So got a call just as I was headed out the door this morning, power out at the office so no work for me today! This is actually disappointing though, since we were scheduled to have a free lunch provided today.

The Spartans squared off against the Wolverines from weaselworld tonight at Munn Arena. The crowd was predictably enthusiastic which made things extra fun, but the game itself was frustrating. Numerous stoppages for long stretches of time killed the momentum, and some poor officiating gave the Wolverines about a dozen undeserved power plays. Things ended in a tie, but there was at least some serious checking and scuffling to make up for it. At first I thought the Wolverines were even worse puck handlers than we were, later it became obvious the ice was having issues and made smooth plays tricky. Lerg was a wall, and stopped a number of sure goals on Spartan defensive breakdowns. If it hadn’t been for his play I’m actually sure the weasels would have prevailed. Reading the post game writeup sheds a little light on the delays. I guess one of our shots went through the net, was reviewed but inconclusive, so the game winning goal was not counted. Oh well, we didn’t even know what was going on at the time.

Went to Texas Roadhouse to sort of celebrate the new job tonight finally. Damn, they just make the best steaks anywhere! The service is always good, and fast. And the prices are pretty good to. Especially with a $5 off coupon, can’t beat that. Its gotten to the point that the food is so good, I don’t even care about the blaring country music and hokey decor. And the ribs, so tasty.

The crowd was very manageable last night. Saturday nights must not be the most popular time. I didn’t make the show last year so I don’t know if all the changes were from then or new this year. But there were a lot of new, fancier displays from a lot of the auto makers. Nissan had a really cool giant circular video board pulsing to some techno music which gave off an odd club atmosphere. Mini actually had a real DJ “spinning” some tunes, which seemed endlessly fascinating to a group of young males. Award for coolest, and I mean literally coolest in terms of temperature inside the notoriously hot Cobo hall goes to Honda, which felt about 10 degrees better than every other display. It seems they aren’t quite so self conscious about making sure their cars sparkle like jewelry under blazing hot spotlights, and instead opted for soft blue lighting.

GM wasn’t really showing anything at all I was interested in. We looked at the G6 Convertible a bit. I was pleasantly surprised that they seem to have lowered the price on the GTP version to about $23k to start, which must be part of their value pricing scheme – a good idea since their initial announcement put it at about $29k, which to put it mildly is ridiculous. The retractable hardtop on the convertible makes it pretty attractive, but can’t change the fact that it is still a Pontiac.

Ford’s Super Chief truck concept I thought was cleanly styled, despite its outrageous size from the exterior. The interior was atrocious though.

I predict Toyota’s FJ Cruiser will be an incredible hit, considering its styling, off road ability, and very low base price. I continue to be disappointed that Toyota refuses to offer a manual transmission in the Camry, making it a non-consideration when you can pick up an Accord or Mazda 6 sedan with big engines and 6-speeds all day long.

The real vehicles I was most interested in were the new small cars from Chrysler, the Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass. I was quite impressed by this new platform, which offers a wide variety of engines (1.8-2.4L), FWD or AWD drivetrians, and regular automatics, CVT and traditional manual transmissions. Packaging is similar to the Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe, basically a compact wagon with a slightly raised roofline and stubby trunk. Interiors are also similar with an IP mounted shifter. The design of the Chrysler offerings is a huge improvement both inside and out though. I thought the fold out speaker bar attached to the trunk is actually a good idea, with the rear seats down and the trunk up, it makes a perfect tailgating vehicle! I didn’t see pricing yet, but supposedly it will even undercut the old Neon which is a nice surprise. I can’t imagine these not doing well in the marketplace. I’m sure a super high performance SRT model is in the works eventually as well, which is tantalizing to consider. With a blown 2.4L as found in the outgoing Neon SRT4 and AWD, a Caliber would be a bona fide WRX and Evo eater! Who knows, maybe Dodge will even field an entry in the World Rally Championship! A guy can dream can’t he?

My Alma tree didn’t make it much past my freshman year. Not that I didn’t try, I just don’t have the touch. Sarah’s tree however has flourished, growing so large transporting it has become a real concern. It’s been very happy living in the lab, but if it stays much longer getting it through the door, much less into the car will be a challenge.

I was tired, my neck was sore. It was sleeting out with 40mph winds. I was in a bad mood to begin with. So when I walk in the door of Rumrunners and see “mandatory coat check $1″ I am quickly annoyed. When I see an unusually long dress code posted on the entrance wall I get a premonition that this was somehow bound to affect me in a bad way. And there it was second from the bottom “no jerseys”. Mind you, I have just come from watching the Spartan hockey team stomp on the Nanooks, and I’m still wearing my team jersey. Mind you, this is also Lansing, you’d think they might make an exception for the home team’s jersey. They don’t, and I have to check that as well, leaving me in nothing but my white t-shirt, yeah that looks much better than my silly jersey now doesn’t it.

Rumrunners, you suck.

Your preposterous dress code sucks.

I have eaten $200 meals at restaurants in major metropolitan cities that did not have dress codes. But Rumrunners in Asscrack, MI with its cheesy dance floor and “dueling” Casio keyboards played by guys who don’t even know the lyrics to Only The Good Die Young has a page long dress code!!!

I mentioned this is a piano bar right? And they don’t know classic songs by THE PIANOMAN!!!

Oh yeah, nice dress code, the waitresses upstairs wear Hawaiian shirts tied off just below the nipple, real classy.

Rumrunners, your drinks suck too. I’m pretty sure I paid at least $6 for a White Russian that was 95% ice, and 5% skim milk.

Your piano players suck. They are not funny. Captain and Toneil would be more entertaining.

Rumrunners…you suck.

The newly refurbished Okemos McDonalds is awfully nice. Check out the flat screen and fireplace! Unfortunately their service is still a bit lacking, they seem to be training a bunch of n00bs.

Not only did I have to work on a Saturday, but there was freezing rain which turned the entire road into a solid sheet of ice. I made it all the way to my exit, and just then the police shut the freeway down! Just my luck.

I enjoyed laughing at the idiot SUV drivers rolled over in the ditch after driving too fast.

Update

Whoa, I knew it was bad, but we actually made the weather channel last night. And this morning in the Sunday LSJ, they report that the conditions resulted in 135 wrecks and 1 fatality! A 23 year old woman flipped her 1999 Explorer on 127 near Cedar.

My life becomes a little more like Office Space.

Well, at least the Spartans won tonight.