Kansas, they say, is the name of the star

Work is sending me to Kansas. That’s right folks, as of this afternoon I’ll be on a plane to Atlanta, and then to Kansas city Mo, then it’s a one hour drive to my destination in Kansas. It’s just a day trip, I will be returning tomorrow afternoon. I’m going to collect some data for one of our welding applications.

I think this calls for FUN vs. FUNK!

FUN vs. FUNK

fun: I’ve never been to kansas, nor missouri, and I have a camera to document my event
funk: Kansas is flat, and is perhaps best known for the musical Wizard of Oz, in which Kansas is a black and white land of misery in comparison to the colorful wonderful land of Oz
fun: All food and accomodations to be paid for by work
funk: 12+ hours of travel over the next 36 hours.
fun: I get to use a super expensive thermal imaging camera
funk: I have a sore throat and annoying cold and flying will be miserable

54 thoughts on “Kansas, they say, is the name of the star

  • 7/13/2005 at 8:09 am
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    So i have my mp3 player at work and I want to hook it up and here is the converssation that went on:

    Kurt- ” Do we have computer speakers in here so we can have club Micro?”

    Justene- “Just plug it into this computer.”

    Kurt- “I need a male-male cable to plus into both things.”

    Justene- “whats that?”

    Kurt then proceeds to explain the concept of male-male adapter.

    Justene- “I’ve never knew of that type of manouver.”

    Mike- “Hey, this is Massachusetts. We are OK with that.”

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  • 7/13/2005 at 8:17 am
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    I hear KC has some awesome Barbecue. That’s a definate plus.

    Also, when flying home you can turn to the guy in the seat next to you and say “Well, I guess we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

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  • 7/13/2005 at 8:49 am
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    MikeD, GO FOR THE STEAK! STEAK FOR EVERY MEAL!

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  • 7/13/2005 at 9:43 am
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    don’t worry Tim. Steak will be had. A lot of steak will be had.

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  • 7/13/2005 at 9:44 am
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    porterhouse or filet mignon?

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  • 7/13/2005 at 10:00 am
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    Or both… at the same time!

    I still have love for the ribs though. mmm.

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  • 7/13/2005 at 10:03 am
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    Mike D, where in Kansas are you going?

    Depsite my Seattle appearances, I’m really from Kansas. Maybe I can recommend some good places to eat for steak and BBQ.

    And dude, please don’t tell any Wizard of Oz jokes while you’re there.

    And, if you’re only an hour away from KC, chances are it’s not going to be flat.

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  • 7/13/2005 at 11:15 am
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    I’ll be in Atchison KS.

    I’m off to the airport! adios!

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  • 7/13/2005 at 11:19 am
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    “I’ve never been to Kansas” and “Kansas is flat”

    yessss. yet another east coaster’s stereotype! at least you’re not worried about the Indians shooting you with arrows. (and yes, someone once really, seriously, asked me about that).

    “Kansas is a … land of misery.”

    nope. to us Kansans, Missouri is “misery.”

    we hate all things missouri, they hate all things kansas (it goes waaay back).

    in fact, there’s a mural featured in our capitol building with a psychotic John Brown, raving mad about missouri.

    http://www.kshs.org/places/capitol/graphics/capitol_mural.jpg

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  • 7/13/2005 at 11:34 am
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    atchison… hmmm…

    that might as well be in Missouri, since it’s named after a Missouri Senator, and since it was established as a pro-slavery town.

    but, Amelia Earhart is from there, and there’s a statue of her in our capitol building, too.

    ok, enough kansas history… (I used to be a tour guide…)

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  • 7/13/2005 at 12:20 pm
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    Mike I am amazed by your being able to find anything fun about visiting either of those two states. Personally I would classify not having visted Kansas or Missouri FUN, and having to visit them as FUNK. Also I would go as far to call the entire Midwest a “land of misery.”

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  • 7/13/2005 at 12:53 pm
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    Hey, Chicago is really nice. The rest of the midwest is a waste, but Chicago is a good place.

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  • 7/13/2005 at 1:33 pm
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    Well thats why Chicago had a cool nickname; “The Windy City”. you don’t hear anything about Kansas City, MO or KA . No cool nickname there. They just decided to clump the entire middle of the country with one nickname; “The Great Plains” Damn strait. PLAIN BORING!!!

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  • 7/13/2005 at 2:38 pm
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    1) Oh yeah, I can walk backwards. Up and down 52 a flight of 52 stairs even. I gave so many tours that I’d wear holes in the toes of my shoes from it. Of 4 years of tours, I fell down twice.

    2) Chicago is not the windiest city in the US of A. That designation belongs to Dodge City, Kansas.

    3) I feel like Sander saying the Beatles stink. Only I’m trying to defend Kansas. (I won’t defend Missouri ever, even though I was born there.)

