Burning Man 2011  -  Sep 7th, 2011 10:33am

Let me get this out of the way first: Nothing I am capable of writing or taking a picture of is going to adequately illustrate just how surreal, beautiful, or harsh an experience Burning Man was.  Its a place so wholly different from the norm, that since my return to the real world, things seem bland and devoid of character - like taking off a pair of colored glasses or leaving out the salt from your food.  It was a wonderful and unique experience, and though I can't do it justice - I hope that my description may at least inspire you to consider the journey yourself.

Officially, the trip to Burning Man should take about 15 hours from Phoenix.  In reality though - it takes much longer than that.  No one seems to get to the Playa (the dry lake-bed in the desert where the festival is held) without a number of random disasters.  We changed no less than 3 tires, and had to grind off 2 locks just to get half way there.  Then you have to pick up all the items you forgot or lost along the way, and finally once you arrive there is a long line of vehicles like overstuffed sausages waiting to get in.  Every vehicle is searched for free-loaders (those without a ticket)and if your unlucky enough to get pulled over by the local PD - contraband as well.

Fortunately we were able to bypass most of that fiasco thanks to some early entry passes our friend Jessica floated us.  We waited about an hour or so, rolled around in the dirt (as is the custom for first timers), banged a gong, and we had officially arrived at Burning Man!

Even though we were a little bit early, it wasn't that easy to find a spot to camp in.  Lots of areas were already roped off or reserved, and even the area we finally settled in turned into a bit of a land dispute at one point.  We made our camp just past 6:45 and Graduation.  The city is set up like a clock where the spokes are numbered from about 2:00 to 10:00 and the streets are alphabetical from the innermost "A" to the outermost ring "L".  The alphabetical streets do have names, but people constantly replace them so "Engagement" quickly became "Enlightenment" which turned into "Ecstasy" etc...  The system is easy to follow and we were just down the way from our friends at Radio Electra who were camped at 7:00 and "A".

That first day was a little rough - it took most of the night to finish setting up our camp and it was sunrise before I finally got to crash out in the structure I had worked so hard to build.  The Yurts worked brilliantly - they were dust-proof, warm at night and cool during the day.  They weren't as sound proof as one might think, but the further you are from the center "A" the quieter it is in general so noise wasn't that big an issue.  I had rigged a heavy duty exhaust vent to go along with the solar power system so the swamp cooler only got turned on a couple of times, but it too worked amazingly well and kept me cool during a 24 hour recovery period I required after a long night out.

So we had arrived, setup our camp, and finally gotten a little rest - thus began a series of strange adventures and rest periods that made up my burning man experience.  The festival seems split into several different phases - the daytime events, the nightly burn, and then the after-party which goes on till the sun rises.  At any point in that daily cycle you can also venture out onto the playa and check out the surreal art-pieces, go participate in some random occurrence (ie. march of the Waldo's - the unicorn stampede, or the gathering of bunnies), or just hang out at camp and watch the random shit parade which is constantly roaming by.

I can't say I was too successful at making many of the events.  As fun and as crazy as many of them were (Jamaican accent party, unicycling tutorial, flamethrowers 101, etc..) I either couldn't find the right place or when I got there the party was over.  I did have a great time though wandering around the playa checking out the art and just wandering around in general until I found something that sparked my interest.  I spent one whole night doing that until I ended up at this place called the "Avant Yard".  They were putting on a storytelling night kind of like The Moth that I missed in NY.  I had such a wonderful time there.  I even got up and told a story of my own.  It was probably my favorite night of the festival... at least until I drank too much, threw up, and had to be dragged off the desert into a random dome to sleep it off.  Special thanks to the kind souls who did that for me... whoever you are :)

Most of our camp spent the daytime napping and trying to keep cool.  Occasionally folks would venture out to center-camp to check out a concert or do some acro-yoga.  I think I spent most of days though out on the playa just sort of awe-stricken by the sculptures.  The pyramid containing the man was pretty impressive, but what really took my breath away was the temple.

I don't think I knew what to expect when it came to the temple.  I had donated towards that project as it seemed like such an important part of Burning Man, but I had no idea that it would be such a powerful place.  People write things on the temple walls they want to let go of or put objects of loved ones in there to burn along with the temple on the last day.  There are pictures, shoes, poems - I saw a wedding dress someone had hung up and written on it the words "I will love myself first".  Every time I went in the temple without fail I found myself crying.  Even just entering the main room made me choked up... it was weird and very moving.

