The Daily (+/-) Boot

The Gunslinger is out of bullets....

2008-08-06T16:07:00.002-04:00

Just weighing in on the whole Brett Favre saga, since the remaining free world has done their bit already... While the media circus has been fun to watch, I think it's totally insane that there is even any debate about what should happen to Brett. I'm very glad that GB decided not to bow to his repeated whims (again) and reinstate him as starting QB again. I fully understand being allowed to change your mind. But Brett's selfishness over the past 3-4 years has completely stripped him of any respect I used to have for him. He basically kept GB hostage, not knowing which way to turn in the draft, nor which way to develop the team. His "final" declaration that he was retiring should have been a complete breath of fresh air for the team this past season. But he couldn't even stay retired, and now you have essentially an average (yes, he's average at this point in his career - perhaps way above average in dumb interceptions though) QB who is trying to once again hijack Green Bay, forcing them to deal him based mostly on his terms. It's too bad GB doesn't have a provision where they could just tell him to F off and not have to pay him at all, and also MAKE him stay retired. I really hope Brett latches onto an NFC team (probably the Bucs at this point) and goes like 1-15, throwing many more of those wonderfully stupid interceptions that he's known for. Yes, I know, it was fun rooting for him after his father died, and his wife got the bad news, and for his child-like way of playing the game (whatever that meant), but enough is enough. He certainly could have handled this better IMHO. His glory days are over. I agree he could probably function as a decent QB in this league (at least better than some of the schlubs that are starting QB's now), but his attitude and blatant disregard for his soon to be former team has just completely turned me off.

s42

ACL - lost and found

2008-08-05T08:21:00.002-04:00

Well, yes it's been over a year. I had abandoned this a long time ago, but while I'm here, I'm posting. Just had surgery to correct torn meniscus cartilage in my knee from a hockey injury about 4 years ago. It was originally assumed my ACL was toast as well. Fortunately, the surgeon poked around enough and found it. Slightly stretched, but definitely attached. So for now, the big surgery and LONG recovery has been averted. Two more weeks of therapy and it's off to running again.

s42

Has it really been that long?

2007-06-01T15:57:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's been 5 months since I wrote in here. Bikescag was right - I think I DID lose my keyboard, lol.

Much goings on. Just returned from a wonderful 17 day vacation to Myrtle Beach and as a bachelor for 8 days around home. Also got to spend a cool day/eve with Hapdog and friends in Lancaster. Always great to catch up with good friends. I deperately needed the time to destress and reset my internal clock. But as always, it's good to be back after a time away. Although it would also be nice to eventually change my latitude permanently...

Looking forward to another nice WARM weekend. It's amazing how warm and sunny it has been around here lately. Beach weather HO! And HO weather, for that matter ;)

more to come...

s42

Everything old is new again...

2007-01-01T13:09:00.000-05:00

Well, first off Happy New Year to everyone. 2007 is officially here (along with many hangovers), and 2006 is officially put to bed.

The new year celebration typically sets off a string of good intentions as people use it as a jumping off point to look ahead to self-improvement endeavors. It also is a good time to look back to the year that was and remember all of the good (and not so good) things that have transpired. In addition, it's poignant to remember all of our friends, family, and other notables that have passed on to whatever (if any) afterlife you believe in.

I tend to look at 2007 as a potential crossroads year in my life. I've let my physical conditioning slip over the past 2 months, and I have to decide if I want to return to being the overweight slug of 4 years ago, or the sleek marathon-trained person of 2005-06 (I'm leaning toward the latter, although the former can be so much more fun!). I also face the imminent departure of one of my colleagues, which will reduce our staffing by 25 percent, and force me to either shrink back into the worker-bee mentality, or take the reins and take on more responsibilities and a subsequent leadership role in my department.

Many new challenges and opportunities away. Make the most of your 2007. Life on this rock is very finite...

s42

The Month Drifts By...

2006-12-18T22:01:00.000-05:00

Quick update in the past month:

Flyers get some life then die off again.
Sixers get progressively worse and attempt to trade best player.
Eagles actually (don't laugh) control own playoff destiny, and with some help, could capture the 2 seed and a first round bye.

My father goes back into hospital for yet more vascular surgery.
Global warming sinks in for first half (and more) of December (and beneficially cuts my gas bill in 1/2 from this time last year).
My coworker takes a position in Dallas and will be leaving in three weeks, effectively leaving us shorthanded again. (but good for him b/c he's getting into a better situation).

Otherwise, status quo. I hope everyone that believes is joyously preparing for Christmas and the wonders of the season.

s42

Ugggh....A tribute to Philly Sports

2006-11-19T19:28:00.000-05:00

Again. Stymied again. This is getting a bit ridiculous. Flyers start to show some life and then get pounded 6-1. Sixers start 3-0, then lose 3 straight and settle into the mediocre at best team that they really are. Eagles start 4-1 (should have been 5-0), then lose 3 straight, but rebound with a nice win last week....then get POUNDED by a 2-7 Titans team. And, oh yeah, D-Mac tears his ACL and is out for the season. Can you say 5-11??? And phinally, the Phillies. The year of the big free agent. Soriano is rumored to be close to ours. Then the word comes out. He's going to the Cubs. So much for that.

Like the You Tube clip says... "Hey...we still have Rocky!"

Go Mr. Balboa...

s42

"..it's been a long, long time....(hasn't it?)..."

2006-11-07T22:26:00.000-05:00

Ahh, the Genesis reunion news is in. Looks like the states will be getting 20 dates after a 20 date "large stadium" tour of Europe. The European tour will conclude with a free concert at THE COLOSSEUM in Italy! How cool is that!? The press conference was pretty enlightening, and other interesting tidbits have been filtering in from band members as the day went on. So far it has been confirmed that Darryl and Chester will tour with the band as in the past (from 77-78 on). Also, there are currently NO plans for new material. While this may change after the tour, it isn't in the cards as of now. Tony stated that this tour will not be all about the Genesis hits, but rather to point out that the band had another very complex side to it. They plan to play music from 1973 to 1992 era and most likely will be heavy on songs that weren't radio favorites - making this tour all the more appealing to true fans. (2 songs I've heard thrown around as on the set list are Squonk and Domino - Darryl said he was given a list of 22-24) It seems that all indications are this is a 40 date encounter, and may very well be the final chapter in the band's very storied and successful history. 130 million albums sold can't be wrong. I'd love to see any of the new bands even think of attaining that goal. The numbers are staggering. The press conference also noted that over 14 MILLION tickets were sold to Genesis shows over the years. Truly incredible.

Rumors are still persisting that Peter Gabriel may very well be involved in the end of the tour (US leg), or in a separate 2008 tour, although this was not clearly defined at the press conference today. Either way, it proves to be a very amazing show, and I'm sure tickets will be nearly impossible to come by if you miss the day of the sale. There seems to be a presale component available to forum members, so I'm seriously looking into that avenue. Otherwise it's sell the house time for sure!

One final nugget: ALL of the previous albums will be re-released in 2007 in the surround 5.1 mode, with a double disc DVD including video from the time period (concert footage?) and all B-sides and extra material. It seems as though they are really going to throw out the kitchen sink. And I guess sadly, with good reason. Although many older bands are starting to have regular comebacks, I don't think Genesis plans to be a dinosaur band and stick around until the members can barely walk on the stage, let alone perform at the high level they are accustomed to. They are all 55-56 now, and realistically this is probably their swan song. I'm pulling for them to come out on top and ride off with all business finished...triumphant. Sweet closure for the fans, as well...

s42

Happy Halloween

2006-10-31T21:56:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope all your little ones had as much fun as we did! I was going to post a picture of Brandon dressed up as Dash Incredible, but the blog program is not allowing uploads tonight. :(

s42

Turn It On Again - CONFIRMED

2006-10-25T23:27:00.000-04:00

WOW. I've been literally waiting for this moment for 14 years now. My all-time favorite band, Genesis, after years of speculation of possibly getting back together have now CONFIRMED, through official sources (including their website) that the 1992 iteration of Banks, Collins and Rutherford WILL be touring in 2007. They are currently in studio in NYC and are rumored to be possibly hammering out a new album, although the new album is not yet confirmed. The band's management has released an official invitation with "Turn It On Again Tour 2007" and the front of the Nursery Cryme album cover on it, as a press conference invite. The press conference will be held at noon (I assume England time) on November 7, at which time all future plans will be revealed. Another confirmation is that NO presale tickets will be made available for the tour, which pretty much ensures that it will be a madhouse. I'm saving up already!

As for Peter Gabriel, he has stated that he will not be involved in the first "go-round", but has not ruled out some sort of involvement in the not too distant future. Perhaps he will join them for some gigs, or even a separate tour?

At this point, I'm elated. I can't even put into words how much this tour would mean to me. Genesis was the soundtrack of my teen years and into college, and I still listen to them frequently today. One more chance to see my once idols is worth more than you can imagine to me. My day has officially been made!

Turning it on again....
s42

Friday Night Lights

2006-10-24T22:55:00.000-04:00

I stumbled onto this pretty cool show on the way back from my Vancouver trip. It was part of the NBC previews that were showing on the post movie in-flight entertainment. I decided to give it a try, and man am I glad I did. I've been hooked from the start, and it's almost passing my passion for LOST as a "must see" event.

For those of you who haven't seen it, it's an extremely well written show regarding, of course, a football team, but it's so much more. The show packs a talented cast and a slew of good-looking young talent. The storyline is basically about a football town in the deep South (aren't they ALL football towns there?), and the trials and tribulations of the team and the peripheral students and families. But it's so much more than just a football show. So far in the first month, the show has tackled a slew of topics including the underlying racism and bigotry that are present in many parts of the country, but I can imagine particularly in the South. The interactions and relationships between the characters are complex enough to keep the story multifaceted, and they even sprinkle in some actual football each week. The show even started by paralyzing the team's all-state QB in the FIRST WEEK. It's been a roller coaster since then, with the townies possessing that "football is everything" attitude, and the coach trying to save his job and his reputation by scrambling to right the ship after the loss of it's captain.

Usual time slot is NBC Tuesday at 8, but this coming week, it will be airing Monday at 10 (strange to go up against MNF) in an attempt to lure over additional viewers. Despite critical acclaim, the show is not performing well in the ratings (I believe 79), although it hopefully will pick up steam with the increased exposure. One good sign, additional scripts have been ordered to push the show to a full season.

Take a gander if you are looking for an interesting new show with solid writing, acting and depth.

s42

What the hell is there to say...?

2006-10-22T22:28:00.000-04:00

Well.........

In this, the longest weekend of sports. On the longest day for Philly area fans. What is there to say?

Goodbye Mr. Clarke. Your candid admissions of you basically sleepwalking through your GM position over the past 1/2 year won't completely overshadow your heroic playing days, but man, it's not a good way to go.

Goodbye Hitch. Though we hardly knew ya, you probably did the best you could in the face of what you had to work with. Sorry you lost the room, but your shelf-life here was up. Time to move on.

Welcome Mr. Holmgren. PLEASE don't carry on the Clarke legacy as trying to preserve the Broad Street Bullies. Maintain the attitude, but not the player type. We have enough trees playing defense so as it is...

Welcome Mr. Stevens. You should be like an old blanket to the youngsters on the team. Comfortable...familiar...just don't be too overprotective. This IS a business too...

DMac - You literally left it all out today bringing the team back. What can you do when you make a comeback like that, only to have your day ruined by a near NFL record 62 yard field goal? You tip your hat, say "Damn nice kick" and move on.

I'm finally willing to admit 100 percent - Philly sports are cursed. What more?........

CRUSHED
s42

Munce update...

2006-10-22T22:26:00.000-04:00

With dad still in town for the back-to-back home games, Munce started and won the game today, 5-3. 21 saves in 24 shots. Dad is still proud, and I feel a whole lot better about things...

s42

The Ballad of Mr. Munce

2006-10-22T00:06:00.000-04:00

Interesting night tonight on the frozen pond in Reading. I was attending the Royals' home opener vs. Trenton. About 1/2 way through the game, our star goalie got freight-trained by an opposition forward, and had to be carried off the rink. On came our backup, a 2nd or 3rd year player named Munce. Well, as the second period ended, we had a 3-1 lead. A gentleman who was sitting in my row had come back with a few souveniers, and sat down to me and asked if I attend many Royals games. I told him of my past season ticket experience, etc., and asked him in return. He said that this was his first, that he and his wife were down from Missauga, ON to watch their son play. Turns out, their son was the backup goalie. So we talked through the whole intermission, and got on rather well. As the players came out for the 3rd, we stopped our conversation, and he went back to sitting with his wife, about 4 seats away from me.

The 3rd started out pretty well, as we scored again and went up 4-1. Munce was playing well, and I was really happy for his dad. But as the period went on, things started to change. Munce let in a pretty tough shot with about 9 left, to cut the lead to 2. Still not too bad. 2 goals at home late in the game... However, with about 2 and change left, he let in a 3rd goal which was fairly soft. I could barely stand to sneak a peak over to dad, but still, hey, we had a goal lead and it was now VERY late in the game. 11 seconds later, a long shot which may or may not have ticked off a forward's stick found the back of the net AGAIN. Now it was 4-4 and the natives were restless. I sat there and thought of how hard it must be for a father to go through this, but still, we had OT to make it right. Despite having a powerplay in OT, the game ended up tied after the extra session. So on to shootouts. Well now Mr. Munce was on the edge of his seat. The kid would live or die with the one on one's. We shot first. Miss. Trenton's first went in. Dad was stunned. No more goals until our LAST hope, and we finally got one! All Munce had to do was stop one final shot and it would go into sudden death penalty shots. But alas, with dad on the edge of his seat and the whole stadium holding their breath.....Munce couldn't come up with it. Final score, Trenton 5 - Reading 4. Dad and mom were speechless. I felt horrible, but I still managed to go over and tell him it was nice to meet him, and good luck with the season. I left feeling sucker punched. Not b/c my team lost, but because I met a good man who just watched his son fail in front of 7215 people (a sellout crowd). I'm sure Munce will have his good days, but as a father, it was one of the most excrutiating things I've seen in a long time.

s42

The Iraq Solution

2006-10-20T15:12:00.000-04:00

I heard Howard Stern suggest this earlier in the week, and I thought it was funny and also something we should do:

Declare TOMORROW that we won the war. Immediately bring ALL of the troops home, and the following day stage a massive "victory parade". Possibly even in NYC. Maybe even past Ground Zero. Then THAT'S IT. I'm sure there will be massive criticism and such in the days to follow, but we can simply reply "Hey man, we won the war and that's that. Anything that happened after "V.I." day is not our fault.

