I’m tired of the music on your blog. What makes you think you can play your music on my computer?

I found a nerdy solution to the problem. Since most of those annoying “playlists” found on blogspot blogs all come from playlist.com, you can eliminate most of the problem with this command (for fellow mac users):

ipfw add deny tcp from any to 66.97.180.235

That’s it. They seemingly have dozens of domains, all pointing to that single IP. Block outbound traffic to the IP, and you’ll be free of that awful music people think you want to hear.

Windows users, try adding these lines to your c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file:

# stop stupid blog music insanity

127.0.0.2 www.greatprofilemusic.com

127.0.0.2 www.myplaylist.org www.profileplaylist.net

127.0.0.2 www.playlistproject.net

127.0.0.2 www.mp3asset.com

There are more domains than that, but I got tired of looking for them. Blocking the IP above is the best way to go.

This Saturday was the big Nerf war. The epic battle was to celebrate Alex’s birthday. I dominated - if not tactically, then in style.

Yes, that’s a heart-mom tattoo in red Sharpie. The other arm read NERF. Back of the uniform: DEFCON ONE. Thankfully the shoe polish face paint came off. As of this writing, the tattoos are still visible. Not fully pictured: the jean cut-offs that I made for the battle.

Noah liked shooting, but not getting shot. And his main concern was his missing bullet.

Weston got a few kills.

And it was a birthday party, so of course we had cake. Gina made a (self-described) lame Nerf cake.

(Photo credit to Leigh on the first 3 pictures. I’ll let her post the really cute ones of her kids on her blog.)

Noah dives!

Julia jumps!

Weston… poses?

I went to DC this weekend. Really, I should say I spent a few waking hours in DC this weekend.

I left Las Vegas around midnight Friday on a direct flight to Dulles. It was my first time taking JetBlue, and one of the few times I’ve taken an overnight flight. JetBlue was cool. They handed everyone an eye mask and ear plugs as we boarded.

I had arrived at the gate just a few minutes before boarding started. I walked around looking for a seat, but at the same time was sizing people up. One nervous looking guy was packing up his laptop. He took the time to precisely wrap up his power cables. That’s not a guy who doesn’t plan on getting to his destination, I thought. And then I saw this rather gross looking couple. They looked homeless.

I got to my window seat and found no one else next to me - yet. And of course, who else should sit next to me? It’s the couple I had eyed in the terminal. The man sat next to me, in the middle, and he was nice enough. He did work up a fit, swearing at something he dropped at one point. I’m sure they’re good people……. but what on earth was that smell? My guess was urine… and lack of showering.

So I sat for the whole flight, hugging the wall, unable to sleep. Two hours into the flight I realized I wasn’t going to be sleeping, so I plugged my headphones into the XM radio. I thought that was a pretty cool feature, until JetBlue and the universe played a cruel joke on me:

That’s right. JetBlue RickRoll’d me. 2AM. No sleep. Urine smell. Rickroll.

Getting no sleep the night before my arrival made the remainder of my visit a struggle. Altogether it was a really quick trip, but it was fun. I’m looking forward to getting back to DC, now just 12 days away.

Tonight, Mom and I made these all-inclusive cookies:

Mom and I caught this one last night. Yeah, we’re pretty tough. And now she has him strapped down in the insect torture chamber. Not to 50!

What is this thing? I saw it at the gas station in Las Vegas.

I went to lunch at the Las Vegas Hofbräuhaus today. It shared some similarities with the one in Munich, but I think anyone who has been to the original would have no trouble telling them apart. Also, they seem to use the Euro there. My pretzel was $12.50. They claim to import them from Bavaria, so maybe they do. It was good, just not $12.50 good.

Mostly I made this post to try out the Wordpress app for the iPhone. It lets me blog from my phone. It’s pretty buggy.

Welcome to Denver! This was my second visit to the city, but my first time trying to explore the city. We arrived late Friday night and eventually found our way to the hotel. Just a tip: if you find yourself paying tolls, you’re going the wrong way.

Saturday morning we checked out the 16th Street area downtown. It’s a fun pedestrian area, lined with shops and restaurants. We ate lunch somewhere there. The waiter was awkward and I had the ostrich burger.

Then we decided that what Denver had to offer was the fact that it’s close to things that are outside Denver. We took I-70 heading west, passing through towns like Idaho Springs and eventually stopping in Dillon. I’m not sure of the actual reasons why Dillon was our destination, but it turned out to be a pretty good pick.

Lake Dillon in the background. Awkward glances in the foreground.

Giant dandelion! While I was taking this picture, a random lady rode by on her bike and told us it was a salsify. The process of turning things into salsa?

Dillon was having an art festival that weekend. As advertised, it was solely the highest in altitude. How can you not sell ice cream or something at one of those? I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to be eating something while I walk around looking at art I’d never consider buying.

Sunset on Saturday night. We had dinner downtown, then met Joni’s friend and her husband for dessert.

On Sunday morning we both flew back to where we came from. Joni stopped in Cincinnati, where thunderstorms were delaying flights. Then things took a turn for the worse when lightning struck the radar tower. Luckily, they had a backup system, which I think was an old guy with binoculars and a flashlight. “Better call Steve… it finally happened.”

Click on the panorama below for a really cool large version:

I may be the luckiest guy around.  In the last week, I have been randomly selected to win: trips, cash, TVs, a college education and, most importantly, rude wake-up calls.

One morning last week I woke up to 2 missed calls. Thankfully the ringer had been off. Not to worry, they were going to call back. Again. And again.

I have stopped counting now, almost a week later. Most of the calls come in the early morning, and some throughout the day. They all seem to originate from either Virginia or Florida. The worst offenders are: Westgate Resorts, National Reader Service and eTour & Travel. Yes, I checked - they’re all scams.

Usually they ask for me by name. I have quizzed a few of them; they know more than my name. They usually have my name, address and cell phone number. Interestingly, they have the wrong email address and birthdate for me. Often they’ll try to tell me that I filled out an online survey (or requested to be contacted by a realtor about foreclosure properties, etc). I think that’s just a scam to get around the telemarketing laws. Rather than being a cold call, they’re claiming that we have a relationship - I asked them to call me.

Thankfully, they’re slowing down. But for the few that still trickle in, I have a new weapon in my fight against the annoyance. I found a way to get them to hang up on me.

I let them do their little introduction, which invariably includes some prize that I’ve won. Then I calmly say: “I currently reside in Nevada and the laws of this state may apply to this phone call. Do you understand?” That’s all it takes. They make a few confused noises, perhaps asking me to repeat what I said, then finally realize that something is up. And they hang up.

Why do they hang up? They aren’t legit and they know it. Now leave me alone.