When I was done sobbing and missing events, the nights usually began with some major object being lit on fire.  I've been to a bonfire or three but nothing close to watching a 4 story wooden horse packed with fireworks and kerosene go up in flames from about 50 feet away.  That night in-particular was pretty amazing as the person crying and laughing behind me turned out to be "Ohio" - the progenitor of the Trojan Horse Project (or so said his wife).

The nights usually ended after I was done gawking at the myriad of kinetic light sculptures that are fondly termed art-cars.  Light up party barges or psychotic neon death-traps would be more accurate descriptions in my humble opinion.  There were hundreds of them at a time on the playa - turning the horizon into a sort of state-fair midway on crack.  The lights, the dub-step music, even the dust they kick up are all ingrained in a picture in my head I can't seem to loose.  Every evening was a crazy parade of light, sound, and flame.

Thus went our days and nights until it was time to leave.  There were epic fireworks displays, the man burned (from which a giant ember fell out of the sky searing my neck) and eventually we found ourselves on the last day of the festival trying to start our vehicles for the first time in a week.  Stephanie was the unlucky winner of the dead battery contest.  This was followed up by her winning the stalled vehicle race and finally the overheating engine competition... basically her truck was loosing the battle.  After getting things running again though, Stef and Denny were anxious to get on the road so we joined them and made the long trek back to reality just before the burning of the temple.

In general - I'd love to say that Burning man changed my life.  I think for the last few years I've been on various excursions hoping to have some cathartic experience out there in the world that would mortar the gaps in my being or show me some new way of looking at things.  I guess I'm a little saddened to return with the message that it didn't... at least not wholeheartedly.  It did however brighten my world and spark my imagination.  I've never been quite as inspired by a place or heard myself say as often "next time I'll...".

To all the amazing friends I made out there, to the radicals at the Avant Yard, to Ohio, to my camp-mates, to Jessica and Chris, all the people who put so much work into making that a special place, and to my girlfriend who put up with my madness while getting ready for this thing - Thank you.  I can't way to see you all there next year.  I might even be done washing the dust off of all my stuff by then ;)

The Hexayurt Project  -  Jul 24th, 2011 10:44am

Part of the fun of Burning Man seems to be the build up before hand.  There is no end to the amount of time, money, and creativity people pour into this event and I think that is part of what makes it so special.

In the spirit of this - a group of us decided to build Hexayurts.  Geodesic dome like structures made out of insulation panels and tape that provide a cool and spacious living space that if done right is dust free and protected from the wind and sun exactly like a tent isn't.

Originally, these structures started out as an attempt to find a better and cheaper alternative to the kind of make-shift homes that crop up during mass evacuations and natural disasters.  Of course cheap, strong and element proof is a magic formula for Burning Man and thus the Burning Man Hexayurt was born!

We are actually making three yurts this year.  Cupp and Denny are both going to stay in the 6 foot stretch variety and I'm building the 8 foot Camp Danger Model both to sleep in, and provide a communal place to get out of the wind, dust, and sun during the heat of the day.

This has turned out to be a really fun project so far and I'll keep attaching photos to this post as we make progress on our builds.

Headed to Burning Man  -  Jul 18th, 2011 8:56am

Well its official - 2011 is the year I'm going to Burning Man!

For those not in the know, Burning Man is a week long event that takes place in salt flats (aka Playa) of Nevada.  Its a no holds bar art festival, a test of self reliance and desert endurance, a place to practice conservation and green living, a giant raving party 40,000 strong, and a spiritual event where people come to find themselves and share their dreams... or at least that's how I see it.  If I'm lucky it will be much more than that.  If not, then at least I get to go camping with my friends for a week.

Along with Jessica - who is our resident Burner and living Playa FAQ - I'll be joining Denny, Stef, Amy, Roig, and Cupp on this adventure.  Unfortunately McCoy, who originally signed on, had to bail on this one as he couldn't swing the 9 or 10 days it takes to make the trip.  His endless energy and unstoppable spirit are going to be missed, but he is pursuing his own dreams - something I think we are all happy to see.

