Gowalla Promotes Voting

While looking at Tweetdeck earlier today, I was pleased to discover that our pals at Gowalla are now offering an "I Voted" pin to users who: (1) check in at a polling place; (2) insert the words "vote" or "voted" into the status update attached to said check in; and, (3) post said check in on Twitter. This is just another reason Gowalla has become my favorite of the mobile social networking apps.

Post your "I Voted" pin to Facebook and remind everyone in your friend group to hit the polls.

Speaking of voting: early voting is the only way to fly. If you are like me, you prefer to early vote at Randall's around 10am, when your only competition is retirees or stay-at-home moms. Early voting is open through Friday.

Travel: EarlyBird Check-In on Southwest

[photo (by me): somewhere between BWI and Austin ABIA]

If you haven't flown on Southwest Airlines lately, you may not know about it's new auto check-in option: EarlyBird Check-In. For a fee of $9 each way, purchasers of this option will be automatically checked in 36 hours before their flight. This is 12 hours before everyone else can check in via the internet or smartphone. While using EarlyBird doesn't guarantee an A spot (as does Business Select), I've lucked out with it every time. And, unlike the significant mark-up on Business Select, you can buy the EarlyBird option in conjunction with an otherwise dirt cheap web only special. Ergo, you can conceivably spend $99 to $129 each way and still end up ahead in line (and if you use Southwest, then you know how critical this is in order to avoid getting stuck in a middle seat).

Food (in Nashville): Rotier's

[photo: front bar area at Rotier's; the grilled cheeseburger]

Last week, I was in Nashville for a conference. Acting on a tip from a friend, the gf and I decided to hit Rotier's on the way out of town.

This was a fantastic decision. If you love Hut's in Austin (or delicious burgers in general), then you will love this place. I arrived with high expectations (owing to rave reviews from my friend), all of of which were met.

Located at 2314 Elliston Place, Rotier's is right by Vanderbilt and Centennial Park. Open since 1945, it's become famous for it's delicious burgers and shakes. I didn't consider anything else on the relative large menu. Instead, I order the recommended "grilled" cheeseburger. And by grilled, I mean grilled and then served on Texas Toast with melted cheese. It was like an already awesome grilled cheese sandwich with a savory medium rare surprise inside. And the dessert shake: excellent, and a perfect consistency. I was smitten with the entire meal and experience.

If you are in Nashville and looking for something tasty, fun, casual, and local, then go to Rotier's.

[Note: I already knew the general vicinity of Rotier's, but Gowalla and it's link to Google maps helped me find the restaurant quickly. Gowalla has been coming in very handy as a travel aid. Generally speaking, Gowalla has become my favorite mobile social networking app for traveling.]

Outdoor: Fly Fishing in Colorado

[photo: an awesome brook trout caught by my friend Andy (photo from Andy's iPhone)]

I've been fishing since age five. It wasn't until August, though, that I had experienced a successful fly fishing trip. Now I'm hooked.

At the beginning of August, I went to Estes Park, CO. My friend Andy booked a fly fishing guide through The Estes Angler. The fishing trip was one component of a multi-part mountain man vacation, which otherwise included but was not limited to hiking, whitewater rafting, eating elk meat, and driving a rented Hummer through the forest.

The morning of the fishing trip, we showed up bright and early at the The Estes Angler wherein we met our guide, Mike Oatley. Mike outfitted us with R.L. Winston gear and gave a thirty minute casting class outside of the store. Then we set off for Rocky Mountain National Park for several hours of fly fishing action.

The first thing I can tell you about fly fishing in Colorado is that even if you suck at fly casting and/or have no luck catching fish, you are still in the mountains of Colorado and that beats just about any day at the office. Our trip involved hiking through a wooded area, and then following a narrow, snowmelt fed river until likely fish occupied water was found. By river, I mean a fifteen foot wide channel which would easily fit inside of Barton Creek. But, this river was surrounded by high cliffs, forests, and mountain peak vistas.

The second thing about fly fishing in Colorado is that the process of fly fishing is fun, active, and quite engaging. You are constantly casting, mending your line, and letting your fly float down as you work the water for signs of fish. If you see a flash of light reflecting off a trout's scales, then you work that area as you present your fly to the fish until it finally gives into to its need for a tasty snack. While fishing, I didn't think about business or law at all; just working the line and catching a trout. It was pretty awesome.

