Tag: adventure

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Signals Lost

I wasn’t at work for very long before I got a call from Calvin, who was at the warehouse in Conway. He was having trouble with the internet out there, and I didn’t know enough about the place to walk him through any kind of troubleshooting. I talked to Scott, and decided to head over there to check out the place.

By then, the sun was out of my way and I could let the car take over. It did really well, and got us right to the place we needed to go. Calvin had to let me in, and then he showed me the little box of an office in the middle of the big warehouse. From there, he walked me back to the core closet at the far end of the warehouse. He kept asking questions and trying to talk to me while I was trying to figure out what was going on, so I politely told him it was going to take me a little while to figure out what was going on, and asked where he would be if I needed to find him. That worked perfectly, and I spent the next few hours mapping cables and walking back and forth across the complex.

I don’t know how any of it worked before I got there, because it appeared to be plugged up wrong. I got their little Netgear router working again though, and then had to figure out lunch with Muad’Dib. The Rogue Roundabout turned in on bringfido.com, so I figured I would give them a try since they were just a little ways away. We found street parking and went in to inquire. Evidently they had a patio somewhere, but it wasn’t open at the time. The guy walked us back out the door to look for a table space, but then he changed his mind and just let us sit inside in a seat away from other patrons.

It was a fairly hip place, with long picnic table type seating. I would absolutely turn around and walk out if they were busy, but I wouldn’t mind to eat there again on a slow day. Of course I couldn’t try any beer, but Muad’Dib and I liked the beer cheese and pretzels. I didn’t care for the Wellington, and my Reuben was overtoasted, but otherwise good. I would have liked to see our server again sometime between ordering and paying, but otherwise it was fine.

We made it back to Morrilton, got some wine for Summer, and then it was pretty dull the rest of the afternoon. I did figure out an issue that Jessica was having, so hopefully that was visible enough after the call I had tiwth her and Shane. It seemed like everyone was ready to get out of there, and we made it home without any fuss. Again, I let the car do its thing, and it performed excellently.

I took Muad’Dib out for a quick run. My parents weren’t home, but we continued on around Inglewood and made it back to the house well after dark. Summer was still complaining of back pain after her bath, so she went on to bed. Eaddie was home and showered before going out again. I separated myself until it was time for bed.

pure tingles

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Raining Dogs

Summer left early this morning for a run in Conway. I slept in a while, but was up when she got back home. Eaddie left for marching practice before a game in the evening, so Summer and I got around to go to La Huerta for a late lunch. We brought Muad’Dib along and were able to sit with him out on their back porch. We were the only ones out there, so service was fairly slow even in spite of the restaurant being mostly empty due to how late it was.

It rained pretty hard all day, but we thought we’d try taking him to PetSmart just to get him out a little bit. I let him out of the car and he ran up to the door and inside, so I had to wrangle him to put his leash on. After that, he went nuts smelling everything in the store. He didn’t seem nervous, but he just wanted to chase after everything. He didn’t get to burn off any energy because of the rain.

We needed to go to Walmart after that, but I didn’t want to get out in the heavy rain, so we just went back home. The three of us laid down to watch Thunderbolts and did some laundry. Dad sid they had bánh bao, so I took Muad’Dib over there to have one while they were still a little warm. Then we came home and went to bed super early.

No cats.

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Destinare

I slept pretty hard last night and didn’t set an alarm, so it was lucky that I woke up just in time to get cleaned up and hit the road to make it to Stephen’s visitation. We decided to take Muad’Dib with us since Eaddie had plans to go boating with some friends. Summer and I just drove ourselves and planned to meet my parents and Julie in Bismark.

We made it to Ola where we stopped for some Chester’s Chicken and a dried up chimichanga to tide us over. The drive down Highway 7 was mostly fun, but before we got to Jessieville, a Camaro and I got stuck behind a long line of people driving 15 miles under the speed limit. The internal monologue was not kind. The external monologue wasn’t much better.

Once we got into Hot Springs, I decided to stop at the Franklin’s Charging Station to get a little bit of juice just in case we were stuck out in the middle of nowhere for a while. I figured we would be leaving Muad’Dib in the car for a while as well, and I wasn’t sure how much power that would take. It wasn’t as nice of a place as their Little Rock location, but it was fine to be in a place just outside of town.

We made it to the Bismarck First Methodist Church just after the rest of my family, and we let Muad’Dib out to stretch his legs. He made a quick loop through the church before we put him back in the car. I wasn’t terribly impressed with the service because it felt very impersonal to me. We didn’t really even stay long enough to visit with the family for very long. Once they had the flag unfolded and folded back up again, we left.

