Thanks once again to SA for the quote of today. Well, it's been a damn long time since the last update. I was on vacation the first weekend of Sept and I'll let you do the math on your own as to why today's update did not occur sooner.

Overall the vaction was good. I made the decision that the new car's aerodynamics would be improved if I shaved my head (1/4" of hair was left around the head). While the car got phenomenal gas mileage, my scalp burned after Sunday's excursion into the gulf. On Monday we managed to miss my shoulders and that lead to an amazing burn. Otherwise the SPF45+ went all over my normally bright white body. I managed to improve my farmer's tan fwiw. I also managed to pass another Cabrio driver on the Island who commented the car was nice. Damn straight.

Wednesday we departed after hitting some of the tourist traps of the area. A drive down Longboat Key, thru Sarasota and we found ourselves on the way to Orlando. I decided driving in Florida was much like driving in Nashville, except with old people. We then managed to drive into what would become the theme for the rest of the vacation, rain. Wednesday evening we met up with No Name Shane, and he took us to "Downtown Disney" to eat at House of Blues. And although Shane had not had much sleep, he appeased my desire to walk all over the Virgin Megastore. While I had high hopes and did in fact purchase some CD's, its lack of Maynard Ferguson and certain items in the Blue Note Catalog made the place a disappointment in my book. Add to that the magazine rack that was less than stellar, especially after the Books-a-Million in Bradenton, well, let's just say don't get too excited the next time you're near a Virgin store. As much as I like the label and Richard Bronson, it was a let down in the square foot to product selection dept.

Shane hooked us up with a pass to a Disney park of our choosing. Since we're a little older and the "Magic Kingdom" is a little too youth oriented, Jen and I went for the MGM themepark. Note to those that might go. "Sounds Dangerous" w/ Drew Carey blows. Blows big chunks. The Muppet Show ruled and I'm kicking myself in the arse for not purchasing the plush Beaker when I had the chance. That said, I came home with a Statler and Waldorf. The plush Animal and Gonzo looked nothing like their characters so I decided to pass on them. As it stands, Statler and Waldorf are stitting on a balcony (shelf) in my computer area, there to offer their witty commentary whenever needed. We got a good hour and a half of freedom and then it started pouring down rain. To pass the time we hit some of the tours, like the Studio tour. We got to see the set where "Sheena" is filmed. Our guide showed us the opening credits to the show to give us an idea what the show is about. About the only thing I took away is that it was a cheesy syndicated show set in the jungle and featured Geena Lee Nolin's boobs as an unlisted character. And this from Disney, the same company who airbrushed out cleavage of a woman on a roller coaster for an ad. We also took a tour of the animation area. It was very interesting and quite sobering for the techie in me. Almost all of the people that used computers used SGI Indigo 2's (more of the teal than I expected). I found a couple of Octanes and a couple of O2's, but that was about it. I guess if they get the job done (and I'm sure they do) then I can't fault em. Just not the cutting edge technical facility I thought it would be. One other thing about Disney. Apparently in recreating downtown NY, they decided that they needed graffitti, as it would not be NY without it. So instead of getting some authentic, granted sanitized, graffitti, they had a big Sprite ad made to look like graffitti. Apparently, product placement is everything. Appallaing.

Jen and I decided Friday would be the trip to the Kennedy Space Center. They were nice enough not to update their website and we arrived 15 minutes after the last tour departed. We walked around the faciliites. Oh yeah, not only did it rain, but we saw a pretty bad accident too. I don't know if I'll ever see another Crown Vic reshaped the way the one involved was. Amazing.

Saturday we departed for ATL, Jasper Ga to be exact for a visit with the Grandparents. That said, we got a little more of the ATL driving experience than we had experienced on the Saturday we drove down. It was off and on rain, but we still got quite a bit of top down driving. Sunday marked our return to Nashville and reality.

And return to reality we did. I'm not sure what to make of the events that took place on Tuesday. What shocked me most was the fact that I was in some of the areas these creeps were (FL in particular), and I'm sure the residents are more disturbed. Allen took the time to email me and inform me the smell in NY is even worse than normal, his description makes me wonder how anyone can do the work at all. I'm most disapppointed that the govt was not aware that this was going to take place. And given tonights reports, it appears that at least one branch did inform the others that some bad people were here. I'm not sure Hollywood could have ever dreamed that an entire commercial jet could be swallowed by a building, and that more than anything gets me. Seeing the one angle and watching the entire jet disappear into the building the split second before it explodes out the other end is just unreal. Impossible is the only word I could have used up until it happened.

Some of you may recall the big deal I made about coverage regarding Joey Ramone's death. CBS in particular has always pissed me off with their anchors. I find their anchors combative and downright rude. Their previous team of anchors, Thalia Assuras in particular, were out for the jugular as is the current morning show (Mark McEwen the noteable exception). The only reason why I ever watch CBS is the fact that their affiliate in Nashville has the least annoying news team. Unfortunately it is not like KSDK in STL, NBC affiliate and good local news team to boot. What annoyed me to no end was Bryant Bumble's insistance of debating callers that the first plane intentionally flew into the WTC. He continually asked each and every caller why they thought it was deliberate. And then, when the caller on the air witnessed the second plane, with live video to boot said it was deliberate Bryant continute to debate it's deliberance. He questioned their belief it was a commercial jet even after one caller gave a very accurate description of the first plane. I just don't get it. Why do they have to be so damn hard headed? The questions could have easily been asked in a manner that would have construed good news reporting and yet not make the witness feel like they've just been interrogated by the CIA.

That's not to say that the other news agencies are doing much better. Peter Jennings ran around Thursday evening spazzing about the 10 people detained for me to wake up the next morning to find the story completely refuted and some of those people having been released. NBC is mixing hard news with emotional stories. While I deeply feel sorry at the same time I know the story, I know where it's going, it's just how will the director prop up the story to win the ratings game. It's just a matter of time before those same stories will be used to expound how great the station's news team is and how they brought touching stories to people across America. I guess because I've got a Mass Comm minor and have some knowledge into what happens in Radio / TV I'm a little jaded. At the same time though I realize they have a job to do. I just wish they'd not give it some name like a product. Crisis in America, America Under Attack, Trouble in the Nation, etc. The worst part about situations like this is some committee sits around a room in plush chairs, brainstorms several names to give the situation, and then might even put it to another panel to decide what crisis foo is going to be called. What is more sickening is that these people are then given bonuses based on this work. Makes me want to go back on vacation, but not to Disney. After all, they had a committee think up what the graffitti spray painted on the wall should look like.

Made up Band Name of the Day: The Migrant Factory Workers