Stik's and stones

Former Midshipman scams U.S. taxpayers

2011-02-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Shortly after Michael Izbicki, now 25, graduated from the Naval Academy in 2008, he decided that his Christian beliefs would not permit him to take part in war.

I understand being a conscientious objector, but this is a little to upsetting to me. Take a nice education, then all of a sudden when you finish decide you can't be in the military? This is ridiculous. I can't think of a punishment that would suit this. Maybe we should call it fraud. He misrepresented what he was doing. Maybe he can wear a sign that says I lied to get my education anytime he goes to a job interview. Of course the ACLU helped him fight the government.

budget, budget, budget

2011-02-24T12:00:00.002-07:00

Finances of states all across our country are in trouble. Idaho is proposing drastic changes to education and medicaid. Democratic senators in Wisconsin have run away from their state, hoping to avoid reforming unions collective bargaining rights. Reports in Detroit of increasing high school class size to more than 50 students.

How do we fix this? Nothing is easy. Raise taxes? None of seem to want that. Cut teachers? Increase class sizes? None of us want that either.

One of the proposals in Idaho includes students taking online classes. Have you ever taken an online class? I have. While I may have learned things, right now I can't think of anything specific. My thoughts are that if it is something that a person really wants to learn it might work. If it is just something to fulfill a requirement, the class better not be anything actually important because it won't be retained.

A government shutdown?

2011-02-23T09:32:00.002-07:00

We need a budget extension for government to continue to operate. March 4th is the deadline. I guess most of us are more worried than congress is because they took a break.

If there is a shutdown, most government activities will stop. I heard the President on NPR the other night, saying that social security checks won't go out, that would be a travesty. He also said veteran checks won't be sent. I'm not sure what was meant with that one. I am a veteran and I don't get a check. Maybe I need to call someone. I think maybe the President meant checks to disabled vets.

Again I don't think this is a huge deal since Congress is in recess this week. They would know better than the rest of us what is at stake.

McDonalds update

2011-02-16T12:00:00.002-07:00

Well if you remember I stopped at a McDonald's and the coffee was the wrong price. I stopped at that McDonald's (Overland and Cole) again a couple days ago and the coffee was only $1. Price fixed, good job. End of story right?

Not quite. Yesterday I went to a different McDonald's (Apple St. near Timberline) and was charged $1.39. The person taking my order, his name tag said maintenance, tried to tell me it is only $1 when you get a meal. I told him the menu says $1 in more than 1 place. Then it was well, it used to be only when you got a meal.

Is this a Boise thing? Idaho? The whole country? How many coffee's do they sell in a day? Times all the stores. That would add up pretty quickly. Based on 12,000 US stores, 25 cups a day per store, that would be more than $100,000 in sales a day.

What do you think about pricing errors now when you are shopping anywhere?

Post Super Bowl

2011-02-15T15:29:00.003-07:00

The Super Bowl was a pretty good game. The Packers won, thats all I needed. When Charles Woodson went out injured, I was pretty worried. The defense hung in there though. I think the turnovers where the difference.

I was worried towards the end of the game for sure though. I have been a Packer fan for to long to not worry with a close game. Thankfully there was no miracle Steeler ending that night.

McDonald's

2011-02-02T16:02:00.003-07:00

When is the last time you went to McDonald's? I don't go that often lately. I stopped at one this morning on my way home from work though. Ordered a Bacon Egg Cheese McGriddle, never thought I would like those, and a small coffee. Small coffee $1, at least 2 of the signs say that. It didn't charge me only $1 though. $1.39.

I asked the cashier about it, she was a bit confused by the "it should be the price it says up there" bit. Got the shift leader, manager, someone in more charge than the cashier to refund the difference. I asked her how many coffee's they sell a day at the wrong price. The answer "a couple"

Advice: No matter where you are, check the receipt.

NASCAR

2011-01-29T11:51:00.002-07:00

So NASCAR has announced a new points system. The scoring was pretty complicated and is now way simpler. Now it will be the opposite of finishing position. 1st place gets 43 points. Last place (43rd) gets 1. The winner gets an additional 3 points, and lap leaders get 1 point with an extra point for leading the most laps. A maximum of 48 points for the winner now.

Drivers now need to choose which series they will compete for the championship. No more trying to win the Nationwide series and the Sprint cup series at the same time. The driver could still help win an owners championship in one of the other series though.