Julie was pretty hangry, so I suggested Fisherman’s Wharf for their dog-friendly deck over the water. When we got there, I was surprised that there wasn’t a wait for outside seating, since there appeared to be a line of people waiting to sit inside. We made it through the restaurant to our table, and Muad’Dib had lots of fun looking around, and staring at geese in the water. It took awhile for our food to come out. Letting our waitress, named Destiny, choose my entire meal seemed only fitting.

My food was good, but Julie complained about her fillet. I ate what she didn’t, and I agreed that it was overcooked and under-seasoned. The gator tail appetizer was also an incredibly small portion of incredibly small pieces. At least they tasted pretty good.

We parted ways after our early dinner. Julie took Mom and Dad back through Little Rock again, and Summer and I went into Hot Springs to wander around. I first took us through the car wash a couple of times since I wouldn’t be back again, presumably ever. Then we made it downtown where the Tesla chargers were all occupied. Luckily, the power pole right behind the available spot had a piece of plywood with multiple varied outlets available. I got my mobile connector out, and wouldn’t you know, the very first plug I tried was energized and we were up and going.

Muad’Dib had a great time walking the strip off-leash with us. He behaved super well, except for one moment when he wouldn’t stop sniffing a poodle walking the other direction. I held onto his e-collar remote after that, and he immediately returned to my side any time I beeped him. We walked down a ways, crossed the street, and walked down to find some ice cream. Summer asked for a pup cup, and though that wasn’t something they normally did, the girl gave her a cup of whipped cream anyway. We sat outside, fed him, and shared a banana split. Then it was back to the car.

Take my hand!

Take my hand!

I filled up some water bottles, and then we loaded up to head home. I let the car drive the entire way home up Highway 7, and it did fabulously. Muad’Dib appreciated not sliding back and forth in the seat from hitting the curves at three times the recommended speed, and Summer didn’t have to stop to throw up. I just accepted that the drive would be less exciting, and more relaxing instead.

I stopped at Casey’s for a freebie, and then we made it home. Eaddie was back and didn’t bother coming out of her room to greet us. I took Muad’Dib out in the dark for a short, cool, evening run. We went straight to my parents’ house, then a modified route back home. He did great, and was ready for bed once we got home.

My Vine reviewed appeared to be up to date enough that my review period was over. The girls both went to bed, I vacuumed Muad’Dib and gave him a spritz of cologne, and eventually went to sleep.

Choose your own adventure. Or not. Whatever.

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HSTIBBQ

I didn’t think we were getting lunch today because there wasn’t a break in the schedule, so I skipped the keynote and went to Sonic for a breakfast burrito before going to the conference. Being able to eat while the car drives me is really the killer app. I walked into a session and saw Jason, so we caught up briefly before things got started.

After the first session, I saw that they had barbecue for lunch, so I circled the vendor area, found Ben, and then we sat down to eat instead of going to another session. Craig was there as well, so I had him sign my badge as a local celebrity. After lunch, Randy, Dustin, and I sat in on Ben’s presentation about APSRC data projects, and then I had one more session on cyber forensics before the end of the day.

The other Craig and Dustin had to get to The Blitzed Pig early enough that Craig could get set up for karaoke in the evening, so we planned to have lunch super early at Fisherman’s Wharf. I got another car wash before going to the room to clean up. Then I met Randy and Kyle at the restaurant. When Dustin, Craig, Ben, and then David showed up, we realized that we really needed a bigger table and moved to the back corner. David ended up covering us, which was unexpected. We had a great time though, and I got way more full than I expected on my filet Oscar.

I went back to the hotel to clean some of the humidity off of myself, and then called Summer to spend some time catching up. I eventually made my way to The Blitzed Pig for karaoke and drinks on IK’s dime. It was not at all my type of shindig, and it was still super humid outside, but we stuck around through the good, the bad, and the ugly. By the end of it, We had a ton of drink tickets left, so I gave the wheel of them to a waitress when she finally came back around, and asked for as much Fireball as she would bring us.

A little while later, a guy came out with a tray of individual shots, so I poured as many of them into a big plastic cup as I could before he picked up the tray and walked off. He didn’t seem keen on me drinking it all, but my goal was to walk out anyway. They eventually did door prizes, and Randy and I both won. He traded me his Tosy glowing disc for my SSD enclosure, and then we left. I made it back to the room to dump my cup into an old bottle, and I’ll have Fireball for another day.

