Key Rat Photo 2008

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Here it is. For all historical purposes, these are the only Key Rats that existed in 2008. We’ll do it again next year.

For printing:

• 5×7 crop
• 4×6 crop
• RAW file

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Key Rat Group Photo

Somebody suggested it and now we’re doing it: a key rat group photo. If you consider yourself a key rat, get out to the Village Green on Saturday at 3:00pm. We’re going to take a massive photo. Who knows how many people will show up this year, but maybe we can establish some sort of tradition with it all.

Here’s the Facebook event listing in case you’re interested: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=50824736801

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KB Speed Lap Record Shattered - 12m34s

It’s official, the KB Speed Lap record has been destroyed not once but twice in the past week. As you may remember, a couple of weeks ago Andy Blanco set the record at a modest 20minutes 49seconds. Just last week, Jess “JKrunk” Kunkel set out to beat that record and beat it by a whopping FIVE minutes, to finish at 15minutes 23seconds.

Before I could even get my hands on a good picture of Jess and his boat so I could post it up here, Piero Porcari went and shattered Jess’ record last friday, by an astonishing 3 minutes. The new record now stands at a blistering 12minutes 34seconds. Just to give you an idea of how fast that is, I calculated the KB Lap to be about 11 miles when cutting the flats. If Piero did it in 12 minutes, he was going an average speed of 55 mph!

Congrats to Piero; I have a feeling he’ll be holding that top spot for a really long time. Still, to keep it competitive, I’ve added boat lengths and horsepower in case you want to compare yourself.

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Winterfest this weekend

Just a heads up that the Winterfest Key Biscayne annual celebration thing is this Sunday in the Village Green. It starts at 4:00pm and ends at 7:30pm. Yes, our entire Christmas celebration in this town is three hours long.

Apparently there’s also a Winterfest Eve celebration from 6:00pm to 10:00pm on Saturday also. I’m not quite sure what the difference is between the two.

Finally, there’s also the Winterfest Boat Parade which takes place in the bay with the culmination in No Name Harbor. I have no idea when this is because I can’t find a date anywhere, but it’s definitely soon.

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Kevin M. Bilka, the Legend

If you live on the key you know this guy: he wears spandex and he’s as tall as a house. He rides in a Hummer painted with the colors of the American flag, and at the fourth of July parade he rides atop said Hummer thrusting his pelvis at all the key mommies. It’s absolutely hilarious and absolutely overwhelming at the same time.

The guy was in a band named Tyrant, was a firefighter for a long time, and now he’s all about fitness. He seems like an accomplished guy, but his “eccentricities” are definitely what you notice when you first see him.

So now I present you with this awesome video.

You can see more of this stuff, and learn more, at his website: The Body Studio

Hit the jump for one more badass video.

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The Key was a beauty; I should’ve known she was a heartbreaker

So in the past couple of posts I’ve come out in praise of some of the new offerings that have appeared on the Key. I may have been a little hasty in my assessments, and now I have to backtrack.

One way you can think about the Key’s establishments is as follows: Good Product, Good Service, Good prices. There are few establishments on the key that have more than two of those qualities, and it seems some of these new places are no different.

Let’s start with Entre Pues. I can still say the food is good, and I can also say that the prices are good, but the service has been short the last couple of times I’ve been there. I’ve also had friends relate similar experiences to me. One time they didn’t have hamburgers, another time they didn’t have anyone working delivery at 8pm, and another time they took an hour to bring my food while I was eating at the place.

The next place that I need to talk about is the Ibis Lounge. My hype for the place was huge, and I have to admit that it does deliver on many levels. Recently I went, though, and they told me their $5 beers were now $7; that it was just an opening week price. I went on Sunday at 8pm and it was closed. They have a good happy hour deal (2 for 1), but that’s the only kind of special there is and it ends at 8pm. It makes it harder to choose to go out when I can just pick up a sixer and save myself the hassle.

All that said, I still think these places are good. It also needs to be noted that business is business and business on the key isn’t cheap. After so many people came back to me with criticisms I just felt they needed to be addressed.

All that brings us to the following…

Patagonia in the Square. The new, new-place. The food was a little bland but it did have a good price and good service.

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Merry X-mas Key Biscayne!

It’s not even Thanksgiving yet!

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Zoning ammendment fails - How the key voted

Well, we won (I guess). The key voted 70 percent in favor of sticking with the current zoning solution, which lets key residents vote on any zoning changes. The current solution may have some problems, but I’d say it’s easier to resolve those problems from this perspective than it would be if the amendment had passed. Preserve our Key Biscayne cofounder Michael Kelly was also voted onto the council, giving the council what I feel is a little more balance.

Of all Key Biscayne registered voters, who totalled 6,403, 68 percent of them came out and voted. This is comparable to the rest of the county. In the presidential race, the Key voted more for the McCain/Palin ticket by 700 votes.

To read the rest of the breakdown, hit the jump.

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Keyrats.com Launches

Hey, guys, just a heads up in case you missed it: the Keyrats have launched their official website. You can see their pics, videos, here some music, and check show dates. You can even drop ‘em a line right on the front page and tell them what you want to hear.

Keyrats.com

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Ibis Lounge - Is this the watering hole we’ve always wanted?

Apparently this place, the Ibis Lounge, is set to open tomorrow (Tuesday). This is a real bonafide bar/lounge,  not some restaurant with a bar ala Linda B or Sushi Siam. It’s been in the making for about a year now with a “coming soon” sign that’s been on the windows. It’s located at the Key Colony Plaza shopping center, near the back.

We have to make this place ours, guys. Linda B. is the only other bar on the key and it’s completely dominated by the key’s old guard. This place has real potential, and considering we’re probably the biggest demographic of bar patrons on the key, it only makes sense. Hopefully the prices are good enough not to price us out. We are, after all, the demographic that tailgates at Yacht Club Friday-nighters to avoid paying for drinks.

I’ll be at this place at around 9pm on Wednesday to check it out if you want to come by and have a drink. I’d go on the opening night but I figure it will be packed with the owner and his friends.

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