So over the next 6 weeks I've got so many projects to finish!
- Build a Hexayurt
- Build a Swamp Cooler
- Create a giant shade system
- Light up my clothes and a Bike
- Make at least 1 crazy burner costume
- Outfit myself for a 10 day self-sufficient stay in the desert
- Sleep (optional)

Another year - another great adventure.  Here's hoping this will be one epic ride.

Yosemite National Park  -  Jun 6th, 2011 8:19am

I was just a few weeks away from going to Catalina for my birthday this year.  At the last minute though (which is about 4 weeks in airline reservation terms) I changed my mind and decided to visit some place new.  So the day before my 36th birthday with Tara at my side, I boarded a plane for Yosemite!

In truth we were headed for Fresno.  Turns out that's the closest place you can fly to the park without getting a 2nd mortgage.  We then drove from Fresno to Oakhurst and stayed at a place just south of the park entrance called The Queens Inn.  A funky little winery and renovated hotel from the 50's, it's a fantastic deal at less than $100 a night and only about a half hour away from the park entrance.

We left on Thursday and were returning on Sunday so we only had 2 full days to see what we could see.  Fortunately this site/page turned out to be a wonderful primer on where things were and what there was to do in that short a time.

We didn't follow that guide outright, but we did use it as a general game plan - spending the first day hiking through the giant Mariposa Forest, seeing all the lodges, and driving up to Glacer Point, then using the next day to go horseback riding and get drenched at the various waterfalls that litter the valley floor.

As you'll see in the pictures it was cloudy, wet, cold, and absolutely gorgeous.  I couldn't imagine a better time to see one of the most amazing places I've ever been.

Thanks to Phil Hawkins for providing exactly the information we needed to plan out our trip and to Tara for being a wonderful travel companion and a great adventurer.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros  -  May 8th, 2011 7:24pm

Tara and I missed seeing Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros a few weeks ago when they came to town with Mumford and Sons.  So when we heard they were going to play the McDowell Mountain Music Fest in Scottsdale, she picked up tickets and we drove up to the land of shiny cars.

The McDowell Mountain Music fest is a strange affair.  Its a weekend long series of moderately popular bands tied loosely together by the terms "folk" and "blues" held in a parking lot made into a park by sacrificial sod that gives its life in the service of Scottsdale's finest hipster families and local hippie wannabes.  Now maybe that's a little harsh... or maybe I'm just disappointed that we can't seem to do a music fest proper so as to attract the kind of true hippiedom that inspires people to tiedie their business suits?  Either way, its was still a pretty fun deal and a great place to enjoy a cool breeze on a Sunday afternoon.

We got there in time to catch Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears.  The best way to describe them would be to say just go watch The Blues Brothers.  Trumpets blared, people danced, and folks rolled around on stage like their souls were bound to the music.  It was weird, fun, and a great setup for Edward Sharpe who found their way to the stage just after dark.

If you haven't heard of Edward Sharpe - then go listen to Home and come back... all done?  Fun, folky, though not really life changing in any way.  They are what seems to be the next breed of Dave Mathews/Phish/Umphrees McGee like bands born from the hemp seeds left around the country by the Greatful Dead.  Like all those other band they are also really really great in concert -- finding whatever magic their studio attempts lack.  They have a wonderfully fun and inspiring stage presence, and are quite the big ensem - I think they had 9 people on stage at one point including piano, banjo, accordion and horn players.  Not sure how a band that size survives these days... guessing they moonlight as a yard crew?

Anyway - like most everyone - Tara and I started out just lounging in beach chairs on the "grass", but found ourselves drawn up to the stage.  They band sang just softly enough too lure you in, and acted just silly enough to keep you there.  What really sold us on the night though, was watching them pull a couple of fans up on stage to sing Home with them.  This not only made their day/week/life? but it really made mine too.  Its a rare thing to see a band to treat their fans with that much love/respect/trust and I think I'll forever be a fan of Edward Sharpe for that.

I don't think these guys will ever warrant the kind of patchouli fueled devotion that made Dead Heads live out of vans, sleep in fields, and subsist off a diet of grilled cheese sandwiches, but I'll certainly see them again anytime they are in town.

Snowed In  -  Apr 12th, 2011 8:34pm

Was fortunate enough to get snowed in this last weekend.  Given that its April and I live in Phoenix this is somewhat of a miracle...

