Never date a Flyers fan, even if she shaves her moustache.
The Bruins and Flyers haven't met in the post season since 1978. It's time to bring back the hate!
Go Bruins!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Never Date a Flyers Fan
I saw this image online today and had to reblog it.
Never date a Flyers fan, even if she shaves her moustache.
The Bruins and Flyers haven't met in the post season since 1978. It's time to bring back the hate!
Go Bruins!
Never date a Flyers fan, even if she shaves her moustache.
The Bruins and Flyers haven't met in the post season since 1978. It's time to bring back the hate!
Go Bruins!
Action Movies
Action movies aren't my favorite thing in the entertainment world, but I have to admit that i have enjoyed my share. I mean I do have a Y chromosome after all, right?
Today it was suggested that I view the trailer for the upcoming film, "The Expendables."
It would seem that almost every cliche action movie actor has been cast in this film.
Sylvester Stallone? Yup
Dolph Lundgren? Yup
Bruce Willis? Yup
Arnold Schwarzenegger? Yup
Jet Li? Yup
Hell, even Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts show up in this one.
Check out the Internet Movie Database page and wow at the list of possibly steroid enhanced actors.
With a cast like this there are two things we can bank on: The film will suck. Millions (possibly billions?) of people will see it in the theaters.
Money.
Today it was suggested that I view the trailer for the upcoming film, "The Expendables."
It would seem that almost every cliche action movie actor has been cast in this film.
Sylvester Stallone? Yup
Dolph Lundgren? Yup
Bruce Willis? Yup
Arnold Schwarzenegger? Yup
Jet Li? Yup
Hell, even Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts show up in this one.
Check out the Internet Movie Database page and wow at the list of possibly steroid enhanced actors.
With a cast like this there are two things we can bank on: The film will suck. Millions (possibly billions?) of people will see it in the theaters.
Money.
Home Ice
The undisputed kings of NHL choke are the San Jose Sharks. Now, however, we have to start thinking there is an Eastern Conference team that is closing the gap.
The Washington Capitals won the President's trophy. They outscored the rest of the league by some ungodly (three digit?) number.
And last night they were eliminated by the eighth seeded Montreal Canadiens. Oh and did I mention they needed to blow a three games to one lead in order to lose the series?
Yes, Eastern Conference Choking Champion Washington Capitals.
So how did I do in my predictions? Crappy, that's how.
I picked Washington over Montreal and was wrong. 0-1.
I picked New Jersey over Philadelphia and was wrong. 0-2.
I picked Boston over Buffalo and was right... and I still can't believe it. 1-2.
I picked Pittsburgh over Ottawa and was right. 2-2.
I picked Colorado over San Jose and was wrong. 2-3.
I picked Chicago over Nashville and was right. 3-3.
I picked Los Angeles over Vancouver and was wrong. 3-4.
I picked Phoenix over Detroit and was wrong. 3-5.
That's my worst first round ever.
Of course the end result of those bad predictions is that the Bruins are now the second highest seed remaining in the East. We have home ice advantage in round two. Un-fricken'-believable.
Here is the schedule for round two, as posted at nhl.com:
The Washington Capitals won the President's trophy. They outscored the rest of the league by some ungodly (three digit?) number.
And last night they were eliminated by the eighth seeded Montreal Canadiens. Oh and did I mention they needed to blow a three games to one lead in order to lose the series?
Yes, Eastern Conference Choking Champion Washington Capitals.
So how did I do in my predictions? Crappy, that's how.
I picked Washington over Montreal and was wrong. 0-1.
I picked New Jersey over Philadelphia and was wrong. 0-2.
I picked Boston over Buffalo and was right... and I still can't believe it. 1-2.
I picked Pittsburgh over Ottawa and was right. 2-2.
I picked Colorado over San Jose and was wrong. 2-3.
I picked Chicago over Nashville and was right. 3-3.
I picked Los Angeles over Vancouver and was wrong. 3-4.
I picked Phoenix over Detroit and was wrong. 3-5.
That's my worst first round ever.
Of course the end result of those bad predictions is that the Bruins are now the second highest seed remaining in the East. We have home ice advantage in round two. Un-fricken'-believable.
