Dreamland Concert Series

This summer is shaping up with some good concerts coming to town. It started with the news that Pearl Jam is going to headline Lollapalooza. Nice....hope it happens and I hope it's not a logistical nightmare...could be though...

Roger Waters is bringing his Dark Side of the Moon show back through town. OK...that should be fun. Got tickets for this one already but there is a conflict brewing. Hmmm...
He's playing the United Center.

The Police are playing Wrigley Field this summer. Maybe Sting can pitch or hit or do anything like a baseball player? God knows the Cubs can always use some help. Got tickets for this one too.

Then, the best news, Eric Clapton is organizing another Crossroads Guitar Festival and its gonna be in Chicago at Toyota Park on July 28th. I attended the first one in Dallas and it was guitar heaven. I will do everything in my power to witness this again. I've never been to Toyota Park but it's outdoors and it can't be worse than the Cotton Bowl. What a day of fun this will be...

Ok...now it's your turn to put together a music festival...include any band or performer. You can only include 7 bands and you must consider the order in which they play.

1. Lynyrd Skynryd with Ronnie VZ...this will get the crowd going!
2. Allman Brothers Band..more great "Southern" rock n blues
3. Eric Clapton...Duane Allman joins in for some Derek tunes!
4. Stevie Ray Vaughan...I'll need a smoke after the first four here...
5. Jimi Hendrix...SRV would have loved "opening" for Jimi
6. Led Zeppelin...are you kidding me? This band could rock...
7. Ladies and gentleman...The Beatles!

What a nice fantasy...I think I'll make this into an Ipod playlist somehow...

Italy One

Italy is coming...the prelim

Update

Nothing But Nets Update! So Far...So Good. We're up to $10,150 or 1015 nets. Thanks go out to all that joined us in saving lives. We continue to make a difference. C'mon squeeze out a few bucks and take a chance on saving someones life. Tell your friends. Post it on your blog. E-mail everyone you know. Thanks!

Your Quit Date is: 02/21/2007 12:00:00 PM

Time Smoke-Free: 26 days, 23 hours, 35 minutes and 15 seconds

Cigarettes NOT Smoked: 405

Lifetime saved: 3 days, 2 hours

Money Saved: $70.88

Houdogini

Well, I was right about Ani (rat baby)...she is an unbelievable little beast.

We bought these special doggy travel cases...the number one rated cases. See the picture...no those are not our pets; it's a stock photo that I took from the website in the corner. I thought since I borrowed their photo, they should get some free advertising.

She escaped from the case, not once, but twice. I was traversing the zigzag at security when one of the guards said, "Excuse me sir, your dog is out." I looked down and there she was dashing around in circles. I grabbed her quickly and put her back in her top rated case. She had opened one of the zippered entrances, or in Ani's case I believe they should be called exits. They were all closed tightly...she just figured out how to open them.

Later as we were in the Jetway just about to step on to the plane...she's out again. This time I feared she might panic and fall onto the tarmac. I was able to catch her quickly but we were struggling to get her back in the case and we were causing our own little doggie induced Jetway delay. So, my wife just took here under her arm while wheeling in the other escape challenged dog behind her. I was left wheeling the empty case. At least the case was quiet...

Well...we struggled a bit getting her back in the top rated escapable case but we finally succeeded. There were no further escapes...but I kept a close eye on all the zippers. We survived and it was interesting, embarrassing at times, but interesting...kinda like coca cola going through your nose interesting...

Rat and Fat are at it again

Today is the last day of my glorious run of being in Florida. I'll admit it...I hate winter...I love 80 degrees. So, I'm sorta bummed that I have to return to the frozen northlands. I did take a chunk out of winter so I guess I am fortunate. To those of you that have been unable to escape winter, I apologize for whining and I know I deserve a kick in the head. I am sad to leave the weather and I can't deny that feeling...

The worst part of leaving is going to be the flight home....with the 2 dogs. My lovely wife thought it would be a good idea to try bringing the dogs with us. If the dogs were low maintenance, it would have been a good idea. The little white female dog from hell is anything but low maintenace. Tiger (aka Fat Baby), was ok...not happy but ok.

They are miniature schnauzers and travel in the cabin under our seats in specially designed dog carriers. On the trip out here, the dogs were not happy being in the carriers and being stuffed under the seat. It's easy to understand. They were shaking all the way. Then Ani (aka Rat Baby), as I expected, made shrieking noises as we were moving through the airport; noises that were close to making my ears bleed. At one point a woman said "You need to put some WD40 on that" and then realized it was a dog making the noises, not the wheels on the carrier.

