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Well, this is it...

My last post from Houston.

It's been a wild ride this year. We've had our ups, and we've had our really big ups. My loyal readers from last term continued reading this term, and I appreciate it. I also would like to thank my new readers this term: Andrea and Mary-Margaret(the newly-married Mary Margaret!!).

My final post is tonight only because tomorrow our furniture is being taken away, and I really wont feel like typing a post while sitting on the ground with everything else. Friday we are taking the modem back, so after Friday morning, we will be Internet-less. Plus, Friday is going to be crazy crazy. First, it will be my last day, so I have to say goodbye to everyone and their daughter at work. Second, I have to have my exit interview with the Co-op Coordinator, which will take up a good chunk of time. Finally, Eric and Colin are throwing me, and I quote, a "Get the Hell Outta Here" party on Friday. I do not know what that will entail or involve, as the guys aren't saying anything, but I figure it should be fun. I just hope I get back to the apartment in time to get some sleep before my journey on saturday, haha.

Speaking of journey, check out the weather for Saturday. Basically, if it's shitty weather, then I am going through it. The bad weather loves to find me. Definitely not looking forward to this.

I really am SO excited about being back in the MS/TN/AL area; you have no idea. This Christmas break is going to be awesome, and the upcoming school year will be the best yet, no doubt. If I am here too much longer, I just may scream, haha.

I am not sure yet if I will start a different blog when I'm at school or if I will continue to use this one. Technically, I will still be an employee at JSC even when I'm at school, so I could technically still be a Horne in Houston. Then again, this semester is much longer than my 3.5 weeks of summer school, so I may decide to start a new blog. No fear, though; I will provide a link on here directing you where to go. Oh, and another thing; I probably wont post much during the break. I may do it every now and then when I have some good pictures(like from the Avs game), but other than that, my blog will remain pretty scarce.

And with that, I am gone. You've been great, Houston. It's time I finally return to being a normal college student.

Go Sox. Go Avs. Go Dawgs.

-Henry

Bing Me Up

So Saturday was pretty fun.

I woke up early and headed to Eric's for the Newcastle vs. Arsenal game. I brought the fun, and Colin brought the 2nd greatest food ever: Little Ceasar's pizza and Crazy Bread. It was good times. I could only stay for an hour because I had to be at Metro's pool tournament by noon...

I had high hopes for the pool tournament, but those were quickly diminished. We lost our first game by a large margin, so we were quickly in the loser's bracket. A few hours later we played the first game of the loser's bracket, and despite playing better than the first game, we lost again. We were the first team out of the tournament, but the fun we had was in the next room.... That's right, it was a game for the ages. An ESPN Instant Classic. It was the Men vs. the Ladies. Oh yes, it was Pictionary. Led by the mentor/mentee combo of Tarik and Henry, the Men steamrolled to a victory over the Ladies team. It was seriously getting crazy near the end of the match; almost the entire crowd was in the living room watching or participating. I drew the winning picture: swan dive. I had to be only slightly creative: I first drew a cliff, then some water, followed by a stick figure with an arrow going from the figure to the water. The guys got "dive" from that pretty easily. Next, I had to draw my best swan picture, which was rough to say the least, but Josh came through and was able to recognize it. Swan Dive. It was brilliant.

The whole event was a huge success. About $300 was raised for St. Jude's Children Hospital, and of course, Metro and his wife won the tournament again for the 3rd straight year. When we weren't playing pool or Pictionary, something else was always going on. Basketball was on all day. Food was in every room. Metro's dart board was pretty nice, and I just so happen to bring my darts :) . Again, it was good times.

I had to leave Metro's slightly early so I could come back in time to get ready for dinner. I met the gang at Chubaca's down on NASA Road 1. I had the filet, and I ended with some New York(how appropriate!) cheesecake. It was divine.

After a few hours at Chabuca's, we went down to the Harbour Playhouse. The play was pretty incredible. It was a small venue, but it was very well produced. Since we knew one of the actresses, we got to hang out with the entire cast after the show. We all went to Carlos' Beer Garden to celebrate, where they serve some INCREDIBLE hamburgers. They kicked so much ass.

I tried on Eric's topcoat before we went to the play. It's a London Fog blended wool topcoat, and I absolutely love it. I want one for myself. Unfortunately, the one's on ebay are not in my size(42R), so I will have to keep searching. Eric did snap a picture of me with his coat and hat on, and we realized after I took it that I was doing an impeccable Bing Crosby imitation. Just look at the pic to see for yourself...

See, I told you. The picture also confirms what my mom has always said: I have dimples.

Today was my last Monday of work here for a loooong time. It actually flew by, and I hope the rest of the days this week do the same. My group is taking me out for lunch on Thursday, and I give my exit pitch on Friday. Should be fun.

I'm looking forward to going home so much...

-H

I'm Ready

I've been absent for awhile, I know, but I do have good reason. After Saturday, I began to feel quite unwell. I do not know if it was allergies, a 48-hour virus, or something else, but I was completely out of comission. I managed to get to work, but I wasn't much use there. Don't think I was stupid, because I was pretty sure I wasn't contagious; I merely had severe congestion in my upper nose and face area. If I thought I had something that someone else at work could catch, I would have stayed home. Work needed to be done despite my condition, and I was able to finish my exit pitch just in time for Thursday's presentation to all the managers of the Systems Division.

The pitch went well. I love it that Jerry Pfleeger, Bryan's boss's boss's boss, knows me by name. He even comes by the office sometimes just to say hey. I talked to Colin, and he said that Jerry doesn't even know his name, and he(Colin) has been working here for years, haha. I was even asked some really good questions after my pitch, which did not happen last term. I think they actually paid attention this time! The big question was what I think NASA has been doing right and what I think they have done terribly wrong. They feel my youth and relative inexperience in the field gives me a fresh perspective. I honestly could not answer the man(forgot his name, haha) at that point, but he said I could just email him from school after I have thought about it. I have tons of opinions on the manned space program, but I could not manage to put them into words at that point. I fully plan on shooting him an email soon.

I am pretty much done with all of my projects as of now. I am just going to touch up my pitch for the group presentation(on the 16th) and tie up some loose ends on some projects from last term.

This term was great, and I have enjoyed every part of it. My next tour in Summer 2006 will either be in GNC(basically the Shuttle side of what I did this semester) or Propulsion, which is all about the Solid Rocket Boosters on the Shuttle :).

Although either of those will be great, I can say with great certainty that right now I am in NO hurry to get back here. I am "worked" out. I am ready to actually be a kid(a 20 year old kid) again. I'm ready to room with my best friend and jump right back to where we left off in December a year ago. I'm ready to be irresponsible. I'm ready to have college fun again. I'm ready for the inside jokes. I'm ready for college sports(bball, baseball and football). I'm ready to sleep in to 11:00 every other morning. I'm ready to own some volleyball with my new partner Trev. I'm ready to return to the SIHL and defend my records. I'm ready for Dave's. I'm ready for Predators hockey games when I want. I'm ready to be less than 4 hours from Chattanooga. I'm ready for our amazing home theater will we have in our apartment living room. I'm ready to not have to dress nice 4 out 5 weekdays. I'm ready to be less than 2 hours from the Gray Center. I'm ready to play intramural soccer with my boyz. I'm ready to be more relaxed. I'm ready to watch baseball season with Trevor. I'm ready for a college spring break. I'm ready to go to the movies on a more regular basis. I'm ready(really) to see my professors. I'm ready to eat Subway every other day in the Colvard Union. I'm ready for the Reflector. I'm ready for the Starkville Cafe. I'm ready for Sunday Mexican night. I'm ready for the parties. I'm ready to host some parties. I'm ready to see all my friends every single day. I'm ready for Dawg Daze. I'm ready to use my experience from working in the workforce for one year.

So as you can see....I'm ready to return to typical the college life.

Of course, between now and then, I have one week left here and a full month of what is sure to be a GREAT vacation. Tonight we went to BJ's after work for a few hours. Considering Colin bought our group tickets to Narnia ahead of time, I figured we were heading to the cinema after the bar, but that was not the case. Earlier today at work, Colin and Eric had communicated their inability to see the movie tonight, so we had to cancel. No prob, though, as you can refund your tickets when you purchase way in advance. Besides, I think Mal and I are both going to wait and see the movie together in Paris. She's reading the book before viewing, so I think I might now do the same.

Colin had also been very hush hush about what his plans were tonight, so Eric and I were eager to hear what they were at BJ's. A few hours in, he finally disclosed his agenda, and we'll just say that I definitely had to say NO to his plans tonight(for once!), haha. Eric also had to decline, but Jude and Todd seemed eager. Oh well. I'm rather confident I made the right decision.

No matter, though, as we are meeting up tomorrow morning for the Newcastle/Arsenal game on the tele. Remember, Eric is now very into soccer, so we have to support him every step of the way, haha.