And, finally, catching a brook trout is cool. They put up a good fight for a relatively small fish. I caught two, and as mentioned above, became hooked on fly fishing.

If you are going to be in Boulder, Fort Collins, or Estes Park and you're interested in some good fly fishing, then I recommend Mike Oatley. You can reach him through The Estes Angler. Mike's initial casting instructions were very good, and he worked with all of us throughout the trip, giving more instruction and advice to improve casting, line handling, water reading, fly presentation, and so forth. Thanks to Mike, I quickly went from having a crappy fly cast to being pretty decent. Mike also gave a lot of good general fishing advice, which I've employed on subsequent trips.

Music: The Eagles

[photos (by me, from the iPhone): stage prepares for The Eagles as the final act of 2010's ACL Festival; sunset over the waiting crowd in Zilker Park]

There's not much I can say about the music of The Eagles. It's been very popular, for a very long time. You probably are quite familiar with at least 75% of the songs they played as the closing act of this year's ACL Festival. However, if you are curious as to whether the band has still got their mojo, the answer is: yes!

Everyone I've with whom I've discussed the 10-10-10 show was blown away by how good The Eagles still are, and how great Sunday's performance was. The Eagles may look old, but they sound like it's still 1975. Their ACL ending show was well worth the effort of getting through ACL (and then out of it, along with the thousands of other folks headed toward Austin High).

The set was two hours long, and featured basically every Eagles hits except "Tequila Sunrise." The only song I hadn't heard before was "Long Road Out of Eden," a topical political number about excess, war, and the encroachment of empire. That was the mid point of the show, which was followed by more upbeat songs from their album of hits.

I'd like to note that seeing Joe Walsh sing "Life's Been Good" in person is pretty damn hilarious.

The 10-10-10 Eagles show was the second I've seen, the other being their 1995 Hell Freezes Over show at Memorial Stadium. My vantage point this time was vastly improved, as I could actually recognize the band members from where I stood (as opposed to last time, when I was in the end-zone seats at Memorial).

If you can catch The Eagles on tour, I highly recommend going.

Events: Summer of Catalyst 8 Follow-Up

[photos (by me): SPEAK members enjoy a digital art display; Peligrosa All-Stars rock it on the Long Center's City Terrace]

Yeah... so I've apparently been on hiatus from this blog for a couple of months. I noticed that my old postings stopped with a promotion for the Catalyst 8: Digital Revolution Mash B4 Bash DJ Party. Thus, if you're wondering how it was: it was awesome.

Seriously, our featured DJs, The Peligrosa All-Stars rocked the crowd on the Long Center's City Terrace for hours with fun and interesting Latin infused music. I had a great time listening to them (and taking low light photos). Independence Brewing Co. provided beer for the event. I was especially fond of the Freestyle.

Anyway, the final event in the Summer of Catalyst 8 was the Bash 2010. The theme: Let's Get Digital. The event, which was held inside the Long Center, was fantastic. SPEAK (in a photo above) put on an excellent show with their indie synth-pop (and a few 80's tributes). I'd share some images, but my camera with the photos of the actual event disappeared while I was tailgating before the UT-Wyoming game.

The Bash was a success, and another element of Catalyst 8's program for raising money to support performing arts in Austin and to allow the Rollins Theater to truly realize its potential as a theater for all of Austin.

Stay tuned for information on upcoming Catalyst 8 events.

Bar & Grill: Plea

Looking for a good time on November 5th and/or 6th? Of course you are, and thus you should look no farther than the Long Center in order to find entertainment for one or both of said evenings. Why? Because on both of these evenings AYLA's Bar & Grill will be delivering another round of high quality lawyer written/directed/performed musical comedy in the form of Plea.

I was in last year's show, Adventures in Downsizing, and I had a great time. I stretched my acting skills to the limit as I played Floyd, a lawyer who preferred Vegas, gambling, and related shenanigans to the actual practice of law. This year, my character is entirely different. I'm not going to give away much in the way of detail, other than to note that this year I've been coerced into performing in several dance routines (which is ironic, considering I possess little to no actual dancing talent); however, it's all in good fun and it should be highly amusing for the audience. Moreover, just about everyone in the show who's not me is actually quite talented at singing and dancing.

Proceeds from Bar & Grill go to support the Austin Bar Foundation, thus you will achieve the double whammy of both helping people and being entertained if you decide to come to the show this year.

Click here to buy your ticket.