Random Acts of Living


Thursday, October 30, 2008

Chaotic Cage - Oct. 17 - Wichita KS

On Thursday, October 16, my son, dil and I went to Hooters in Wichita for the weigh in for the Mixed Martial Arts event, Chaotic Cage to be held Friday, October 17. All the hopeful contenders gathered in the side room and waited for the weigh in to begin.

Some of the contenders didn't meet the guidelines and were eliminated (see the Chaotic Cage link above). Below is the final lineup for the event.



The morning of Friday, October 17, our production company drove to the Cotillion and began setting up. I'm glad we had time to make sure everything functioned because we found we needed a longer cable and checked 3 stores before finding exactly what we needed. The sound man came in about an hour before the event, but set up quickly and my son was able to link our system with his without much effort wirelessly. I would love to say that everything went off flawlessly, but I can't . The lights went out, I hit the button to play the intro and.... no sound. The sound guy didn't get us switched over quite fast enough, or maybe I was just a bit anxious in hitting the play button. But we restarted and played the intro through without a hitch.
This was the first time we'd used a program like this, and after the false start, I was a bit disheveled. I didn't get the fighter's intros going right away, but it was no big deal. It's something we're still trying to figure out how we want to work it. The fights were on, and that's all that mattered.
First up was Garcia and McDowell, a couple shots of their fight.
Then was Torres and Larson...
...the second fight was quicker than the first.

There was an Intermission and the Ring Girls who were from Michelle's Beach House entertained everyone and gave away some prizes.
Then there was a Jui Jitsu demonstration from from the Laselva MMA in Wichita...

After the Intermission was the Heavyweight fight of the night...
Woodcock and Greer...
...they beat up on each other pretty bad. From where I was at it looked like they both walked out with black eyes.
Another short interlude before the Main Event, the girls from Hooters tossed out free prizes.
Then on to the Main Event, the fight of the night...
....Marriott vs. Stinson

....BAM...
...and of course, Frank Shamrock was there, he had been visiting and signing autographs all night. Then at the end he interviewed the winner.

GREAT FIGHT, Guys! Looking forward to an even bigger and better event in January 2009!


Edit: Comments that were emailed to me...


Wow! Frank shamrock that was cool, I got a picture with the 4 time UFC fighting legend. That made the show for me!!- Jack Reaves


The next one I am there!- Brandon Hayes


Those were the best fights I ever seen!- Brain Piland


Chaotic cage I love that name!!!- Jeff Keys


I'll post back to my blog when the video is ready for sale.

Friday, October 24, 2008

MMA, AHSGR and First Frost

I've got a lot more information and many more pictures to post on MMA and AHSGR, but right now I'm more interested in trying to get some sleep. But first I want to give an overview of what I've been up to this last week and what I'm getting ready for this weekend. Last Thursday T&S Mobile Projectors went to Wichita to record and do the video presentation for Chaotic Cage at the Cotillion on Friday. Thursday was the weigh in at Hooters on North Rock Road.




This weekend I'm attending and setting up the video presentation equipment for the Kansas Round-Up of Chapters of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. I've been busy with setting up and printing the programs, making buttons and printing & mounting certificates of recognition.




Then I transferred and burned K-Monster's last game to DVD and made copies. Wrapped up some loose ends which got some clutter off my desk and because there was rumor of a frost coming in I went out to the garden and picked the last of veggies. I forgot to get a picture before I started wrapping the green tomatoes, I'm told they'll go ahead and ripen this way. The basket below was full to the top when I brought it in.

There were a couple of small zucchini, 4 little cucumbers and a dozen or so okra. The majority of the tomatoes came from the yellow bushes. They have been a wonderful producer and everyone really likes them.


Well, that's all for now! Have to get some sleep, have a busy weekend ahead.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

What's with "Arugula Eating Elitists"?

What does that mean? and what does Arugula have to do with it? My arugula is having a growth spurt, what with this cool wet weather that has come in. Below is the crop I picked yesterday.
Saying this, I don't understand what arugula has to do with elitists. People I know that eat arugula certainly aren't elitists. Look at the picture below and tell me if you see anything elitist about it.
This picture was taken in July when all the plants were young and lush. The arugula is the dark green row in the center below the lighter green of my lettuce. I've found it to be a hardy plant that the weathers well and the most bugs steer clear of. It's not difficult at all to grow, so why would it be sectioned out as being for elitists? If anyone has a clue about this please leave a comment to enlighten me.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

The Cast's Off

The grandson is so Happy! The cast is off and he can scratch his leg. Now he has a moonboot. He says, "I have a scar!" Guess I should get a picture of that too, huh?

Saturday, October 11, 2008

K-Monster's 5th Tackle Football Game

The 5th game on October 9th was an away game. I rode there with my daughter and we met her husband there. Again, the boys on the opposing team were mostly older and larger. They also have more players. We started out with one early touchdown...
... I think #5 surprised them when he slipped past and ran...
... he only had one of the opposition hot on his heals and at one point had glanced backwards...
... almost allowing him to gain, but ultimately, not enough.
Things were rough clear up until the second half.
I think K-monster is recovering a fumble in the pic below.
They roused in the second half...
...and made a few more touchdowns...
...but in the end...
...it just wasn't enough.
Keep working at it boys, just do your best, it's all good.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Surprise on My Porch

This morning I opened my front door to go outside to get the newspaper when something black and furry jumped off the cushion in the wooden chair on my porch. Then two more fur-balls followed. I rushed back to my desk to get my camera and took these pictures through the dirty glass on my front storm door.
They were really skittish...
...and didn't like the flash at all.
When I opened the door they ran down to the yard and when I stepped out on the porch they ran across the street.
Cats and dogs seem to like the chairs on my front porch. Last year I found a dachshund pup in a chair on my porch. Turned out it belonged to my new next door neighbors, his name was Leo. Leo came over many more times after that. They patched and plugged holes all around the base of their fence and Leo still was able to escape. I even patched and plugged from my side. Then one day when one of the grandsons and I were walking the fence line we came upon a loose board. Leo was able to push the board to get out but then it fell back in place and he couldn't return the same way. We plugged that hole and Leo ceased to visit.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Prayers Needed


Published online 10/3/2008 10:58 PM


A Hutchinson Community College athlete is in critical condition at a Wichita hospital after being injured while pole vaulting Thursday, a college spokesman said Friday night.


Chase Kear, 19, a sophomore from Colwich and a member of HCC's track and field team, was airlifted directly from Gowans Stadium to Via Christi Regional Medical Center, St. Francis campus, said Steve Carpenter, HCC sports information director.


Kear, a graduate of Andale High School, was at practice when he suffered the head injury.


___________________
Chase Kear is a cousin on my mom's side. The Seigal Reunion that I wrote about was held at Chase's grandparents home.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Small Town Homecomings

Just over 30 years ago I lived in a large city in a house on a busy street. There were noises day and night. When I moved out to our small town where I live now, it was so quiet the first night I almost couldn't sleep. When you live somewhere that is quiet, you hear everything. The jets from McConnell Air Base's training flight path flew over our town. The stealth jets would fly over and people would pop out on their porches to watch them. Our tiny airport is often rented by pilots to perform their touch and goes to keep their licenses up to date. There is a train track two blocks south and I've been hearing more trains since the price of gas has gone up. On Friday, after the roofers had gone I heard sirens south of us so I stepped out on my porch to see what was going on. OH! I had forgotten all about Homecoming...







...do they do this sort of thing in big cities?