Finally! (see 2nd bullet)

• So I'm driving down the street the other day, and guess what I saw... Apparently the circus was in town and this guy was just hanging out in the parking lot.

Today at work, someone brought in baby ducks. I have no idea why, but they did. The wife was so excited for it, she came into see them. Never comes to see me, but comes right over, in the pouring rain no less, to see the ducks.

• Check it out! The dude in the commercial is my brother in law. Good stuff huh.


• So would somebody please explain to me why these super delegates exist? If we vote for our candidate of choice during primary season, why is it that these people exist just to turn the whole process on its head? So for quite a while now, it hasn't really mattered who the people vote for because the super delegates can vote for whomever they want, whether its the leader or not. Doesn't make much sense to me really.
• And what's up with this pastor guy. It's like he's going out of his way to help Obama lose. Most of his views are so far out there, I don't know how anyone can really take him seriously though. (US gov't invented AIDS to kill blacks.. riiiiiight)
• No good tv on tonight, so we watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I've always been a fan of the movie. Not the best of movies obviously, but entertaining, and that's what matters.
• Good dinner last night. Haddock baked with olive oil, garlic, thyme and some bread crumbs. Simple, but always tasty.

Weekend Report

So lets see.. Friday.. didn't do much really. We went during lunch, and found some stone that we liked at a local hardware store. The stuff we liked, they were discontinuing so they were looking to unload it. They gave us a third off, which was music to our ears. So this week, four pallets of stone will be delivered to our house and next weekend we'll have a retaining wall in front of our house. Anyone that wants to come up and help, I'll pay for your gas or buy your bus ticket! After work I just crashed on the couch and just stayed in with my lovely wife, the tv and some chinese food. Good times had by all.

Saturday, well let me tell you about Saturday. Got up bright and early and off to Home Depot we went. They're closing the one near us, and moving to a new location which is closer, so that's nice (although i really prefer Lowes). We went with the plan to just buy some stuff for the yard. Well we did that, and a couple of other items such as a patio heater (this isn't the one we bought, its just a picture of one so you know what I'm talking about). Everything in the store is on sale (they're not moving any inventory to the new store), and we just can't help ourselves sometimes. The nice part is, we do spend a lot of time outside so this will keep us warm now.

When we got home, we decided to tackle the back lawn. I had rented a rototiller the day before, so that afternoon was spent being dragged around the yard. Here's a picture of the before..

That's all "grass". Turns out we have grubs, and they're killing all our grass. No one lived in the house for almost two years before we bought it, so no one took care of the yard etc. (the guy who owned it before us was a minister. he moved up here to preside over a local church.. thing is, this church was very tolerant of all ways of life, and this minister wasn't. so he and his wife moved almost immediately, leaving the house empty and unable to sell it until we came along)
That's me.. power tools are fun. While I dug up the yard, the wife started picking up the weeds, etc.
She didn't want to give it a try, but did anyway. As you can tell the machine wasn't really designed to be used by people as tiny as she is. That machine just pulls you around the yard like you're a rag doll. Sure gives the arms a great workout. Who needs the gym! Just do yard work!
Same day, different clothes. It went from nice, to warm, to warmer to chilly.
So the entire backyard has been ripped up, and now we need to get something to kill all the grubs. Once that's done, some new topsoil and grass seed will be put down, which will hopefully result in a beautiful lawn.

After a long day of yard work, we didn't do much last night. Just went over to my aunt's to say Happy Birthday, then off to Bugaboo for dinner and a couple of drinks. ABC has been showing the Harry Potter movies the past couple of Saturday's so we watched that last night, and were in bed by 11:30, which is extremely late for us.

Today.. laaaazy Sunday for me, or at least the morning was. Didn't do anything until 1 or so, when I hit the driving range and played a quick 9 holes with my uncle. When I arrived, he was already on the range getting a lesson. So I set up a couple of tee's down and started swinging away. I think I owe him for half the lesson though, as I was listening in on what was being said. I took one of the tips, tried it out, and walla!! I can now hit the ball straight. Simple as that. Anyway, the nine was fun ( I shot about 10 shots better than last week. Doesn't say much for last week, now does it).

And I'm pleased to announce, that upon returning home from golf, the inaugural batch of McGinty IPA was made!!!! In for short weeks, my beer will be ready. The brewing process ran me about 2-2.5 hours, not too bad, and everything seems to be ok. I'll know more in a couple of weeks when I bottle it though.

I Always Knew I Married A Witch...

