International Beer Garten Opening Soon

EDIT: It's officially open, and I've been here quite a few times. It's Pernecky Approved.

This is more of a selfish post, but I guess having a blog dedicated to myself is pretty selfish to begin with, right?

Anyways, there is a new bar opening up within (LONG) walking distance from our house, about 1.5 miles away in the new Northpointe Village in Lutz, FL - near Land O Lakes and Odessa. It's called the International Beer Garten and was originally scheduled to open in the trendy Hyde Park area of South Tampa, but they had some zoning problems, so we will gladly welcome them with open arms! As you can guess from the name, they'll be offering tons of different beers in bottle form (over 300 per their website) and on draft (40 taps), along with a selection of pizza and appetizers.

I stopped in to check out the place yesterday and it's coming along swimmingly. I chatted with (someone I believe to be) one of the owners, and she's hoping to open the doors for business this Thursday, December 11th, for a soft opening with the grand opening to follow later.

The interior looks great, lots of brick and a large wood bar, a few big screen LCD TV's, and plenty of taps just begging to be filled with hoppy goodness. I'd suggest checking out their website at www.IBGTampa.com to find out the latest details on product offerings and when the place will open. I know I'll be watching, as my wife and I can't wait to try this place out!

If you're the owner of the International Beer Garten in Lutz, and would like me to add/delete something from this post, please send me an email, mikepernecky [at] gmail [dawt] com.

Easy Link

For those of you that come to this blog to get to Cameron's page (I know there's plenty of you), I placed a link directly to the right called "Cameron's Page", take a look ---------->

Cam's Growth

I thought I would post a few pictures that show how much the little guy has grown...

Almost 2 months:

His first 2 days:

He's a little stinker, but we love him. He slept almost 6 hours last night for us, hopefully it's a sign of things to come!

Dempsey the Pug

Happy Halloween!

 Thanks to the PicSay application on the T-Mobile G1...

Busch Gardens Coupon Howl-O-Scream

If anyone is interested in going to Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream and would like a discount, just go here:

 

$25 -- Busch Gardens 'Howl-O-Scream' in Tampa, Save $40 http://www.travelzoo.com/top20/22558167-476722/

Source: Busch Gardens

 

Pretty good savings I'd say!  The wife and I won't be attending because I don't think it would be the best atmosphere for a 4 week old infant. 

 

My Boy!

cameron 008
Originally uploaded by al schuth

Here's a nice little picture taken the day after Cameron was born. He's my little dude!

Cameron's First Pictures!!

Once Cameron Michael is born, we will start posting pictures to this link, so CLICK HERE, you'll be brought to http://babypernecky.blogspot.com/

I'm making this especially easy for my mom:

CLICK HERE TO SEE CAMERON!

Thank you!

Our President

Pretty funny, found this while surfing Digg.com. I'm sure maybe the picture was taken at an angle "just so" or whatever, but he's still a man, right? So is this really out of the ordinary?

Flents Quiet Time Comfort Foam Earplugs (Purple Ones)

My wife has been using earplugs to aid her sleeping ever since we were at Northern Illinois University, circa 2000.  So she's become addicted to them and is now at the point where she CAN'T sleep without them.  Like many earplug lovers out there, she had to try a bunch of brands to find just the right fit, and Flents (purple colored) Quiet Time Comfort Foam Earplugs turned out to be the best - so she's been using them for years.  Just a couple weekends ago, she purchased another 10 pack of these earplugs and they weren't as "squishy", and actually hurt her ears so much that she would wake up a few times in the night.  What happened?

 

Well I called the company, which is actually Apothecary Products out of Minnesota, for an explanation.  I talked with a very nice woman who explained they just switched manufacturers of their foam, and this is causing an uproar in the earplug community.  Ok she didn't say "earplug community" but anyone reading this that isn't one of my friends -- you're a member of the earplug community!  The representative went on to say that they're switching back to the old formula, and the new, original formula earplugs will begin shipping shortly.  They will hit Wal-Mart stores first, then everywhere else.  She also said they will have a sticker on them saying something like "Original Formula!", so make sure you pick one of them up when they become available.

 

Fear not, earpluggers, your voice has been heard!