Here is the schedule for round two, as posted at nhl.com:
| 2010 EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS | ||||||||
| SERIES I |
| Network | ||||||
| Friday, April 30 | at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. | CBC, RDS, VERSUS | ||||||
| Sunday, May 2 | at Pittsburgh, 2:00 p.m. | NBC, CBC, RDS | ||||||
| Tuesday, May 4 | at Montreal, 7:00 p.m. | CBC, RDS, VERSUS | ||||||
| Thursday, May 6 | at Montreal, 7:00 p.m. | CBC, RDS, VERSUS | ||||||
| *Saturday, May 8 | at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. | CBC, RDS, VERSUS | ||||||
| *Monday, May 10 | at Montreal, 7:00 p.m. | CBC, RDS, VERSUS | ||||||
| *Wednesday, May 12 | at Pittsburgh, TBD | CBC, RDS, VERSUS | ||||||
| SERIES J |
| Network | ||||||
| Saturday, May 1 | at Boston, 12:30 p.m. | NBC, TSN | ||||||
| Monday, May 3 | at Boston, 7:00 p.m. | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| Wednesday, May 5 | at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m. | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| Friday, May 7 | at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m. | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| *Monday, May 10 | at Boston, 7:00 p.m. | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| *Wednesday, May 12 | at Philadelphia, TBD | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| *Friday, May 14 | at Boston, 7:00 p.m. | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| 2010 WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS | ||||||||
| SERIES K |
| Network | ||||||
| Thursday, April 29 | at San Jose, 9:00 p.m. | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| Sunday, May 2 | at San Jose, 8:00 p.m. | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| Tuesday, May 4 | at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| Thursday, May 6 | at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| *Saturday, May 8 | at San Jose, 10:00 p.m. | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| *Monday, May 10 | at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| *Wednesday, May 12 | at San Jose, TBD | TSN, VERSUS | ||||||
| SERIES L |
| Network | ||||||
| Saturday, May 1 | at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. | CBC, VERSUS | ||||||
| Monday, May 3 | at Chicago, 9:00 p.m. | CBC, VERSUS | ||||||
| Wednesday, May 5 | at Vancouver, 9:30 p.m. | CBC, VERSUS | ||||||
| Friday, May 7 | at Vancouver, 9:30 p.m. | CBC, VERSUS | ||||||
| *Sunday, May 9 | at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. | CBC, VERSUS | ||||||
| *Tuesday, May 11 | at Vancouver, 9:30 p.m. | CBC, VERSUS | ||||||
| *Thursday, May 13 | at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. | CBC, VERSUS | ||||||
Pittsburgh vs Montreal: Going with the Penguins here. For four reasons. First, they are the defending champs. Second, they are not the Montreal Canadiens and I really hate the Montreal Canadiens. Third, I am going to assume that Halak won't have enough gas in his tank to blank another offensive juggernaut they way he did Washington in the last three games. Fourth, Sydney Crosby. In the last two years Crosby has lead his team to the Cup Finals twice, winning the second time, and lead his national team to the Olympic Gold Medal. He's starting to look like Bill Russel with all the constant winning he's doing. Hard to bet against a guy on a streak like that.
Boston vs Philadelphia: See that? I get to put Boston first there because they are the higher seed. I am shocked. I am still stunned they beat Buffalo. Hell, I am still stunned that they scored a single goal off of Ryan Miller. Now on top of all the winning they did against all odds in the first round, they get their top offensive player, Marc Savard, back for the second round. I thought Philly would have died quick in the first round after all the fighting they had to do just to get there. Turns out it was New Jersey who died quick. I will not underestimate Philly again. I see this one going a long way. All seven games perhaps. I also see The Boston Bruins in the Conference Finals. Go Bruins!
San Jose vs Detroit: I am picking the Red Wings for two simple reasons. First, they are friggin' awesome right now. Second, they are not San Jose. The inevitable Sharks choke waits for round two this year, but it will happen.
Chicago vs Vancouver: I am pretty undecided on this one so I am going to pick Vancouver based on former Lowell Lock Monster Roberto Luongo shedding his can't-win-the-big-games image and standing on his head and carrying his team to the third round.
So there are my picks for round two. I need to go 3-1 just go get back to .500... and here I am picking two upsets in the West again. I probably should have learned not to do that after the first round.
I have just one more thing to add to this post:
GO BRUINS!
Boston vs Philadelphia: See that? I get to put Boston first there because they are the higher seed. I am shocked. I am still stunned they beat Buffalo. Hell, I am still stunned that they scored a single goal off of Ryan Miller. Now on top of all the winning they did against all odds in the first round, they get their top offensive player, Marc Savard, back for the second round. I thought Philly would have died quick in the first round after all the fighting they had to do just to get there. Turns out it was New Jersey who died quick. I will not underestimate Philly again. I see this one going a long way. All seven games perhaps. I also see The Boston Bruins in the Conference Finals. Go Bruins!
San Jose vs Detroit: I am picking the Red Wings for two simple reasons. First, they are friggin' awesome right now. Second, they are not San Jose. The inevitable Sharks choke waits for round two this year, but it will happen.
