Cabela's #1 - Orientation

Before we just jump right in to the more specific posts, we're all gonna need a little orientation. I know this b/c upon entry into the store, it took me at least 30 min to figure out what all was in there and where it was situated.

I'm not kidding. This place is like a two-level IKEA, but much longer and wider, with depts that include, and probably are not limited to:
Men's, women's and kid's clothing sections, each it's own and big
Men's women's and kid's shoe section
Camo, real trouble when kids hide in the clothes racks
Customer service, a BIG counter
Hunting, something to dress a deer for you today?
Fishing, need an ice fishing hut?
Power sports, yes - actual boats and ATVs for purchase, like an auto dealership

Truck/ATV accessories

Gun library, not for research like a library, but kind of

Gun dept, including gun safes as big as a bear (I know b/c I could compare both in the store... more later)

Bows & arrows, incl a shooting range

Camping, incl knives
Optics, like binoculars, etc
a real-life General store, want some homemade fudge samples or Foxworthy Jerky?

Grizzly Bear Diner, you gotta stop for a meal here b/c you stay so long
Bargain Bin, reminded me of REI's returns area
Home furnishings, need a deer motif throw pillow?
Watches, jewelery & leather goods, need a fishing watch?
Kid's toys, good luck getting them out of here
plus at least 3 arcade-like areas, one full-on Six Flags-like shooting range (all take tokens only)
Conference center
and whatever other dept(s) I'm forgetting...

Does it seem like I'm making it up or that it would be too much to take in? Well, this is no joke and it literally took me 2 hours to make my way, fairly quickly, through the whole store. I made it out with only two purchases, a soft shell jacket at half price and a small keychain/knife/bottle opener. I thought I owed it to Cabela's to buy something for all the time I was there, and all the posts they're now providing.

If you ever plan to visit me, Cabela's, or SE WI, please let me know so I can go with on your trip.

Port-A-Bell-A !!!

I suspect I'm not the only one that watches or has at least seen some Will & Grace episodes? Well, as you may know, often when "Jack McFarland" [played by IL native, Sean Hayes] would enter or leave Will's apartment he would often have something non-sensical, yet very clever to say as a salutation. For example, I believe I remember something like "Blip-blap-bloop!" or when he had too much caffeine and went off for sometime explaining his day, high on life. There was also one where he made his exit simply by singing out the word 'portabella', as in the mushroom.

This is what, I guess, I was singing in my head as I made my way, on a snowy Friday afternoon, to Cabela's. Instead of port-a-bell-aaaaa, I was saying ca-bell-aaa's.

For those that don't know, Cabela's is bacically the IKEA of outdoor sports. It's literally and figuratively a big force here in SE WI. Being a big fan of unique retail spaces, I had to check it out. This is the intro to a 3-part post on Cabela's. The posts will be broken into:
1. Orientation
2. An Ode to Camo
3. Wild Cabela

Please check back this week for all the posts and the poll that will be related.

"Do work!"

No big deal - thought I would show what cube-land at work looks like. It's neat and orderly as you would expect from me. I don't mind it most of the time.

The Great Debate!

For longer than I can now remember, a good friend and I have had a rager of a debate regarding two often used terms; "halfsies" and "splitsies". These get used alot, (oops, two words)... a lot as restaurant eating is pretty common in, uh, the whole world.

Even as a little kid, we used to use these two terms when going out with the family. Having 7 kids makes these terms very helpful. I could almost get two dinners or desserts of a simple, quick, word with one of my siblings. We used the terms all the time. Of course it's only natural that I now use these terms when going out with friends. In fact, I may overuse them as I tend to eat larger quantities of food when dining out than I normally do, and the items on the menu always look so good! I like being able to try more than one dish; Halfsies and Splitsies make this possible with great results, even with friends.

