Casino Talk. Pre-season Football.

The Indiana Jones system relocation was completed with no issues. In fact, it was close to flawless. The sign company had us unbolt and drop all the machines off the bases, and then they moved the sign and all the bases as one unit, all bolted together. We haven’t ever moved a bank that way before, but it worked great and it went fast. Maybe we will have to consider that in the future. Of course, it will only work if the system doesn’t have to move that far and doesn’t have to move to another floor in the casino.

Matt Leinart is showing some poise in the pocket for the Cardinals. The Cards haven’t officially decided to keep him in the starting position, apparently, based on the banter between the color guys on ESPN, but after his performance with USC, you would think that it would be a foregone conclusion. The Vikings had a ghost of a chance of getting him in the 2006 draft, but passed on him. Hey, at least they got Tarvaris Jackson. Oh wait, that isn’t any consolation. After all, Matt Leinart is only a Heisman Trophy Winner and Rose Bowl MVP. Why would the Vikings want that loser when they could have a draft pick like Jackson? Bring back Brad Johnson, please! (Sidebar to my nephew, Marty, the biggest sports fan in the history of the world: I am kidding, I am kidding! Bring back Daunte Culpepper, and to really throw a monkey wrench in the works, bring back Mike Tice, and/or Denny Green to boot!)

Back to the casino talk. We converted four games to a different game theme, the Cross of Coronado. I don’t think that the game is particularly unique, but it does fix an issue that we had with the previous theme. I cannot really say too much about it. It was a problem minimizing the profit potential for both the company and the casinos who are our customers. This conversion should remedy that.

Speaking of minimal profits, when will the media get tired of talking the economy down in the hopes of assuring the wacko coronation of Barack “Oh Bummer” as King of the “Blame America” crowd. I did find it telling that Dick Morris said that if “Oh Bummer” were elected, the U.S. economy would suffer from a massive economic depression. Believing that Barack’s massive tax increases would help create jobs is about as dumb as believing that we can’t drill our way out of our petroleum shortage. Duh. How else are you going to get the oil? I will revisit the petroleum issue and point out some factors and statements made by the Marxist side of the aisle that prove that they are a bunch of disingenuous hypocrites and phonies whose lies ring hollow. That will be a long entry, so I will leave that for another day, or at least until I get home again on Friday night.

Pre-season Football (Not the Vikes)

Okay. I am watching Reggie Bush and the New Orleans Saints playing the Arizona Cardinals in what is apparently the very first pre-season NFL football game. This is great! It isn’t the Vikings, and it is two teams that I do not pay any particularly noteworthy amount of attention to, and yet, I love this. I am so ready for Vikings football to begin. Of course, we apparently had a chance to get our hands on Brett Favre, but he went to the New York Jets. Odd? Definitely. I thought it was funny to hear that if the Jets dare to trade Favre back to the Vikings, they have to give up three first-round draft picks to the Packers. That is somewhat hilarious, especially given that, based on the fact the Jets have only won the conference three times in the last forty years, they cannot afford to give up three first round draft picks. Coincidentally, if Favre ever went to the Vikings (and he won’t be allowed, believe me), the first round picks that the Cheddar Heads would gain may be exactly what the Packers need at this point.

It is hard to imagine the mindset of the Packers, in letting Favre go to another team, and saying that he is too divisive to the Green and Yellow. Even though he is a Packer and always will be, no matter the colors he wears, Favre is one of the greatest football players of all time, with poise and well-earned respect among his peers, something that is rare these day. Favre is a consummate professional. I can say that from a purist point of view, as opposed to a schizophrenic point of view, that of a dedicated NFC North rival.

Newsflash: Vikings fans do not care for the Packers. Rhetorical comment: Duh. Another rhetorical comment: Any true sports fan, an NFL fan in particular, can appreciate the athletic talent of a player of Favre’s caliber, even if he happened to be part of one of the biggest conference rivalries in the past fifteen years.