Chicago vs Vancouver: I am pretty undecided on this one so I am going to pick Vancouver based on former Lowell Lock Monster Roberto Luongo shedding his can't-win-the-big-games image and standing on his head and carrying his team to the third round.
So there are my picks for round two. I need to go 3-1 just go get back to .500... and here I am picking two upsets in the West again. I probably should have learned not to do that after the first round.
I have just one more thing to add to this post:
GO BRUINS!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Bobby Orr Statue at the TD Garden
On May 10th there will be a statue of Bobby Orr scoring the 1970 Stanley Cup winning goal unveiled outside of the Garden. Click here to read the story, or just keep reading because I am going to copy the text right here...
We will have to make sure we use the West entrance when we see Rush in September. That should be my next trip to the Garden.
Now we'll have a statue of Ted Williams at Fenway, Red Auerbach in Faneuil Hall, and the greatest hockey player ever, Bobby Orr at the Garden.
Congrats Bobby!
Bobby Orr Statue to be Unveiled
Ceremony will be May 10th at 11:00 a.m.
Wednesday, 04.28.2010 / 10:09 AM / News
Boston Bruins
BOSTON, MA - The Boston Bruins and TD Garden announced today that a bronze statue depicting the famous scene of Bobby Orr flying through the air immediately after scoring "The Goal" that clinched the Bruins 1970 Stanley Cup Championship over the St. Louis Blues will be unveiled at a ceremony on May 10th at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Present for the ceremony, which is being held on the 40th anniversary of "The Goal" and the Bruins four-game sweep of the St. Louis Blues to win the Stanley Cup on May 10, 1970, will be Bobby Orr, Bruins Owner, Jeremy Jacobs, Mayor of Boston, Thomas M. Menino, TD Garden President, John Wentzell, the sculptor of the statue, Harry Weber, and Orr's teammates John Bucyk and Derek Sanderson.
The larger than life sized bronze statue (110% life sized, weighing more than 600 pounds) which will permanently be installed in front of the TD Garden at the mouth of the West Walkway outside of the arena facing Causeway St., has been designed and sculpted by Weber. Weber, has designed and sculpted a number of famous works including "The Captains' Return" in St. Louis, MO, “The Plaza of Champions” in St. Louis, MO, and “Doug Flutie” in Boston, MA.
In the creating the statue, Weber wrote: "The main objective of the statue of Bobby Orr is to faithfully capture both the likeness of this great defenseman, and the spirit and emotion of the few seconds on May 10, 1970. ‘The Goal’ has become a defining moment, not only for the Bruins, but for the sport of Hockey."
The creation and installation of the statue is being funded entirely by the Boston Bruins and the TD Garden as a gift to the City of Boston and the fans of the Boston Bruins.
Further details regarding the ceremony and the media availability for all of the participants will be released in the days leading up to the event.
We will have to make sure we use the West entrance when we see Rush in September. That should be my next trip to the Garden.
Now we'll have a statue of Ted Williams at Fenway, Red Auerbach in Faneuil Hall, and the greatest hockey player ever, Bobby Orr at the Garden.
Congrats Bobby!
Kind of a Let Down
Today is starting out as kind of a let down. After all the excitement yesterday of basking in the glow of the Bruins advancing in the playoffs, and getting Rush tickets, and going to the gym for the fourth day in a row and not feeling like I was going to die I don't know how today can match up.
To make matters worse when I woke up this morning I was sure it was Thursday. Then I realized we didn't have the kids, which meant last night wasn't Wednesday, which meant today wasn't Thursday, which meant today was actually Wednesday.
Bummer.
On the upside, as of today it's less than a month until our vacation. Also, in two days it will be Jenny and my 11th monthiversary. I'm on call this weekend so that sucks, and the week after is mother's day and we won't have the kids and that sucks too, but we're going to celebrate mother's day this Sunday instead and that's excellent. The kids and I are scheming a little. Just a little.
Tonight is the final night of the 1st round of the playoffs. Washington vs Montreal in game seven. I don't know who to root for. I want them both to lose.
My predictions for the 1st round sucked. I got Boston and Pittsburgh right in the East and Philly wrong. In the West I got San Jose, Detroit, and Vancouver wrong. If Washington wins tonight I will be 4-4. But if Washington wins tonight the Bruins won't have home ice in the 2nd round. Oh woe is me and my ridiculous picks.
I have a fat lip. It hurts. A lot. That's something else to add to the things that suck list. I have a beautiful wife who loves me as much as I love her. That's something to add to the things that don't suck list. I think that one should count more than once. Maybe a few billion times.