Speaking of soccer, the U.S. Mens team got the SHITTIEST draw of the 2006 World Cup today.More on that later. Just know that it SUCKS and we will be hard pressed to make it past the first round of group play.

Anyways, after Erics, I'm heading over to Metro's for the pool tournament. Hopefully I can pick up a few bucks after it's all said and done.

After the tournament, I come back home and shower. Then we're off to dinner and the play. If I have time, I am going to JCPenney's to try on this coat here. I need a good overcoat for the evening, and every man needs one anyway, so I'll try it on for size. I also need to go and pick up a new "power" tie, haha. Bold colors will be the S.O.P. If I find a nice shirt, I will also pick that up. If not, I will use my french blue shirt. I'm pretty excited about the evening; I haven't been to a play in forever, so it should at the very least be refreshing.

That should bring everyone up to date with what's going on with me. I need some rest

The Great Gig In The Sky

Yesterday Colin, Eric, and I kicked the soccer ball around at this field right around da corner from Eric's house. I had almost forgotten how fun it was to play the game of futbol; I now look forward to playing intramurals with the boyz back at State this spring. What I do not miss, however, is the soreness that is prevalent after playing soccer for the first time in months. This is a sign I need to be more active...

Which I plan on doing for my final two weeks here. I beat Shadow of the Colossus today, so now I do not have an excuse for being lazy. Starting tomorrow, my ass is getting in gear. (speaking of SotC, it's a FANTASTIC game. I'd play if if you haven't already).

Last night we(Eric, Jennifer, Rachel, Colin, Jude, and I) went to Don Picos Mexican restaurant, which is about 300 yards from Colin's place. It was 99 cent margarita night, but I had a KILLER headache from soccer earlier that afternoon(no idea why), so I did not partake. I did, however, order the chicken enchilada, and it was divine. Afterwards, we walked back to Colin's...

Eric and Colin told me recently that the album Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd synchronizes with the movie Wizard of Oz. I didn't believe them, so they proved it to me last night. The only trick is to start the cd on the conclusion of the 3rd roar by the MGM Lion at the introduction; after that, just sit back and watch. The number of events that match, as well as the words in the songs that describe the current scene is amazing. The best sync has to be when Dorothy opens the door to the "colored" world for the first time; at the precise moment she does, the song "Money" begins to play, with sounds of coins falling being heard. VERY COOL. We tried setting the cd to repeat to see if anything else syncs up, but no luck with that.

I present my exit pitch for this co-op tour to my upper upper upper management on Thursday. I haven't even created one slide for it, so I best get my act together tomorrow. I also have 3 other tasks that need to be done at work by this Friday, need get my exit paperwork done, and maybe get's some console time in. Two weeks more, and I am free for a month :)

-H

Good News Friday

I must have been bitten by the good news bug this morning or something. Tons of great things were revealed and/or happened today.

First off, today is my mom's birthday!! That's reason enough to be excited about today.

Second, Metro(the guy's whose house I went to a few weeks ago) sent out the email flyers for his fundraising co-ed pool tournament that will take place on the 10th. I am pumped about it. It's 20$ entry fee, with half of that going to the St. Jude's Research Hospital. The other 10 bucks go to the pot for 1st and 2nd place. I might head to Breakers on Thursday or Friday of next week to get a tune up for the match.

Colin's girlfriend is in the Dickinson Community Theater production of Beauty and the Beast, so we have set the 10th as the nigth when we are all going to see her in the play. She plays a rather important role, but I cannot think of it right now. She also plays a napkin and teacup as well. We are all going to go out to eat before the show. Don't worry, the pool tournament will be over by then, as my partner and I will have owned everyone and taken their money by that point. Colins says the dress is casual, but Eric and I want to go all out, so we may bust our suits and the Who-Wants-to-be-a-Millionaire ties. It should be a fun evening.

I found out today that I actually get a Christmas bonus!! Woo hoo! I was pretty excited when I found out.

Colin and I have been trying to get Eric interested to soccer for months now, and it seems it has finally paid off. He wants to go kick the ball around tomorrow, so of course, Colin and I accepted, haha. This will be great, as this will be the first time I have laced up my soccer cleats since this summer. I am also getting dad to send me the highlight tape of my high school soccer days; I told the guys about the tape, and they want to see it, as do I. It should be quite funny because I haven't seen the tape in years. It will be great to hear my dad's classic soccer comments.

The temperature difference between Houston and other places is ridiculous. At one point today, the temp here was 66 degrees. I checked on Canton, MS: 56 degrees. Then Chattanooga: 46 degrees. Finally, I checked Paris: 36 degrees. It's a THIRTY degree difference between here and Paris! Wow. I better bundle up when we head up there in a few weeks.

Since the holidays are now in full swing, I have been on a Trans-Siberian Orchestra kick. I really like some of their remakes of classic songs. It's cool to just go through their songs on iTunes and see how many you actually remember from your youth. I'm working on a TSO compilation cd as we speak.

Trevor went to our future apartment the other day just to check it out. We have the COOLEST apartment number, but I wont divulge that on here, because you never know what lunatics are reading, haha. Just ask me if you are curious. Also, we are a building away from Adam and Aaron's apartment; not too far to walk, but far enough where we can have some privacy. Also, the apartment has not been occupied this semester, so it will be in perfect condition when we move in. They have also repainted the place this semester, so it will also look nice. We have a balcony(we're on the 2nd floor), and we also have face the street. That means we can holla at people as they drive up, or maybe just try to solicit some Mardi Gras beads. Finally, and probably most importantly, we are RIGHT BESIDE the sand volleyball courts! Trevor and I are SO going to kick some ass come this spring. We'll also be in killer shape.

This Tuesday(Dec. 6th) will be a great day if you are a guy. If you are, then you know what I'm talking about. If you're not, then I'm sure you'll figure it out as the date approaches.

Well, I slept 4 hours after work today, so I am wired. I'm going to go find something interesting to do.

Night!

-Henry

Picture Time

The Fam
Mom's kitchen island while Richard ponders...
Mom's kitchen island AFTER. Each strip of that top is an exotic wood. Richard had to individually cut the pieces, glue them together, and smooth off everything. Now, all the Horne kids can sit at the island with stools while food is being cooked! It also adds much more counter space.
Following through with my first P-51 Mustant throw...
Richard, also with good form.
John patented the "run and shoot" method.

We really don't remember what caused this scene, but we all agreed it's one of the funniest things we have ever seen.

The dreaded 9th hole green...

Will in a little bit of trouble on Hole 11.

Getting out of woody jam on Hole 10. Note the beer bottle sticking out of my dad's back pocket.

Here's that picture from the Dallas weekend I told you about. Colin just happened to snap it at the right time. I thought it was very candid.

A Horne Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year down here at the Gray Center was a special occasion: all of the Hornes would be present. Yes, that’s right. Mom, Dad, Will, Andrea, Carolyn, Richard, John, Aunt Dotty, Russell(her husband), and I were in Canton AT THE SAME TIME from Wednesday to Saturday. It was great to spend time with everyone together, and it makes me look forward to next summer’s beach vacation in North Carolina that much more. Highlights of my break can be found below…

I flew in Tuesday night around 10:45. My plane was only delayed 50 minutes, but it could have been MUCH worse.

On Wednesday, Will and I(being the only Horne boys present at the house) hit the Gray Center links for some disc golf action. Will had not played since last Christmas, so I figured my advantage would be enormous; I was WAY off. We both played well, but Will edged me out of the first game +1 to +2. Damn him, haha. We played another round of 18 holes; however, I was feeling good midway through this match. I had a THREE stroke lead on Mr. Horne, yet I somehow lost it towards the end, and we finished tied at even par.

A surprise was in store for us on Wednesday; Carolyn discovered that she had an extra vacation day that she did not know about, so she and Richard left a day early to arrive in Canton on Wednesday! The couple arrived around 7pm that night. Aunt Dotty and her husband also arrived Wednesday, bringing extra goodies for our Thanksgiving meal.

Richard, being the great brother that he is, brought some awesome gifts for me. The first was a simple model plane(we’re talking 4 pieces people, haha) of the P51 Mustang used in WWII. Quite the important plane, in case you don’t know. Check it out HERE. Anyways, we had a styrofoam plane last Thanksgiving, and we all had a ball just trying to make the darn thing fly farther. Richard remembered that, so he bought me this simple plane kit. More on this gift later, haha. For the second gift, Richard gave me an old old balsa wood plane kit that his father had given to him at a young age. Richard never built the plane, so he decided to give it to me to build. This thing will be awesome once it is built; it has a span of 32 inches!! I am going to build this baby next semester while at school, and we will definitely record the maiden flight with video footage. I am now accepting names for the plane. If you have ideas, shoot them my way. Finally, as the 3^rd gift, Richard really outdid himself. See, Rich visited Cape Canaveral in 1979(waaaay before I was born), and while he was there, he bought a sheet that had stickers of patches of all the manned Apollo missions on it. It is awesome!! Better yet, on the back, there is a description of each patch and what the emblems depict or represent. I really want to somehow transfer the stickers to a nice glossy posterboard material and include the description underneath each patch. Then, I want to frame it somehow. I think I could make a really nice display for these. Definitely one of the best gifts I have ever gotten.