I think that it would have been interesting to have Favre playing for the Vikings for a couple of years. It would have certainly made for interesting conversation on Monday morning. Even more tantalizing would be the idea of Favre dressed in purple and gold, causing Packer fans to squirm as the Vikings kick moldy Packer cheese around, with the larger-than-life Favre at the helm of the Purple People Eaters. Two things are certain. One, with Tarvaris Jackson at QB, the Vikings don’t have a prayer of emulating the Minnesota Moving Company of old. Two, Favre at the helm of the Vikings team would be sweet, not only because he is an incredible athlete, but also because anything that bugs the crap out of the Packers is good for me.

One other NFL comment… Madden 2009 comes out next week. I can’t wait to check it out! That should look fantastic at 1080P on a PS3. Any way you slice it, NFL football returns. Hot damn! This is awesome.

One-Nighter. Not as Exciting as It Sounds.

Tomorrow, I am working with my brother at Fortune Bay, doing a system relocation and theme conversion. We are moving the Indiana Jones system, because the bank of games is too heavy for its current location. The beams in the second floor support structure are not rated for that much weight in such a small area, and we have to move the system for safety reasons. We aren’t moving the system very far, but instead turning the system the other way. It follows the principle of load-bearing structural members. For instance, if you put a lot of weight on a non-load-bearing wall, and the plaster start cracking and the house falls down. Well, that is hyperbole, but you get the idea. The system is too heavy for its current location and configuration.

I will be stuck in a hotel, but only for one night. I am not thrilled, but it is part of the job. At least I get a chance to take some sunrise pictures on the way home the following day. Better yet, coming home will be sweet, and it will be a Friday. Coming home to your family rocks, and when it is a Friday, that rocks even more. It's like Jerry Reed said in The Waterboy: "The only thing better than one crawfish dinner is five crawfish dinners."

Wii! Wii! Wii! All the Way Home.

WII Sports is a lot of fun. I am not so impressed with M&Ms Racing, but it is what it is, a cheap and cheesy marketing tool for M&M Mars. The controls on that game are pathetically unresponsive, though it is fun to crash into obstructions until the novelty wears off. It is particularly entertaining to watch the G-Man try his hand at driving a 3-wheeled speedster on the M&Ms Factory racetrack. We really want the Mario Go-Cart game, but good luck getting a copy of that. Apparently, local stores get a few copies on Sunday mornings, and if you happen to be there at the right moment, you can actually buy it. If you are a few minutes late, forget it. You can’t even find it online at Amazon or New Egg. Maybe we can find it for Christmas.

I would say that Nintendo of America was shortchanging their profit potential, but on the other hand, they certainly do understand the law of supply and demand, and also the words of Ronaldus Magnus, regarding the vaudeville mindset of his younger years: Always leave them hungry for more. I suppose as long as NOA does not make enough WII consoles that the stores are always out of stock, they can keep the prices high, and people will always be scrambling for the games. That is the essence of supply and demand. Shucks! It is working, but we got our WII, so take that, Nintendo. Talk about irony, huh? They got us to buy one! =)

MLB Twins. Notre Dame. Wii!

Heather and I were trying to coordinate a Minnesota Twins game with my nephew, Marty, his wife, Tara, and their two boys, Brady and Ben. I wonder if Marty has taken his younger son to a baseball game yet. I am sure that they did go to Marty’s baseball games, but a pro game? No doubt. I remember that in Brady’s first year of life, he went to quite a few games. I think that is great. That is how sports fans are built, starting them out right and what is better than the sounds and the smells of the game, live and in-person? Do you know what is crazy? Gabriel is three years old, and he has yet to go to a baseball game. It is getting kind of late in the season, so the Twins games are becoming rather meaningless. Still, it would be interesting for him, and a new experience. The Dome isn’t a great stadium for baseball, but it still a cool experience. A Vikings game would be better, but any pro sporting event has its energy, so we will try to still go to a game this year. NFL games are just so expensive. We are settling for televised sports, I guess.