    4) Ok, you can make fun of Missouri all you want. And Iowa. And Nebraska, the Dakotas, Illinois, Oklahoma, etc. I’ll even let you make fun of most of Kansas, because a lot of it is flat and full of farmers. HOWEVER, I will not allow the city of Lawrence, Kansas to be included. It’s the “Cultural Oasis of the Plains” and is one of the most vibrant little cities around. If you’re only going to spend one day in Kansas, make sure that it’s in Lawrence.

    5) One of best friends is from Rhode Island and went to school in Lawrence. He left for grad school in Delaware a year ago, and he dropped out to move back to Lawrence. He hates Delaware. Now, I don’t know how Delaware and Rhode Island compare, I’ll leave that up to you easterners.

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  • 7/13/2005 at 8:55 pm
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    My freshman year roommate was from Kansas. He wasn’t cool.

    And whats up with Kansas City not being in Kansas? That dosn’t make any sense.

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  • 7/13/2005 at 9:11 pm
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    I think the city realized how boring nad flat Kansas then spent their life savings to get out of there. Realized they could only get 400 dollars for their beat up old Ford Pickup and just made it across the border. I think thats how it went.

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  • 7/13/2005 at 11:54 pm
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    Well, there’s a Kansas City, Missouri and a Kansas City, Kansas. Kansas City, MO is larger and it has the downtown, the Chiefs and Royals, as well as The Plaza and the museums and historic districts. And some suburbs.

    The Kansas side is mostly suburbs. Those that are from Kansas City will probably acknowledge the the Kansas side is better. If nothing because the roads are a lot better. And the schools. And the City Hall isn’t corrupt. Most people on the Missouri side would like to have their beat-up Ford trucks get them back across the border. If money = better, you’ll find that Johnson County, Kansas is one of the 10 most affluent counties per capita in the country.

    Wichita, Kansas’ biggest city entirely within the state, is worthy of several Kansas stereotypes. It’s super flat, it gets bombarded by tornadoes all the time, and as far as big cities go, it’s pretty boring.

    Not that Kansas City is all that exciting. But that’s what Lawrence is for.

    I dunno why I keep fighting this uphill battle. Kansas is cool, and you ‘coasters are just too arrogant and close-minded to think otherwise.

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  • 7/14/2005 at 7:22 am
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    Lawrence can never be forgiven for giving us The Get Up Kids. They should be punished.

    I’m thinking about it now, my freshman roommate was named Patrick and he was from Kansas. Prove you aren’t him.

    I have, for your information, lived in many places including the midwest. I don’t hate the midwest, I like giving midwesterners a lot of shit. I do hate Indiana though.

    And I’d like to remind you that ‘[the] train don’t run outta Wichita… lessen your a hog or a cattle or sumptin… people train runs outta Stubville’

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  • 7/14/2005 at 7:37 am
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    I also have lived in the midwest, and quite honestly would never ever ever move back EVER. Although I am have to visit there often to see my grandparents. BORING.

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  • 7/14/2005 at 8:49 am
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    I find it somewhat ironic that Lawrence, Kansas, is so cool, given what Lawrence, MA is like. I guess not all Lawrence’s are created equal.

    My high school physics teacher was named Lawrence.

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  • 7/14/2005 at 11:55 am
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    Rhode Island is awesome!! I was born there and have spent most of my life there. I have since moved to Mass but I still go down to RI to visit alot. We have amazing mansions all along a beautiful cliffwalk in Newport. An awesome event that occurs throughout the summer called Waterfire. Where fires are lit all along the Blackstone River right through downtown Providence. I love it and I highly recommend it if you’re ever in Prov during a night where it’s on. Top to bottom it only takes about an hour to drive through the entire state!! We’re close enough to NH to go skiing in the winter. And we have our own beaches for the summertime, they don’t call us the Ocean State for nothing. I’ve never been to Kansas… but to be honest that didn’t make my top 10 places I’d like to go in my lifetime.

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  • 7/14/2005 at 12:32 pm
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    Or it takes about 8hours and 49 minutes to walk across your puny state. I so totally owned Rhode Island. That state threw monumentally large hills in my path. and I walked all over them. Highways with no shoulders. Totally ran across them. Coyotes couldn’t keep me down. Rhode Island is my Biatch (Excuse my language).

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  • 7/14/2005 at 12:42 pm
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    Holy crap, I cannot believe this midwest bashing got so out of hand. I’m a native of North Dakota, the most isolated of the midwestern states, so I think I’ve got some info.

    1. Lawrence may have given us The Get Up Kids, but it also gave us The Anniversary, and a bunch of other turn-of-the-century bands that are awesome. Lawrence is the Berkley of the midwest.

    2. Lawrence Welk is from North Dakota, and therefore a champ. Could you make a TV show about people singing old songs in weird music-video situations? LIVE? I think not. Plus, he played the accordian. AWESOME.

