Happy 1st Birthday JT

This past weekend my nephew celebrated his very first birthday! Again. July 22nd is his actual birth date but my sister had a second party for friends and any family that couldn't make it to his first party. Lil' JT is now walking and is just adorable whenever he laughs at you and giggles.

  

---
I overheard the following at JT's party. Note that the woman is married and brought her infant son as well.
Woman: So how old is your daughter?
Sister (my other one): Kaitlyn's 26 months.
Woman: Oh. How many years is that?

My internal reaction to the woman's second question: a jaw-dropping, dumbfounded look and an extreme battle to not burst out laughing.

2006 MIDBRF

This past weekend was the 2006 Montreal International Dragon Boat Racing Festival and the first time team Swordfish (and the impromptu all-men's team of Lane 0) would be participating.

Half of the Swordfishes left after 09:00 on Friday and got into Montreal after 15:00. I think each carpool managed to stop at the Big Apple restaurant/theme park off the 401! Once we figured out our sleeping arrangements at the UQAM residences, we wanted to eat and drink. Schwartz' famous smoked meat was the destination followed by a stop at the SAQ. And so the pre-drinking started after 21:00. Damn you Jack Daniel's. Damn you. That's all I remember that night.

---
Uh, long story short - the Swordfish guys would end up paddling in eight races total (only seven for me), while the Swordfishettes would paddle their hearts out for four over Saturday and Sunday. Swordfish finished 2nd in our Mixed G Final (Intermediate) and although we didn't win a trophy or medals, we had our best race of the festival! Lane 0 ended up winning a close Men's D Final - which was preceded by an extra ~1000m of paddling since one of the seats in the boat broke! Our medals weren't available but we'll be receiving the hardware eventually.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend of dragon boat racing. The city is fantastic and the night life was -ahem- memorable. So far, Montreal's festival offers the best arrangement for watching races and I'm sure we'll be looking forward to next year's. Taking the Friday off work was great. Taking Monday off work would have been even better!

The following picture was created by JW and offers a 360 degree view of Montreal's Olympic Basin and MIDBRF participant stands.
  

This is not my car or me driving

With digital speedometers, how do you know what the car's limits are?



*Disclaimer: Please obey all posted speed limits and the rules of the road. And if you're in the left lane and not passing, move to the right!

The Case of the Cravings

You have to feel bad after eating ten - yes, ten - jalepeno cheeseburgers from White Castle for dinner. I mean, you *DO* feel bad after eating a third of a Crave Case. But how often do you get to enjoy those little sandwiches that practically melt in your mouth with a little kick? Actually, what's worse with this picture is that we drove around Richmond City, Indiana looking for some cold beer. Unfortunately, all the liquor and convenience stores were closed that Sunday - ridiculous!    (Taken on 2006.07.02)

Way to Crash at the first turn McLaren-Mercedes

This past long weekend was awesome: I drove down to Indianapolis, Indiana to watch the U.S. Formula 1 Grand Prix qualifying and race; I got to "test" out my engine on some nice open highways; we had breakfast at the same IHOP on Saturday AND Sunday; and finally, my friends and I scored some great deals at the Prime Outlet in Grove City, Pennsylvania!
---
Too bad Alonso didn't continue with his winning streak. And what the hell is Montoya's problem? He took out nearly half the starting field. But yeah, the Ferrari team was clearly faster this weekend than everyone else, including Renault.

   (Taken on 2006.07.02)