It's like Guitar Hero.....for the feet

Those were the words uttered by my son as we looked over the Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2. Tyler got Guitar Hero 3 and has been doing amazingly well with it so far!

This is not my 'official' post-Christmas post, but rather, I needed to post something that will help users of any of the "Stylin Studio" or "Stylin Salon" gadgets:

If everything seems to work, but all you get is a white screen or a black screen after you take a photo, check your desktop color depth settings. Desktop color settings should be set for 32-bit. I was ready to throw the thing out the window until something in my brain told me to check the color settings.

Hope this helps someone out there!

Gingerbread House 2.0 and random pics

Last year, we 'built' our first gingerbread house. This year, we tried it again. We had a lot of fun putting it together, especially Emily! She also grabbed the camera and took a lot of her own pictures:

Gone to Garvan Woodland Gardens

The other day, we took a trip in the 25-ish degree weather to see some of the most beautiful Christmas lights displays I've ever seen. They were at the Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, Ark. The first few pics are ones of the sunset on the way up there. Shan took great shots of the setting sun!

Christmas and a new 'King of Pop?'

I'm starting with the whole "new 'King of Pop'" thing. Have you ever heard of Ne-Yo (pronounced "Knee-Oh")? Yeah, me either. Here's the thing: In the last two days, I've heard a couple references that he is the 'new' king of pop. That is the funniest thing have heard coming out of the music industry since Leona Lewis was being hailed as bigger/better than Whitney Houston. Look, Ne-Yo's stuff is okay, and though he seems to be able to kick some moves, he is certainly no Michael Jackson nor has he been churning out anywhere near 40 YEARS of music. I didn't say it was good music. Mijac has put out some poor song choices for sure, but someone would have to have megahit after chart-topper for DECADES before anyone could call them the king of pop, or king of anything for that matter.


So, what's my beef with Leona Lewis? I don't really have one other than the ridiculous marketing strategy they used to launch her US appearance. Ooooo, Simon Cowell "discovered" her. Oooo, he is putting all his eggs in her basket.... Yeah, you are aware that he produced Teletubbies Christmas albums, right? Yeah, I thought so. Look, she's a good singer. So far, she's managed two hits. She has a long way to go before she comes close to Whitney or a myriad of other pop-star divas.

I suppose my real issue is with the hype behind would-be wanna-be's. In my experience, the more something is hyped, the worse it actually is after the hype dies off. If something is really good, it doesn't need a 'marketing strategy' behind it...

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Does your Wal-Mart say "Holiday Center" or "Christmas Shop" above the entrance to the Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Christmas cards, inflatables, etc? Ours says "Christmas Shop" or maybe it's Shoppe, either way, it says CHRISTMAS. And, it's about time. I know there is Hanukkah and whatever the heck Kwanzaa is, among a plethora of other Christmastime-related holidays, but the truth is, December 25th is Christmas. For a long time, retailers have caved in to the people who want to give 'rights' to everyone on earth EXCEPT Christians (and/or those who believe in Christmas as a holiday). I realize that the main reason Wal-Mart is even showing the word "Christmas" is because people threatened their own boycott of the retailer if they didn't start using the word again. Unfortunately, in today's world, too many companies are worried too much about what people think of their "image."

Last time I checked, this is America. If I want to believe something, I have the freedom to express it. If you don't believe in the same thing that I am professing, then you have the right to NOT LOOK at it, or you can ignore it, or you can feel free to express your own opinion. I hope that one day, I have my own company or am in charge of one that I get to steer the 'public view' regarding. Believe me, it'll wish people "Merry Christmas."

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And, well, since I've opened the can of worms, let's get to it. Why is it okay to have "Miss Black America" or "Miss Latino America" or the "Black History Month" or "Latin American Music Awards" but it is racist to have the "Miss Caucasian American" or "White History Month." I am not racist, and that is my point. If we are 'striving' to be a color-blind society, then why is it that color and race are used in ways that keep the issue in the forefront of people's minds?

If people want equality in this country, then it's time to throw out the tired, old cards. There is no 'black' history or 'Hispanic' history or 'native American history' in this country. There is "American History" only. I know the history books of the past were written by white guys with a chip on their shoulders. But, like everything else in the past, we should learn from the mistakes and move on. As long as there are shows and 'contests' and groups that are racially-specific, there will always be inequality and division in this country.