Xbox 360 RROD End Result

I'm happy to say Microsoft took great care of me and my faulty Xbox 360 Elite, since it was still within the 3 year "Hardware Failure" warranty period.  I received a brand new Xbox 360 Elite last week (it was manufactured in June of this year), and the total turn around time from the night I placed the call, through packing it up, shipping it out, and receiving it was less than 2 weeks.  I played Civilizations Revolution last night for hours and my sweet little 360 chugged right along, good as new...because it is!  Nice work Microsoft, now stop making terrible hardware!

 

I can't wait for Netflix online to be accessible through Xbox LIVE later this year!

Xbox 360 Elite Red Ring of Death

So I was playing Rock Band a few days ago on my Xbox 360 Elite that I received around 13 months ago, and the system froze right in the middle of a song. I just took the disk out, cleaned it, and restarted the system, and that worked fine for the rest of my time playing.

Then yesterday I wanted to play some songs on guitar before my wife got home, so I jumped in right away, and the dang thing froze towards the end of the first song. Restarted, happened again. Restarted, got through 1 or 2 songs, happened again. Got PO'd and had dinner with the Mrs., then I went back to it, same thing happens, froze in the beginning of the first song I tried. I thought "no way can there be a problem with the disc, especially if it's every song." So I shut it down and restarted it then BAM!!! RROD (Red Ring of Death, below). So then I shut it down and restarted it and it wouldn't move past the intro screen when the Xbox first turns on, but it didn't give me the red rings again. I unplugged the Rock Band guitar and started with a regular controller, and it seemed to work ok til I plugged in the guitar again. Either way I already called Xbox Customer Service last night and I'm shipping this thing in.

We'll see what happens!

Rock Band 2 Setlist

Looks like a great little video game!

 

 

Rock Band 2 On-Disc Track List:
Artist Song Title Decade
1. AC/DC “Let There Be Rock” 1970s
2. AFI “Girl’s Gone Grey” 2000’s
3. Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” 1990’s
4. Alice in Chains “Man in the Box” 1990’s
5. Allman Brothers “Ramblin’ Man” 1970’s
6. Avenged Sevenfold “Almost Easy” 2000’s
7. Bad Company “Shooting Star” 1970’s
8. Beastie Boys “So Whatcha Want” 1990’s
9. Beck “E-Pro” 2000’s
10. Bikini Kill “Rebel Girl” 1990’s
11. Billy Idol “White Wedding Pt. I” 1980’s
12. Blondie “One Way or Another” 1970’s
13. Bob Dylan “Tangled Up in Blue” 1970’s
14. Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” 1980’s
15. Cheap Trick “Hello There” 1970’s
16. Devo “Uncontrollable Urge” 1980’s
17. Dinosaur Jr. “Feel the Pain” 1990’s
18. Disturbed “Down with the Sickness” 2000’s
19. Dream Theater “Panic Attack” 2000’s
20. Duran Duran “Hungry Like the Wolf” 1980’s
21. Elvis Costello “Pump It Up” 1970’s
22. Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way” 1970’s
23. Foo Fighters “Everlong” 1990’s
24. Guns N’ Roses “Shackler’s Revenge” 2000’s
25. Interpol “PDA” 2000’s
26. Jane’s Addiction “Mountain Song” 1980’s
27. Jethro Tull “Aqualung” 1970’s
28. Jimmy Eat World “The Middle” 2000’s
29. Joan Jett “Bad Reputation” 1980’s
30. Journey “Anyway You Want It” 1970’s
31. Judas Priest “Painkiller” 1990’s
32. Kansas “Carry On Wayward Son” 1970’s
33. L7 “Pretend We’re Dead” 1990’s
34. Lacuna Coil “Our Truth” 2000’s
35. Linkin Park “One Step Closer” 2000’s
36. Lit “My Own Worst Enemy” 1990’s
37. Lush “De-Luxe” 1990’s
38. Mastodon “Colony of Birchmen” 2000’s
39. Megadeth “Peace Sells” 1980’s
40. Metallica “Battery” 1980’s
41. Mighty Mighty Bosstones “Where’d You Go” 1990’s
42. Modest Mouse “Float On” 2000’s
43. Motorhead “Ace of Spades” 1980’s
44. Nirvana “Drain You” 1990’s
45. Norman Greenbaum “Spirit in the Sky” 1960’s
46. Panic at the Disco “Nine in the Afternoon” 2000’s
47. Paramore “That’s What You Get” 2000’s
48. Pearl Jam “Alive” 1990’s
49. Presidents of the USA “Lump” 1990’s
50. Rage Against the Machine “Testify” 1990’s
51. Ratt “Round & Round” 1980’s
52. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give it Away” 1990’s
53. Rise Against “Give it All” 2000’s
54. Rush “The Trees” 1970’s
55. Silversun Pickups “Lazy Eye” 2000’s
56. Smashing Pumpkins “Today” 1990’s
57. Social Distortion “I Was Wrong” 1990’s
58. Sonic Youth “Teenage Riot” 1980’s
59. Soundgarden “Spoonman” 1990’s
60. Squeeze “Cool for Cats” 1970’s
61. Steely Dan “Bodhitsattva” 1970’s
62. Steve Miller Band “Rock’n Me” 1970’s
63. Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” 1980’s
64. System of a Down “Chop Suey” 2000’s
65. Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” 1970’s
66. Tenacious D “Master Exploder” 2000’s
67. Testament “Souls of Black” 1990’s
68. The Donnas “New Kid in School” 2000’s
69. The Go-Go’s “We Got the Beat” 1980’s
70. The Grateful Dead “Alabama Getaway” 1980’s
71. The Guess Who “American Woman” 1970’s
72. The Muffs “Kids in America” 1990’s
73. The Offspring “Come Out & Play (Keep ‘em Separated)” 1990’s
74. The Replacements “Alex Chilton” 1980’s
75. The Who “Pinball Wizard” 1960’s

