Lots of Monkeys

This Labor Day weekend was just chock full.

Saturday was the long awaited Busch Gardens trip, which was fantastic. Rode the big four attractions: Alpengeist, Apollo’s Chariot, Big Bad Wolf, and the Loch Ness Monster. I love a good thrill ride. Apollo’s Chariot is pretty impressive. It’s the first of the “hypercoaster” class thrill rides that I’ve been on. For the record, it has a 210 foot drop at 73 miles per hour. Also for the record, it’s fun to ask people questions right before that first 210 foot drop.

When you get to the top of the hill, there’s a moment during which the clanking has stopped. During that half second, the front car hangs over the crest of the drop. This is that half second.

PraxisLoki: So. . . Where’re you from?
Stranger: OhiOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

A hypercoaster, by definition, is any non inverting thrill ride that’s over 200 feet.

Sunday was the Chimner / Glazer wedding, which was planned in under two months. I got the invitation about two weeks before the actual event. The wedding was great. The rabbi that presided over the wedding was humorous, and did his best to make the ceremony accessible to everyone by explaining the rituals during the wedding. The reception was more like a college reunion, except I knew everyone there and it was only people I liked.

So I’m reading the Da Vinci Code now, and it looks like Dan Brown has done his research and created another “fact based” suspense thriller that’s easy to read. The thing is, after reading all of his novels in a row, it’s just too easy to see the character types that he’s familiar with.

Deception Point
An incredibly attractive woman in her mid 30s that works as an Intelligence Analyst
Falls in love with
A ruggedly attractive Marine Biologist in his mid 40s

Digital Fortress
An incredibly attractive woman in her mid 30s that works as a Cryptographer
Falls in love with
A ruggedly attractive Professor of Linguistics in his mid 40s

Angels & Demons
A ruggedly attractive Professor of Symbology in his late 40s (but looks like his mid 40s)
Falls in love with
An incredibly attractive and intelligent Marine Physicist in her mid 30s that happens to be the adopted daughter of a gifted Nuclear Physicist

The Da Vinci Code
A ruggedly attractive Professor of Symbology in his late 40s (but looks like his mid 40s)
Falls in love with
An incredibly attractive and intelligent French Police Cryptographer in her mid 30s that happens to be the granddaughter of a gifted French Symbologist

Granted, the last two novels have the same main character, Robert Langdon. However, all of the novels feature:

• shady assassins that get their orders from an unidentified “controller” or “teacher” or “master”
• Conspiracies of one sort or another
• Astounding amounts of research

I have to stop and go to the internet every couple of pages just for my own confirmation that he’s not making this stuff up. It’s great. And the writing is half decent, and entertaining. Always a plus.

I think I must have done something bad to Paint in a former life. Now, it’s getting its revenge.

I come back to my apartment and I find that they’ve fixed the water damage to my wall. Good.

All of my furniture formerly touching that wall has been moved to the center of my room and there’s a thin layer of paint dust everywhere as well as the fumes. Bad.

I have to start thinking about vacation again. Last year, I went to Orlando for a week.

This year, I don’t really know what I’m going to be doing. I know I haven’t taken some time off in a while, but right as of this moment, I’m at a loss for what I want to do or where I want to go.

Vegas, while appealing, gives me the “social” trip vibe, where I would enjoy it more with other people. Right now, I’m leaning towards just taking a week off and doing nothing except walking around DC and emulating the idle rich. Sans yacht.