Emergency Repair
April 29th, 2007
Archive
Archive for April, 2007
Shrooms
April 29th, 2007
? No, not that kind!
We went hunting for the elusive delicacy known as the Morel mushroom.? The Morel mushroom is the favorite of many mushroom lovers.? They only appear for a short period during spring each year.? We searched a few spots just South of Des Moines, at the very head end? of Morel season.
? Never having seen this area, I was surprised by how densely wooded it was.? Iowa isn’t exactly known for? its vast forests.
? Limbs and full trees littered the ground of this rare untouched woodland area, downed by the ice storm of this last winter.?
Here is a morel mushroom.? Usually they? look much nicer, this was a less fresh find.? Before you go grubbing down shroomz, you should read up about identifying the poisonous ones.? Hallucinations may be? fun, but some varieties can kill you from eating only one shroom cap.? The Missouri Conservation department has a page to help identify poisonous mushrooms? in this area.? Especially note the “false morel” species.? Species in your area may differ.? It’s recommended that you start out following experienced shroom seekers.
? Another Morel, the discoloration shows that it’s not the freshest.
? We run into another Morel mushroom hunter, on the left.? This area is popular because it’s well suited for mushroom growth.
? A better find.
? Even better.? This Morel is much closer to how the freshest look.
? Like a needle in a hay stack.
? We moved to a new location, near the extra land owned by the Des Moines International Airport.
A? different species of mushroom that doesn’t quite look appetizing.
? Found what appears to be a decaying deer on an island surrounded by creeks.? The nearby area has steep muddy banks, possibly it injured a leg and couldn’t move on.? Looks like something feasted on him.
Mushrooms, it’s what’s for dinner.? Before they’re ready to eat, they need to be soaked in water and salt.? This helps get the dirt and bugs out.? It’s amazing how many bugs get inside them.? They taste best sliced and pan fried in a egg/flour batter.
Trapped in the Well
April 27th, 2007
We went to Wellman’s Pub on Ingersoll Ave in Des Moines.? They have many antique beer signs, which I’m real fond of.? Budweiser Light became abbreviated to just “Bud Light” in 1984.? History of Anheuser-Bush light beer marketing.? Obviously this sign is in excellent condition for it’s age.
? Pee-Wee stopped by briefly with a couple car loads of people.? They were on their way to a bachelor party.
? Richard and I worked with him at some undisclosed location around? 6 years ago.
Better a thinker than a stinker.
When it Rains it Pours
April 26th, 2007
We had a little reminder of the floods no one will ever forget.
? What is now white water rapids? usually is only a tiny gentle babbling creek.
? There won’t be any concerts tonight at the Simon Estes Ampitheater.
? The Des Moines River near 9th Ave has bloated into a lake.
? See the high water at the far bridge.? Debris from the shores of the river have been swept up by the high waters.
Gray’s Lake flooded.? It became an extension of the river.
Beauty extracted from destruction.
Parking lot at Gray’s Lake Park.
I think it’s safe to call the game off.
Half of the building is under water, but the light is still on.
? The water at this point is almost over the stop sign.? I’m sure I didn’t catch it at it’s highest either.
? Streets vanish into the water
? Fluer Drive closed, water over road.
? Fluer Drive flooded.
Water closing in on the new MLK bridge.
No need to evacuate.? It’s already abandoned.? Possibly from last flood?
Liar’s Club
April 20th, 2007
We went to Liar’s Club? in downtown Des Moines.?
? Come as you are, or as you prefer to be.
? Dion is good for stirring up the crowd.? If only I had a? dollar for every picture I have of drunk people sticking their tongues out.
Shots
? Don’t lie
Very intriguing conversation
? Liar’s Club is packed
? Our waitress for the night, much better than last time.
“I’m a good waitress, and I’ll get your drinks faster than the lazy ones.” x3
Hey you, your shoes are untied.? No… seriously, no lie.
Richard and Dion arguing all night
Jeremy, one of the owners of Liar’s Club.
? You can see between the mens and womens bathroom where the sinks are, a good conversation starter.
? These two girls played tag through the mens room, ducking and weaving through people.? One had lipstick on her cheek.
Still arguing
Busy place
Judicial Splendor
April 18th, 2007
“If we don’t spend the money, we’ll lose it.”
? This pagoda must be a gift from a sister city of ours in Japan.? I’m sure someone had a difficult task to decide on a location where this would best blend in.
