this space for rent

After coming off the miserable awful day that was yesterday, I awoke to this....


bloody wonderful conditions for a bike ride eh mate?  Visibility of about 50 feet, wet, cold and every trail in the surrounding area is closed.  So unless things change for the better real soon this may remain a piece of artwork....


I just don't think I have it in me to ride the trainer again today, so far I've logged about 7 hours on it in the last week and I just can't get my head right to do it again.  For me riding the trainer is like getting a dog to take its medicine, we both have to be fooled into believing that we're getting something good out of it.  Right now every minute on the trainer passes like an hour, I know I'm bitching and whining.
  So the two positive things of the last 48 hours.  I got a smoking deal on an Ultimate bike stand at the local REI scratch and dent sale.  These things never fail to amaze me at not only what REI is willing to take back, but the audacity that someone would have to return some of the items they do.  I mean who in good conscience can purchase an item say like a jacket, wear it for an entire year and then return it when they rip a hole in it on a loose nail in their house?  It wasn't the product or the sellers fault, and yes there were several items like that on the sale racks.  I think people take the term customer service to mean that if you sell something the since you made money of me then you always have to keep me happy.  Once again another group of people who fail to take full responsibility for their own actions.   OK enough of that, so I find this bike stand, I wasn't really looking for one but I've needed one for a long time now and didn't want to spend the money on what they cost new.  I come across this one and it says that the customer stated that the stand wobbled a little bit when a bike was in it.  Well duh! they all do that, if the thing isn't bolted to the floor and attached to a professional grade bike clamp then theres going to be some wiggle to the way it walks.  Hell even the pro stands move a little bit.  So I figure that the $48 they're asking for it is more than a steal and I could probably fix it even if it was broken and I wasn't seeing it amongst the hustle and bustle of rabid bargain shoppers looking to pick up someone else's cast offs.


got it home and there's not a thing wrong with it.  Used it on four bikes last night and it's solid as a rock.  Best $48 I've spent in a while.
  Now the other good thing of the last 48, the garage and bike storage area is finally clean.  It took a week, it sucked to do, I walked away from it nine times and drank about a twelve pack over the course of a week in the process.  But it finally looks like this..............




that's it for now, I'm going to go wait by the window for a break in the clouds.  Be safe out there on amateur night
POAS,
matt-

Just got a great Christmas present from my bud Darren out in Katy Texas, a whole butt load of pics from his wedding back in September.  Now for those of you that remember and doubted me and those who haven't heard the story, let me bring you up to speed.  Darren and I met back in the summer of 2000 where we were both interning at the same camp in Jasper Georgia.  I worked with the high ropes and adventure dept. and he was on the construction/maintenance staff.  From day one I learned a few things about Big D, the first being that he had a love for West Texas country music, big trucks and jeeps, good beer, the Simpsons and what some might see as a bit of an obsession about midgets.  We also both had the same idea of training raccoons to do tricks and put on a raccoon carnivale, but that's  a different story for a different time..... hey they have lil man hands and can do stuff with them, don't believe me?  then look it up, its true so back off.
  Anyway so one of the first things that D told me that has always stuck with me was that when (and if) he got married he wanted a midget dressed as a mariachi to be there w/ a sombrero on w/ chips along the brim and salsa in the middle.  That way he could wander throughout the party and people could eat off his hat.  Now I know to some of you this may sound awful and very socially unacceptable, but trust me the idea and the way he presented it at the time was and has always been very funnny.
  So flash forward six years later, Im having one of my annual conversations w/ Big D over the phone and we're catching up on one anothers lives, him living back in Katy Texas and me living in Canton Ga at the time.  He tells me that he's met someone and he thinks that it might go somewhere.  Now me being the ever supportive friend I tell him, "yeah it's going to go places, mostly with her going somewhere else once she figures out how big of a goob you are."  Well as usual with my predictions........ I was wrong (hey one of these days I'm bound to get one right, it just hasn't happened yet.)  But what do I know right?  My old guitar teacher tells me that he's written a new song and wants my opinion and plays it for me, my respones?  "I don't know Shawn, I just don't think it's going to be a hit"  Yeah, you might have heard that lil gem somewhere, it was called Lullabye and the teacher was Shawn Mullins.  My friend tells me he thinks he's found the right girl, and I crack a joke and he gets married.  So if anyone out there has an idea that might make millions and you need someone to shoot it down for you so that it's a success, then hit me up.  My going rate these days is 5%, a bargain if you ask me but once again, what do I know?
  Ok back to the story, so Darren and Mary Beth get engaged set a date and I buy a plane ticket.  I get into Texas and no sooner have I left the airport than I begin what I call the 4 day sweatathon.  Now Georgia is both hot and humid in the summer time, but Texas makes it look like the coldest day in winter.  To top it off, Big D has again aquired yet another car without air conditioning.  Now those that know me well, know that I am a full blooded southern air conditioned whore.  I was born into the stuff and raised in the stuff and have a very hard time not sweating without the stuff, air conditioning is my drug of choice during the warmer months.  I meet Mary Beth for the first time that night and right away I can tell that God made these two people with each other in mind, and I can tell that my friend has met his match.  The weekend was great, visiting with old and new friends, great food every day and a trip to the St. Arnolds brewery in Houston.  By the way, did I mention that there was a wedding?  And not just any wedding mind you, but one of the best and funniest weddings I've ever had the pleasure of attending.  Now as I mentioned before, my friend Darren isn't just your average garden variety goof ball, no he takes it to a new level.  So your average garden variety wedding vows just wouldn't do.  Like many people they choose to write their own vows, however unlike most people, their vows were not only great, but had the entire congregation laughing out loud.  To top it all off, the words I know prononunce you man and wife preceeded a big ole' Texas spin dip and kiss from D to his new wife and then it happened.  At first just a few familiar notes, and then a few more and finally..... yep their processional was from Star Wars, you remember the music from first movie released at the end where Princess Leah is awarding Luke and Hans Solo for destroying the Death Star and saving the rebellion?
this one for those of you who've been living under a rock for the last thirty years, btw how do you get an internet connection under a rock?


