Welcome to the Wasabiverse
Posts tagged Colorado
Beast Wars may suck, but Dinosaur Ridge DIDN’T!
Jul 24th
This post has nothing to do with Transformers, but throwing in a Beast Wars title after last week’s hubbub was too easy to pass up.
My father-in-law LOVES dinosaurs. The man’s home office contains books, statues and toys of all kinds of dinosaurs; some of them older than me. That said, some of the interest rubbed off on his daughter, so Shannon and I found our way to Dinosaur Ridge in Colorado.
The importance of the place (according the museum guide) stems back to the dinosaur books from our childhood. Remember pre-Jurassic Park how dinosaurs were always drawn with their tails dragging behind them? Well, check out this photo I took:
Notice anything missing from the tracks? That’s right: no tail trail. Allegedly, the discovery of these tracks (while making way for a new hyperspace bypass or something) helped drive the point home that dinosaurs, like dogs, don’t drag their tails.
Seeing the tracks was a fun way to kill a couple of hours (and get some exercise in the process). Also, add this to the list of odd signs you won’t run into in Florida:
After the trek up the hill and back, Shannon and I walked around the gift shop and met the aforementioned museum guide. A younger guy, he seemed really REALLY excited about dinosaurs and fossils. Thanks to him, I now know that the state fossil for Florida is the Eupatagus and the state fossil for Colorado was the Stegosaurus. The guide had them all memorized. Snazzy.
Mount Evans, Colorado aka “OMG THERE’S SNOW!!!”
Jul 23rd
On the suggestion of a friend in the Colorado office where I was working, Shannon and I took the afternoon last Friday and drove out to Mount Evans, Colorado. According to Wikipedia (and a number of t-shirts at a gift shop on the way) Mount Evans sports the highest paved road in North America. Lucky for me, Budget Rent A Car gave me a free upgrade when I had landed a few days earlier… a GMC Yukon XL with four wheel drive.
I know it’s kind of cheating as a blogger, but there really isn’t much to tell that the photos we took can’t tell even better:
Us standing the summit of the mountain. Yes – that’s snow on the hill behind the lake.
Like I said: snow. Back at our hotel it was over 95 degrees outside.
Goats. Lots of goats… especially the higher you get. Check out the photos here.
How high? Elevation of 14,130 feet. Note that we are both wearing sweatshirts now.
We had to free climb the last bit to the highest point. I made it, but the lower oxygen coupled with my out of shape ass made it a challenge.
So what do you do once you’ve made it to the top of an insanely high mountain? Why – almost kill yourself by sitting on a ledge! Notice how firmly I am looking to the left. This is because the ONE moment I looked to the right I saw straight down. It was a sobering reminder of my mortality and (as a result) those are now my “lucky” Converse All-Stars.
The Buckhorn Exchange in Denver, Colorado…
Jul 22nd
We now return you to our regularly scheduled program!
Thus far, I have eaten in two Man v. Food recommended restaurants: The Jack-N-Grill and The Vortex. Both offered LARGE servings of some fun food… but neither offered menu choices as odd and unique as the third eatery I’ve now been to, The Buckhorn Exchange.
From their website:
Prime grade beef steaks, buffalo prime rib, elk, salmon, quail, game hen, and succulent baby-back pork ribs are just some of the marvelous offerings on the Buckhorn menu. Exotic appetizers such as alligator tail, rattlesnake and buffalo sausage are available, and no dinner is complete without the house specialty, Rocky Mountain Oysters.
What are Rocky Mountain Oysters? Don’t ask. Seriously. You’ll regret knowing – and NO, I did not have any.
Shannon and I DID have a number of animals (all cooked) make their way across our table that evening, though. Seven to be exact…
- Clams
- Rattlesnake
- Elk
- Buffalo
- Cornish Hen
- Duck
- Quail
See the meat in the dip to the left? That’s rattlesnake. It tastes like a cross between chicken (shocker!) and tofu.
The restaurant is decorated with an inordinate number of animals heads. According to our server, two of the departed creatures fell at the hand of Teddy Roosevelt. Maybe one of these guys was one of them…
Where the deer and the antelope play… dead.
Would I go back? Yes.
Was the food good? Excellent. The elk steak was tasty- but the buffalo steak was amazing.
Was it pricey? Yeppers. Bring some cash.
Overall: another great experience. The atmosphere and service of the place were both top notch. Even if you can’t stop by for dinner, step in and enjoy the bar upstairs (their liquor license is number “1″). The entertainment in the upstairs area the night we were there consisted of a talented older gentlemen whose music and charms helped make the ambiance of the Buckhorn Exchange that much more enjoyable.
The Jack-N-Grill in Denver, Colorado…
Jul 20th
As reported earlier, I spent last week in Colorado for business. The weekend, though, was spent with my wife seeing the sights and having fun with some of the local attractions. It has been mentioned before (and bears repeating) that I and a number of my friends are a fans of the TV show Man vs. Food. So whenever a trip is scheduled for conventions, work or the occasional vacation – we look up the episodes to see where to eat while in town.
