Wednesday Night Woes for Kansas... Huge Win for Kansas State!

What a game! Well, at least for Kansas State it was a hell of a game. They did exactly what they need to do in order to take care of business and put away the 20-0 Kansas Jayhawks. Beasley and Walker did what they need to do with not getting into foul trouble and finished off KU for the first time at home in 24 straight at home in Manhattan. Michael Beasley got one part right with stating:

"We're going to beat Kansas at home! We're going to beat them in their house! We're going to beat them in Africa!"

Well, at least the first right so far. It is too early to tell about the second part. Bill Walker simply stated straight and to the point that

I'll predict it.

I'm not scared to say it.

I'm a man. I can live up to my words.

I'm saying we'll beat'em both places.

Well, so far they have lived up to those statements in the first game located in Manhattan. Beasley and Walker combined for 47 points.

The Jayhawks never got into sync in this game and K-State was definitely pumped up for this game. I certainly thought they would be and had a discussion with KSU fans at work about this game. For some reason the KSU fans I spoke to did not think that this was a big game for KSU. Well, tell that to the fans in Manhattan that stormed the court and reacted like they had just won the national championship. When I told the KSU fans that I thought it was the best chance to beat the Jayhawks they came back with the fact that KSU beat KU two years ago. They thought that Walker and Beasley would both be in foul trouble and it would be a lose. Wrong! Beasley did not get his first foul until well into the second half. K-State put on a game all the way around. The only spot that did not shine for KSU was their foul shooting.

Kansas State moves to 5 - 0 while Kansas goes to 5 - 1 in the Big Twelve. It is going to be a lot of fun in February and lets not forget March or the first part of April. Geez, before we know it we are going to be in the midst of March Madness and the Final Four will be here.

Good game tonight Cats! We will see you again in Lawrence on March 1 at 8 pm.

Big Wednesday!

You have heard of Big Monday, what we have coming up Wednesday will be Big Wednesday when in-state rivals Kansas State University faces #2 Kansas in Manhattan. The game is going to be huge because of the talent that K-State possesses. On the other hand, Kansas is going to be tough because they are sitting at 20-0 on the season with only one other team (Memphis) being unbeaten this far.

Michael Beasley was a menace in his last game scoring high numbers in just a few minutes of play. Will he be able to help guide the Wildcats to a win over a power house coming into Manhattan? Time will of course only tell. We know that Kansas has gone on a winning streak over KSU for the past twenty plus years. We also know that it cannot last forever. I for one do not want it to end this year against KSU with Michael Beasley or Walker. So time will tell.

Lets go Hawks!

Friday Night Party, Hockey, and Dancing

For a week that started off with a fire at work the second day of classes (Wednesday), a system not working correctly on Friday, the week ended great Friday night. It was a hectic week and extremely busy at work. However, Friday night definitely helped to relax and meld away the problems of the week.

Yes, we had a fire which was caused by a fuse blowing in our mechanical room. This happened sometime around 7 am Wednesday morning. This was the second day of classes and not a good start to the day or the semester. Our entire machine room (i.e. the campus) was off of the network for about three hours. Finally around 11 am we had partial systems back and before long our network administrators had most everything back on-line before early afternoon. Meanwhile, we were handling the calls and complaints coming in from the campus. Keep in mind that no one had Internet access on the campus. So, everyone was relying on the use of the phone or personal visits. Fun stuff! For the problems that were caused by the fire, the department handled everything in stride and got things going smoothly again. We received a number of thank yous from the campus the following day. Very nice!

Friday morning was not much better with another system that was not working correctly. The system just so happens to be the one that allows employees to do their time sheets, students to register/drop/etc. classes, and a variety of other functions. This caused a lot of phone calls until about shortly after the noon hour Friday. For the day, we took a total of just shy of 100 calls. Now, that might not sound like a lot, but for a call center that averages around 30 a day, that is a lot for us.

My plan for this past week was to work on a lot of projects including writing up performance evaluations. All of that was put on hold until this next week. I did end up working late Thursday night so I could finish up some projects that were due Friday. Good thing I did work late Thursday night because I would not have been able to worked on those items Friday.

So my Friday night started with me requesting the students to leave the lab so I could close down the lab. Carrie and I were to meet our friends at the Expo Center for a Republican party... we were mainly going to drink free alcohol. I was very stressed out from the week, but who can pass up alcohol. We were only able to enjoy the party for about an hour. We were then ready to head to the Topeka RoadRunners hockey game. We had a blast!

The game was exciting enough with the Roadrunners winning 5 - 2 (or something around there). There of course was a fight with some blood, but that's not what this blog is about. This blog is about me dancing between quarters at 60s disco night.