The main issue will rear its ugly head when America is no longer "THE" superpower in the world. When China (or whoever) takes over that role, none of the racial issues we wrestle with today will moot because we will have a whole new set of reasons to be united as one group called "Americans."

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There has been a lot of talk that Obama is the "Antichrist." That's funny. I've made my own jokes and references to the idea, but in all reality, I find it flat-out hilarious that Americans are so conceited that we would think the a/c would HAVE to come from America. Well, of course he's going to be American, right? I mean, we are the end-all, be-all to the rest of the world, are we not? Come on, we all know that if there is going to be a mighty man that will bring with him the destruction of the world as we know it, he would HAVE to come from the United States of America. I mean, look, I know the whole Christian origin comes from Israel, but really, that's not where the a/c would come from. That's too 'obvious.' And, he couldn't be African or Chinese or French. That's just plain silly. And perish the thought that the guy would come from Canada or Russia. And what about Iraq or Afghanistan? No way. If there is going to be a destroyer of the human race, he has got to be American... I'm just curious, do those people (the ones who see Obama or any other American as the a/c) actually ever LISTEN to themselves talk? I'm guessing not.

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I wasn't going to say anything, but I just have to throw this out there: Yesterday, my father-in-law (a die-hard Chevy man) came over to ask if I would tow his Silverado (with 80,000 miles) up town to the repair shop. So, I hooked up my Dodge HEMI (with 90,000 miles) up to his truck and towed him the eight or nine miles to the repair shop. He said he hoped no one saw me towing his Chevy with my Dodge. :-) We had quite a few laughs over it. My father-in-law is a 'good ol country boy' who spends much more time watching and listening than talking, but he has a great sense of humor when he does speak.

Merry Christmas!!

Getting "Smart"

While in Phoenix, my boss had limited access to her email. As a result, she, John, and I took a jaunt down to texarkana to upgrade our phone plans to SmartPhones. In the days leading up to this trek, I had done some research to see which kind of phone I would recommend. When it came down it, two things stuck out in my mind: touch screen with nice, easy to use interface and sliding keyboard. Why? Because I spent the week in Phoenix with Tim and watching him use his iPhone let me see just how easy it was to operate the touch interface. The problem is that alltel does not have a phone that provides a touchscreen keyboard that operates nicely. The way the work, is that the 'keyboard' takes up part of the screen, and you cannot see what you are typing behind the screen (according to what I read about the various phones). so, we went with the HTC Touch Pro (which can also be known as the HTC Diamond Touch Pro, or something like that).

I love it. Not only does it give me access to my email whenever I want it, but it is also easy to use.... Well, I should say, it's easy to figure out most of what I need to use.

I ran into one major issue, which turned out to be an ActiveSync issue, which is a Microsoft problem that they like to push blame onto the user. When I hooked my phone up to my PC for charging, it started syncing with my corporate exchange contacts list. By default, the setting was set to delete the PC contents and replace them with the phone info. Yeah, read that again. It means that email address I've built up over the last few years working at the co-op were gone in a puff of smoke.

Luckily, I searched the net and found many people running into this. Most of those folks were out of luck, though, because once your empty your deleted items, everything is gone. Well, at our place, we have things set up to retain deleted items. So, even if we empty our trash, we have a safety net. Well, I simply VPNd into our network, connected to the server's desktop, which in turn let me connect to my personal desktop, and then I pulled those deleted contacts back from the boneyard. And, it actually worked to my favor because when I restored all my contacts, Outlook asked if I wanted to MERGE the deleted contacts with the ones transferred from my phone! This means the system automatically connected the email addresses with the phone numbers based on the names. Excellent!

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Shan and I saw "Four Christmases" over the weekend. If you're up for a holiday-related romantic comedy, I suggest you go see this movie. I am not a Vince Vaughn fan, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the movie. The opening scene was great. I didn't even know Robert Duvall was in the movie until he showed up on screen later, and Tim Mcgraw's character makes you see him in a whole different light. Reese Witherspoon is dwarfed by Vaughn, but rather than try to hide it with platforms, the movie does a good job of incorporating it into the story.

And, just when you think you've got the ending figured out, there is a nice twist.

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I will eventually try blogging with my new HTC, so we'll see how that goes... :-) In the meantime, have a good night.

