The Storm

This little freakin storm from May 19th has kept me very busy. It produced golf ball size hail and 60 mph winds. Cool pic but man I hate Spring Storms. Treo Out. Later.

Holiday Hangover.....

I'm Tired!
Originally uploaded by aham23.

Just a great pic of Eddie Vedder, the dog, from the car ride home this past weekend. He played hard and is still recovering. He roamed free and off leash with Lakota, Zeke, Vito, and Tipper. They had over 12 acres of wooded land out in the middle of no where to patrol. He loved it. Flickr Out. Later.

Holiday Ride

This turned out to be an epic ride. I rode, walked, it rained, I got a flat, and severe blisters. More on this later. Treo Out.

Holiday in the country

Work is sooo over rated!

I have seen the light!

Left the big city and BAM........the sun appeared at 8pm. It was 8pm and blinding. Treo Out. Later.

Interesting Amazing Race 7 Stuff....

I was one of those who thought it was very suspicious that Uchenna and Joyce got on that last flight and CBS showed us no footage of how they did it?? I was browsing the busblog and came across Fook The People who has some great "stuff" from an Interview Uchenna and Joyce did recently. Check it out.

I am out for the Holiday Weekend. This week at work has been shit and I plan to do it up this weekend. Do it up? Camp, Ride, Drink, Eat, and Sleep. I may even do a little Treo Blogging. I am out. Later.

The Contender

I already knew this but I bet millions of Americans had no idea that Live boxing would be half as exciting as Mark Burnett's edited boxing. The taped and edited episodes of The Contender were just amazing and beautiful work. The final episode.....not so beautiful.

Not the fights. I mean boxing is what it is and I enjoyed the fights. However, Sly and Sugar aint so sweet on their feet. No wonder there were so many voice overs during the regular season episodes. They had people talking with no mics on. They had bad in ring camera angles. They had crappy in screen corner shots. This final episode did not look like a polished Mark Burnett production.

Besides that I was pumped to see Alfonso fight and win. I do like Jesse and felt for him as he showed obvious disappointment with the loss. It was a good fight where Alfonso stayed with his strengths, body punches, and avoided Jesse's big blows.

I originally did not buy into Sergio and this smart thing. For me he did not seem any smarter then the other fighters. He spoke well and read some books with fancy names that everyone claims to have read. I really didn't like his Latin Snake Cocky In Ring Attitude. However, tonight he got me. He is a smart dude. He knew Manfredo was going to try and bully him so he clearly prepared for it. In fact his was the better bully. He was the guy throwing punches against the ropes. Manfredo did not seem ready for Sergio's speed. He clearly trained to be the bully which he tried, but he never got off any good shots. He pushed and leaned, but didn't throw enough punches. He was out trained and out boxed.

Rematch? I don't need no stinking rematch. Let it go Sly. Damn do you need a job that bad. I want to see Sergio fight Alfonso or Ishe or some other guy I don't know who is a Champion with a real title. I will pay for it so lets get it done. Did you catch that at the end that there were three other fights?? So do we ever get to see them? When the fuck is the unedited DVD coming out?

Bo Bice is your next American Idol and I am out. Later.

My Weekend Ride

It is hard to see bot yes I rode 19.64 miles on Saturday. It was 1 hr 32 mins with 12.7 avg 28 max. My longest and hardest mtb ride yet. Can not wait for the Contender fight! Work sucks so it is quick Treo post all week. Later.

Little Bird Babies

Not two but three little eggs. Blogger Mobile is cool. Later.

I Got Bird

Dirty Little Nest. I luv blogging from the Treo. Out. Later.

Use The Force

Look who I met at the movies! Just a quick pic & note from the Treo. More on the movie & return of the evil hail later. Later.

Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith

Picked up my tickets today for the Friday 7pm show. I plan to arrive one hour early to stand in line. Oh yeah there will be a line just to get into the theater even afte the line for purchasing tickets. I think everyone in the world has seen this movie but me and today is its first day out?? I am looking forward to it. Too tired for much more. I am out. Later. Wait, I still got bird. Later.

Got Bird?

So all these great things to blog about and I got bird issues. A Mommy bird has set up camp and built a nest outside my front door. She has wedged a nest between the house and light. First time I noticed was tonight. What did I do? Yeah, I un-wedged it to get rid of it and bam I found eggs, two big ones. I immediately put it back in place and ran inside to the trusty net for advice.