    3. Yes, some parts of the midwest are ugly and boring. But New York has some pretty damn ugly and boring parts, but people call that the center of the free world. And at least you can get away from stupid people out in the sticks. On the east coast you are constantly surrounded my mouth-breathers and people who hate all muslims.

    4. Steak (and other meat) is waaaay more available there. There was a week where my dad had antelope for breakfast every day. Can you do that in Massachusetts? I doubt it.

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  • 7/14/2005 at 1:03 pm
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    If you replace antelope with Moose then yes. How does antelope taste? I’m on a mission to eat everything that walks in the United states. So far I’ve had, cow (both adult and veal), deer, bear, moose, duck, chicken, goose, quail, lamb. I can’t wait to eat buffalo and ostrich. what other things can I eat that is not illegal. cause I ain’t eatin people.

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  • 7/14/2005 at 1:38 pm
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    Buffalo is delicious.

    I can eat a constant supply of fresh seafood, which tastes much better fresh than shipped anywhere, and I still have a great supply of beef. I’m sure if I wanted Antelope I could find it.

    I’ll give you the Anniversary point, having booked them at WPI and watching them put on a fantastic show I admit they are awesome. But not awesome enough to make me forgive The Get Up Kids. Seriously.

    You assume Mass dosn’t have sticks, and that’s just not true. We have sticks and cities, best of both worlds! Where in the midwest can you live in the sticks yet still be an hour from two great cities (Providence and Boston) and a couple of hours from a city like New York?

    And we didn’t vote for Bush.

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  • 7/14/2005 at 2:04 pm
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    1) Aaron, Thanks for the backup, Dakota Bro. I went backpacking up in Teddy Roosevelt NP once, and I loved it.

    2) Buffalo is yummm. Much better than beef, in my opinion.

    3) So you hate Lawrence, KS because of one band. that must mean Sander really really hates Britain. Heck, and probably all of Europe, too.

    4) If you’re going to bring politics into this, Ben, check out the county-by-county voting from the 2004 election. There’s a certain county in Kansas that’s blue (the only one). Douglas county. Lawrence, KS, baby!

    5)Lawrence, KS was founded my abolitionists from Massachusetts. The main street of downtown is known as Mass street. Oh, and the Berkley of the Midwest is also another true statement.

    Mike D. is going to get home and wonder just what the heck happened to his blog…

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  • 7/14/2005 at 2:44 pm
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    Seriously, Mike is in for the shock of a lifetime.

    1) Bufalo is better tasting than beef, and a much safer meat supply then the current beef supply

    2) I don’t really hate Lawrence, just one band. One band who’ve consistently made my life miserable.

    3) Sander probably does hate Britain. Have you met him? Irrational generalizations are his bread-and-butter.

    4) Like I keep saying, I’m not from Mass, I’ve lived in the mid-west, I didn’t hate it. I do prefer the coasts. I’m not even from the northeast.

    5) Thanks to the Electoral College all those votes in Lawrence meant jack shit. Just like my vote meant nothing here.

    6) But if you prefer the mid-west, why don’t any of you live there? Huh?

    7) I say, let’s call a truce and rally around ‘At least it isn’t the South’

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  • 7/14/2005 at 2:47 pm
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    I have thoughts about Rhode Island and Kansas cities.

    1. I live in Rhode Island and love it, because it’s a snack-size Boston. They have the charles river, we have the waterfire river. They have the north end, we have federal hill. Awesome.

    2. I once had a lay over in Kansas city, and as it landed I thought to myself, “wow, I’ve never been to Kansas.” Somehow during the time we sat in the plane waiting, I learned that I was not in Kansas at all. As we left, I said to my neighbor how that was my first experience in Missouri, and he said actually no, you were just in Nebraska.

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  • 7/14/2005 at 2:57 pm
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    Providence is awesome. I’d definately live there, it’s a great city.

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  • 7/14/2005 at 3:16 pm
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    Is this the most posts that have every been accumulated on one of MikeD’s posts? I think it is. and I think it would be in the spirit of mike di to try and hit 100 comments on this single post. If you have ever met mikeD you know he likes to set rediculous goals. Here are some examples
    “We have 3 minutes to eat this entire pan of brownies Kurt, before Kate comes back. Go!”

    “Lets see how many sweaters I can put on” the answer is Fifteen

    “Who can fit more Oreo’s in their mouth at once. I bet I can do twenty”

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  • 7/14/2005 at 3:47 pm
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    “What is the optimum number of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups to eat at once? Let’s go to Wal-Mart, buy a bunch, and find out.”

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  • 7/14/2005 at 3:47 pm
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    I have the answer…but will I reveal it? Stay tuned…

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  • 7/14/2005 at 4:30 pm
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    The optimum number of Reese’s Peanut butter cups would likely be different from the optimum number of reese pieces, but in volume, they’d be the same I think. Hm.