I’ve Been Used
April 18th, 2007
Urban? exploration from a safe distance…? Outside the buildings.? I’d love to go inside but the whole breaking and entering thing is overrated.? Unlike large cities, Des Moines is real quick to board up entries to abandoned buildings.
Mad skills with bricks.? They just don’t do brick laying like this anymore, it was an art.
Above ground? wiring and terminations are sexy
? The Crane Co. building’s sole use? is as as a tower for cell phone antennaes.? The wiring rises up the side of the building to the top.? There’s a short mast on top.
? Dwarfed.? It’s days are limited.
? Work needed
? Unbreakable
? Take pride in safety.
? Scrap heap overflowing.
? The end of a street.? Mounds and mounds of junk.? People actually live next to this disaster.
? Parker Oil Company, Conoco.? For lease.
Capitol Rewards
April 16th, 2007
? Municipal building in Des Moines, Iowa.? Ice skating facility to the left.? Supposedly it’s used for other activities in the summer.
? 
Famous Court Avenue bridge
Old railroad bridge.? Are those old power lines dangling?
? New pedestrian bridge with built in lookout.
? Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines, claimed by many to be the most beautiful capitol in the country.? Some day I’ll get shots from the inside.
? Sunset at the Iowa State Capitol
IA Capitol
? Downtown Des Moines Skyline
Downtown Des Moines at Night
Skyline picture? of Des Moines
Party Palace
April 14th, 2007
? Went to Shuey and Crazy Joe’s for? “cheap night.”
? They have the ultimate “bachelor pad,” as they say.? It’s a huge house so there’s plenty of room for huge parties.? This room is a favorite of most, not only because of the pool table but the blue walls create an atmosphere.
? Not paying attention
? Cali’s got enough energy to wear anyone down.
? Crazy Joe tries on the Big Pimpin glasses.
Trying hard to get the dog’s attention.? Cali wasn’t impressed.?
They were delirious from getting only three hours of sleep last night.? ? We? drank some more so we could get the jokes too.? Ty is whipping up some funky cheap drinks.?
? Cali chased me in circles throughout the house until I got dizzy, enough of that.
“What you mean?? I’m not done playing!”
? Ty was the first to fall asleep.? Can’t blame him at all, I would’ve been first under the same conditions.? I can’t function on low sleep, anything less than? 4 hours and I’m no good.
Cherish hasn’t had much exposure to dogs, especially dogs this size and excitable.? She was bit by a Cocker Spaniel as a child and holds a grudge.? No offense if you have one, but Cocker Spaniels have a poor temperament and they’re just not very smart.? Two of the four dogs I grew up with were? Cocker’s.? The Australian Sheppard was by far my favorite.? They’re intelligent and a lot fun too.
Green with Envy 2
April 13th, 2007
Continued from? PAGE? 1.?
We were all surprised to see that Pee Wee made it out.
? Your drink is not just a drink, it’s an accessory.
Check your phone?
? Brad had a birthday too.
? Larry Smithson? (owner: Smithson Limousine and many downtown bars) with Colby.? Thanks for the limo’s Larry, we had a great time!
? This guy was pole dancing for half the night.? He didn’t realize that everyone was looking at him weird and taking pictures.? Guys just don’t have the style and grace needed to make this look sexy? for the females.? It was reminiscent of an overweight? truck driver salsa dancing.? Trust me, none of the ladies were impressed.
Grinding some pole
Met? this couple, he works with? MusiCity Productions, a DJ service
? Met this couple.? I don’t remember his name but he said he wants to get into photography.? Nice picture, but I had to blur out a special something that was clearly visible.
? “I’m a guy that likes to pole dance, so what!”? Later in the night while he was still doing his thing, he started making this angry face at anyone who looked at him.? I don’t think he realized that everyone would stop staring if he stopped drawing attention to himself.
You? can swing over everyone’s heads at the bar
It’s PBK of Bad Kids, Des Moines.? I’ll soon be featuring some still clips from their video and show you where you can buy it.
Excursion Limo by Smithson Limousines
The Excursion limo was our favorite.? It may have had slightly less seats, but it was so much more comfortable and swanky.? On the other hand the Hummer did have much bigger TV’s, and also the seating was directly across so everyone could probably talk slightly easier.? Considering all, the refined styling and comfortable seating? of the Excursion won us over.? If you’re considering a limo, this should be your first choice.