And now I have proof!!! Take a look at this picture of the wife and her friends, sometime in the 1994 or so range. That's her in the pinkish windbreaker. Tell me she doesn't look exactly like every one's favorite witch, Hermione Granger! (click the picture to enlarge it)
I mean, c'mon.. look at her! They could be the same person! Ok, our scanner is a joke, so the picture isn't the highest of quality, but you can still see it fairly well. So do you agree???

On a lighter note, I'm thinking of shaving my head again. I know it doesn't look quite right on me, but its the lowest of low maintenance, which I like, and I think I look quite fetching bald. Plus, Mother Nature is really moving me in that direction anyway.
So here's a picture of me and my two brothers. Both of them have shaved heads, and they can pull it off, right?

So here's me and the wife, a couple of years ago at a friends wedding. I think I look pretty good there, if I do say so myself. The wife is sick of listening to me talk about it, so at this point she couldn't care less either way. Thoughts?
In other news... good to see my old stomping grounds of Framingham back in the news...

Did you see that the Yankees banned ice cream and candy and other junk foods from their locker room? They're replacing them with dried fruit, granola (gotta stay regular!) and other healthy snacks. Apparently their manager thought they weren't eating healthy enough. So what happens if someone gets caught smuggling in a Snickers or some Sour Patch kids? Does he bench them? Fine them? Can you imagine getting fined for eating candy.. I don't think so...

I listen to ESPN radio up here while at work. Although now in the afternoons I have to switch to ESPN radio.com. You see.. local high school baseball comes on the airwaves around three, and it trumps ESPN, so it's either that or switch to dot com. Dot com it is.

A new study showed that you should say about 17000 words a day to your baby. But at the same time, sitting them in front of the tv is bad? What's the difference?

Anyone else see this study? It says that at one point in time, there were only like 2,000 humans left on the planet. Two thousand people?? Its a good thing that the guy who invented HDTV's family was among those who survived and thrived. I don't know what I'd do without it!

If you're not watching the Hornets-Mavs series, I highly recommend you check out a game before its over. Chris Paul is playing the best basketball of anyone in the past ten years right now.

Good Celtics win last night. Atlanta was never really in the game, and probably never will be for the remainder of the series. The Garden fans heckling Bibby were hysterical though. "Rhondo's Better", "Where Is Bibby", I love it. He should have made the comments after last nights game, that way he wouldn't have to deal with the crowd until next year.

Renting a rototiller this weekend. We're going to rip up the back yard and start from scratch. No one has paid any attention to the yard in years, and its just a mess of weeds with a splash of grass thrown in there. This way we can rip it up, start fresh and plant things we know will grow. We still haven't picked out stones for our patio or retaining wall though. And I gotta say that I'm really not looking forward to ripping up some of our driveway. No idea how I'm going to go about that..

Randomness

• The new casino has set their opening date. Its going to open July 1st. So far, its only slots but you know as well as I do that where there are slots, table games are sure to follow (hopefully.. i love me some blackjack and craps)
• Queens, you know, the borough in New York..The wife and I were talking about it for some reason I don't remember the other day, and I realized that Queens wasn't just a borough, its also a county which means there are a bunch of towns within it. But have you ever heard someone say that they were from New Hyde Park or whatever? No, they always say that they're from Queens. Its not like I say, "yeah, I'm originally from Suffolk." No, I say that I'm originally from Boston. This is how my mind works..
• If you're looking for a fun read, this is an interview on cnnsi with Bob Cousy. I love how he's still the only one to call Red, Arnold.
• Kevin Garnett won the Defensive Player of the Year award yesterday. This is an award you can be proud of. Great scorers can be made, but a great defender is all effort. Every basketball player out there wants to score, but only a few actually put in the work to become a great defender.
• So this is what bowlers practice when they're bored huh...
• Ever notice that some words become more than just brand names? Velco, Rollerblade, Xerox, Taser.. they're all brand names that have come to represent every item in their category. People always say Rollerblades, they hardly ever say in-line skate.. stuff like that..
• We went looking at stone for our patio and retaining wall. First off, there are waaaay too many options. As I've said before, I don't do well with options. I like to find something I like and get it. Also, why the heck is natural stone so expensive? All they have to do it cut it and transport it, its not like they have to manufacture it. Thankfully we found a couple we like, now it just comes down to finding it for the price we like.
• Had a fantastic dinner last night. An old Morrissey family recipe.. steak tips marinated in Italian dressing. Mmmmmm. Had some squash to go along with it, perfection.
• Don't forget.. Celtics-Hawks game 2 tonight...