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Oh, wait, I cannot possibly end this without saying that Shan and I spent all day Saturday shopping. We got quite a few things knocked off the list, and I was dead by the time we decided to see the movie, but the best part by far was watching Shan try on new outfits. As I've said, she has lost a lot of weight, but she also has been getting toned during her workouts, and it's great to see her face light up when she tries on things that she's not sure will fit right or will look good, even though I tell her otherwise. When she comes out to show me how it looks, it's the beaming smile on her face that I love the most about the trip. That makes all 10 hours of shopping worth it. :-)

Facing realities

This post was going to about the realities of dealing with the Postal Service in my recent eBay venture. And, I will get to that in a moment or two. But, first, last night, I had to face the reality that Daisy was dying. A few days ago, we spotted her lying on the ground and it took a concerted effort, coaxing and feed to get her back up again. She seemed fine, and we thought she was doing well. She was an old horse, and we knew this day was coming. In fact, the reason Emily was given the horse was because of its age. Daisy was given to us to have a nice home to finish out the rest of her life. Last night (Wednesday night), I went to feed her and saw her lying down again. I went out into the pasture and she barely moved, and certainly never opened her mouth to take food.

I got Shan's Mom and we hunted down several warm blankets. I took them to Daisy and covered her up. She watched as I placed each on on her, trying to give her some warmth in these colder nights. She whinnied a couple times, softly. I stroked her and told her what a good girl she was and how happy she had Emily and the rest of us while she was here. She laid her head back down and her breathing was labored and shallow. I was hoping she would get up during the night, or maybe this morning.

But, when I went to check on her this morning, she had turned over, the blankets under her instead of on top. She never moved. Her eyes were open. I felt her ribs, just to be sure this really was happening, and what was happening had already happened.

We did not tell the kids until after school. Emily had been told this day would come, and I think the reality of it will set in as she looks to see Daisy in her place in the pasture, but doesn't find her. Tyler was understanding of it. He was never a horse person, but he knows how attached we all had become to her.

Sometime this morning, Shan's Dad got the tractor and made a place for her to rest in peace. Daisy was the best horse I have seen. She loved to have Emily ride her, and she liked to buck the rest of us just enough to test our skills. She will be dearly missed, especially by a little girl who got her wish to have a horse.

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And, now, I switch gears to the Post Office. Well, I'll give you a moment if you want one to collect yourself after the news of Daisy. I needed one myself before I continued my writing, so I know how that goes...


I sold a bunch of things on eBay recently. Toys, collectibles, and such. I thought I had packed them well enough for the Post Office to get them into the hands of the new owners without incident. I was fatefully wrong. In just two days, I heard back from two different people who let me know that things had been broken. They also said they thought the items would be packed better. Obviously the packing part was my shortcoming. Apparently, I thought the delivery system actually gave a rip about what they delivered, but I was proven to be so far off base on that one that I will most likely quit selling opened items that have to be shipped. Glassware was broken, a coaster set that I thought to be basically unbreakable was shattered, as is my reputation on the global marketplace.

Of course, my reaction was to offer refunds, or partial refunds as warranted. But, this seems so shallow of an offer. many of these items were in great shape when they left here, and I thought I had done a good job of packing. Obviously, packing items for shipping is not a strong suit of mine. These people were looking for Christmas gifts and instead they get broken items the Post Office chucked around and evidently a piss-poor packing job by the seller (me).

For the next week, I will be cringing every time I open my eBay mail, anticipating the angry responses to things gone horribly wrong.

I sincerely doubt any of those folks read this, but if you are out there and you receive your items damaged, you have my deepest apologies. First and foremost for my own lack of packing skills, but also for the sorry way the US Postal Service handles the items it is charged with delivering.

Galavanting around and losing my......

I spent the last two days in Little Rock (and North Little Rock) participating in the TIE project that my education service center created. You can more info about it here: TIE Project. We learned about technology integration, project-based learning, how to use the Wii in the classroom, tying GPS units into social studies, blogging in education, and other things I can't even remember right now!


We had a GREAT time. Well, I suppose it is out of place to speak for everyone there, so I will say *I* had a great time! Lots of fun and fellowship. Oh, and did I mention? Each education service center in the state gets a WII!?! Yeap, that's right. We are charged with buying 3-4 additional ones to be used during summer inservice sessions where we teach teachers how to use the WII in literacy, phys ed, social studies, science, and more. Friggin Awesome!