  There couldn't have been a better song for them to march out to.
  So after the usual boring process of pictures we were on to the reception, now with a wedding like this not just any place would do, and with a couple like this your typical banquet hall wouldn't suffice.  No an event like this you need someplace special, someplace with a certain look, somplace with a certain feel.  You need an animal sanctuary, one that comes with it's own ginormous adobe inspired reception hall and it's own llamas, emus, peacocks and other assorted exotic animals wandering about the grounds.  Along with that you need a margarita bar and a burrito buffet that comes equiped with its very own photo booth to preserve the moment.  Now I had flown out from Atlanta alone and had gone to the wedding stag, so not wanting to be the only one from the wedding photos without a date I had to think fast.  I think I did pretty good considering.....


let's just say that St. Francis was a perfect gentleman the whole time.
  So Mary Beth and Darren had a special connection to a song by Austin Collins called Wreckless and Lovely, on their very first date they went to one of his shows and their first dance together was to this song.  So it was only right that Austin Collins come and perform the song live so that their first dance as a married couple could be to the same song.  Now I need to tell you a little bit about Mary Beth, she's studying to be a lawyer ( don't worry it's the good kind, she plans on using her evil lawyer powers for good) and she's got a wicked sense of humor just like Darren, so towards the end of dinner I see her sneak off and it struck me as a bit odd.  However about five minutes later I see what she was up to when she led this guy into the room....


  The sound that came out of Darrens mouth can only be compared to the same kind of joyous squeal that a four year old can make on Christmas morning when after a short nights sleep they come barreling downstairs to see that Santa has indeed come to bring them presents.  He was speechless, there standing in front of him was his idea come to reality, quite the perfect gift on Mary Beth's part.


check out thost pythons on Big D's feet!
  The night finally was coming to a close, but the newly weds had one last trick up their sleeves, a fireworks display unlike any you've ever seen courtesy of Big D's uncle Bubba.  A perfect end to an amazing wedding and a great way for Darren and Mary Beth to start their new lives together. 

we clean up pretty nicely, don't you think?
  Oh yeah, what's the best way to take the edge of the pre wedding jitters? 

IT'S BLITZT BABY!  NFL Blitz that is.