Tara and I were invited a few weeks back by her friends Gabe and Amy to come up to Gabe's family cabin.  I'm still not exactly sure where it was due to a combination of Four Loko and Oreos, but its somewhere between Strawberry and Flagstaff a few hours west of Payson.

After escaping town on Friday afternoon - we all met up in Payson and grabbed dinner at Cardo's.  This is the kind of place that could only exist in a small town.  While we consumed pizza and beer, everyone in town took their turn singing or playing tambourine with the local guitarista on a makeshift stage.  Kind of like communal karaoke which we escaped from just in time to beat the snow up to the cabin.

The cabin itself was really nice.  A 3 story affair, it was more like a home complete with cozy couches, a stocked fridge, a big kitchen, and even a pool table downstairs.  This wasn't roughing it by any means.  We spent the first night drinking, snacking and poking fun at one of my new favorite movies - Superman 2.  Kneel before Zod!

When we'd had enough of that we all crashed out.  While we slept, 2 things occurred. First, the heater died.  Second, it started to snow.  We all woke up the next morning in a frozen house to a frozen world.  Tara and I crawled out of bed to the window sill like kids on a white Christmas morning and watched the snow pile up.  I had nearly forgotten how quiet the world gets when it snows like that.

The rest of the weekend was filled with all sorts of silliness. Snow shoveling, bad beer, good wine, rock band, pictionary, oatmeal cream pie cookies, and the eventual repair of the heater after it became so cold that fixing it was our only good option.  Thank you Amy and Gabe for letting us come up and play in the snow with you, and thank you Tara for being so much fun to get snowed in with.

Toad the Wet Sprocket at Marquee Theater  -  Mar 26th, 2011 11:04am

Back in 1990 I got a CD player for Christmas and along with it exactly 1 CD in the old double tall cardboard containers that got the record industry in trouble with the green crowd.  That was "Fear" by Toad the Wet Sprocket.

I was so proud of that CD.  Toad was a band I found on my own.  None of my friends listened to them, and while they had a moment of popularity a year or two later, they were too folky for mainstream radio and too soft for the MTV crowd.  I followed them throughout the 90's wearing out each of their CD's as they were released, but I never saw them in concert.  Something that's always frustrated me.

Last night I was finally able to fix that.  Toad played the Marquee in Phoenix and Tara and I were there with smiles plastered on our faces to see them.

I've seen a lot of "indie" concerts lately.  Appleseed cast, Yann Tiersen, Getup Kids, etc..  All these shows seemed to sport the same 20/30yr old hipsteresque crowd.  Hoodies and beards abounded, everyone is walking around drinking PBR and generally reveling in their theoretical differentiation.  Toad was decidedly different.  There were kids with their parents, teens, lots of 20 and 30 somethings, even a few blue hairs.  It could only be described as a cross section of white people.

These suburbanites were rewarded for their attendance with 2 of the most generic non-offensive opening bands ever.  The Reign Kings and a very forgettable Matchbox 20 clone.  They weren't bad, they weren't good... they really just took up a little time and set the stage for Toad to come on around 9 oclock.

When Toad finally took the stage I was immediately reminded why I was so enamored with the band and Glen Phillips in-particular.  They are a very personable group.  Like Ben Folds or the guys from They Might Be Giants, Toad is a bunch of nerdy college students who got together to play music and have a good time.  They are silly, light hearted, intelligent, and seem to have confidence without ego.  They also launched into my favorite song right off the bat :)

They played about a 2 hour set - mostly old stuff from Coil, Pale, and Dulcinea.  I was stoked to hear a Glen Phillips single and really stoked when they played 2 new songs which will hopefully be on a new album they said they were about to get to work on.

The Marquee's acoustics are a little bit bass-y and they serve the worst rot-gut rum that this world has ever seen, but its a great place to catch a show and Toad sounded wonderful.  It was so fun to finally see this band I've listened to for so long.  To do so with a crowd who sang along to every song, and a girl who was also a fan is really all anyone could ask for.

Appleseed Cast at the Sail Inn  -  Mar 17th, 2011 5:11pm

Two weeks ago I went out to see The Appleseed Cast at The Sail Inn with Tara, Jon and Judy and while I wasn't too impressed with the venue, the concert really solidified for me how impressive that band is and how much I enjoy their music.

