It's really cute.
Thanks Jim. It's nice to hear from you. How have you been doing lately?
I can't complain, besides the extra weight that I've put on things are going pretty good.
A week ago, or so, I receive an e-mail from a person who works here at Aristocrat whose name was Jim Culter and I thought he was you. I sent him a reply thinking it was you. I ask how he was doing and told him how I was doing and everything. It was an hour or so later after I had sent the e-mail I realized that it wasn't you. This Jim spells his last name Culter, not Cultar. Well, he responded back to me saying that he was doing fine himself and it was the nicest e-mail ever have gotten from person he never knew. So, it looks like I made a new friend.
Well, any way Jim. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving and I wish for you a very Merry Christmas.

Back in the early 90's, when we were programmers at Caesars Palace, Mike mentioned he had the entire Eric Clapton collection. It told him I loved Eric Clapton. A week later, Mike comes in with 6 x 90 minute, high quality cassettes. He recorded all of his collection and gave to me.
Then in 1996, I was told him about the four month trip I'd planned travelling the Northwest. I mentioned worries about my house. Mike volunteered to watch the house.
Mike Rigel is perhaps the most selfless person I've ever met.
He gets a 3 Snaps and a Clap in this movie called life!

I keep thinking I'm going to go back to college and snap up a few more degrees, but then again, I look at modern day computer code and it's SO BAD that I'm not sure if I want to soak my hands and feet in that toilet again.
What I'd really like, is a job where I watch TV, play computer games, eat exotic foods and drink coffee all day. Ya know, like Roberts job!

It would be nice if I could read about our holidays without coming across items that are completely disturbing.

Somehow I stumbled on Hitler's T4 project in 1938, less than 66 years ago.
It was a project to eliminate Germany's undesirable babies.
The age was raised to include kids up to 16 years old. Hitler planned euthanasia for the unperfect.
It occured to me that, the way the Third Reicht thought, was simular to many 'cleansing' efforts recorded in history.
This way of thinking would include the Pilgrims cleansing the land of the indians.
I guess the moral of this story is, that killing people over physical or religious differences, is pure evil.
Knowing what I know, it would be hard for me to cheer when any war is won, because I believe that war itself is evil.
Wouldn't it have been much nicer if the bureaucrats could have won Iraq through economical and political means?
I've read that the United States has a larger gross domestic product than India, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Russia, Spain and Brazil combined. Dollar wise, the US is worth 200 Iraqs. That's a lot of monitary influence.
We are the richest people on the planet by far!

It was a lazy day. Skip had company, Becky's kids stayed over last night.
A neighbor's pitbull broke through the fence. Not a thing was unusual about today. Ohboy. :) ssdd.

Yesterday, I sent emails out to perhaps 50 people. Most will delete the email. That's cool. The point was, I think well of these people. In my life, I've loved them all. If they ever need my help, all they have to do is pick up the phone.

I talked to Jan Overbo (from Caesars) and Amy (Rob Allred's daughter). They are doing great! Jan's getting married, and Amy might be working at Caesar Palace's new club.
We ate at Gram's tonight and she prepared a wonderful meal. Excellent would be too small of a word to apply to her cooking. Grandiose, with affect in personal eating desires, would suffice as descriptive. lol.