But you’re still alive.

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Greatest HSTI Album

I had so much trouble getting to sleep last night. I had to go outside a couple of times to drain the basement because the water was nearly up to the door. I even had to turn the pump on again this morning because it was full again. I got up with my normal work alarm and got out the door without too much trouble. I stopped at Burger King for a croissant, and then hit Highway 7 like a madman.

The roads were completely wet, but I didn’t encounter much rain. It wasn’t enough to make anything particularly dangerous, and it was fun to triple the suggested speed warnings and get white knuckled on the way to Hot Springs again like I used to do in the olden days. I carved off nearly half an hour of the estimated drive, and got to experience a newer highway that I hadn’t been on before once I got closer to town.

There weren’t a ton of people there when I arrived, and that was because the first class didn’t actually start until nine. I worked so hard to get there at 7:30, and I could have really used the extra hour of sleep. Randy, Jim, and Kyle eventually showed up for a little bit of breakfast before we split into our different rooms.

My network security class was mostly stuff I had actually just done this year in North Little Rock, but they didn’t tell us that in the course description. I breezed through the morning, then had cold, boxed burgers with the guys, and then had a short afternoon wrapping things up.

I got to the hotel early, but it took about half an hour for the old, seemingly clueless lady behind the counter to process the three people in front of me. I did get checked in and up to the room to rest for a bit though. Jim was humorously the last one out of class, and then I met Randy, Kyle, and Jay downstairs. Jay drove out just to visit us for some shooting and dinner. We drove forever to get to a shooting range in the mountains. There was one other guy there with some high-powered stuff, and they took turns blowing chunks out of the mountainside.

I borrowed Summer’s gun and shot a few rounds. Then Jay let me shoot his pistol and I blew several holes into a coffee can before it flew off its post. I was pretty proud of those shots. Summer’s gun was super small, so it was much harder to hold onto. The guys had their fill, and then we headed back to town to have dinner at Back Porch Grill.

It was a pretty quiet night there. I split a special with Randy, but our steak was super bland. It was cooked well, and was obviously a pretty decent cut of meat, but it just didn’t have enough seasoning. The lobster and shrimp were okay, but I think the scallops were my favorite. After we ate, Randy, Kyle, and I thought we’d go to A&W, but they were closed. My second suggestion, Kringles and Kones, was closed permanently. That took us to a whiskey tasting at Hotel Hot Springs with ProMAS. I had a bunch of banana “moonshine” that had been mixed with coconut syrup and orange juice, and it was delicious. We sat and the guys talked for a while, and then it was back to the room.

I spent most of my night alone writing Vine reviews to get my ratio up over 90%. I’m still not quite there, so hopefully they’ll get approved quickly as I finish them up tomorrow.

Whatever you do, don’t touch the water.

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Tree Down, Two to Go

It was supposed to storm pretty bad today for Summer’s trip to Springfield for Conquer the Gauntlet, so I committed to going with her. We got out of the house on time, but the storm hit super hard not long after we left. We encountered around five trees that were partially across the road. One large one was all the way across, but had broken up and been driven over enough that we rumbled right on through. Then we got stuck just outside of Jasper because a large tree took down a utility line.

We were parked in the road in a line of vehicles going both directions. Summer had to sneak into the woods a couple times before the crews finally got the cable raised high enough for the trucks to get past. We got to the Girl Scouts Camp Finbrooke about an hour late, but she was able to join the 11AM wave. There were hardly any people there, possibly due to the rain, so I just waited in the car for her to finish.

Summer set a new record time because she didn’t have to wait in a queue for any of the obstacles, so she got changed and we headed to Buc-ee’s to Supercharge and shop. They were absolutely packed, nearly shoulder-to-shoulder in some places. I had already been struggling with anxiety, and being there just shot it through the roof. We grabbed some brisket sandwiches and ate them outside.

The brisket was absolutely garbage, and it occurred to me that other gas stations don’t scream about it because they know. Buc-ee’s seems painfully unaware, and provides much fanfare. Even the potato chips were chewy and disappointing. We ended up going back inside to do some more shopping, and picked up several different kinds of jerky to try. Then we went back to the car so I could decompress and plan our return home.

We ended up driving back to Branson after stopping briefly at some strange visitor center in the mountains. There were a couple guys in there hanging out behind a counter, and they weren’t at all pushy about anything. They had free drinks and visitor information, so I finally spoke up and asked one of them what they were selling. He said they had discount tickets, and eventually said they were a part of a particular resort, but he wasn’t pushy since we said we weren’t staying the night. He did give us a couple vouchers for some free mini golf and an old timey photograph, so our next stop was Coral Reef Mini Golf for 18 holes and some shuffleboard.