Wednesday was capped off with Dad’s grilling of his world famous burgers, TWENTY ONE in total. There are still some left in the refrigerator. They wont last long, haha.

So Turkey Day finally rolled around. We traditionally eat around noon, but since Andrea’s plane didn’t arrive until 11:45 am, we had to put it off a little bit. No matter, as that allowed Will and I more time to play some golf. This match was better played, and we even had Carolyn follow along as a photographer. Will beat me once again, -2 to -1.

Today also marked the beginning of the “who can fly the plane the farthest” contest. This competition was waged throughout the weekend. *pictures to come later*

John arrived a few hours after Andrea, and we were ready to eat. This Thanksgiving meal was quite possibly one of the BEST ever done by my mom. Here’s a rundown of the major offerings:

-21 lb. turkey
-two trays of turkey dressing
-homemade turkey gravy
-two trays of sweet potato casserole topped with marshmallows(the Horne children’s favorite)
-a pot of green beans
-two trays of Sister Shubert’s rolls(another Horne child favorite)
-fruit salad
-a first: mom’s homemade zucchini casserole
- several bottles of Ruffino Chianti red wine(the kind I WANTED to get for the dinner party but couldn’t)
- homemade apple cake and pound cake

Needless to say, we were stuffed after all of this. We continued to devour the leftovers each day.

Unforunately, after dinner, Mom became very ill with flu-like symptoms, which decommissioned her for a day. Luckily, she didn’t miss much in the way of fun, as we were all business on Friday. Richard assembled his and Carolyn’s Christmas present to the parents: a completely homemade wooden chop block counter top for the kitchen island. This wasn’t an ordinary top either. It was a combination of some of the most exotic wood you will ever find. *pictures plus listing of wood to be posted later*

In addition to the counter installation on Friday, John, Will, and Dad began the momentous process of installing high-speed internet in our household. Yes, you are reading this correctly. The Horne house, which is in the middle of 750 acres of woods, is getting a high-speed DSL wireless network. How can it be done, you ask? Simple. By Cantennas! They sure do look like Pringles cans, but they are far more useful in the technical world than the chip holders we are used to seeing. Basically, the wireless signal at the Center(which has had high-speed for several months now) is beamed over to our house, translated into a wire signal, transported via Ethernet cable to a wireless router, which then drops a nice, cozy wireless cloud on our house. That means we will be able to access the internet anywhere in our house, be it on mom’s desktop(it has a wireless card) or on the Horne boys’ laptops. Truly a great occasion. Hooray for high speed!!

Somehow there was time left on Friday to play some more golf. John played with us this time, and that maybe helped me a bit. I was finally able to destroy the Will Horne dynasty by coming away victorious with a final score of even par. Will followed with +1, and John +2. There was much rejoicing.

Friday night was spent watching the first 6 episodes from Season One of Arrested Development. Will bought the first season dvd set and had it sent to the house for the holidays. I will admit that I did not find the first few episodes funny, but this Emmy-winning and soon-to-be-cancelled comedy series has really pulled me in now. I cannot help but emit endless streams of laughter during a viewing of one of the episodes. I finally understand what Trevor has been talking about forever.

Saturday included more eating of leftovers, more cursing over which network card goes with which router, and more overall laziness. But this IS the holidays, right? My thoughts too; that’s why the excessive eating, lounging, and yes, even the badmouthing of computer hardware was allowed. We concluded the day like Friday, with everyone piled into the den(even the dogs)watching Arrested Development. Will bought mom and dad a dvd player in a Best Buy run we made earlier that day, as they were the last 2 people in the country without one.We viewed the next 8 or so episodes, and they just seem to get funnier. Please, FOX, please don’t cancel this show. It’s TOO GOOD.

At approximately 11:21pm on Saturday evening, Will and John Horne finally announced that our house was wirelessly covered. Had there been champagne, it would have been drunk. We were all elated with the accomplishment, and Mom was most thrilled with the prospect of using the internet without a crank handle.

Well, I leave tomorrow around 4pm. This Thanksgiving has involved so much, and it has probably been much more than any of you care to read. Then again, if you are at this point on my post, you HAVE read it, therefore you actually DO care. Anyways…don’t expect another post from me for a loooong time. This was my longest post to date, so I might relish in that fact. I hope everyone has/had a safe trip home and are ready to lose all that weight we gained the last few days, haha.

Programming Note: I am going to update my blog over the next few days with the pictures of my Thanksgiving. You’ll just have to deal with only the post for now. Pictures are on their way, I promise...

-H

Blurbs

Wal-Mart has discovered my kryptonite: fresh, warm French bread awaiting you as you walk in the store. I have to pick up one loaf everytime(which is weekly for groceries) I walk in. I usually then proceed to eat the entire loaf when I come back. Curse you Wally World!

Speaking of krytonite(like the segue?), if you haven't done so already go HERE to watch the Superman Returns teaser trailer. I keep watching it, and I get chills everytime. Credit that to my growing up watching the movies. I absolutely cannot wait for this one. The guy even has the Clark Kent "curl." This guy is perfect for the role. Lois Lane? Kate Bosworth. Lex Luthor? Kevin Spacey. Too awesome.

Will Horne landed today in Jackson, and soon after he and the rents were headed to Starkville so see our Dawgs play some bball. Leave it to my bro to always plan trips around a sporting event.

Oh yeh, I almost forgot. I flew the T-38 Simulator today at work. WOW. That's all I could possibly say. After flying the shuttle simulator and now the T-38, I'm definitely persuaded to get a pilot's license. I landed the bird today relatively well, but that was right after I had watched how it was done by the 3 previous people. Nevertheless, it was an awesome experience. I wish my job was to fly that thing everyday.

My plane arrives tomorrow in Jackson at 10 pm. I can't wait. Will and I will tear up the Gray Center disc golf greens on Wednesday. It's gonna be awesome.

-H

p.s. Sox are on the verge of getting Josh Beckett from the Marlins!!! Talk about boosting your pitching staff. Unfortunately, we are trading Hanley Ramirez, a shortstop from our minor league system who is supposedly the most badass shit you have ever seen. Oh well. We're getting pitching, and that's what killed us this year. GO SOX.

Keep Your Hornes in a Row

In short, the movie was great. A MUCH MUCH darker movie than the rest, and Harry finally busts out the whoopin' wand and uses more than one spell during a movie. My prayers were also answered; the movie referenced many things from the first 3 films, and the end of the movie left us hanging. Fantastic!! The special effects in the movie were also well done. They have improved each in each story.

Even I have a hard time keeping up with which Horne is going where and when...and I AM a Horne! Therefore, to ease the taxing on your mind, I have placed a convenient departures/arrivals list over there on the right of my blog. It will keep you up to speed on every single Horne or Sewell that is headed to Canton. I can't wait for Tuesday!

-H

Riddikulus

Well it's safe to say I am ready for tomorrow's premiere of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Yes, I am going to see that movie. Why? Mainly because(until recently) I had no earthly idea what the friggin movies were about. I decided that since I had not seen any of the previous 3 films, I would watch them this week and cap it off with the new movie on Friday. I borrowed the dvds from a co-worker of mine, and I watched the 3 movies yesterday and today. Turns out that all the co-ops are going to the movie tomorrow, so that should be fun.

The movies are alright. DEFINITELY some Lord of the Rings influence...invisible cloaks, menacing trees(althought that was originally a Wizard of Oz idea), flying "wraiths", etcetera etcetera. I wish the movies were more of a Saga than just a series of short stories. Nothing really carries over from movie to movie. I wish there were cliff hangers after each one; you know, something that makes you say, "I HAVE to see the next movie." Nevertheless, they are entertaining. The 3rd movie was especially well presented, and it used the theme of time exceptionally well.

Bought the tickets today. Yup, that's right. Josh Collums, Matt, Trevor, and I are going to see the Colorado Avalanche play the Nashville Predators on December 20th. I can't wait!

It's getting colder down here in H-town. THANK GOD. It's about damn time. Viva la cold front!

-H

A Challenge

An email sent from my brother Will to me this afternoon. It was regarding an earlier email my father sent out describing what discs he had...

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I'm sure those are all cool, I'll probably need two of the heavier ones, and maybe one putter.

not that it matters, since I'd still dominate with just a paper plate and a coaster.


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Battle lines have been drawn!!! It is on, haha.

