The Lake

Alas, I did not wake up early this morning! This evening, however, I went out on the lake for a few solid hours. Two of my buddies wakeskated and had a blast. Then I jumped in and had a try at the new Connelly F1. First observation... the water was freezing but we had all made a pact not to wear wet suits: interesting idea. After I got up on the water, however, the ski was outstanding. It kept me on edge like nobody's business. The thrill of shooting across the water on this ski was irrefutable and I'll be out again soon! Here's a quick visual...

Connelly F1 (2005)

As the lakes here in Wisconsin have begun to open up, I am getting ready for some great times on the waters. In preparation, last week I purchased a Connelly F1 slalom ski. It did not have any bindings with it, drilled for Fogman bindings. Thus, I threw an old KD Vise on it and purchased an H.O. Animal. The colors don't match up really nice, but I hope that it will feel great on the water. Last week a buddy and I got up at 5 to hit the glassy lake on my older ski (KD CR7) and we're hoping to do it again tomorrow. Tomorrow morning will be a great start to the week and hopefully a great skiing season. Tomorrow will be the transition test from an old ski to a sleek new set up on my Connelly F1!

Review: Sennheiser CX300-S

So I received these ear buds today and had to listen to them. I've spent about 3 hours with them in, they are extremely comfortable. I have mainly listened to soft rock and some main-stream music but they sound outstanding, the bass is full and having them in the canals cancels out most ambient sound. The only draw-back is the cord is a touch too short and it did not come with an adapter to convert from 1/8" to 1/4". On the other hand, the left bud goes directly in while the right bud has a longer cord to wrap around your neck and keep wires at a minimum. Bottom-line: great for listening to an MP3 player or the like because the sound quality is great and lets you focus on music, not on your neighbors yammer. Good price to, wow!

Piano Tabs

Recently I have had an interest in resuming my piano playing. I stopped playing about four years ago, but now with Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin, and Straylight Run, I have a burning desire to learn again in (foolish) hopes of mimicking some of their exquisite styles and rifts. I found a small keyboard at a friend's house and borrowed it. To find some tabs, I spent some time searching, although I did not want to pay for sheet music. I found a site, MyFriendAdam, which has tabs of these bands that are rough estimates which will suffice for getting me back into the rhythm. This site is, of course, made to showcase Andrew McMahon's piano genius! Check it out if your at all interest in playing piano or listen to some of Jack's Mannequin's songs. Cheers!

Sennheiser CX300-S Earbuds

After doing a hefty amount of research on the topic of in-canal headphones, I have landed on the Sennheiser CX300-S model. I purchased them off of Amazon. com (Cost: $50) and will recieve them within the week. These headphones will replace the white Apple ones which, although a status-symbol, have very poor sound quality. These Sennheisers are form fitting to your ear canal, and thus, block out ambient noises. They are also extremely light and since they are bass-driven, they deliver crystal clear sound across genres. I am looking forward to personally evaluating these headphones when they get here. I'll be in for a day of music to my ears... literally(I hope).

Imogen Heap

Our vocal jazz group recently did an a'capella cover of Imogen Heap's solo hit, Hide and Seek. Her whole album is all of her work performed singularly and then mixed or overlaid. It is truly impressive. I first heard her voice, unknowing, in the movie Garden State. She was on the soundtrack for Let Go by Frou Frou. Their album, Details, showcases this free-flowing and gentle style of music. Check out her new album: Speak For Yourself!

NCAA Championship

I'm wasn't a fan of either team... but I thought, based on previous tournament play, that Memphis was going to walk all over Kansas. I was wrong. If Memphis would have been able to nail some more free throws it would have been just peachy. Their style, however, never caused their free throw shooting to be under pressure as it was on Monday night. The 3-point shot before the buzzer was outstanding and made the game what it was, but I was simply shocked at Kansas' performance. Roy Williams on the sidelines made it that much more special, ironic. Bottom line, I now owe a buddy some pizza cause Memphis didn't trounce Kansas... but I'll be having some too so this is a win-win.

Landscaping

For the past few days I have been landscaping at a friend's house because he rushed off to college and his parents still need an able body. In addition, I've been spending some time over there, kind of becoming a 'temporary' son until he gets back. Right now the soil is very moist from all of the rains, thus, I have been digging trenches around all of the drip rings of their trees and some ditches around flower beds. Furthermore, all of the foliage has been dead-headed and looks wonderful, ready to spring up with new flowers! Although I am still in jeans, the warm weather is very enjoyable and working outside is a true blessing. I hope that the weather continues and I am able to stay outside doing some moderate work and getting some fresh air!

21: The Movie (Trailer)

Here is the trailer of 21 if you're thinking about going out and seeing it but need some convincing. It will be a sure hit with anyone who likes suspense. It features Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth as they form a team of 6 MIT students who use statistic and card counting to make money in Las Vegas. Hope you go to see it and enjoy it!

21 & Counting Cards

This weekend I saw the movie 21 in theaters. It was outstanding! The cinematography was amazing and the story line kept my attention throughout the entire movie, a real intelligent movie with some spice. After telling a few friends about it, I learned that it is based off of a book Bringing Down The House, so I looked into this. Much to my surprise, there is a History Channel exclusive documentary on the MIT Blackjack team. A friend showed it to me at his house, and the whole concept astounded me. These people made about $1 Million per year (but divided it between themselves). But let me conclude my amazement with this fact: although they made tons of money using wit and craft, one of the players sold his software company for $310 Million. Conclusion, counting cards and this high-roller lifestyle is interesting, but actually having intelligence and using it is