That was pretty good fun for free, so I dropped a $20 tip in the jar and we continued on to Starvin’ Marvin’s for dinner. They were the only seafood buffet I could find, and though the bar was super small, all the food was pretty good, and the service was great. We stuffed ourselves silly and then headed on home.

The kids were out on bikes when we finally made it home. The neighbors finally got the north side of the fence repaired, so Eaddie put Muad’Dib outside. I cleaned up and then took him out for a run. It looked like the kids were at Sequoyah, so we rode that direction to try and find them. Just as we got about a block away, it looked like they were on the way home, so we raced after them.

I tried texting Eaddie because we never caught sight of them. Muad’Dib was a champ keeping up, but I could tell I was wearing him out. We stopped at my parents’ house to rest and then made it home. Muad’Dib had jumped into the creek at my parents’ house because he was so hot, so I had to give him a bath. He behaved pretty well, except for jumping onto the bed before he was cleaned. Once he was dried up, he climbed into bed and went right to sleep with Summer while I wrapped up my own routine.

She gives me echoes; never answers. Hoping that she’ll change her mind.

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On a Magazine

Summer and I got up super early this morning so she could compete in a nine mile run up Mt. Magazine. We took Muad’Dib with us and ran a little late, but it was easy to make up the time. When we got to school in Havana, she actually had to walk about half a mile down a dirt road to the starting line. I took the Onewheel to watch her start, and then we drove up the mountain past all the runners to get to the finish line.

We sat at a picnic table and I pulled a couple ticks off of him, and one off of myself. Then we made it back to the overlook early so we could be sure to see Summer cross the line. We waited until everyone finished before she realized she didn’t place for an award, so we left just as they started to announce them. I felt a little bad, but I had already been there long enough without anything to do.

There wasn’t really anywhere to park at the finish line, which was just at the first overlook, so we continued down to the Benefield Loop trail head. Muad’Dib and I walked part of the western loop, and he did pretty great on his own. There were a couple other cars parked there, but we didn’t see anyone. We made it to where the trail crossed the road and then just turned back to the car.

We made it home and tied Muad’Dib up outside, then took Eaddie to Tacos 4 Ever Burritos & More. I was so happy that they had an actual restaurant instead of just a food truck. The food was great, so we may have a new default Mexican joint.

After we ate, we headed back home for the afternoon and Summer watched Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations with me. It wasn’t great. After that, she took a nap in bed and I started to doze in the floor of the living room, but I eventually got up and took Muad’Dib out for a proper run. When we got back to the house, he needed another bath. He behaved reasonably well, but then hid under the deck just as I finished drying him. I had to get Eaddie to coax him back out and bring him inside.

I laid down with Summer for a little while, and then Eaddie had Maristella over to spend the night.

Peachy.

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Run Like Yell

We got up early for Summer’s run in Dardanelle this morning. We wanted to take Muad’Dib, but Summer wasn’t very proactive when we were trying to load things up to go, so I ended up forgetting my OneWheel. We got downtown and I started to just hang out with her, but I decided I’d try to run home and get it quickly so I could be back in time to watch the race. Unfortunately I got back over the bridge just in time to be stuck in traffic as they closed the road. I had no idea they would be running the race in that direction.

Once I got back downtown, I took Muad’Dib from Brian and a bunch of kids who had been babysitting him. Evidently Summer told them his name was Paul, because when I called him back to me, Brian said something along the lines of, “ah, now ‘Paul’ makes sense.” We raced after the runners and I felt really bad for being so late. We did encounter Summer after she was already on her way back from the turnaround, but we kept going. Most everyone seemed excited to see us, but I think I did get some glares, and one lady made the comment that I shouldn’t be doing that during a race.

On the way back, the same lady made another comment, and then immediately after that, Muad’Dib went rogue and brushed up against the back of another lady’s legs, who freaked out while she was running at full speed. I ended up moving to the next block to get back downtown, since I didn’t want any more grief or to cause any more trouble. I guess next time we’ll just bum around in other areas.

Summer finished the race before we made it back, and then I took Muad’Dib down to the river to try and clean up from the mud puddle he used to cool down. Summer made third in her age division, so she got another little pin, and then we headed home.

