 Thumbs up for a record crowd! |
As I type this I am slowly recovering from a total wipe out of my computer. It'll still be a few weeks before things are re-installed and back to normal. Other than that, I'll be talking about Minnesota and my newest piece of technology.
As I was saying, I just got my computer back the last week of Minnesota. That means it was in the shop for five weeks! It really sucked. Anyone that relies on a computer regularly understands what I'm talking about. But, at least it was under warranty from Best Buy. Yes, I bought the extended warranty. I don't usually but I'm sure glad I did this time. They installed a completely new motherboard. The downside... They had to wipe and restore my hard drive. Even though I was able to back up all my personal files, I still have to reinstall every bit of application software. I'll get there eventually it'll just take time.
Minnesota went so well this year. Merchandise sales are down a bit but that makes sense given the economy. But, tips are up! I blame what I call the 9/11 effect.
We noticed that the weekend following the 9/11 tragedy we had huge crowds that tipped very well. They had been bombarded by the media all week and were tired and ready to get out of the house. I think everyone was just ready for and escape from reality, even if it were only for a few hours. Well, the same thing occurred with the housing crash. Everyone was sick of the television coverage and wanted to get away. Thank God they did. We all really needed the influx of income.
 Before a Tortuga Show |
 During a Tortuga Show |
[Alternate title for these photos: "Show! No show. Show! No show. Duh." - AB]
September is also my family's birthday month. Sharon's is the 29th and mine is the 5th. As I mentioned last year, after my 40th I'm not really inclined to have a big celebration anymore. Just having a nice dinner or drinks with friends is fine by me. We have a friend in Minnesota who has a birthday near mine. He called and asked if we wanted to go to Fogo De Chao to celebrate our birthdays. I said that sounded like a grand idea so Sharon and I went to the restaurant. It's one of those Brazilian steakhouses. We had a great meal with good friends. Thanks to all that attended!
Later that month was Sharon's birthday. We didn't really know what to do but remembered another restaurant in Maple Grove we love. It's called Pittsburgh Blue, another great steakhouse. We ordered a big 24 ounce prime rib and king crab. We split them of course. WOW! What a great meal. I don't think I was hungry for three days afterward. (Sure I was... I love food!)
 Birthday Cake |
 Birthday Dinner |
 Sharon's Birthday Toast |
We all know what a gadget freak I am. But I haven't purchased anything in a while with the economy like it is. Well, I've been saving for a while and I'm pooling my $$ with birthday $$ from my friends and family to purchase a cool new phone. Don't laugh until you've seen it! It's a Samsung G800. It's a new 3G phone not available in the U.S. I always have my phone on me but I frequently forget my camera. Most phones have average at best cameras in them. So, what I was looking for instead was a camera with a phone in it. Well I certainly found it in the G800. It has a 5 megapixel camera with a 3X optical zoom, not a digital zoom that makes everything grainy. It has auto face detection, special effects, and a real xenon flash as opposed to an LED flash. The camcorder function is amazing! You'll see some of its handy work in my journals as time goes on.
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 The Samsung G800 - it's a sexy, sexy camera-phone |
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Some of its other features include an FM radio with RDS, an RSS reader, web browser, document reader, media/mp3 player with shuffle functions and my favorite part, the 3G video call feature.
The G800 has a secondary camera on the front that allows you to make actual video calls! That is if you know another person with a similar phone with similar capabilities. I've been waiting for the day I could call someone and just talk to them face to face. What a wonderful world we live in! Now, I've only begun to scratch the surface. Do a web search if you're curious about it. And of course you know I've already scouted out my next phone. It's the G810. It's the same as the 800 but it's Wi-Fi and has a GPS.
Ok, enough about my new toy, back to Minnesota. Our shows were very well attended this year. Even though merchandise sales were down, tips are up. We had some amazingly well attended Adult Shows. I don't know where we're gonna put people in the future if the crowds get any bigger. We're really outgrowing the venue. We had every bench packed with people, every aisle filled with people sitting and people standing about ten deep in the back. What a blast!
MN '08 Panorama
 Minois being cute |
 Minois still being cute |