Weekend Report

Gotta get this post in before 8:30, as tonight is the first Celtics playoff game and I don't want any distractions while watching!

So let's see.. yesterday. My original plan was to do yard work all day, to clean up around the house etc. Well my uncle called me and asked if I wanted to go play golf at his country club and who am I to say no to that invite. We only played 9 holes, the back nine, but it was perfect for us. Thankfully, they didn't make us team up with two other people (most golf courses want only foursomes to go out) so we got to play alone without two random strangers judging us. For my first time out this year, and my uncles second time ever golfing, I'd say we did pretty darn well, well except for the time we teed off and shot at the wrong green, but that's neither here nor there. The course itself is beautiful, wide open, with only one small water hazard on the back nine. After our round, we had lunch in the clubhouse which was surprisingly tasty. The club itself is very affordable to join, so who knows maybe next year I will...

I figured since I played golf all morning I should do some yard work in the afternoon. So that afternoon I joined my lovely wife (who spent the morning sanding down and priming furniture) in some yard work. It was so gorgeous out that I had no problem working up a good sweat out there.

That evening, the wife and I hit this restaurant/bar in Orono for dinner. The Bearbrew Pub. Great food,everything was very tasty and a large beer selection, including some of their own brews made for a fun night out.

Today... well today was a long day. My uncle bought a greenhouse, one of those kits that you put together yourself. Its like 8'x8' and about 6 feet high. The box says it should take two people 2-3 hours to put together, but you should allow 8-10 hours (btw, what the heck is that supposed to mean? why say 2-3 hours when you think it might take up to 10 hours? and if it takes you 10 hours to put together, I really don't have a lot of faith in your ability to actually grow anything in the greenhouse!). It took us about three hours in total, which wasn't so bad. Putting it together wasn't that bad, but I sure as heck won't be buying one for myself anytime soon. Waaaay too many pieces, and it was so windy out, I thought it might actually blow away at one point. I told him next time he wants something built, call the Quakers.

Here's the before.. where we ended up setting it up. You can see parts of the walls leaning against the shed there.

And here's the after... Not too shabby huh. It'll be great to have fresh spices and vegetables year round.
There are a couple of windows that open, and that's a vent above the door. I figure my uncle treats me to golf, I can help him build a shed.. fair trade right?

And although its only April, I already have my first sunburn of the year. Between today's work and yesterdays golf, the neck is quite red. Feels good though, summer's a comin'!!!! Now all I need is Kenny Chesney tickets and I'll be happy.

I would write more, and throw in some more jokes, but frankly I'm exhausted and just want to relax watching my Celtics. This week its supposed to be in the 60's and 70's so maybe I'll get some more down outside around the house... I need to rent a rototiller and just start from scratch in the backyard, so that should provide us with some entertaining pictures.

Movie Review

So the wife and I went and saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall tonight. I really can't recommend it enough. Hysterical movie. One of the few movies I've seen recently where I don't mind that I just spent $5 on a small popcorn, totally worth it. Lots of unexpected (or as the wife says, uncalled for) scenes, tons of laughs, the R rated comedy is finally back thanks to Judd Apatow. The scenes with Kenneth from 30 Rock will have you falling out of your chair. And this isn't just my opinion, the misses loved it too. We both laughed pretty much continuously throughout then entire flick, right from the opening scene. So go see it, Now, go!

65 and sunny!

What a gorgeous day today. 65 degrees, not a cloud in the sky and tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer. Although it'll drop back into the 50's over the weekend, but I'll take that. It's a lot better than the 30's that's for sure.
It's funny though, the kids up here seem to go right from winter gear to summer clothes. Lots of heavy winter coats/scarfs etc to shorts/skirts and tank tops. Really bizarre. Its not that warm yet guys, settle down..
I had my first basketball official course today. Yep, that's right, you're favorite blogger is becoming a high school basketball ref. The test isn't until September, but they offer courses once a week until then, so I figure why not go, its not like I have anything else going on. I'm also taking the soccer referee exam too, and that's not until August. So come next spring, I'll have less time to blog, but more to blog about.
This news here made my week. You could see it coming though, with the success of Transformers and all. You think that the toy manufacturers just went into the old warehouses, dusted off the toys from the 80's and were like, hey we're out of ideas, this worked once, what the hell, let's try it again. GI Joe's were my favorite too. We had tons of them and I even knew one kid that had the aircraft carrier. Ahhh brings back good memories of a simpler time...
So answer this for me. The federal minimum wage is $5.85, but Maine's is $7.00 and going up to $7.50 this summer (fed will be at $7.25 by 2009). So if the minimum wage is high here, why do all the jobs pay so little? One would think that since the wages start higher, they'd continue to rise, but apparently they just plateau out at some point and stay there. Weird.