I know it's a longshot, but right now it's better than any other plan I've heard...

s42

9-1??? WTF???!!!??? Flyers Change In the Air

2006-10-18T22:46:00.000-04:00

I'm still in stunned disbelief in the events that occured last night in Buffalo during the Flyers/Sabers game. 9-1. That bears repeating.... NINE to ONE. To put this in perspective, had this been an NFL game, the final score would have been like 63-7. In baseball, perhaps 25-1 or worse. Folks, this wasn't a drubbing or even a good old ass-kicking, this was something much worse. There is NO REASON that a professional team, ESPECIALLY one that is a perennial playoff contender should lose by anywhere near that margin. Even if everything possible is going wrong for your team, if you are at least competing, it shouldn't be anywhere near that bad. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that somewhere along the line, the team has stopped caring.

I have to stop for a second after typing that. Million dollar athletes. People who virtually spent their entire lives playing the game NOT CARING. It makes absolutely no sense. Yet all the signs are there. And they even go back to the preseason. This team is not an unskilled team. We have 2 all-star goalies, one of which won an olympic medal. One of which won the Calder Cup 2 years ago. We have argueably one of the best 2 way players in the WORLD in Forsberg. One of the league's top goal scorers in Gagne. A solid goal scorer in Knuble. Highly talented (and fast) young players in Carter, Umberger and Richards, who have already proven they can play at a high level in this league. Plenty of additional speed - barn burning speed in Kapanen and Sanderson. And even with the perceived weakness of the defense, still enough guys to be productive and competent. And yet there it is in black and white. 9-1. Too many questions to be answered.

I just saw a very interesting interview with all-everything owner Ed Snider, perhaps the single most passionate, caring (about the sport) owner in all of sports. He has basically declared that he is going to spare no effort to get to the bottom of the problem, and solve it himself, if need be. And he also stated very clearly that NO person is safe. Should he deem Clarke or Hitch part of the problem, I'm very confident at this point they are gone, contract or not. Perhaps even one of the "untouchables" would be gone if deemed necessary - Gagne, Carter, Richards, .... Forsberg???

The team has been complacent since last year. Gone is the fire that defines truly good teams. In the past, new NHL or not, a 9-1 loss would have meant MANY good fights and plenty of bad blood. Last night, the team didn't even seem to care that Buffalo was pushing for the TENTH goal. That should have been "stick into Afinogenof's spleen" time long before the 9-1 margin. The other thing that blows my mind is the number of times that people have taken relative cheap shots at the team captain, for cryin' out loud, and all the players just watch. Somebody has to grow a friggin' pair on that team REALLY soon. Maybe the problem really is Forsberg. Maybe not only is he a poor captain, but maybe he really isn't liked in the room? It's all speculation, but I've noticed he does have an odd way of carrying himself during interviews. Without being overtly narcissistic, he seems to almost KNOW he's better than the others, and maybe they resent that. Whatever the issue, there has not been a good leader in that room since Preems went down last year. Hatcher was a fucking disgrace.

I'm stumped. Snider has promised a return to playing "Old Flyer Hockey". Whether that means finally playing AS a team for each other, or simply beating the tar out of everyone that moves as a distraction for your team sucking is yet to be determined. Something needs to happen soon, though. Like yesterday. The first 3 heads rolled today, and if tomorrow's game is anything CLOSE to what happened in Buffalo, I think there may be wholesale changes at all levels. My heart is breaking, but still bleeds orange and black...

s42

The marriage question....?

2006-10-17T08:24:00.000-04:00

Yahoo has posted an interesting article on the state of marriage in this country. We all have heard of the divorce rate topping 50% several years back. Well perhaps an even more telling statistic is the new data revealing 50.2 percent of households in America do not involve married couples. This is an interesting trend in that it perhaps signals the TRUE sentiments that marriage is becoming an antiquated arrangement.

Stranger things have happened. I know the human race likes to think it has to be "civilized", and marriage is seen as a "civilized" thing to do (in addition to the religious quality given to it by some people). But we are truly one of the very few species that even attempts to single out a mate and stay with them for an extended period of time. Looking at it from a biological standpoint, this action is actually counterproductive to "spreading the gene pool". Not that I'm suggesting we should be randomly impregnating women all over the world, but it just points out that the very act of marriage is biologically unnatural.

I don't think we'll see marriage disappear completely, but it wouldn't surprise me if within the next 50-100 years that it becomes a vast minority thing to do. Hell, perhaps our children will see marriage as just "something religious folk do". The next bunch of years bear watching to see exactly how this all plays out...

s42

Buffett is Back

2006-10-16T23:08:00.000-04:00

Yeah baby, the land of Margaritaville is rocking again! And it has me all juiced up to find a way to the Keys for good again!

Jimmy's latest offering, Take The Weather With You is chock full of some amazing stuff. It's one of the most diverse offerings I've ever heard. Literally, no two songs sound the same. It's been reviewed multiple times, including on cyberhap's site, as well as my own offering at Amazon, so I won't kill you with too many details here. Just know that it is an amazing album, particularly for JB fans. The return of Fingers Taylor is enough to push this baby into one of the top few albums JB has ever made. Certainly top 5.

If you haven't checked it out yet, have a listen. You certainly won't regret it...

s42

Back to life

2006-10-16T22:41:00.000-04:00

Ok Pat, I'm calling your bluff. I'm getting off my ass and starting this thing up again. I've been away for a LONG time. No excuses. I could go on and on about the summer and vacation and working 2 jobs, and being a father and taking care of my post-surgical father, but I won't. I'll simply get back on the horse...

But I should at least provide a bit of an update for the past few months. Things have been tough. I spent much of the summer taking care of my father, who had 2 major surgeries to correct vascular problems. Fortunately, everything is looking good, and has been for about the past 2 months. Brandon started pre-school and is doing very well. I got to take 2 trips over my blogging break. I went on a family vacation to Myrtle Beach with 3 other families. It was a total blast, and we ended up being down there during bike week. I'm not a rider, but my in-laws are, and it was amazing to see all the bikes there. 300,000 bikes by estimate. Supposedly it's now the third largest rally in the U.S. behind only Sturgis and Daytona.

My latest trip was work related (and partially financed), and was to Vancouver, BC. Vancouver is a very beautiful city. The downtown district is walking distance from the water, and visual distance from the mountains. I thought it would be a Seattle type climate, but the week we were there (Sept. 23-29), the weather was perfectly clear, 70ish during the day and 55-58 at night. I also found a killer Irish pub called Doolins which served as our rendezvous point each night. Ahh the Guinness!

So where do we go from here... Well, I'm NOT looking forward to the upcoming weather, but I am looking forward to teaching Brandon to ski sometime soon. Maybe this Winter, if not next. I also need to get him on skates more this year. On a personal note, I'm trying hard to reestablish some control over my financial situation. Things have stabilized, but it's going to be a tight winter. Next year should hopefully lend itself to a turning point, with me being able to drop the preschool bills, and Gina perhaps going back to work when Brandon starts full-time school. I guess I should be proud of keeping the ship afloat for these years by myself, but I wish I had more flexibility. I know it will come, and I have to look at the fact that I'm only 35 and I'm thisclose to a 6 figure salary. Most people would kill for that...

Sports:

Eagles are good, but need a damn running game. They aren't going anywhere without some ball control. They could easily be 6-0 with an above average running game when they need it. The defense needs to be more consistent, but that's not the main problem

Flyers are intriguing on paper, and not so good on the ice right now. They have looked dominant at times, and have looked classic Philly lost at others. No reason they shouldn't make the playoffs and make some noise, but 1-3-1 isn't scaring anyone. Team speed isn't an issue, hitting the net is...

Sixers - who cares...

Phillies - as I predicted at the beginning of the season, had alternating streaks of great, awful, and WTF. And also as predicted, managed to keep in the hunt until the end of the season, and lost just enough games to last place teams to miss the playoffs. Again by thismuch. I hate them yet every season I root for them (or as they say in Vancouver, I GO for them).

Well, that's it for now. I promise to keep up to date on here now. I just needed a spark to get writing again, and thanks to scaggy for that. Ciao bitches...

s42

Trumped Again

2006-04-23T12:56:00.000-04:00

Went to Trump Marina to see Spyro Gyra last night. FANTASTIC show, as always. As a side note, we saw Donald HIMSELF, there to give away $100,000 to one of the people in the casino that night using a "wild" card in the machines. I was one such person, so I sauntered over to see "the Donald", and see if I was the lucky one to win the cash. Lo and Behold, after much fanfare, he opened the envelope and called "For ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN CASH, THE WINNER IS...... STEVE..........Wright"

Trumped again....

s42

Weather tidbits

2006-01-20T09:36:00.000-05:00

As weather is one of my "interests", I figured I'd pass on some trivial tidbits I've been digging up over the past few days:

Tomorrow and Sunday (1/20 - 1/21) are statistically the two coldest days of the year. What this means for this weekend is basically nothing, as temps are supposed to be in the mid-50's tomorrow. However, you can look at it as we are "meteorologically" 1/2 way through Winter. Just like Dec. 21 is the shortest day of the year, and I always look at it as "well, the days will only get longer from here" - You have to look at Sunday as "well, the overall PATTERN should be warmer weather from here on out". Of course, realizing that we've had a fairly mild Winter, at least as far as high temperatures go, we may still be in for a rude awakening. But overall, we should start to soon see more and more relatively warmer days mixing in with the cold. It's at least something to look forward to. Beach season can't be that far away, can it?

Another bit of trivia is that 12 years ago tomorrow, we set the all time record for low temperatures in this region with an astounding -20 degrees F!!! I remember that day well. It was in the middle of a LONG week of brutally cold weather. I remember Sunday night into Monday, we had about 6-10 inches of snow. Then an extreme cold front moved in and instantly turned everything to solid ice. The roads which weren't plowed (which were most of them b/c of the quickness between the storm and the cold weather moving in) turned into icy ruts, up to 6 inches deep, that even the plows could not clear. This weather lasted 4-5 days, and schools were closed for all of them b/c of the extreme cold. I believe the temperature rarely went above zero for those days, and the wind chills were somewhere in the -30 to -40 range. It was BY FAR the coldest weather the region has ever seen, in the modern weather tracking era. I can remember going out to my car, with the temp hovering somewhere around -15. You couldn't leave even a single inch of skin exposed for fear of very rapid frostbite. I was breathing through my nose, and my nostrils froze shut! That is COLD folks! And driving for the whole week was trecherous, at best, as you had to do like 5-10 mph b/c of the ice and all the ruts. Fortunately, the closest bar was only about 1.5 miles away (YP), and a 20 min. car ride got us there.

Think warm....

s42

A glittering Bikescag

2006-01-05T22:24:00.000-05:00

Just saw pictures on Bikescag's blog. It's very cool to see people so happy about being together in the world today. I am very happy for my man, and just wanted to voice an official "congratulations" over the blogwaves.....

Merry Christmas

2005-12-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

To all my friends out there, have a very merry Christmas, and a prosperous New Year..... There is nothing more precious than watching the joy and wonder of a 3 year-old on Christmas morning. It's made my year complete.

s42

Methadone for Warcrack

2005-11-27T22:39:00.000-05:00

I'm playing a pretty cool single-player RPG right now called "Fable: The Lost Chapters", on my Xbox. It's also available on PC, but the PC price is $49.99, while the Xbox price is $19.99, mainly b/c the watered down version was out on Xbox only last year. I have to say that this game has 90 percent of the cool attributes that World of Warcraft (Warcrack) had, with the exception of the person to person interaction and guild stuff, etc. The plus is not having to deal with major lagging and the hassle of not being able to just play for 30 min. or so. Warcrack was a 2 hour plus committment if you wanted to accomplish anything... The game play is pretty involved, with everything from fighting, questing, developing your character, etc. There are some interesting choices of things to do, including paying barbers and tattoo artists to change your look, buy and selling (or renting) real estate, boasting about deeds, etc.

What makes this game truly interesting, and perhaps separates it a bit from other RPG's is that EVERY action you take has a direct effect on your surroundings. And the more good you are, the more "pure" your character will look. The more evil you are, the "darker" your character will become. The game tempts you to the dark side frequently, offering slightly better rewards for committing evil deeds, in comparison to the good opposite deed, and promising a much quicker path to wealth and power. However, I'm banking on the possibility that being pure will pay off in the end. At any rate, you can play the game 10 times and have 10 completely different experiences, based on the fact that every action will alter your character, as well as the rest of the game. I'm just beginning to get into the real action (after a training period), but it seems like this is going to be a pretty cool ride.

s42

Something Truly to be Thankful For

2005-11-25T22:36:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm now about 5 lbs. heavier from the overindulgences of the holiday yesterday. Between food and drink, I'd estimate 7,000 to 10,000 calories would be about right. Or would be so wrong!!!

I had a wonderful time with family yesterday, and somehow managed to FINALLY slow things down for a few hours and just enjoy life. Just really take things in. I had one of those life-galvanizing moments yesterday, and it all came from a videotape....

My holiday was spent at the house of my Aunt and Uncle, where we traditionally spend several "holidays" each year. Recently, our area had a good deal of flooding from one of the tropical depressions (former hurricane) that passed through. We received 9-11 inches of rain in a 24-36 hour period, and many people, including my Aunt and Uncle, had significant flooding in their basements. While many things were ruined, one of the items salvaged from a rather waterlogged box was a simple videotape. One that turned out to be 17 years old, and chronicled 2 hours of events in my family history from the year 1988 - Labor day weekend party at my same Uncle's house, Thanksgiving at my old house in Mohnton, and Christmas at my Uncle's house. The first thing that struck me about this tape, is that it was 17 years old, which is exactly 1/2 of my age of 34, meaning literally it was one half of my life ago. The other oddity was that the tape had time and date stamps on the playback, and Thanksgiving from 1988 was on November 24 - the same date as this year. Not exactly earthshattering facts, but I found them interesting, nonetheless.

