Lotusphere 09 - Probably not going to happen for me this year...

As much as I enjoyed going to my first Lotusphere back in January, 2008, the chances for me going in January, 2009 are slim and none.

We've got too much going on here at work, and I'll probably be going to Orlando in May for the Oracle/Peoplesoft/JD Edward User Conference.

I'm a little more than disappointed, but seeing that the Swan and Dolphin rooms are pretty much booked and I'd have to stay at one of the other properties (not that there's anything wrong with the other properties), I'm kind of glad. I really like staying at the "host" hotels for a conference, as it is easier to be able to get back to your room to drop things off, if you are right there, rather than to have to take a shuttle back to the one of the other properties.

Hopefully, I will be able to attend Lotusphere in 2010.

I hope you all have a good time, and have a drink or two for me.

Vegas Vacation Report

My wife and I just got back from a free trip to Las Vegas on Monday night. I won the trip at our company golf outing (one of our vendors gives this trip as a prize for our employees.) It's a 4 day/3 night trip. This is the second time in four years I've been the one to win it. The first trip didn't turn out so well, as I ended up getting some kind of virus while there and spent the last full day there at the medical care center waiting to see a doctor. Not a fun time.

Since it's been four years since we've been to Vegas, I was really looking forward to the trip. I love Vegas. We aren't huge gamblers and don't have a lot of "throw away" money to gamble with, so our gambling budget is quite small. I usually don't put more than $20 into a machine. If it doesn't pay out when I'm down to about $10, I cash out and move along to another machine. I'm not much of a table gamer either, but I have tried my luck at roulette a few times in the past.

With that as a preface, let me tell you about our free trip...

First of all, we were presented with four choices of hotels... Harrah's, Luxor, NYNY, and the Flamingo. We stayed at the Flamingo the last time we were there, and since I got sick there, we opted not to stay there again this trip. We chose Harrah's, as it is in the middle of The Strip and centrally located to most of the other casinos.

Our flight was with Spirit. We didn't have a choice of airlines, as we weren't paying for anything, so I wasn't going to complain about too much. I've never flown Spirit before and didn't know what to expect. The last trip I took was to Lotusphere08, and I flew with AirTran. I have to tell you, I'm not a big fan of Spirit. It had nothing to do with the flight, as we arrived in Vegas about 40 minutes early. It had to do with all the "extra" stuff.

Evidently, purchasing a ticket with Spirit only guarantees you a spot on the plane. If you wait to check in 24 hours in advance, you take your chances on where you sit (pretty much par for the course with any airline, I guess.) However, Spirit gives you the opportunity to PURCHASE your seats well before the 24 hour check-in window. Aisle and window seats are $10 per flight and the middle seat is $5 per flight ($30 total for the flight out and back.) I suppose I could have waited to choose my seat during the check-in window, but that would not have guaranteed that my wife and I could have had seats next to each other. Spirit also charges for the checked bags. It's $15 for the first checked bag (per person) in advance, or $25 when you get to the airport. Again, that's per flight, so that was another $30 for the checked bag (we only took one checked bag.) So, our "free" flight cost us $60, with guarantees seat assignments and a checked bag... I guess that's not so bad, considering we didn't have to pay for the flight itself, but that is a little ridiculous, if you ask me.

The problem I have with charging for checked bags is that now, people who are flying are trying to cram as much stuff into the largest carry-on bag they can find, to avoid having to pay the checked bag fees. This causes a lot of problems for people trying to find a spot to put the carry-on bags in the overhead compartments. I saw some bags that were very close, if not more, to being over the size limit for a carry-on. It's crazy.

The check in at Harrah's went fine. As the woman checked us in, she went over some of the paperwork for the room. Our room had a mini bar. She explained to us that the mini bar had weight sensors in them, and if you as much as lifted a bottle of something in the mini bar, you were charged for it, whether you opened it up or not. We were also told that we could not store our own stuff in the mini bar (like bottles of water.) If we did, there would be a charge for that. We found out once we got to the room, that we would be charged $50 if we were to put something in the mini bar. Incredible. I can understand the weight sensor thing in the mini bar, as I have heard of people opening a bottle of liquor (like vodka, rum, or gin), drinking it, and then refilling the bottle with water, to make it look like nothing was consumed. But explain to me the reason for not allowing me to put a bottle of water I purchased elsewhere into the mini bar to keep cold? I don't get that part of the puzzle.

