Bayerworld - The Rantings of Craig Bayer

Downtown is going through some growing pains

I was at Boudreaux and Thibodeaux's March 29th standing on the balcony when I saw about 15 police cars pull up and completely shut down 3rd Street.  No one had any ideal what was going on and I remained in the dark to I stumbled on this report at the Baton Rouge Business Report:

http://www.businessreport.com/news/2008/apr/04/downtown-brawl-leads-push-more-security/

Which basically describes that a huge fight broke out at one end of third street.  I found this part of the article a little disturbing:

An officer told 21-year-old Quintin Alonzo Williams to turn down the music and move on, Kelly says, but Williams cursed and instead turned the music up. The officer then tried to pull Williams out of the 1999 Pontiac Firebird, prompting Williams to allegedly push the officer, pin him against another vehicle and start fighting. That’s when another officer Tasered him. Williams was arrested and charged with several counts. The Police Department later towed his car and discovered an AK-47 with 28 rounds in the magazine, but he is not facing any weapons charges.

I went to Boudreaux and Thibodeauxs the following Saturday and noticed a huge police presence, which is good in the short term but not something that I think anyone really wants.  It would probably be a good ideal to shutdown 3rd Street on weekends and make it pedestrian only.  That way people won't have easy access to their AK -47s.  There is no way I can fit mine into my 7 Jeans and would mostly likely have to leave it in my car.    

Guitar Hero and Rock Band

I have been playing a lot of Guitar Hero and Rock Band lately.  Enough that I have convinced Clark we should probably purchase it for the house.  I think that Rock Band is superior, especially when you have a group of people.

The problem with these games is that deep in my subconscious I know that I could really practicing on a guitar and learn how to play.  There is a great Southpark episode on this.  Anyway saw this on gizmodo the other day and it seems to be the real solution for people who want to really learn how to play the guitar and have the fun of Guitar Hero: http://gizmodo.com/352800/guitar-rising-for-real-guitar-heroes.

Recap of the Past Week

Left New Orleans Tuesday on the train the City of New Orleans for Chicago.  Arrived Wed at 9am.  Worked the ABA Tech Show, while having a blast every night.  Left Friday to fly back to Louisiana.  Arrived in Atlanta  at 11pm.  All flights canceled.  No guarantee back to Louisiana until Sunday.  Refuse to miss the St. Patrick's Day Parade starting in 10 hours.  Rented a car and drove 8 hours straight to Baton Rouge.  Stayed awake courtesy of Sugar Free Red Bull and singing We Built This City.  Arrived in Baton Rouge at 7:45.  Made it to Chelsea's for the first drink at 8:15am.   Made it to Brent's for Jello Shots at 8:45.  Had one of the best St. Patricks days ever.  Had a blast at Chelsea's and assorted party's.  Made it to Dijulios again.  Ended the night talking with Clark at 2am on the porch. 

Was up for 43 Hours straight. 

There is trouble in Hundred Oaks

Our neighboorhood sends out this email last week about a proposed retirement home for nuns to be built in the Hundred Oaks area.

The Sisters, and their architect on the project, Raymond "Skipper" Post, would very much like to meet with the neighborhood to explain the scope of this project and listen to any concerns we may have so these can be addressed before any more planning is done. In advance of this meeting, I would invite all of you to visit Post Architects' website ( http://www.postarchitects.com/ ) to look at their achievements and portfolio of projects. I believe their history, and the quality of their design and subsequent construction, speaks for itself.

 

This is the response someone gave:

This is an outrage. What kind of notcie is this to the neighborhood? I will be out of town on the 11th of Oct. We need due notice and process. I have many questions about why the sisters need to use this property to our disadvantage??? This is a residential neighorhood, and we need to keep it as such. What is the rush?? I want at least a 30 day notice of any meeting; a plan in detail as to what is being proposed at least 20 days before the meeting; and at the meeting a full discussion.

 

To add some fuel to a non existent fire, here was my response:

While we are making demands, I want a cart drawn carriage to come pick me up and bring me to this meeting and a pair of tickets to a certain national championship game just for attending.