As the tape played through the various holidays, I realized that my brother was about 3 1/2 years old in the video, the same age as my son is now. As I watched and listened to him, I was absolutely HAUNTED by the similarities in his behaviors and my son's. It was almost like watching Brandon in another body. And the fact that part of it took place in my old home, a home that Brandon lived in for 1 1/2 years, well, it was a bit eerie.

I also watched myself on tape.... 17 years old.... I just was starting my Senior year of high school in the beginning of the tape, and had just gotten my braces off about 2 weeks before the start of it. I was just starting as captain of the Cross Country team, and weighed about 113 lbs.! I was polite on tape, but had that "teenager attitude" going for me, which was funny to see, and a bit embarrassing, too! As I watched myself and my family from 17 years back, my laughter turned a bit to melencholy, and then to a tinge of sadness as I realized that so much had changed since then. I watched as my mom and stepfather got along so great, and functioned so admirably as husband and wife, mother and father. (they divorced 3 years ago). I watched as my little brother played with our cousins, Mike and Dave, and they were so fascinated by simple Ghostbuster toys, and toy cars and trucks and things like that, and hadn't a care in the world. (Mike and Dave are in/pursuing graduate studies, and my brother is entering culinary school, each in their 20's now). Tears streamed freely down my face as I watched my grandmother, my last living grandparent and resident in my home for 15 years. As I listened to her talking to everyone. Laughing. Helping my cousin open one of his Christmas presents. Brightening the room just by her sheer presence. (She died several years later from a massive stroke in 1993). I was shocked, stunned and devistated by just how simple things seemed back then, and how much happier we all seemed. We had a floor model wooden framed TV that sat directly on the ground, and used a single cable with NO CABLEBOX. There was no DVD player....no VCR....certainly no DVR to catch up with shows. Our furniture was simple, but efficient. Sofa, loveseat, recliner, and rocker. Several table lamps. We had one of the first commercial microwave ovens, though!!! It took up nearly the entire side counter in the kitchen. Our cars were basic, at best. What really struck me, though, was for the nearly 2 hours of tape, including three holidays, the tape was filled with CONVERSATION. People sitting at a kitchen or dining room table, or in a living room, TALKING to each other. Sharing stories. Not surfing the internet. Not listening to an iPod. Not watching movies on TV. The only time on the tape that the television was even a remote distraction was during the football games on Thanksgiving. (Hey, some things never change!). But overall, it was a scene of people tuning into their family members. Their BLOOD. Instead of tuning into multi-media blitzing sound and video clips. You watched that video and you could tell that everyone on there LOVED each other unconditionally. That we were willing to slow things down and give our time and attention to each other, because that's what really mattered. Today it seems like everything is moving so fast that there isn't enough time to just slow down and enjoy things. Everyone has to put their kids on two soccer teams, in a karate class, a dance class, girl/boy scouts, etc., all at the same time. Families don't even have time to enjoy dinner together anymore. It's all about being on the go 24/7. And if you don't keep up with everyone else, you'll be left behind somehow. It's a really truly sad state of affairs for this country of ours. Middle class, suburban America has stolen so many souls, and I'm part of it now, and it both scares and saddens me in a way. I need to remember my roots, and remember how to LIVE. Not through material things, or technology, but through family and love. For every year we get a little older... a little slower... a little grayer. And the family becomes smaller and more distant through life events like death, divorce, and relocation. We can never get these days back. And perhaps the most heart-wrenching lesson from the video is that our children, the ones we love with ALL of our heart, soul and being..... eventually grow up and move on. Every day I have an option to play with Brandon and his trucks, or continue reading my newspaper or working on the computer for my second job. And a day will come when Brandon doesn't WANT me to play with him anymore. And my heart, like those before me, will shatter... and I'll have to pick up the pieces and move on.

So I'm making my New Year's resolution early this year: I'm going to slow my life down. I'm going to focus on the things that truly matter (my family, my son), vs. the things that seem important in today's society (putting in more hours on a job to get more money to buy more material things, keeping up with the Joneses). I'm going to try, because we only have so many finite days to live on this Earth with those we love and those who love us.

Try to embrace just a bit of the past...

s42

And Then There Were Three!!!

2005-11-23T22:08:00.001-05:00

Introducing the newest members of my family, from left to right (and front to back): Edge and Fiona. (I know it's not the best picture, but try catching two 8 week old kittens both sitting still!) These two unbelieveably cute creatures join Gina's older cat, Destiny. They are currently quarantined in my son's bathroom until Friday, to allow all de-parasiting medications to work 100 percent. At that time, they will gain free roam to the house, and probably cause wonton destruction and havoc.

s42

Indian Summer Sky

2005-11-15T23:08:00.000-05:00

The title combines two things that I've been enjoying very much over the past few days. While it isn't exactly Indian Summer, MAN who can argue with the weather we've had?! For mid-November, this is PERFECT. Absolutely PERFECT. I got in a nice run tonight, and was in short sleeves and shorts. I was going to leave the house with long sleeves, but after two steps out the door, I wisely went back in and changed. Such a nice night. Just a mellow breeze and warm. If only it would stay like this for another month or so. T'would be nice for the heating bills, for sure!!!

The second meaning of the title relates to U2, and a song title from the Unforgettable Fire album. I've been eating up their new iPod commercial, which plays a live video version of "Original of the Species", from a Chicago show this year. It's a great spot for the iPod, but it's also a great teaser for their upcoming live DVD, which should be out any time now. Absolutely looking forward to that. The live DVD from the last tour was pretty good. This one should be phenomenal!

Also of note, although not directly related to this blog entry title, is the further developments in the Genesis reunion tour. Apparently, Phil Collins has now officially thrown his hat in the ring, as well as Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel, with the intentions that Phil will sit behind the drum kit for most if not all of the show, and Peter will sing. All that's really left is the blessing of Mike Rutherford (an almost given), and Tony Banks (trickier, but if they got Peter, should be a piece of cake in comparison), and for the band to agree on terms (think tightrope walking). I'm cautiously optimistic that this could happen for real next year sometime. No sense putting it off any longer. They're certainly not getting any younger. Then again, either are we..... 42 out.

s42

The Wheels Fell Off

2005-11-01T22:13:00.000-05:00

MAN this year is flying by. It's NOVEMBER already!!! I'm not at all ready for the cold (and subsequent killer heating bills), but I guess it is that time again. Looks like we'll have another week or so of decent weather yet, though. Maybe I can squeeze some shorts-wearing into this weekend...

Marathon looks like it's dead for this year. My knee is still not quite right from whatever relapse/reinjury I had over the past 2 weeks. I'm also still struggling with some other minor issues which seem to flare into major aches and hobbles whenever I stretch my training runs over a few miles. So I'm going to stare inevitability in the face and declare that I've been beaten. But I'm not really all that down about things. First and foremost, I DID make it through some pretty killer long runs, including the 16 miler several weeks ago. Second, I learned about my dedication. I stretched my battered and injured body about as much as I could without causing serious, possibly permanent damage. I've only run once in the past 2 weeks, and I STILL can't get out of bed, or my car, or a chair, etc. without my knee killing me. I'm still walking with a bit of a limp, too. In addition, it's been a full year now that I've had my plantar fascitis. It's better, but still there b/c I haven't given myself a good long rest. I should have heeded the advice in the running magazines that say if you suffer a significant injury, you should think twice about continuing with such high-level training. I would say a grade 2 ACL injury (plus God knows what else), qualifies for fairly significant. In hindsight, I should have found a nice 1/2 marathon and raced that for my goal race, but my stubbornness kept pushing me toward the whole 26.2 mile enchilada. One piece of advice for the first-time marathon hopeful: Remember that while the physical pain and endurance is very substantial at times, the mental drain is even worse. Motivation can be an issue, but for me it was more of an issue to deal with the mental strain of KNOWING that you were going to be sore ALOT. And not just right after a long run, but for DAYS afterward. Especially with the injuries. I think if I'd have stayed healthy, it wouldn't have been unbearable, but with the injuries, it just became too much. Limping on both legs from multiple injuries, almost every day for weeks on end, takes it's toll...

As things are, I basically lost a whole year of 5K/5 mile races because I was doing specialized training for the marathon. But these things happen. I think I'm going to take a nice long break from beating up my lower body, and try to heal up completely. Next year I'm vowing to have a very successful racing season, but with full emphasis on the SHORTER races. And I know my training partner will agree that we're going to brain the other person if either of us decides to pursue a marathon in the near future. I'm disappointed because I KNOW we could have finished this thing, but I know we are doing the right thing....

s42

There's a Paradoxical Pagan in Every Christian (or, Vampires, Mummies and the Holy Ghost)

2005-11-01T21:49:00.000-05:00

Welcome to All Saints' Day. The day after Halloween. A Christian holiday following closely in the footsteps of a Pagan celebration.

I came to think of the irony in all of this last night, while I was escorting my son around the streets of our town for the annual "trick-or-treat" night. Halloween is just one interesting example of a Pagan-like ritual being celebrated by many people who probably claim to be good, practicing Christians. And let me get this out in the open - I don't think there is anything wrong at all with the holidays we celebrate, and how we celebrate them. I'm just using this forum to point out some irony....

Halloween was originally celebrated as the day before All Saints' Day. The day when, supposedly, spirits were roaming around the countryside looking for bodies to possess. So the inhabitants would wear all sorts of demonic like costumes and act all strange, dancing around and making lots of noise, to confuse the spirits. Interestingly enough, many church going folk allow their children to partake in the annual recreation of this "event", even though celebration of anything Pagan is strictly forbidden by Christianity.

Also of note: The Christmas tree, which we use to decorate our homes during the second most "holy" day of the year, is actually an old Pagan fertility symbol. Does the placing of "gifts" around the tree represent an old practice of paying homage to the fertility God? It is also widely believed that the celebration of Christmas on the specific date of December 25 has nothing at all to do with the birth of Christ. Rather, it is believed that Dec. 25th was the most important Pagan holiday, and the Christians that designated the holiday believed it was easiest for the Pagans to remember that day when they tried to convert them to Christianity.....

Interesting things to digest. I'm sure that most people are completely oblivious to the Pagan connections to our holidays, and instead celebrate them the way they do because of the traditions that have been carried down through our families and such. I'm certainly not going to forgo the tree this year, or forbid my son to dress up to get some candy.

s42

Oct 26

2005-10-26T20:15:00.000-04:00

WOW. Another hurricane takes out part of Florida. Man, I'm still destined to live there, but it seems like mother nature is trying to make me feel better for not moving there when I should have. As irony would have it, the job I was going to take has just opened up again (actually another position, same place, same hours). I'm not going to pursue it at this time, but it makes me wonder every time I see an opening down there....

Anyway, good to hear from the good Dr. Felton that he's alive and well. A bit waterlogged, but alive. Sounds like a total mess in South Florida, but they'll rebound. They always do. Hurricanes aren't exactly a new phenomenon....

Catch up time:

Work sucks. Actually, the conditions at work suck. You know.... the usual.... understaffed.... underpaid.... Boss almost cuts his finger off at his second job and is going to be out of comission for 8+ weeks....etc. etc. It's insane. I've been so mentally and physically beat from all of the BS there that I actually bailed on 3 training runs. That's not a good thing at this point in the game, but I'm also struggling through about 7 different injuries right now. I'm a walking/running mess. I know what it feels like to be 60 now, I think. Maybe a 1/2 marathon would have been a better option!!! At any rate, I'm trying to keep the training ship afloat, but it's getting harder and harder. I finished my 16 mile run, and I have a 20 miler scheduled for this weekend, but I might end up pushing it back until next weekend. I'm just not in any shape to be running 20 right now. I really could use a few weeks to heal up, but there just isn't time. So we'll see where this takes me. I'm still optimistic, but realize that it's going to be a long hard push to be ready in time...

Current Injuries by Anatomic Position:

Plantar Fascitis, Left Foot
Tendonitis, Right Ankle
MCL Sprain, Right Knee
Muscle Strain, Right Gastrocnemius
Muscle Strain, Right Soleus
Tendonitis, Left Groin/Lower Abdomen
Ileotibial Band Syndrome, Left
2 Black Toenails, Right Foot

So for anyone crazy enough to train for a marathon, see above. Seriously, I've learned alot about myself through all this, and I truly believe that the journey is more valuable than the destination. Which one way or another, is about to come to an end....

s42

Finally, cancer takes a major blow

2005-10-07T10:20:00.000-04:00

BIG BIG BIG news from Merck yesterday. It seems their HPV vaccine has passed through clinical trials with an unheard of 100 percent effective rate in preventing the spread of the HPV virus. This is extremely important because HPV, a sexually transmitted disease, is responsible for over 99 percent of cervical cancer cases. With a successful vaccination program, medical science may very well eradicate a type of cancer. The key is going to be getting the vaccine to girls BEFORE they become sexually active in any way. In this day and age, that very well may mean approaching parents of 8 year old girls and convincing them to vaccinate their daughters against something that you can only get from sexual contact - not the exact topic a parent of an 8 year old wants to hear.

In years to come, it's entirely possible that this vaccine methodology may transfer to other viruses that cause other cancers. A glimmer of hope to all of us that have had loved ones and friends (or ourselves) affected by cancer. One step at a time.....

s42

Beer pairings

2005-10-07T10:02:00.000-04:00

I know there are many people that like to pair wines with certain foods. I'm guilty of such an obsession, but only when in a nice restaurant. Otherwise I'm pretty much a beer guy. As such, I've learned over the years that beer, like wine, can be paired pretty successfully with a variety of foods.

One of the oddest beer pairings I've ever tried, but one that I particularly enjoy is pairing a nice DARK full-bodied stout with a piece of cheesecake. Sounds sort of strange, but it is a really nice combination. Another good combo is Corona (with lime) and crab legs or shrimp with Old Bay seasoning. A nice mid-range lager is a good match for steak. A wheat beer goes nicely with seasoned pork. There are many possible combinations out there. Try a few of them and see what your personal preferences are.

Back where we belong...

2005-10-06T08:24:00.000-04:00

It was SO great to watch an official, meaningful NHL game last night. Despite the fact that my team, the Flyers, dropped a 5-3 decision to the Rangers, it was just a wonderful feeling to be sitting on couch, beer in hand, watching hockey again. While I was disappointed by the lack of effort in the third period by the Flyers (leading to the loss), I was encouraged by their early dominance, and realize it's only the first game. This team will compete for the cup this year, and should win. It might take 5-10 games until everything shakes out with the new lineup, new rules, etc, but the Flyers are built to win this year. They have no weaknesses up and down the lineup.

