Thurston Blogging

Third Basement Update

Here is the latest update on the basement.  The plumbing is roughed in, and most of the electrical is now complete.  The bar is starting to take shape, and drywall begins later this upcoming week.

The Departed or How we were Fleeced by the Raiders

Calvin Johnson and Drew Stanton are in.  Mike Williams and Josh McCown are out.  Fine.  We only got a Fourth Round pick for those two?  That's a stretch, but whatever.

I'm a glad that I don't have to listen to the Lions gripe about Williams' weight anymore. 

If he doesn't make it in Oakland, Williams will be in the unemployment line along with the MSU product Charles Rogers. 

This was my dermatolgist

From the Grand Rapids Press

Dermatologist convicted of fraud
GRAND RAPIDS -- An East Grand Rapids dermatologist convicted Thursday on 31 counts of health care fraud has agreed to give up his medical practice, federal prosecutors said.

Robert Stokes, 55, overbilled insurance providers by at least $500,000 and possibly more than $1 million by claiming patients had developed post-operative infections, allowing him to bill for unnecessary office visits.

Federal agents began investigating Stokes, who ran a practice at 1815 Breton Road SE, after patient complaints and audits from insurance carriers found him to have an abnormal number of infections and procedures performed.

Stokes is free on bond and faces up to 10 years in prison at an undetermined sentencing date.

Basement Update - Week 2

The basement is coming along nicely.  The framing will be done on Wednesday, and the plumber and electrician begin their rough-ins today.

The Dogs want a walk

The dogs have an eerie sense about them when they know that they are about to  get a walk.  Here is a little video of the dogs getting ready:

My new Q

Our contract was coming up with Sprint.  We considered T Mobile, Cingular and Verizon.  T Mobile had a great phone called the Dash that I loved.  However, T Mobile doesn't have good coverage in our area.  I just ditched AT&T as our phone provider, so Cingular is out - although I did like their Blackjack phone. 

That left Verizon and Sprint.  Both carry the Motorola Q, which I also dug.  Sharon has a discount through her office for both companies, and she has an additional discount on hardware. 

However, Verizon's data plan is more expensive and they charge for incoming calls.  Sprint threw in a bunch of free text messages, and discounted their data plan, and gave us an additional $5 monthly credit.

The best part is I got the Motorola Q and the Motorola MotoRAZR for $50 total.  Done deal. 

Here's the new phone:

Baby Thurston is 31 Weeks

A three pounder.  That is how big TCO is this week.  At 31 weeks, she is over 16 inches long.  Mommy and Daddy took a tour of the hospital on Wednesday.  The rooms were private and pretty nice.  The couch for Daddy is big but the television is small.  Parenting classes start soon, and infant CPR is in early May.  Doctor visits are now every two weeks, and will soon become every week.

The Landlord

Pearl is a comic genius.  This was shot in Will Ferrell's guest house in 45 minutes.

Basement - Day 2

Construction has begun.  The framing of the basement is nearly complete.  The cabinets for the bar have been delivered today.  One odd thing is - there appear to be .22 caliber bullet casings on the floor. 

I look forward to the completion so we can have a few drinks together down in the bar.

Here is a video of the progress:

Greetings from Canada, Eh

Greetings from the Toronto Sheraton, you hosers.  First impression of the "New York City of Canada"  is that this place is damn clean.  No graffiti, no trash on the streets or sidewalks.  Too many people who speak French, however.  Disgusting language.

After we checked into the hotel, we went to a cool English Pub called the Elephant and Castle.  Great atmosphere, good food and it looks like a local hangout for people who like to get wasted.  On the big screen, the Detroit Pistons were playing the Toronto Raptors.  Not that I give a shit about basketball, but I would have bought tickets to that game had I known about it beforehand.  Afterwords, there were a ton of Detroit people on the streets.  So, I'm sure its dirty here today.

Went to the CN Tower after dinner.  Much bigger than the Seattle Space Needle, which we went to seven years ago.  A bit pricey to enter, but we got our cash back (I'll get to that in a minute).  There is a glass floor in the tower which allows you to look down and see the Rogers Centre (Skydome) along with base of the tower. 

Our minds are not properly wired for that first step and subsequent look down.  Truly an awesome feeling.  However, the outdoor observation deck was not open, and the ticket jockey didn't tell us beforehand.  So, on our way down -  I complained and got our admission back.

Today, we're off to see the Detroit Tigers play the Toronto Blue Jays.  Should be a good game, just as last night was.  Although the Tigers lost 2-1 last night, I expect more runs today as the pitching matchup favors more scoring.

After the game, we're going to try and head to the Hockey Hall of Fame.  The original Stanley Cup is there along with rings that have been removed from the Cup.  I expect to find a ton of Detroit Red Wings information and stuff there as well.  It's not far from Rogers Centre, but everything is so easy to get to here as they have a good subway system and trolleys running on the streets.