Spring is Here!!!

Or at least I think it is. It's been beautiful up here this week, although its supposed to dip back down to the low 50's this weekend. Oh well, can't be perfect all the time I guess. As long as its nice enough out for me to get some yard work in, I'll be happy. I can't wait to get outside and start making our yard functional.

• Anyone else see this story? It's happening again. Someone thinks that they see an image of Jesus in some random object and next thing you know thousands of people show up to see it. Right, I'm Jesus, and instead of coming back to earth, I'm just going to tease the faithful with images of me in grilled cheese sandwiches and fogged up windows. Riiiiight...
• So I've called around and every single driving range in the area is closed. At least one is opening up Monday, but that does me no good now! Its gorgeous out there, perfect weather to go hit some golf balls and I can't find a place to go. There's one right up the street from me at work though, so instead of coming home for lunch I can go work on my horrible golf game. The local public course is supposed to be really nice (27 holes) and there are a couple of other nice courses around too.
• Playoffs start next week. Celtics are playing the Hawks, who really pose no threat. I can see them making a game or two relatively close, but that's about it. The series to watch though, is the Cavs/Wizards. Lots of trash talking and two pretty evenly matched teams. Of course cuz its Lebron, all the games will be nationally televised I'm guessing.
• Future hockey goalie? Or future stalker? This kid takes emulating of his idol to a whole new level. Gotta love the dedication to details though. And its really not easy to walk around in all that gear. I hope his dad bought him a pretzel or something for his effort.
• I kinda feel bad for our couch. Ever since we bought the new chairs, the couch has totally been neglected. I never thought that the wife was a recliner type of girl, but apparently I was wrong. We did however, think of another reason how the chairs benefit you, the reader. Not only are they a great place to sit when you come visit, but because they're made of leather they'll help cut down on the cat hair for all you allergic peeps out there.
• Should I be worried that some random guy tried to sell my wife his meat today? Luckily I have a smart wife who knows she never needs to buy another man's meat, when she can get it at home for free. (i do all the grocery shopping)

This place is just too weird for me

I need to move back to a more civilized location... I am sitting in the house working when a pickup truck pulls into my driveway. And a strange man gets out and walks up the driveway to the backdoor calling "Hello?" So I go to the backdoor (I have a front door that you bypassed, backdoor is not for strangers!)- where we have two large boxes stacked from the new chairs we bought, along with a pile of outdoor furniture cushions. This guy starts into his whole long song and dance about what he's doing there... but it basically boils down to: He is trying to sell me discount steak out of the back of his truck!!!! Door-to-door meat salesman? He'd even throw in free chicken and burgers.... uh huh... He stopped, he says, because he saw our grill- on the backporch, through my car, at the top of the driveway. Was he using binoculars??
Thankfully, I manage to get out of this gracefully by saying 'I'm sorry I can't buy anything without checking with my husband first and he's at work." At which point the strange man calls me "sweetie" and departs. I believe this excuse was less believalble then when I used it on the door-to-door driveway repairman that was "just in the neighborhood" last summer but no matter.
This has not amused me as much as the sign I saw yesterday to pre-order piglets as they will be arriving May 10th. Apparently, they want to avoid the rush that must come around pig purchasing time....

Lil' Help

So I'm watching the Sox game, and come the third inning Jason Varitek hits a line shot to right center field. From my couch I yell "get out, get out" trying to do my best to help the ball leave the park, as opposed to it hitting the wall like it did, for a double. My lovely wife who was sitting there doing homework (homework shouldn't be done in front of the tv, at least that's what my parents always said on those rare occasions when I actually did home work), told me to quiet down cuz "its not like they can hear you". She just doesn't get it. Someone out there, preferably someone who speaks female, needs to explain to her why people yell at the tv during sporting events. I've tried a million times over the past six year, but obviously haven't made any headway...
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I guess its kinda like her critiquing some one's outfit on What Not To Wear or some show like that, but she doesn't seem to think that's the case. I think yelling at the tv during a game is perfectly acceptable, she thinks its weird. Who's right??