Qualifying will now be based on practice speed instead of the lottery draw. If qualifying is canceled the race lineup is based on qualifying speed, except if all practices are canceled as well, then the line up will go by points.

Now you know. That's half the battle.

A facebook tip

2011-01-25T14:47:00.003-07:00

You know the new facebook profile that you now have? The row of five pictures of you that shows at the top of your profile page now?

Here's an easy way to get rid of them. There is a little x button at the top right of the image. If you don't want it to show, click the x. The pictures that show like this are all tagged with your name, so the more tagged pictures, the larger pool of pictures to put there. Clicking the x does not delete the picture. In this case it is simply "hiding" it from being used on the profile page. You could leave chosen pictures there to show your best side, or your favorite things or places, or like mine right now, none.

Remember anytime someone tags a picture of you you would have to go and hide it.

GO PACK GO

2011-01-23T16:38:00.002-07:00

So how about them Packers. (Check out that grammar).

Its tough being a fan here in Boise. Coverage is poor, I don't get to see many games on TV. It isn't easy trying to completely follow a season just on the internet either.

Do they know how to make me worry until the end of the game though. I was on the edge of my seat, or pacing more truthfully watching the Bears on the final drive.

It is something I said through the season, the Packers play to the level of their opponents. I know that it couldn't have been easy with all the player games lost to injuries too. Anyhow, it's over. I am happy. One game to go. Good luck Packers.

TCU's AD a whiner!

2011-01-22T11:26:00.004-07:00

Surprisingly, TCU's AD thinks Boise's bid for home field is out of bounds.

After reading the linked story, I wanted to say a couple things. Wow, he sounds like a whining baby there. Texas Christian University's athletic director Chris Del Conte thinks that the game should be at TCU because the conference said it would be there. I suppose leaving the conference isn't out of bounds.

New Healthcare

2011-01-22T09:37:00.002-07:00

Well, in the three years since I have had to provide my own health insurance my premiums have gone from under $250/month to $400/month. Only a 10% increase this last renewal. I suppose 10% is a smaller increase than the year before. But wait, this year the whole plan changed. My prescription cost (the price I pay at the pharmacy) has doubled. A ha, I am saving money (sarcasm).

I don't know who the PPACA, (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) the official name of the new health care law signed by President Obama, but it doesn't seem to be me. Or is the insurance company just trying to squeeze money from me before they have to change. Since I don't really understand all of my policy, but I do know it changed this year, what can I say about it.

Cake Ballers

2011-01-18T23:29:00.005-07:00

My friend Jenny, with her business partner Alicia, is in the process of getting a new business off the ground. It is called Cake Ballers. What a cake ball is, if this isn't obvious from the name, is a little ball of cake wrapped in a shell of frosting. They are truffle sized, and very tasty.

The Cake Ballers have been at it since September-ish, and I finally got around to trying some. I tried the rise and shine sampler, a 4 pack of deliciousness. The flavors in this pack are: Chocolate Espresso, Mimosa, Cinnamon Roll and Fruity Party.

The cake inside the balls is moist, so perfectly the way I enjoy my baked treats. (I would rather not ever cook brownies). The frosting is a crispy shell around the cake. The flavors are almost understated, there, but not so strong that it controls the experience.

Finally price. The 4 piece sampler pack I tried is $5. Definitely worth it in my opinion. Sure it might sound a little expensive, I certainly thought so just from the little bits of information I had before getting it. Here's the thing, I remember buying chocolate truffles at a Godiva store. For $2.50- $3 if I remember correctly, these are less than half the price, and are better.

Heres where you can find the Cake Ballers on the web.

The Constitution and you

2011-01-08T08:45:00.002-07:00

With all the talk this week about how the new Congress was going to start their term by reading the Constitution and a new court decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, I thought I would throw in my opinion.

From The Constitution of the United States (copied directly by me from my pocket sized Constitution). The first amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Now, I am no law scholar, or member of any sized version of government, but I read this as stating that a cross as a war memorial being called unconstitutional is actually the opposite of what the Amendment states. Calling it unconstitutional is prohibiting the free exercise of religion in this case. If as I read in a FOX News article (link here) the cross was in the park before being designated as a memorial.

