Hot Damn!

Congrats David! You rock. I can't wait to hear more of you!

2008 American Idol

I write this before the results are read. I need to say this. I am absolutely in love with David Cook. Tonight he rocked with ZZ Top and it was absolutely awesome. Yes, I know I sound like I'm drunk. And I'm not. I just love the rock and roll!

I'll write more after the results are read. The other David is a whiny weasel dick. He can sing but I can't stand him. Get a freak'n backbone or grow a set kiddo. I sure hope he doesn't win. But if you follow my track record you know that if I'm rooting for you, you probably don't stand a chance in hell.

Made it to Plano

Here I am. Yippy freak'n skippy. Gas is $3.93 a gallon. Let's find an alternative people. This is crazy.

Change in travel plans

Big surprise! Now I'm going to fly to Chicago and drive from there to Plano. Evidently the travel agency went ahead and bought me an airline ticket a couple weeks ago when we first thought I was going to Plano. I didn't know a thing about it until I received a notice from Northwest reminding me to check in for my flight. So now I'll be flying/driving today and flying back Friday morning. I'll keep you posted on how screwed up things can get.

Off to Plano

At the last minute today (4:45 PM) it was decided I would be going back to Plano next week. It was an on again, off again trip for the last few weeks. But now I guess it's on again. This time I'm going to drive over there. I'll be leaving Monday morning.

I hadn't planned on leaving Monday so I'll be spending the weekend getting ready to go over to Plano as well as getting ready to go to Effie. What I thought was going to be a fairly routine, quiet, relaxing weekend will now be a hectic whirlwind weekend.

We're still trying to finish re-wiring Makita's house. He's been without electricity in about half the house for a couple weeks and he's been sleeping on his sofa for three weeks while his bedroom was painted and now he's waiting to finish the wiring and then finally he'll be able to put his bedroom back together. So we have to do that.

So my next report will probably be from Plano Illinois.

Winter Camping :(

Well the 2008 Minnesota Fishing Opener is gone, our first 2008 trip to the BWCA is over and my ass is still frozen. It was a great time even though the fishing was lousy. We had one fish fry of Northern. But don't worry, we still ate good. I'll put a slideshow up of all my photos. So look on the sidebar for that.

My friend Ellie holding her catch "Mr. Pike". It snowed during the night once. Well it started as rain and turned to ice and snow during the night.

Loaded down!

Ice Out Progress

Things are shaping up! The have the boats in on Fall Lake. No docks yet, but boats. They put them out yesterday. You can see the ice is breaking up nicely. Dave and Ellie are on their way up there right now. I hope they find Parent Lake open!

On the Record

Dave Boeckermann would like to go on the record saying that going to the BWCA this opener is a bad idea.

Kimkay would like to go on the record saying that going to the BWCA this opener is rock'n awesome idea!!

Ely Webcams

Well I've been keeping an eye on the ice out conditions up north. We're heading that way on Thursday to fish opener out of Al (canoe) and sleep on the ground in a tent.

One of the Ely Webcams is at the American Bear Center. That's where I got the above photo from yesterday.

You can take a peak at the Ely Webcams at: http://www.elyminnesota.com/content/blogcategory/21/39/

Below are two photos of Fall lake. The first one is from this morning. You can see there is a boat on the lake (behind the tree). You can also see there is quite a bit of ice. The second photo is from yesterday morning. So there is some progress apparent. Hopefully that ice will keep on melting in the next day. Dave and Ellie are going up there tomorrow.

I've done two things: 1. Told Ellie to bring an ice pick to blaze a trail and 2. Named us (Dave, Ellie, Makita and myself) The Frozen Four.

Avs are out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

It was a slaughter. I feel violated. The Detroit Red Wings stomped the Colorado Avalanche. Now the Wings will go on to play the Dallas North Stars. So that's who I will be rooting for.

Dale Jr. Opens Whiskey River in Charlotte

There are no race cars hanging from the ceiling, and country music is only a small part of the background noise. Metal and leather decor dominate. Whisky River, located in downtown Charlotte’s EpiCentre, is Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s latest venture outside the racing world.
Earnhardt Jr., the majority owner, describes the bar/nightclub as “Carolina country” but doesn’t want it to be thought of as a strictlycountry hangout. “Basically ... if I’m sitting in a bar, and I’m not having a good time, this is everything that I would change,” he said. “This is how I wouldmake it.” That includes a large dance floor, plenty of TV screens (that will show various areas of the bar), a mechanical bull and fiber optic lighting on the bars themselves.
Already immersed in television (Hammerhead Entertainment) and race-track development (Alabama Motorsports Park), Whisky River is yet another extension of his life – and interests – away from the track.

And while he hopes it will be a success, Earnhardt Jr. says such endeavors interest him for more than just the potential financial gain. “I’ve never went into anything like this thinking: ‘Man, we’ve got to make this much money .... If I break even, and have a good time, then it’s worth it,” he said. “That’s the way I’ve always treated everything. That’s why I don’t make any money owning Nationwide cars. If I can just break even, I’m happy just to be able to enjoy it.”

Wednesday night country star Gary Allan played at the opening of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s new nightclub Whiskey River in Charlotte North Carolina. The two are pictured here hanging out after Allan’s set. Other celebrities spotted at the VIP opening include NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, David Stremme and Kyle Petty along with Sean May from the Charlotte Bobcats.

Chaun finishes 1567 out of 25283

Chaun finished the 26 miles of the Boston Marathon today in 3:03:47. There are 25,283 runners. Right after he finished the official BM site stated that his official finish was #1567.

Lance Armstrong ran this morning also and he finished in 2:50:58 (looks like Chaun was only 13 minutes behind him). Lance was #488.