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Have you ever lost something only to realize you never lost it in the first place? Allow me to elaborate: After I got back from Phoenix, I realized I couldn't find my ATM card nor a couple of blank checks. NOT good. I had taken the blank checks with me to Phoenix because I was afraid that if I left them in the truck while I was gone, someone would break into the truck at the airport and get them. You know, I thought I would keep the checks SAFE. And then I lost them. I got home today and frantically started searching. Well, I found the checks. Whew! No ATM card, and I realized that I could not find a gift that I got for Shan while in Phoenix! Well, crap.

Again, frantically, I went through everything I brought back from the trip. No ATM, no gift. OY! Taking a breath, I got my wallet and started to empty EVERYTHING out of it. Wait, let me back up a sec. Last night, while in my hotel room, I thought I might have put the ATM card and the checks in my laptop bag, so I had emptied EVERYTHING out of the laptop bag but found nothing. On the bright side, my laptop bag is now cleaned out. I digress...


I grab the wallet and begin taking out card by card. And there it is. The ATM card. I had put it in my wallet backwards (why, I have no idea), so it looked like my health insurance card. Yeah, I'm kinda airheaded that way sometimes. Okay, found ATM, got the checks. But where was the blankety-blank gift!? Again, I tore through everything I had brought back. I cam very close to asking Shan if she had seen the item, when I realized that when I had unpacked after the trip, I put the gift in the box I used to hide all her gifts. DUH! Seriously, is my blond showing?

On the last day in Phoenix, my camera gave to me...

These are the pictures from my last day in Phoenix. I forgot that I hadn't posted them here yet...

Stop the Rock, can't stop the Rock...

Hard to believe, but after a trip to Phoenix last week, I am in Little Rock tonight for another training. This is not a conference, but rather a training being offered to all the state technology coordinators and distance learning coordinators. We are such a varied group as far as our backgrounds go, that a 'melding of the minds' was deemed to be in order. So far, it's been great for me. I have a techie background, so I am learning how to become a better trainer by learning just HOW teachers can integrate all this technology into their lessons.

As was pointed out today, the best thing to happen is to take something teachers are already doing, and then give them new/cool tools/ways to help them do it 'better.' Better, by my own definition, means they get the students to use it in ways that enhance their learning and keep them engaged in the activity.

For the record, despite my better judgement (well, okay it was POURING down rain this morning), I did not bring a camera.

I am about to head out to supper because it's being paid for! My Dad always said, "Never pass up free stuff. Especially if it's food!" Amen!

Goodbye, Boston Legal

There are very few shows that we have watched over the years that were of the "cannot miss this" variety. Most recently, "Boston Legal" was near the very top of that list, outlasting "Grey's Anatomy", "ER" and a slew of other shows that have come and gone.

To me, the very best part of the show was its never-failing ability to remind its audience that it was a TV show. In production terms, it's called "breaking the fourth wall." In English, it means the audience is never 'supposed' to be aware that they are, in fact, the audience. In most shows, the audience is drawn into the scenes being played out. We are looking in, as if we are some voyeur peeking in on something we might not otherwise see.

"Boston Legal" threw that in the trash can. Even in the series finale, the 'fourth wall' is referenced directly. Brilliant!

Of course, the real reason most people watch shows for any extended period of time is that we develop a fondness for (or strong dislike of) the characters we see each week. Denny Crane, the strong, goofy character that started the show was withered away to a babbling, absent-minded person who, in many episodes, was just short of a buffoon. But, he kept just enough endearing qualities that we end up hoping he DOES get the medicine, that it DOES save his life. Alan Shore came in as something of a punk womanizer, and grew into this cocky, long-winded lawyer that loved his best friend dearly (albeit, a bit too much for my liking). I think I always wanted Alan to end up finding and marrying the girl of his dreams, but then that's not really how "Boston Legal" was set up, was it? Life is not always "Happy Endings" or at least not the endings you ever expect, for sure.

Like the finale of "Seinfeld," I think the ending of "Boston Legal" was one of the worst episodes I've seen. I think it would have been much better to let Shirley and Carl get married, let Denny have the first dance. The bit where everyone goes to kiss the bride was hysterical! There was no reason to have Denny and Alan get married. Of course, these just one guy's opinions, and that is the beauty of this country - we get to say what we want.

It would be great if there were a "Boston Legal" movie or if they managed to pull a spin-off, but the truth is, the networks are just like what was said in the final episode - cater to the young, ignore the old. Those execs had better pay attention to who is minding the store in this country. Young is hip and cool, but mature and wealth belong to the folks who were actually enjoying their beloved characters on "Boston Legal."