When the liberal courts of California state:

"In no way is this decision meant to undermine the importance of honoring our veterans," (text from FOX News link above)

that is exactly what they are saying. The court doesn't care about the veterans, the court cares about making a decision to make themselves relevant.

Welcome back

2011-01-03T16:20:00.003-07:00

Ok, I am actually welcoming me back to trying to blog again. New Years resolution? No I am not that serious about this.

I thought I had a good start last year then I just "forgot" to keep going.

So here's to a New Year.

Richard

Memorial Day

2010-05-29T12:44:00.003-06:00

For Memorial Day this year I would like to first of all thank all of you that served our country in any way.

I want to thank everyone that supports our military. All the celebrities that have gone over seas to put on shows or to meet with the troops. All of the actors, musicians, sports figures taking time out of either a busy schedule or giving up their free time.

I want to thank all the companies that donate goods and services. One that I always like to talk about is Starbucks. Most of us have seen the email that circulates every year or so, talking about how Starbucks doesn't support the military, and refused to give whoever supposedly wrote the company coffee. Well, Thank you Starbucks. From my first hand point of view, all the coffee I drank when I was in Iraq was from Starbucks. They donated that much to the Red Cross to give to the military.

I also want to say thanks to all the companies here at home that give discounts to military members. All of the restaurants, the home supply stores and anywhere else.

Thank You all.

Motorcycle helmets

2010-05-06T09:39:00.003-06:00

Recently it has been talked about on the news here in Idaho about laws requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets. Currently Idaho law only requires under 18 to wear a helmet. What I don't understand about the whole issue, is if the government can require people inside a motor vehicle to wear a seat belt, why can't they do the same for a helmet on someone not wearing a seat belt on a motorcycle?

Yes freedom, feel wind across your head. Show your family what happens if you ever hit your head on the pavement. I recently saw someone fall over on his motorcycle, barely moving and hit his head needed an ambulance. I wonder how it would have turned out if it happened at even 35 mph. Oh, right it won't happen to you.

The terrorists win

2010-04-23T12:56:00.001-06:00

Comedy Central (owned by Viacom) has edited recent episodes of South Park (200 & 201) because of [non]threats from a radical Muslim terrorist group.

To be honest here, not all Muslims are terrorists, and not all terrorists are Muslim.

I have even read that an earlier episodes of South Park featuring the Super Best Friends has been changed now as well.

Apparently it is ok to make fun of world leaders, celebrities, and figures from other major religions. Just not a prophet from one specific religion, not even the God.

No I don't want anyone to be hurt either but thanks for caving. I would say that Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park creators) are aware of the possible risk from terrorists and chose to risk it.

NFL Draft recap.

2010-04-22T21:08:00.003-06:00

Which is the best conference? How about the big 12? The top 4 picks and 5 of the first 6 (and 9 in the first round WOW). The SEC with picks 5,7, & 8. The ACC and Pac-10 round out the top 10 with a single pick from each conference. Where is the Big Ten (Big11) and the Big East?

Let the trading begin. The 11th through 14th picks were all traded for. Nice, someone from the WAC picked before the Big Ten.

Mike Iupati from Idaho goes to The 49ers at 17. The Packers pick Bryan Bulaga an OT from Iowa with the 23rd pick. What will surely be a very popular pick in Texas, The Cowboys trade to #24 to take Dez Bryant from Oklahoma State. I did call the Tebow in the first round as he goes to Denver in the 25th spot. Kyle Wilson from Boise State goes in the first round as well to the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets at #29.

Trades changed who picked in 10 of the 32 picks.

9 of the 32 first round picks came from the big 12.

So what is your biggest surprise of the first round?

2010-04-22T12:00:00.002-06:00

The NFL draft starts today. The top picks seem to be pretty well set, if not the actual order. Sam Bradford and Ndamukong Suh are two believed to go at the top. Tackles are still desired players.

Time for a couple home state players. Maybe it's not a surprise with his play, but The University of Idaho's Mike Iupati is expected to go in the first round. He would be the first Valdals player taken in the first round in over 40 years. Good luck Mike.

My personal favorite for this year is Boise State's Kyle Wilson. I am hoping he is picked in the first round as well. I think between picks 20 and 30. Kyle won't be the highest pick from the Broncos ever (remember Ryan Clady) but might be close.