Seriously, it is wonderful to live in neighborhood and I want to thank @@@@ and @@@@ for their hard work in putting something like this together.

Everyone here complains about all the college kids, I think people would be jumping head over heels for a group of retired nuns unless they are the retired nuns that throw all night keggers, and then I would want at least a 30 day notice of such a party and a guest list 20 days in advanced.

PS: Let's start using the bbc and spell check on further emails.

Designated driver service to start

This is from the Daily Report today

A new service that will drive South Baton Rouge partygoers home safely is scheduled to start in the next week. Zingo Designated Drivers will arrive at local bars and restaurants on folding motorbikes, then for $20 drive tipsy patrons home in their own vehicle, with the scooters folded up in the trunk. After they take the customers home, the Zingo drivers will unfold the motorbike and leave. Mitch Poche, who is starting the local business with Tommy Spinosa III, says there are similar operations in cities such as Atlanta, Dallas and Orlando, Fla. "This is a responsible decision for people to use," Poche says. "This isn't going to be a drunk wagon so people can drink until they black out." Baton Rouge is a party town, with not a lot of public transportation options, so Poche says he thinks Zingo can fill a niche. The motorbikes can only go about 35 mph, so the company will have a limited service area that includes Perkins Road and Tigerland bars. Zingo will start with five drivers, but Poche hopes to have as many as 10 in the next few months. --Timothy Boone

 

I hope you have a big trunk because I am going to put my bike in it!

Modest Mouse

I forgot to write about Modest Mouse.  Clark, Dory, Johanna and I went down to see them at the House of Blues last month.  They played a couple of great songs from We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank and a whole bunch of other stuff.  The show most have gone for over two hours with an encore that was unbelievable.  They are probably the best live act I have ever seen.

The good times are rolling

It has been over a month since I last posted and this is because I have been super busy.  I looked over at Clark yesterday and said " I don't think anyone has as much fun as we do." which he immediately concurred.  Between January and May easily rivals the National Champion Football season when everyone moved back to Baton Rouge and we partied like rockstars.  Clark is leaving in October so we have another four months before the music is over.  There are several key events coming up.

 

June 9th is our annual canoe trip which Hill and Reagan put on.

Father's Day weekend we are getting our black lab puppy.  His name will be Norman and I am training him  to take Clark's place.  I hope he is a little cleaner then  Clark.

In October I will run the Marine Corps Marathon in DC.  It is the open weekend for football games and some people have expressed interest in coming up. 

The Killers

 

Saw the Killers on Saturday at the River Center.  They were wonderful live and played a good mix from Sam's Town and Hot Fuss.  They did end the show with All These Things That I Have Done, which is my favorite song.  Anywho, had a great time with some new special guest stars and ended staying out way past my bed time.  I did not protect the run and was only able to do 10 miles on Sunday. 

Knocking on Heaven's Door

Ran a half marathon on Sunday and weighed in at 210.  Its hard to believe I weighed 248 pounds on January 1st.  The half marathon was actually not that bad.  I am getting dehydrated and decided to get a camel back, which I should get in this week.  I also started eating while running.  Tried Hammer Gel and it was pretty good.  I am going to probably take two or three with me on my long run.  I have set a weight loss goal.  I will weight 190 by June 29th which is my 27 birthday.  That should be an easy goal to achieve.  I only lost 7 pounds this month.  Clark and I talked about it and we have decided we have gotten lazy and cocky.  We lost a ton of weight in Jan and Feb and cheated in March.  We are going to make April and awesome month. 

Easter Sunday I am going to run my resurrection run which is 15.39 miles.  Check it out at Map My Run.

Great week ahead.  Picking Jimmy up on Wednesday and Anna up on Friday.  Lauren's wedding is Friday and should be a good one.

Also updated Flickr with some picks from the weekend.  We tried to go downtown but ended back up at Chelseas. 

The Killers: Sams Town

Got the new  Killers CD 2 days ago.  I am declaring them my favorite band of all time.  I think the song "Read My Mind" was written for me.

I never really gave up on
Breakin' out of this two-star town
I got the green light
I got a little fight
I'm gonna turn this thing around