Bonus Artist Bonus Song Title Decade
76. Abnormality “Visions” 2000’s
77. Anarchy Club “Get Clean” 2000’s
78. Bang Camaro “Night Lies” 2000’s
79. Breaking Wheel “Shoulder to the Plow” 2000’s
80. The Libyans “Neighborhood” 2000’s
81. The Main Drag “A Jagged Gorgeous Winter” 2000’s
82. Speck “Conventional Lover” 2000’s
83. The Sterns “Supreme Girl” 2000’s
84. That Handsome Devil “Rob the Prez-O-Dent” 2000’s

Singing Cats Picture

 

Singing Cats

My wife and I were shopping in a Ross store the other day and came across this statue:

 

 

Every time I see it I chuckle.  Who the heck would put this in their house in a serious manner?  I love it!

Beer in Fridge Directly Related to Disposable Income

So here I am, about 3.3 months from becoming a father if all goes as planned.  Yup, September 30th of 2008 is the day our little son, Cameron, is scheduled to bring his sweet feet into this world.

 

Just like any parents-to-be, my wife and I are saving every penny we can to help pay for this terrible investment / bundle of joy because apparently, babies need to be changed more than once or twice a day, and those diaper costs can really add up!

 

So since I've buckled down and tried to spend money only on necessities like gas, food, and the occasional hoppy beverage, I've noticed a terrible occurrence.  My fridge has lost beauties like this:

 

 

And have since been replaced with the likes of this:

 

So as you can imagine, I'm not the happiest of campers.  Ah well, I guess having a son will all make up for it.  How about anyone reading this?  Have you had to spend less money on the finer things in life to save some money?

Nathan Sehl Contribution Success

My wife and I went over to the Sehl's house along with our neighbors a couple weeks ago to show them our successful collection of over $800 worth of pledges!





As you can see, Nathan is months ahead of what the doctors told him he should expect as far as walking, talking, etc...and we were very happy to see that. If you would like to help Nathan and his family with anything else, please contact me. My email address is mikepernecky (at sign) gmail (dot} com. I didn't type it because it's harder for a spam program to pick it up this way.





Thank you for all your help!

Good Weekend

I had a great weekend, my brother was in town, we went to watch the White Sox play (and lose, unfortunately) the Tampa Bay Rays...man the Rays are doing quite well, which is nice to see.  I took a picture from our horrible seats and posted them on my mobile blog (link on the right) or just http://perneckymobile.blogspot.com.  We also saw Sex and the City which was good, highly recommended if you liked the show.  Good times all together.

 

Glad to be back at work though! :)

State of Florida Slavery Apology

Earlier today, the Florida Senate apologized for slavery, here's a little news article about it in the Miami Herald:

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/458/story/471728.html

 

I haven't read into it that much, but from what I hear, the Florida Senate gathered all the African American e-mail addresses they could, and sent the following message:

 

----------------------------------------------

Subject:  Slavery

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Sorry about that.

 

Sincerely,

The State of Florida Senate

----------------------------------------------

 

I haven't confirmed the above with anyone, but if it's on the Internet, it has to be true.