One such place was the Jack-N-Grill in Denver – home of the 7 lb. breakfast burrito. Here’s what it looks like:
What you CAN’T see in that picture – is the amount of potatoes in that damn thing. Here’s a pic of Shannon’s reaction. Note the kid sitting behind her. Also note that little chicken taco she ordered in an attempt to make me look like a starving pig:
Lastly… here’s my look of shame. I only made it through about 1/4 of the damn thing. Our plane was supposed to leave about three hours after this meal – so I didn’t want to push my luck. That thing hitting my stomach in the wrong way on an airplane would have been tricky business.
More Colorado photos and stories tomorrow…
The Ballad of #BotCon continues…
Jul 19th
I got back from Colorado late last night, and I’ve been swamped with getting things together for about a dozen projects. Plus, I have a bunch of great photos to post and (to top it all off) the A/C is broken in the house. True story. It died while we were out of town, it seems, and it is currently 88 degrees while I’m typing this. The A/C guy will be here tomorrow.
That said, I thought the whole BotCon aka BotFAIL arguments had subsided. Joey and I wrote our review. Silly BotCon kids got their panties in bunch. Traffic to my blog spiked. Zaniness ensued. It seems, though, that the issues with the review have extended to a new faction: people upset that we piss on their beloved Transformers series: Beast Wars. Take this brainchild from Twitter:
@TomCroom You hate Beast Wars? You know, BW was somebody’s favorite childhood show, maybe somebody too young to have seen G1
@TomCroom Of course, that was too subtle. What I meant to say was “suck it”.
Cute. The Gobots was someone’s favorite show from my childhood, too – but that didn’t stop it from sucking. As anyone who has ever attended one of the DARE! panels can tell you, I am NOT a nostalgically blinded geek. I point out the good (and the bad) in much of G1 along with newer shows like Robots in Disguise and Animated.
Thus – you’re talking out of your ass. Douche.
Next up is just a whole new level of Interwebz fun. Someone referenced the whole thing in a webcomic. Seriously.
You should go read the whole thing on the author’s website. It’s chuckle-worthy, but he got the Grimlock bit wrong. We have hosted with Gregg Berger, the voice of Grimlock… BUT, Joey and I talked tonight and we’re not opposed to hosting an entire panel talking like Grimlock.
I can see it now…
“Me Tom think Beast Wars still sucks!”
“Me Snackpants hate Bayformers and want to smash!”
Also, for the record, I have blue eyes.
So why does Beast Wars suck? Great question – and one I’ll never answer on this blog. That material is reserved for DARE! The Transformers Panel Ultimate – scheduled for many quality conventions in the coming future including Gen Con, Anime Festival Orlando and (tentatively) Anime Weekend Atlanta.
So keep posting replies, arguing on forums and writing your web comics; none of that will change the fact that BotCon was a weak convention and a good trade show.
Starship Troopers
Jul 19th
It was recently relayed to me that Joey Snackpants had formulated much of his theories on life and politics from two books: Atlas Shrugged and Starship Troopers. A few months back, took the time to read (via audiobook) Ayn Rand’s novel which has since turned into one of my all-time favorite books. I now know, without a doubt, who John Galt is.
Since I was going to spend a lot of time on planes and driving for my trip this past weekend, I loaded Robert A. Heinlein’s sci-fi novel onto my iPod. A short, but powerful, book – Starship Troopers conveys powerful and yet simple message: a person can’t find value in something unless it has (in some way, shape or form) been earned. Sure, you can also look into the other political and militaristic aspects of the book, but it’s the core message I walked away with that I found the most profound.
It’s one I can agree with and relate too.
(pause for effect.)
Now let’s talk about breasts.
You see, my first exposure to Starship Troopers was the movie in 1997. I like the movie, though I haven’t seen in years and I plan on picking up the blu-ray soon and watching it again. That said, here are the key differences I noticed along with “which version” I liked better.
Dizzy Flores
In the book, Dizzy dies right at the beginning in a flashback and is a MALE character. In the movie, Dizzy is still in the infantry (which steers away from the military’s gender social structure in the book) and becomes part of a love triangle with Rico. Also: you get to see Dizzy naked.
WINNER: Movie
Skinnies
In the book, there is another race in the storyline that does not appear in the movie: the Skinnies. They seem to be odd humanoids that are initially allied with the Bugs, but eventually serve to provide the Federation with tactical info. They are only mentioned a few times and (seem to be) a link for describing more of what little is known about the Bugs. They weren’t required for the story, in my opinion, but remember: I saw the movie first.
WINNER: Movie
Powered Armor
Is it me, or did all the descriptions of power armor resonate strongly of Halo? I love the idea of “bouncing” around during a battle – very similar to the Halo game. The movie opted not to use the power armor for various reasons, but common sense begs the question: why would you even WASTE YOUR TIME fighting the bugs with exposed flesh. Seriously??!!!
WINNER: Book
Johnny’s Dad
In the movie, Johnny’s dad dies in the attack on Buenos Aires (where Johnny and his family are from… another deviation from the book.) In fact, though, Emilio Rico lives in the book after the attack on B.A. and joins the military. It becomes a major plot point in the development of Johnny’s character all the way up to the end of the book.
WINNER: Book
There are a number of other character changes, mergers and deviations, but you get the picture. The book and film are both enjoyable and I’m glad I took the time to read it. Tomorrow I’ll start posting about all my crazy adventures in Colorado from this past weekend. 
You know when people talk about “getting back to nature?”
Jul 17th
I’m pretty sure this is what they’re talking about.
More photos and fun from the trip after this weekend.
