One application process down...206 miles to go

The following came to my email today:

SCOTT HALDAN JACOBSEN,

THANK YOU for registering for the 2008 LOTOJA CLASSIC. Your online application was processed and approved on MAY 19.

Translation: i got in to the Lotoja Classic.

I am kind of going back and forth between excitement and fear. I am never going to med/law school but i imagine getting into a prestigious school has a similar feeling. It is something that you have always wanted, but it is going to be a very difficult process.
So here we go!

@ a truck stop in tooele...

Yes, the title of this post sounds like the begining of an improv sketch on "Whose Line is it Anyway?" However, everything you are about to read is true, so brace yourself.

So two weeks ago i was working in Tooele. On one particular day i went to lunch at the Taco Bell located inside the nearby truck stop. I ordered two spicy chicken burritos, and they were delicious. On my way out i glanced at one of the arcade machines that lined the wall. This particular machine was the "win a prize" type. It begged me to play (i think it was the amazing zoltars cousin). The game worked as follows: There were roughly 20 rows, and each row was roughly 10 squares wide. The game would begin with 3 squares moving back and forth along row #1. The player then presses a button that freezes row #1's squares on place. Once row #1 is frozen in place 3 squares begin moving back and forth in row #2. It is the players goal to freeze those three squares directly on top of the previous 3 squares. This process continues all the way to the top, however, as the game progesses you only given two sqauares, and finially you are only given one square. The ultimate goal is two create a tower of squares all the way to level 20. If a player reaches level 15 he/she can elect to recive a prize (this prize is on par with a 50-100 ticket prize at your local arcade) or he/she may elect to forgo that prize and try to complete the tower all the way to level 20. If the player makes it all the way to 20 he/she wins a grand prize (this prize is much more significant, like a wii or an ipod etc.)

I am sure you can finish the rest of the story, but just to be sure. I WON! As a result i am now the proud owner of an XBOX 360. It was pretty awesome.

The Results Are In...

The winner of the Lotoja team name is........The Flying Scotsmen. The winner of the contest (my sister Laura) gets a free autographed picture with the team, AND she also gets to take us all out to dinner at Bubba's. Congratulations Laura!

Below are a few apparel options. Let us know what you think.
I have yet to find these for sale anywhere, but they pretty cool anyway.

I think this is the official Scotland Jersey

William Wallace Jersey option A

William Walace option B: My personal favorite.

The Contemporary Tartan

Further, Courtney chose a bike this weekend. After trying out probably 20 bikes, and after polling the blog world...she decided to go with the Trek 2.1 WSD. The bike arrives this week and will go on it's maiden voyage this weekend. She is pretty stoked.

WINNER!

Top ten things I don't tell someone I am meeting for the first time!

1. I am a food snot. --lets face it I like good food and am sometimes too critical for my own mediocre cooking skills. I don't like a lot of the food I make.

2. I am a recovering perfectionist. I say recovering, because I go to therapy on a regular basis to work this one out. I have learned that it is okay if my house is dirty and my hair is greasy, while I take care of other things of more importance!

3. I like to sing. I wanted to be the vocalists of some kickin' band... but never seemed to make it past the East High music department or the ward party.

4. I can touch my tongue to my nose. In fact if I wanted to, I could almost pick my nose with my tongue.

5. I was the Head Cheerleader at East High. People have really weird stereo types about cheerleaders. I just think it is better if someone gets to know me a little bit before they find this one out!

6. If I don't know the answer, I will often times make it up. I don't think this is lying. It is just creative talking.

7. Scott and I got engaged three months after I got home from my mission. And married three months after that. I make fun of people like me! But I don't regret it all!

8. When I laugh really hard I cluck. It would just be weird to tell someone that... one would just have to experience Lady Cluck to understand!

9. I love Hip Hop! Most definitely my favorite form of dance. I took ballet, and jazz, so that I would be better at Hip Hop! I like to listen to the music so loud I can feel the bass pulsate through my body.

10. "I have a confession to make, I write poetry". It was strange enough when I said that to my sisters. It would be even more bizarre to give an almost stranger my confession.

Let's hear yours!

Angel on [her] bike...

Courtney has decided to enter the world of cycling. So last saturday we went out bike shopping. She tried out probably 10 bikes. We were able to narrow it down to 3 models. And while the final choice will be up to courtney...i kinda liked the "put it to a vote idea"

Now we understand that comfort and preformance are the first priorities, however as the one of the Contender Bikes salesmen said: "you want a bike that looks sexy, so that when you get home from work you see it there and think.'ohhhh, i want to ride that.'" So bellow are Courtney's 3 favorite thus far. Let us know which you like the most.



Orbea Aqua Dama



Orbea Lobular


Trek WSD 2.1

Team Name?