Some initial observations on the "new" NHL: Realizing it's only one regular season game (and one preseason game that I got to watch), I'm still in a "jury's out" mode on the game. While there were some very exciting moments last night, I almost felt like I was watching a slightly different sport at times. I think I've gotten so used to the clutching, grabbing, hooking, etc., that it looked like everyone was being really tentative out there last night - not engaging people on defense, etc. I know that's in response to the strict rules changes, but it looked like either someone would get checked hard, or the defense would back off and allow room. It sort of reminded me of an all-star game at times, where the "gentlemen's rules" would prohibit rough play during the exhibition. Then a minute later, Brashear would be putting Jagr on his head. It just seemed really strange at times. I am hopeful that the referees will allow at least a little contact in the defensive zone as time goes on. Maybe not clutching and grabbing, but at least allowing D men to clear the porch and such. I'm sure my opinion of the product would be a bit better had my team been able to hold on and win. I think it's going to work, but the players and fans need to get used to things a bit.

On OLN's coverage: The best quote I saw all night regarding the coverage came from ESPN's NHL blog. They said something like the set resembled a Bob and Doug McKenzie show. I thought that was great! For all the hype and publicity surrounding the OLN having the games, it really did seem like the set and graphics were a bit on the "cheap" side. Especially those computer generated graphics of hockey players skating down the ice. It looked like something I could have programmed on my old Commodore 64 back in the '80s. I was a bit confused b/c I thought Doc Emerick was going to be calling the game with Davidson. They had some putz out there and the combo was sort of weak. They also had Clement in studio, and I think he should be on the air, not Davidson. Jonesey is a great analyst, and would work either on air or in studio. Neil Smith is just there as window dressing. I think they could have found a better "expert" to put on the show. But again, as it's the first game, I'm willing to reserve judgement. I'm really glad that most of the Flyers games are going to be on Comcast. I really do enjoy having our familiar announcers calling and analyzing the game.

So overall, I'm elated to be able to watch games and follow the league this year. I'm sure this year, more than any before, it's going to take a while until everything settles into what the new "normal" is going to be, but that was to be expected. The bottom line is the league will tweak things until they really work. Scoring will be up...games will be more exciting...and the Flyers will win the Stanley Cup...

s42

Catching up....

2005-09-08T08:35:00.000-04:00

Well, in my absence, my blog turned one year old at the end of July, and I hit the 50 blog mark as well. Small but significant milestones...

So the Summer is (+/-) over now. What a few months it was. I'll remember it for being hot and humid almost the whole way through. Not that I'm complaining, but the electric bills were about 25% higher than last year b/c the air conditioning was running like 24/7. The end of the summer was punctuated by two fantastic weekends. The August 27th Jimmy Buffett concert in Philadelphia was beyond drunken words, as usual. Beads, Booze, Boobies and Buffett. Can't beat it with an ebony rhythm stick! Labor day weekend was a great mix of PERFECT PERFECT weather, ice cold beers, and two great Buffett shows on the Sirius boombox (from Wrigley Field in Chi-town). I also stretched it into a 4 day weekend, so the liver had a bonus day to workout. Next summer should include another Key West debauchery trip, as my brother turns 21 in July, and I promised him I'd take him there once he's legal. I'm saving up for bail money already.....

On the marathon training front - it's been a bunch of ups and downs, but things are progressing. I had just gotten into the serious 16 week portion of my training, when I sprained/messed up my knee at a Coldplay show. I went to jump over a railing on the way out, and landed on a plastic bottle which threw out my knee pretty badly. It swelled up about 2 times normal size. My doctor diagnosed a grade 1 or 2 ACL sprain, which was well enough to run on after a week. But I still have something "not quite right" behind my knee. It's the same one I hurt last year playing hockey, and it feels like it might be hamstring related. I was worried it might also be a meniscal injury, but I've logged some serious long runs since then, and it doesn't seem to be getting any worse. At any rate, I'm up to a 10 mile run this weekend, and things seem to be on the right track. I'll struggle through it. I figure, after all I've been through in training, the marathon itself might be a breeze!

I was really glad to hear from my friend Tom "Boli, Woody, Uncle Woody" Woodward in Mississippi. After a week of no power, he finally let us Northerners know that he had survived the storm and that his place was in decent shape. Always a scare when you lose contact like that with someone you know. I can only imagine the terror of all the people who still haven't heard from their loved ones down South.

That's all for now. More to come in a bit....

s42

Scaggy's back!

2005-09-07T22:38:00.000-04:00

Great to see Bikescag has returned to his blog post. I shall do the same. More to come tomorrow, as I have a free morning to write. Much to catch up on.... hope you will be there to join me.

s42

GAME ON!!!!

2005-07-14T10:27:00.000-04:00

THE NHL IS BACK! Well, at least the league is back. The product known as the NHL stands to be radically changed. From rules changes intended to increase scoring chances to the almost certain shuffling of perhaps close to 50 percent of the players to different teams, there is going to be a very different feel to the games. As a lifelong hockey fan, I'm very excited to get back into the routine of following my team and the league's stars as they grind it out on the ice again.

The whole lockout was such a mess. Hindsight being 20/20 and everything, there is NO reason that the league had to lose an entire season to come up with the deal that they are going to present. Essentially, the players' union was blind by thinking they were going to be able to crack the owners' group into giving the players what they wanted. It was very clear from the start that the owners were in it for the long run, willing to not only can one season, but even part of the second if necessary. Way back in February, the players' union basically conceded the one major point (salary cap) they were holding out for, and should have signed a deal then. As it is, the deal they are getting now is about 6 million a TEAM less than what the owners were offering in February. Doing the math: 6 million X 30 teams = 180 million dollars per year. That's not an insignificant amount of money. The other MAJOR MAJOR point to come out of this deal (and it's one as a paying fan I'm really happy with) is now the league will be able to take a player to arbitration for underperforming EXACTLY like the players can go to arbitration if they feel they are underpaid after a big season. This should assure that the players that do sign larger contracts don't get complacent and play half-assed for a season or two because they are secure. We should truly see everyone giving their best on a nightly basis, which can only improve play in the league.

Where we go from here is going to be paramount in establishing and maintaining a thriving sport. I believe the NHL has a great opportunity to not only recover its fan base, but to finally, perhaps, gain the foothold and recognition it needs to launch it back into a serious "major" sport in North America. One of the biggest things that absolutely NEEDS to be done, is to restructure all of the prices of EVERYTHING related to the hockey experience, so that not just corporate suit types, but FAMILIES....ordinary working class families can afford to take in a game. Before this whole mess started, the breakdown for ONE game sort of looked like this for a family of four in the (relatively) cheap seats. I won't even begin to break down the lower 1/2 seats....: Four tickets X 45 dollars = $180. Parking = $10. Food and drink = $50 (conservatively). Program = $10. Souveniers (again conservatively) = $30. So assuming you take your family for a night at the hockey rink and you get a little bit to eat and drink, and maybe get a t-shirt or a hockey stick to hang on the wall for the kids, you are looking at a $280 night. FOR ONE GAME. That's cheap seats, folks, and not counting transportation (i.e. gas) costs. Sit in the lower bowl, and it's going to jump to a whopping $420. I don't know about you, but I simply don't have that kind of money. I can get a SEASON ticket to my ECHL hometeam the Reading Royals for $350. The NHL was ruining itself by adopting the attitude that as long as the seats were full, it didn't matter if it was 90 percent corporate types that didn't care about the game. That's a VERY shortsided view, and neglects to take into consideration that the best way to get someone hooked on WATCHING hockey on TV (think sponsorship and broadcasting deals) is to get them to see a game in person and get hooked. There is nothing like live hockey, but once you've been there, watching a game on television is so much better b/c you understand how exciting it is. By shutting out the common folk from affordability of the live product, the NHL was effectively shutting out a viewing presence on TV. Perhaps they will learn. As they slash heavily the player salaries, and therefore expenses, they MUST MUST MUST pass these savings on, at almost a one to one ratio, in the form of ticket price reductions, souvenier reductions, and even, yes, food price reductions. The upside in revenue will come when the NHL expands its fan base, secures more lucrative advertising and broadcasting deals, and sells more licensed merchandise. The game plan now has to be... HAS to be selling more for less. That's the only way this will all work out, and may even prove to be a win-win situation in a year or so. I'm holding my breath and waiting....

s42

Movie quote answer

2005-07-13T23:20:00.000-04:00

Sorry, just realized I never gave the answer to the movie quote question. It was the very beginning of "Up In Smoke". Long live Cheech and Chong!

s42

Blank Slate

2005-07-13T23:13:00.000-04:00

I'm still here. Blogging has been put off a bit by factors tying up my time. Working 2 jobs and prepping for a marathon seem to be fairly time consuming factors.

Just a quick note: I was laughing my ass off when I read Alex Henry's blog entry about Def Lep and when she mentioned her friend (either Hap or me or both) getting all the beers from the beer vendor. We got 8 each from a guy that is supposed to sell 2 beers each MAX. I knew there was something good about that stadium!

More to come in the morning. I'm waiting for Margaritaville Radio to play my request ("Looking Back" by Mac McAnally), but so far, no dice. Hap, if you read this, could you send me the mp3 if you get a chance? Tanks man.

And Bikescag, I got your call, been meaning to call you back but keep getting sidetracked. Catch up with you soon.....

peace,
s42

Siriusly?

2005-06-28T22:49:00.000-04:00

I am now an official member of the Sirius cult. I've sold my soul to satellite! And love it!

s42

Gas Rant

2005-06-23T22:27:00.000-04:00

Ok. Am I the ONLY one in the world that sees there is NO justification for oil prices (and thus, gas prices) to be anywhere NEAR what they are right now? About 3 months ago, there was a big worry that oil stocks were very low, and demand was going to be very high, particularly in the upcoming winter. So the people that REALLY control the oil prices (traders and investors) decided it would be a great time to run up the price of oil. All the way to FIFTY dollars a barrel, which at the time was a record. Approximately 2 months later, the oil and financial gurus met and wrote reports stating not only was supply MUCH higher than anticipated, but the predicted demand in China (which was the big scare point) was only up 4 percent, as opposed to the prediction of 19 percent. For those that aren't following me, supply was up, demand was less, so therefore, oil was overvalued and the prices were bogus. It probably should have been more like 40 dollars a barrel. AND, OPEC decided to RAISE PRODUCTION by 500,000 barrels a day. It was also noted that there should be more than enough supply to last through the winter and still have a nice surplus, even without the production boost. So a month has gone by, and we now find ourselves with SIXTY dollars a barrel, as of today. Why the high prices? The justification given by the investors (read: greedy ignorant bastards) is that they don't think the supply would hold up in the event of a major stoppage in production or distribution. Well, no SHIT. That's like saying "I think our electric will go out if the power plant gets bombed." These people are artificially inflating, and by a LONGSHOT, the price of oil to make some big money. So for the short term (or potentially a bit longer), we're going to be stuck paying prices that are nowhere near reasonable for gas, heating oil, electric, airline tickets, and just about everything else you can think of, because people are going to start adding even greater surcharges to all products to cover the elevated costs of shipping.

Take a look at the gas prices today, because oil just went up 11 percent over the past week. Yes the past WEEK. So assume most of that will be passed on to gas prices. Figure adding 20-25 cents onto today's price for about 3-5 days from now. Nice. All because of some ignorant Wall Street bastards.

The one good point in all this is eventually, even those hardheaded bastards are going to realize there is a huge surplus in oil in the world, and the precious commodity will become much less valuable. People are going to lose everything if they don't get out in time. And prices of gas and oil should eventually drop to levels we haven't seen in years. For the meantime, though, it really just sucks.

s42

Name this movie quote...

2005-06-23T22:24:00.000-04:00

"You get a goddamn job before sundown.....or we're shippin' ya off to military school....with the GOD DAMN FINKLESTIEN SHIT KID......SON of a BITCH!"

Change-up

2005-06-23T22:23:00.000-04:00

Just something a bit different. Not sure if I'm going to keep this template style or not. I'll give it a few days to see if it grows on me or not....

s42

Running update

2005-06-22T22:25:00.000-04:00

Well, it's now less than 5 months until the Philly Marathon, which I still hope to run in. I'm still suffering from plantar fascitis since OCTOBER, but it's more of a nagging injury than the debilitating one it was several months ago. I've learned to do the right things as far as making sure I always wear my inserts and stretch (but not OVERstretch) before and after running. And of course resorting to the odd dose of Naproxen after particularly hard runs. I still lost some valuable training time over the Winter and part of Spring, but I'm starting to get back in the swing of things again. I just recently completed training runs of 3 miles at 23:30 with hills and 5 miles at 42:05 with MANY hills (tonight). My training runs are not at race pace, obviously, but I'm happy with where I'm at right now. I need to drop about 10 lbs., too, to get back into a more ideal race weight. I'm tentatively eyeing up two 5K runs for July and early August, to sharpen my lower end mileage runs a bit and get my speed up. "Official" marathon training starts August 1. At that point, I'll be seriously ramping up my long runs on the weekends, starting at 8 miles on week one and peaking at 20 miles at week 13. Weeks 14 and 15 are taper weeks (with the option of a 1/2 marathon on week 14), and week 16 is the marathon.

There are alot of people that I run into that think I'm nuts for attempting this. Also alot of people that probably secretively think I'm not going to do it. Well, I'm going to give it my best shot, and the only thing that could hold me back is my foot injury. I'm hopeful that it continues to just be no worse than a nuisance, but I understand there is a very real possibility that I could have a setback or two. So I need to be smart about it. But other than that, my mind is made up that come hell or high water, I'm going to finish this 26.2 mile bastard. It's just something that I want to be able to say that I did. An accomplishment that all the negative people in this region will just have to live with (although I'm sure there will be some that scoff because I don't run it in 2 hours and 30 min.). But enough of that. I'm doing this for ME and ME alone. I'm the only motivation I need for this. How far can I push my body and mind? That's the real question.

