Down after a relaxing weekend
Wayne and I went out and painted Aggieville with Sam and friends on Friday night
I think she called us “weak” when we left for Bob’s Diner
G and Cherie and I went to Lawrence
Met up with Mason, Bobbie, Kim, and Randy at the Arthur Dodge and the Horsefeathers show
They made up some story when we got back about stopping to eat
I just watched a documentary about Lucero
They rock. I’d like them more if I could understand the words.

This weekend marks a turning point. It’s the end of aarontraffas.com. We’re moving forward with the new site and changes are quickly being made. I personally like the corn picture at the footer of the website. Check out the new show details page. If you select satellite view and zoom in, you can see the cars in the parking lot of the place we play. The layout still sucks, but the geeks at Chivalrous Productions tell me it will be fixed this year.

I miss G
I hope he didn’t fall off a mountain in Colorado

Getting ready to hit the ‘ville with Won
I’m glad he’s back from the wild west

Liked the Navigators
Saw them at PJ’s
Played after they did
I’ve never seen the headliner not play last
We were closers
I felt like a pitcher, throwing strikes
G threw the split-fingered bass balls
Couldn’t hear a thing, even with the side fills
Never going without ear monitors again
Floor wedges are for n00bs, Dusty.

I’m getting ready to pack up for Buster’s. We’ve hired a couple noobs to help work the auction in Lincoln tomorrow in my stead. I’ve been watching Deadwood every waking minute I’m not at work. I sure haven’t been posting web logs, that much is certain.

We’ll be playing with Anthony Farrar at Buster’s tomorrow. Better look up.

Ron Clark: "You don’t see many out-of-towners here, do you?"

Lady behind the counter at the liquor store in Orlando, FL after asking to see Lucas’s ID: "Yes we do."

I want to go home. There is too much sun here. There are too many close-to-naked girls outside of my window by the pool. There are too many single, gorgeous women auctioneers who make soooooo much more money than I do.

I’m averaging $10.00 per day on coffee, to say nothing of food. It is quite enjoyable, though, sitting outside Tower III at our usual table every night, watching people try to walk through the disabled automatic door after 10:30pm. We got kicked out of the hot tub on Tuesday before I even made it all the way in. We almost started a fight at the sea food joint when an unnamed associate of mine realized they added the gratuity to the ticket. I wondered about the equivalence of that argument to the arguments we get from the old curmudgeons about the buyer’s premium.

We get to dress up tomorrow for one more day of classes, a big party, and a ludicrously early wake-up call the next day for the flight back to civilization. This roughing it stuff is for the birds. I can’t wait for San Diego next year.

Last night’s descent into Orlando went without incident. Aaron [McKee] drove us back to the Carib Royale where Ron and I, after having acclimated to the nicest resort accommodations I’ve ever experienced, had a pizza, a sandwich, and two drinks for about $30. Aaron convinced us to go with his family and him to Epcot today instead of the Kennedy Space Center to which I had full intentions of going.

Until about 3:00pm, I hated him for that. The rides, while quite stimulating, were not by any means educational to a science geek like me. However, after half the crew went home and we remaining troupers began walking the ethnic half of Epcot, I flip-flopped my position like the Democrat I am.

While part of Epcot is dedicated to be a technology smörgåsbord brought to you by the likes of Kodak, Nestle, HP, and GM, the northern half is an ethnic tour of several countries. It’s arranged in a large circle around a lake, and in the center of the lake, several black and burned barges sit, ready to astound the passers by and the onlookers as soon as the sky darkens.

We hit the United Kingdom for an appetizer and a beer sampler, France for some real wine, Morocco for me to take a picture with a weird hat next to a camel, Japan for some Sake, and we got as far as the German beer before the sky rendered us awestruck. The entire park was wired for sound, with large, two-story pillars of speakers and can lights spread equidistantly around the perimeter of the lake. Through these speakers played the soundtrack to the fireworks. The pyrotechnics were larger and more awe inspiring than anything I’ve ever seen in the Midwest, and they, along with spotlights, building lights around the lake, and the three story tall globe video screen, were synchronized to the music playing through all the speaker towers. I can’t imagine the engineering behind the show. All I know is that I’m a little shell-shocked from the events of today.

It’s 2:51am EDT and I’ve about had enough. I have to be in class tomorrow at 8:00am, so I’ll just slip away.

I’m so high right now
I’ve always wanted to say that and mean it

It’s either 8:55 or 9:55pm. I honestly don’t know if it’s CDT or EDT. I haven’t flown since I was 3 years old, which I obviously don’t remember. For all intents and purposes, this is my first flight. Ron and I are cramped in the back of a Boeing 737 and are somewhere at a cruising altitude over the Southeast. I guess I expected the planes to be nicer, newer. I guess if I can cut wheat in a machine from the early 1980’s, Southwest Airlines can haul people around in planes from the 1980’s. The only difference is that if I crash my combine into a mountain or ocean, people don’t die.

One of the reading lamps is burned out on the seat in front of me. I don’t know why I find that so funny. I sure don’t find the drink prices funny at the airport and on the plane. A small coke costs $2.50. I didn’t ask what a nice Scotch costs. The cheap ones are $4.00 on the plane and $5.00 at the airport.

"78 degrees as we start our descent to Orlando. Fasten seat belts, turn off all electronic devices…"

Typing one out at G’s
Still trying to recover
Late return from the studio last weekend
Haven’t had much computer play lately
Put Vista on my box at home
Runs like an old lame dog
Just got sound back last night

We cranked out four new songs
Learned how to play five of six more
Came back with a CD of 18 originals
The CD sounded like a four-track
Made by running a PA through a floor wedge monitor and putting a microphone in front of it
Technology these days

Putting some shows on the books
Ok, nobody uses books these days
It’s all electronic
We enter shows into a form on the website
Some of us do, anyway

Keep an eye out for us

Third day of wheat cutting
Finally climbed up in the cab
At 10:15pm
I spent the day as Mr. Mechanic

Started at 8:00am
Two bearings on Dad’s combine
Wobble box on mine
Took the truck to Nashville
(Kansas, Dusty, Kansas)
Got back and Dad’s auger hosed itself
Had it fixed by 10:15pm
I got to cut until 10:45pm
Filled up to capacity

Yesterday wasn’t much better
I’m so tired I can’t even remember what we did
Let the good times roll

See that man? He’s just a hilljack.
A redneck republican in a pointed hat.

Gobble, gobble.
Wheeeeeeeee.