First let me say the bird some how mudded that nest to the house and light. It was in there good. I wedged it back into place as best as possible, but it is no longer glued in. Now, the Mom has come back and I hope she resecures the nest. My quick google search leads me to believe that it is against Federal law to disturb a birds nest and eggs without a Federal permit. That is wrong on so many levels. I mean all the things wrong with America and I can not disturb a birds nest who first has disturbed me? WTF? Anyway, now that I know she is an expecting Mommy I do not want to "disturb" it.

OK some quick hits for every thing else all important to me:

Finally the Dominate and Deserving Survivor actually wins the damn game. Ian you are an idiot for giving that fatty $100K. You earned a spot in that final two and that was the dumbest Survivor move ever made. In fact, you had both the best (dumping Greg) and the worst moves of all time.

I told you not to let Peter Manfredo Jr back in the competition. Told you so!! That was a great fight that he dominated, but hats off to Gomez who has the heart of a champion. He was my favorite.

Bo is the next American Idol.

Crank Brothers Candy SL pedals were the first "mod" to my mountain bike. Yeah, nothing like an inexperienced rider blazing down some singletrack at 15mph completely attached to his bike with no idea how to "unclip."

Speaking of bike I was back on it Sunday. The Ride Stats Please: Waterfall Glen 10 mile track, 46 minutes, 12.6 avg mph, 22.5 max mph. Fastest time, Fastest max, and Fastest Avg all with the new pedals.

I got a Treo. The Plam One Treo 650. I don't know how to use it yet, but you just want. Soon I will be on top of the mobile blogging world. Maybe even sooner then you think.

Going to by my Star Wars III tickets for Friday night tomorrow. My Mom took me to see the first and is traveling up to the big city to take me to see the last. Cool moms.

I am out. Later.

Where You Been?

Where have all my blogging buddies gone? Where or Where?

Survivor, The Contender, My New Treo, My Clippless Peddal Experience, Star Wars is Coming........Man I got so much to blog endlessly about, but maybe later. Really. Later.

Yeah for Tom.............

If you dont know Tom is still on Survivor. My thoughts, keep wining imunity and you are good for the vote.

Check it out..............one of my favorite blogs to read, I write, therefore I blog...., has a great little question thingy for us.

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:

aham23 (duh)
hampton23(duh)
ham

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:

aham23
hampton23
dirtycocksuckerinakidschatroom23

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:

my height
my dark hair
my blue eyes

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:

my beer gut
my skinny arms
my beer gut

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:

american
french
american

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:

bloody movies
death
my wife

THREE THINGS YOU'RE WEARING NOW:

cell phone - soon to be treo
sweat pants
miller lite

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTIST

pearl jam
pearl jam
green day

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS:

betterman
yellowleadbetter
thong song

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:

sex
drugs
rocknroll

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: (Which is a lie?)

i work too hard
i work too little
i drink to much

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:

ass
tits
t&a

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:

mountain biking
the net
loving my wife

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:

drink more beers
skip work tomorrow
spank the monkey

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING:

at home dad
reality tv camera dude
insurance adjuster

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:

any place warmer then chicago
your moms house
florida

THREE KIDS NAMES YOU LIKE:

jordan
james
jordan

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:

hear my child say they love me
see above
see my wife's joy of being a mom

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL:

i like to look good
i ask how my ass looks
uh i aint no chick

THREE CELEBRITY CRUSHES:

natalia portman
elliot from scrubs
romber

THREE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO TAKE THIS QUIZ NOW:

cheesecakey
christian
tony

i am out. later.

The Amazing Race 7

I didn't catch on to this gem of a reality show until season 5 when Chip and Kim won. I can not believe I missed four other installments. This freakin show is awesome baby. They added my favorite Survivors Rob and Amber and this 7th Amazing Race was off the hook.

It came down to speaking Spanish. Rob and Amber were out front, but had a cab driver who didn't know The King Of Havana in Spanish. Well, actually it came down to the last flight. Rob was brilliantly aggressive and got on the almost closed early flight. Uchenna and Joyce some how managed to do the same. They clearly did some begging or something we did not get to see. I mean the plane was closed up and pulling away??

While my favorites were Rob and Amber you got to like Uchenna and Joyce. That dude never gave up and always kept a positive vibe. He refused to believe or let his wife believe that they were out of the race. I mean can you name a worse place for an American to beg for money then Jamaica? They were the best "team" and completed the race with little help from outsiders. I dig the fact that he risked a million dollars by refusing to NOT stiff the cab driver. I am sure Rob would have ran straight to the finish line.

