redd granite

Just returned, as you know from an earlier post, from Las Vegas. The trip was part of a family friend kid’s 21st birthday trip. The trip was not filled with the antics of “The Hangover”, so do not too excited.  We are a tame bunch. But keep reading.  You may pick up a few helpful information tidbits to consider when planning your next trip.

Frist, this was to be a cheap trip.  Airline miles covered airfare, the selected hotel was to be very cheap based upon an offer extended to my wife’s frequent card.

Imperial Palace was selected as it was to offer a rate of $94, for four nights, all taxes included. Well, it did not turn out that way.  Since it was my wife’s card, they would not honor my stay against it despite my trying aggressively.  Total cost for what is basically a dumpy hotel:  $320. Bad form Harrahs. Enough of the bad. We will devote this write up not on the typical Las Vegas, but some of the different things to do or see that is not gambling, excessive drinking, or others…..

Red Rocks. When it is 115 in central Las Vegas, head out west about 15 miles to Red Rocks park..  The elevation here is somewhere around 3-4K, and the temps are always about 15 degrees cooler.  There is a long loop that leads through the foothills, with several parking areas that are trail heads  with a variety of hiking trial difficulty. Bring a picnic lunch, feed the chipmunks, and enjoy a really relaxing time.  Entry fee $5

Bonnie Springs. Kids may like this as it is a old western town replica with a petting zoo.  Not much interest for me, but then I know some have kiddies, and this would be decent place to take them. It is just beyond Red Rocks park.  They have some kind of stage reenactment as well on schedule during weekends.  Cheesy.  Again, not for me, but someone may like it.  It is not loosing your money in a slot machine

Blue Diamond. This little post mining town is yet further west on the same road as Red Rocks.  Population about 350, it is a little green oasis in the middle of dry.  Wild Burros are this towns claim to fame, and they are usually feasting on the well manicured baseball diamond.  They love to come up and stick their nose in your open window looking for a hand out.  We always stop at the general store there. A Diet Mt Dew, and a few stories by the owner, and you are off. Each Saturday they gather around the store parking lot for a impromptu blues jam.  I think its more on the weedy wacky side, if you know what I mean.

Lake Mead. In the other direction (that would be east for you geo challenged monkeys) is Lake Mead.  A huge but disappearing body of water that is surrounded by what looks like the surface of the moon. Little vegitation.  Go all the way down under Boulder City to a beach area, right around the corner from the Hoover Dam. There you can back your car up to the water’s edge and dnjoy the relatively clean, but really warm water.  Usually a few strange sights here as well, like the time some chick in a bikini got her golf clubs out and analyzed her swing on the beach in the bikini…sorry, no pics, forgot my camera.

Hoover Dam. All I will say here is expect an 45 minute queue on Sat and Sun. During the week, go, you can get there without too much wait.  great marvel. But now, it is joined by another marvel we found nearly as interesting…a bypass highway is being completed to relieve the weekend traffic jam. The bridge is high above Hoover damn, and a frigin engineering marvel…This is worth seeing if you have not been to Hoover in a while.

Mount Charleston. This is northwest. This is basically a village of vacation homes about 8000 feet high above the valley. Here the temps are 25 degrees less than the valley.  There is hiking and picnic areas.  There is also a restaurant on the way to the ski area (yes, I said ski area) that has a beautiful balcony to lunch and drink at. OK. I knew you were missing the drinking thing. Food is good here, service, not so much.  But it is a great place to call your Mt Charleston destination among which the village is basically a mecca of stunning log vacation home scattered in the hillsides. Stop for lunch, or hike then hang out and watch the humming birds do battle over the feeder…but, they are pretty tame up there, so they will buzz you.

Enjoy and check out Travelocity booking site on the right column to check prices on your travel plans

My latest purchase was a rum listed by several sources as one of the top rums made today:  Mount Gay Rum—Extra Old.  This premium run is from Barbados and has been made since 1703.  While I am always fascinated by the various bottle shapes by Rum makers(marketing geeks take note) it is ALWAYS about the inside that counts.  This bottle is  mostly plain with manufacturers’ crest of some sort etched into the bottle. What caught my eye was the cork screw top.  Don’t have any scientific documentation, but the rums I have tried stopped with cork, just seem better than those with a regular top.