The single biggest question for this years draft is where Tim Tebow will be picked. I will say that I think he will go in the first round. There now go ahead and prove me wrong NFL. There is no specific reason for my thoughts, just that he is athletic enough that I think that some team will take a chance.

A late addition to draft talk this year: Does the Ben Roethlisberger suspension change draft priorities for the Steelers?

How about the biggest bust? My all time choice is Tony Mandarich. Yes I am a Packer fan.

The draft starts tonight at 7:30pm (1930) eastern. With tv coverage on ESPN starting 30 minutes prior.

2010-04-20T12:00:00.001-06:00

Oh Microsoft why do you do this to us? I like video games. A friend of mine "made" me get the Xbox 360, this was before the Playstation 3. Even if the PS3 was available, I would have gotten the Xbox since that's what my friends had.

Do I think the Xbox is better? No, I think they are equally good in different ways. Well, other than Microsoft's troubles with the red ring of death. What is that you might ask? Well Microsoft has had a hardware issue with the xbox and its way of telling us the consumer is by having the lights on the front of the box turn red. The red ring has claimed 2 Xboxes from me so far. All under warranty though so other than the inconvenience not a huge deal.

My newest issue? The Microsoft wireless adapter, that you have to purchase separate from the xbox. It has stopped working. Ok, so no Xbox live (which is paid for separately), I can deal with that. Oh, I can't play the arcade games that I have bought and downloaded? Another reason why digital only distribution needs work still. I paid for the games, but now since another piece of equipment from microsoft stopped working I can't play them.

Boise State Football

2010-04-19T12:00:00.000-06:00

I went to Boise State's spring football scrimmage (blue & orange game, or this year it was blue & white). The offense vs the defense. Does it sound fair yet? Well there was a scoring system that was set up to give the defense points for: a 3-and-out=1 point, a sack=2 points, an interception=4 points, causing a turnover=4 points, or a 4th down Stop=4 points. The offense scored in the normal football ways.

Byron Hout looked good coming from Linebacker this year. Might be a really good change for the team. Joe Southwick, a redshirt freshman, however really impressed me. 10 for 15 passing for 191 yards. He moved good in the pocket, and made some great deep throws.

The offense moved well late in the game with 2 good drives to tie the game at 25, and force overtime. The offense failed a 2 point conversion in the overtime, giving the defense 2 points and the win.

I thought that both sides looked good for a spring scrimmage and have bigger hopes for the season now.

2010-04-15T16:11:00.000-06:00

The last of my "catching up" posts. I finally made it to an Idaho Stampede basketball game. Saturday April 3rd, the last game of the season. At stake for the Stampede, a chance to finish the season at .500. The Stampede are part of the NBA's development league, or D-league. This years D-league was made up of 16 teams, each team plays 50 regular season games.

Ok lets start with tickets. Reasonable on the low end, $14 gets you into a lower deck corner seat. Or season tickets (the same area) $195 for 24 games just over $8 per game. That particular seat is good, not great since the arena is still configured for hockey the lower deck seats are still behind the dashers.

The Stampede's NBA affiliates are the Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trail Blazers. On this night the Stampede were playing the Los Angeles D-Fenders affiliate of the Lakers. The Stampede started out pretty hot opening up a lead that stretched to 70-45 at the half. The second half was pretty much the opposite of the first allowing the D-fenders to make it a much closer game than it probably should have been. The final score was 114-101, giving the Stampede a 3 game winning streak to close the season and a 25-25 record.

Overall it was some pretty good basketball, and I think I will go more in the future.

2010-04-14T12:00:00.000-06:00

You know it bothers me just a little that the battle has already started over appointing the next Supreme Court Justice, simply by Justice Stevens announcing that he will retire at the end of the session. That it is more about politics and who can be confirmed by Congress, rather than [possibly] the best candidate for the job. While Justice Sotomayor may have been the best possible choice, I think that she was picked more because she was a woman and hispanic.

Remember also that many of the Justices through the history of the Court did not end up with their opinions the way the nominating President may have thought they would be.

2010-04-13T11:35:00.000-06:00

Well, finally it was time to go home. My in-laws dropped us off at Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport. It is the now typical airport experience, wait in line to check yourself in at the kiosk. Wait in line to have the luggage weighed and boarding passes checked. Take luggage to the TSA people. Maybe next time the airline adds a fee, we will also have to load the plane too.