As for Vegas itself, a lot has changed in four years. The Aladdin is no longer the Aladdin, but Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino. There's a few new casinos being built. Trump now has a hotel in Vegas. There's the Miracle Mile Mall attached to Planet Hollywood that wasn't there the last time we were there. You couldn't tell the economy was in the tank, looking around at all the construction and new things going on in Vegas.

As for the gambling... we were losers. I'm a video poker player. The best I could manage was a full house on any machine. I never hit four of a kind or straight flush, and only sniffed at a royal flush, only to miss that and a flush at all. The machines are a lot different too. Sure, they have penny and nickel machines, but to play these machines at max credits, you have to play anywhere from a buck to $3 per spin/hand. They aren't really penny machines if you have to play a buck a spin. They are dollar machines disguised as penny machines, and people were playing them like they were penny machines. Hell, some of the machines wouldn't even let you play just one penny (not that I would have done that, but still...)

I cannot believe the number of people who bring their little children to Vegas and think it is a family vacation spot. I'm not talking families with young teenagers, but families with babies and children under 10 years old. There are things in Vegas these kids do not need to see at that age, and I'm not talking about inside the casinos. I know the saying "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" and that's all well and good, and people really do play the part. People dress differently out there and a lot of the women wear very revealing clothes (not that I'm complaining), but these little kids don't need to see that. Not to mention the guys (and women) standing on the sidewalk handing out the little cards for escort services. These cards are nearly X-rated pictures of naked women with "stars" on their naughty parts. You don't have to take on from the people handing them out, as they little the sidewalks. I'm just amazed at the people who thing Vegas is the kind of place to take their little one's on vacation. I have two children, 9 and 6, and there is no way in hell I would even consider taking them to Vegas before they were 30 (ha ha).

We did see Wayne Brady at the Venetian, while we were there. Very good show. He's an amazing improv performer and a good singer as well. We got tickets a week before we left and had 3rd row seats at stage right. He performed for about an hour and half or so, and had us in stitches. He did several things he's done on "Who's Line Is It Anyway?", brought people up on stage to have them participate, and it was all good fun. I would suggest checking him out, if you have the chance. My wife wanted to see Cher, but we couldn't get tickets prior to getting out there, and it was a good thing. As we were walking through Caesar's Palace on Saturday afternoon, we walked by where she was performing and say a notice that her show was canceled that night and it was not going to be rescheduled. I'm glad we didn't have tickets to the show.

All in all, even with the complaining I did above, we had a great time. We did a lot of walking, we went downtown to see the older casinos, but didn't stay to see the Fremont Experience, as we had seen that the last time we were there. We went through almost all of the casinos, new and old, that we wanted to. I was a little disappointed in the Monte Carlo. They have a brewery there. Well... hey used to. The restaurant was still there, but they no longer make their own beer. It was the only reason we visited the Monte Carlo.

We we were there four years ago, and even though I was violently ill on my last day there, I would have gone back the following weekend. This time, I'm not as excited to go back. I'm not sure if it was because I was four years older and my view of life is that much different than it was then, but, I'm just not as excited to go back as I used to be. Sure, I'd go again, but I can wait to go back. I didn't feel that way four years ago. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Viva Las Vegas...

Fantasy Football - Week 2

Well, it's been a good start to the season. I'm currently 1-0 after the first week, and am winning my second week's matchup, going into tonight's Monday Night Football game.

Won my first week's game, thanks to a fine performance by Jay Cutler (QB - Denver) on Monday night. Finished with the most points for the week, which will net me some waiver wire money.

As for Week 2, Michael Turner (RB - Atlanta) was a letdown this week after last week's performance, but, again, Jay Cutler didn't disappoint me, throwing for over 350 yards and 4 TD's and one 2 point conversion pass. Of course, he should have had only 3 TD's, but thanks to a blown call by the refs, he had 4. I've got a slim 20 point lead going into tonight's game, with Terrell Owen (WR - Dallas) starting for me, and Jason Witten (TE - Dallas) and the Cowboys D going for my opponent. I'm hoping that TO will do what is necessary to secure my win.

I may not finish 1st in total points this week, but I will definitely finish in the Top 3, which will still net me some more waiver wire money.

As for my team, I did lose Nate Burleson (WR - Seattle) for the year, but replaced him with Courtney Taylor (WR - Seattle.) It's not that Taylor was high on my list of players to get, but that I was last in the waiver wire order and Taylor was the only one on my list of players I wanted to pick up. I tried for Eddie Royal (WR - Denver), Devery Henderson (WR - New Orleans), and a few others, but it was not to be.