So, the debate has been in full-form for at least a couple of years now, but I can't remember exactly over what dish or restaurant it all started at. The issue is that we cannot come to consensus on the meaning of the terms. Here are the two options:

Option 1 -
Halfsies = Almost literally cutting a dish in half, each person getting one half of a full meal.
Splitsies = Two people splitting two dishes, each person getting two halves.

Option 2 -
Halfsies = Two people giving each other half of their dish, each person getting two halves.
Splitsies = Two people splitting one dish, each person getting one half of a full meal.

Now honestly, it's been so long since the debate got underway that I can't truly remember which option I have been behind the whole time, writing them down has only confused me further.

What I need everyone to do this week is to use the Poll, over there on the left <<<, to indicate which option they believe is correct. In the meantime, I'll do some Googling to see if there is a truly definitive answer on the subject.

Vote early and vote often. This debate needs to be put to rest.

[If the definitions I've proposed confuse anyone, READ GEORGE'S COMMENT FOR A DIFFERENT SPIN on them]

Results, Poll #5, Jean Washing.

The results of the denim poll are in and it appears we're all pretty clean. However, you might get a surprise:

2 people wash them after each wearing - Yikes, I wear jeans alot. Maybe they have free laundry?
9 people wash them about every 3-5 wearings - seems reasonable and is by far the majority.
1 person washes them about every 12 wearings - I mean, gold miners used to beat the heck out of Levi's.
1 person washes them only after a long long time. It's hard for me to say how long I actually go b/w washings, but I usually try to get them all done in one load at least once a quarter... like clockwork.

The next poll will be tied directly to a posting, but it should all make sense.
Up very soon this week.

Am I too picky?

So, a couple of random things that have been bugging me lately, totally unrelated to each other... besides them bugging me:

1. There is some sort of winter phenomenon up here in WI that I'm having trouble getting used to - During almost every good-sized snow storm, and for days after, pedestrians walk right on the side of the road. Right along with traffic!!! Right next to the cars!!! With only slippery snow b/w us!!! I dunno, maybe I just never noticed it while taking public transportation in Chicago... but it's crazy here. Alot of the times, I see it in the neighborhoods that are a little less well-off and don't get their sidealks plowed first - fine. But, I've seen it way out in the burbs too. One man, who I imagine got his license taken away for a DUI conviction, walked the same side of the street for 3 days in a row. And this isn't any ole street, it's a six lane roadway and each time I saw him, he was walking against traffic, not 100 yards from the highway exit. Seems like a really dangerous spot to be on foot. Actually, I haven't seen him in some time... hope he didn't meet the front end of Buick.

2. Here in the office, we have a small bathroom really close to most of our desks. Now, in this bathroom is one of those commercial grade automatic air fresheners. It has a can of freshener and a battery-powered timing unit. Every so often, it tells itself to press the can and out shoots a little puff of scent. This isn't a bad thing, HOWEVER, lately I've just been ducking in to rinse out some tupperware. This is right at the entry and only takes a minute at most. Well, on more than one occasion, as soon as I step in, the sprayer sends out it's signal and shoots out a puff of freshener. To me, it's as if the freshener is saying, with it's puff of pressurized scent, "You smell!" "As soon as you even cross my threshold, you're stinking up my bathroom!" I really find it offensive to hear that little "tsssst" that comes out of it. I may have to take a pedal wrench to it one of these days.

Am I too picky? Maybe.

Computer ASSociates.

Some of you may remember that I was having some trouble with my internet at home. Well, after a call to the local internet support office, Chris was happy to figure out the issue with me. In a nutshell ("Help, I'm in a nutshell!"), the software that I purchased from Computer Associates to help protect my laptop was now blocking any internet usage with its firewall. Since the license had expired and I didn't want to pay to update it, their software just started blocking the internet. Fine, no problem. The first step is finding the problem, the 2nd is removing it. A couple clicks in the "Add/Remove Software" area and the internet is back up and running.

Oh, and Windows XP has a firewall security system built in. I think I'll be ok... no War Games stuff going on here.