So, sitting in my own chair on the balcony, brandishing a cigar and brandy, I bid farewell to Denny, Alan, Shirley, the rest of the wonderful characters that made "Boston Legal" a show I couldn't wait to watch.

Pitcher-takin'

Okay, I don't know what astrological alignment is happening around here, but I have been getting all kinds of flack for my recent pictures. No, that's not quite right. It's not the pictures, it's the fact that I was TAKING them while "supposed" to be at a conference for work. I know my Aunt thinks this is directed at her, but really, she was about the third person to mention it, and I've had several others since her comment!

On Tuesday, or maybe it was Wednesday I don't even remember now, the pre-conference ended around 2:30 or 3pm. So, we grabbed the camera and headed into the mountains, about 30 minutes or so from the resort. As I am sure you have figured out by now, I take a LOT of pictures. It's something I have grown into. During our vacation to Disney this summer, Shan took about 500 pictures total. I was ripping off about 500 a day. I love taking pictures and I love playing with set-ups, layouts, lighting, etc. Basically, I carry a camera around and I might as well scream "TOURIST!"

On Thursday, we had a set breakfast with other Education Service Center folks, then we listened to the keynote speech from Dr. Ruby Payne. After that, we actually poked our heads into a breakout session, but decided that our main focus was to attend the pre-conference (that IS why we were asked to go). So, we bailed a bit and headed to Sadona. It took about 90 minutes to get there, ripped off a bunch of photos for about 30-40 minutes, then headed back into town for supper with my boss (who was fully aware that we had gone to Sadona and was the one who suggested we take in the red rocks, thank you).

I haven't posted Friday's pics yet, but before the flight home, I ripped off a bunch of pics around the hotel itself.

Why am I not going on and on about the pre-conference? It was technology and education. I'll be more than happy to share that with my readers, if it is something y'all would like to read, but I kinda thought you'd enjoy pictures more... :-)

So, yeah, I took a TON of pictures, *AND* I attended the pre-conference. It's amazing what one can pack into a full few days if one takes a chance, eh! Oh, and the rental car I got had a "pre-purchase your gas" option so I could return the car on empty without penalty. So, they got it with the needle hovering... My momma didn't raise no fool!

Photos from Thursday

Here are a bunch of photos from Thursday. I started off with the sunrise from the hotel terrace and then it ends with photos from Sedona:

Will be posting more pics soon!

Whew! I made it back from sunny, warm Phoenix on Friday! I was welcomed by 28-degree weather in Little Rock. Holy smokes!

I posted the first night I got to Phoenix, and I have to say the adventures did not stop on that first night. The resort hotel where we stayed was huge (at least for someone who does not regularly stay in such places). In fact, at one point, Tim and I got LOST trying to find our room. Now, in our defense, it was not really our fault we got lost.

See, the 3rd floor is not one that traverses the entire length of the hotel. Instead, it is abruptly interrupted by the foyer's tall columns. The fourth floor and higher all have a walkway that overlooks the grand entry. The third floor, however, has no such thing due to the way the lobby is set up. Well, let's just say it took Tim and I a while to figure this out. From the lobby (which is Floor 2), it appears the next floor up is the third, but it's an optical illusion. What you actually SEE is the fourth floor! How did we figure this out? Did we ask someone? Nope. We rode the elevator, getting off at the third then fourth floors and walking around until we figured out the floor plan. Sure, we could have just looked at the map they gave us when we checked in, but where's the fun in that!? :-)

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On the flight from Phoenix to Houston, I spent the time watching a couple of TV shows. No games or crashing servers THIS time! I watched a show called "Big Bang Theory" about these nerds who live next to a very attractive woman and how they interact (or not) with the rest of the world. It is a riot! I'll have to record that to watch it in the future.

I also watched the CSI: Miami episode where David Caruso's character gets shot. I don't watch the show much, so I have no idea which episode that was. I'll look it up on imdb later. But, man it was a great show, too.

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I've got more pictures to post from Thursday and Friday, so I'll get to those as soon as I can.

Though Phoenix had amazing weather (and I've got more stories to share later), it is GREAT to be home again! :-)

I will leave you with a picture of the book I got for Shan to read to to her class:

Pictures from Desert Mountains

Pictures from North Phoenix

I've taken some pictures, though not as many as I would like. I am hoping that on Wednesday, I'll be able to take some more because I will have more daylight to burn after the pre-conference is over.