This was the most expensive bottle of rum I have ever tried.  It was a birthday present to myself, and it was in the $40-$50 range.  The rich amber color of the rum as it poured into the glass was very promising.  It is 86 proof, a little stronger than most rums I have tried, and you can tell the difference.

Opening the bottle, the aroma is rich, stout, promising warm nights, cool breezes, and swaying palm trees.  A very good start.  Sipping it straight, the first intake is unbelievably smooth, no bitter aftertaste, no bite.  This was the first rum I can honestly say I could sip straight, like a whiskey.  It melts in your mouth like warm brown sugar.  Mixed with Coke , or Cherry Coke Zero, it mixes well, with a rum flavor that blends, if used in the right proportion with the mix.  However, it is not a rum to drink if you decide to “double down” the rum content of your drink.  It will overpower the cola.  Also, it does not mix that well with fruit drinks or the frozen mixes.  A lot of darker rums don’t make good Boat Drinks and this one is no exception.

Bottom Line:  Very good rum within its particular parameters.  Expensive, and not necessarily a good value for the money.  Sometimes paying the cost for higher end goods and services brings a higher return in quality and sometimes you just pay more.  Mount Gay Extra Old did not meet the high expectations given the cost.

My Top Three Rums:

Pyrate

Plantation Grand Reserve

Goslings Black Seal

The Quest Continues.

The Rum Guy

A recent trip to Las Vegas merits a review, but this one with a bit of a business twist. With the economical times teetering on the brink of a lapse into double dip recession, I was interested to return to Las Vegas for some time off. I am a regular visitor to sin city, but not in the typical sense.  I am not that into gambling. I into the restaurant, drinking, people watching, and most of all over the last two years:  the business end of Las Vegas. With the economical meltdown came the same meltdown of the Las Vegas economy…it fell and landed with a resounding thump.  But I have noticed the trend over the last few trips that the numbers seem to be returning. This trip was no different. In fact, the numbers really seemed to be close to what it was pre-meltdown. A trip to one of my clients on this trip confirmed.  My client from my practice as a consultant is very well connected in Las Vegas, as they have done a lot of work in the city. They quickly indicated, over a cup of coffee in the 115 degree heat, that business had picked up. In fact, they indicated the pricing for Saturday night rooms has “gotten ridiculous”.  I found out. The Las Vegas economy is returning, despite our current economic climate where there are a lot of nay sayers thinking we are headed for double dip recession. I secured a room using the wife’s frequent player card for Harrah’s. I selected the Imperial Palace (IP) as it was the cheapest of the cheapest on this offer.  However, when my wife was unable to make this trip, I tried to check in.  She needed to be there. So what started as a $94 rate for 4 nights (yes, I said 4 nights) turned into a $320 rate for 4 nights. Yes, as my client indicated, the driver was Saturday night rate, at $130. Even my beloved Motel 6 (the Stratosphere…I really like this place for a cheap stay normally) was $150 a night….$150! I have never seen the Strat at that price.  This was going to be my fall back. OK. I guess this is less of a Las Vegas review than a quick post on the Las Vegas economy….it really seems to be coming back.

The restaurants we visited were the usuals High End Steakhouses, a martini at Binions Ranch, our must visit to In n Out Burger (yes, coming soon to Garland Texas), and a wonderful evening at Pasta Mia (this one you need to go to in Vegas….it is outstanding….decent pricing and kick ass food…do not let the location fool you). We also did Diablos in front of Monte Carlo….great balcony above the street.  While there was a battle of the bands night that evening, the food was very disappointing, unlike prior visits.  The prices had increased, and the food was just a lot less appealing. Skip it this time.

Despite the alarmist in the Las Vegas economy and our economical times currently, get out and spend some in Las Vegas….just do not go into debt doing it.

Peace

So a quick update as promised to follow up our post two weeks ago about this family fun BBQ joint in Hubbard, Texas.  Recall that I really liked the place….but felt I needed to do a follow up since I only ordered a sandwich there. This time we order the two meat plate with two sides, called the Big Boy.  The price of this is $8.75 and includes your drink…so a very good deal as far as Texas BBQ pricing goes. Recall that I spoke that the sandwich was near perfection, but that they need to slow the smoking a little to make the meat more cut with fork tender.

This past stop was consistent with the first.  The brisket was a bit more tender, and getting close to the  acceptable range.  Again, great smoking and taste.  A perfect ring on the meat.  So this was a good step in the right direction in improving what was a great experience the first time. The ribs were needing a bit of the same slowing of the smoking process.  Do not get me wrong, very tasty, but just a bit too rushed in the smoking process leaving a bit more tough of a rib than I would like to see.