I Think A Pig Just Flew Out Of My Arse

Before we get started, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kim and Erica. I won't say how old they are of course... but I hope you both had a wonderful birthday and got lots of good presents :)

Ok, so I have this friend, lets call him Bill. Ever since I can remember he has been 100% against blogs. Not necessarily reading them, but writing one. I believe the phrase he used was “if I ever start a blog, you can hit me with a brick.” Well get those bricks ready boys, because the internet just added one more blog to its vast catalog. Now it won’t be for all of you, but I know for a fact some of you will greatly appreciate it. The subject of his blog you ask? Beer. Nothing but beer. I’m not talking stories of his drunken escapades, but the ins and outs of beer. Whether it be his latest brew, a review of a recently sampled beer or his quest to find the next great beer. Here’s the thing though; if you try something, write to him, give the beer a short review and submit it. The point of the site is to help us all remember what we’ve tried (I’m horrible at remembering) and what we’d like to try. If you find a bar/restaurant off the beaten path with an amazing selection, let him know, it’ll help us all. It’s a very informal setting, and he’s a much better writer than I am, so if you’re interested give it a try. Here’s the link, and you’ll notice I’ve linked to it on the right of the page.

We’re also going to add a couple new elements to our page. First, you’ll notice on the right I’ve listed the dates of some events coming to my great state this summer. If you’re thinking of coming to visit, it might not be a bad idea to center your trip around those dates.

Secondly, I’ve mentioned a couple times recently that I’ve started moving out of my comfort zone in the kitchen. Instead of just sticking to the same old recipes time after time (like one of our favorites, a Morrissey classic (thanks mom) chicken marinated in Ken’s light caesar dressing. Trust me, its tasty), we’ve been branching out. Using the crock pot more, and trying new things in general. If we make something scrumptious, the recipe will be posted for everyone to try. If you have any old favorites you’d like to pass along, please do. The wife and I are always looking to try something new.

You’ll also notice that I changed the look of the site yet again. I found the previous layout tough to read, so I’m going back to basics and keeping it simple. Hope you like it.

Ok, so dinner tonight. Made some burgers. Put shredded cheese in the wife's (not enough for her liking though) and brown sugar in mine. I made the burger a little too thick, but otherwise it was quite good. The brown sugar just gave it that little something extra to make it stand out. I caught a special on the Food Network the other day on hamburgers, so that's where I got the idea to test these out.

Weekend Report

Before we get started, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my father, who turned 56 Saturday. I know you're not supposed to reveal a ladies age, but I'm sure he won't mind. Happy Birthday dad, careful not to break a hip now.
Ok...what a good weekend it was. The weather wasn't the best, but otherwise it was all good.
So let's see. Friday, we didn't do much. Stayed in, got some take out subs and pizza (mmm bacon pizza) and watched tv. The plan was to watch a movie we had recorded, but our dvr has decided that it doesn't want to work right now. Have I mentioned that I hate Time Warner before? Cuz I really do.
Saturday, I went to work for three or so hours that morning while the wife went to school to work on her class project. After work, I retreated to the couch where an afternoon of tv and video games followed (i swear I'm 31, not 11). When the wife got back, we decided to go furniture hunting. We had gone briefly Friday night, to revisit some chairs that I've been dying to buy, so Saturday was just the final decision. Should we buy them, or not. Well after getting tackled by a over zealous salesman in a very bad suit we decided to go to the other store and purchase the chairs. And I couldn't be happier :)
That's my chair. Ain't it pertty! Of course I took the pic from in front of the tv, so I have the perfect tv seat. My life is complete.
We ended up buying two, as you can see. Surprisingly, the wife really likes sitting in the recliner, I sure didn't see that coming. There was a small hiccup though, when we got the chairs home, one of them had a quarter size tear in it, so we had to take it back and get a new one. Other than that, I really couldn't be happier. We moved the second couch out of the living room and into the computer room, and moved the chair that was there up to the second floor. Thankfully my wife is like an ant (able to lift like 50times her weight) and freakishly strong, so we didn't have much trouble moving everything.
Today, we went to the Home Show at the local civic center. Not what we were expecting. Seventy five percent of the booths were either for custom built homes or hot tubs. Neither of which we really need right now. Although we did get to see enough bad 80's fashion to last us a while. Apparently the 90's haven't arrived this far north yet. The rest of the day was fantastic as I caught The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi on tv. I tried explaining the phenomenon that is Princess Leia in the bikini at Jabba's palace, but the wife just didn't get. I think that outfit played a very important role in the "maturity" of every male of my generation.

Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend!