I wouldn't say the security checkpoint was bad, because it wasn't "bad". Disorganized seems more appropriate. The scanner was quite slow. The walking through the metal detector was pretty funny. I watched a person go through, then have to go back and take off his shoes and belt. The next person goes through with shoes on. Then I like it when I am gathering my things back up the TSA people look at you like you are holding things up.

Had lunch from the Blue Burrito Grille. The Asada burrito with steak (the option is chicken)comes with lettuce, tomato,cheese and guacamole. The burrito was very tasty and filled pretty good, the only thing for me was it seemed a little light on the steak and heavy on the condiments. I would like to try one of the restaurants outside an airport next time.

2010-04-12T10:47:00.000-06:00

Took a drive down to Tucson to check out the Pima Air and Space museum. It is the largest non government funded aircraft museum in the United States. There are more than 300 aircraft from around the world. We took the guided tram tour which costs extra over the admission. The museum gets over 150,000 visitors a year.

The guide on our tour was very knowledgeable about the aircraft. There are a lot of WWII era aircraft, and several unique planes. There is a former Air Force One, a Bell AH-15 Cobra helicopter (or rotary winged aircraft), and my favorite airplane ever, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

On the grounds of the Museum is the 390th Bombardment Group Memorial Museum. Inside is a fully restored B-17G. The Joseph A. Moller Library is a part of the museum, and includes over 90,000 pages of history, 10,000 photographs, and is a research center for the Air war over Europe.

By taking the guided tour a lot of time was saved, and we were able to see much more than if we had walked the grounds.

2010-04-08T12:21:00.003-06:00

My wife and I went to Barleens Arizona Opry with her parents one evening. I wasn't sure what I was getting into since I am not the most artistic person in my family. It is set up as a dinner theater. Our dinner was the roast beef, which I was told is better than the chicken dinner. The roast beef was tender, tasty, and a decent portion. Mashed potatoes & gravy, a roll veggies some baked apple, and a piece of "Opry" chocolate cake to finish the dinner off.

The Barleens have been entertaining Arizona for over 30 years now. The show was lead by musical director George Staerkel. He was a touring member of The Tokens for about 5 years, not an original member. Remember the song: The Lion Sleeps Tonight? That's The Tokens. George sang that on stage, all the high parts too. A great voice. He is also a collector of instruments, horns from Doc Severnson and Herb Alpert are just a couple, along with one of the worlds largest saxophones, a Contrabass.

The show lasted about 2 hours. Nothing to new, and some of the songs were pretty old (to me). All in all, it was a good show and I am glad that my in-laws took me. I suggest that you check it out if you are in the Phoenix AZ (Apache Junction) area.

Spring Vacation

2010-04-05T17:04:00.002-06:00

I took a little break from my blogs for a vacation, trying to get caught up now.

My wife and I took a little spring break trip and visited her parents in the Phoenix area. A nice condo rented in a golf resort was where we stayed. Saturday March 27th we went to the Phoenix Coyotes game at the Jobing.com Arena. What a beautiful place. I have gone to events in many stadiums and arenas. The arena was colder inside than I was expecting, it was good that I wasn't wearing shorts. Got the family pack deal for 4 tickets and coupons for A drink and hotdog for each in the lower bowl for $250, about $50 less than it would have been for just tickets.

The Coyotes played the Colorado Avalanche. There was a fight early in the game, some nice goaltending, a short-handed goal for the visiting team, and to seal it, a win for the home team. The Coyotes clinched a playoff spot earlier in the day then showed it was deserved by winning 6-2.

Bogus Basin

2010-03-17T09:07:00.005-06:00

Not Me!

Its been a while since snowboarding at Bogus Basin. I wanted to write a little note about it. The management of both Bogus Basin and Black Diamond Rentals (the on the mountain rental store) offer a 50% discount to the military and registered family members. A lift ticket for a single day is regularly $48, so discounted it became $24. THANK YOU! The same went for the rentals. Prices of concessions are a little high in the lodge, just like concessions everywhere. Nothing outrageous though.

What did I learn from my day of snowboarding? That I should stick to skis. While I had gotten the basics by the time I was done, it might be to late to teach this old man a new trick.