Running has always set me free. Free from the stresses of home, work, and life in general. While I've never tried anything NEAR this magnitude before, I'm comforted by the fact that along the way, through all of the blood, sweat, tears, and pain, I will find peace. The actual 26.2 miles that make up the marathon will be the exclaimation point on the long journey I am beginning to undertake in an attempt to reach my goal. I hope some of you will be there to cheer me on at the end.

s42

The Thin Line Between Love and Hate

2005-06-21T22:39:00.000-04:00

It's an overused cliche, for sure, but there really is a THIN, THIN line between love and hate. Most things/people in my life do not evoke EXTREME emotions. I care about people, and I have feelings for people, but there are only a very select few that can make me completely turn from the highest high to the lowest low and back again in less than five minutes. It happened to me today with two separate people at two separate times. As I thought about the people, I realized that they are two of the people that I care about the absolute most in my life. Strange that I would equate caring to both ends of the emotional spectrum - but it seems that perhaps the more passionate you are toward somebody, the more you open up your emotions to that person, and consequently, the more you can be emotionally affected by their every move, word or deed.

Philosophy 101 concluded. Have a nice day :)

s42

Burning the candle at 3 ends.

2005-06-21T22:30:00.000-04:00

It suddenly hit me tonight that I need about 28 hours in each day to fit in all the crap in my life. Tonight was a prime example of how crazy things can be. Work 9 hours, come home, play with Brandon, eat, check sister-in-law's house (on vacation), play with Brandon for about an hour, do an hour of work for U of Penn, run 3 miles (marathon is coming in 5 months from today!), do another hour of work for Penn, and FINALLY sit down to have some time to myself. Oh yeah, it's 10:30 and I need to go to bed soon. Where does the time all go? It's crazy. And every week day is a repeat of the last. I really need to rearrange some of the things going on in and around me. I can only imagine what life will be like when Brandon starts getting involved in "after-school activities" and such. I'm going to need a clone!

Phil Collins at his (drumming) best - Brand X

2005-06-17T09:38:00.000-04:00

Phil Collins was a powerhouse performer in the 70's, 80's and 90's, performing solo and with the band Genesis. His album sales from these two projects and various other side projects (including movie soundtracks, compilations, etc.) have totalled well over 100 million copies. He still continues to make music, however seems to have totally converted to the Adult Contemporary side of things.

To truly appreciate the musical genius this man is, you have to go back to the early Genesis days, and back to the mid-70's when he had a side-project called Brand X. Brand X was essentially a prog-rock/jazz fusion quartet with Phil solely on drums. I knew of Brand X, but never really gave them a listen until several weeks ago, when I picked up their first album, "Unorthodox Behaviour". I was BLOWN AWAY from the start by the pure speed and genius of Phil's drumming. The opening track, "Nuclear Burn" starts out sort of mellow, but gives you a sign of things to come by laying down an 11/8 beat (yes, 11/8). The middle part of the track, where Phil takes a bit of a solo, is the most amazing drumming I've ever heard. He is absolutely flying, playing just about every rudiment known to man, and keeping a riduculous time signature though the whole thing. I was stunned to hear this, because I've always known Phil was a top notch drummer, but he'd gotten away from the more difficult drumming as Genesis and his solo career became more mainstream. To hear him playing this way was almost enough to knock me out of my chair. It's that amazing. The rest of the album features some very tasty tracks as well, spanning several genres including funk, jazz, rock, and even a little samba thrown in for good measure. If you enjoy complex, but very accessible and catchy music, give this disc a listen. You won't be disappointed. It's a great changeup from the current music scene, yet still sounds very relevant. I'm going to be checking out several other Brand X offerings. As his solo career and Genesis tour schedule became busier and busier, Phil opted out of several of the Brand X recordings. But I know of 3 that he is the exclusive drummer, and I'll be tracking them down soon.

Speedwork

2005-05-20T11:44:00.000-04:00

UUUGGGGHHHH. Until last night, I had forgotten just how painful (yet beneficial) speedwork can be in training for races. Colin and I decided to go to a grassy field and do a "ladder" workout of 3 min. hard 3 min. rest X 2, then, while keeping the 3 min. rest period, doing 4 min hard, 5 min hard, 4 hard, then 3 hard X 2 to finish. While this might not sound terribly difficult to the non-running crowd, if you ever want to truly push yourself to the point of puking, try it sometime. Just FYI, we were running 6:50 mile pace for alot of it, and never lower than 7:20. Again, doesn't SOUND too bad, but try it on grass sometime. Hopefully, the benefits will come in the form of lower 5K/10K times, and a better fitness level for the marathon training to come, starting Aug. 1st.....

s42

Key West Highlights

2005-05-19T10:07:00.000-04:00

I've been back for 3 weeks now, but just got a chance to finally sit down and recall the trip....

And WHAT a trip it was. Not the top trip ever, due to a few key missing people, but a very good one, nonetheless. It started with a fantastic drive from Miami Int. Airport to Truman Ave. On the way, the better part of a 12 pack was consumed by Cameron and myself. Thankfully there aren't too many turns on A1A! After unpacking, grocery shopping and settling in a bit, we took off for Duval St. for some food. Crabby Dicks was the restaurant of choice (actually the first good one we came to, and we were STARVING!). After dinner, we did the Duval Crawl, and set the pace for the rest of the week.

I won't bore you with all the little details of the entire week, but the highlights included visiting the following places: Margaritaville, Turtle Kraals, Conch Republic, Half Shell Raw Bar, Overseas Market for fresh seafood, Rooftop Cafe, Sloppy Joe's, Capt. Tony's, Ricks, Irish Kevins, Fat Tuesday, Whistle Bar, The Green Parrot.

One of the only disappointments came at Irish Kevins. Kevin broke his hand and only played once during the week, and we missed it. Jared, his #2 guy, had the flu and sort of played one night, but was really subdued and was really sick. He did make an appearance later in the week, and was pretty good, but you could tell he still wasn't feeling 100%. He also got married the day we left. I met Capt. Tony for the 3rd time, and had him autograph my new t-shirt. He's 89 now, but still as witty as ever. He asked Gina why she married me and didn't give him a chance. She said we were married in KW five years ago. So Capt. says "five years ago..... I was probably in Vegas with a couple of hookers. That's why I missed you." Classic Tony. I only hope when he dies they cremate him in the bar. He'd burn for days with all the booze in that body!

I got everyone in our group hooked on root beer barrels from the Parrot. So much that we bought a bottle of root beer schnapps and had to do barrels each night before going off to conquer Duval. I learned that while I can still hold my own in the partying aspect, it's becoming harder to hold the torrid pace over 7 full days. When you start your party day before noon with pool beers and continue until midnight, 1, 2, 3 AM, it takes it's toll after a few days. By day 3, I needed to downshift just a bit. I rallied for the mid-week sessions, but by the end of the trip, I had had enough for a while.

Sebago put on another good show for the snorkel/sunset thing, but the water was really REALLY choppy, and the snorkelling was pretty terrible. However, the open bar on the way back more than made up for things!

Overall a fantastic week. I hope to get there again someday with the old cast of characters and relive some more of the insanity.

A Parakeet looks at 3....

2005-05-19T10:04:00.000-04:00

My son turned three this week. MAN how the time does fly. To put things in better perspective, he's 1/6 of the way to graduating high school and 1/7 of the way to being able to go to bars. Interesting....

Happy birthday buddy!

Winding down

2005-04-21T09:49:00.000-04:00

AHHH, the last day of work for a while. 10 days off sounds like a good start.....

Taking time out for oneself is not the worst thing in the world to do. Helps to reset the internal clock. Helps to come back more focused....to be a better worker....a more compassionate spouse....a more patient parent. Our lives all change when we get married and/or have children, and it's important that we still take a little time for ourselves every now and again. That's exactly what I'm intending to do.

Off to the island...... with stories to tell when I return.... Buy now, b/c Bacardi's stock is about to rise.....

s42

Five Years --- A Key West Style Tribute

2005-04-08T22:35:00.000-04:00

Tonight marks my five year wedding anniversary. This in itself is a pretty monumental occasion in this day and age. I sat down with Gina tonight and watched pretty much all of our wedding video, which was prepared and filmed (mostly) by Ed "LOG" Pines. What a trip. Ten days of the best days of my life. I realize now that friends in that video are still friends of mine today, and I love and miss them all. From my best man, Harold "Hap" Ford, to my wedding attendants, Pat and Murph, Andi and Tina, to the rest of our crazy friends, parents, relatives, etc. It was the best time I think I ever had on a trip.

As I prepare to embark on yet another Key West journey, I want all of you to know that you will all be there in spirit. I wish....I TRULY wish that we could all reunite for this trip like we said we would 5 years ago. I understand it's not feasible for some of you. But just know that your spirit will be there with me. And I'll make sure I drink at least several for each and every one of you.

Please know that you all have made a permanent mark in my life's memories, and I will cherish the moment forever....

stevo

NH(IL)L

2005-02-20T20:43:00.000-05:00

I've been a hockey fan for nearly my entire life. I remember playing (solo) hockey in the laundry room of Springwood Apartments, on the concrete floor, when I was 4. I'd take my plastic runt-sized hockey stick and plastic puck and just whack the heck out of the puck all over the place. It was a decent sized room (doubling as storage for the apartments around the perimeter), and being 4, it seemed as big as a full-sized rink. The year was 1975, which was the true golden age of Flyers hockey, as we (they) were in the midst of back to back Stanley Cups.

Since then, I'd dabbled in some ice hockey, but mostly played good old-fashioned street hockey on STREETS, then on basketball courts, tennis courts, and finally on organized league rinks. I actively played up until last May when I destroyed 2 knee ligaments and a hamstring by trying to cut hard to the net while simultaneously stepping on a defenseman's stick.

Anyway, the bottom line is I've been a player and a true FAN nearly my whole life. And it saddens me to no end when I have to endure this travesty of a non-season by the NHL. Sure I still have my partial season tickets to the ECHL Reading Royals, but it's not the same. It doesn't feel the same this year. Hockey....any hockey this year feels different somehow. I don't have the same rush of excitement sitting at games. And I haven't been able to even stomach bringing out my net to take shots since the whole fiasco started. It's awful.

Most people don't realize that hockey fans....TRUE hockey FANS, don't just view hockey as a sport. They view it as somewhat of a way of live. Even more than other sports. Canadians truly own the sport. For them, hockey IS a way of life. But some people in the US (and other countries) really do get it. We understand. And while the game goes on, there is a huge void in our lives without the NHL. Non-fans don't get it. They don't seem to mind if the NHL would disappear of the face of the earth. And that's a shame because they don't understand the beauty of the game, and the lifestyle that it stands for. Hockey is (should be) a blue collar sport. Grit, hard work, blood, guts, glory. It shouldn't be about multi-multi million dollar contracts and such. That's not what it stands for. And maybe that's why the whole negotiating process has failed so miserably to date.

Call me Mallex

2005-01-27T09:25:00.000-05:00

That's my character in World of Warcraft, a quite excellent MMORPG from Blizzard, the creators of Diablo II. I'm totally hooked on this game. It's my first massively multi-player experience, and it is sort of fashioned after Diablo II, which was my favorite single player game of all time. I've had so many incredible adventures so far. I have to thank cyberhap (or Kinngdom/Grow to those in the realm) for putting me on to this game. It's simply amazing. The gameplay is top notch, and the graphics are very good for a multiplayer game. The X factor is the interaction between player characters. I've been fortunate enough to make a few friends who have helped me move up in the ranks fairly quickly. After one week, I'm level 11, near 12, and I'm starting to develop some good skills.

It's funny how I'm still playing computer games. My generation was raised on computer cames, from Atari to Colecovision to Commodore 64/128/128D, to Nintendo, Sega, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, Playstation, XBox, PS2, and PC games. It's a part of who I am. I know people 5 years older than me that never got into gaming b/c they sort of missed the boat. I think my generation represents the older edge of gaming enthusiasts. Sure there are some older players, but as far as diehard players, I'm probably at the upper limit. And I think my passion for gaming will continue, even as gaming evolves. It's part of what we are. Part of the kid in me that doesn't want to go away. Nor should it.

So should you run into Mallex in the realms of Azeroth, make sure you tell him that you read his alter ego's blog entry. Maybe he'll share some tales with you over some charred boar meat and a pint of mead.

s42

Light at the End of the Tunnel....

2005-01-27T08:52:00.000-05:00

For three reasons. First and foremost, I had a sinus infection which lingered from Dec. 31 to Jan 22. Twenty three days of more or less sick. Three antibiotics until we got one to erradicate the germs. Fortunately I wasn't over the top sick, but not feeling well and not being able to breathe or sleep for over 3 weeks was the big SUCK. I'm now staying away from anything or anyone that so much as sniffles. I've had my sick for the year. And then some....

Second, the EAGLES are soclose to being world champions, and ending this Philly Phunk/curse/whatever that has plagued us for almost 1/4 of a century (think about that - I was 11 when the last Philly team (Sixers) won a championship). Sure the Patriots are favored by 7, but that's alot of hype. If the Eagles play a perfect game and the Pats play a perfect game, the Eagles win. That simple. Instead of getting caught up in the overblown hype that is the Patriots, break it down into smaller pieces and you'll see why the Birds have a realistically good chance: Positionally, QB position is a wash. I know Brady has more super bowl experience, but I'd never count out D Mac. Especially this year. If he needs to make some plays at the end of the game, he will. RB position has to go to the Eagles. Dillon is a good runner, but Westbrook gives you so much more. WR is a slight edge to the Pats unless T.O. is over 50 percent, then it's in the Eagles favor. We'll miss C. Lewis, but I think L.J. will fill in nicely. O line is a wash, D line goes to the Birds. Defense is a tie between the 2 for scoring defense, until you realize the Eagles gave up all those points in the last 2 games that the starters sat. Then the Eagles have the edge. The Birds secondary is MUCH better, and while the overall linebackers of the Pats get the edge, you have to argue that Trotter is the best of the group on both sides. Special teams is also a wash. You have the 2 best kickers and 2 very good return groups. Finally, if you compare the teams' records over the past 4 years, the patriots are only 2 games better than the Eagles (Superbowls?). And for coaching, another wash. Yeah, Belichek has his rings, but Andy is close behind. And Reid is 8-0 after bye weeks. And don't forget the guru Jimmy Johnson It's going to be very very close. Any given Sunday.....