One last thought about the China Olympic protests. All those people protesting, and all these people that say China is so bad and we should boycott, do you think any of them own anything made in China? Last I checked, like half of everything we buy was made there. A real statement would be to stop buying all their stuff.
Lots of airlines canceling flights to do maintenance checks. In reading all the articles/seeing the news stories, you get the idea that the passengers are really really ticked off with this. Can you blame them though? These maintenance issues should have been taken care of when they were first discovered. The problem is, what can you do about it? Drive? Take the train? I don’t think so. I’ve taken the train from Virginia to Boston, and I’m not exactly chomping at the bit to do it again. The funny part is, the airlines are losing money in vouchers (food/hotel/new flights, etc) but they’re also saving money by not having to buy all that expensive fuel.
So there’s a new study out of Virginia Commonwealth University. Its all about the benefits of being a married man versus being a single man. The study revealed the following tid bits of information:
1. Married men make 22% more money than single men do
2. Married men tend to move up the corporate ladder faster
3. Single men are four times more likely to be a victim of violent crime
4. Married men have more sex (insert joke here)
5. If you get cancer, married men are 16% more likely to beat the disease
6. married men live longer.
So contrary to the beliefs and jokes of every comedian out there, being married actually benefits a man. Sure, when you’re married you have to take your partners feelings into account when making decisions (or as its more commonly called, ask permission), but that seems to be a small trade off for all the other benefits. That being said, statistics also show that indoor cats live longer than outdoor cats. The problem is though, indoor cats spend all their time looking out the window at all the birds and squirrels they can’t chase, while outdoor cats chase everything that moves. So would you rather be the indoor cat and live longer/healthier or the outdoor cat and chase life??
There’s an article on Boston.com today about the Dedham cinema closing for good. Apparently a new mall with a new movie theater is going in its place, and the developers of a similar mall in Weston are unhappy with this. My question is this… do we really need another mall? (and by “we” I mean MA, cuz up here in Maine, there’s like four malls. There are so few, one is actually named The Maine Mall). Is there a saturation point for malls? Are we going to reach a point where malls put other malls out of business thus flooding the unemployment lines with people with exceptional folding skills?
Forbes.com published a list of the ten most miserable sports cities in America. They are as follows:
10. Minneapolis – Twins threaten to contract, North Stars left, Wolves are horrible, Vikings stink 9. Philadelphia – Never win anything. Frequently come close, always collapse. The new Boston.
8. Cleveland – Storied Browns leave to be replaced by new stinkier Browns. The Drive, Jordan’s shot over Ehlo, The Fumble. Although things are looking better with LeBron
7. Denver – Not sure why this is here. Rockies went to WS last year, Bronco’s won 2 Super Bowls recently, Av’s are always competitive.
6. Houston – Astro’s have never won a WS game. Rockets won two titles in the 90’s though and the Texans are getting better every year
5. San Diego – Clippers are horrible, Chargers tend to collapse. Fitting place on the list.
4. Phoenix – Diamondbacks and Suns both very competitive. Coyotes and Cardinals not so much 3. Buffalo – Wide right, no Cup for the Sabres in half a century
2. Seattle – Sonics skipping town, Mariners never really taken seriously (one run in mid-90’s) Seahawks got jobbed in Super Bowl couple of years ago
1. Atlanta – one championship in last 50 plus years. But then again they can’t give away tickets there, very apathetic fans
Good to see Boston off that list. Ten years ago, we would have been number one. Now we're just another New York...

Randomness

• Opening day yesterday for the Sox. Thankfully I work in a building with lots (two) of common area tv's so I was able to find a tv, settle on the couch and watch a half hour or so of the ring ceremony etc. This is when being the boss is a good thing. I don't have to worry about my boss catching me;
• Although being the boss didn't allow me to skip out of work early yesterday so I could go to a bbq the local sports radio station was having. Yep, free hot dogs, meet the personalities and even a contest where one would roll tires at a Yankee's logo. If you hit it, you won a t-shirt, and who doesn't love a free t-shirt! Oh and did I mention that it was held in the parking lot of a local auto parts store. Good times huh...
• This story is fantastic! The kid makes a great point, although I'm sure the police/school officials weren't too thrilled.
• So what do you think of all the Olympic protests? I have no problem with the protesting, per se, but I do have a problem with the protesters trying to extinguish the flame. Their actions don't hurt China at all, but they do hurt the people who have been given the opportunity to carry the torch. That's a pretty big deal and something you can be very proud of. The games themselves this summer, should be highly entertaining though. Not the actual competitions, but it'll be interesting to see how China deals with all the protesters.
• For the first time in maybe 10-15 years, I bought a pack of baseball cards. Topps. Now back in my day (said in best Grampa Simpson voice) cards were 50 cents a pack, stale, tasteless piece of gum included. The pack I bought, $3.29!!! Are you kidding me? And they actually advertise the gum, like it's an added bonus or something. I thought about getting back into collecting, but with cards being that expensive, eff that.