POAS
Matt-

Christmas has again come and gone, I'm not going to get into my feelings about the holiday season other than to say that I'm not so much a big fan of what they represent on a commercial level.  Same junk you've heard before, no reason to rehash it again.  So without further ado, I'll show you pictures of what I gave myself for Christmas this year.


long sleeves and 100% merino wool, two things that my arsenal of jerseys was desperately lacking.  Oh and the hand signed Wes Freed DBT posters you see there are getting framed too, just have to wait for the holiday rush to die down at the frame place so they can get to them.  BTW the big ball you see there above the jersey, that's made of nothing but rubber bands.  It weighs about 4 pounds and will probably end up getting dropped off the balcony the next time I have a bit too much to drink (more of a public service announcement for my neighbors, just in case they come across my blog).
  So far I've put in two 3 hour rides on the road bike, one on Christmas Eve after most of the family had taken off, and another today with Speedy.  Both rides were in and around the Canton, Alpharetta, Cumming or Canalphumming area as I like to call it.  About one and a half hours into the ride today I notice that Speedy's rear brake is dragging really badly.  We pull over and I pick up the back end of his bike to spin the wheel and it gets all of about 4 revolutions before coming to a complete hault.  I did my best to try to get the brake recentered, but his Ultegra brakes and different from both my Campy and Durrrrace brakes so I couldn't get it right.  Fortunately a pair of other riders passing by asked if we were ok, I ate some crow and asked if they were any good w/ Ultegra brakes.  As fate would have it one of them was and had Speedy all set up in no time flat.  You would have thought he had crammed a rocket up his ass the way he took off after that, "this bike rides so much better, I mean it was riding good before but now..... I mean DAMN!"  FUnny how a well functioning bike makes a difference......
  Hope everyone is doing fine and getting some rides in, with any luck it won't rain too much tonight and the trails will re-open tomorrow 'round these parts.
POAS,
Matt-

...from my family to yours.



I hope that your holiday is filled with joy, laughter and days of good riding. 
POAS,
Matt-

So I just read on Harlan  blog that his house was broken into and his IF mountain bike was stolen along with an air compressor and several power tools that were being used to renovate his house.  To top it off they also got some computer and camera equipment as well.  He had left the house to go to the hardware store and was only gone 40 minutes, in that time they managed to break in and make off with all of that.  It sucks not only because they stole from him, but the bike they stole was his own personal ride and not one that IF had supplied to him to race on, rather one that he had paid for just like the rest of us do, out of his own pocket.  I hope they catch those pieces of trash and give them the sentence they deserve.

  Skipped my Wednesday ride in favor of doing a core workout, every time I got ready to leave the house it would either rain a little more or something would happen that would keep me tied up at the house.  So after a few failed attempts I decided that it was best to workout instead of riding.

  Not much else to report other than Davis and I went to the sneak preview of the new National Treasure movie, I lucked into some tickets from the Dunwoody Cycling Group that I sometimes ride with.  Traffic was a nightmare getting down there, and we both missed the first 20 minutes, but the rest of the movie is great.  If you liked the first one then you're going to like the sequal.  They followed trend for this one and there was no cursing or anything else that you wouldn't want a five year old to see.  I'm not big on sheltering people, but for those that have kids it's nice to know that there are still films being made for the mainstream audience that you can take your whole family to.

  That's all for now, dress warm and get out and ride.
POAS
Matt-

Our good friend Brent is leaving us and moving up to Bean Town to start an exciting new career in the genious industry.  Ok actually from what I gather they will be working to create a newer and better form of solar cell to use in the renewable energy resources field.  I'd explain it to you, but I'd need it explained to me again a few more times, but basically Bumble will be using his super brain to help save the world from the rest of us.  Everyone together now......THANKS BUMBLE!  Ok that's good class, now go put your markers away it's time for recess, then we'll have story time and have our milk before we take a nap.
  How about you Al. would you like some milk?


Al. says "I'd rather have a beer."

  So in true BOD send off fashion, we rode Blankets Creek with our Bumble one last time and took him out to eat at Taco Mac afterwards.  The ride was good, but my fingers and toes were frozen to a near useless state by the end of it, Flatfender rode his fixed gear rigid 29er while I choose to ride my Turner Flux.  In all I think there were two laps around Dwelling Loop and one around South Loop, I missed out on the first lap around Dwelling b/c I thought for some reason that it would be faster if I took surface streets and backroads as opposed to just sitting in traffic on the interstate, bad move on my part.
  The wings were the perfect compliment to the beer, I think most folks opted to have the beer of the month which was some sort of milk thistled flavored stout, I opted for the Sweetwater Festive Ale followed by a Sam Adams Winter.  I love this time of year not only for the riding and the weather, but also because some of the best beers are released to the public to enjoy.