I forgot to mention in my first Fantasy Football post, I do subscribe to a fantasy football website (FootballGuys.com.) I've been with them for about 8 or 9 years now, and since finding them, I've been doing a lot better in my league than I did without them. If you are looking for fantasy football information, FootballGuys.com are tough to beat with the information and tools they give all year round.

We'll see how tonight goes...

Richard Wright - Former Pink Floyd Founder and Keyboardist Dead at 65

"The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness that Richard died today after a short struggle with cancer," a spokesman for the Wright family said.

"The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."

RIP Richard

Golf - The end is near...

Well, unfortunately, my golf league season has come to an end this year. Time really flies. We finished up our league with a four person scramble (A, B, C, and D players on a team.) I was the A player. We finished 3 under for 9 holes, with a lot of "woulda, shoulda, coulda's" thrown in there.) We should have finished at least 5 under, as we had two putts stop on the lip of the cup, and we had an eagle putt just lip out (which would have been icing on the cake.) We finished 3rd out of 5 groups. We lost in a scorecard playoff with the eventual 2nd place team.

It was fun while it lasted, but darkness was coming quicker and quicker each week, and we were running out of daylight if we were in the last group.

I finished the year with a 2 or 3 league handicap (for 9 holes), which is where I should be. I never made friends with my 3 wood as the season wore on, which is fine. I can always replace the 3 wood with another wedge, I suppose. It won't be missed.

I was able to get out to play, outside of the league, a little more than I thought I would, which was nice. I started tracking my scores online (mobilegolfstats.com) and it tells me that I am a 9 handicap for 18 holes. I'm happy about that.

I did play in our local Ryder Cup style tournament back in August. What fun that was. Sixteen guys, all with a variety of golf skills, split into two teams, Ohio and Michigan. Of course, being a Buckeye, I was on the Ohio team. We played 36 holes on Thursday (Alternate shot - Demor Hills in Morenci, MI, 4 ball - Ironwood in Wauseon, OH), 36 holes on Friday (4 ball - Riverby Hills in Waterville, OH, 2 man scramble - White Pines in Swanton, OH), and then the singles matches at The Legacy in Ottawa Lake, Michigan. We were all tied up going into the singles matches, which is the way you wanted it to be, and the Ohio team came out victorious after all the matches were complete. I played some of the best golf I've played this year in this tournament. It was a great time.

As it is now September, and the sun is setting earlier and earlier as time goes by, my time on the course is getting less and less. I'll have to take some nice fall afternoons off work to get out and play before the snow falls. I'm hoping to get out a few more times before that happens.

Golf... it's a love/hate relationship. Right now, I'm loving it.

Fantasy Football - A new year, a new season

I've seen a couple of blog posts about fantasy football on PlanetLotus.com and thought I'd throw my team out there as well.

I've been involved in my local fantasy football league for close to 20 years now. I took a year off during this stretch, but couldn't give it up. I've been the commissioner of the league for close to 10 years now. It's been fun, but as any commissioner will tell you, it's a thankless job. One of the best moves I've made as a commissioner (patting myself on the back), was moving us to an online league management website many years ago. We started out at NFL.com (free at the time), then switched to sportsline.com (again, free), but when they started charging close to $150 for a league, I looked elsewhere. I found MyFantasyLeague.com and it was only $70-80 per year, and it was fully customizable (both in league setup and web design.) We've been there for 6 years now and everyone seems to like it.

Our league a 10 team, redraft league. We have 16 rounds, but 18 roster positions. Here is the my team:

Player
Cutler, Jay DEN QB
Delhomme, Jake CAR QB
Forte, Matt CHI RB (R)
Lewis, Jamal CLE RB
Perry, Chris CIN RB
Peterson, Adrian MIN RB
Turner, Michael ATL RB
Washington, Leon NYJ RB
Burleson, Nate SEA WR
Evans, Lee BUF WR
Johnson, Chad CIN WR
Owens, Terrell DAL WR
White, Roddy ATL WR
Gonzalez, Tony KCC TE
Miller, Zach OAK TE
Scobee, Josh JAC PK
Eagles, Philadelphia PHI Def
Redskins, Washington WAS Def

I'm pretty happy with the team, but with the injuries to Jamal Lewis (on my home team Cleveland Browns) and Chad Ocho Cinco, I am a little worried right now. We'll see how things go this weekend.

Three months??? Really...

Yes, I know... I've been neglecting my blog. I have no excuse.

I shall try to correct this oversight in the near future.

Will probably post pad here in a day or so.

I am fine and well... just not posting anything, good or bad.