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  • 7/14/2005 at 5:24 pm
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    Theresa: How did you have a layover in Kansas City, Nebraska? Your neighbor must have been wrong or something.

    Ben: I don’t live in Kansas anymore because having lived in the Midwest for 23 years (minus 18 months of living abroad), I wanted to live somewhere else to try it out, and because my first big job offer was out in Seattle. I do miss the barbeque, non-existant traffic, the friendlier people, and the thunderstorms of home though. Oh, and KU basketball.

    I’ve never met Sander. I haven’t even met Mike D. As far as I’ve seen, he’s an MS Paint image (at least that’s how he attended my party).

    Everywhere > South. I think we can all agree there. The people may be nice, but I can’t stand the humidity.

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  • 7/15/2005 at 6:57 am
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    I’m from the south, and you made fun of it, so now we can be even and call a truce.

    And clearly, we should attempt to hit 100 comments by the end of today. I can do my part, believe you me, because my job sucks.

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  • 7/15/2005 at 7:31 am
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    Back on the subject of meats…

    Antelope is a lot like venison (surprise surprise), but is a little less tender. Buffalo is life beef with a fun flavor injection. Ostrich is like filet mignon. I had it in a restaurant, and almost sent it back, convinced that they had brought me the wrong meal.

    Other meats you might try are rattlesnake (also available in ND), elk (raised domestically or hunted), various bears, bighorn sheep, emu, and mountain lion.

    All of those are either raised domestically, or are legal to hunt in various states, with the exception of the mountain lion. However, it is legal to kill one in defense, and you can’t let all that cat meat go to waste.

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  • 7/15/2005 at 7:35 am
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    Good Lord! I’m gone for one day and the site is assaulted by comments.

    honestly, I laughed when I opened up my gmail.

    Kurt, you need to try Reindeer. It tastes like either ground beef, or bacon, depending on how you cook it.

    And that’s a great idea with the mountain lion. I bet you could use the same excuse for various other endangered beasts, like polar bears and pandas.

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  • 7/15/2005 at 7:59 am
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    Look! A lion! Throw a rock at it!

    It’s coming right at us! Kill it! In self defense!

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  • 7/15/2005 at 8:19 am
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    You know what I think your right. I didn’t spend months honing my slingshot skills for no reason. Gosh darnnit I’m gonna go out there and kill me some endandgered animals in self defense then eat them.

    Park Ranger : “Sir, lets go over it again. You say the Peromyscus polionotus allophrys charged you, and feeling threatened you killed it with your slingshot. Once the animal was killed you proceeded to eat it, to honor the willful spirit that inhabited the animal?”

    Kurt : “Yup. You want some?”

    Park Ranger : “……..no. So what your telling me is that you felt so threatened, threatened to the point that you felt you life was in danger, that you had to kill and eat a mouse.”

    Kurt : licking lips ” uh, yeah.”

    Park ranger : “Your gonna have to come with me sir.”

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  • 7/15/2005 at 9:49 am
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    Dude, mice are dirty. Don’t eat a mouse.

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  • 7/15/2005 at 1:24 pm
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    Really the fleas on the mouse, not the mouse, would give you the plague.

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  • 7/15/2005 at 1:25 pm
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    Really, the microscopic organisms in the fleas on the mouse would give you the plague.

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  • 7/15/2005 at 2:19 pm
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    considering kurt would likely eat it raw, he’d eat the mouse, the fleas, the microscopic organisms, the whole lot.

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  • 7/16/2005 at 6:02 pm
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    I’m not going to read this all, at least not now. Because I’m tired, from my recent trip to Mississippi (and Tennessee and Alabama and North Carolina (weeeeeeeeeeeooooooo (ala Dukes of Hazzard))).

    However, I do generally hate Britain. Here’s why:

    1. It’s full of whiney sissy-men who have bad teeth, and generally a bad attitude as far as I’m concerned.
    2. Arrogance where none deserves to be.
    3. To defend their sissiness (and support their arrogance) British people are constantly citing WWII as an example of British bravery, heroism, and general not-sucking. Except for the guys who were actually in the war, who are modest and kick ass. Since about 1945 the only cool things that have ever happened that involved British people are Lotus (the Esprit makes me hot), and Jane Seymour (she rocks my geriatric world).
    4. Tony Blair hunkered down for the Iraq saga on Bush’s side of the fence. I’m not sure whether his stupid decision is worse due to
    A) George Bush Jr. is the worst man ever to hold a position of power above elementary school crossing guard, or
    B) Tony Blair probably knows this and joined our side of the debate anyway like some kind of lackey with a high-pitched voice.

    I find my life gets a lot easier if I assume large groups of people are no good, then let them prove otherwise on an individual basis.

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