I ran across the Appleseed cast a few years back on Pandora and was pretty much hooked from the start.  Their music ranges from peaceful instrumental to blaring alt-rock, usually starting off slow and building to some level of well managed chaos ala Death Cab for Cutie.

They aren't real vocal heavy which was perfect as the acoustics at the Sail Inn are so bad you can't hear anyone sing.  Its your normal phoenix arm-pit music venue bar.  Grungy cement floor, makeshift bar stuck to the wall, sound guy in complete acoustic denial - all the necessary ingredients were measured and poured.  They do however have a really great patio out back and even an outdoor stage that would be awesome to see in action.  They also have a few tables and chairs inside which is rare in my experience.

When they finally ran out of opening acts @11:00, the difference between Appleseed and their traveling companions was immediately apparent.  They all played the same kind of music, but Appleseed are just really fantastic musicians.  Where it felt like the other bands were pushing their music onto me - trying to convince me with volume and tempo, these guys drew me in and made you want to stay there.... Course that could have been a few too many rum and cokes, but I really enjoyed their set even if I never heard a word they said.

I should mention 2 last things before I go.  1) These guys were much older/stranger than I expected.  I'm impressed and grateful they are still touring at dives like that, but they stopped playing and left without saying a word.  This came off really odd and made them seem a bit pretentious.  2) I have no idea how to qualify the crowd that night.  Maybe post-hipster twenty-something white people?  Regardless - every single person in there seemed to be wearing a flannel or hoodie and sported either a beard or thick black glasses.  Its like there was a memo I missed telling folks to nerd up?  Oh well... I guess us geeks can't even figure out how to be in style when the in style is us!

Sadly I don't have any good photos or video of this event as my phones camera was scratched beyond use.  You'll just have to use the power of imagination.... or whatever other power you happen to have on hand.

Ragnar 2011  -  Feb 25th, 2011 5:08pm

Ahh Ragnar.  Familiar frenemy, sadistic side-kick, dastardly dorito?  This year, like last, a group of us from work (12 to be exact) decided to repress our memories and take part once again in the only race that challenges your sense of smell as much as your endurance.

Here's the rundown in case you missed my Pulitzer winning post about the Ragnar from last year.  Its a 200 mile relay race from Wickenburg to Mesa.  Each team is made up of 12 members split into 2 vans containing 6 human victims a piece.  A van drops off a runner, rushes to the next stop and when the previous runner arrives the next runner takes off.  Rinse lather repeat until all members of a van have run then the other van takes its turn.  This goes on until the smell in your van drives you mad, your legs stop working, or your last runner crosses the finish line.

Its funny how different this year was.  Mostly due to having survived it once before, but partly due to having 1 big cohesive team.  Last year about half our group kind of went their own direction.  There were several more conservative members that really just weren't on our same wavelength and while they had a good time, it definitely wasn't the crazy time that we had.  Unsurprisingly, all of us from Van 1 were running again: McCoy, Nemo, Scott, Cupp, even Meredith who we hadn't seen in a year!  New this time were Adam, Jeremy, Jessica, Dan, Sean and Noah.

It was obvious from our first team meeting we were in for a more streamlined experience.  We filled in all the new members on how the race would basically go.  We determined a solid team name E=MC Hammered and a completely absurd concept: Run the whole race with each of us wearing MC Hammer Pants and cross the finish line in coordinated U-Can't Touch This dancing style.

We couldn't find a van to rent this year so a few weeks after that meeting I found myself prepping for my first run in Jessica's family SUV about an hour or so outside of Wickenburg.  Last year I had trained hard for this race and I had hoped to do much better this go around.  Unfortunately I had been ill the last few months so I was only able to get in a handful of runs since the 10k a few months before. I was very nervous...

Over the course of the next day or three I realized that Ragnar isn't about surviving your runs or even physically finishing.  The truth is that most of us could get through 15 miles in 2 days and sleep in a van if we had to.  Its more about conquering exhaustion, learning not to freak out when you loose the keys to the car or leave your cellphone somewhere.  Its about how to cook hamburgers in a parking lot, how to laugh when your too tired to walk, how to catch an hour of sleep on a hard gym floor.  Its about the experience of running over a mountain in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere with only your ipod to keep you company.

