Moustache March

Any of you read about “Moustache March” that is coming to a close at Malmstrom AFB? The Trib has an article about some of the guys at the base who have been growing moustaches during the month of March. It’s a show of camaraderie and a fun way to generate some friendly rivalry between different offices and units. And, according to the article, this is a tradition that dates back to the Vietnam war.
Huh? Now I certainly don’t claim to be privy to all of the traditions of the US Air Force, but I’ve been wearing the uniform for over 19 years, and this is the first time that I have ever heard of this. If this “Moustache March” has been such a long-standing tradition, shouldn’t I have known about it before now…? So tell me - have any of you folks heard of this? Does it just apply to the guys who actually fly, and is kept secret from non-fliers?

March 30, 2007 | Filed Under military | 2 Comments

At The Mall

Finally walked through the new Scheel’s store in Holiday Village Mall - very impressive! It was a bit disorienting, seeing the new interior of the mall, with the escalator and open area. And I was surprised to see the old Scheel’s torn down to make way for the new Bed, Bath, and Beyond; I had assumed that the new store would simply move into the existing space. And I’m happy to report that the gyros at Little Athens are as good as they ever have been…mmm, lunch was good today!
One other thing: I saw the Easter Bunny at the mall! He (she?) will be there until the day before Easter, posing for pix with the kidlets.

March 29, 2007 | Filed Under restaurants, business | 5 Comments

Shameless Plug

I ginned up a “CMR Pride” design a few months ago, and as of now there are only two people in town that are cool enough to sport a spiffy t-shirt with this design. Here’s one of them:

Now it’s your turn: you can get a cool CMR Pride t-shirt - or some other nifty Greater Falls gear - over at the official BigSkyBlog/GreaterFalls Cafe Press store. Hey, this stuff will also win friends and influence people, so maybe you can get something as a gift for that special someone!

March 28, 2007 | Filed Under business | Leave a Comment

Ultimate Frisbee (via Pulse)

Got an e-mail from Andrew of Pulse - Great Falls - if you’re looking for something fun to do as the weather gets very spring-like, check it out…

Read The Whole Thing >>>

March 27, 2007 | Filed Under events, sports | 2 Comments

Enceladus Reunion

One of the cooler local bands to ever grace stages in Great Falls was the legendary Enceladus; sadly, the band wasn’t able to stay together as some members are in the Air Force and got transferred.
But check it out: just got an e-mail from the original drummer, Jeff, who got transferred to Florida a few months ago: he is returning to play with his former bandmates for TWO REUNION SHOWS at the Loading Zone! Mark your calendar for April 20 and 21 - Loading Zone - Enceladus, Live In Concert! And if you know any hard music fans - or fans of live, local music - be sure to let them know, too!

March 27, 2007 | Filed Under events, music | 5 Comments

Auditions

Darn - got this message from Dona earlier today, but wasn’t able to access the whole thing until a few minutes ago:

Dave, I have been roped back into community theatre again and will be directing a Tennessee Williams play for Center Stage. The Tribune neglected to run an audition notice and auditions are tonight at 7 at 111 Central. Could you post that on greaterfalls.com? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dona

P.S. Anyone who is interested and can’t come tonight can call me at 761.4108.

So despite my delay in posting this (sorry Dona!), you can still get in on the action

March 26, 2007 | Filed Under events | 1 Comment

Let’s Do Lunch

Bye-bye Big Mac…and hello Subway! It looks like the McDonald’s located inside Wal-Mart is being replaced by Subway - a good thing, IMO. I’ve been enjoying Subway quite a bit lately - roast beef and provolone, yum! And something extra, too: “The Wal-Mart location will have extended hours and offer all of Subway’s products, breakfast and some snack items, including pretzels and hot dogs.”
Subway is (I think) the largest chain restaurant in town - they’ve got locations in Fox Farm, downtown, on 10th Ave near Jaker’s, the one on Smelter, and now Wal-Mart, bringing them to FIVE locations in Great Falls. Interesting.
Also: the McDonald’s on 10th Avenue is going to be torn down and rebuilt beginning in August; the new design will be similar to the Marketplace store.
And one more thing: heard a rumor that the Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza is going to be built somewhere along 10th Avenue, instead of the already-dug-up location in the Twilite Center. Anyone confirm or deny this…?

March 25, 2007 | Filed Under restaurants | 3 Comments

Going Mobile

–>GiftShoppeGuy has an entry about wireless service in and around Great Falls. Now, if you know me, you know that my cell phone is my precious baby - with me at all times, used dozens of time every day. Phone calls, of course, but also a camera (used to send pix instantly to the Flickr pages), texting, and of course surfing the web via the Mobile Web 2.0 feature (checking my e-mail, catching up on blogs, etc).
–>When I found out that I was moving here, back in 2002, the second thing that I did was find out what my cell phone options were, and quickly discovered that my choices were Verizon and Cellular One. I wasn’t too surprised to find that other national carriers - Sprint, T-Mobile, Cingular - didn’t have a presence in Great Falls yet. I signed up for Verizon before I left Texas, and then just had my number changed when I arrived here (same number still!). I’ve been with Verizon ever since then, and filled their coffers aplenty - at one time, I had five phones on the account (down to three now!); with two teenage girls in the house, I opted for an expensive many-minutes plan, rather than risk paying overage per-minute fees.
–>And contrary to the experiences of some others, I have been amazed at the service. I haven’t had a single dropped call, and I can count on one hand the number of times that the service has “hiccuped.” So it’s weird when I see TV commercials that brag about “fewest dropped calls” or complaints about too many dropped calls.
–>And I’m glad to see that we have more options here in Great Falls nowadays - national carrier Alltell is here, and regional Chinook Wireless is now part of the Cingular network, and there are some folks at Malmstrom who arrive here with Sprint service and keep it (and their old phone number, too).
–>So we have options - that’s a good thing. But for my money, there’s no reason to switch from Verizon - they’ve taken great care of me. Which reminds me…the “new phone itch” is really starting to need a scratch…almost time to upgrade again!
And FYI - pretty sure that Great Falls will be receiving “EVDO” high-speed service in a few months (some other MT communities already have it). Not earth-shattering news to most folks, but to geeks like me, that is way cool.
–>So what’s your story? Which service do you use? Are you happy with it?

March 24, 2007 | Filed Under internet, business | 10 Comments

Trib “Hit Piece?”

The Trib had a front-page story the other day that has generated (rightly so) quite a bit of heat. Check out the action over at Electric City Weblog (here and here, too), and then be sure to read what “Rooster” has to say - he’s a physician here in town, knows what’s going on, and makes some very good points. I think this whole mess demonstrates that Great Falls needs - and can support - an alternative newspaper. Maybe not a daily, but certainly weekly. I’m very glad that we have a pretty sharp contingent of bloggers here to keep some light shining on stuff like this and the coal plant.

March 22, 2007 | Filed Under news, media | Leave a Comment

Exit 277 and Co.

The band “Exit 277” is playing tomorrow night (along with some other bands) at the Black Eagle Community Center. Mostly targeted at teens and young adults, but I’m sure that old geezers like me are welcome, too (not my cup of tea, musically).

exit 277.jpg