Way to go Chaun!

Doc Cox "Jogs" thru Bean Town

34 year old Dr. Chaun Cox (Makita's cousin) qualified for the Boston Marathon and is heading out to Bean Town to run the 26 miles this Monday April 21st. To qualify for the 112th Boston Marathon, athletes must meet the designated time standard which corresponds to their age group. Chaun's age group is the largest and includes Men 18 to 35 who must run a qualifying marathon of 26 miles in three hours and 10 minutes or less.

The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world's most prestigious road racing events. The Boston Marathon has distinguished itself as the pinnacle event within the sport of road racing by virtue of its traditions, longevity and method of gaining entry into the race (via qualification).

You can check up on Chaun's progress on Monday at http://www.bostonmarathon.org/

His bib number is 4158. Run your socks off Chaun!

Here's the Doc in the BWCA a couple years ago.

Playoff Hockey at it's Best

Holy cow! Those Avs and Wild players are giving us quite a show. The series is tied with two games a piece. The fights are awesome. Last nights game was super with the Avs scoring 5 goals before the Wild made their measly 1. Tomorrow nights game is back in Minnesota. This is fun!

Nags Head North Carolina

This week I'm on the coast in North Carolina. I have no travel tragedies to report. I got here fine and dandy. I was on three different flights today. I went to Minneapolis and to O'hare before finally going on to Norfolk Virgina. Then there was a two hour drive south. The car I got only had 4 miles on it. Of course now it has a few more than that. The hotel I'm at is right on the beach and the room I'm in has a beautiful view of the parking lot on the West side of the building.

I'll be working at http://www.capsanmedia.com/

From Fighting Sioux to Fighting Irish

Well North Dakota lost to Boston on Thursday night and Notre Dame beat Michigan. So tonight's NCAA Championship game in Colorado will be between the Boston Eagles and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I'll pulling for the Irish.

Last night the Wild won over the Avs in Minnesota so that series is tied with one win each. They meet again on Monday night in Colorado.

Tonight finds NASCAR Cup under the lights in Phoenix. I've been to one night race there. It was a blast. Last year Jeff won it. This year looks like Jimmie is strong. Ryan Newman is on the pole and Carl Edwards is plain ole' on fire with four wins already this year. So I'll be flipp'n back and forth between the College Hockey game and NASCAR.

Here I am in Phoenix during an April night race. I was "enjoying" a bloody mary in a driving rain storm. But the skies did clear eventually and the race continued.

Let the Games Begin

Well the first Stanley Cup Conference Quarter Final game between the Wild and the Avs is now in the record books. The Avs won in overtime in Minnesota last night. They'll meet again tomorrow night in Minnesota again for the second game in the best of seven series.

And tonight starts the Men's NCAA Frozen Four in Denver.

The Semi Final Games:

#2 North Dakota (28-10-4) vs. #3 Boston College (23-11-8) at 5pm Central time. GO SIOUX!

#5 Notre Dame (26-15-4) vs. #1 Michigan (33-5-4) at 8pm Central time.

The winners of tonight's games meet at the Pepsi center this Saturday night for the Championship at 6pm Central time.

Off to Plano IL

Woo-hoo. I'll let you know how it is. Hopefully I won't have all the delays getting back to Midway as I did last week.

Well here's crazy fun for ya: the Avs are playing the Wild in the Division Quarter Finals. Best of seven. They'll play this Wednesday and this Friday to start off.

Jeff Gordon did something he's only done one other time in over 500 starts: finished dead last. He fell 5 spots to #14. If we were going to the Chase today he wouldn't be in it. Off to Phoenix for a Saturday night race this weekend. Come on already!

I was excited to hear that my friend Ellie's parents are coming to Minnesota for a visit. And it looks like I'll get an opportunity to see them while their here.

Big news: Smelt fry in Garrison Saturday April 26th.

Not much to write

I'm actually not in Chicago. I'm about 20 miles from the city in Homewood. So there's not much to do or see. As a matter of fact you may not want to go out after dark. Hell, you may not want to go out during the day. I'm pretty busy working anyway. I'll be flying home Saturday night and then flying back to Chicago on Tuesday to drive to a job in Plano IL.

I may have broke my toe. Okay, maybe not. I guess I can wiggle it. But it does hurt.

I do have to say Chicago is an odd area. First of all they don't issue any gun permits in the city except to Police Officers. So they have a lot of crime here. Only the cops and the bad guys have guns. So what's to stop a bad guy from drawing on you? Nothing. They ain't scared of no good guy. They know they got ya. One school here has had twenty students shot and killed during this school year alone. Not at school but elsewhere during the year. Twenty...in one school.

Cellular phone use in your vehicle is illegal in Chicago. And now they're trying to pass a law that you can't walk in town and talk on your phone or listen to music. They say you don't pay enough attention to traffic and might walk out in front of a vehicle. Guess they're trying to save you.

And then there's the co-workers in Chicago that took a soccer ball out to the park near work and kicked it around to blow off some steam. Well an officer showed up and issued them all tickets because evidently it's illegal in a Chicago city park to do anything that would distress the scrubs or grass.

Gosh I love my little gun toting, cell phone talking, grass smashing town.

Made it!

I did finally make it to Chicago yesterday morning. The traffic was unbelievable. It took me almost two hours to drive 17 miles. I don't know how people can stand living like this. I drove down to Homewood to work. Things are looking up.

On the "woo hoo" side, the Avs clinched a playoff spot last night when they beat the Canucks 4 to 2. Their last game will be over the weekend against Minnesota. Then let the playoffs begin.