The pilgrims came across the Atlantic Ocean to land here in December 1620. They were of the Puritan Sect of the English Separatist Church, and ironically, the Puritans were escaping religious persecution. They had spirit, but were perhaps poor planners, coming to the Americas in the winter time. They had no flour, cattle or dairy products, and the potato was thought of as poisonous. The wheat they brought wouldn't grow in New England's rocky soil. The native indians helped them survive to their first crop. It was the indian's culture (the Wampanoags) to welcome strangers to their villages. Together, they celebrated the traditional English harvest festival with 91 of their saviors (the native indians).
In 1676, June 29th was proclaimed as the first Thanksgiving holiday.
The celebration did not include the native indians. The celebration was meant partly to be a victory celebration over their heathen neighbors. In the name of god, they killed the indians who helped them survive the first winter. The pilgrims brought the plague (small pox) and guns. The Puritan Elder praised god for the plague that killed the indians because it purified the land.
In 1863, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed National Thanksgiving Day
It was to be the last Thursday in November. For hundreds of years prior, this holiday bounced all around the calendar.
As I sit around the table with my loved ones and enjoy the time we're together
I think of history, how our ancestors killed their true saviors, the American Indians, because they didn't believe in their perceived savior, Jesus Christ. I wonder how those people could get so messed up. In many ways, this is a Thankless holiday.
In spite of Thanksgiving's roots, this day has become a day of love.
I celebrate this day, in memory of all of the previous Thanksgiving holidays. I regret most of my loved ones have passed, and can not share today. Yet,
I'm thankful, for the love and new memories created and shared on this holiday
Thanksgiving Day, November 25th, 2004.

What is today...oh yea, it's Tuesday already!
Smoked up that 30 lbs of turkey and beef yesterday. Finished it up around 9pm. Becky made a wonderful turkey gravy out of what I thought was useless grease. The turkey came out ggggrrrreeeeaaatttt! The chuck steak, potatoes, carrots, onions and mushrooms came out only so so. I guess you don't smoke chuck steak. It doesn't absorb the smoke flavoring.
Refilled the print cartridges again
What a messy endeavor. I've got two color printers on my network. Refilling the cartridges ALWAYS makes an incredible mess. My kit has syringes that inject the ink into the cartridges and if the needles aren't secure, they blow off and ink goes everywhere. My hands will be blue on Thanksgiving. Also, if you overfill the cartridges, they leak ink in a nice puddle. If you use aluminum foil, it'll flow freely to the lowest spot (that you didn't know existed) and go everywhere from there.
SO MESSY!

Woke up this morning, openned the bedroom door.
There was Squirt. Behind him was toilet paper and trash all up and down the hallway.
He'd gotten into the bathroom trash.
I woooped his furry butt!
We're smoking 20lbs of turkey and beef today with taters, carrots, onyuns, and whatever else we can think of to put in the drip pan. It's going to be a 24 hour event!

We're headed off to Circus Circus for Dustin's birthday. It has roller coasters, bumper cars, water rides, all kinds of nausious contraptions. yea!
Dustin wanted to go ride go carts, but jeese, they cost $5 for 3 minutes. What a burn that would be.
Six of us went to the Adventure Dome.
Robert didn't come so I was the only person with any cash, which, by itself sux. Grams kicked in $45, bless her heart.
Dustin was half sick from the rides, but he tried very hard, I was proud of him, he rode everything. Jennifer developed a fear of the roller coaster. There was a 6 year old crying because she couldn't ride the coaster, and there was Jennifer crying because she could, but was afraid. Odd ain't it. I have to blame Becky for Jennifer's fear. Becky kept telling everyone over and over she wouldn't ride that little roller coaster. She was afraid. Now Jennifer is afraid, and if she never gets over that fear, she might as well stay at home when everyone else goes to Magic Mountain, Knotts Berry Farm and Disney Land, cause that's what they've got...roller coasters.
I don't understand why they aren't afraid of riding in cars (which is a 100 times more dangerous).
There was what looked like a fatal accident one block from my house tonight.
How do you ignore someone elses irrational fears? Beats me. Nothing I say helps. It would be stupid to take these guys to Disney Land. I would have had a great time if I didn't feel so alone. I'm depressed now.

Started to freeze it, and discovered that...
The freezer door was open and the meat had thawed
No good deed goes unpunished. Robert must have accidentally left it open when we were fixing his PC last night. Its easy to do, but damn, we just bought something like $400 worth of frozen meat and it thawed. Now, I've got to cook it all. I'm brining a 20 lb turkey, 10lbs of beef, and I'm hoping for the best with the rest of the meat.