I hope they continue to have some "B" celebrity teams in the race. People we already sorta know. That is cool.

Finally, yes I will be Tivo'ing the Rob and Amber Wedding. I am out. Later.

To Blog or Not To Blog?

With the arrival of spring here in Chicago I began wondering if this blog would continue through the summer? I have a lot going on this summer none of which involves spending hours on a computer. Well, the five hours I spent on the computer today don't count.

What's the freakin point? I dig blogging and this blogging train is gonna keep going strong. Blogger has this cool new On the Go with Blogger Mobile that allows one with a cameraphone to blog at any time and place. It creates a new blog with the picture you email me. You can put a title and subject matter with the picture that will appear in the post with the pic. Two blogs you say, that is too much too remember. WAIT, you can merge the blogs so the emailed pictures and text magically appear on your existing passion.

Sounds cool, uh, but not for me. They currently do not support Nextel's MMS or text messaging system. (Must get Treo.) I tried it and they said NO. What is a cameraphone toating, blog loving boy to do? YES, I have it flickr.com is the answer. I have been able to email pics from my phone to my flickr account then blog the pics from flickr. I just discovered this, "Send to Flickr and your blog using this address:" which is totally cool. I can email the pics to a new flickr addy and they will be instantly uploaded to my blog. Who knew?

So the moral of the story is get a Treo and Blog On Dudes. Later.

Who put that there?

Who put that there?
Originally uploaded by aham23.

Yeah flickr finally started working for me again??? I have fallen short of the 40 miles ridden weekend goal, BUT I did hit again today.

I had a few beers last night which made this ride a toughy just to get started. I almost did not go, but I am glad I did. It was beautiful here in Chicagoland today! Despite the heavy rains Saturday morning the singletrack was in great riding shape.

The Ride Stats Please: 7.71 miles in 54 minutes with an avg speed of 8.6 mph and max of 19.9 mph.

That makes for 22 miles of singletrack goodness I rode. My legs are sore and my neck is barking at me. Twisting and Turning and Jumping in the woods is fun and HARD stuff.

Did you see The Contender? I did and I loved it. I was tricked in to believing Jesse was mentally and physically beaten before the first bell ever rung. His words and his body language were that of a beaten man. Add to that the determination and confidence of Anthony and I thought no way in hell Jesse wins.

That seemed to be the case until the last round. Then BAM, Anthony got nailed with that one punch. The one all boxers fear. The one that can come from any boxer at any time. Right on the jaw! Did you see his head and neck just whiplash back? He was out on his feet. I was yelling, "STOP THE FIGHT!"
I was not an Anthony fan, but I did not want to see him get hurt.

Holy Crap did you catch the preview. I think Manfredo gets a second chance at Alfonso? That would be a seriously fast turn around for Manfredo as he just fought. Don't boxers normally fight just 2 to 3 times a year?? I hope I am wrong and these two do NOT fight until the final.

Long post. I am out. Later.

Tag, I'm It!

I was tagged by Charlotte for this meme.. here goes! You must select at least three of them. You may add more if you like. Of the three you selected, you are to finish each phrase with what you would do as a member of that profession. Then pass it on to three other bloggers.

Here's the list: If I could be a scientist... If I could be a farmer...If I could be a musician... If I could be a doctor...If I could be a painter... If I could be a gardener...If I could be a missionary... If I could be a chef...If I could be an architect... If I could be a linguist...If I could be a psychologist... If I could be a librarian...If I could be an athlete... If I could be a lawyer...If I could be an innkeeper... If I could be a professor...If I could be a writer... If I could be a backup dancer...If I could be a llama-rider... If I could be a reality tv camera person...If I could be a bonnie pirate...If I could be a midget stripper... If I could be a proctologist...If I could be a TV-Chat Show host... If I could be an actor...If I could be a judge... If I could be a Jedi...If I could be a mob boss... If I could be a backup singer …If I could be a CEO... If I could be a movie reviewer …If I could be a filmmaker... If I could be a sherpa...If I could be a ninja... If I could be a cab driver...

And my answers are:

If I could be a musician I would want to play an acoustic set with Eddie Vedder. No not the dog, but the lead singer from Pearl Jam.

If I could be a Jedi I would use my mind powers on the wife to make her believe that I really do need to drink another beer.

If I could be a reality tv camera person I would work on the upcoming Brittany Spears reality tv show. I am so intrigue by that pregnant white trash southern girl millionaire pop singer!!