Our vet strongly advised against sedating the dogs. If he knew Rat Baby like I do, he would have suggested that the humans be sedated. Wish me luck. I am so not looking forward to this adventure.

Don't let the little white one's demeanor in this photo fool you...she's the Rat Baby.

Your Quit Date is: 02/21/2007 12:00:00 PM

Time Smoke-Free: 23 days, 180 hours, 47 minutes and 23 seconds

Cigarettes NOT Smoked: 357

Lifetime saved: 2 days, 17 hours

Money Saved: $63.00

An Ace

I made a hole in one yesterday! I know this doesn't excite everyone but it's a big deal in the golf world. I think it's a nice bit of luck. I would have rather used that luck to win a piece of the $370 million plus power ball lottery but that's a no go. So, I'll settle for my 4th hole in one. I think the odds for amateurs are like 1 in 13000 or something. I have always considered myself one of the luckiest guys in the world. This is just another very minor reason why I think that.

My Stats:

Your Quit Date is: 02/21/2007 12:00:00 PM
Time Smoke-Free: 14 days, 20 hours, 36 minutes and 2 seconds
Cigarettes NOT Smoked: 233
Lifetime saved: 1 day, 16 hours
Money Saved: $39.38

Creating my first original meme

Music, music, music...

1. What was the first record or cd that you owned?
She Love's You by the Beatles. I remember the 45 with a black Swan label. (A 45 is not a pistol)

2. What was the worst concert you ever saw?
Stevie Wonder. The production was so poor I did not hear one song I could recognize. I don't think I was 15 rows from the stage.

3. What cd or album in your collection are you embarrassed to say is there?
Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards. I can't believe I liked this in college. Can you say stoned? They had to be...lol

4. What was the last song that gave you goose bumps?
The Luckiest - Ben Folds. The guy writes some great stories.

5. If you could sit in with one musician or band, who would that be?
This could be a huge list for me. Living - Eric Clapton Gone - SRV. My guitar lust comes out.

6. What's the best place you've ever seen a concert?
The finest acoustics were at the Civic Opera House in Chicago. I saw Paul Simon when he was on the Graceland tour. It was a fabulous show. The auditorium theater in Chicago is also a great venue.

7. The worst?
What used to be the Tweeter Center...now the Some bank name music theater. The place must have been planned and designed by Pablo Picasso. Nothing is in the right place, acoustics suck, traffic is hell. I will only go back there if Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon are on the bill.

8. Did your Dad have a love for music? How about your Mom?
My dad liked opera. Of my music he only said, "turn that shit off". Sorry dad but I do understand. If I could have I would have said the same thing about opera. My Mom liked pop music so she was a bit more accommodating about getting us a hi-fi and buying records.

9. DRM stands for __________________ .
Dimwits ruining music

10. What singer's pipes blow you away?
Linda Ronstadt has some powerful pipes. Aaron Neville has alien pipes. Neil Young has no pipes (but I love his work).

I look forward to your answers...give it a go...

It's a start

Nothing But Nets Update! We are off to a good start. In the month of February we raised $7,340 or about 734 nets! Thanks go out to all that joined us in saving lives. We are making a difference. Feel free to give some more or if you haven't yet contributed, do so. Tell your friends. Post it on your blog. E-mail everyone you know. Let's see how much we can all do with just a little bit of effort. Thank you all!

Are you sure it's not Friday?

A Thursday that feels like a Friday
Random Ten (give or take)

1. Little Child (Mono) - The Beatles
2. Give Me Love - George Harrison from the Live in Japan Disc
3. Telegraph Road - Dire Straits
4. I Shot the Sheriff - Eric Clapton
5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Jeff Healey Band
6. You Saved My Life - Joe Satriani
7. Rapunzel - Dave Matthews Band
8. Oh Atlanta - Little Feat
9. Damn Right I've Got the Blues - Buddy Guy
10.Raspberry Beret - Prince
10a. Best Imitation of Myself - Ben Folds
10b. Diamond Dust - Jeff Beck
10c. Wasted Time - The Eagles

It was sounding so good I blew right past 10. Nice cross section of music there. Special thanks go out to the shuffle gremlins in my iPod.

Who are those guys up there? Bonus points for 3 out of 4

Quit Stats

Your Quit Date is: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 at 12:00:00 PM
Time Smoke-Free:7 days, 16 hours, 9 minutes and 16 seconds
Cigarettes NOT smoked: 115
Lifetime Saved: 21 hours
Money Saved: $21.00