

    With an eye on the weather, we left Wednesday, headed for Cincinnati, the goal being to make it their in time to check into our hotel (The Hyatt Regency) and walk to Great American Ballpark for the Reds vs. Astros game. Despite rainy travel on Wednesday, we made the 7+ hour trip in plenty of time to check-in, swim for a bit, watch the rain taper off, and head to the game, where the skies parted, and we enjoyed a victory for the home team. GABP lived up to its reputation as a hitter friendly park, with 3 homers hit by the Reds, 2 by star player (and Braves-killer) Jay Bruce. For baseball fans, his two homers would not have cleared the fences in most other parks.

    It's a great place to see a game, and students get in for half price, and, military receive free admission to outfield reserved seats (not sure if that was a Memorial Day week promotion or always available), so we got in for $7. They also offer a meal deal of a hot dog, coke, chips, and a snack for $7, so, for $21, we got admission to a major league baseball game, and dinner! If you know of other great ballpark deals let me know - this one would be hard to top.

    The Hyatt was reasonably priced for an upper-end, downtown hotel, but I have a couple of complaints:
    1. Why these higher end hotels can not seem to offer free wi-fi in their rooms, or in the Hyatt's case, wired access, is beyond me. You're already charging a premium, get with the program. When Microtel offers free wi-fi, you can, too.
    2. After the game, we wanted to grab a quick snack in the hotel sports bar. Apparently, we weren't good enough customers to be waited on, so we had to forgo that experience.
    The next day, Thursday, we would be leaving early enough to arrive at Cedar Point in time to enjoy their Starlight park hours (4-8pm on this day). More on that experience in a subsequent post.

    If you're in Cincinnati for only a short time, and have the desire to see a Reds game, by all means, do. It's a new park, so all the seats are good, and it's a small park, so you'll see some offense. The location is right on the Ohio River, so you can watch the barges and pleasure boats pass by, and the fans are knowledgeable and friendly. The homeless are also well behaved, unlike some cities where they are very aggressive.

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    Monday, May 25, 2009

    101 Freedoms the Left doesn't want you to have...

    From Teh Resistance Blog comes this gem of a post, and I am glad they cleared it up, that "Once you step outside the bedroom, most every aspect of your life should be subject to the iron hand of the progressive state."

    Some of my faves:
    • The Freedom to take risks, and live with the consequences
    • The Freedom to purchase and drive an SUV or any other vehicle you choose
    • The Freedom to use your own property in whatever way that you may choose
    • The Freedom to earn a living by logging, ranching, fishing, or any other activity they don’t approve of
    • The Freedom to publicly celebrate a Christian holiday
    • The Freedom to use nuclear-powered electricty
    • The Freedom to critcize Islam
    • Your Freedom to use or produce whatever amount of harmless carbon dioxide you choose
    There are many more things the left doesn't want you to do...


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    Friday, May 22, 2009

    Idol Finale. Kris Wins (as predicted)

    As predicted (by me), Kris Allen won the title of American Idol.

    Also, if you watched Adam Lambert perform with Kiss, you know what I mean about him needing to be the singer in a rock and roll band.

    I predict big album sales from Kris, Adam, Allison, and perhaps even Danny. After seeing the finale, I think Danny might want to consider a country career.

    Meghan Corkrey still can not sing, and what was with Jorge hogging the screen time?

    Finally, Kara Dioguardi and Bikini Girl killed the G rating by having a sing-off and bikini contest. Given Kara's 38 years, I think she won both, easily.

    It was a star-studded cast, leaving me to ask - do these people really need album sales so bad that they are easily cajoled into appearing on AI?

    Congrats to Kris - hopefully that little woman of yours can handle all the fame and adulation you're about to receive, and, to Adam, now you can cover all those Bronski Beat songs I've been hoping you would sing.



    end...

    Visit this new (to me) Global Warming Skeptic's Blog

    John Blethen, PHD (physics) has a blog, Heliogenic, which you can enjoy to find interesting data and commentary to take on the Global Warming Alarmists.

    He's away for a while vacationing, but I encourage you to check our past posts.

    end...

    Wednesday, May 20, 2009

    Idol Finale!

    Last night, we saw Adam and Kris sing it off. Based on last night alone, Adam would be the winner.

    But, that's not how people vote. Kris has a loyal following, and my prediction is a Kris victory. He is much more contemporary (think Jason Mraz) and in tune with what the 12-25 year old set is listening to these days.

    Adam really would make a great front man for a rock and roll band, with his ability to belt those big vocals out and seemingly sing all night. On his own, well, he's just a tad bit weird, and androgynous.

    Dialidol.com has Kris leading, barely. They have underestimated his vote all season, so, I think he's the winner when all is said and done.

    Don't be surprised, you read it here first.

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    Wednesday, May 13, 2009

    Liberals bashing Liberals? John Stewart takes Pelosi down.

    I know thinking people knew Nancy Pelosi's various explanations for what she knew, and when she knew it, about enhanced interrogation techniques were tortured.

    Turns out, Comedy Central's John Stewart has noticed, too, and he posted this video, chronicling Nancy's ride through the torture wasteland:


    The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c
    Waffle House
    thedailyshow.com
    Daily Show
    Full Episodes
    Economic CrisisPolitical Humor


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    Ann Coulter on Carrie Prejean

    Unless you've been under a rock this week, you know that the first runner up in the Miss USA pageant (owned by perpetually bankrupt Donald Trump), Miss California, Carrie Prejean, had the audacity to hope that her views of gay marriage (shared by the Liberal Messiah, Obama) would be accepted by Liberal America, personified by the vile, stupid, vapid, and disgusting Perez Hilton (not sure I really understand how this guy came to fame, but apparently, it has something to do with drawings of penises).

    Anyway, Ann Coulter opines, as always with biting wit, in her column today on this.

    The best passage from the Conservative Liberals Most Love to Hate:

    "Christians aren't people who believe they are without sin; they're people who know they're sinners and are awestruck by God's grace in sending his only Son to take the punishment they deserve.

    "This is in contradistinction to liberals, all of whom believe they're on a fast track to heaven on the basis of being 'basically good' people -- and also believe that anyone who disagrees with that theological view is evil."

    I couldn't have said it better myself, so I didn't.

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    Idol, final 3

    Last night, Danny, Adam, and Kris "worked it out" in the Idol final 3.

    We haven't watched the elimination yet, but dialidol.com has Danny going, though it's pretty close. I wouldn't be surprised if Kris was in first, or if either of the other 2 go.

    I thought the order last night was:
    1. Kris
    2. Adam
    3. Danny
    But 2 and 3 were very close.

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    Wednesday, May 6, 2009

    Final 4: Duet Night

    Last week, there was no surprise as we saw Matt G go home. There was a semi-surprise as Adam joined him in the bottom 2.

    This week, with rock 'n roll and a couple of duets, Adam shone, Allison starred with him, and Danny and Kris failed to "work it out."

    So, they were, in order:
    1. Adam
    2. Allison
    3. Danny
    4. Kris
    In danger - and my prediction - Kris.

    Dial idol.com says: Razor thin between Kris and Allison. Dialidol has been underestimating Kris all season, and overestimating Adam. Could we have an upset?

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