The Cup of Life

Last weekend was fun. I went to Dallas with Colin and Eric to see the MLS Cup game between the L.A. Galaxy and New England Revolution.

I went to the Houston Walk to D'Feet ALS event this Saturday morning in the Woodlands, which is just north of Houston. It was a great time. I met some great people throughout the morning.

I got home from the walk around 1pm, and we left for Dallas after we scarfed down some Freebirds burritos. Eric and I share a common love: Top Gun. We watched it on the way up, quoting almost the entire movie from start to finish.

Our mobile setup. That white thing is a speaker. "We're going ballistic, Mav. Go get 'em!!"

Eric, so touched my the movie, decided to grace us with his playing of the Top Gun Anthem.

We got to Dallas right around dinner time. We met Jessica and Mark(high school friends of Eric's) at their place, and we chilled there for a little while(3B). They had the most adorable dogs ever(next to mine, of course).

Wiley, the Corgi.

Such a sweet dog. How could you NOT like that face?

We planned to go eat at the Fox & Hound, but due to my pre-21 status, we had to turn away. That was a sucky feeling, but i'm 20.43 years old now, so not much longer. We ate dinner at Two Rows instead(2B); it's the same chain of restaurants that Trey and I go to before hockey games. GREAT food. We then returned to the house for some football watching and domino playing(I tended to just play with the dogs)(3B).

Bailey, the Collie. Another gorgeous dog. She makes me want a Collie.

Again, if you can say no to that, then you are cruel, haha.

We then went to the bar we visited last time I was in Dallas: Elbow room. Great hangout. Nice band there too(1L, 1B). Next, we headed to Cosmo's Bar(3M); it's a very 80's style retro hangout. They had the best Dr. Pepper I have ever had. It was divine. I wanted to steal a bottle of it. Wow, it was the tastiest soft drink I have ever consumed. Cheers to Cosmo's! After Cosmo's, we ventured down the street to the Liquid Lounge(1B). Not a very awesome place, but they had college football on, so I was good. Finally, we headed downtown to this obscure little bar; I dont know what it was called or what part of town it was in, but it was quaint. They were about to close, so not much happened there. Our last stop was Humon's house; Humon was another old friend of Eric's. His birthday was that night, so we thought we'd come by to celebrate some. I didn't know many people there, so I just played with their cat. Colin took a very candid picture of me with the cat rolling over on the chair beside me. When I get it, I will post it for sure.

Sunday was fun times indeed. We drove up to Frisco to Pizza Hut Park to see the soccer game. It went to overtime, so we definitely got our money's worth. The game was full of great saves, great passes, and a great goal. It was great...haha. The Galaxy won 1-0 in overtime.

note: i didn't have my memory card in my camera, so most of my shots in my camera were of the animals. When Colin gets me the pics, I will post them.

So that was my weekend in a nutshell. This next weekend will be pretty tame for me. Then I get to go home next Tuesday!! Woo hoo.

-H

Crash and Burned

Well my first checkout was yesterday. YIKES. I felt totally prepared to talk about and answer questions regarding the Command and Data Handling system(a related system to me this semester, but last semester it was our own system). I should have known things would be bad when Tarik and I couldn't find a room in which to conduct the checkout; we had to do it in our office. Not a good idea. I just knew people would come in and join in and/or watch. Not cool.

Tarik begins the checkout, and I'm feeling good. I know what a CVT is. I know how the computer network architecture is laid out in tiers. I'm feeling really good; these are easy questions. Then he starts asking questions which I KNOW I have seen/read the answers, but they just aren't coming to me. At this point I am standing up in the room beside a dry-erase board, as I am diagramming all the processors and I/O cards contained in a Station MDM(just a computer, really). I should say "trying" to diagram these things. My mind is just running blank. Not good at all.

Then, Anne comes in about to ask Tarik a question. Anne sees that we're in the middle of the checkout and DECIDEDS TO STAY. How nice. I happen to answer the next question wrong, and Anne starts going on about the right answer. THEN...Nat walks in. I like Nat; he's a good guy. Anyway, he notices too that I'm in the middle of something, and he decides that he would love to observe as well. The next question required more drawing of schematics on the board, and there aren't many things worse than trying to think of the answer to something, trying to write it on a board(legibly), and having 3 people(who know the answer) burn holes in you from looking. But there are some things that are worse. Like having the FOURTH person walk in; granted, he works in the office, but I'm not a big fan of him. He's kinda A.D.D., and he has a very condescending tone to me all the time. So he walks in, and he begins to watch with the rest of them. At this point, I'm not too comfortable. I have realized that I don't know the material as well as I thought I did, and it feels as if the Roman Inquisition is being conducted on me.

So yeh. That whole half-hour sucked ass.

Thankfully, not too many questions remained, and I was able to finish it. The group slowly left the office. I in no way passed this checkout; rather, the contrary was true. I had much to still learn, evidently. I was given what are called "lookups," which are basically just the things I missed. I have time to look over them, and my next checkout on this system will be Monday or Tuesday. I shall be prepared that time, and we WILL have it in a private office somewhere.

In much better news...

I have a place to live next semester! That is right, folks. The Dynamic Duo is once again forming: Trevor and I will be roomates. Trevor got out of his current living arrangement, and he and I have already made a deposit at the new apartments. We will be living at the Avalon Apartment complex. Here's the site for some info...

LINK TO AVALON APARTMENTS

It's supposedly very vice from what my friends tell me. It's a few miles from campus, but I can deal with that. Best of all, this place has a sand volleyball court!! I cannot wait for the weather to warm up in the spring because some serious volleyballin' will be going on.

Early tomorrow morning I am going to the Houston ALS Chapter Walk to D'Feet ALS walk. I'm pretty excited about participating. It's a fantastic idea.

After I return from the walk, I'm going to shower up, change clothes, and get going. Colin, Eric, and I are headed to D-town for the MLS Cup game. I think we may be going to see a comedian Saturday night, but I'm not sure. Eric is from Dallas, so he has some stuff planned. We will obviously try to see some football at a bar somewhere. The soccer game is on Sunday. It's on ABC at 2:30 central. Look for me, as I will be sporting my RED Red Sox jersey. We will be about 20 rows up from midfield. We may even be wearing some crazy face/body paint or some wacky wigs, so make sure to tune in and look for me!!

Mallory will kill me; I completely misquoted The Wizard of Oz the other day. Eric and I were talking, and the conversation somehow turned to Scooby-Doo. He mentioned how the kids always found the bad guy. Here's what I said...

"Yeh, and the villian always blamed the kids. 'I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you kids...and your little dog too.' "

At that point, Eric and I both realized what happened. I had combined a Scooby-Doo quote with The Wicked Witch of the West. I mean, wow. I was WAY OFF.

I'm hungry. I am going to venture to the kitchen...

-Henry

#32......#33

Tonight was supposed to have been spent studying hard in my apartment. As it turns out, my kryptonite was exposed.

The guys have long made fun of the fact that I can't say NO to anything they ask me to join. For example, if they ask for me to come over and watch the game, there's a 99% chance I will. We have kept up with the score, and the running total of consecutive times I have "not said NO" with the guys is up to 31. Today was 32. My streak is alive.

Jason and I, riding in the same car to conserve fuel, were on our way back from work. We stoppped at the first light at the corner of Space Center and Nasa Rd. 1. I am in the driver's seat, and who pulls up beside us? None other than Colin. He rolls down the window and invites me to come to Boondoggles, knowing good and well I couldn't say NO. The ISS flight control team supported another sucessful EVA today, and they were celebrating at the ole' bar that is Boondoggles. I figured I should attend and hang out with Colin and Eric for #32 in a row.

I planned on just staying for a short while and enjoying the free drinks and appetizers(the tab was picked up by the big N). Of course, Colin and Eric invited me to Buffalo Wild Wings for the Monday Night Football game. Again, I could not refuse. Number 33.

Oh yeh, the New England Revolution advanced to the MLS Cup Championship game on Sunday where they will meet the L.A. Galaxy. Notable players that I will see play are Taylor Twellman, Cobi Jones, and Landon Donovan. Due to the Revolution being at the game, Colin and I plan to wear our Red Sox jerseys, so the crowd will for whome we are cheering. Also, we all agreed tonight that since this is a 1)soccer game, a 2)championship game, and 3) Eric's first professional soccer game, we want to prepare for the occasion. We plan to paint our face, paint our chests, paint both, or wear some goofy hairpieces. Either way, we are almost guaranteed to get on tv. That time will be 2:30 pm CT on Sunday. I'll make sure to let you people know what we'll be looking like before then.

Altogether, I ate a complete mini pizza at Boondoggles. At BWWs, I consumed an entire 1/3 pound burger, a basket of potato wedges, 4 medium spicy chicken tenders, 5 beverages, and a deep-dish apple pie a la mode during the course of 3 quarters. Nevertheless, I am stuffed from those delicious foods, and with that being said, I am heading to bed. No studying tonight. That's why it's brilliant that I get to charge time towards studying AT work. Brilliant.