Somebody Has A Case of the Mondays

• Anyone else out there catch the Martin Luther King Jr. documentary on the History channel last night. Really great stuff. I highly recommend watching it, if you have the time (its two hours long).
• Today is one of the most important days in the history of our amazing country. Today in 1933, Prohibition was lifted and alcohol was allowed to be served again. If not for that ruling by FDR, I would have two less hobbies (drinking and brewing), be fifteen pounds lighter and not have dated half the girls I dated (because I would have been sober). Smarter decisions/healthier lifestyle be damned, I'm thankful President Roosevelt did what he did.
• In defiance of Maine's so called "spring", I put away my winter coat today. No more wearing it even if its only 25 degrees when I leave for work in the morning. I also decided I'm putting away my sweaters; who needs to be warm, right! After work tonight, the wife and I went for a nice long walk (it was like 50 degrees out, how could we not) and actually cooked some burgers out on the grill for the first time since December. Mmmmm bbq....
• Charlton Heston died. Very sad, but he and his love of the NRA lived a good life. Now I'm worried though, cuz deaths always come in threes, so I'm wondering who the next two will be. If I'm famous and nearing the end, I'm getting my affairs in order if you know what I'm saying.
• Have you seen this? Its a pretty innovative way to raise money for charity and it includes minimal work by the person lending their name out. And yes, I'll probably buy some.
• Dick Vitale, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwun, Pat Riley and Adrian Dantley were all elected to the hall of fame today. Vitale I can see because of his love for the game and all the work he does to promote it. He deserves it. As do Olajuwun (who was unstoppable in his day) and Riley, for his coaching mostly. Ewing, I believe, got in for his total body of work, college included. I think of him like a Cal Ripken. Never once did I go to a game excited to see him play, but at the same time you have to respect what he did and the numbers he put up. Dantley is a mystery to me. He's a little before my time, and I never realized he was that great of a scorer. Congrats to everyone.

Weekend Report

So the weekend started off well. Friday we went to the movies, saw Leatherheads the new George Clooney movie. Good movie, very entertaining. Lots and lots of little laughs, although apparently we went to the movies with all the dumb people in town. The wife and I were the only two laughing at most of the jokes. I don't think that the majority of the theater got the prohibition jokes and things like that. I'd recommend seeing it if you're looking for something light and fun. It did run a little long at about two hours, but there were enough good football scenes to keep me happy. What would have made me more happy, was if Renee Zellweger had opened her eyes just once! How does that woman not walk into more walls? Her eyes are always closed.
After the movie we hit the fine dining of the 99 for a drink and some apps. The wife polished off the biggest frozen margarita ever, I had a beer, we split a couple of apps, but the best part was the bar tender actually remembered us! We haven't been in there in probably six weeks and as soon as we sat down she started talking about the last time we were there. Impressive.
Saturday... what a day. We drove down to Boston to hit the wife's friends 30th birthday. We dropped off our stuff at the in-laws, said hi and continued down to Ikea so we could return something. Ikea... I like the store, but in really small doses. Its like a Dementer from Harry Potter. You see it from a distance and you're like, wow whats that, that looks interesting. Then you get close, or go into the store and it slowly sucks the happiness out of your soul. Seriously. I'm looking to buy a new recliner. I find one I like, but I'm not allowed to buy it cuz the wife likes to shop for deals and "see what else is out there". Well I don't do so well with options. As a matter of fact, I hate options. I like to have two, maybe three (and thats pushing it) choices and that's it. I like to find what I want and get it, simple as that. So far, thanks to the wife, I've found three chairs I like up in Maine at local furniture stores. And again, thanks to the wife, I found at least two more at Ikea. This is no good. My pea size brain doesn't do well in this situation. Needless to say after almost two hours in Ikea, we left with some garbage cans and light bulbs, no chair.
After Ikea, the wife had to get her fix in, and I really needed food (a hungry blogger is a very, very cranky blogger. its not my fault though, my dad is the same way, must run in the family) so we hit the mall. We were going to a birthday party that night, and of course my lovely wife didn't like any of the clothing options she brought with her, so we had to go shopping for more options. (again with the options!!) An hour later, after forgetting my keys in Johnny Rockets, we left, only to hit Frugal Fannies on the way back to her parents house. Yes, the never ending shopping day. Heaven for her, not so much for me.
Thankfully though, I had time for a nap before heading out, and off we went. The party was a lot of fun, the birthday girl didn't have a clue what was going on, which is really the point of a surprise party. We had a great time hanging out with friends we don't get to see/talk to often, and three beers later, I was home and in bed by 1230. I'm old, its official. Thirty one, can't hold my liquor anymore, and can't stay up past 10 o'clock without four red bulls.
Not much to be said about today. Got home around 1:30 and napped/watched tv/played video games all day. (got a new game, Rainbow Six 2. great game, highly recommend it)
Not that I don't love seeing everyone, but thankfully we won't be driving back to Boston anytime soon. I feel like I've spent the last month solid in a car. We have one trip in May, one, maybe two in June, and that's it! Maine.. its vacation land, and if you don't believe me it says so on the license plates, so its gotta be true! So that means that this summer if you want to see us, you have to come to Maine. And we hope you do. Visitors are always welcome and its beautiful up here in the summer. And if you time it right, you can even help with all the projects we have planned. Pick one...putting in a patio (ripping up driveway first though. sledge hammers for everyone!!), installing a small retaining wall, digging a dry well, redoing a bathroom, planting the garden, there's something for everyone! Maybe I'll send around a sign up sheet so you can get dibs on your favorite project :)

