I think I partied too hard at Septemburfest yesterday. Today I've had a sore throat and have been generating mucous, looks like a cold or sinus infection of some type. At least I have tomorrow off from work, I'll probably spend the day cleaning my apartment and organizing my life a little more.
I'm back in Ventura for the weekend, for the annual Septemburfest celebration. There's going to be a parade, greased pig contest, rodeo, flea market, cow drop bingo, car show, and all the pork burgers you can eat. If you're wondering what cow drop bingo is, it's a game of chance in which a pen is set up in town and spray painted with a grid. For five dollars, you can get a block of that grid in your name. Later in the day, a cow is released into the pen, and if it craps on your block, you win five hundred dollars. I swear I am not making this up. The notice from the Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter is below:
SEPTEMBURFEST
Ventura will host its annual Septemburfest celebration Saturday, Sept. 2.
The day will begin with a new event, a 5K run/walk at 8 a.m., followed by the traditional parade at 10 a.m. A flea market, midway, and many activities will open following the parade. That list of activities includes vendors, rides and games, with Velcro® jumping, Bungee® run, gladiator, joust, ferris wheel, moon walk, spin art, pony rides, train rides, NASCAR race track, monster truck race track, dunk tank and BINGO. Other special events include a display by artist David Rottinghaus beginning at 11 a.m., a car show from 11:30-2:30, and free style stunt bike show at 11:30 a.m. Registration for the car show will take place from 8-11:30 a.m. Trophies will be awarded from 2:30-3 p.m.
The Guns and Garters Wild West Show will be offered at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. The Ventura Drill Team will also present a demonstration at 12:15 p.m. Bossy the Cow Bingo starts at 1 p.m. at the elementary school. The greased pig contest for all ages begins at 1:30 p.m. and a tractor pull is set for 2:30 p.m. at the school grounds. Mystical Rodeo Co. Bull and Barrel Rodeo will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. just west of the Top of Iowa elevator in Ventura. Purchase admission tickets in advance at Farmer's State Bank, Colony Inn, Steakhouse Cafe, Ventura Mart and Lake Street Styles. Those interested in entering the bull riding or barrel racing competition should contact Kevin Monroe at 319-864-3317. Muttin Bustin, a special event for children, will be held during the rodeo. Advance signup is needed for kids to participate. Signup is required Wednesday, Aug. 30, from 4-5 p.m. at Brenda's Hair Den in Ventura.
Septemburfest activities will end with a street dance near the Community Hall from 8 p.m. to midnight. Music will be provided by Echo's V, specializing in music from the 1950s and 60s. An auction will be held during the dance at 10 p.m. by auctioneer Mic Knutson.
My circadian rhythms are all out of whack. I keep waking up at 5:00 a.m. and I can't get back to sleep. This morning, I sat up and finished reading Farnham's Freehold. The cover proclaims it to be "Science Fiction's Most Controversial Novel". I wouldn't go that far, but I can see how it may have been controversial when it was originally published. Admittedly, I'm a huge Heinlein fan, but this isn't my favorite of his books, it's an intriguing read, but seems to be more of a fantasy about time travel, racial role reversion, and nuclear war, than a real science fiction novel.
What a long, hot, humid day. After the TechNet briefing, Sean and I stopped by Hickory Park for lunch, then briefly visited John at Iowa State. After I got back to Cedar Falls, I waited about two hours for the tow truck to show up to haul my car into the shop to be fixed. The mechanic said he won't be able to look at it until Tuesday, it's a good thing I got that bike... It's 5:30 a.m. and I'm about to leave for Des Moines. I'm going to a Microsoft TechNet Briefing, so don't look for any significant updates to this page until after 2:30 p.m. Central Time!
Apparently, Transformers the Movie is coming out on DVD! I got a notice from Amazon last night, and while the listing isn't exactly clear, pre-orders have already pushed the movie into the top ten DVD's at Amazon. Sure, the movie is essentially a two hour ultra-violent toy commercial, but I remember taking the subway across Washington D.C. in 1986 to see it with my uncle. It blew my mind in the fourth grade, as I was a huge fan of the cartoon, and had a lot of the toys. Transformers were cool toys, and if you grew up in the 80's, you had some. I dug a bunch of mine out last time I was at my parents' house, and I even have the soundtrack for the movie. Needless to say, I pre-ordered my copy of the DVD this morning. ";->" I changed the look of this site a bit last night. I'm taking suggestions on how to improve it. Does anyone have a catchy tag line for the top? Does anyone hate this color scheme? I gripe about other people's web pages all the time, so let me have it!
Found a great deal this morning, via DealNN. You can get a Logitech QuickCam Pro (USB) here for only $36! After shipping, it was $42, it's only a daily special, so act quickly. This is considerably cheaper than normal, Amazon sells the same camera for $77. It's refurbished, but has a 6 month warranty, and every QuickCam I've ever used has been great. There's another good deal on that site, if you're in the market for a DVD player, check this out.