The sides are the laggers here.  There is a limited choice of  beans, slaw, fries, and potato salad.  I chose the potato salad and beans.  Both seemed to be store bought retreads and not very tasty. Generally a waist of calories.  So next time I will stick to the sandwich.

This weeks visit dropped the overall boot total to 7 out of 10. Stick to the meats and you will be happy.

Of course, I now need to find another to try in my back road Texas travels. I have a few on the radar and we will give them a whirl in a few weeks.

Peace

Head Think Tank Geoff Tate

With pleasure, we submit this review of Queensryche, witnessed Sunday, 8 August, at House of Blues in Dallas, Texas. As you all know, I tend to see bands multiple times, and Queensryche is no exception.  This was the sixth time seeing them. This one came with their own twist.  They call it Queensryche Caberet.  So Queensryche Caberet does not come to as a surprise to us that know the band well.  Queensryche is different than many bands in that they are much deeper and somewhat political than the “hey baby I want to make love to you” bands.  Surely, most of their lyrics are deep, meaningful and well crafted, not throw away lyrics. You would also know that they like the theatrical.  They toured with a play written around their hit album “Operation Mind Crime”. OMC was horrible to listen to in concert. When I saw them, they were the headliners at a night in Rocklahoma, a night where half of the crowd got an early start to their nightly debachery.  (Should have stayed, they lost the costumes that night and played a straight up 40 minute set that was great).  Queensryche, because of its depth, just does not tranlate well into straight up concert settings. Somehow, there is a void in energy, and, well, it is hard to explain.  This is why I welcomed this version of Queensryche: Queensryche Caberet.  They went for a setting, a mood if you will. In fact, they have been trying to get in the media previous to the shows to goad audience to dress in costume as well….they have a little more work to do in this area.  I only saw three people who likely fit this bill. Of course, this is uptight Dallas.  Not surprising. The crew consisted of at least 6 women and two guys who were part of the show.  One chick substituted a dancing pole with a floor length curtain from which she did her acrobatics.  Same on the other side of the stage with a giant hanging ring. Then of course, there was the straight up dancing to keep the guys roped in.

Musically, they were tight, tight, tight. Interestingly, they left a couple of their top songs on the table, Silent Lucidity (which despite its mellow and dark demenor, it always has gotten great response.  The other, to my sadness, was Eyes of A Stranger.  If you any of you were with this site in the beginning when we did our top 10 favorite songs, Eyes of a Stranger is one of mine.

Queensryche Guitarist Laying It Down

There were about 400 in attendance this evening. It was an older, but very enthusiastic crowd.  In fact, it struck me a bit how enthusiastic they were.  My friends along for the ride were not as impressed with this.  But I was.  The visual effects, without trying to be too fancy or think tanky like OMC works. It substitutes for the fact that Queensryche just does not translate that well in the live concert setting. Tate’s voice was very strong. He went on all notes, all parts.  No backing down. In the end, this was an enjoyable evening that worked on several levels.

I now estimate, as part of our reviews, the revenue the show likely took in.  This one I estimate at just short of $20,000 revenue, not including HOB resturaunt operations for the night which I have no way of estimating

Go see this show. If it comes to Vegas, really go see it. People are less hung up out there. But just be cautioned: although they do not announce the new stuff, in the end, this is mostly new music off recent CDs.  But noone really seemed to mind……enjoy,

In our second installment of Friday lunches where I stop at a BBQ joint somewhere on my way back from a week of work. Again, this is not necessarily about the best BBQ, or Texas best BBQ, but, rather, about stopping at a few off the beaten path joints and reviewing them. Fridays took us to a place in Hubbard, Texas called Gene’s Pit BBQ. I had seen this place on my travels on the back roads to Dallas. More appropriately, I have smelled it.  True best BBQ aroma resonates well beyond the establishment, and this one did.  So I had to stop.  Today, however, I just ordered a brisket sandwich instead of the plate with sides.  They offered them, mind you, but the menu is on a white board, and unlike other best bbq joints, they do not have the sides sitting in bins under heat lights.

