Dela-where?

I was able to update my "States I've Visited" map when I drove through Delaware the other day. Actually, it didn't even take a day.

Delaware is one of those states that people forget about. It's understandable. The state is only about 40 miles across at it's widest point. That four-zero miles, folks. The KC metro area is wider than that.

It's about 90 miles long, so driving from one end to the other along the single major highway is like driving from KC to Topeka. Still, it's a quaint a pretty state. And, as the residents I talked to were quick to remind me, it was the first state to ratify the Constitution.

My business travels took me to Dover International Speedway, home of the Monster Mile and NASCAR's Neighborhood of Excellence 400. This gave me a chance to see about 100,000 white people with red necks sit in the sun watching custom-made mega-gas-guzzling cars drive around in circles for four hours.

During a sun-stroke induced trance, I looked for some meaning to the pattern of numbers. The race was 400 miles long, roughly 4 times the length of the state. And there were about 100,000 people watching the race, about one eighth the population.

It seemed a bit too neat and coincidental to me. I thought there must be a Dan Brown novel in there somewhere.

As for the NASCAR race itself, it was a first for me. As you can imagine, the rednek factor was pretty high. But I did get a tour of the infield/pit area including some up-close and personal time with the cars. Amazing machines, though I suspect they don't do much for the price of gasoline.

Anyway, it's back to NY tomorrow for a couple of days.

tagged: travel, Delaware, NASCAR, Dover, race, New York

KGB Carnival for June 5

Here we are at another Monday, that means another round-up of Kansas Blogs. We've got a few new members, so things are getting good. Here are the featured Kansas blogs post from this week:

• Melissa is Pretty in Pink posted at Space and Time.
  
  
• John B. breaks down The Metaphysics of the Clothes Care Center. Part I: Reading the Sign posted at Blog Meridian.
  
  
• Josh posted Undertaken lightly? posted at Thoughts from Kansas...
  
  
• It was a response to JD's post about Iraq...
  
  
• Which is a response to Patrick Quinn's post about Iraq here.
  
  
• KGB founder Lyn Perry makes at triumphant return to blogging by Talking Da Vinci at Blogging Out Loud.
  
  
• Bill at Happy In Bag learns a new vocabulary word.
  
  
• Simon has a good day at Big Simon.
  
  
• The D provides comic relief with Joke Thursday at What the Deuce?

And, this week's weekly Honorary KGB Blogger of the week (yes, that is a triple redundancy, we're very careful here at the KGB) goes to:

• Paul Decelles who posts pics of the first Monarch of the Year at The force that through...

tagged: Kansas, blog, blogger, carnival, KGB, Iraq, metaphysics, monarch, joke

Virgil's

"That's the best barbecue in the city," the cabbie claims as we roll past Virgil's through the slow midtown traffic on the way to my hotel.

It's a bold claim, and I wonder to myself how good can the best barbecue in New York City be?

It rains again that evening, and since I don't want to walk very far in the rain, I decide to put the cabbie's claim to the test. I cross 44th Street and enter Virgil's domain.
It's like stepping 1,200 miles back to Westport in Kansas city. The rustic decor definitely elicits the barbecue mood. I request a table for one. The place is packed, as I imagine most restaurants in Manhattan would be on a Friday night, raining or not.

I'm seated and order a Brooklyn Ale and the beef short rib. While I'm waiting for the food to arrive, I browse the placemats that tell a short story about Virgil's quest for great barbecue. It shows a map of the eastern half of the United States (they don't eat barbecue out west), along with markers for the best BBQ by region.

Happily, I see the KC metro with the highest concentration of notes:

• Kansas City, Mo.: Haywards Pit Bar-B-Que, made "burnt ends" into an art form.
• Kansas City Masterpiece, great example of KC style brisket.
• Arthur Bryants, a Kansas City tradition.
• Lenexa, Kansas, home of Paul Kirk, the "Baron of BBQ" world class cookoff champion and our Mentor and Hero

Presently my dinner arrives. The short rib is served in a bed of sauce and grits. It was good, though probably not worth the $25 price tag. Then again, diner was on the company tonight.

As for whether Virgil's is the best barbecue in the city, I really couldn't say since I didn't sample any other barbecue.

All I know is that it's no Oklahoma Joe's.

tagged: travel, New York, barbecue, Kansas City, Lenexa, Broadway, Virgil's, Oklahoma Joe's

Dinner for one

"Will you be dining alone this evening," said the well-tailored maitre d'.

I'm sipping my second glass of Healdsburg Carbernet Sauvingnon, and it's the fifth time since I sat down that I've heard the Latin host ask the same question. Each time the answer has been "yes," and we have all been seated in the same section.

The plate glass window in the dining room of the Restaurant Charolette frames a rainy street scene outside. People huddle under the neon-lit Broadway canopies of Virgil's Barbecue, Jimmy's Corner and other bars and restaurants as a thunderstorm pours down.

It strikes me that it rained the last time I was in New York.

My companions are dining with their Blackberries, checking email, responding to voice mails, tending to the never-ending minutiae that business travelers tend to in order to occupy themselves when business traveling alone.