Al. CycleSmith aka Captain SpellCheck and Fish



Bumble



Me Bumble Shortbus and Speedy

It rained last night/early this morning so it looks like I'm going to be sticking to the road for todays ride.  Cold and wet, my kinda conditions.
POAS
Matt-

After spending yesterday morning job searching, sending out resumes and making phone calls, I headed up to Big Creek to ride for a few hours.  I'm still getting used to having the time in which to go ride during the day, which also means that I'm still getting used to riding by myself on a mountain bike again.  I'm weird (as if you didn't already know) in that I've got no problem what so ever hopping on the road bike and riding down just about any road around me by myself.  But I still get nervous riding the mountain bike solo, so I tend to take it a bit easier than if I were in a group and pick my lines a bit differently.  I still hit all the stuff that I enjoy doing when I know others are around me, but I find myself looking at the same things differently and catch myself second guessing whether or not I should try it.  It's a good/bad habit in that it makes me more aware of what I'm doing, but bad b/c it leads to hesitation which is the precursor to injury.  Anyway, it's something that I'm working on getting better at.

  For the most part it was just me out there yesterday which was really nice, I even decided to ditch the iPod after an hour and just enjoy being out alone.  As I was completing my umpteenth lap ( I lost track) I come across the top of a hill riding slow and trying to keep my heart rate low and saw these guys.



cool I thought to myself (there was no one else for me to say cool to at the moment) they don't even see me yet.  It's pretty common to see a couple of deer out on the trail, urban sprawl has severly limited their available land to live off of, so they've had to assimilate to living amongst us.  However a quick look to the left reveiled these girls too,


and if you look close enough you can see Big Daddy standing there eyeing me.  An 8 point buck and pretty good size spread on his antlers.  Once he saw me he started to move away, which made the reset of the group move with him.  In all there were ten deer total in a space of about 80 square feet, including this lil fella







All in all it was a good ride, about 2 hours in total and all at the you know what pace.  Even ran into Farmer G of Sorba fame who needed some directions on where the rest of the trail system was hiding.  Going to go to the going away ride for my friend Bumble tonight, he's just recently taken a job that will have him relocating along with his family up to Boston.  I mention his family because his just recently saw a new addition, Bumble and his wife are the proud parents of a baby boy they've named Nathan.  I hate to see them go, but I'm excited about what the future holds for all of them and I hope to get to visit with them when I head up to New Hampshire next August.
That's all for now, got to get some work done and that bike room isnt going to clean itself (though I wish it would)
POAS
Matt-

Would you make up your dang mind already?  This whole changing of temps is messing with my body big time.  Cold for a few weeks and then back up to warmer temps for a few days and then right back to cold again..... it's really starting to bug me as my body doesn't seem to be quite as tolerable to the shifts as it used to be.   I know we still have it good down here in the South as compared to our neighbors in the north that only get two seasons, those folks are hard core and have my respect that get out and ride in spite of freezing temps, snow and ice.


This weekend saw the X-mas ride with Sorba Gainesville out at Chicopee on Saturday.  I made the call to a few folks late Friday night to see if anyone was interested, Shorty and Speedy both bit and said they were in for a 10:00 ride time.  So I went to bed around midnight with the intent on waking up around 8:00 to eat and get on the road.  However about an hour later my body decided to have its own little civil war between both ends of itself and have its own contest to see which end would win.  Every two hours saw a different skirmish of sorts, and around 4:00 AM when I was thinking pretty heavily about pulling the plug on riding, both sides came to a peaceful agreement and balance was again restored within the force (still not sure which side won, there were some pretty heavy casualties on both sides)


So I wake up at a quarter past 9:00, hop in the shower, skip the coffee and breakfast and hop in the car thinking to myself "OK self we can still make it on time if we hurry."  BEEP, F@#K!!!!! forgot to get gas last night, oh well at least this will give me time to get breakfast.  So I make the call to let everyone know that I was going to be running late and did my best to get there as close to 10 as possible.  Once there I got ready, and wouldn't ya know it, Shorty got held up by "traffic" so I was spared of the title of DFL on arrival.





twisted and all Ti'd up, you know you like it!

