Dignan

I was looking for something “different “ than what I already had on our trip to Italy. Came across Vagary watches, a Citizen brand. This one was $120. 40 mm dial. Automatic. WR 10 bar. And like I said, “different”.

We had a good time in Florence. Went to the Accademia and Uffizi. Duomo and more. We had a good time seeing the leaning tower of Pisa. Finally had my Fiorentina steak last night and it was amazing. We decided on a place called Braceria All’11 which was close to where we stayed and had nice reviews. Like I said, it was wonderful. I think our steak was 1.4 kilos and we shared it with our two kids. Hah. Heading to Rome right now with a tour of the colosseum this afternoon.

We just got here and holy shit. Crowded as hell. Shocked me. I actually pictured Florence as “laid back”. Hah. We went to the Accademia today and it was an absolute mad house. We did find a nice place to eat though. Side note: the wife has celiac and was worried about the trip. As most of you know, a lot of places offer some GF options. We have found some exclusive GF places and one was here in Florence. Rissoteria Melotti. It’s been my favorite meal since we got to Italy. I had the Risotto with Pepper sauce, Wild Boar Ragù and Chives and it was [emoji91][emoji91].

I’ve read a lot before and during this trip about the places we are visiting. I simply cannot BELIEVE there are people on Reddit, etc that say “Venice isn’t worth visiting at all”. For any first time Italy tourist I think it is a MUST. I loved it. We are now heading to Florence for the next 2.5 days. We shall see what happens!

Quick update from our trip. We flew into Milan and made our way from the airport to our hotel near Central Station. Pretty simple. I use Google Maps A LOT when traveling internationally and it has been very trustworthy so far. Duomo Milano was pretty, but man, Milan just felt ….well, if I never went back to Milan I would be ok. Saying that, we do return for our flight out and the son and I will take a tour to San Siro and the wife and daughter (only could find two tickets) are going to see The Last Supper. We got to Venice by train yesterday and i am already in love. This place is MAGICAL. our Airbnb is a 6 min walk to St Mark's Square which is cool, but we have spent most of our short time here exploring. i love it. heading to Lido Beach here in a few. For dinner last night we found a place near our stay called Al Vecio Canton. The wife has celiac and they had a nice offering of GF dishes. I had the Spaghetti Alla Busera (mine had prawns, is that Busera?) which was FANTASTIC. So far we have had a great time and have only been in Italy two days.

I attended the game with my son and we had a good time. I will say this, maybe I am a complete dumbass, but finding our seats was NOT easy. We thought "section 245, go up to the second level and follow signs". Well, we went up some stairs and the second level appeared to be the 300s. So we went back down and couldn't find the 200s. After asking 4 separate "aggy hospitality" workers (no help), I asked a state trooper if he had any idea. He told me to get on the employee only elevator and see if you can get to the bottom and ask if they can help you. Finally someone there said "you have to go to level 4 on the elevator and that is where section 245 is". WTF. I saw numerous people in the wrong seats eventually having to move when the game got closer. Total confusion.

I was at the game early and walked around A LOT. I saw VERY FEW hot chicks anywhere. Disappointing.

My family and I (wife, now 17 yr old son, 8 yr old girl) have enjoyed spending a couple of Christmases in the Woodland Park/Cripple Creek area. My wife (from Brazil, NO pics) has always wanted to spend a "Christmas with snow in the mountains". Something that doesn't happen much in East Texas. So, a few years ago we got an Airbnb in the middle of nowhere (address said Cripple Creek). It was really magical. Just us four in a small cabin with as much snow as we could ever want. We could see Pike's Peak in the distance and spent a lot of time playing games, watching movies, and playing in the snow. On our first trip about 4 years ago, we drove to Colorado Springs to go ice skating and some shopping. We also went to Santa's North Pole Amusement Park (about a 35-40 min drive from where we were) at the base of Pike's Peak two days before Christmas. It was a fun little amusement park with great views and is home to the "highest elevated ferris wheel in the US". Uh, we rode it and I was not a fan. Looked like I was going to fall off the side of the mountain. We spent Christmas Eve/Day enjoying the peace and quiet and a nice fire . We went back two years ago and took my in-laws with us. We stayed in a different place not too far from where we originally stayed a couple years before. This trip we spent some more time in Colorado Springs, visited the Garden of the Gods, and drove to Breckenridge to check out the town and do some tubing. It was a blast. I WILL SAY: If you go during the Winter, drive a vehicle with AWD or 4x4. We drove a front-wheel drive minivan (to fit everyone) and had to use chains several times, including driving through Hoosier Pass. It was hectic. If we go to this area again, which I hope to do, we will look at finding a place in Woodland Park, west of Colorado Springs. Not as secluded as what we did before, but definitely more convenient. While we did drive through Cripple Creek on both visits, we did not do any gambling.