Finally, we are now over 1/3 through Winter. It's cold as balls, but the calendar is just about to flip to February. A short month later it will be March. I've always loved Winter, but I guess b/c I've been so sick already this year, I just want it to get and stay warm ASAP. It's going down to 1 degree tonight. 1. The mind can't fathom 1. I'm also getting ever so closer to my KW trip. God knows I need that. Seven days of pure freedom. Freedom to do (or not do) anything, anywhere, anytime. Beer at 7AM? No problem. Swimming at 2AM? No problem. Naptime? Anytime! Pools, ocean, sun, sand, Duval, shots, beers, 190 octanes, boats, girls, everything. Fun. Can't wait.

So be good y'all. Think warm and stay safe.

stevo42

Best of 2004

2004-12-30T09:30:00.000-05:00

Alright, alright. I might as well get on the bandwagon and do my own personal list of favorites and memorable experiences from 2004. Remember, this is a personal list, and does not necessarily reflect the popular view.....

BEST SPORTS MOMENT OF THE YEAR, NATIONAL

For me, the best moment in this category was the systematic thrashing of the "spend your way to a championship" New York Yankees, by the Boston Red Sox, in the world series. I'm not a BoSox fan, in any sense, but it was great to see the mighty Goliath and all those cocky front office bastards get theirs. In a big, big way. It ranks up there with seeing the same philosophy Detroit Red Wings get thrashed in the playoffs over the past few years, when they were clearly the season favorite. Spending does not always win championships. Heart and character do. Money breeds laziness.

WORST SPORTS MOMENT OF THE YEAR, NATIONAL

This is almost a dead tie for me, between two equally disgusting events:

The first is the steroid scandal. Yeah, we all pretty much "knew" that Bonds, et al. were juicing up big time, but I think the little kids in all of us didn't want to believe it. Now that it's out, and we realize just how FAR this all goes, it's a true travesty. I feel dirty, like sports now has this dark secret that we all know about, and someone is going to have to decide what to do about it. Fast.

The second is the almost assured cancellation of the entire NHL season. I'm still amazed that this hasn't been worked out somehow. The owners, claiming poverty, set themselves up for this mess by offering 5-6+ million dollar contracts to guys who weren't even scoring 20 goals a season. I think 5-6 million is more than ANY hockey player should be making, and several fat pocket owners decided to just go crazy on the salary structure. And who can really blame an average at best player (or anyone for that matter) for taking as much as they could get. But now it's time for the sides to come to some sort of agreement on how to fix this mess, and the two are being so bullheaded, they are truly jeopardizing the future of the NHL.

BEST SPORTS MOMENT, LOCAL

The Reading Royals hockey team, affiliate of the Manchester Monarchs and LA Kings (of the soon to be defunct? NHL), had their first playoff appearance of their brief 3 year existance. They had to overcome an away do-or-die qualifier on the last day of the season, then entered as the lowest seed, meaning they would not have any home ice advantage. They rolled through two tough fought series and made it to the conference finals, where they went down 2 games to 0 in a best of 5. With games 3 and 4 at home, the Royals totally spanked the opponent (Florida), winning 6-0 and 4-1. It was a classic shellacking. The crowd was so into the moment. I don't think any Florida player could probably think at all, with the noise in the house. They went down by a goal in the deciding game 5, which would have put them in the finals, but all was not lost. It was a fantastic run, one that will be remembered for a long time in this championship starved region.

BEST ALBUM

I have to go with my boys, U2 on this one. The album is a very strong representation of what a true "band" can do when they pour their minds and hearts into a project. I can't wait to see some of these tunes performed live in the 2005 tour, which may be the tour of the year for next year.

BEST CONCERT I PERSONALLY ATTENDED

This one is a sentimental choice. I saw Phil Collins in his (sure to be) announced farewell tour, in Philadelphia. The show was full of energy, and the musicianship, and Phil's voice were top notch that evening. It was truly a trip down memory lane. All the years I've followed Phil (from about 84 on) came rushing back for me that night. Each song sparking a wave of memories of the past. It was quite cool. Perhaps the highlight was when Phil and the band broke into the Genesis classic "Misunderstanding". It was the first time I'd ever seen Phil play a "Genesis" song in a solo concert. And with the background screen showing the 1981 video with Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, and with Chester Thompson and Darryl Steurmer playing on stage with Phil, it was probably the last time we'll ever see "Genesis" all together on one stage. Quite moving.

BEST "WARDROBE MALFUNCTION"

I'm going to have to go away from the obvious choice here, and pick Tara Reid. There's something sexy about a really sexy girl standing on the red carpet, giving an interview, with her entire left breast hanging completely out of her dress, and not noticing it. A classic moment, when her publicist had to physically pull her dress back up after about 20 seconds of her standing there, flashbulbs popping, being totally oblivious. She's MUCH hotter than Janet, too.

BEST VACATION 2004

I spent a wonderful 5 days in Toronto, ON, and a great 7 days at a conference in Chicago, but nothing tops the 2 days spent (WIFELESS) in Dewey Beach, DE with my old compadre Hap and Jimmy C. It was a fantastic 48 hours of just hanging out and drinking. It didn't matter that it was 52 degrees in the middle of August, we had enough anti-freeze going that it was irrelevant. I haven't drank that much in a LONG LONG time. Our bar tab between the 3 of us the first night was nearly 200 dollars. Craziness. It's something I rarely get to do anymore, but seems like a necessity to recharge the batteries from time to time.

BEST POLITICAL MOMENT

I hate politics. Moreso now that ever. I'm a Bush supporter, but not a straight Republican. Anyway, my "best" moment of 2004 was the minute that the election was conceeded. I don't think I could have handled any more BS coming from either candidate's mouth, and the prospect of another few months of recounts and whining was almost too much to bear.

Well, enough for now. If I don't get back "blogging" before the weekend, everybody have a great New Year, and drink some for me.

s42

It sucks to be a Philly Fan

2004-12-10T01:04:00.000-05:00

GOD I hate the fact that I'm from the Philly area sometimes. Our sports teams have been so frustrating over the past 25 years or so. We, as fans, have been pushed to the brink of greatness so many times, yet the teams always seem to fall short when the chips are down. The Flyers have done it several times over the past few years. Even being up 3 games to 1 over Jersey in the semi-finals, and choking in 7 games and not making the finals. Hell, our one trip to the finals in recent memory resulted in a 4-0 whitewashing at the hands of the Red Wings. The Phillies have made strides to improve their sorry-ass team, but they still seem to underachieve every year. Use the injury excuse if you will, but every team has injuries to deal with, so I think that's a bit of BS. The sixers, well, that's basketball, and I don't follow it as much as the other sports. But I did become a sixer fanatic when they went to the finals several years ago....and handily lost to the Lakers. Oh, we did win game 1 on the road. But that was it.

So we come to the Eagles. Oh the Eagles. Tear my heart out, pour gasoline on it and light it on fire Eagles. Three years, three great teams, three trips to the NFC championship (2 at home, no less), and the SQUARE ROOT OF DICK to show for it. So as I watch them rolling over other teams like they are playing the Little Sisters of the Poor, I can't help but think that I'm setting myself up for yet another major disappointment come playoff time. I can't HELP but think that. I'm from the Philly area, and our teams are overWHELMING underachievers. At least when it comes to the important games. And, I mean, LOOK at the team right now. We could easily have All Pro starters at QB, WR, RB, and CB. Four of the five positions that most experts agree are the most important for success of the team (the other being DE, which is occupied by a very able Freak). They made the Packers, the team that was supposed to be their greatest challenge, look like total shit. And sure, you can say that the Pack didn't show up, but it was such a HUGE disparity, that even if the Pack does decide to show up, and the Eagles have an off-day, the Eagles should still win handily. Nobody in the NFC scares me, except the Eagles themselves. For they still have that word in their name "Philadelphia". And as a die-hard fan of many, many years, I've seen it all. Or at least I think that every year until NFC championship time, when another chapter in amazing futility is written. Lord, PLEASE let this be the year....

s42

Profession of the Week

2004-12-08T21:35:00.000-05:00

I'm currently reading a book about the "lives of cadavers", called "STIFF". It's pretty funny. Light reading, believe it or not....

Anyway, there was a passage in the book about people (women, obviously), who get paid quite well to be Professional Vaginas. It seems these women spend a full day allowing themselves to be pap smeared and examined by medical students, and they provide commentary on the performance of the students.

So the next time your wife/girlfriend/sig. other complains about her job, offer her this alternative. There's truly something for everyone in this world.....

s42

The Christmas Rush

2004-12-08T21:23:00.000-05:00

I'm amazed every year how people start thinking about Christmas earlier and earlier (even in September in some stores), yet we seem to never quite be prepared for it, and it causes WAY too much stress than it should. I've always been a last minute shopper. I've only ever gone out once on Xmas eve for a gift, but I usually do push things until the last week. But I've found that it forced me to focus and get things done in several hours, and then it was done. Same thing with getting our decorations up. It was always nice to get a tree 2 weeks before Xmas, and decorate then. The tree stayed nice and fresh through the New Year's celebration, and again, it was "let's do it this weekend, and then it's done".

Now that I'm living in a more upscale community, it seems as though it's almost en vogue to try to outdo everyone else for decorations, and in getting those decorations up as soon as possible. Most of my neighbors had their lights, deer, santas, snowmen, trees, wreaths, more lights, etc. up the day after Thanksgiving. I was feeling too fat to even THINK about that on the day after Turkey day! And my wife wanted to get all the shopping done on Black Friday, as well. That's crazy. I have to commend her, that she did finish all of her planned shopping over that weekend, but the net result of her having a MONTH to think about Christmas = more gifts that were not planned, and not in the budget. Like, it wasn't enough to get her sister a musical vibrator that plays "O Come All Ye Faithful", but now she wants to get her the matching butt plug. And the people in the neighborhood are adding to their decorations on a daily basis, it seems.

I think Xmas works so much better when you have a plan, and you stick to it, and you EXECUTE the shopping/decorating/cookie baking, etc. within 2 weeks of the holiday. It's so crazy to drag out a single day holiday for a full month. Think of it this way: if we drug out the New Year's celebration for a full month, people would be bombed for the whole month of December, and we'd probably miss Christmas entirely.

Moderation in all things, people. Even Christmas.

s42

Thanksgiving

2004-11-25T21:03:00.000-05:00

Family and friends are everything. Thank you all for everything you are, everything you do, and everything you will be in the future.

Cheers.

stevo

Cancer Redux

2004-11-24T23:04:00.000-05:00

Well, folks. I now officially can say that I have someone in my family who is living with cancer. My stepfather was diagnosed yesterday with prostate cancer. It's a very different feeling than what I've always gone through with friends and friends' parents when they were diagnosed, or died of the disease. It really, truly does hit to the core. The positive, if there is one, is that it seems (at least on biopsy) to be moderate stage, and not advanced. The prospects for a long-term survival are pretty good, but we won't know for sure until further testing and staging is done. I want to use all of my medical knowledge and tell myself that all the studies and papers say that if you are going to get a cancer, this is a good one to have because it's generally a slow progressing disease, etc. But there is no "good" cancer. Every case is different. And Mike has a strong family history, with his father dying this year of the disease. So while I am very optimistic that it's not going to be a catastophic thing, at least short-term, I still have in the back of my head the 10-25 percent that don't fare so well, regardless of the staging. It truly chills me to the bone to think that five years from now....well, you know.....

Adding some irony to the situation is how I was so haunted by the new U2 song "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own", which is about a son losing his father to cancer. Now it makes the song even closer to my heart.

Ramblings

2004-11-18T10:51:00.000-05:00

WOW, where has the time gone! It's been almost a month between blogs.....

Several random ramblings.....

1. I've secured my vacation spot in Key West for April! All is well in Stevo's mental land with a little KW on the horizon. It's marking my 5th anniversary, also, which brings us back to "WOW, where has the time gone!"

2. Life really does seem a bit emptier without NHL hockey this year. It's nice having an ECHL team to watch every now and again, but it's not the same. I've even seen my playing interest wane without having pro games to watch. One thing that I have noticed is that I still don't like basketball....

3. Parenting is both exciting and frustrating. I knew this for a while, but it becomes even more pronounced as your child gets older. The highs are much higher, and the challenges of a two year old become much greater. Of course I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

4. We are the people our parents warned us about. More accurately, we are all becoming our parents. Or at least our elders. I find it amazing how many things have changed in my life in the mere 11 years since I graduated from Millersville U. I noticed the other day that I'm actually listening to more adult contemp. stuff and less current stuff. I still have my ear to the airwaves, but I'm actually more content to listen to mellower things these days. It has nothing to do with intensity or quality of the music - I think I'm just so much more stressed and pulled in different directions these days, that I need more mellow things in my life to balance it out. Of course Buffett still leads the way. I'm listening to him now as I type this. It's also scary to realize that my priorities are so much different, and more responsible these days. Late nights are now midnight instead of 5AM. A night of "heavy drinking" is anything over 3 beers. Three beers used to be for breakfast....

5. U2 can still rock. We all knew about the power of "Vertigo", but I was just able to hear the album in its entirety last night. All I can say is WOW. I think it's for sure their best album since Joshua Tree. It has a sound that harks back to the early 80's days, but is much more refined, mature, and polished. I haven't gotten to get into all the lyrics yet, but knowing Bono, I'm sure they are deeply layered at times. I'm really excited. I hate seeing all of my favorite bands of youth getting older, but when they still put out top notch music, it is very exciting to see.

6. The 2005 Philly marathon is exactly one year from this coming Sunday. Or in other words, the 2004 marathon is this Sunday. But I'm not in 04, so I'm worrying more about 05. It's going to be a long haul from training. I've actually backed off for the past 2 weeks, partially b/c of a small injury. The break has helped mentally, and I'm wondering if that's a good strategy for the upcoming year. I know the highest intensity training won't start until late Spring/early Summer, but I need to keep a good base going. At any rate, I feel like celebrating Sat. night, as it marks T minus one year from an attempt to reach a very important goal for me.

Back to Buffett and dreams of beaches, bars, bimbos and bling-bling.

s42

You Can Learn Alot From Cancer

2004-10-22T22:09:00.000-04:00

Don't get scared. I'm fine. I'm talking about what I do every day for a living. Some days are better than others, like any job. Some days you learn not to ever take a day of your life for granted. I see multiple cancer cases every day. I deal with it so much, I'm almost numb to it. It's very morbid that I find it interesting to see unusual tumor types, or very large tumors. I almost forget sometimes that there is a real life attached to the other side of things.