So last night i committed to my brother-in-law (Jason Dunlop) that i would ride Lotoja (A Bike race from logan, ut to jackson hole, wy) in a team with him. We have to register on April 22, which is still a ways away, but we need a good team name. So i am asking the 4 people who read this blog to suggest a few good names for our team.

A little background may help:

Jason = Rode non-stop, 400 mile race, in Alaska, with an ulcer, and without drafting, teams, or ipods. This will be his umpteenth Lotoja ride. Generally speaking, he is likely the best cyclist that i will ever have the pleasure of knowing, much less biking with.

Me = I like bikes! This will be my first Lotoja effort, and my first bike ride longer than 100 miles. I get pretty tired riding my bike to school (5 miles). While i am confident that, with proper training, i will be able to finish, i am sure that i would struggle mightily without people like jason on my team.

Etc: When i was younger, jason would often make sprite come out of my nose. Jason and i have, on and off, been addicted to World of Warcraft (my charaters included shaide, lanemyer, and haldan, Jason went by Jlope, which was often confussed with j-lo).

My Current Ideas are: Lazerpewpewpew Or Team Pew for short
Team Tortise'n'Hare
Team Stretch Armstrong
(clearly we need you ideas)

Thanks

The Wii is soooo overrated!

Just ask Walter Day, head referee of Twin Galaxies: "I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to be the center of attention. I wanted the glory, I wanted the fame. I wanted the pretty girls to come up and say, 'Hi, I see that you're good at Centipede.'" In other words vintage gamers get more ladies than David Hasselhoff...in the Night Rider Days



Over the weekend Courtney and i watched "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters." Although it will never be described as a work of complete, devastating brilliance, and it is unlikely that many review will read: "what's so remarkable about this film is not its time frame but the wealth of its detail, the eloquence of its images, and the sweep of its ambition." However, some reviews have said "A stupendously entertaining nonfiction film concerning the cutthroat battle for world records on coin-operated arcade games." and "A hilarious story about an unbelievable collection of arrested-teenage morons and, yes, an inspiring fable of persistence and redemption." and perhaps most telling



..."Nerds Rule!"


And in my opinion the move was great! It had everything.

A compelling hero - Steve Weibe (say it with me weebee) - a lovable loser on par with the Boston Red Sox (Pre 2004) Chicago Cubs, Utah Jazz, and Roy Munson. Weibe has spent his whole life on the verge of greatness only to fall desperately short, and now, after being laid off, is trying to redeem himself by claiming the world record for Donkey Kong (which has gone untouched since the 80's). Just as a matter of clarification this is the original Donkey Kong, not Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Konga or any of the other more advanced affiliates.

A dastardly villain - Billy Mitchell - A villain comparable to Nasty Man, and the legendary Snidely Whiplash. Mitchell is the current World Record holder for Donkey Kong (800,000+ points). Equipped with a well trimmed beard, long flowing locks, and unrivaled hand-eye-coordination, Billy has owned the vintage gaming world since he was a teenager, and he is determined to stay on top. "...but competitive gaming, when you wanna attach your name to a world-record, when you want your name written into history, you have to pay the price!" - Billy Mitchell

And of course a damsel in distress - Princess peach!

Not to mention that it is utterly hillarious to listen to people who are excessivly passionate and serious about video games. Take Billy Mitchells protoge, Brian Kuh, for example: "You know, he's gonna have to play it perfectly, he's at the hardest part of Donkey Kong, and it's not gonna get any easier. So we may have an exciting moment here, or you know, the pressure may get to him, one of those random elements might happen. Sounds like he just cleared another board, but we could have a wild barrel, or some aggressive fireballs. I thought I was gonna be the first FunSpot kill screen, and then I had three fireballs trap me, I had the hammer in my hand, they still got me. So anything can happen in Donkey Kong. So for someone else to beat me to the kill screen would be a letdown, but lets see what happens, maybe he'll crack under the pressure and maybe I'll get my chance to do it."

Perhaps right now you are thinking...there is no way i am wasting an hour and a half (actual run time: 79 minutes) on a movie about Donkey Kong. However, The guy from Men's Warehouse and i have teamed up to tell you "You are gonna like [The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters]I guarantee it!" (George Zimmer may or may not have actually endorsed the previous quotes).




After watching the movie i waxed nostalgic and tried out Donkey Kong on my computer. I would like to say that i absolutely crushed it and took over the new world record...but in all reality, it took me numerous tries to get past the first level, and at the moment my high score is 15,240 and i have passed 7 levels. So only 20 levels to go, and a mere 800,000 points! Steve and Billy had better watch out! Feel free to try it out yourself (http://donkey-kong.freeonlinegames.com/) and let me know how you do.


You may need to check this book out at your local library!


Just a closing thought for all those who may have a little video gaming addict in their blood. Consider this quote from competitive gamer Adam Wood "I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs. I play video games, which I think is a far superior addiction to any of those other ones."