I bought Heather a book about Notre Dame football (concerning this year’s team). Heather does love her Notre Dame football. I really need to watch some college football games with her, especially since Smosh lives in Indiana. I guess some day, either we need to move to Indiana, or the rest of the family needs to move to Minnesota.

But back to sports... I think that college football does not move as fast as pro football, but IMNSHO, the penultimate sporting event is football, if you ask me. Basketball is for sissies. Baseball is for old-timers with plenty of time on their hands, and guys who like a slow pace (not as slow as golf… yawn!). I admit that baseball is the perfect sport for a hot, lazy summer Saturday afternoon, but this is August, baby, and to paraphrase the son of Bocephus, I AM READY for some football!

While I was talking about sports I find too slow-paced for my taste, I didn’t mention the sport for geriatric light-weights. GOLF. Talk about dull. To be honest, I am not a golfer, in case you didn’t know that. However, let me tell you, golfing on the WII is fun stuff. Gabriel and I golf either a practice round of three holes or a full round of nine. The funny part is that the G-Man gets a big kick out of hitting the ball in the water hazard and puts a big effort into making a splash with the ball as often as he can. I am getting some practice, and I admit (quietly, secretly) that getting a bogey making par is satisfying AND fun. I doubt that I could do as well with golf in the real world, but this gets me off the chair, away from the computer, and having fun with my son. The WII has been a good investment for us, because we have fun together. Sometimes Heather, G, and I all bowl together. When Josh was visiting, he was bowling with us, too. He adeptly repeats the exact same stance and body movements so that he gets a strike three or four frames in a row. What a booger!

Josh. County Fair.

Josh stayed with us the last two weeks, but on Saturday, he went home. Dave came to pick him up at the Crow Wing County fairgrounds. Josh and all of our family members went to the fair in the morning and stayed there until afternoon. Josh and Gabriel rode on a few rides, including the scrambler (by whatever name it was called at this particular fair). Gabriel had a good time and didn’t want to go home. I hate to disappoint the little guy, but we couldn’t stay forever.

We did visit with the CW Republicans. I saw that there were very few faces representing the party at the fair, though there were plenty of ignorant libs chanting the Democrat party talking points, like a bunch of mind-numbed robots. Funny how those people seem to never speak for themselves. In any case, we saw David Allan Pundt for the second time, and we offered to support him in his campaign for state representative. He is a fiscal conservative and calls for responsibility and accountability in government. Pundt says that small government is the answer, and this is a mindset that I can support and believe. He is a Viet Nam veteran, and a family man who supports pro-life causes, the sanctity of life from birth to natural death, and the right of private citizens to bear arms. Right on, (future) Representative Pundt! Keep it up; we need more of this mindset in government on every level. By the way, after we talked to his campaign representative, within three days (today), his campaign put a huge lawn sign in front of our house. As far as I am concerned, they can bring at least a couple more. Check out his campaign site at http://www.davidallanpundt.com/ This is a good man with a grass roots point of view that we need to encourage in our elected officials.

Gabriel said that he missed Josh already within an hour or two of Josh going back to his home. I like having him around most of the time. He is a teenager, so he gets testy, but then we all have our good days and bad days. Lately, Josh has been really good with the boys and spending more time with them. That is mainly because we are rearranging the house and the computer that Josh uses to get online is disassembled. He couldn’t get online, and so he was spending his days watching TV and playing with the boys.

Josh is a good kid, and I hope that he understands that when he is respectful and friendly, he is welcome to come to our home. When I have a problem with him, it is because he sometimes likes to spend his time downstairs watching TV and online, instead of being part of our household. When he is in our home, Heather and I agree that he should be part of the family goings-on, instead of isolating himself. He can be online at home, so when he visits, if he joins our family interactions, then I am glad to have him in the neighborhood, so to speak. I hope he comes back soon. The bike rides with the whole family, and Josh, are good exercise and lots of fun. The goats like our bike ride-interrupting visits, too. However, that is a story for another day.