I watch the huddled masses yearning to stay dry through restaurant picture window. I know I'm not the first to consider the irony of being alone in a city of 8 million people. It's strange and awkward to dine alone in a city. Even for an INTP like me.

I glance around at my fellow lone diners. They are now watching the picture window too. I wonder if they're thinking the same thing I am.

I wonder if they'll blog about it.

tagged: travel, New York, alone, business, blog, Carbernet Sauvingnon

Present and accounted for

A few months ago I received a gmail from Pete Dulin, editor and publisher of local e-mag Present Magazine.

He wanted to interview littl ol' me for a feature he was working on for the June issue about local bloggers. I figured he was doing a best-of/worst-of thing and needed a worst of, so I did the interview.

Fast forward to today, I get another gmail letting me know the June issue has been published (you can download the PDF doc here).

Present is a really cool publication. Pete and his writers do a great job covering the local scene, and since I learned about it I've developed a habit of printing it out and taking it to the bathroom at work for a few hours... but I digress.

The point is, the June edition has several entertaining interviews of local bloggers along with a nice column about the sociological place of blogs within the greater human condition.

And I was surprised to see Three O'Clock in the Morning listed among some really great blogs like Death's Door, Tony's Kansas City and NctrnlinKC.

So do yourself a favor. Go download the magazine and read how much of a jackass I made of myself.

PS- JD, don't get too bent out of shape on this one, it was a Kansas City article, so you really don't qualify. Feel free to submit a post to the KGB carnival, tho.

tagged: Kansas City, blog, magazine, culture, present

This thing's got legs

The Kansas Guild of Bloggers is really starting to pick up steam. Thanks to everyone for submitting posts and helping spread the word.

I also want to welcome two Kansas bloggers who have recently "joined" the group: Big Simon in Independence and Melissa in Hayes.

Now on to business. Choose your favorite Kansas-related post from the past week and submit for this week's KGB Carnival. I'll post the submissions (and some posts that I come across on my own) on Monday, June 5.

And don't forget to mention this call for entries on your blog and include the submit link.

Thanks. Check back Monday for the roundup.

tagged: Kansas, blog, blogger, carnival, KGB

YouTube Tuesday: I'm just dealing with a lot of crap right now...

Seth Green and the rest of the crew at Robot Chicken are comic geniuses. If you need any further proof, check out this brutal Star Wars send-up.

The Evil Emperor, playing the part of an arsehole CEO, learns of the destruction of the Death Star.

"That thing wasn't even fully paid off yet! Do you have any idea what this will do to my credit!"

tagged: movies, YouTube, video, Star Wars, Palpatine, Robot Chicken, humor

KGB Carnival for May 29

Another great week in Kansas Blogging with some great posts submitted by KGB operatives. Let's jump right in...

• Dan goes after Kris Kobach with Kris Kobach Sold His Soul for Right-Wing Street Cred posted at Gone Mild.
  
  
• Simon Takes the Scenic Route at Big Simon.
  
  
• Joshua Rosenau is Back from New York at Thoughts from Kansas.
  
  
• John B. is also out and about and presets Travelogue II posted at Blog Meridian.
  
  
• Eric Gruber is working it out during The Summer of Steak at Grubesteak.com.
  
  
• Paul Decelles posts some amazing pictures and commentary about A Hidden Gem at theforcethat.
  
  
• j.d. examines a different kind of space with Cowley Co. College students punished over myspace blog? posted at evolution.

And this week's Honorary KGB blogger goes to...

• Melissa at Space and Time represents Kansas' west side with an interview of the baby sitter that wasn't hired.

Well, there you have it. Travel seems to be a theme today, which is appropriated given the holiday.

So get off of the Internet and go out and enjoy the day.

Cheers!

tagged: Kansas, blog, blogger, carnival, KGB, travel, Clinton Lake, baby sitter, Amazon

Swimwear

With the summer beach season quickly approaching, I've decided it's time for some new swimwear. I'm considering this little number, though it might be a bit too "speedo" for me.

What do you think?




tagged: swimsuit, thong, speedo, nude, naked, fashion, humor

Amelie Friday, back by popular demand

All of the avid readers of this blog (well okay, one of the few readers of this blog) are demanding (well, casually inquiring) that Amelie Friday make its triumphant return to Three O'Clock in the Morning.

Well, far be it from me to disappoint (actually, that's what I do best, but do let's proceed).

Here's how it works: I list three things I like and three things I dislike from the previous week. Then, you add your own list in the comments.

Here’s my list for this week:

Things I Like

• Three-day weekends (who doesn't like that???)
• Dinner and drinks on the corporate card
• Boulevard Wheat on the deck at O'Dowd's on a sunny afternoon

Things I Dislike

• When the week-old bag of stinking, rotting, fermented grass clippings breaks open all over my legs as I'm bringing it to the curb the night before trash day.
• corporate reorgs (who doesn't hate that??)
• Having high expectations dashed by mediocre novel writing

Okay, that’s my list for this week. Add your own list of likes/dislikes in the comments section. Or better yet, post them on your blog and let me know so I can link to them. Let's make this a regular thing.

Have a great weekend.

tagged: Amelie, Blogger, corporate, Boulevard Wheat, O'Dowd's, Da Vinci Code