These were taken at dusk/sunset, and my camera is sucking at taking low-light pictures, so some of these came out blurry. But, they are pretty, for sure...

Made it to Phoenix

The day started off normal enough. I woke up, took a shower, and got ready for my trip to Phoenix. When the time came, I hopped in the truck and realized I needed gas. After a quick pit stop, headed for Little Rock. Unfortunately, I seemed to forget that this trip was taking place on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

It took me a bit longer than I had planned to get to the airport. People were driving like they had never set their butts behind the wheel of a car. One guy would pass a car, swerve back over into the slow lane right behind another car, pass that car, then repeat. If he hadn't been going about 85, I would have called the police with his plate number...

when i get to the airport, I use the 'easy check-in' kiosk. I print the tickets and they come up with Tim's name. Tim is the guy I am attending the conference with. My name is nowhere to be found. Luckily for me, Tim was already in line and the desk guy got everything worked out.

I get through the x-ray machine and Tim gets stopped. Why? ooops, he forgot to remove his laptop from the bag. That landed him in the hands of TSA. Once that was taken care of, we got to the gate and waited a few minutes to board.

The flight to Houston was a little tight since we were on a small plane, but it wasn't a bad flight.

We land in Houston with more than an hour before the next flight. We deboard, and head for the monorail. WRONG! the monorail is having problems. we have to go to the shuttle service at the other end of the concourse in order to grab a bus to the other concourse. There is a guy on a cart offering a ride, so wee hop on. I am pretty sure he takes the scenic trip around the block. When we get to the shuttle service, the entire area is packed full of people who are trying to catch a shuttle since the mono is out. It is so bad that the shuttles leave before anyone can get on because the people getting OFF take too long to get through the crowd. Hasn't the airport heard of crowd control!?

As we are waiting, an announcement comes on that says the mono is running again. Tim and I debate waiting versus going back based on how long it took to get there by cart. we opt to head for the mono. It takes about a THIRD of the time to get back! when we get to the mono, there is an open train there! As we head for it, an automated voice says, "This car is going out of service." Of course it is.

We finally catch a mono and head for the concourse. We've got about 20 minutes or so before our departure at this point. we figure we can ask the desk when they will board our flight and go grab a quick bite to eat. When we approach the desk, the girl says, "Oh, we're boarding now." So, we are whisked away and put on the plane as one of the last people to board, believe it or not.

The plane is much bigger this time, and has touchscreens in the headrests of the seats in front of us. We decided to poke around and we can play multiplayer games! So, we fire up Battleship. Tim is the first to catch on that we are sitting NEXT to each other... Playing battleship... We can SEE each other's board... He wins. Next, I teach him how to play Reversi. He never played before. He's a quick study. Really. Kicks my butt by more than 35 points. Yeesh. Next, we try Texas Hold'em. He's not sure how to play poker, so i teach him. He starts kicking my butt. At one point, two other passengers join the game, but before they can play a hand, we crash the server. Yes, we crashed the entertainment server on a plane. leave it to me.... Well, the flight attendant dons her tech hat and she reboots. We are such nerds that Tim and I are enthralled at the fact that the system is Linux-based.

The rest of the trip, we played games against the computer rather than risk crashing things again. The really cool thing about the in-plane system is that it does live gps tracking of the plane while you are in it!! Awesome!

The plane lands in Phoenix and we head for baggage claim. While we wait for Tim's bag, someone kicks the emergency stop on the carousel. We have to wait for about 5 minutes for the system to reset. everything is going well... And, then... a babyseat comes up the conveyor and a loose belt catches on the conveyor. The belt gets wedged such that the workers have to stop the carousel again. They eventually have to use a crowbar to pry the protective covering up enough that they can get the belt loose. The conveyor starts up again. The guy who owns the babyseat is pissed off that his seat was damaged in the process. Not much, but enough that one latch was messed up. His seat causes EVERYONE to be late and HE is the one that gets mad? i don't think so.

Naturally, Tim's bag is the last one off the belt.

The rest of the day, we grabbed a car at Avis and headed to the hotel. Once checked in, we drove around and found a place to eat.

When i left Arkansas, it was about 40 degrees or so. In Phoenix, it was about 72 when we landed and around 65 or so while we ate. :-)