Our favorite limo with our favorite driver of the night.? He was? accommodating and personable when we talked to him.? If names didn’t escape me when I drink, I’d recommend him by name.
For more information, refer to Smithson Limousine’s website.? Here’s a list where Larry is keeping track of famous people who have been in his limo’s.? We’re waiting for him to update it to include us.
Bars, Cars, Des Moines, Downtown, People
Green with Envy 1
April 13th, 2007
We? celebrated Cherish’s birthday on Friday the 13th.? We tried to plan it less than a week ahead, which caused some availability problems.? We had a turn out of a little more than half the people we expected to come.? Excuses, excuses… we still forgive you though.? Well, give Cherish another week on that just in case.
? I had lighting problems all night, mainly because I couldn’t use bounce flash in the limo or at Club? Envy due to the black ceiling.? I need to buy or devise a flash bounce diffuser for the next time this happens.
Limo is here, everyone out.
? Hummer limo, courtesy of Smithson Limousines
? Pile in the Hummer limo everyone
? Arrival at Club Envy, downtown Des Moines
? Yaeger Bombs for everyone
Envy has very unique decorating and styling, great efforts were taken to give this place a personality.
Cherish’s duece-duece.
While playing around, I liked the arctic look and the green accents.
Leslie, Sandra, Elaine, Cherish
Freak dancing
? Private dancers
Elaine, Leslie, Ty, and Joe
See PAGE 2 for more
Bars, Cars, Des Moines, Downtown, People
He-Man and The Hulks
April 7th, 2007
I’m? still a poor photographer in every aspect.? (1) I can’t afford the lighting gear and lenses that I? need.? (2) I make stupid mistakes like leaving the ISO 800 setting on all night, resulting in pictures that are more grainy than they should be.? Also my flash batteries got overheated and I had to wait between shots.? Now I roll with 3 sets of batteries.? The battery situation caused me to take some no flash shots, surprisingly I really like them.
Eric introduced us to a new place at an old location.? His mother and brother purchased the suite where House of Bricks previously was located.? Jeannie’s Bottle is the name, “if it’s Live it’s at The Bottle.”? Eric says they have live music every Monday at the moment.
Meet Jeannie, on the left.? It was great to have VIP service? all night.
Especially popular among the younger crowd, but a little bit of everyone.
He-Man and The Hulks rocked the stage tonight.
? Why you have to bust me out like that?
The crowd goes wild.
? He-Man and The Hulks
Johnny 5 is alive, just hasn’t made an appearance in a few years.
More Provocative Than Alcohol
April 6th, 2007
We got together to hang out with Jessica (furthest right? in picture), this time officially.? Her wild persona seems to rub off on everyone else in her presence.
Grills
Tattered up
Go on with your bad self, girlfriend.
? Let’s flash Jayme and Pee-Wee
Good lord, that is nice and plump!
Attracting too much attention?? Jessica says “it’s never enough.”
I feel like such a model right now.
“Kiss my ass!”? “Is that a dare?”
Hot lesbian action.? Check this guys’ face.? He’s been trying to hook up with Jessica all week.? He thinks he just discovered why the relationship has been so one-sided.
Steph says:? He said this is all going on his “website.”? Website shwebsite… yeah right.
It’s our waitress, her name is “hey you.”? It’s somewhat unrelated but I’ve been told my humor in person is a different language that not everyone can comprehend.? She’s from that other group.? They’re the? ones that stare back blankly at me wondering if I’m serious, mentally unstable, or just a weird creep.
Double Trouble
April 4th, 2007
Growing up, my family always had dogs.? ? As a kid I had? a couple friends with cats but? I didn’t pay much attention to them.? I? always thought they? were fairly stupid and? uninteresting.? That couldn’t be further from the truth.? Cats have explosive amounts of personality, and I believe they have as much intelligence as dogs.
? Defensive stance
? Pounce
Having two cats is the way to go.? Although they are less social pack oriented than dogs, they do benefit from the company.? I think both of ours are much more happy because they keep each other occupied.
? No one will find me here
Stranger Danger
April 3rd, 2007
Jessica was in town for the week.? She’s been at Chef school in Portland, OR.? This is her signature pose.
She may have learned something about making tasty macaroni and cheese, but dance moves are certainly not in the curriculum.? Jessica still? does the ninja and robot dances that made her famous.
Robot with squeeky arm swinging
Jessica has a habit of molesting people every time we go out.? One might say she’s a little frisky.