G'night.

-H

Dinner Parte

So last night was lots of fun...

A few weeks ago I was invited to a dinner party being hosted by Eric and Jennifer; of course I accepted the invite. I was slightly worried about it, as I knew from the rsvp's that I was going to be the 9th wheel at the event; nevertheless, I figured it would be fun.

I called Carolyn several hours before I went to the party, and I asked her about some nice choices of wine; I knew it was customary to bring a bottle to a dinner party, but I didn't know the right kind. Carolyn, having a more extensive wine knowledge(at least for now, haha) than I, suggested a few different varieties. Following my sister's guidance, I ended up bringing a 2002 bottle of Ruffino Chianti. Being an Italian wine, I was fortunate that the meal Jennifer was cooking was Italian chicken! Better yet, out of the 11 bottles at the party, MINE was emptied before any other bottle. Evidently, my sister DOES know her wine...

The dinner, like I said, was Italian chicken with this fantastic homemade sauce on top. In addition, we had pasta noodles(with sauce as well) and asparagus.

The party was great. Conversations included the usual range of everything from work to sports to personal goings-on with each person. Being a sports fan just like I am, Eric had his office set up with two televisions displaying the Miami/V.Tech game and the A&M game. This way, we could drop in every few minutes to check out the scores without the actual games being a nuisance.

Things really ramped up when we busted out Cranium:Turbo Edition. This game is absolutely BRILLIANT. It is an enhancement of the original game, which was already great. Suffice to say, the next 3 hours were well spent. One of the highlights of the game was my humming of "You're the Once that I Want" from Grease. The other was my correctly guessing "Paul Newman" from the clues(wthin mere seconds after they were read) "Yale," "Woodward," and "Fast Eddie." I give props to my Dad for that one; he introduced the movie "The Hustler" to me when I was in my pool phase back in middle school.(Ok, I'm technically still in that phase, but you get the idea). Paul Newman played Fast Eddie Felson in the movie.

Dessert was enjoyed midway through the game. We had an assortment of Godiva chocolates plus an excellent choice of Port wine.

All in all, it was a really fun evening. I walked away from the evening learning more about being a good host, should that oppurtunity ever present itself.

Oh yeh, I almost forgot. Please, please, please go HERE and download THIS song. It is a parody/remake of Sir Mix-a-Lot's Baby Got Back. Richard, you should appreciate this, being the 80's DJ you were. Everyone else, if you have heard the original song, then I urge you to download this right now. It is one of the funniest, if not THE funniest parodies ever created. I laugh hysterically every time I hear it.

Back to the books...

-H

Class Schedule...FINALLY

I registered today for the Spring 2006 semester; it's the realization that I will finally return to my school for a normal semester in January. I'm pretty excited. Don't get me wrong; I love working here, and I love the people(most of them). I am just ready to hang out with my boyz, sleep in every other day, and not be a bajillion hours away from everyone.

My schedule as it stands now:

MWF, Physics III, 1100-1150
W, Physics III Lab, 400-550
T Th, Dynamics, 930-1045
T Th, Mechanics of Materials, 1230-145
T Th, Early U.S. History, 330-445
n/a, Business Ethics(online course)

So there you have it. I'm looking forward to the first 4 classes, because the first 3 involve stuff that's interesting to me(and related to my major) and the 4th one is taught by this teacher I have heard about ever since my freshman year. They say he is awesome. I can't wait.

Yes, I only have one class on MWF; that is no error. I usually try to schedule it like that. That way, I have 3 days of sleeping in, and it allows me to take off early on weekend trips.

A guy I work with is a huge baseball fan(Philly fan, to be more specific), and he invited me over tonight so I could get some pre-Christmas shopping ideas for something(I can't disclose what it it was). Anyway, his name is Kevin Metrocavage; we call him Metro. He hails from Purdue, which is usually my first excuse not to talk to people, as they are for the most part VERY stuck up(at least at NASA they are). But Metro is different; he's just a great guy to hang out with. With that being said, his house was AWESOME. He had a Mitsubishi DLP tv, and it was gorgeous; we talked tv and sound systems for about half an hour. We even watched hockey in HD :). He showed me all around; I got to see his office, full of space stuff and really cool pictures. We then went to his sports room. OMG. It was heaven for me. He has baseballs signed by EVERYONE, and he has a dart board AND pool table in the room. It's the PERFECT room!! Of course, I had to play him. We played 3 games; I won 2 of them :). He then mentioned to me that he hosts a co-ed charity pool tournament every December; hopefully it will be before I leave for home. I'm ready to earn some extra dough(and donate to charity, of course!).

I saw THIS yesterday. I love it when Yankees do stupid stuff.

Colin, Eric, and I ordered our tickets to the MLS Championship Game at Pizza Hut Park in Dallas next weekend. It's gonna be BITCHIN. Our seats are in Section 128, Row 26. Find the section and the row HERE, and you can see what our view of the action will be. I can't wait. We're hoping the New England Revolution will make it to the game, so Colin and I can wear our Red Sox jerseys to support them, haha.

-H

Pictures of the Fam

I took a pic of my autographed baseball, but again, my camera has some serious issues. It doesn't like closeup pictures very well. Hell, it doesn't even like mid-range pictures. They all come out blurry. Oh well. A new camera is in my future. Just deal with this for now, haha.

It reads: "Wade Boggs HoF 2005"

This week my whole family shared their Halloween costumes in the social extravaganza that is the Horne email system, so I thought I'd share them with you all and even show you mine again....

Scarecrow and Dorothy

Richard a bust, Carolyn a shower poof

Andrea, a cheerleader

Will, a vending machine. Yes, if you actually turned the corresponding knob, a tyleno pack, condom, or soap product would fall down. Brilliant!

It seems like my work semester has finally turned into a school semester. Next week(Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday) I have my checkouts, which are basically oral examinations that are conducted to see how much I actually know certain material. The checkouts will be over the related systems of my group's system. There are three. In total, the information covers about 450 pages worth of stuff. No worries, though; I have been studying these since I began this work tour. Nevertheless, I need to make sure I know each and every detail about these systems. That means(gasp!) working on the weekends or even bringing some of this material home. I like this because it gives me a goal to shoot for and a chance to impress my superiors.

-H

Ballin'

I now have in my posession a baseball signed by 2005 Hall of Famer Wade Boggs. He played for Boston for 10 years at 3rd base and as a DH. More info about him HERE.

You are probably asking how I came to get this ball.I shall explain.....

I am usually not a shy person when it comes to talking to random people. In fact, that's a trait all of us Horne children share. I'm pretty sure we get it from Dad; he could make a friend with anyone. Anyways...we're at the World Series, and Mal and I notice the guy behind us wearing a jacket with several World Series patches on it, from the last 3 years. We didn't say anything to the guy, but we did take notice. Later in the game, after an interesting play, the guy made a comment to me and Mal. That's all it takes for me, haha. We continued to talk throughout the rest of the game. The guy's name was Jeff, and I found out he worked for Mutual of Omaha. Turns out that MoO sends people to the World Series every year, and they attend a convention in the host city at that particular day. The guest speaker at the convention this year? You guessed it: Wade Boggs. Throughout the game, Jeff learned that we weren't huge Astros fans or anything; we just wanted to see a World Series game. We mentioned that the Red Sox were our team, and Jeff told us that his brother-in-law was a HUGE Sox fan, so he(Jeff) knew how we felt. With that bit of information being disclosed, Jeff told me he had 12 signed baseballs from Boggs, and that he'd like for me to have one. Of course, I graciously accepted the gift. The only problem was that the balls were at his hotel, the Hilton, in the west part of downtown. We couldn't make it that night, so Jeff was nice enough to leave it at the hotel front desk. That is where I picked up the ball tonight. Red Sox Nation here at JSC wants to see the ball, so I'm gonna show it off tomorrow.

My camera is at work for this project I am working on, so I don't have a picture of the ball. Rest assured I will get one soon for you.

Don't get me started on Theo. He plans to have a news conference tomorrow afternoon, so I'll see what he says, and I'll go from there next post.

Off to the store I go...

-H

Commander

Well the rest of the weekend was an incredibly fun time. As I mentioned last post, Mal and I dressed up as Dorothy and Scarecrow. I don't like to brag, but yeh, we looked awesome. Here are a few pics of us in costume...

If I only had a brain...

You dont get much more Oz-like than us

Unfortunately, this weekend had to end, and I flew out Sunday night after Mal and I had a nice sit-down dinner. The plane ride took for-ev-er. We had a 20 minute delay while they had to sort out the air field pattern from the air show that occurred. Then 1 hour into the flight, the pilot informed us that only the western runways were open, so we would have to fly AROUND the airport once to get in position to land. We land, and guess what: NO GATE is open. That meant a 30 minute delay! I felt bad because some people on my plane needed to connect to a flight, and they missed it by almost an hour. Nevertheless, I eventually made it back safely to my apartment.

