Laura21230

I much prefer this one, though I couldn't begin to tell you why. But, as it is my favorite it is the one I choose to wish each of my StumbleUpon friends, including those not yet met, a very happy Thanksgiving Day.

This is a company in the U.K. that actually sells experiences, such as:

Driving not only any car imaginable, but any vehicle
Paintball using a tank (yes, the army type)
Car crushing with the above mentioned tank
Jousting (The state sport of Maryland for you trivia buffs)
A fashion model photoshoot
Swinging tree to tree ala Tarzan
30 Mile per hour sphere ride
Ghost hunting
Microlight flight (this I can personally recommend as my brother-in-law has a powered parachute)
Hovercraft racing
Road Rally racing

Then the more run of the mill:
Whitewater rafting (a blast)
Ice climbing (can you work your way out of a icy hole in the ground, did that lots as a kid)
45 minute flying lesson

Find a niche market and they will come.

As I told Dethmonger recently it has long been my dream to open a combination Duckpin Bowling Alley / Used Bookstore and Cheesesteak restaurant in the midwest, these being the things I missed most during my 20 year sojourn in Springfield, Illinois. This set me thinking everyone knows what a used bookstore is and most are familiar with a cheesesteak sub or hoagie, though not all of them have had a true cheesesteak., but Duckpin Bowling? Unless you happen to live in certain parts of Massachusetts and Virginia or anywhere in Maryland (where the game was invented in 1900), New Jersey or Washington,DC you will have no idea what Duckpin Bowling is, if you would care to, read on and if not, that's fine too.. . remain ignorant *laughing*.

Duckpins (9.5 inches in height) are set up just like the big boys, tenpins (15 inches in height). One other major difference is the ball. In duckpin bowling the ball which weighs from 3 to 4 pounds and most people use balls supplied by the alley rather than purchasing a custom ball there being no need for specialization as the duckpin ball HAS NO HOLES, there I said it.... not so much as an indentation!! The ball is held in the palm and typically the delivery is the same as in tenpin bowling with 3 steps and a slide on the dominant foot as the ball is released. I've seen underhand and overhand deliveries. Pretty much anything short of actually pitching the ball at the pins is allowed. Lofting (flying the ball) is frowned upon for the same reason it frowned upon in tenpins, it f's up the lanes.

Now if you thought the bowl with no holes things was amazin' hold on to your hats as I attempt to explain duckpin scorekeeping. Let's get this out of the way quick, in duckpins you get three balls per frame making it possible to score 10 in single frame. All else is the same (if anything ever will be again!) with clearing the pins on the first ball being a strike, picking up any remaining pins with the second ball is a spare and whatever is left over on the third ball is "what I got out".

Most tenpin bowlers scoff at duckpins as being easier and best suited to kids and old ladies. That being case, why is that there has never been a perfect 300 game bowled in any duckpin game EVER? Could it possibly be that duckpins is a game of skill and finesse while tenpins remains a matter of brute strength. I've bowled and enjoyed both and have to say duckpin bowling is tougher and actually more physically tiring than tenpin. Not to worry though tenpiners, duckpins have been around a long time and doesn't seem to be taking the country by storm.

Though if my dream of a Combination Duckpin Bowling Alley / Used Bookstore / Cheesesteak Restaurant emporium in the midwest should become a reality, you might want to watch over your shoulder. *GRIN*.

Do yourself a favor and put a smile on your face with this one....

Somehow trading all the monuments I can see from my 14th floor perch here in Northern Virginia for this view in Albuquerque, New Mexico seems almost like a scam. It's actually more of a scram, much like the military when you work for the federal government and change jobs it is a wham, bam, thank you ma'am situation. Everything you own is packed, crated and shipped to your new station and if there is anything you want to keep out of the crate, you had better be hanging onto it.

Then comes the real fun, learning the ins and oust of your new home,. We have decided to rent for the first year to get a true feel for the area before deciding where we want to be for a number of years. Much like any new living situation, you never someone/someplace until you live with them/it.

The only fly in the ointment is saying goodbye to family though all have promised to visit and we certainly plan to do the same. The most difficult will be leaving my daughter, though at 26 and utterly independent she doesn't really need me, there is still the fact that she is now and forever, my baby. I am very pleased that she a wonderful safety net of family tor life's emergencies and I expect I will still get a daily call as she hustles between job, school and across campus.

The the major difference in being far away now and nearly thirty years ago is that my parents are gone now and it was always hardest to leave them at the end of every visit. I have and will continue be say goodbye to them every day of my life now and where from really doesn't matter.

Joe Schatz, known here and on his personal blog as Joephra did it, he wrote a book! Joe and Wonder Wife appeared on the Tyra Banks show, hilarious! I am so proud of Joe whom I met through these pages shortly after joining SU in 2007. Naturally I have already ordered my copy, visit the site, check out a few excepts and do the same. Trust me, Joe's slant on life is not only funny, it is also quite wise... basically, ROLL WITH IT BABY!

Want to get rid of your cds and non-blu ray dvds, but just can't bring yourself to throw the money you invested in building that collection down the drain? Here's your solution, burn everything to MP3 (if you haven't already) and trade them for IPods and IPhnes!