The benefits of health insurance

2010-03-16T09:01:00.001-06:00

All the news on the Congress working on these health care bills but what do the bills say. I don't know. What I know (or think that I know) is that every one will be required to have health insurance. I am in the category right now of people that purchase their own insurance. Hooray for me right? What do I get from it? Well for approximately $4000 a year I get the right to pay the entire bill if I go to the doctor. Really. My deductible is that high. Yes, I do get a discount on prescriptions. I suppose my insurance is affordable. I buy insurance, then I have to pay to go to see a doctor. Why does our government think everyone that doesn't have insurance already will think this is a good idea. I know the "benefit" for my own situation is to help if something catastrophic happens, cancer or a bad accident. That is why I have insurance. I hesitate to go to a doctor because even with insurance I still have to pay out of pocket. Reform that, don't force more of what I have down America's throat.

Vehicle emissions and the EPA

2010-03-15T08:57:00.003-06:00

From the U.S. Census Bureau: population estimates: Ada county 380,920 (link: ), Canyon County 183,939 (link: ).

The U.s. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated the northern part of Ada County as a nonattainment area. This means that it is in violation of Federal standards for pollution. What this means is that Ada County residents with some exceptions have had to get vehicle emissions tests done for some time. What has been troublesome with this is that Canyon County, directly to the west of Ada County has not been required to test their vehicles. In an Idaho statesman article from September 24th, 2007 (link: ) it is reported that "37% of Canyon County residents work outside Canyon County" (approx 68000) and that census data reports that 78% of those commuters drive alone (approx 53000).

Why does this all matter? Well, apparently the EPA has determined that emissions don't cross the county line. Finally some changes to the rules though, Canyon County and the City of Kuna will be required to do emissions tests beginning June 1, 2010. Along with this change, the vehicles required to get tested has changed as well.

If your car is less than 5 years or more than 20 years old, no test. The tests will be required every other year based on model year now instead of every year. These are among the major changes.

Some more reading from Idaho Department of Environmental Quality:
link:
link:
link:

In conclusion, while the testing in Ada County in the past may have reduced (or helped to reduce) pollutants emitted into the air, it has not done enough as the populations have increased in size and in distances traveled.

New cellphone / Birthday part 2

2010-02-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

I took my son to Best Buy last night since it was time for him to get an upgrade on his cell phone (read add 2 years to contract). We had to wait quite a long time at the phone counter, at least 30 minutes. He decided on an LG Xenon in black of course.

He wanted headphones to go with it so we also got some headphones. The package said works with all LG phones. What are the odds of it not working with the Xenon. The adapter doesn't fit the phone. I guess I need to go back to Best Buy.

Heres a quick bit of advice if you look for accessories for electronics. Check where the seller is. I have a friend that purchased something from Hong Kong. It was just what he wanted and works fine, but the 2 weeks for shipping was a little more than he wanted. Ok, new headphone adapter ordered.

Once we finished at Best Buy (now after 7pm), we headed across the street to Hooters for dinner. Another perk from my birthday, I got a card in the mail for a free dinner. We both had the western BBQ burger. The food was all good. We did have to wait a bit longer since the order ticket got misplaced and no one figured it out for about 10 minutes.

My son did think it was interesting how often the waitress came to our table to chat with us. So we talked about how the more interaction there is, the better the tip hopefully is. Since I was way older, and my son was younger thean the waitress there wasn't as much flirting as there could have been.

birthday

2010-02-21T16:31:00.001-07:00

Well, I had a birthday this weekend. My wife took me out for the evening. We stayed at Oxford Suites and went to Tucanos Brazilian Grill for dinner.

The Oxford Suites had a nice special for February, a king suite included a $30 gift card for Tucanos (see below), and a $80 gift certificate for a massage/ facial at Panache Spa. 2 free drinks each at the "reception". Free breakfast buffet for 2 in the dining room. The buffet included made to order eggs.

Tucanos Brazilian Grill is a churrasco style restaurant. A large salad bar (approximately 70 items) is included. The special part of the dinner is that servers come to the table and actually slice the meat off a skewer right in front of you. For a limited time (right now though) there was filet mignon on the menu. There were 14 types of meat including 1 of seafood, a vegetable skewer, and one of grilled pineapple. All the staff were very helpful, one in particular, Betty went out of her way to get an extra serving of the filet mignon to us before we left. A special thanks to Tucanos for a 25% military discount.

I would recommend both the restaurant and hotel to anyone.