The last "If I could be..." was my own addition to the fun game.

Lazy Days

Lazy Days
Originally uploaded by aham23.

Just a random camerphone pic I took then emailed to my flickr account then blogged it to blogger through flickr. Get all that? Technology is so cool. Later.

Is This The End?

End of the Trail?
Originally uploaded by aham23.

Urban Myth is that this trail goes on if you dare cross the river. Really, some say there is more singletrack madness on the other side. I think I will be waiting for the Summer Drought before I attempt to cross.

It was another Spring Day! Our second day of Spring here in Chicagoland. I managed another ride out at Knock Knolls. Same route as yesterday, but I tried to focus on my skills. Staying relaxed and loose and keeping those damn feet on the pedals when jumping logs and other roll overs.

So the stats are: 7.24 miles in 49 minutes with an avg speed of 8.7 mph and max of 16.1 mph. Great sunny weather and a great spring ride.

Time for some Survivor. I am out. Later.

Hello Spring !

Hello Spring !
Originally uploaded by aham23.

Finally Spring has sprung in Chicago. We had to wait for May 4th, but I think it is here for good. This was me and the flowered singletrack on my ride today. Everything is starting to dry out and green up out in the forest.

Yesterday I told the wife I was getting in atleast 40 miles of mountain biking this weekend. So I cut out of work to get an early start. Forty miles may not seem like much, but we are talking singletrack not road miles. Plus, I aint in the greatest shape as I have not hit the gym for over a month.

Today was sweet. I was the only person out on this trail. This trail has only 5 miles of singletrack, but it is close to home and rarely crowded.

Just the Ride Stats Mam: 7.24 miles, 51 minutes of ride time, & 8.4 mph avg with a max of 16.1 mph. I picked up a new wired cyclocomputer and it tracked the stats like a champ. The wireless model is a chump.

How about some quick hits???

Why did Rob not listen to Amber and yeild Uchenna and Joyce? They are the best team in the race. He just didn't look at the big picture. Merideth is a guys name?

Why does Extreme Makeover Home Edition make me happy? Am I that easily entertained?

The Shield is a freakin awesome show. You MUST check it out, Tuesdays on FX 10 pm eastern.

The Chicago Bulls need to get their heads out of their arse compartments. Four minutes to go and they are down 8 at home.

I am out. Later.

Dip A Roo

Dip A Roo
Originally uploaded by aham23.

Sweet SingleTrack

Sweet SingleTrack
Originally uploaded by aham23.

The Best Hour of TV...................

I just finished watching this weeks episode of The Contender, The Next Great Human Drama, and damn it was the best hour of TV I have seen in years. Let me think back, yeah, I use to really dig ER and there was that one episode from season six. The one where Carter and Lucy were brutally attacked and stabbed by a misdiagnoised patient. Carter laid on the ground in a pool of his own blood staring at Lucy who was doing the same. When discovered the ER sprung into action. Carter barely made it and Suzy did not. Dr Ramano, the always mean son-of-a-bitch head of the ER, passionately worked on Suzy up to the end. Her chest was cracked and her heart was in his hands as he tried but failed to save her. It was a fabulous episode and season of TV drama. That was like 5 years ago.

Where was I? Oh yeah The Contender. This is the best Drama on TV right now. The editing with the music and slow motions is just brilliant. This weeks episode was a beautiful piece of edited Reality TV. They must have spent hours editing this episode just to get it right. The fight was freaking awesome. The slow motion, the music, the sound effects, the parents and family yelling at the fighters, the reactions of the watching fighters, and the brutality of boxing were amazing. Manfredo beat the crap out of Joey in the first two rounds. Joey said he broke a rib after round two. What did he do? He came out and won rounds three and four. We only see one minute or so of editing action but, damn Joey sure showed heart and toughness. So did Manfredo by coming back strong in round five. That accidental head butt looked painful and did you see that gash!!! They don't stop fights for little cuts. That thing was huge. I thought they really made a point to slow down and draw our attention in on that head butt so America could see it was an accident. I think when the fight was stopped Peter Manfredo Jr was the winner.

Did you catch the preview? It looked like Jesse was going down?? Plus, the comments make you think the same. However, that is how they get us to watch. Make us think the impossible takes place. A one legged Anthony knocks out the stronger, healthier Jesse? He is the only one to score a knockout? I can not wait for next Sunday!

No ride today. Too damn cold here in Chicagoland. It is suppose to warm up mid week (70s)! I am out. Later.