The apartment has been comfortable but cramped. We lost about 350 square feet in the move and we are finding creative ways to store our junk. We sold our old 7-piece furniture set and replaced it with an Ikea couch and coffee table. The new place combines two walk in closets to create heaven on earth for Mackenzie and every other woman, unfortunately she has to share some of it with me.

   We aren't quite done yet - there are plans in the works to get an Ikea dining table, a filing cabinet, and shelving units to store my beer bottles. Interestingly enough we managed to bring two massive tubs of beer bottles to Dallas but we struggled to fit our kitchen gadgets and crafts. Over the next four months we will be deciding whether 750 square feet is enough for us - I'm leaning towards no.

   We spent too much time at the Mazda dealership on Monday. Let me be clear about this: I've done far too much research on the car purchasing process. I understand the dealership sales strategy, fair commission, finance and insurance options, and the four box sales strategy. I made it clear from the beginning that I would not speak about monthly payments and that I was only interested in the total cost of the car. I offered the Edmunds.com True Market Value price for the vehicle and the "poor" Edmunds.com trade-in value for Mackenzie's beetle - the beetle was in a sad state and had died on the interstate during the dealer test drive. I thought that by telling them I was not interested in traditional negotiations that they would listen. Apparently they didn't believe me. Here is what happened:

1. They ask me what it would take for me to take the car home immediately and I tell them TMV price for the new car and $3500 for the beetle (between "poor" and "average" ratings). The TMV price is $400 below sticker value and $900 above dealer invoice.
2. After 15 minutes they comes back and tell me that the beetle trade-in is too high. They say $2600, I say $3200. At this point I tell them this is my final offer.
3. They offer me $2800 trade in. I say $3200 is my final offer
4. They pretend to accept the $3200 offer but in reality they bring out a sales sheet that sales $3000. They try to tell me that I will save $200 in taxes to make up the $3200. Yeah, I will save $200 in taxes. That doesn't mean you get them.
5. The dealership sales manager steps in for the salesman and tells me that they won't make a profit on my trade-in and that if they gave everyone the deal they are giving me the dealership would be bankrupt. This guy is lying through his teeth and very condescending. Often says "Its nice to finally be talking with someone who seems really intelligent," followed by a remark to make me feel as though I don't know what I'm talking about. I tell him $3200 is the final offer and he leaves.
6. Salesperson comes back and offers window tint but no budge on price. I tell him thank you but no thanks. Mackenzie and I leave.
7. We get in the beetle and turn it on. Right as I flip the car into reverse a second sales manager taps on my window and accepts my offer.
8. We fill out the paperwork and take our car home

Total Time Elapsed: 6 hours

   In retrospect I think Mackenzie and I could have been done in 3 hours if I had just stuck to traditional negotiation and asked for $4500 trade-in and $19.5K initially. In the end we got a 2010 Mazda3 i Touring 6 CD/Bose/Moonroof for $19959, less $3200 trade-in for a 2000 New Beetle with mechanical problems. I got the prices I set before I left so I'm pretty happy.

   Every time I leave the apartment without the GPS I regret it. On Wednesday a 5 mile run turned into a 12 mile run with severe dehydration. On Tuesday I ended up 10 miles east of our apartment on an epic quest for Tiger Woods 10. We have also learned that while frontage roads are faster than the Interstate during rush hour, they usually have other problems. There is no good way to get around this city.

   Google searches indicated that the place in Dallas to watch Husker games is Cape Buffalo in Addison - which is about 2 miles from our apartment. Its not football season so we weren't expecteing much, but there were no Husker signs in sight at the place. Also of note is that they claim to be a Private Club and require you to fill out a membership application prior to entry. I guess my T-shirt and shorts were cool enough for them so we passed. Apparently this private club also has no issue letting a lady host a sex toy sales party in the back room and walk around handing out advertisements to their dining guests. We probably will not be back.

   Gilbert has had a hard time adjusting to life without Skippy. He seems to have replaced the void with me, which is problematic when I leave. He is barking more than he ever has in his life and we are at a loss for how to train him. Our neighbors will only put up with us for so long...

   He has gotten several walks daily while I've been off work but the heat has been difficult. To that end we shaved him bald this afternoon. He doesn't look nearly as cute with the short hair but he still has his personality. Hopefully the heat will be more bearable tomorrow.

   Mackenzie has been studying nearly non-stop. She took her first two exams this week and ended up with a B and a solid A, both grades a full letter above the class average. Her new friends in Dallas have been great for her and she seemingly hasn't missed me too bad in the last month. She is happy with the new vehicle and I'm trying my best to stay out of her way until she gets done with her first trimester. I think she has spent every minute not studying at the pool - she is very tan!

   I've been incredibly bored. My daily routine consists of walking Gilbert for 2 miles, running 3-4 miles, then playing Tiger Woods 10 for a couple of hours. I'm working on some starter apps on the Android SDK, but to be honest I have been more lazy over the break than I anticipated. I'm starting to get a little nervous for the new work location but I'm sure once I settle in I will be as productive as I was in Omaha.