Friday Night Last night - Took Skip to his first day of Emissions Control School (kewl!). Skip is on his way to making a cool $30 an hour.
Skip mentioned that this town seems to have a mall on every corner (it almost does).
Swung by the Boulevard Mall on the way home. Its hard to believe I used to live on the next block over in 1978 when this place was Nevada's best Mall.
Rebuilt Roberts PC from dumpster trash. Added a DVD, CDRW, 8gig Hardrive, 128meg memory. Had to duct tape the extra hard drive in place. SUCCESS IS BEST!

Sat around, sipped coffee and had a few laughs.
I got stank-assed with Eye Glass World
Becky bought 2 eyeglasses for $260. $45 of that was for a warranty the covered that frames for 3 years. Eyeglass World never had any intention of honoring the warranty, it was clearly a scam. They said, yea, you get free frames, but you'll have to buy good lenses for $99 or $49 dollars for the cheap lenses per eyeglass. That's as much as Becky paid in the first place. I told them just out of principle, I'd have to take them to small claims court, they committed fraudulant and/or misleading advertising. It's ironic, that while I was talking to the rep, the manager called to have several vehicles towed because they were parked over the line.
At home I called a satellite store here, and they were happy to honor the warranty. The manager called the Eyeglass World on Tropicana the "EVIL STORE" and said they hated them, that they were greedy.
They ordered new frames that fit Becky's lenses. wow.
The Fashion Show mall has a 1,000 foot flying saucer hanging over it, with movies projected on it.
The Forum Shops has hugh Roman Statues that dance to light shows and music. It's sky changes from day to night every hour.
Rebuilt Roberts PC from dumpster trash
Added a DVD, CDRW, 8 gig Hardrive, 128meg memory. Had to duct tape the extra hard drive in place, lol
SUCCESS IS BEST!

I got nasty with The EyeGlass World.,br> They sold Becky a warrantee that they never had any intention of honoring. I told them I would see them in small claims court for the stinkin $45 (actually for the principle of the thing), but I called their sister store here, and they were happy to honor the warranttee. The manager called the Eyeglass World on Tropican "EVIL" and said they hated them. wow.
Wednesday
Robert was going to bring his pc over, I was going to deliver Patti's furniture to her, and we were going to go hang out at the spa where Robert works. BUT, We ended up balancing the books, the spa was locked up, so we ended up picking up Joy from Roberts work and drove around alot.
Tuesday
Shampooed the carpets. Picked up Robert from UMC. Rapped, sang and danced with the security guard there. Let the good times roll every day your alive people!
Monday
It was a nothing day. Watched TV, washed clothes, got Toshiba to honor a $150 rebate they rejected. It was a relaxed day.

Took Dustin, Jennifer and Becky to the M&M Factory down the road.
Ethel M's has an interesting cactus garden, and I couldn't help but put together that everything they grew could either be eaten, used for medicinal purposes, or...used to get high with. AMAZING!
Shower Heads?
We hit the Home Depot on the way home to pick up another handheld shower head. It seems like these things have a way of springing leaks after a couple of years. I guess that's the way they make them.
Yeesssmam, I'll snake your toilet. I'z beez there right after I get through with lawndry.
Went to the kids Grandma's house. I hate going there. Joy told me that stuff was falling out of the stove vent fan. I took it apart and cleaned it. Grandma asked me if I'd take the laundry up the stairs. Grandma has had the kids for only 6 months (she and her son kicked Becky out when Becky was kicking in $1,600 towards rent and her kids. Becky was a very good mom. Grandma is going after Becky for child support. I can't believe a woman like that exists. She stole Becky last dime by openning her mail and forgery Becky's name on a check, she kicked Becky out and she's told lies. I haven't fixed anything at that place since she did that. Now grandma smokes in front of the kids at the table, with their asthma medicine next to the ash tray. What a low-life! (wanna see the picture?)