Any of you going into aggyland to watch this? I will be there with my son! Couldn't pass up a chance to see Brazil. I've been married to a Brazilian for 22 years now and have obviously supported the Selecao like they are my own...of course when they aren't playing the US. Can't wait to see them destroy Mexico and cannot believe it is being played in College Station.

I saw a "new" way to do a brisket on a pellet grill. The tik toker pretty much explained that the way you always see people suggest how to do briskets are always on conventional wood smokers where the heat is off-set. Pellet grills the heat is coming from the bottom. Anyway, it is pretty much the same but when you get to 190 temp internal, wrap the brisket in butcher paper and then foil, throw it in the oven on "keep warm" (mine is at 150 degrees) for 12-18 hours. The last brisket I did smoked for 18 hours total. I started it at 200 degrees and when the brisket reached 165 internal, I turned the heat up to 250. Again, once it reached 190 I wrapped and put in the oven until lunch on Memorial Day. This is the third time I have done it this way and it is great every time.

One thing I forgot about before our trip was scheduled: The Euro soccer tournament will be going on. Will game times affect if restaurants/shops/etc will be closed etc? Either way, can't wait to watch some matches with the locals.

Not sure if they’ve been mentioned, but Zelos watch has a nice 41 mm titanium watch in burnt orange. $599. new game day watch? I don’t know much about them, stumbled upon while looking at microbrand watches. Looks great.

Saw it got a "long ovation" at Cannes but also saw that critics weren't that impressed. SOOOO...it is prob good. hahah.

Oh I know. I've been on Xbox one for some time and the download times are crazy. I've got "ok" internet speeds too. I am leaning towards moving to PS5 when I upgrade.

I'm interested. Let us know which console...I need to upgrade to play the game anyway.

Can't wait. Only drawback is that I am gonna have to buy a new console just to play this game. Oh well.

We have a trip booked in June for two weeks. Me, the wife, 17 year old son, and 9 year old daughter. yay. Expecting a few "I AM TIRED" from the daughter, but, should be fun. We are flying from Austin to Frankfurt to Milan (1 night; cheaper flights) - Venice (3) - Florence (3) - Rome (4) - La Spezia (Cinque Terre) (2) then back to Milan for a flight out. We planned the whole thing on our own and are hoping we don't over do it. We are pretty much doing all of the touristy stuff since we are first-timers. Milan: Duomo Venice: St Mark's, Doge Palace, explore the city, Lido di Jesolo for a bit Florence: Uffizi, Duomo Firenze, Accademia, half day driving to Pisa Rome: Vatican, Pantheon, Collosseum (haven't gotten tickets yet), etc. La Specia: Train to Cinque Terre We are staying in airbnbs mostly and have had a fun time getting on Google Earth to check out the surroundings.

Good looking image. I’m jealous!

Just got this Citizen for $170. Couldnt pass it up. Changed out the brown leather strap for black rubber. For now anyway. .

I once beat a piglet to death with a branch. 🙂 Take no prisoners.

Finally got some work done on my 2021 SR5. Went from stock tires (275/55/r20) to 285/60/20 BFG K02’s and a leveling kit. Was thinking about a higher lift but am happy with how this looks.

The caramel Tecovas Jason with the Rubber sole are my favorite boot right now. I get compliments on them all the time too. I will say: I had the same pair about a year ago and noticed part of the sole was coming loose after about 4 months of wear. I emailed Tecovas and they asked almost no questions. Sent me a box and replaced them for free.

I couldn't believe Michigan's defense was so good. I doubted that team all year.

Boise State is going to be the top group of five team. They return a lot and get Malachi Nelson. I think SMU also is a "surprise" their first year in the ACC. They have a LOT of good portal transfers coming in. For us, I am confident Sark knows what he is doing. We will need some youngsters to step up in certain positions.

Agree 100%. I've had mine for some time now and I still love it. Finding ammo in store can be a little tricky depending where you live, but I love mine. I have a AGM Rattler TS25-256 thermal on it and have killed lots of hogs and coyotes. Easy to shoot, can reach out and touch someone at longer distances if needed. Low recoil. I also can't say enough good stuff about the Rattler. There are more options out there I know, but at the time i was on a budget. I researched all of the thermals I could possibly buy and this one was the one. I love it. My buddy who uses a lower range Pulsar Thermion swears my image "looks" better. If you are looking for a budget-friendly thermal I'd suggest AGM. NOT ATN The price is right on those but I've heard of several issues including difficult customer service.