   The below picture pretty much sums up my daily view. We've had two severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings in the last week and I've been relentlessly assaulting Matt and Ross' Google Talk accounts while they try to get work done. I've tried one new Pale Ale in Dallas but its nothing special - I'm looking forward to experiencing a few of the breweries outside of the Dallas area once we get settled.

   Aside from the above there isn't much to mention. I am trying my best to be a Rangers fan and I cheered on the Penguins in games 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. I was cheering for the Magic but it seems futile after watching them hand over game 4 with missed free throws. Thanks for reading!

  Yesterday evening I began reading Nineteen Eighty-Four so this article in mirror.co.uk struck my interest immediately. In it, a western North Korean visitor describes a culture which self-promotes itself through government controlled media and portrays the rest of the world as inferior. All this despite a recent famine which was responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths. Here's a fair-use snippet:

   Mackenzie, Blakely, Jacob, and I hit the tarmac at 11:30 CST yesterday evening to conclude the Vegas extravaganza. Note to self: don't try to wake at 8am after staying up until 8am for 3 consecutive nights. I stumbled awkwardly towards both alarms, unable to find them while I dreamed of Blackjack and black chips. I've never been so out of commission in my life - and no foreign substances were involved. Mackenzie gave me encouragement with shouts of "To your right! To your left! Damnit Brent, turn the alarm off! Needless to say my body was not ready for work this morning.

   We arrived at the Imperial Palace early Thursday evening. The details are shaky but I'm pretty sure we dressed up a bit and walked towards the South end of the strip. The girls got kisses from some Stone Man acting like a robot and we ate at Dick's last resort. A few words about that place: Don't go there. Ever. The food was the same crap we saw at a McDonald's airport and our tab for 6 was $175 + tip - $10 per beer. I understand the gimmick of the restaurant is the service, but can you really justify the price by that alone? Our server was horrible - and she didn't spend more than 30 seconds total talking to us - but that's not my gripe. There's a gap in the pictures so I'm not sure what we did after Dick's. I have to think that we ended up at a casino bar somewhere on the South side of the strip. Later in the evening Jacob and I sat at a $10 table at Harrah's and lost lots of money until the wee hours of the morning. I was down $230 at the end of night one.

   The Harrah's properties in Vegas have gone downhill since my visit 3 years ago. 6 to 5 blackjack payouts need to be reserved for single deck tables and suckers. At the IP every single table, including 6-8 deck games, paid 6 to 5. At Harrah's over half of the tables paid 6 to 5 including the entire Party Pit. The funny thing about that property was that the 3:2 games were available in random places and there seemed to be no rhyme or reason. Most people are totally oblivious that they are playing a horrible game while the proper game is 15 feet away with an open seat. Caesar's Palace, Flamingo, Ballys, and Paris sucked too. I'll never gamble at a Harrah's table in Vegas again. Luckily its not as bad in Council Bluffs.

   Now for the good gambling: The Venetian, Bellagio, and Mirage. Great cocktail service, fun dealers, and cool players. I even found a $5 table at Bellagio on Saturday night! I went from $250 down to $200 up at these casinos and ended the trip at +$75. I had no intention of winning but it was a fun 15 hours at the tables.

   Friday afternoon was uneventful; Chippendale's dancers threw some beads at me but aside from that we just walked up and down the strip and enjoyed the weather. We ended up at a shopping mall on the north end of the strip and I grabbed some clothes from Express while we worked out the plans for the rest of the evening. We had lunch at Harrah's buffet and grabbed a cab to hit Fremont street for some cheap gambling. The Queen light show was amazing - I grabbed some pictures of it before we sat down at the $5 table with dealers in circus outfits. We met a crazy group of people and drank some Washington Apples while we watched a guy lose $2000 for a comp'd room. Fremont Street is scary late at night. We walked into that Casino among tens of thousands of fellow tourists. As we exited at 4:30 AM the only things in site were a street cleaner and a single cab, but the lights were still on.

   Saturday was the grand finale of the trip. I woke up early to have some Bloody Mary's at the Venetian's blackjack tables before everyone gathered to start the full hour walk to the Hofbräuhaus. I've got to recommend this place if you can make it. I had 1.5 liters of Dunkel with my schnitzel and potato salad while we watched a guy with a (fake) German accent play German music and blow a 12 foot horn. Once lunch was over we headed back to the strip and got dressed up - tonight was the night to hit a club. After being made fun of for thinking we might be able to get into Ghost Bar we settled on Studio 54. Its a classic, right? The drinks were expensive and the people were sleazy but the experience was great. We had a great time dancing and people watching before heading out to New York New York. I found a bar with good IPA on tap (my first in Vegas) and we headed to Americana for some late night snacks. The food and service at this place was amazing despite the late hour.

   We had a hard time getting up on Sunday and ended up taking full advantage of the complimentary hour late check out. We walked around to the last casinos that we (or I) wanted to see and took some photos. When we made it to the airport I was pumped up on Blackjack enough to buy a book: Bringing Down the House (the book 21 was based on). I'm halfway through the thing and enjoying it thoroughly. The flight was easy and we're spending today adjusting back to a normal paced life. Gilbert was totally excited to see us.