Today I forgot that I had signed up to ride the Shuttle Motion Simulator this afternoon. If you don't know what the SMS is, it is basically the ultimate motion simulator for shuttle liftoff, ascent, and re-entry. It is the PRIME machine used for getting astronauts ready for real space work. Anyways, I was first up in our group, and after it was all said and done, the instructor said I was the best out of everyone :). I sticked the landing almost perfectly; I was only one meter off from the perfect landing position. Everyone else was off by at least 20 meters. My ground speed and sink rate, as well as my knots-equivalent-airspeed(or KEAS), were all within the acceptable bounds. As an added bonus for you all, I included the video of my landing the shuttle. It's about 2 minutes long, so give it time to download. The kind of bumpy part at the end is when I finally touch down. You can look outside the "windows" to see the landscape and scnerey change. The voice you hear for most of the video is the instructor. He is sitting in the Pilot's seat, and I in the Commander's seat. Also, the video was taken from behind me, and it IS a simulator, so the perfect conditions for videotaping are not there, but you can still see me and what I am doing. Enjoy!(give it about 3 minutes at a high speed connection to load)

Commander Horne Lands the Space Shuttle at Kennedy Space Center

I'll talk about the Red Sox GM woes next post :(

-H

I'm World Serious

Yes, I still post on this thing. I have just been slightly busy this past week. With what, you ask? I shall tell you...

Last time I blogged, I told you that the fate of my World Series experience was in the hands of beings high above. Alas, I nor any of my constituents(whom I told to sign up) were selected to have the chance to buy tickets. Needless to say, I was disappointed by that revelation. The announcement was made on Tuesday, so for two days I had to hear about everyone else that got tickets, either at work or somewhere else. Keep in mind that at this point, the Astros had gotten into the World Series, so tickets were a hot item, especially in H-town. Then Thursday(Oct. 20th) rolled around, and Jason and I returned to our apartment from work. I had my usual mid-afternoon snack while Jason checked his email. As I am downing my glass of orange juice, I hear from the living room, "DUDE, I got selected for 2nd Chance World Series tickets!!". My response: "HOLY SHIT!" I ran to the living room, and we read over the email no less than 5 times. We would be able to buy the tickets tomorrow(Friday) at 10 am CT. We were pumped. Of course, we already had determined who would get the tickets. I told Jason to register in the first place, so all I asked in return was that I get two of the tickets, one for me and one for Mal. Jason decided to get the 3rd one, and Walker got the last. With that part figured out, we bought the tickets the next day. We got 2 pairs of tickets: one in center field and the other along the 1st base line in the 3rd level.

I told Mal about the ticket situation as soon as Jason and I found out on Thursday. We had discussed that if I got tickets she would fly down. After we had officially procured the seats, the next problem was finding a flight(cheap and efficient) for Mal. After countless hours of searching, Mal was able to find a flight out of Nashville, which was our best plan. Mal was on Fall Break, and Nashville was on her way back to Chattanooga. She had to cut her break short, but we figured it was worth it. She flew out of Nashville on Monday afternoon, and her first stop was Denver. From there(after a 3 hour layover) she flew down to Houston. I picked her up from Bush around 10:30pm.

We had tickets to Tuesday's game, Game 3 of the World Series. It was the first home WS game for Houston, and it was also the first WS game ever in Texas. Needless to say, the city was excited, even being down 2-0 in the series. Hell, even NASA declared Tuesday as Astros Day, and everyone wore their jerseys, shirts, and hats to suppport the team.

I took off work early, around 12:30, and Mal and I went to the surrounding Wal-Marts and Targets in search of Astors shirts. No luck. We then figured they would be selling that stuff around the stadium; we were right. I was able to find a shirt, but none of the vendors had Mal's size, so that was a bummer. Around 3:00(1 hour prior to gates opening)we ate at a local bar&grille right across the stadium. It wasn't packed, as it was still too early. We shared the chicken fajitas. After lunch, we headed back to my car to make signs. We only managed to get one done; it was a target sign for batting practice.

Mal hard at work in our makeship art studio

Mal was ready for batting practice ball-recovery

I took this from across the field. Look for the target sign, and that is Mal. She's right on the front of the upper level, almost all the way to the left side. Click for larger view. Our seats were about 16 rows up from that spot.

Our reward after hours of yelling for a ball to be thrown to us. Note, this doesn't include the 3rd ball we got. I had to give it to these two kids, as I had trampled over them to get the second ball in the picture above.

We got in right as the gates opened. We manged to get two balls from batting practice; one thrown to us by Willy Taveras(Houston) and one from Jose Contreras(Chicago). We were elated.

Then came the game. My dear lord it was epic. It was the longest game EVER in World Series history at 5 hours and 41 minutes. We stayed and cheered the whole time. Unfortunately, Houston lost Game 3 en route to a sweep from the White Sox. Nevertheless, we had a BLAST at the game, and it will be something we'll never forget.

The boys of Baseball Tonight(from L to R, Dan Patrick, Jonathan Kruk, Harold Reynolds, and Hall of Famer Peter Gammons) doing their pre-game thang.

Right in front of the action


Our awesome view of the real action.


Hanging out between innings...


Hey, you gotta eat, right?


Yes, we WERE there.

Although the game was great, it did last 14 innings, causing us to get to bed at THREE in the morning. We had to be up at 4:45 to leave for the airport, so we were quite tired upon awaking. I was able to get Mal to the airport on time, and everything was good. The funny part about this whole thing is that we had already planned on my coming up to Chattanooga the following weekend. As Mal left to get on the plane, we knew we'd see each other the NEXT DAY. That's right. On Thursday night, I got on a direct flight to Chattanooga, where I am currently typing this.

We tweaked my Halloween costume that night, adding some straw here and there. I forgot that I haven't disclosed my costume this year, so I will tell you now. Mallory's favorite movie of all time is The Wizard of Oz, and with that in mind, we are going as Dorothy and Scarecrow to this Halloween party tonight. Mal's roomate had a Dorothy dress available, so she was set from the beginning. I had to thrift store shop a little, but I managed to find what I needed. I'll post pictures of the evening next post. Our costumes kick ass...

In other news....

Dr. Griffin, NASA's administrator, came to JSC to speak on Monday. It was mainly a q&a session, but I did walk away knowing more than when I entered. It was also cool to see this guy in person; I had seen him many times on tv, but never live.

We saw SawII yesterday afternoon. Wow. If you thought the first one pushed the envelope on seat-squirming, hair-raising, makes-you-not-want-to-look graphic events, then this movie takes it to the next level. It was quite entertaining, and the twist at the end was completely unpredictable, which I liked. Expect the 3rd movie to come out next year.

We also went to a haunted house last night. It wasn't the best one I have ever been to, but it was an experience nonetheless. There were so many periods of just walking in the dark, I believed I could have made that haunted house out of my apartment.

The baseball season is officially over, but that doesn't mean the news has to stop. The Sox(the red ones) are definitely in for an eventful offseason. Today, Damon, Mueller, and Millar signed for free agency. Expect the Sox to try and retain Damon, as that will be their priority after getting a new deal worked out with Theo, which should be announced no later than Monday. Manny also asked to be traded, but that is nothing new. He is a 10-5 guy(10 continuous years in the bigs and 5 with one team), so he can deny any trade that is proposed. That will make trading him away a tough task. Timlin was signed for 2006, which is good news. We need at least SOME stability in the latter parts of the game. There are some free agents available this winter, and I have read that some are being sought after by the Sox. Paul Konerko(of the other Sox) will be free, but he has already mentioned that he wants to stay in Chi-town. A.J. Burnett is also on the market, and he could definitely bolster our starting rotation. If we do end up trading Ramirez, don't you worry; we'll definitely get something in return. I even hear that the Sox might pick up Tori Hunter, if and when Damon is traded. He's not a leadoff guy, but he could improve our outfield defense and give us speed on the bases as well as in the outfield.

Well, I think that should catch you all up on my goings-on. Expect lots of Halloween pictures next post.

I'm off to read...

-H

Weekend Review

Here's a recap of this past weekend's activities...

I was in a sim at work until 7:00pm on Friday, but after I got out we went to see Serenity. FINALLY, a sci-fi movie that's interesting and original. It's based off the now-cancelled tv series Firefly, and all of the original actors from that series starred in the movie. Hopefully this will bring back the tv series, and even if it doesn't, I plan on buying the series on dvd :)

Saturday was Game 3 of the NLCS. Walker and I, knowing we had "standing room only" tickets, made sure to get there early, and we did. We walked up to Minute Maid Park around 11:30, 3 1/2 hours before game time. We were one of the first people in line, and as a result, we got incredible spots to stand.

