Sorry I have been absent from my bloggerly duties. Schedule and lack of free wi-fi are the culprits. I am in Orlando sort of working on a huge expo. I say "sort of" because the bulk of my work was done before I left and the only on-site thing I had to do live was Sunday afternoon. So, it's been more like a mini paid vacation. Julie was able to take a few days off and came down with me. She flies back this morning and I fly back this evening.
Here are a few things I have learned on this trip...
- No matter when I come to Orlando, it is either rainy or cold. They have had record lows at night here and it's been in the 60's during the day. Not pool weather at all.
- I loved Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We got the express passes, which ROCK. Express passes allow you to jump ahead in line. We got free passes and were able to get express passes for only another $25. Well worth it. It made seeing both parks more doable. It also pointed up the similarities of all the thrill rides (Spider-man and The Mummy are must sees. Or must-dos.) By mid-afternoon, we were a little burnt out on the thrill rides. If you want the Universal thrill ride experience, for $25, I will strap you in a chair, spray water in your face, blow on your neck, and knock your chair around.Every thrill ride featured water and whiplash.
- No matter how old you are, you can still enjoy the hell out of whatever you are doing. I met Ken Schmidt who helped turn Harley-Davidson around in the 80's. The dude must be around 60, looked great, and loves motorcycles. It was infectious. I've never been a bike fan, but am more likely to become one after meeting this guy. And last night, REO Speedwagon played at the closing event. These guys haven't had a hit in two decades, but you could tell they really were jamming and enjoying themselves. I had a good time at the concert. i actually called friends and held up the cellphone towards the stage to catch the music. It probably sounded like I was calling them from underwater.
- It's okay for men to get pedicures.
THE BS NEWS QUIZ OF THE DAY
Last Friday, I asked...
"The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Speech gave a 'Lifetime Muzzle' award to whom?"
28% said "FEMA for staging a fake news conference"
- Not so much a press conference as an infomercial for FEMA.
7% said "Cop who complained about a woman yelling at her toilet"
- He was really more concerned about the potential abuse than the overheard profanity.
No one thought it was "The NY DMV for wanting a 'GETOSAMA' vanity plate back"
A whopping 64% got it right with "The FCC for applying inconsistent and arbitrary standards of indecency"
According to Reuters, The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression gave their annual "muzzle" awards to violators including police who charged a woman for swearing at her overflowing toilet, and a motor vehicles department that deemed a "GETOSAMA" license plate offensive. And it gave a "Lifetime Muzzle" to the Federal Communications Commission for years of applying what it said were inconsistent or arbitrary standards of indecency on the airwaves. Fucking assholes.