The brisket was smoked to perfection. A beautiful ring around the outside.  Great Mesquite smoke flavor.  Now when you order a sandwich from Gene’s, it comes one way.  All the fixins on it. So pickles, onions and sauce are just put on.  They do not ask you for your choice.  The onions, I swear, were sautéed before putting on the sandwich.  Normally, the onions are place on there raw, creating a good pungent onion flavor that sticks with you for three days afterword.  But to sauté them?  Man. The sauce, onion, and pickles just melted into the bun as one big taste orgasm. The sandwich was stuffed so full, really, you need a fork to eat it. The brisket was of superior quality. Now for you health nuts, be aware, Gene’s does not trim the brisket to slice it onto the sandwich, so it had the requisite 1/4 inch of fat on one side of many of the slices.  Most joints trim this away, but not Gene’s.

The one area of issue was once again the amount of cooking time.  The brisket was a bit tough overall. With such a good cut of meat, the issue here is cooking it long enough at a an extremely controlled temperature. Tough for a bbq resturaunt to do. So Gene, again, like the last review, leave that brisket on for another hour or so, and you will have struck perfection.

This place warrants another stop.  This time, I will order a plate with the two sides. Not sure what my choices are, but I will figure it out. The eating area is very, well, cute, as most girls will offer. It was decorated with old time artifacts. I was the only person in there at this time. Most of their traffic during the day comes from people driving hwy 31 and stopping like I did. The total for the sandwich and a Diet Dr Pepper was $4.60. The one meat plate went for $7.75.  These are extremely reasonable prices for BBQ joints.

I will be back for follow up.  I give them 7 out of 10 total boots. The  only issue was meat tenderness.  I expect a lot in this catagory. If they get up a bit earlier next time I come through on a Friday, and they have cooked longer, look for the above score to greatly improve.  Assuming their sides are as good as the best BBQ

Peace

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Today we explore the world of business travel. Our destination this time was Lexington Kentucky, home of what seems to be a million horse farms.  Uh, should we call them equestrian centers?  I have no idea. I know very little about this sport.  What I can say is that Lexington Kentucky has two things that are painfully obvious:  their love for University of Kentucky basketball, and their many horse farms.  In fact, the city seems to be branded by these, as there are statues of horses throughout the city.  Now of course, you wonder, business travel to Lexington Kentucky?  Well I cannot really go into that, but suffice it to say, this was the a business travel destination.  Not knowing anything about the city, the first impression was the fly in.  Acres upon acres of horse farms surrounding the airport. Each farm had matching fences, same color, same height, apparently same wood. Yes the pic about depicts the standard issue fence.  Secondly, each pasture was averaging around 50-100 acres, near as I could tell, and there would be like 3 horses on them total. Spoiled ponies, really. The view was breathtaking from the air, and equally as impressive on the ground. Now as far as hotel goes, I had no idea where I was going, and I was put in a down town Hilton.  Here is where the basketball comes in.  It was right across the street from the University of Kentucky basketball arena.  Once I got to this central city, all the horse images all but disappeared and the talk and wardrobe of choice had to do with University of Kentucky basketball, and coach John Capelari (spelling?) sightings in the city.Though no where near basketball season, this is all they talked about.  Arena holds 24,000.  They stand all game. They are loud. They are rabid.  We Big 12 ( or Ten, or Big 12 going on 10, whatever) could use to tear a page from their book.  We have the teams, now we need the true fans.

My business destination was strange indeed.  We had to drive through miles of horse farms to get to our destination.  Very cool indeed. Along the way we saw a

few tobacco farms.  My traveling buddy had never seen tobacco in the field before.  Not much of that in Waco Texas.  I had not seen it since a kid. Western Wisconsin used to have some tobacco operations when smoking was much more in vogue. These fields were laced in between the horse farms.  And in the end, the thing that struck us was that all of the fields, for miles around, were all well manicured. It appears the folks cut the fields where their spoiled ponies roam. Now none of this is particularly earth shaking in its own rigtht, but we found this very interesting.

The restaurants were excellent.  A down town spot called Bellini’s served us dinner the first night. Excellent high end Italian food that well made up for its lackluster and unimaginative name. Lunch the next day as at a joint called Malones. Decent, nothing to write home about, but still enjoyable.

Couple of this with an airport that is easy to get in and out of due to its smaller size, coupled with truly nice people in the services industry there, and this was a pleasant experience. I am certain my travels will take me back there….and I look forward to it.