Always important to any event are the tickets. Yes, this picture is blurry. All my pictures are. That only means one thing: new camera time for me :)

Here's our view of the field. This was taken during the pre-game ceremony. It's a FULL HOUSE of 42,000 rabid Astros fan and 1 Red Sox fan.

This is a shot from the other side of the park, so you can get an idea of where our "seats" were.

Because of our very advantageous spots, we were in prime position for homerun balls during batting practice. Unfortunately, no long-balls were sent our way; however, many fly balls did come close. To keep pitchers loose and give their legs some excercise, ball clubs usually let them(even if they wont even play that day) shag and catch fly balls in batting practice. As luck would have it, today's Game 4 starter, Brandon Backe was shagging balls near our spot. He caught a fly ball, and generously threw it up to our part of the balcony. Whose glove caught it? Yup, that's right. I am now in posession of a ball that was handled by the starter to Game 4 of the NLCS. Needless to say, that made my day, and that ball will definitely be going into my collection of collectible things.

As most of you know, today is the day the Astro Deities will randomly select fans for a chance to buy World Series tickets. The drawing was earlier today, but as far as I know, no one has gotten an email yet. I've been watching the Astros message board all day, and no one has received the aforementioned notice. Many think that they are waiting for the game today(that's going on right now; 6th inning) to be over. It's still up in the air, and I have Outlook running constantly today, so when I get an email, I'm gonna know right away.

Around 700, I'm gonna head to Kemah and the boardwalk over there. Colin's brother, and his brother's friend(both from Boston and HUGE Sox fans), Rachel, Eric, Jennifer, another one of Rachel's friends, Frank, Kim, several others and I are headed to one of the seafood bar&grilles down there. We're gonna watch ALCS game 5 and any other NFL games, I am sure. It should be fun. I've heard Colin's bro is one of the most diehard BoSox fans around, so I'm anxious to get his thoughts about this season and next.

Guess I'll get in the shower so I don't run everyone off.

-H

So Let It Be Written, So Let It Be Done

I registered today for Houston Astros World Series tickets, and I hope that if I sent you an email today, you have registered as well. If everyone I emailed registers, then I have multiplied my chances of winning by 10. Now all we do is wait...and wait...and wait. The guy who promotes the Astros said on the radio this morning that if you do not get an email by Monday morning, then you have not been selected. He said you should get the email(if you are chosen) sometime Sunday, though. I think that sucks; they should at least email you if you didn't get selected. That way you will not have to keep watching ALL day to get an email. Oh well. It's all out of my hands now.

No whammies, no whammies, no whammies...

And the Yankees are Headed...

HOME!!! They got booted out of the post-season by the Rally-Monkey crazed Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim of California of West Coast North America.

NLCS Game 3 Bound

Yes, it has been quite some time since we last met, but I think we all know why, so I am not going to even mention it.

Speaking of baseball(haha)...I'm watching Game 5 of the Yanks and Angels. Nothing would make me happier than seeing the Yankees also go down in the first round; however, there is a rather large part of me that is wanting, no, hoping, that they make it to the World Series where they will hopefully faceoff against the Houston Astros. Then I want the Astros to tear......them.....apart. Limb by limb. Every one of them. Why am I so pro-Houston all of a sudden? I am more anti-Yankee than anything else, but the thought of actually seeing Clemens and the boyz woop up on the Evil Empire is quite enticing. Yes, I said seeing. I am hoping to score some World Series tickets in the next few days, which is the timeframe most of us believe the tickets will go on sale. They go on sale way before anyone knows who is going to the Series, but that's the idea; you get them early, and if you were right, you have tickets of a lifetime. What if I guess wrong? Then I get my money back. It's a no-lose situation.

You're thinking now, "Henry, World Series tickets are rather hard to come by." That's a true statement, but I have people working with me to make sure we get tickets. It's a complicated web of partners, but we feel confident we'll get tickets. Actually, I may not even get Houston World Series tickets; I may get St. Louis tickets. Mal's fall break is approaching, and it is during the period of time when the NL team will have home field(St. Louis if they win); that's only a 4-hour drive for Mal. I can catch a flight to St. Louis to leave right after work, and she could pick me up from the airport. We would go to the game, and then we'd both depart the next morning, with Mal dropping me off at the airport on her way back to school. If we get Houston tickets, then Mal may fly in for the game and leave the next day........but like I said, I don't have the tickets yet, so nothing is finalized. I'll keep you all posted...

Regardless of the World Series situation, Walker and I have tickets to the NLCS Game 3 here this Saturday night. It's a SRO(standing room only) ticket, but for 20 bucks, that can't really be beat. Minute Maid Parks has some very cool places to watch on your feet, so Walker and I will plan to be there early. I'll make sure to describe what I am wearing before I head to the game; maybe you'll see me jumping over people to snag a foul ball :)

Great news on the Team Horne front. I have recently been informed(from a reliable source) that the ENTIRE Horne Clan will be home for Thanksgiving. In addition, my Aunt Dotty, her husband, and my cousin Thomas will be joining us. Let's count that; that means ELEVEN(yes, I counted correctly. Dont forget girlfriends and husbands!) people hanging around the Horne house at any one time. My dear Lord. It's going to be madness. Will, John, and I are already assembling our disc golf ammunition for the classic battles on the greens that are sure to ensue after we all arrive. Will has even mentioned the fact that the Egg Bowl will be right up the road in Starkville; how fun would that be?! Anyways, I am pumped about Thanksgiving.

Ok, funny picture time. My dogs commandeered the truck last time I was home. There was nothing I could do as I stood face to face with the crazy animals...

Don't move. They wont see you if you just stay still. Wait for it. Waaait for iiiit.

Faith

I know you are just itching to hear what I have to say about baseball right now, but I'll get to that in a moment.

I can't believe I haven't mentioned this before, but Jason's girlfriend, Becky, is flying into Houston tonight from Birmingham. She workst at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. How cute. He's been looking forward to it for some time now, and it's pretty amusing to watch how he's cleaning EVERYTHING, washing every article of clothing, vacuuming each and every corner of the floor, and wiping down every surface imaginable in this apartment. It's hilarious until I realize I did the exact same thing last semester. Oh well. I'm glad she's coming to visit. Jason is usually in a good mood anyways, but since this week started, he's had that extra swagger only few men have. I'm happy for him; this weekend will do him good.

Wanting to do something special for Becky, Jason has decided to cook dinner for her Friday night over candlelight. Yeh, uhm, I think it's best I not be here during that, haha. It's OK though; I'm going to spend the night with Walker tomorrow after I get back from the hockey game(more on that later). Wanting to be even smoother, Jason wanted wine for their dinner, so he asked for my assistance in choosing the right one. I gladly helped him, and with his being 21 years of age, we went to the liquor store down the street and picked up a nice Australian Shiraz(my favorite region for wines :) ) for the boy and his lady. I gave him pointers on how to open the bottle, as well as how to store it and pour it into wine glasses. I also told him what were the right glasses for white wine. I feel confident that he's well equipped with the knowledge to be very Bond-smooth tomorrow night.

I guess I'll get to feel how Jason felt last semester when Mal came down, but I think I should be alright. There is tons happening this weekend...

Hockey. The season has started, and it is great. Time Warner is even providing FREE Center Ice(digital cable channel for all hockey) this entire week. BITCHIN!

Hockey #2. I was offered a ticket last week for the Aeros home opener tomorrow night. I'm extremely excited about it. I'm tagging along with Trey and some other guys before the game; we're going down to Two Rows for pre-game beverages and Golden Tee. Then at 7:00, we'll be off to the game in Trey's sexy Audi A4 Quattro listening to XM Radio. Don't worry; the Sox game is at 3. I wont miss a pitch.

Baseball. Oh boy. Our boys sure are in a hole, but to tell you the truth, I'm not as scared as you might think. 1) We were in this position 2 years ago against the A's; they won the first 2 games in a 24 hour span, but we returned with "Cowboy Up!" and took the next 3. 2) Do I need to mention the history that was made last year in the ALCS!?! 3) We have the best home record in all of baseball; however, the White Sox have the best road record. Wait a minute...who had the best road record last year? The Yankees. Who had "the best closer of all time"? The Yankees. Who had 4 tries to clinch but never did? The damn Yankees. 4) When Tim Wakefield and Curt Schilling are your Game 3 and Game 4 starters, you have to feel good despite Curt's lack of wow-ness the past starts. He's got the best postseason winning percentage of all time, so he knows big games. The Force will be with Curt. Wakefield has been our most reliable man down the stretch, leading the staff with appearances, strikeouts, wins, and opposing batting percentage. I like our chances with Timmy on the mound in Fenway. To quote Mallory, "Have Faith."

