Lx2 Photo Contest

A couple of weeks ago I entered the CAO LX2 Photo Contest by Stogie Fresh. After coming up with a few ideas I settled on these two ideas/pics.

For the first pic I created a background of the Lx2 ring with a kaleidoscope effect using Pixlr (an online image/photo editor). Then added a cropped photo of my brother Chris and I enjoying our first Lx2's

For the second pic I wanted to be a little more imaginative. I ended up placing the Lx2 in a Jedi tunic I borrowed from Qui-Gon Jinn. And giving him bailing wire arms to hold his lightsaber. Then I setup Ryan's Galactic Heroes Cantina scene and placed him in it. I put up a small caption and voila.

So later that weekend I received an email from Doc at Stogie Fresh informing me that I had been selected as a winner but that I'd have to wait a few more days to found out which place. Then finally on Wednesday, Stogie Fresh posted the winners. I found out that I'd come in 2nd place and that I have won a box of Lx2 cigars. I can't even tell you how excited I was. I could have won just one cigar and I would have been excited. But a whole box of excellent cigars. WOW!

And then last night around 7:00 we saw the FedEx truck stop in front of the house. Although I was expecting my cigars, I hadn't heard if they had shipped yet. So we assumed the delivery was something else. That was until the box was sealed with CAO packing tape. My nearly jumped out of my chest when I saw that. I knew right away what it was and couldn't wait to open it.

I opened the package to reveal a beautiful black/grey velvet box of 20 Lx2 Toros. The packaging reminds me of the high quality that goes into to all CAO cigars/products. I opened the box and the aroma was exquisite. It's something everyone should get to experience.

Thanks again to CAO Cigars and Stogie Fresh for the awesome contest and prizes. I will enjoy every bit of these.

More Pics...as requested.

It was politely brought to my attention, (thanks Andrea), that I hadn't posted any additional pics of Atom (We chose to change the spelling of the name vs. changing the name). So, here are a few that Ruthie has taken.

We've taken many more, I just need to go through them and get them uploaded for your viewing pleasure.

BTW, Atom is the best dog that we've ever had. Even though he is still a puppy and trying to test the waters at his new home, he is by far the most obediant, playful & lovable dog.

Jackman Demolition Derby

A couple of weeks ago we were outside enjoying a gorgeous March day, sunny and 64°.  We were playing in the yard, riding bikes, t-ball, ... just about everything.  Then I caught my kids in a makeshift demolition derby.  I quickly shot some video of them.  

Twitter Trivia by CigarInspector.com

Let me admit something. I tend to be addictive/highly-passionate when it comes to certain things. Here are a few examples:

1. My super-sexy wife Ruthie. How it is that I'm lucky enough to be with her is beyond me.


2. Cigars. Although I had dabbled in cigars over the years, this past year I have really gotten into learning more and appreciating cigars.


3. Gambling. I love to play card games. I can sit at a Blackjack table for hours and hours. Same goes for Texas Hold'em.


4. Geocaching. I'm proud to say that I have found 138 caches in the 9 months since I took up this hobby. I think my personal daily record is 25. (That was a busy fun day)

And because of my passion towards cigars and gambling. It is almost impossible for me to pass up an opportunity to win cigar related contests. And yesterday @cigarinspector announced via Twitter, a great Twitter Trivia contest that starts next Thursday, March 19.

So follow the links and and get ready for this awesome contest. And if you haven't already, you need to sign up for a Twitter account. I'm amazed how many more actually contacts and friends I've made with Twitter than with any other social networking site. After you sign up, be sure to follow me @Se7en_Vandalay .

Happy Tweeting to all!!!

Our newest member of the family.

For some time now Ruthie has been looking to get another dog for our family. She has repeatedly reminded me of Ryan's love of dogs and that every little boy needs a dog. She was even kind enough to send me the following video:



She started looking into dogs that have been trained through the Colorado Correctional Industries Prison K9 Training Program. Because everyone knows it's better to have a dog that already knows how to drive the getaway car. ;)

Seriously though, the dogs that go through the Prison Trained K-9 Companion Program (PTKCP), have been saved from other shelters or rescues. Here is a brief description of the program:

All dogs which are rescued by the PTKCP receive appropriate veterinary care. This includes spay or neuter, multiple vaccine, rabies vaccine, heart worm test, heart worm preventative and worming. Some dogs come to our program suffering from neglect, lack of proper nourishment, abuse and require what would be extraordinary veterinary care. No dog owned by the PTKCP, will leave the program intact (meaning not spayed or neutered) regardless of breed, registered or unregistered.

The training each dog receives covers many aspects. First, the program is an intensive socialization program. The dog learns to be around and greet many people. They live with many other dogs. Basic manners training includes sit to greet a person, sit to go through a door, crate training and house training. Basic obedience includes: sit, sit-stay, down, down-stay, come when called, basic heeling on lead and we deal with any problem behaviors the dog has. Many dogs will go on to learn hand signals, or other tricks. We also feature confidence building with agility equipment training at some facilities.

The PTKCP is not tax supported.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, we saw Adam on the Colorado Correctional Industries website, along with a couple other dogs we thought we'd be interested in. We called and made an appointment to see these dogs on last Saturday, March 7. We took a beautiful Colorado road trip to Canon City.

We had an opportunity to visit with each dog that we had hoped to see. We even debated the possibility of getting two of them, because it was not an easy decision. In the end, we settled on Adam (his name for now).

Adam is a 6 - 8 month old puppy. Adam was donated to the PTKCP as a Great Pyrenees. Shortly after his arrival the trainers judged that he was not a Great Pyrenees. They think that he is quite the mix of Labrador, Collie, Australian Shepard and who-really-knows-what.

Here is a video of our time together meeting Adam:



We adopted him that day, but he still had a few more weeks to complete his training program. So we had to leave him behind but this has given us the chance to get more ready for his arrival. A few days later we received the call that we would be able to take him home on March 19. We will have to attend a two-hour adoption class so we learn the commands that he has learned.

So look forward to seeing Adam in upcoming posts/videos.

Spontaneous Jackman Family Road Trip

Serendipity: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.

Serendipity is the best way for me to describe the events of last weekend. We started the day on Friday with the understanding that we were needed to help family finish moving out of their house in Wyoming. We were all packed and had scheduled time off from work to get an early start.

However a call came at lunchtime that our assistance was no longer necessary. After the initial sting of this realization, we quickly made 'chicken salad out of chicken shit'. Ruthie and I decided we would still go out of town. We look at a couple of places and finally chose to go to Glenwood Springs, in western Colorado, and soak our cares away in the Hot Springs.

So I got home, packed a few additional items that we would now need for our new destination, including our new Flip MinoHD, on off we went.

Here is the first part of our journey. It includes our drive to Glenwood Springs, arrival & following morning.

For the record we did not end up at Bayou's for dinner. Breakfast-for-dinner sounded much better so we went next door to Village Inn.


Next I turned Millie loose with the Flip. She proceeds to give us a tour of the hotel and some antics with Ryan. Warning: Her cinematography is similar to Cloverfield. Some may find it nauseating. :)




This next clip is shortly after breakfast as we arrived at Glenwood Springs Hot Springs and some of our time there.

more to come later....