Do you recognize this ?

The "knob"                                   The "crank handle"

What you see above is a picture of the no-longer-connected portion of my window crank handle.  I was exiting my vehicle at my parent's house and my leg brushed against the inside of the door.  I heard a loud "SNAP" and then noticed something go flying 10-15 feet away from my car.  I walked over and picked it up, only then to realize what it was.

This may not seem like a big deal, after all, how often do you need to roll down your windows anyway?  Apparently, more often than I realized!

It has been a challenge to roll the window down in the drive thru at restaurants, let alone put it back up as soon as I drive off after getting my food.  And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Thankfully it is wintertime so I have until the spring to figure out how to re-attach the knob to the window crank handle.  I am hopeful that some good super glue and my being careful will help me avoid some crazy duct-tape remedy.  But if that happens at least I'll have another easy blog post!  :)

...

Plank you ?

No that's not a misspelling ... it is a pun.  Not a really funny pun, but a pun nonetheless.

And this blog post is a mediocre post ... but it is a post nonetheless.

Here's a picture of myself, Kevin Amsden, and Aaron Summers (L-R) doing some version of planking.  But to be honest, I'm not sure we did it right.  But we did do it nonetheless.

Our wives were hesitant to take a picture "from below."
In hindsight, that was probably a very good idea.

And here's a picture of some actually cool planking.  Although, I guess a plank being cool is in the eye of the beholder.  And no, that's not a pun so don't try to figure it out as one.


You gotta be a gymnast of sorts to pull this off!
Nicely done lady!



I told you this was a mediocre post.  Don't blame me that you're still reading it nonetheless.  :)

...

Did that just say Amsden ?!

We've got some pretty cool friends with the last name Amsden.  Until we met them (just a little over a year or so ago), I had actually never heard of that last name.  Not a big surprise I suppose, since there are LOTS of last names I've never heard of, but what WAS a big surprise was when I saw their name on a roadway sign in the middle of Wyoming last month!

If you've read any of my blogs about Thermopolis, WY then you need no introduction to the reason why we were in the middle of Wyoming last month.  If not, read the following blog or this blog and then come back to this one.

While driving to our destination I was reading different road signs that pointed out the rock formations and different eras each was formed during, etc.  And that was when I saw the following sign:


This is actually the sign on the way back home from
our vacation spot.  But they're identical!  I promise!

 

And this is the actual AMSDEN Formation
(across the street from the sign of course!)

Now, I love my own last name because there are so many things you can do with it.  Case works great for literally hundreds of rhymes or other "fun" and creative word associations.  But we don't have any rock formations named after us!  That is wicked cool !!  :)

My lingering question though is this: how do I creatively poke fun at our friends, the Amsdens, about their being as old as rocks?!  :)

...

Ever do a WASGIJ Puzzle ?

The more clever readers of this blog have already realized that WASGIJ is simply Jigsaw backwards.  Those who did not know this should not discontinue reading nor feel bad.  But those savvy readers who figured that out without the images below can rightly pat themselves on the back.

I've blogged before about how I enjoy doing puzzles.  Many in my extended family know this and I have recently received some very cool puzzles, one of which is featured on the left and below and is the topic of this short blog post.



This is the front of the puzzle box.



This is the "finished" puzzle

The most fun thing about completing this puzzle was that the picture on the box only offered a limited amount of help.  I'll not waste time explaining where the artist got a few things wrong, but would rather like to focus on what they got right: it was a fun kind of challenge and definitely a unique twist on the standard jigsaw puzzle.  Even with most of the puzzle completed I still had to wait to see all of the unique things in the ocean that are headed for the shore in the massive tidal wave.  My kids enjoyed pointing out some funny things too.

Thanks Brian and Tisne for the fun puzzle!  :)

...

Do you Foursquare ?!

Of course the iPad (and iPhones, etc.) are primarily used for "business" and official, very important, and serious stuff ... but what you might not know is that there are actually some FUN things you can do on an iPad.

This is a most shocking revelation, I know, but it is nevertheless true!

I've found several fun apps myself (such as this bowling game I play) and some that I had just "heard about" (like Angry Birds, etc.) But my buddy Mark has introduced me to several apps over the past few days (and many more before then, but those were for more serious use).

I got signed up for Foursquare which apparently allows you to check in at a variety of locations once you are within the right proximity. Then you get "points" for the number of places you check in and a variety of bonuses for other things. It is somewhat of a sub-culture where not everyone even knows about it. I think an iPhone would be much easier to check in with, but it's not too tough on the iPad.

I have earned a lot of points already, even with cheesy check-ins like Gate 30 at the Airport, etc. There is a benefit to this silliness ... Mark was able to get us free chips and salsa at Chili's by "checking in" while we sat at our table. Better yet, you can become the "Mayor" of any location by "checking in" the most over a certain period of time. Looks like I'll have to set up a location for "The Case Place" and maybe my neighborhood so I can be the mayor of those areas ... that'd be fun! :)

...

What's a Whataburger ?

It's always fun to try restaurants you've never eaten at before. I prefer to do so when I have gotten at least one or two recommendations, but it is best when you can eat their WITH the person who recommends it.

Today for lunch, before leaving sunny Arizona for chilly Colorado, my travel buddy Mark suggested that we stop at Whataburger for lunch. Generally I will eat anything from a burger joint, but this seemed like it could be a better than okay experience.

And it actually was ... very good !!!

I cheated and just ordered the same thing that Mark had (a Number 2 - double burger, with cheese added and just regular fries). I didn't see shakes otherwise I'd have tried one. The fries were crispy, even after a tumultuous drive back to the hotel. The burger was juicy and very filling (what did I expect from a DOUBLE ?!) and the service was reasonably fast.

I wasn't amazed or anything, but it was delicious enough that I'd eat it again for lunch ... especially if I was in the mood for a reasonably priced tasty burger.

...

How was your stay ?

I have to say that I was VERY impressed with my hotel accommodations on this business trip. I have not traveled much, personally or professionally, so I might not be any sort of expert on this sort of thing, but I have a few specifics that make a big difference ... and I think these are common complaint areas. We stayed two nights at the Holiday Inn and Suites Phoenix Airport. And here are some noteworthy things about the stay:

First, the beds (and pillows) were VERY comfortable. The covers were warm and a little heavy, but not overwhelming (some hotels have sheets and a comforter that make you feel like you can never escape the bed). Most hotels I have stayed at have plenty of pillows and the sheer number of pillows was no different here. But there were multiple choices of firmness with the pillows, which was very nice indeed.

Second, the shower head actually moves some serious water! I hate hotel showers where it feels like you are trying to get wet in a light drizzle. These showers (or at least the one in my room ... I never checked any other rooms!) had really strong water pressure and plenty of hot water.

Third, the towels were SOOOO soft! Unlike towels in most hotels I have been to, these did not seem to have been laundered in cactus and sandpaper. I was very surprised from the moment I reached out the shower and felt the softness of the towel.

Fourth, the breakfast was a FULL breakfast, with different items each morning. And they had BACON !!! That alone would score high marks, but the French toast yesterday and selection of other items was impressive.

There were only two things that were poor. The first was the reliance of the hotel shuttle. It was slow to pick us up at the airport (over 25 minutes) even though it is less than 2 miles round trip from the airport. The second was the lack of available wi-fi last night. Apparently there were too many people logged on last night so I couldn't even get connected. Not the biggest deal, but then I couldn't blog, etc.

All in all I was very happy with this location, even if the locals told us the hotel isn't in the best part of town. Phoenix is so spread out that I'm not sure how you know where the bad or good parts are.

...