   Where do I end this post? After a trip like Vegas there isn't much left to say. I just purchased the A.S.M. manual for the P/1 first Actuarial exam. I've learned all of the material before so I'm interested in brushing up and taking the test just for kicks. Aside from that I'm starting a Software Development project on my own at home - more details on that later. Mackenzie and I are visiting Dallas in 2 weeks - I can't wait to give an update after that trip!

Click here to see all of the pictures.

Mackenzie and I planned on moving in November to begin her Chiropractic schooling. We have debated between Davenport IA, San Jose CA, Port Orange FL, and now Dallas TX for a while.

This week Mackenzie was offered a one-time scholarship award to attend Parker School of Chiropractic in Dallas TX in May rather than wait until January 2010. Needless to say we are in panic mode trying to figure out how we will make everything work.

Parker's campus is located 12 miles from Raytheon IIS in Garland TX and I'm working with my company to get a transfer. No plans are solidified yet but they are working hard for me and I appreciate it. With any luck I will complete my tasking in Omaha around the same time Mackenzie's classes start.

We are anxiously awaiting the move. Neither of us have lived outside of Omaha in our adult lives and it will be nice to start our new life together in a fresh environment!

Mackenzie and I have been enjoying a relaxing winter around the house. We've kept Netflix moving (Pineapple Express, Burn After Reading, Raging Bull, Animal House, and more..) and we watch Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations on Monday nights. We're also anxiously awaiting Season 5 of the Office on DVD.

Remember when Gilbert was tiny?

He is twice that size now! 14 pounds and counting. He hasn't been groomed yet so he's a hairy little guy and he loves the snow. Mackenzie has pictures of him running through 7 inches of powder that dropped on Friday.

Mackenzie and I booked flights and a hotel for Las Vegas in the middle of March. I'm saving up money for the Blackjack tables now. At the end of May I'll be going to Washington D.C. and soon after that we will be going on a cruise for our delayed honeymoon.

Last but not least I'm still working on the beer collection:

The main goal is to visit as many breweries as possible and grab a pint glass where available. The current glass collection doesn't go beyond Kansas City, but stay tuned after this year's vacations. I'm also planning on adding a beer list to the site.. if you have any suggestions please feel free to email me - I prefer a good IPA.

Update: At this point we've completed Sartharion 3 Drake (10 & 25) and I've completed Glory of the Raider.

By the time I tell a person that I play World of Warcraft I usually know them pretty well. Its not that I'm ashamed of my nerdy side, its just that my normal side may already hit some peoples' proverbial nerd limit.

With that in mind, most people don't know about my Priest (Xaftan), my Rogue (Crafty), or my Warrior (Huggies). They probably don't know that I grew up playing Starcraft, Diablo I & II, and Warcraft II & III, and Everquest (Gnome Necromancer baby!).

To the point: I not only play World of Warcraft. I actually co-lead a raiding guild. When I saw the WoW commercial with Ozzy my only thought was "Hey, that is Illidan's platform!" For those unfamiliar with raiding - we get together 25-30 people every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday night for four hours of debauchery. We know each other on a first name basis, we make fun of each other's mothers, and sometimes we kill bosses. We gathered 11 Shadow Warriors in Austin last August and took over the town. This June we'll be doing the same in Washington D.C.

With that small bit of background for non-WoW players, I've got to brag a bit to current WoW players. Last night we dropped Malygos (heroic) for the first time. We have thus completed all released WotLK raid content except additional drakes on Sartharion. Go me!

Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District is being led by McCain by only 600 votes - the district contains "Douglas County and urbanized areas of Sarpy County." Douglas is Obama by ~6,600 votes and Sarpy is McCain by ~9000 votes. This makes sense considering Sarpy has the military folks stationed at Offutt AFB.

The amount of hatered we've seen over the closing months of campaigning is discouraging. Its time for our country to unite under Obama and work towards improving our domestic obligations and repairing broken foreign relations.

As a country we can work to restore accountability in the White House by enforcing the separations of power that were implemented by our founding fathers more than 200 years ago. We can hold accountable those who have unjustly sacrificed the privacy of American citizens and those who used fear to control our nation.

"THERE'S NO WAY A SMART PERSON CAN GO BROKE EXPECT THROUGH BORROWED MONEY. ALL BORROWED MONEY DOES IS, IT MAY HELP YOU GET IT A LITTLE FASTER, BUT IT CAN HELP YOU GET POORER A WHOLE LOT FASTER. YOU MAKE DECENT INVESTMENTS IN THINGS YOU UNDERSTAND AT ATTRACTIVE PRICES AND YOU'LL DO WELL OVER TIME." (LINK TO ARTICLE)

This is the way I've been trying to live my adult life to this point. Going to school being the one necessary exception. I really wish I had money on hand to invest right now.

And for comedic value: Buffett: THE GE ENGINES ARE PERFORMING MAGNIFICENTLY ON THIS PLANE.