 

Up Yours, Seasonal Allergies!

My wife and I just got back from a great "belated" wedding reception thrown by our friends Lauren and Josh in celebration of their small wedding a few months ago. It was held at Timpano Italian Chop House in Tampa, over in Hyde Park. Delicious food, good drinks, cordial servers...everything was top-notch...top-notch!

We got there at about 6:10pm Eastern Time. We were having a great time chatting up some friends we had not seen in a while, sampling some tasty chicken skewers, pasta, margherita-style pizza slices - a little bit of everything. The first hour of the evening was great, but after that it was all down hill. My nose started itching, eyes were watering up, post-nasal drip, sneezing, a bit of coughing, and [insert any other seasonal allergy-induced side effect you can think of here]. So we left at about 8:30 and got home around 9. It's now 11:30ish and my nose is still running like a faucet. I think I've sneezed upwards of 20 times. My nose feels like someone punched it and it's just filled with random liquid. Just perfect for the sleep I'm about to attempt in the next 30 minutes or so.

Yes, I should be taking Claritin or something, but my Claritin is at work so I won't have it until tomorrow. Yes, the generic Claritin (Loratadine) can be as low as $4 or so for 10 tablets so I should just buy some for home...but you know what? I didn't!!! I decided to write a silly little blog about it! Up yours, seasonal allergies!!!!

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, like this d-bag, then you may want to sign up for daily e-mail alerts from the folks at Pollen.com. They told me today was going to be an intense 10 out of 12 day for allergies, with oak, cedar/juniper, and myrtle/bayberry being the predominant pollens down here in T-Town. Interesting? Perhaps...if you don't like it, tough cookies! Happy Easter to all!

Twitter Addition

I've added a little "Twitter" widget to my blog on the right side of the main page.  Check out my profile on Twitter if you'd like, http://www.Twitter.com/Perno

 

Twitter is basically a SUPER easy SUPER quick way to have a mini blog and a good way to keep friends updated on what you're up to.  Twitter's question to it's users is simple, "What are you doing?"  So if you're interested in what I'm doing (that's why you're here, right?) just follow me via my Twitter updates!

When Will My Anger Be Justified?

I went to Sweetbay, a local grocer, on the way home from work today to pick up some International Delights liquid coffee creamer/sweetener (Vanilla Hazelnut flavor if you must know). I only had this one item in my hand, so I thought my checkout process would be pretty quick, assuming there was an open register. I quickly scanned all open registers and happened upon a line with the conveyor belt totally empty -- sweet! -- so now I just have to wait for the 38 ish-year-old female customer to finish her transaction, then I could bring home the sweet artificially flavored goodness home to my hot little wife's waiting arms.

But did it go as I planned? Of course not, otherwise I wouldn't be writing about it, silly goose! No, this woman stood there, with her (right around) 10 year old daughter looking on, writing out a check for the patient grocery employee.

For those of you too young to remember, a check is something that people used to stand there and physically WRITE OUT before the broadly accepted card payment options of credit or debit cards. It's probably even older than cash. Don't quote me on that though.

Anyways, this isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened to me, and I'm sure it happens every day in stores all around the country, but what I'm wondering at this moment is, "Is it acceptable for me to ask this woman if she's ever heard of a debit card?" I MAY have actually asked her this, but I didn't want her daughter to feel like her mom was a loser, so I decided against it. I guess that's just the nice guy in me.

So finally the little check scanner got done scanning her check 15 times to make sure it was legit, then the cashier took down her phone number and put it on the check (couldn't she just make one up? Does that really help?), and it was my turn to purchase.

The cashier swiped my one bar coded item, I swiped my card, entered my pin, took my receipt, and was off to fight another day.

So, anyone have any ideas as to when it's ok to start belittling check users in public? Do any of you (nutbags) still use checks?

Pileated Woodpecker

My wife and I are sitting here at the kitchen table -- she, reading her Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine, and I checking my RSS feeds -- in our home both enjoying our Sunday morning coffees, and she looked out the sliding doors into the conservation area in our backyard and said, "Hey look at that bird, it's holding something red in it's beak, how funny!"

So we both took a longer look at the little guy and figured out the "red thing" was really his head, and after a quick Google search, we found it to be the Pileated Woodpecker. I posted a picture from About.com to show you what he looked like, pretty cool. If you're wondering what he sounded like, go to the Cornell All About Birds website, click on the "sound" link, and give him a listen!