We had plans to go out for breakfast, but Summer didn’t feel well and had to soak in the tub for a while. Once she made it out, we ended up going to New China for lunch instead. Then we came home and started to doze off on the couch for a while. I woke up gasping for air multiple times, but didn’t make myself get up until much later, which hurt a bit.

Summer wanted to go to the Tech graduation for some of her employees, so I ran Muad’Dib over to my parents’ house to see if Mom wanted me to grill steaks for Mother’s Day. Then Summer and I went to graduation while Eaddie and Eli went out for cap and gown pictures with Dad. Summer got lots of pictures, and then we found the graduates outside once they were done.

The drive home was a little tense because for some reason Summer didn’t expect that I’d still be having a pretty hard time in general. She pouted, but I pushed through a trip to the Neighborhood Market anyway, to get everything we needed for grilling. The kids were watching TV when we got home, so we went to the bedroom and watched Neal Brennan: Crazy Good, a stand-up special until she crashed from her long day.

Normally I prefer my cookies to be a little less ambiguous.

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Pieman, Pieman

I got out a bit late this morning, but it didn’t matter. I spent the whole day poking around with my task sequences. I also started my escitalopram, I suggested a place called “It’s Time to Eat” for lunch, but was basically shot down. I thought I might skip, but then Randy wandered back toward my area and asked if I wanted to go to Taco Bell. Maggie overheard and wanted to go, so we all loaded up. As Randy was pulling out of the parking lot, he proposed Shotgun Dan’s. Nobody objected, so we met Kyle there.

The salad and pizza were both good. I’m always astounded at how much they mound the toppings on their pizza. Their lunch special for a seven-inch pizza and a small salad is easily one of the best deals you can get in Little Rock for lunch.

The afternoon was relatively quiet and short. I stopped at the liquor store in Morrilton, and then again in Blackwell because they didn’t have any larger bottles of pure grain alcohol, which is the cheapest way to wherever you’re going. I got home with a stomach ache that took some time to resolve, and then Summer got home from work and hung out while I took Muad’Dib out for a run.

We headed toward Casey’s for a free slush and ran into Mom at a stop sign on Phoenix. Then we stopped at Ridgewood Brothers where we ran into Grant while he was taking a smoke break out back. He ran in to get some meat for Muad’Dib, which he promptly gobbled down. Then we got to Casey’s and I got my slush. I set it down on top of the propane tank cage while I unhooked Muad’Dib, and forgot to pick it back up when we left, so we had to circle around to retrieve it.

We came back a slightly different way, but encountered the same group of people taking photos at the tiny tennis court by the bike trail. Muad’Dib took a bath in the basin creek, and then we stopped to visit with Dad for a while before we made it home.

Summer was on the couch, so I laid with her for a bit as she cried a bit about how nervous she was for her biopsy. I hate that I made any of this time any more stressful, but I guess the alternative could have been even more messy. We talked for a bit before Eaddie got home, and Summer went to bed while I went out back to chat with Eaddie and Muad’Dib for a while. Summer had another race in the morning, so I made myself a Dark and Stormy and got to bed as quickly as I could.

happy anniversary

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The Patriarchy

I got to work pretty early this morning after a reasonably focused and optimistic drive in, but I could feel myself slipping pretty early. I slunk down in the back and accomplished one task by accident, and there was hardly a soul around to pat me on the back for it. I plowed right through into the afternoon, but decided to get up to take a break for a Big Mac not long before quitting time. I ended up staying a little bit late anyway just to kill some time before I could meet up with Mitch, who was in town for work.

I made it over to his hotel and found a free charger at the Tropical Smoothie where I waited for him to get off work. Then we drove across town toward Southern Tail Brewing, stopping first at Stone’s Throw Brewing for a quick flight and to see if one of Mitch’s old friends was working. We finished there and got to the restaurant where service was friendly, but a bit slow. Blake showed up out of nowhere, walking straight onto the patio from the street, and the three of us had a great time trauma dumping and catching up.

I felt a little bad to monopolize the time Mitch had in the state, but Blake and I never knew each other very well back in school, so we really are kind of connecting for the first time. We had some great laughs, and some interesting, yet delicious salmon fish and chips.

Mitch went with Blake after that since I had to head home for bed. It was great catching up, and I’ll have to make more of an effort to keep up with Blake in the near future since he lives so close to my office. I got home and got to witness my matrix headlights doing their partial dimming, which was cool, but a little anticlimactic. The girls had cleaned up house a bit and were ready for bed, so I wasted no time to get there myself.

Three Male Incomes