At this point, I'm still feeling pretty awful, but I had just built the Niner back up the day before with some, ok a lot of help from Hodge, and I really wanted to start forming the bond with new bike.  We get to rolling and right off the bat, something feels off in the front end, a quick check and the bolts on the stem weren't tight enough.  So after a re-torque I was off and rolling again, we had a good mixture of riders and paces at which folks were moving at.  I had told myself I was going to take it easy and not push it too hard, but if you're going to ride a single speed there's only one place to be, and before long I found myself at the front of the group.  We got to the intersection of the Outer Loop and Zig Zag and I started to make the left hand turn to keep moving along the Outer Loop when I hear Norma saying, "Oh come on y'all, Zig Zag isn't that bad, even Johnny said so the last time we rode it."  Now at this point I have to give you the Norma to English, English to Norma translation.  What she was really saying was, "Hey you, quit acting like a four year old little girl with a skinned knee and get your butt moving ya weak sissy lil punk."  Anyone wanna guess what trail we rode next?  That's right, we rode Zig Zag, which actually ended up being great.  The bike handled really well and I was starting to feel the love again from a steel framed 29er w/ one gear.  Soon enough we were done w/ the trail of a thousand turns and up and over Champain hill and moving down what to me is the reason why I ride a mountain bike.  The first time I rode there it was love at first lap, it was the first time I can remember finishing a trail system and thinking to myself that I had really done something big and how much fun it was.  So that section from the top of Champain down to the creek has been one of my personal favs for a while now and it keeps getting better.

Oh and we even saw a challenger conquer the hill climb too!  Hey Johnny, smile ugly for the blog.



Sunday, well it was just too cold for me to want to get out on Sunday.  Especially after having to work in the cold rain until after midnight on Saturday night.  So I cleaned house and rode the trainer for an hour, Wheeee, trainer!  Mista Krista got into town around 3:00 and we watched Apocolypto before heading down to the Sorella party at the Atlanta Brewing Company, BTW if you haven't seen this movie yet you need to check it out, it's pretty good.
  The party was a good time, and the beer there is pretty decent, hard to beat my beloved Sweetwater 420 though.  It was good to see some folks that I haven't seen in a little while and share a few pints.


  me, mista krista and the Bear
It's cold again today, but I'm going to make the most of it and go play in traffic for a few hours.  Coffee and layering is good.  Thought you good folks might want to take a look at the bike room and the need for more space, prject for the week is to get the garage cleaned up.....

POAS
Matt-

.....and it feels so good.

Got my Niner Sir9 warranty replacement frame in the other day, the first one had developed some rust bubbles in the paint around the head tube gussett so it was back to the left coast for a new one.  Their customer service dept. was great and they are really easy to work with, however this bikes not going to be seeing as much action as its former frame did, thanks to Vassago stepping up and deciding to sponsor our race team for next year.  I can't wait to get my new frame in, rumor has it we should see them some time in January, which gives me proper time to figure out the build parts I want to use for this one and then get them here.
 So in other news, I quit my job.  Long story short, I was hoping to stay there until I found something new or at least until the first of the year when it's a bit easier to find a new job, but it wasn't in the cards and I've now left the company.  Marty noticed yesterday that I seem a lot happier and I have to agree with him on that, I am happy to be rid of the stress that came with that job and rid of a boss that has zero listening skills and even fewer managerial skills.  I'm not going to turn this into a lets bash the former manager session b/c I'm just not that kind of guy, but I'm still amazed that someone with such a blatant lack of understanding of the job and lack of desire to understand the employees working underneath him and the issues they deal with can be held in such a high regard.  Like I said enough of that, I'm sure everyone has dealt with it at one point in time or another and there just isn't much point in rehashing it.
  On the brighter side of things, the job search is actually going pretty well.  I've been offered a few new positions in other industries, and I've got some really promising leads that I'm excited to persue, so hopefully I'll be reporting to you all about the role I decided to take.
  The BOD christmas party was Saturday night, for those not familiar w/ the BOD group, these people are like a second family to me.  Once a year we get together for a night of food, drink, and the now infamous dirty santa gift exchange, some of you might know it as a white elephant party (which is how I was first introduced to it)  For those not familiar let me give you a brief explanation of how it works.  Everyone brings a wrapped unlabled gift and then draws a number, you then go in starting order from the lowest to highest ( I prefer to start somewhere in the middle numbers, but we decided on low to high for this years)  the frst person goes to the "tree" and takes and unwraps a gift.  From there, the second person can either steal that gift or go to the wrapped pile and choose one from there.  Now if the gift is stolen the the original possesor can either steal someone else's gift or go to the pile.  This goes on until the gifts are all gone, now a small detail is that the same gift can only be held three times before it's off the market, which was the source of controversy for Sat night.  Bam Bam has come to be the title holder of best gift giver, not b/c he buys the best gifts, but b/c he makes them.  This year he brought a cornhole game painted in the BOD logo and colors, (if you're not familiar w/ the game cornhole, do a google search but make sure the safe search option is on.  I don't want to be held responsible for someone getting in trouble w/ work or wives.)  and he also brought a piece of BOD artwork he had made out of barbed wire, copper and a chain ring