So when you have a day where several of the cases involve people under 20, it really opens your eyes. I guess it's just another reminder that we are all vulnerable to these sorts of things, and you never really know how much time you have.

I hate introspective days like this. I can't wait for the start of hockey season here in Reading tomorrow, and the raising of the championship banner!

My One and Only Political Blog Statement

2004-10-20T22:12:00.000-04:00

Ok. I've heard from the leftist bastards enough about how great Kerry is, and how much of a loser Bush is, and I just need to get this small, but significant set of facts off my chest.....

After 9/11, over 80 percent of the people in this country thought that we should go on the offensive to make sure our country was protected against further acts of terrorism. So over 80 percent then thought that going into Afghanistan after Osama was a really good idea. Then, when it became clear that Saddam was STILL, STILL not complying with the 16 U.N. resolutions about allowing inspections of ALL of his facilities and compounds, about the same amount of people were in favor of going in there and kicking his ass. He already had a proven, PROVEN track record of using chemical weapons against people, so there was a pretty strong reason to believe that he would not hesitate to use them again. Turns out we haven't found any, but that's sort of a moot point. Had he not been so deceptive over and over and over again, perhaps intelligence (democratic and republican) would have been better. But nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of our country decided it was a good idea to go in to war with him at that time. Suddenly now, since we have lost lives, alot of people are changing their minds and saying it was a bad idea. Well, guess what....when you elect a government FOR THE PEOPLE, and THE PEOPLE want a war, the people should get a war. And they shouldn't cry about it later. Blaming any of this on Bush is sort of a cop out.

Then we have the economy. I challenge any of my middle-class friends to prove to me they didn't get some sort of tax cut that helped their financial situation at least a bit. And let's remember that the economic problems were not caused by Bush or his administration. On the contrary, I think they've done a pretty darn good job of turning things around after the bottom fell out on 9/11. That is when the stock market fell through the floor. That is what started the spiral of companies laying people off. You cannot compare numbers of jobs from 2000-2004 because there were so MANY lost as a direct and indirect result of the terrorist acts on 9/11. Many of the lost jobs HAVE been replaced, but it's been a difficult task. I think Bush has done well to create opportunities, and given more time will continue to improve the situation.

Kerry sounds really good. Hell, he's a great public speaker. But like Carlin said, it's amazing how astonishingly much bullshit comes out of his mouth, being a true politician. He is making all these promises that are near impossible to keep. And people are believing him. I think it's funny when he keeps saying "I HAVE A PLAN TO......" And you never hear his plan. "I'M GOING TO RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE" (higher prices and increased inflation) "I HAVE A PLAN TO GET THE TROOPS HOME FROM IRAQ WITHIN A YEAR" (and what happens if the situation over there still sucks? Do we just say "F YOU" and bail? And exactly what is this plan?) etc. etc. etc. It's fun to hear folks. It's like Ed McMahon telling you that you might have won 10 million dollars. And then you buy into it, open the envelope and.....OH....SO CLOSE....Well, maybe next time. I guess there's always Hillary......

I'm not saying he doesn't have his flaws, but I think 90 percent of the arguements against Bush are seriously flawed, and not based in fact. Vote your conscience, but make sure you fully understand the facts, and not just the rhetoric that's flying around from both camps. I can't wait for this election to end. I'm tired of the BS. Both candidates are remarkably full of shit alot of the time, but I think Kerry is much more so.

s42

Back from the Dead

2004-10-12T21:45:00.000-04:00

Well, not exactly. Although I did just return from an awesome week in Chicago, attending my annual medical conference. What a cool city. I'll tell you what, if you find a bad meal in that town, let me know, because I was totally won over by the quality and mass QUANTITY of food there. From the awesome deep dish pizza at Gino's East and Lou Malnatti's, to seafood at Shaw's crab house, to Chinese at P.F. Changs, cajun at Redfish, and to DIE for mafia style Italian at Carmine's.....man o man was it a great week. I also caught the Blue Man Group, and was part of the performance. If you ever get the chance to see them, GO. They are a laugh a minute, and the music portion of their show is pretty cool, too. But a word of warning: if you sit in the "poncho zone", be prepared to get splattered. That's all I'll say.....

Also of note: I finished 2nd overall in the 5K race in Chicago, and this past Sunday, finished 2nd in my age group in a 5K in Reading. It's a long way to next November, but I'm starting to get juiced about the marathon......

s out.

Rolling Rock "33" mystery solved

2004-09-19T21:46:00.000-04:00

Well, I now know that the "33" on the back of the bottles has to do with how old I turned today. Happy birthday to me. I've been very reflective today - moreso than any other birthday I've had. It's always a good time to take stock of what you have in life, and what you wish to accomplish. I won't bore you with details here... Also a good time to evaluate who your true friends are vs. your acquaintances. Thank you to my friends who remembered my day, and helped to make it a very special one.

s42

Tryin' to Reason....

2004-09-14T22:27:00.000-04:00

With Hurricane Season.... What a mess the past few weeks have been. I guess we're making up for last year's dearth of storms. I was utterly amazed that the Key Westers actually boarded up and left the island. They usually sit through the hurricanes by locking themselves in the bars and getting faced six ways to Sunday at hurricane parties. They must really have been scared about Ivan. I'm glad to see it's going to spare them, though. I guess when you make enough liver sacrifices to the god of all spirits, you get a favor every now and again.

Life's goals

2004-09-14T22:20:00.000-04:00

I've become a bit ambitious over the past few weeks. My main stress release (other than getting plastered on the odd occasion) has been running. I've raced several 5K and 5 mile races over the past 2 years, and used to be a regular scholastic performer in track and cross-country races. Well, I've decided to up the ante and I've set a goal to run and finish the Philadelphia Marathon next year. I know it's going to require a TON of dedication and training on my part, but I decided to challenge myself to do something that would be very hard. I don't know too many people, personally, that have ever run a marathon before, so I'm sort of stepping into uncharted waters, for me. Should be interesting. I'm hopeing that I'll learn alot about myself. Learn about my inner strengths and capabilities, as they will be tested harder than ever before. I'm not looking for a blazing fast time (4 hours and change would be good), but rather to survive and to make it to the finish running. Call it my quarter to mid life crisis if you will, but I'm looking forward to the journey.

Labor Day

2004-09-06T21:58:00.000-04:00

How many pregnant women do you think went into labor on Labor day? Seems odd that they would get their own holiday......

Seriously, though, it was a fantastic weekend. I got to see an old friend that I haven't seen in 4 years or so (Vijay), got to meet/know my new neighbors in a great picnic/hangout on Saturday night, and got to spend alot of quality time with my extended family today. And that's really what it's all about. Catching up with old relationships, making new relationships, and finding plenty of time for family.

So now Summer is unofficially over, and I guess it's time to start dusting off the long sleeved shirts and long pants. It's always a bit depressing, but at least I can start looking forward to the ski season now. As soon as Brandon is old enough, I'm going to get him out on the boards. I can't wait until he's old enough so we can go out west and tear it up at my all-time favorite ski town, Breckenridge Colorado. Of course by then I'm sure he'll be skiing circles around me!

Where have you gone?

2004-09-01T22:25:00.000-04:00

Is it me, or did we just sleepwalk through an entire summer? Maybe it was the weather or perhaps just a packed schedule, but I really can't remember much of the past 3 months or so. Seems like not too long ago, we were all pushing around snow. I guess as you get older, the cycle of seasons gets quicker and quicker. Crazy.

So as we look to one last official weekend in Summer, let's all try to have one kick-ass weekend, and party like there's a major hurricane about to wipe out 1/2 of Florida's coast. Oh, wait a minute......

Public Service Announcement

2004-08-30T22:15:00.000-04:00

Don't get married.

What the hell was I ever thinking......

The Olympic Ideal

2004-08-23T22:51:00.000-04:00

I'm having a great time reading all these stories about athletes from the US that had to "settle" for a silver medal. Or they "turned in a disappointing performance" and "only" got a silver or bronze medal. Are we really that arrogant of a country that we have to view second or third best IN THE WORLD as not good enough? What ever happened to good sportsmanship? It makes me sick, but at the same time it's good for a laugh to realize there are actually people out there that think this way. I'll tell you what, I know you should always give your best, but I would be thrilled just to be IN the olympics, let alone win a medal. With 50,000 olympic condoms being distributed, how can you lose?!

Welcome to my fantasy......draft

2004-08-22T22:39:00.000-04:00

It's that time again. I'm entered in a cash league of 9 people, each picking 2 QB, 3 RB, 4 WR, 1 RB/WR slot, 2 TE, 2 K, 2 Def., and 5 Taxi players. My draft went as follows:

QB: Mike Vick, Donovan McNabb
RB: Ahman Green, Brian Westbrook, Duce Staley
WR: Eric Moulds, Jimmy Smith, Amani Toomer, Keenen McCardell
RB/WR: Jerry Porter
TE: Jeremy Shockey, L.J. Smith
K: Josh Brown, Morten Andersen
Def: Tampa Bay, Denver

Taxi: Tommy Maddox, DeShawn Foster, Roy Williams, Terry Glenn, and a player to be named.

I think I did fairly well. I stack up even or better against the rest of the competition, so we'll see how things go. Lots of Eagles' names up there, but they should be producers.

Good luck to those of you in your leagues......

Thirsty Thirsty Thirsty

2004-08-20T16:21:00.000-04:00

It's finally the weekend, and MAN am I thirsty..... Perhaps some "crooked I" or "Old E" to soothe the mind. Or maybe I'll stay "whitey" and drink some Labatt Blue.

Then again, there's always Ezra Boot..... That could lead to this.

Best wishes for an EtOH induced weekend....

s42

Misguided (parents) Youth

2004-08-18T22:44:00.000-04:00

Kids these days are seriously fucked up. I mean SERIOUSLY. In varying degrees. Everything from the inner city gangbangers to the nine year old girls giving head on the school bus, to the INSANE amount of people up here involved with soccer, whether they want to be or not. Everything is to extremes anymore.

Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm just getting old and finally making a transition from boy to man/parent, but some of these trends are damn disturbing. I don't remember life being so extreme when I was a kid. It seems like there is so much pressure out there to exceed expectations. It's not good enough to get a 4.0 anymore. NO. We have to have all sorts of weighted classes now, and parents are pushing their kids to take as many as possible. Hell, a 4.0 nowadays might not even get you in the top 10 percent of your class, the way things are set up. I heard of some girl from one of the Philly private schools graduating with like a 5.2 on a 4.0 scale. Does this make any sense whatsoever? It's like we're so ingrained now that our kids have to be smarter, better, and stronger than the other kids. And I totally blame the parents on alot of this. Gina was at the doctor's office with Brandon a few months ago, and she said there was this like 3 year old kid whose mom was showing him flashcards. When he'd get one wrong, she'd yell at him, and when he was getting some right, she was yelling for him to be faster, that he HAD to be faster at it. I mean, the kid is fucking three years old. Let him enjoy shitting himself for a while. Life gets damn hard enough when you get out in the real world.

And it carries over. Pressure from these parents for the kids to do well in sports. There has been a huge increase in interest for sports camps for kids as young as 5 years old. What's next? Competitive Teeball leagues? Scholarships for marbles? (oh, wait, there IS one of those). It's nuts. And I won't even get into the behavior of some of these psycho parents at their kids' sporting events. But it's no wonder that kids are rebelling more and more and looking for ways to get back at their parents. We're practically forcing them into being adults when they are still in elementary school, why shouldn't they be able to engage in some "adult" behaviors on the school bus, right? Crazy.

I live in one of those newer communities. It's actually still being built - about 2 more months to completion. I'm so worried that I'm going to be surrounded by some of the freak asshole parents that are going to screw up their kids so much by pressuring them in everying. At least in Mohnton, the town was so dilapidated, there really wasn't much pressure for anyone to succeed. I'm probably lucky I got out of that black hole. But now that I'm in a nicer, middle class surrounding, I'm just waiting for the first comparisons to start. Maybe I'll luck out and everyone here will be cool with things. And I won't have to listen to how great everyone's kids are b/c they are SO far ahead of everyone else, etc. Who knows. So far so good. I've just vowed to accept Brandon for whatever he decides HE wants to do, and at whatever pace he does it. As long as it's something. And if he just so happens to be one of the recipients of the nine year old oral sex on the bus.....god bless him.....

Life's Soundtrack

2004-08-16T21:45:00.000-04:00

I write this with a feeling of tremendous sadness, having just read bikescag's blog. I cannot imagine how truly difficult this past weekend must have been. Difficult times bring out one's true character and inner strength. Hopefully, soon there will be peace.....

I was just encouraged by DJ Mode's revelation about the new albums coming out. I'm particularly excited about Tears for Fears reunion album. There are two cuts on the website that sound pretty interesting. I'll be picking that one up Sept. 14, on the release date.

It's funny how everyone truly has a "soundtrack" of their past. Old songs come on the radio and frequently evoke memories of times past, be it a single moment in time, or a period. I remember Def Leppard's "Pyromania" album was the first tape I'd ever owned. I was in 6th grade, and used to listen to it on a radio/cassette player with one speaker, before boom-boxes were popular. I remember listening to Power 99 FM top 9 at 9 countdown with my friends, back in the days of OLD skool rap (RUN DMC, Grandmaster Flash, etc.). Genesis, my favorite band of all-time, was the first concert I ever went to, on May 27, 1987, at Veterans' Stadium (may it rest in pieces). I can remember listening to various Rush albums in high school, while cruising around with my friends. Tears For Fears was another band that was pretty big in my high school days, with the album "Songs From the Big Chair". I listened to their music all through college, with "Elemental", and "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" adding to my college memories. Now, here I am at 32, preparing for another release from the band. Should be quite interesting. Not too many bands have been around long enough to provide background music for nearly 20 years of living. I've mentioned some of the others that have been longtime contributers to my own personal soundtrack: Rush, Def Leppard, Phil Collins/Genesis, U2, and now TFF. Hopefully the album will have some great tunes on it that I'll remember 20 years from now...

For Pat

2004-08-13T10:18:00.000-04:00

Those of you who know Patrick Felton, please take the time to read his blog entry of Aug. 12 at www.bikescag.com Old Blog.