I volunteered under the understanding that I had heard someone shout that it was couples dancing. I thought Carrie and I were going to dance together and then get voted on... No! It was individual dancing to 60s music. As you can imagine, I was hesitant at going through without, but by that time I had already signed the waiver. In case you were wondering, the waiver is so that if I fall on the ice and break a limb, I do not hold the Expo Center accountable. After signing my life away, I got up to follow the event staff to my dancing endeavor. While walking in front of my friends, I told them I thought it was couples dancing and they just laughed. I continued following the event staff to the location down by the ice. While standing waiting for our time to go on the ice two little girls and a little boy with a 60s outfit came down to be included in the dancing. Another contestant and I looked at each other and said it was all over, we already know who is going to win. Sure enough the little kid with the 60s outfit won the event. No, I did not give up right there and go back to my seat, instead I did my dancing and strutted my best 60s moves on the ice.

My moves included the moon walk, lawn mower, and do not forget the sprinkler. I did in fact get a good applause at my dancing. We only had to dance for thirty seconds and with the spotlight it was difficult to see the audience. My friends got a good video of the dancing which I will hopefully get a copy of from them to post on here. It was a lot of fun, but the kicker of it was that our price for performing was a ice cream from a local store. Gee, thanks! I am not sure what the little kid won for winning the whole evening, but hopefully it was a banana split or something a little bigger than a ice cream.

I had a lot of fun and it did definitely help to improve my mood going into Saturday. Afterwards, we went to a new spot here in Topeka called Henry T's. If the name sounds familiar to those of you from Lawrence, it should. It is owned by the same people that own Henry T's in Lawrence. Great food and a great time there too.

Have a great weekend and try to have as much fun as me!

Hamilton Loomis Saturday Night in Topeka Kansas

Wow! What a show! Hamilton Loomis put on a great show! He went on stage around 8:45 and played three sets. We left the place around 1:30 in the morning after he finished his last set. It was a great time!

Hamilton and his band had great sound as well as a good feel with the audience. At one point walking out into the audience standing on the tables and playing his guitar.

If they can get him to the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival in October, I think he would be a great fit. A Friday act would work out great for him and the festival. His interaction with the crowd was like a seasoned veteran of the stage. He wore a wireless mic and would definitely be a "walker" at the festival.

He played three sets and everyone enjoyed the performance. The drummer was really good too! Fun to watch and definitely did a great job on the drums.

The band was recommended by Uncle Tommy from Texas and I know why he likes Hamilton Loomis so much... Uncle Tommy use to be a drummer and this drummer was good!

Going back to the "walker" comment. This is one of my favorite parts about working the festival. I have worked the festival the past two years and typically there are at least a couple of the musicians than like to walk through the crowd. Thus, I get to guide them through the crowd making sure that they get through safely and then return them back to the stage. I can definitely see Hamilton wanting to walk the crowd.

I would highly recommend if you get the chance to check out Hamilton Loomis. Great songs, great performer, and a great time!

Today I find myself relaxing watching movie, playing on the Internet, and trying to get over a hang over from the night before. To check out all pictures from Hamilton Loomis, check out my Flickr page.

Saturday Night Music and Basketball

On this cold winter day, I will be spending time relaxing and enjoying television, the computer, and possibly a nap or two. This is a three day weekend for me with Washburn being closed on Monday. Tonight a group of us are going to see Hamilton Loomis. It should be a good show! I am listening to him now as I write this blog.

As mentioned in a previous posting, Hamilton will probably be at the Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival in October. I have worked the main stage the past two years. It is a lot of fun! I carry equipment on and off the main stage. I have a chance to meet blues legends! The best part is that while I work I get to drink beer which is provided free from Budweiser. Nice!

Anyway, Hamilton is probably going to be at the Blues Fest this year. Uncle Tommy in Texas who helps to get some of the performers contacted me back in November to let me know that Hamilton was going to be in Topeka on January 19. He said he had seen him a few times and that he puts on a great show. So, we are going to go see him tonight. My father-in-law has been a huge part of the Blues festival in Arkansas during the past 20 plus years. He is going to see Hamilton tonight with us. It would be cool if we could talk to Hamilton for a bit either before or after he plays.

The other even that I will be doing today is to watch the Missouri/Kansas basketball game. The game is at 7 pm CST, so I will definitely be watching that and hopefully it ends before we have to head to see Loomis. Go Jayhawks!

Everyone have a great weekend and be safe!

Hamilton Loomis Playing in Topeka Possible Festival Musician

Hamilton Loomis will be playing at the Ramada Inn in Topeka, KS January 19. Hamilton is being considered to play at the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival in October 2008. He has a good sound and has been recommended by others. I have been listening to him on Rhapsody (http://www.rhapsody.com/hamiltonloomis).

I like the sound he has and I think he would put on a good show. If you get a chance, listen to his music. Hopefully he will be able to make it to the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival 2008 (http://www.bluesandheritage.com/).

Arkansas Blues and Hertiage Festival 2008

It is that time again to begin thinking about the dates for the Arkansas Blues and Hertiage Festival 2008. I have already thinking about the dates which appear they will be October 9 - 11, 2008. The dates have already been reserved for my third annual visit to Helena, Arkansas.

If you have never been, make it a point to attend this year. Information about the venue as well as scheduled acts is available at http://www.bluesandheritage.com/. It is definitely worth the visit!