  pretty cool huh?  I've been telling the guy for years that he could make a living off of his artwork and salsa, he makes the most kickin' spoke bracelet you've ever seen as well.
  I ended up w/ a collage of photos that MOMentum had made, last year she did the same thing and I got beat out in the game for it, so I was really stoked to be able to bring this one home.  I'm going to hang it right next to my two Wes Freed pieces just as soon as they get back from the frame shop.
  Well breaks over, time to get back to resume revisal and job searching, if anyone reading has an opening for a sales person w/ some pretty quick wit and a bad bike addiction let me know.  Oh and a starting salary of six figures wouldn't hurt either, just kidding y'all.  Ride bikes, drink beer and happy holidays.
POAS
Matt-

at lake wobegon, my hometown, out there on the edge of the prarie.

No, not my hometown but that of Garrison Keilor and the same way he introduces his weekly monlogue on A Prarie Home Companion.  Which is my favorite radio program, and has been for quite some time now.  I first got into it a long time ago because my grandmother would listen to it, and when I would spend weekend with them I would stop and listen along with her.  It seemed to usually come on just before her other favorite radio program which was listening to Skip Carrie, the voice of the Atlanta Braves baseball club.  For those who have never heard the show it now comes on Sat evenings and again on Sunday mornings on National Public Radio, and the segment highlights whatever has happened in Garrison Keilor's hometown that week and at times it's hard to tell where the lines of fiction and reality seem to blur.
  I make mention of this because recently I've discovered that you can download his two weekly podcasts through iTunes and I've got hours of the show on my iPod now.  It's great for those long monotanous solo rides where music can sometimes become a bother and all you really need is the sound of a voice to move you along and tell you a story.  I've also found it to be the perfect way to wind down on those long car rides home at night from either rides or work, and it has a way of removing the days troubles and wrapping you up in a story for 15 or so minutes.  The thought I had as I was pulling into the garage last night was how much this weekly monologue of his was like a blog, only in a different medium.  It's purpouse, to take the reader/listener to a place away from where they were when they came across the writer, and to let them escape into their world for a moment.  That's often how I feel when I read other peoples works.
  I had dinner last night w/ Speedy and we talked at length about how this kind of writing can be very cathartic.  I told him that I will typically just write whatever comes to mind w/out putting too much thought or editing time into it, that way it seems to flow more freely and feels more natural.  Much like the way I wrote songs, back when I wrote songs of course, these days its just music that likely no one will ever hear.  Not because it's not of any quality or worth, they all are, but mostly because I've stopped recording what I write and instead just play it and if I like it, I do my best to remember it for later on.  If not, then at least it's still gotten out of me.  Funny how these days what seems to come out when i do get around to playing is much more condensed than what it used to be.  In some ways, I feel as if all that there is to be said has already been done so, and my contribution has already been made.   I do look forward to what the future generations will bring to the music world, especially when the cycle of music comes back around to the focus on quality songwriting and not this overly produced, excesively packaged, overly played slammed down your throat variety that I am inundated with on a daily basis.  Thankfully for me, my catalog of music has been piling up for so long that I don't have very far to go to find something I like when I want to hear it.
  So, not much riding this week, life has demanded other things of my time but that's ok.  Rumor has it that I may be reunited w/ a certain red bicycle by the end of the day that I feel quite certain will again spark my obsesive riding nature in the weeks to come.  BOD x-mas party tomorrow night and the ever growing family will again have its annual reunion of sorts.  I love this party because in a lot of cases it's the only chance I get to see some of the people I've come to refer to as family. 
  Well thats the news from Funwoody, where the coffee is strong, the bikes are good looking and the children are just about average (thanks Garrison)
POAS
Matt-