This is the kind of experience people write books about, not blogs - it deserves as much.  I've had a little time to digest the experience and in the end I've decided that we won.  Not in some kindergarten "everyone gets a ribbon" kind of way, nor because we finished anywhere near the top (we actually finished near the end).  We won because no one gave up, no one stopped laughing, no one lashed out, no one walked away from that experience without knowing how amazing it was or how much fun and how strong everyone on that team was... if that sounds cliche, I think I'm ok with that for now.

For posterity (and for my van-mates) - here are our final times/stats for Van 2 this year:

Runner	Leg	Distance	Start	Time	Pace
-------------------Set 1-------------------
Robo (me)	7	4.5 miles	12:40 pm	46:00 min	10:13/mile
Dan	8	3.7 miles	1:26 pm	42:00 min	11.21/mile
Adam	9	9.2 miles	2:08 pm	83:00 min	9:01/mile
Meredith	10	8.4 miles	3:31 pm	76:00 min	9:02/mile
Nemo	11	5.4 miles	4:47 pm	58:00 min	8:44/mile
Jessica	12	5.9 miles	5:45 pm	67:00 min	11:21/mile
-------------------Set 2-------------------
Robo (me)	19	5 miles	1:12 am	46:00 min	9:12/mile
Dan	20	4.4 miles	1:58 am	55:00 min	12:30/mile
Adam	21	3.4 miles	2:53 am	30:00 min	8:49/mile
Meredith	22	4.3 miles	3:23 am	38:00 min	8:50/mile
Nemo	23	3.1 miles	4:01 am	33:00 min	10:38/mile
Jessica	24	4 miles	4:34 am	46:00 min	11:30/mile
-------------------Set 3-------------------
Robo (me)	31	3.5 miles	11:08 am	40:00 min	11:25/mile
Dan	32	3.5 miles	11:48 am	42:00 min	12:00/mile
Adam	33	4.2 miles	12:30 pm	35:00 min	8:20/mile
Meredith	34	3.8 miles	1:12 pm	31:00 min	8:15/mile
Nemo	35	6.1 miles	1:43 pm	67:00 min	11:00/mile
Jessica	36	4.7 miles	2:50 pm	??:00 min	??:??/mile

Hydroskiing at Apache Lake  -  Aug 21st, 2010 3:13pm

For about 6 years now I've had this crazy contraption sitting in my side-yard called a Hydro-ski.  When my dad bought a boat a few years back, the old owner said "take this damn thing with you" and threw it in along with some random other stuff.  Now I'm not saying it wasn't fun, but I definitely understand why he said that thanks to a trip to Apache Lake.

Back in August, my friend Jeremy was having a birthday camp-out.  I'd been looking for an excuse to go jet-skiing for a few months and this seemed the perfect opportunity as summer was winding down.  So I rented a couple of the devices, packed up my gear, and just before heading out decided to toss in the hydroski and an old tow-rope.

There was all kinds of silliness surrounding this trip.  Brian spent the night before fruitlessly driving around looking for the campsite, McCoy got in a yelling match with a park ranger, and I tried futilely resuscitate a jet-ski before calling it dead @10am.  In the end though what really made the trip was spending hours trying to ride that ridiculous hydro-ski and a beautiful day at Apache lake.

If you've never been there, Apache looks more like a river than a lake.  It definitely has a few wider parts where it gets to be about a mile across, but its mainly a narrow winding channel that goes on for miles.    We were camping at the east end of lake and had a nice calm cove to flail around in while we tried to figure out how to get on and stay on the hydro-ski.

The first step we found was to strap yourself in, and lean back so as not to drown.  The next step was to drag someone behind the jet-ski while they cursed for a few hours and fell off repeatedly while learning to balance the wretched contraption.  The final step turned out to involve 25mph, some serious clenching, more cussing, and a mix of joy and terror as we learned to let the ski rise out of the water on its foil but not shoot us up in the air or drag us down face first.

By the end of the day, I am proud to say I could ride that thing around the lake making basic turns, cutting in and out of the wake, and even jumping a bit.  Its an eerie device to ride as its completely smooth regardless of waves once your riding on the foil.  Its also violent as hell as both Brian and I learned.  We had to keep taking turns riding just to catch our breath and let the pain subside.

Props to Brian for never giving up and finally getting some ride time, and big thanks to Sean and Jessie for dragging us around the lake all day.  Oh and Happy Birthday Jeremy.  Thanks for the invite and a ridiculous day on the water.