For those who don't know Pat, his father has been battling cancer for some time now, and sadly after showing encouraging signs of strength over the past few weeks, he's taken a serious turn for the worse, and appears to have entered the terminal stage of his life. Pat, if you are reading this, please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you in this most difficult time....and know that I'm here if you need anything at all. Please don't hesitate to call....

We very so often take for granted things in life. Even life itself. It's bad enough that we fall into lazy habits when it comes to keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances, but I know I've done the same with my parents at times. I go through the rigors of day to day life, and work, and raising my own family, and I sometimes forget that my mom and dad are out there and would probably love to hear from me. These the people that gave me LIFE. That helped to shape me into who I am. That gave me food and shelter and everything I needed for all those years. Not that I ignored them, or purposely avoided calling them for a week or longer at a time, but I feel like I could do a better job of keeping in touch with them. Dropping by for a visit. Having dinner. Simply getting in touch. At THEIR convenience, not always mine.

Life is a fragile thing for all of us. It is a miracle that any of us survive through the 9 months of a developing pregnancy, with all of the possible things that can go wrong, and all of the billions of things that have to go JUST RIGHT. Every day we are here on Earth could easily be our last day. Whether it be known disease, an unknown internal ticking time bomb (like a heart attack or stroke), a car accident, a psycho killer/terrorist act, a weather related catastrophe.... anything could happen. So we really need to live life to the fullest, and show those that we love EVERY DAY that we love them.

I was just listening to the radio and ironically "Cats In The Cradle" was on. Talk about a very poignant song. I use that song to motivate me with my son. I never want to have to say "a little later, Bran, daddy's busy", because you never know if you are going to get "a little later". Family is, and should always be the most important thing. Friends are important, but family is blood. And blood is the very essence of what keeps us alive.......

Double Trouble

2004-08-12T10:07:00.000-04:00

Bonnie and Charley. Doesn't sound like a very intimidating pair, does it? Yet this duo is going to wreak some serious havoc over the state of Florida over the next 24 hours or so, eventually spreading their "love" up the coast and landing in our lap here in Eastern PA by Friday and Saturday. The good news is there probably won't be a ton of damage from winds, as they will be tropical storm and minimal hurricane strength when they make landfall, and significantly less by the time they get here. The big SUCK is going to be the rain. Again. Buckets of it. I can't speak personally for Florida, but it has been a seriously wet, dismal summer up here. The last thing we need is not only one, but TWO tropical systems to unload on us in a very short period of time. Latest weather estimates have local areas of 4-6 inches on Friday, and possibly the same on Saturday. I'm thinking the safest place to be soon might be on the U.S.S. Shenanigans, a very worthy craft owned by Mr. Hap and co..

But all this rain has had several beneficial results: My first year lawn is growing like it's been there for ages. The weeds are coming along for the ride, but some nice liquid death should calm them down later. Also, my indigent slug population seems to be thriving, and the mosquitos are having more sex than I can ever remember. (just add water and those bastards go crazy this time of year....) I might even go out this weekend and relive some of the good old Acacia mudsliding days (just with clothes this time!)

So here's to Bonnie and Charley. Short lived as they will be, I'm sure they will leave an impression on many people's lives, as we all strive to do, right? I only have one personal request, if they are listening.... especially Charley, since he's going to pass right over the keys, would you mind picking up a few 190 octanes from Fat Tuesdays, some Pirates' Punch from Capt. Tony's, 2 rum and cokes (for 1) from the Bull and Whistle, and some root beer barrels from the Green Parrot, and maybe a nice cuban mix sandwich from 5 Brothers Bodega and please drop them off at my place on your way through. Thanks.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!!!!!?

2004-08-09T22:22:00.000-04:00

Can you believe the pre-season is here already? Time again for my beloved Philadelphia Eagles to step up and show everyone they mean business (only to choke in the NFC Championship game..... :( ) I hope this is the year. I think we have enough offensive weapons to get us past anybody, but the question will be the rebuilt defense. We have some interesting additions, but some relative youth at the d-back slots. Hopefully the Freak and Co. on the D-line will help keep pressure enough to help the guys in the back. But I realize that we're only an injury or two away from being a terribly average team. So I go into this season with optimism, but the sort of guarded optimism that only Philly fans can have. Living from play to play as your team goes from the best in the world to the god-awfulist team around.

In other sports related news, it seems as though the NHL season is looking less and less like it's going to happen this year. I don't understand why the two sides aren't bashing each other over the head right now, with the deadline for the collective bargaining agreement set to expire in just over a month. They are all playing with their puds right now and hoping the other side gives in, which AIN'T gonna happen. So I guess I'll end up watching a ton of AHL and ECHL games this year. At least my Reading Royals are going to have more than one familiar face back from last year's team. However, I just found out that our cool captain, Brad Church, has signed on with the team that beat us in the conference finals, the Florida Everblades from near Tampa. That sucks, but I guess he'd rather play an ice sport in Florida, which I never understood. A little like joining an outdoor swim team in Canada....

Back from Insanity.....

2004-08-08T20:22:00.000-04:00

I'm BAAAAAACCCCKKKKK!!!!! What a whirlwind tour it's been. Starting Weds. with an AWESOME Rush show, and ending this morning with a lucid mind, it was a very interesting alcohol influenced several days, with very little sleep and a whole lot of debauchery.

On a few hours sleep after the Rush concert, I got up Thurs. morning at 6 and drove to Lancaster to meet up with Hap and Jimmy C. to go on a 48 hour boat procurement/liver adjustment trip to Ocean Pines, MD, and Dewey Beach, DE. After watching Hap purchase a very schweet pontoon party boat from a semi-psycho dude who just HAD to show us, up close and personal, his 50 caliber handgun (we thought we were all going to DIE! - literally!), we shot up to the Dewster for 2 nights of craziness. A first night combined bar tab of over $250.00 for the 3 of us was a great start. All I can say is beware of the Zipperhead at Mama Maria's. After a quick recovery, the second night was a bit more mellow, with a trip to Taco Toss at the Lighthouse and then back to Mamamamamama Maria's. The dill thrill raised it's ugly head, as did a few Screaming Nazi's to toast HAP's birthday. We were well beyond "plaid" when we decided to head home for the night. I figured I could rest last night when I got home, but my boy Colin wanted to drink, and who was I to argue..... So I guess it's up to work to dry me out for a bit.

All in all, it was a well-deserved overdue binge, to quote J. Buffett. I'm missing my family, but it was very cool to get some guy time, especially with those characters. I feel refreshed, and ready to get back to my old ways.... But first, some XBOX football.

s42

Second Chances?

2004-08-03T22:29:00.000-04:00

I've always been fascinated by hockey. Probably since I was 4 years old and used to play around with a plastic stick and ball in our apartment's laundry room/storage room. I remember watching the (only) Flyers Stanley Cup teams when I was 4-5. Most of it is a blur, but the seed was planted then. Hockey has been a passion for me. I've played it, watched it, and spent countless dollars on merchandise, tickets, etc. And ever since the Reading Royals team came to town, I've thought it would be really cool if I could get some sort of executive position with a hockey team. What better way to TRULY be involved with something that I see as part of life itself (NOT just a sport!), than to be able to turn my passion into a profession.

Of course therein lies the rub - getting an EXECUTIVE position, without having climbed the ladder in the franchise. Not exactly an easy thing to do, and probably not fair to all those that have put in their time. But let's allow fantasy to intervene, and assume it was possible. Is this something I should do? Should I leave 10 years of training and practicing pathology and just up and change everything I do? Or is the old saying "the grass is never greener on the other side" worth heeding.

I think I can speak for most people I know that we are all unhappy with something in our lives. Some are unhappy with many things in their lives. Job, location, spouse, health, financial situation... Everyone has at least one thing they would love to go back and do over again. The question is, would we be happier in the end with a do-over, or would we find out that we'd be bored with our new choice after 10 years? On the other hand, if you live your life in a status quo mode, you might miss out on true happiness. This is truly one of life's great dilemnas. I don't have the answer. If I did, I'd be alot clearer on my own situations. Perhaps the solution lies in taking smaller risks for smaller rewards, or one day just saying "what the hell" and hopping a flight to St. Somewhere with nothing but some cash, a guitar and alot of sunscreen.

Evil things

2004-08-02T22:31:00.001-04:00

Well, tonight I've been thinking of some evil things. I'm watching Jeepers Creepers and was reminded of a good website. Ponder this for a bit......

I had a nice long blog set up, but the blog site crashed and I lost about 500 words. So excuse the brevity, but I'll get at it again tomorrow. Hope everyone has a better Tuesday than Monday.....

s

Insects

2004-08-01T20:55:00.000-04:00

'Tis the season for the little creatures to take over the world again. It amazes me how many insects you can fit into a .3 acre property. Grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, millipedes, beetles, green things with big red wings, things I can't begin to describe..... MILLIONS of them. Everywhere. And this after I used lawn fertilizer with insecticide about 2 weeks ago. I can only imagine how bad it would be had I not done that.

And let us not forget about bees. All types. I saw one yesterday that was starting a nest on top of my porch light. I swear to God it was at least 2 inches long. It must have been like a queen wasp or something, if there is such a thing. My mom worked for Ehrlich's for a few months, and told me it could have been a cicada killer. The only thing I could think of is it could have been a tank killer for it's sheer size and scare factor. I can only imagine the sting from that probably would have gone straight through and through my arm. So I did the logical thing and nuked it back to kingdom come with about 1/2 bottle of bug spray. Overkill? Maybe. But this thing was not going to populate my porch with little tank killers. The day they start helping pay the mortgage is the day I'll consider sharing my space with them.

Just one more thing to get used to out here in the "country". I can honestly say that I wouldn't trade the sound of crickets at night for the traffic and sirens that I had in center city Mohnton. It just scares me that the little bug armies might be gathering strength for a plot against us. To take back their land? It remains to be seen.....

You can't turn left on Market St.

2004-07-31T14:55:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the best laid plans go straight to hell in a handbag. I was in Philly, home of my favorite sports team, on a business trip yesterday with my co-worker Andrea. We had a nice "productive" visit to our host site, and had planned to get out of town in time to beat the 3:00 rush hour traffic. Our plan was quite simple.....get headed the right direction on Market St., find 8th or 9th street, turn left and head to 676, eventually to link up to 76 and home. Travelling through a grid based system is usually fairly easy. Only it seems the boneheads that set the traffic patterns do not allow LEFT TURNS on Market street until you hit 5th street. Unfortunately, the 5th street left drops you onto 676 THE WRONG WAY over a bridge heading into lovely Camden, NJ, with no chance to turn around.

Now Camden is one of those towns that you don't want to drive through, let alone spend any time in. So we figured we'd turn around at the first exit and get back on 676 going back to Philly, right? WRONG. Just like the old R.E.M. song - "You Can't Get There From Here". We could see 676, smell 676, practically taste 676 (although that might have been the Camden air), but we could NOT get back in the right direction. So after spending about 15 min. getting turned left right and center, we got back on and drove about 5 more miles and fortunately caught another bridge back into Philly. The problem was, we were on the wrong side of Philly when 3PM hit, and our trip took a bit longer than anticipated.

I suppose people who travel that way all the time are familiar with these traffic patterns, but being from "out of town", I got hosed royally. A big thanks to Andi for not beating the tar out of me for getting us sort of lost!

Well, as of 7AM today I have been a bachelor (of sorts). Time to round up the boys and round up some rounds!!!! Until tomorrow......

The Fun Bunch vs. The Kings of Brookwood....

2004-07-29T21:30:00.000-04:00

A very wise man once told me, "Aquaintances are a dime a dozen, but true friends are very rare....and if you can count the number of true friends you have on one hand, and fill up the hand, you are a very lucky person, indeed." If you think about it, and think really hard, you have to agree he may very well be right. Twice in my life, I was fortunate enough to be in a group of four people who would basically die for each other.

The Fun Bunch, as we called ourselves, was my high school group. Invincible, yet immature, we would spend hours playing video games, cruising the mall for chicks, eating thousands of calories a day of junk food/fast food, blowing things up, and generally being Beavis and Buttheads. Sure we had our share of fights, but the unspoken understanding was that no matter how pissed off we were at each other, we'd still be there for each other whatever was needed....

College seems to be a major transition time in one's life, and mine was no exception. As my proximity to the Fun Bunch waned, I soon developed a new group of close friends, who I like to refer to as the Kings of Brookwood, named after the rathole apartment complex we lived in as upperclassmen. Like my Fun Bunch group, we shared similar interests, but they became focused a bit more on partying and surviving the college experience. Ironically, we still found ourselves playing video games, cruising the mall for chicks, eating thousands...... but we added MUCH more beer consumption. And again, no matter how pissed off we got at each other (even to this day), we still basically would be there for each other, whatever was needed.

The interesting thing is that when college finished, we all pretty much went in different directions and started completely different lives, like what happened with my high school group. However, no matter how far apart we find ourselves, I still feel like I can count on any of these guys for anything. That they will be there for me if I need them, and vice versa. And I still even feel that way about my Fun Bunch boys, although I'm still really only close to one of the three these days. Somehow, friendships forged in blood, sweat and tears seem to be friendships that can stand the test of time. And I believe that TRUE friends can only become true friends through ALOT of trials and tribulations. That all the "war stories" we tell represent links of a chain of friendship. A bond of understanding and shared experiences that let us live our futures with hopes of holding onto a bit of the past. I have the opportunity to add a few new "links" to my chain over the next two weeks, and I'm very much looking forward to every crazy minute...

First Post

2004-07-29T02:35:00.000-04:00

Well, I figured it was high time to jump on the Blog bandwagon, so to speak. Starting basic and working my way up to bigger things, I suppose, for this adventure. I'd like to acknowledge www.cyberhap.com and www.bikescag.com as being influences and inspiration for my upcoming blogging. (Thanks boys....)

So T minus 3 days until I enter bachelorhood for a full 10, yes TEN days. Gina and Brandon are heading South to my favorite state (Florida, of course), and I'm going to get to exercising the liver for a few days. Looking much forward to a LONG overdue reunion of sorts with the Hapmeister, et. al. If all goes well, I'll end up with a new, refreshed outlook on life, and hopefully be able to stay out of the hoosegow!

Anyway, stay tuned for daily (+/-) musings, info, and general overall BS from this warped and sometimes tortured mind. Anything can and probably will happen.......