Burned out from travelling over 400 miles, we came back to Vegas from Primm.
Some car threw a bigassed rock, it hit and now my windshield is illegal.
Stopped off at Frys for some electronic goodies. Vegged and watched movies.

The Primadonna outlet mall
A janitor spilled his garbage bin, and out fell all of these coupons. We helped him clean up, and found coupons for 15% off at the SBarrows and the GAP. SO, we ate at SBarrows.
The Gap Clothing Store
Great deals and the 15% coupon helped ALOT! We picked up 2 jackets, 1 pants, 10 shirts for $107.
The Earthstore
Picked up some oils and one of those mist bowls there. The bowl is too cool. It creates a fountain with fog flowing out of it, with changing colored lights. $60 for everything, and we'll enjoy it for a long time.
Desparado - Buffalo Bill's Roller Coaster
I rode this ride. Becky stayed behind. What a BANG for the buck! In the 90's it was boasted as the fastest roller coaster in the world. The ride takes you around the Buffalo Bill Hotel, underground and I got bruises from it.
The Vault - 4D Roller Coaster
It was a fun, simulated roller coaster ride that visited the engineering wonders of the world. You go up into space and land at the various sites. The second movie took us along an ice glacier. Cool, but the ride only lasts for 3 minutes.
Chuck, Mark and Sandy joined us
We ate at the buffet ($10 a head) and laughed a lot!
The Marshall Tucker Band
All I'm going to say is this: Marshall Tucker shouldn't drink. The accoustics were terrible.
Becky and I walked out and watched the lounge performers sing. The band was great and the croud was drunk, and that's the way it should be.
Leonard Skynard
The band rocked. The light show was excellent. The sound was the best right behind the sound and light show coordinators. Chuck gave us a sip of his bloody mary made with Tequila. His bartender had a sense of humor when he made that drink. It was an octane booster.

Up at 8am. Listened to the water trying to make it through the pipes in the other rooms. I can hear people talking in the surrounding rooms. ha.
TRIP TO PRIMM, NEVADA FROM LAUGHLIN
Got up this morning to check the map. We get there along the 95, but when you're looking at a map, 95 is many things.
95-A popular road name
If you don't know the name of a street, call it 95. You'll probably be right. Here in Laughlin, there are 2 95's that parallel each other. One goes through Bullhead City, one goes through Laughlin , 95 is also I40. In Las Vegas, 95 is I515, Boulder Highway, Rancho, Tonapah Highway. Text
Needles, California
A very old looking town that's probably there for welfare recipients.
Needles has a railroad. Clusters of people were hung out on in nameless places. Almost all for of the houses we passed needed new roofs and some needed windows.
Searchlight, Nevada
We stopped at the Golden Nugget. Becky stood in line for the restroom while I explored the place. Some guy hit a Royal Flush at the bar (yes, they do happen).
Joshua Tree highway
Good name for this 30 mile highway that joins Searchlight to Primm. It's surrounded by the Castle Mountains (5,000 feet elevation. They are named appropriately. The hues here are yellow, green, black and brown and smells like desert sage.
Nipton, California
A whistle stop ghosttown where highway 164 meets a railroad. It has a 4 room hotel, cafe, store and that's about it.
Around 1910, a foxy looking, silent screen, movie star rented rooms at this hotel. She entertained, and bought a ranch nearby. The sign said the liked getting away from the pressures of the California Studios. This is definetely getting away.
We had a mushroom burger in the 400 square foot cafe. Everything was very cute and homey, including the 3 year old girl (Naomi) who entertained us with her picture book for a half an hour. This little girl sang songs, told stories, and posed for pictures. She stole my heart.
Primm, Nevada, Whiskey Petes
Once again there was problems checking in. Jeese, I just wanted to put my Schwab Visa on my folio but the clerk said she couldn't, It was a debit credit card. I told her to use it, the Primadanna used it in September, and I wanted to use the card for incidentals on my A folio. She explained that it put a $50 hold on debit cards, and I said, I don't care...it should bill all A-folio charges to my card on checkout, and release the hold, SOP. I probably should have listened to her.
The clerk booked us in a room with 2 double beds because that's all they had open...hmmm, we made reservations last week too. I think they booked us as a walkin again.
Whiskey Petes-Room 9024
On the 9th floor overlooking the west docks, not a pretty sight. The water pressure here is probably at 10psi. It takes a while to fill a 6 oz cup. The TV has 4 regular channels which fade in and out. But it's all free, so I won't complain anymore
The Primadonna outlet mall
We took the tram over I15 to the Primadanna. I like this mall a lot. Too bad it closed 1 hour after we walked in. I learned hermit crabs live for 20 years. wow.
We ate at the Cafe: I had Japanese soup (misabi?, $6), Becky had a Reuben ($5). The waiter laughed at anything, and made lots of mistakes, like, never asking us what we wanted to drink, not serving it, and not giving us condiments, and had to be run down to get the bill. (I think he was stoned). He had 2 tables. LOL.
Primadonna is having a Marine convention here, which seems like a costume party festival. The marines where in dress, and they're wives/girlfriends were in evening gowns. Pretty cool.