Yup.  You got it, fat America. This post is about our obesity and not so much the effects on America overall. First of all, lets get business matters straight.  I stole this pic from their website.  So sue me. This is the pic you see in their sign up page of the official weight watchers web site. As far as dieting goes, this thing is a god send to fat people everywhere, but, only if you really choose to do something about it. Now, let me say, I am not meaning to throw darts at all the fat people irresponsibly. But for those fat people who find it necessary to con their insurance companies to getting them an electric chair because they are just to lazy to walk, well, I am throwing darts at you.  And may they land as a direct hit.  If I have to go through one more narrow grocery store isle doing battle with the electric chair piloted by some fat jockey who has convinced themselves that life has just dealt them a bad card, so screw it, they are going to get what they deserve and consume 46,000 calories a day doing it, well, I may go postal.

Now for the apologies due in line here. I know some have physical ailments. I know some have metabolism in-balances. Some have other medical issues I am to stupid to know about.  This post is not for you. Only you can disseminate your conscience appropriately.  The rest, they are fooling themselves at best.

Now for my own darts. I am a graduate of Weight Watchers. But, as is the case for many people, I lost a bunch, and put back a bunch. The numbers:  I started at 231 (6’2″ male), reduced to a low of 188, and now at 215. Break. Let me get a sip of wine before I continue.  So you see, I am not saint.  I throw this criticism at myself as well as anyone else.  Also, please note, there is not advertising on this website for Weight Watchers, so I am not trying to sell you anything for personal gain (at least in this post…ha).

Here is the fact and why I write this.  I am headed back to the program. I am a life time member, but, did not do what was necessarily to keep this up without paying again.  But, what I learned in loosing those 43 lbs (count em, from top to lowest),will never leave.  I do not need to go back and pay the initiation fee once again.  I know it all. It all comes down to the discipline to follow the program.

In a nut shell, this program is no more than calorie counting. But, they put a formula in place that translate calories to points based upon certain parameters for the food quality, fiber, fat, all the usual suspects.  They allocate you points based upon your body type. And then, it is up to you.  This is where the meetings help.  I do not believe the on-line folks overall have as much success as those who go to the meetings.  Many food tips and ideas are shared there.  And you guess it. The meetings are filled with those huge beasts who may have dawned an electric chair….the difference?  They are truly trying to do something about it. They are struggling, cause they are serious. I am amazed at the openness of most of these people, and my heart goes out them.  Not in morbid sympathy…they do not want this, but because, they are really, really trying.

I was overweight, but did not show it that bad. When I lost all that weight, many friends said I went too far…..but medically speaking, my maximum weight is supposed to be 194.  So I am now 21 pounds over my maximum. Only I can change this.  Thanks to Weight Watchers, I have tools for life to know how to deal with it….no follow on, no shitty hype driven sale, just true practical results.  Weight Watchers does not promise the moon.  They give the tools to deliver just what you personally put into it to deliver.

Really, kinda wish they had an affiliate program to put an ad on this website.  I believe in this that much.  And, I am faced with the necessity to do something once again about the weight to pull it back to something a little more reasonable.  Yes, I failed, only in the fact that I gave in to what most dieting people give into, they loose and put back.

I will hope to contain this once again.  And you see, my criticism of those electric chair jockeys do not come without responsibility of my own. But I have the tools to change once again, and it may be a on-going struggle as I love to eat and drink.  IT IS UP TO ME.

I love to tell the story in one of the early meetings as I was on the road to loosing 43 pounds, after I lost my first 6 pounds in a week (guys have it so much easier than women), the Weight Watchers leader asked me to share my success with others in the meeting.  ”What did you do to loose 6 pounds so quickly?” I responded that she really did not want to know. She said, “C’mon, share with everyone so they can know:.  I said, ” I drank my points away with Vodka”.  She said, “seriously, what did you do for your success?”  I repeated that I drank my points away with Vodka.

You see, that is the beauty of Weight Watchers, YOU CHOOSE how to spend you points. They preach healthy foods and you will get many suggestions for the such, but in the end, you decide.  I love this program.  And you know, it is really a spin on good ole common sense. You consume more calories (points) than you take in.  Tonight, I am choosing to drink my points away, without dinner.

Now if you electric chair fat people can go with this, go for it.  I am behind you. There is room for failure.  I am proof. I have back slid. But with the tools that Weight Watchers gives you, my friend, it is totally up to you, and noone else.

Peace