If ....I mean, WHEN we play Saturday night, I think the boyz and I are gonna head to Buffalo Wild Wings again(we watched Game 1 there). The place is awesome. I counted 32 televisions there, with one being High-Def LCD :) It'll be perfect for Saturday night, as there will be great baseball on, great hockey being played(see above) AND

Football. GREAT games on this weekend, with some of the big ones being Tennessee/Georgia(Mal will be there, 24th row from the bottom) and Penn State/Ohio State(Cory and Erin are going. Gameday will also be there. Look for Cory waving his arms crazily).

With all the buzz around this town and the media picking Houston to win the World Series, I have gotten caught in the World Series Ticket fever. I have joined forces with some of my co-workers, and we have all begun searching and plotting on the best ways to get tickets. The best-case scenario would be a Red Sox/Astros World Series, but even if that isn't the case, I'll go even if the Sox aren't in it. If the Astros dont make it, I get my money back. Good deal, right? I have to get them first, but I'm trying to make sure that wont be a problem. I was curious as to how fast tickets went, so I used the Astros.com website right as the LCS tickets went on sale, and I was able to "get" outfield seats only TEN rows from the field!! Hopefully, that trend will go with World Series tickets. I'll be there right as they go on sale. I am getting two tickets when I buy them. If the 'Stros make it, then I'm gonna fly Mal in the day of or before the game. If the Braves happen to win the LDS, then we may just buy two Braves World Series tickets, and since I am going to see Mall in Chattanooga during the World Series at the National League Park(Atlanta if they're in it), we could just hop right down to Atlanta. If you haven't guessed, Mal and I are determined to see a World Series game this year. Hopefully our boyz will be in the final mix...

Speaking of tix, I may break my record of NHL hockey games seen in one year. I am planning on going to the Avs game in Nashville on December 20. Detroit(my nemesis) and Pittsburgh(team of phenom Sidney Corsby) play in January before school starts. The Avs visit again during February. Finally, Pheonix comes to town late in the season. Why would I see the Coyotes? Only because their coach is none other than the Great One: Wayne Gretzky. Yes, that's alot of driving, but I think I can consolidate alot of those trips with other ones. For at least ONE of the games listed, I plan on getting ICE-LEVEL tickets. That means right in front of the boards. I have sat there only once, but it was incredible. I look forward to doing it again. Talk about great photo opps!

Well, Jason has just departed to pick up the girlfriend, so I will attempt to make my half of the apartment look halfway decent.

-H

Weekend Misadventures

Whew! This past weekend was ca-ra-zyy. Let's see if I can recap it all for you.

Friday was awesome. I talked about it in my last post.

Richard, you would be proud. The PERFECT Stout Pour :)

Saturday, Jason and I got up around 7:00am; we met Colin at his place at 7:45. From there, we went to Rachel's(Colin's g/f) apartment, where Rachel, Eric and Jenn where waiting for us. We all proceeded to pile up into Eric's Grand Cherokee. My advice: never try going on a trip with 6 people in a car intended for 5, haha.

We arrived in Dallas around noon, where we went directly to the Texas State fair.

Evvverything is bigger in Texas...

We began walking around, and Eric and I noticed something as soon as we hit the main area. At that moment in time, it was probably the only place on earth where rap, rock& roll, and folk songs performed on bag pipes were all being played at the same time. I wanted to take pics of the bagpipers of the folk music, but I never got around to it. They were awesome.

Next, we saw a sign that said "Dog Show," so I obviously had to see that. It was just like the Great Outdoor Games, except it was inside(haha) and not on tv. Even so, these dogs were awesome. I am definitely getting an Australian Shephard at some point in my life; they can do tricks like they are going outta style...

Dog jumping into water(I didn't crop, so you could see how this place looked)

Steady.....stea-dy......steaaaa-dy.

Next came our first "meal" of the fair. I craved a funnel cake, and after a long search, I had discovered their hiding place. It was being guarded by Big Tex:

I had to be crafty to get by Big Tex.

The funnel cake was divine...

After meal#1, we encountered these strange women on flex-feet thingies. They were kind of scary. Eric told me not to look directly in their eyes, else I would turn to stone...

Yeh...kinda creepy. They even made weird sounds.

We moved on to the car show. I somehow thought that there would be some exotic automobiles at this thing, but I was wrong. The most exotic they got was a Mazda Rx-8....eh....I see those all the time now. I really wanted a pic of me in a bitchin' car. Oh well. After the first part of the car show, we moved into this transition area where vendors were set up everywhere. I quickly spotted the TimeWarnerCable booth, and as luck would have it, they indeed had a tv(high-def no less) broadcasting the Sox/Yanks game. Eric wanted to move on to the second half of the car show, but Colin and I knew better. We plopped down in front of the tv while the rest of the gang finished the car show. Unfortunately, Colin and I didn't see anything we liked. The Sox lost the battle that day...

We rendezvoused with the crew after a few innings, and we were off to meal#2 for the fair. We found the main eating area. Jenn and I were craving a turkey leg, so we went straight for that. Others got chili, while Jason got a footlong. The turkey leg was SO good; I just had to wash it down with a nice ice cream cone :)

After the meal, we continued walking around. We found this ice sculptor on our journey. He was carving a Texas symbol or something. I didn't figure it out...

I find it amusing that this guy also had a water bottle on this platform. That really necessary??

We walked around for an hour or so more. Eric discovered a wine-tasting session, but the selection was rather weak, so we avoided that. I tried winning a HUGE Stewie doll(from the tv show Family Guy) in a game of skee ball; 180 points would give me victory. I tried 6 times, but to no avail :(. Near the end, I was hot, so I picked up a homemade lemonade...DELICIOUS. As we were leaving the fair for the day, we noticed that one of the bag-pipers had defected to the rock and roll stage; I couldn't miss this oppurtunity.

Trust me, these guys were rockin'.

From the fair, we went to Ryan's house; Ryan was Eric's roomate in college. He went to the University of Michigan and studied architecture, so we definitely didn't have any problems finding something to talk about(Richard lived in Detroit, and my bro also studied architecture, for those of you out of the loop). Anyway, after we unloaded at Ryan's, Ryan and his girlfriend followed us to the traditional pre-game meal: wings at Hooters.

An eerie moment of reflecction: the Depository from which Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy.

The restaurant was only a few blocks from American Airlines Arena, so it was perfect. The drinks and wings were excellent, as well as the multitude of tv screens, but as the time passed, I realized that we would not escape Hooters in time for the face-off.

I had to make a bold decision. I got my ticket from Eric, and I told the crew that I'd meet them at the game. I quickly evacuated the premises, and I headed to the AAA. I got there at the perfect time; I got to my seat just as the Star-Spangled Banner was about to begin. I was able to take pics of the teams warming up. I took a picture of warmups, but it turned out fuzzy due to the crazy lights they had going.

Big moment. My first face-off the 2005 NHL Season :)

The game was AWESOME. The new rules are well executed in the game, and it flows much faster as a result. Scoring is up this year, and this game was no different. The Avs pulled it out though, winning 4-3. Aebischer looks to be solid this season, Jedi Joe Sakic is smooth as always, and the tandem of Tanguay and Hejduk will still be a menace when everyone is healthy. Hockey HAS RETURNED!!

After the game, we proceeded even farther into downtown Dallas. Eric knew of this quaint bar called Elbow Room.

It says "Elbow Room," I promoise.

The place was pretty sweet. They had this game that was kin to shuffle board, but we never got a chance to play because this one couple would not.....let........go of the damn thing. They also had those interactive tv screens on the bar, so Colin and I engaged in a battle of wits on the machine. We played a rousing game of trivia, and yours truly came on top in a landslide :) I also owned in some basketball and photo night. A barrage of Eric's old friends were at the bar, but I couldn't even begin to remember all their names, so I wont try. We stayed at the bar until about 12:30, and we returned to Ryan's to crash.

We left early the next morning. We returned home around 12:30, JUST in time for the finale of the Sox/Yanks series. Colin and I came back to his place, and we plopped on the couch just in time for the first pitch. Around the 3rd inning, we had a conondrum: Colin and I were hungry, but we didn't want to miss the game. LO AND BEHOLD the power of digital tv and DVR! Colin showed me how he can record LIVE tv and play it back whenever you want. After the brilliant demonstration of this power, we headed out to Freebird's, burrito capital of the world. I ordered the Monster(or Monstah, cuz I was in Red Sox mode) burrito, and it indeed lived up to its name. Here are some reference shots...

This bad boy weighed 1.5 pounds, and here I use a AAA battery as a reference.

This shows how high the Monstah was.

The Sox won the game in a landslide, 10-1. Tomorrow we play the Chi Sox. I'll try to provide my 2005 Playoff insight next post. Needless to say, I am PSYCHED that the Bo Sox are in a position to defend their title. COWBOY UP!!!

-H