LAUGHLIN, NEVADA
Looked out the black out blinds at 9am
One eye was blind for 5 minutes! Our room faces the west, towards the Colorado River and the sun was definetely up!
Becky took a bath and I washed her cute little feet
Sat down at the laptop and keyed this in.
The Colorado River Cruise
This Hour and a half ride cost $20 for 2 and it was GREAT!
The following is what I learned:
The Anasazi Indians (The "Ancient Ones" that disappeared around 1,600AD)
Worshipped a black mountain in the Newberry Mountain Range. They called it Spirit Mountain, and beleived it was where your spirit came from before you born. I think that's very interesting, don't you?
Mrs Laverdy (related to Jan Laverdy Jones, Las Vegas's previous major)
She had a spot of land on what is now Casino Drive. The neighboring casinos wanted her small area of land. They offered $250,000, then $500,000 then $3,000,000 but she held out. She didn't want to move. In the end, the Edgewater offered her 10 rooms of their new hotel complete with a balcony, private fishing pier, hotel ammenities and a limo/chaffeur for life. She accepted. Unfortunetely, she was on her 2nd tour of the world when she had a stroke. She died, and Edgewater now uses the area for VIPs.
Don Laughlin
- When Don Laughlin was 17, he'd set up slot machines, vending machines and cigarette machines in his school. The principle of the school said he had to get rid of them. He made more than the principle earned and dropped out of school.
- Don ended up working as a bartender and dealer in Vegas, saved up and bought the 101 club.
- Sometime in the 80's he flew his private plane over Laughlin (then unnamed, population 50). He decided to do something with it. He founded a casino (The Riverside), and wanted to name this place Riverside, but the name was taken. Then he wanted the city to be called Casino, NV, but the post office refused. They suggested he name it Laughlin because it was a nice Irish name (the Head Postman was named McClellin). The town had a vote and now it's Laughlin, NV.
The Colorado Belle
This hotel is shaped like a bigased boat.
- The Captains Buffet. $4.99 per person. Great buffet, beautiful ship like decor, GREAT BREAD PUDDING.
- The club, gave us 2 (2 for 1 pays) on any table game. I played the max $20 and lost both hands. It was 8 deck blackjack, which I don't even know if there's a strategy for playing.
- Tried to make 200 pts in Video Poker Play (for a bonus $20). Becky and I lost miserably.
The Riverside Hobo Stew, Blues and Bikes Festival
There was a band, clowns, and costumed people all abound! Someone on a unicycle about ran us down!
GREAT DAY! GREAT WEATHER! GOOD PEOPLE! LOW BUDGET! My kind of day to smile.

However, we were just reading about Laughlin and they offer Hummer Tours. Now, I'm not sure what that means, but it does sounds exotic. It sounds like Laughlin has everything.