Is it the weekend yet?

• So, there are old adages, but are there new ones? When in doubt, reboot! That’s an adage we are all told to live by, by our favorite IT guy at work;
• NERD ALERT! I changed my ring tone. Was Toby Keith’s “Not as good as I once was”, now is the Indiana Jones instrumental theme. Go ahead, make fun of me, its ok;
• Finally, on the advice of my father-in-law, I bought a new electric razor. Went with a Norelco and so far I’m pretty pleased. The shave isn’t as close as a regular razor, but it definitely does the job. I’m too lazy to shave everyday, and now I don’t have to;
• Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before but, we have a resident ghost at work. Back in the 1960’s, when my building was still a hotel, a maid was killed in her room. The murder was never solved (they originally thought it was the Boston Strangler, but it turned out not to be. The prime suspect was a local cop, but it was never proven). Anyway, she apparently shows up from time to time and there have been two run ins in the past couple of days. Kinda freaky huh. She’s always wearing a long blue dress, and is seen in only the original part of the building, never in the two new additional wings. Normally I wouldn’t believe it, but one of the people that has seen her a couple of times, is a guy I work with who lives in the manager’s apartment in the building. The place where she was killed is still in its original state (that part of the building is just used for storage of files, spare ovens/refrigerators, that sort of thing) and every time I walk by there (when I’m feeling brave enough, I usually go the long way around) the hair stands up on the back of my neck;
• Tried two new beers. Every year Sam Adams holds a contest open to the public to see who can brew the best beer from home. The winner gets theirs sold in stores. I happen to be in the store today and saw the LongShot box sitting there, so I figured why not give it a whirl. There are actually two types of beer in the box, three of each. The first is a Grape Pale Ale, made by a woman from Hawaii. I actually liked this beer. It had grapes in it, so it had the appearance of a pale ale, but the taste of a ale/sparkling wine hybrid. Very interesting. By looking at it, the bubbles, the head the color, one would think pale ale, but when tasted it definitely felt like more of a sparkling wine. I’d tried it again for sure. The second beer was a Weizenbock, made by a gentleman from Illinois. I’m a little biased here because I’m not a huge fan of the darker beers. Very dark, amber like in color with a dominant creamy taste. If the cream was a little less prevalent, I think I would have enjoyed it more. As is, it really didn’t work for me.

The Joys of Being the Older Brother

So those of you who have known me for a while, know that I'm very close to my two younger brothers. Being as close as we are, you also know that I try to take any and every opportunity to embarrass them publicly.
Ignore the beer in this three month old picture. Notice the obvious bald spot. Note that I am 31 and married, so those two items factor into my baldingness.
My brother on the other hand. He's only 26... not married... but check out the bald spot!!! And his was captured by the Boston Globe! (he's a cop in our home town. big big fire there this morning and a photographer snapped this picture)

Sure, he may be cooler than me cuz he gets to carry a gun and all that. But at least I have more hair!!! I mean look at that thing! He should totally get that spray on hair coloring stuff to cover it up. No wait, even better, convert to Judaism so you can wear the little beanie yamaka thing! That should do the trick.

The funny part is, no one is bald on either my mom or my dads side of the family, just the two of us. My youngest brothers hairline goes from his eyebrows down the back of his neck. That kid is like Sasquatch...he never has to worry about going bald. I on the other hand, am just waiting for it to get worse so I can just go ahead and shave my entire head. Low maintenance is the way to go.