squib

I like the old, more homely location of Lotus, but the new one is fine and closer to the strip Was there last week and enjoyed a great dinner and excellent service. I felt that Lotus had gotten bad about speeding up the pacing the last few years, but last week it was a bit more leisurely and casual. Nice evening.

Have done the wine pairing, chef's table at the Broadmoor multiple times. The facility is vey nice. Pretty place. Garden of the Gods is a nice couple of hours. Brewery recs above are good. AirForce Academy Is great. The friend I visit there has a box suite for the football games. Good times if you can catch a game. They do pretty crazy flyovers before the game as you can imagine. Here is rec a bit off the beaten path: The Pepper Tree. Have had multiple good steaks here and like the preparation. https://peppertreecs.com/

Just got back home a few hours ago from 5 days out there. Anyway, I suspect it varies from book to book. I had all my action booked through the Caesar app and then watched from several places but ended up in the Yard House because wife and friends… Worked out fine as by that point I only had money on ATM v Bama. One thing I will warn about is that many of the prop bets/parlays/teasers won’t pay out on the app until hours after the last game goes final. I had to wait until 6 am today to get some of my money—and I was trying to catch a plane out at 9 am. All good but somewhat of a PIA.

For expenses, set up Apple Pay. Was in England, Scotland, Ireland for two weeks in July and every single place preferred Apple Pay. Especially useful in pubs for quick transaction. Just make sure your associates card doesn’t charge a transaction fee.

I fish multiple bass tournaments annually and have for 35 years. Been fortunate enough to be polygraphed many times. Lots of money on the line and contestants have to be able to trust one another. Can’t keep an eye on everyone. Unfortunately, these things happen. Just recently a kid here in Texas was caught cheating in a high school tournament. There were plenty of folks threatening to whoop his ass. There was a metro-plex bad ass a few years ago that was pretty consistently in the money. He was quick to always thank Jesus. Then they found some lead weights in his fish. Hasn’t been heard from since but I believe they charged him with fraud.

Did much of the Dublin to Galway to Limerick route this summer. Good times. Dublin was the least impressive part to me. So damn many tourists--perhaps that has settled down a bit. That said, the Irish Immigration Museum in Dublin is really well done. I have never been in a museum like it. Mostly tells the story of how and why the Irish have settled all over the planet. Not a lot of artifacts to look out. Lots of really good story telling though.

Just went to YouTube to show my daughter the video on Ozzy. Damn. Randy Ozzy is best Ozzy

Ozzy. Blizzard of Oz. “I Don’t Know” Metallica. Master of Puppets. “Battery” Hank Williams Jr. The Pressure is On. “Country Boy Can Survive”

That place looks excellent and is not far from me. I'll be stopping by. Thanks for the heads up.

Wonder if the tears will extinguish those safe place fire pits tonight? And at a premium price too.

Also anyone that fishes know that the fish are stacked up like cord wood around that pylon. Ted fishing dead water out there.

You can bet your ass on one thing. Any that holds a rod like that damn sure did not cast out that open-faced reel without creating a backlash bird's nest. And since that reel is not backlashed, that means someone had to cast out Teddy's line for him. That shit is embarrassing for real Texans. Damn. Sawbonz beat me to it. I was so enraged I couldn't bother reading the rest of the responses before I posted. Tip of the hat to Sawbonz

Not an easy ticket to get here in Lubbock. Lots going on tonight and tomorrow before the game. Roads around campus are being redone so expect terrible traffic. Not sure about parking. I think there are shuttles from near UMC north of campus. Might even be shuttles from basketball arena parking. Weather is great right now looking out my window. I suspect it will be a tad warm tomorrow. Have fun.

I have been talked into going to the Cody Johnson concert tonight or I would likely be out at one of these places. If you can't have a fun evening or two in Lubbock then you are a stick in the mud. Now if you want a fun week in Lubbock, you are in for a beatin'.

Cotton Court restaurant is hella high for what you get. Not a fan. Little Woodrows on Milwaukee will likely be the busiest place in town for tonight and tomorrow. It is big and allows you to spread out. Newish places since my last update: Goodline Beer Co is in Tech Terrace near campus (south on Boston from campus). I went in there last week, and the beer is good with some non-typicals. https://goodlinebeer.com/ The pizza place across the street--Capital Pizza--is pretty darn good. I have friends that buy a pizza and carry it over to Goodline. The Reserve is in south Lubbock on Quaker. I haven't eaten there, but I hear it is good. The curb appeal is not really there. https://thereserveculinarytavern.com/ Miguel's is on Broadway near campus and is in walking distance to several drinking spots. I went once and really liked the building and layout (it is an old, huge flower shop). The food was meh but the drinks were good. I would go back. https://miguelslubbock.com/ For more low key and a cool spot, you can hit up Flipper's Tavern. It is a good spot to have a beer--and they have legit good gourmet hotdogs (sausage from Jackson Bros in Post). https://www.facebook.com/flipperstavern/ One more: Dirk's is down in the same hood--off of Boston east of campus. You may recall that Dirk West was a cartoonist that did all those odd SWC sports cartoons. Well his grandson I believe open this restaurant. It is good--legit good steak fingers. Like legit good. https://www.facebook.com/DirksLBK/ Here is an example of an old Dirk http://www.herosandwich.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/dirkwest6.jpg Several of these places are close to Cotton Court. I would hit any of them up before I went there.

I just hope he had become distracted by reading a Surly Sugar Baby thread on his phone and lost track of place and not that he finished the Cloak Room "A Story about a Pathetic Man's Downfall" thread and elected to intentionally check out of humanity.

TX-31 TTU-27 WR--287

Cody Johnson this Friday in Lubbock. Not my thing at all, but daughter asked for tickets for her birthday and asked for me to go along. At least it is outside and I can take a lawn chair and sit way out back. I suspect with the help of multiple cold beers, I will survive.

That’s what Bama fans said last week.

Ha. That is the one we used to go to--out in front of the mall--when we would go to Kerrville to buy groceries. My dad would get so pissed that me and siblings all wanted our own personal little pizza instead of just buying the more economical large. We would stare at that big screen and dream of what life would have been like if only we could have been raised in the big city of Kerrville.

Stretching a show that should be 1 hour into 2 hours.

The OG Dreamland had only ribs and no sides other than white bread. The only beer I ever saw there was Red Stripe. They didn't do much, but their ribs were legit. The new versions since Big Rufus died try to be more full service. Nothing to write home about. But that first shack on the southside of Tuscaloosa was worth the trip.

Alabama 55 Texas 27 Ewers- 242