I still haven't had any caffeine. I think tomorrow marks three weeks. I'm sleeping much better and the random eye and finger twitches have gone away. The lack of coca~cola and the short work outs at the gym have conspired to cause me to lose a few pounds. That's on the things that don't suck list too.
How did I get into a things that suck/don't suck lists discussion anyway? This one is getting a little stream of consciousness here. Maybe I should start writing in second person, just to weird it up a little more.
You read about Robert's suck list and think he should shut the hell up because his things that don't suck list vastly outweighs his things that do suck list. You then click off of the page and go to something that actually holds your interest for more than 0.68 seconds and isn't totally stupid.
You think the second person voice is lame and the writer agrees with you.
Anyway.
Florida is approaching. Mother's Day is approaching. My birthday is approaching but we aren't going to talk about that tragedy, The 2nd round of the NHL playoffs is approaching, Rush is a looong way off still but it is approaching (and the word yesterday was that there would be two knew songs released just prior to the start of the tour. Nice!). Good things are happening. There's a few other things that I need to kick into gear so that I can add them to the don't suck list and I am going to do it, I just need a kick in my motivational ass.
Hear that motivation? I'm going to kick your ass into gear!
WOOHOO for Progress!
To make matters worse when I woke up this morning I was sure it was Thursday. Then I realized we didn't have the kids, which meant last night wasn't Wednesday, which meant today wasn't Thursday, which meant today was actually Wednesday.
Bummer.
On the upside, as of today it's less than a month until our vacation. Also, in two days it will be Jenny and my 11th monthiversary. I'm on call this weekend so that sucks, and the week after is mother's day and we won't have the kids and that sucks too, but we're going to celebrate mother's day this Sunday instead and that's excellent. The kids and I are scheming a little. Just a little.
Tonight is the final night of the 1st round of the playoffs. Washington vs Montreal in game seven. I don't know who to root for. I want them both to lose.
My predictions for the 1st round sucked. I got Boston and Pittsburgh right in the East and Philly wrong. In the West I got San Jose, Detroit, and Vancouver wrong. If Washington wins tonight I will be 4-4. But if Washington wins tonight the Bruins won't have home ice in the 2nd round. Oh woe is me and my ridiculous picks.
I have a fat lip. It hurts. A lot. That's something else to add to the things that suck list. I have a beautiful wife who loves me as much as I love her. That's something to add to the things that don't suck list. I think that one should count more than once. Maybe a few billion times.
I still haven't had any caffeine. I think tomorrow marks three weeks. I'm sleeping much better and the random eye and finger twitches have gone away. The lack of coca~cola and the short work outs at the gym have conspired to cause me to lose a few pounds. That's on the things that don't suck list too.
How did I get into a things that suck/don't suck lists discussion anyway? This one is getting a little stream of consciousness here. Maybe I should start writing in second person, just to weird it up a little more.
You read about Robert's suck list and think he should shut the hell up because his things that don't suck list vastly outweighs his things that do suck list. You then click off of the page and go to something that actually holds your interest for more than 0.68 seconds and isn't totally stupid.
You think the second person voice is lame and the writer agrees with you.
Anyway.
Florida is approaching. Mother's Day is approaching. My birthday is approaching but we aren't going to talk about that tragedy, The 2nd round of the NHL playoffs is approaching, Rush is a looong way off still but it is approaching (and the word yesterday was that there would be two knew songs released just prior to the start of the tour. Nice!). Good things are happening. There's a few other things that I need to kick into gear so that I can add them to the don't suck list and I am going to do it, I just need a kick in my motivational ass.
Hear that motivation? I'm going to kick your ass into gear!
WOOHOO for Progress!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Floppy Discs
This post 100% qualifies as an in-joke...
Should I send this article to my father?
RIP Floppy Disk
I love the slipping a corrupted disc under the teacher's door reference. I never did that, but there might have been a time or two when I could have.
Should I send this article to my father?
RIP Floppy Disk
I love the slipping a corrupted disc under the teacher's door reference. I never did that, but there might have been a time or two when I could have.
Rush Update
As with all musictoday.com pre-sales, you get in the second the sale opens and you end up almost as far away from the stage as possible.
I don't care, we're going.
This will be my 18th Rush concert.
Rush!!!
Did Hell Just Freeze Over?
Last night at about 9:40 or so I went upstairs to our bedroom and quietly said to my wife, "Sweetie I'm sorry, but there are going to be at least four more Bruins games this year."
I cannot believe that the Bruins have advanced to the Conference Semi-Finals. I am in a state of shock and awe. Last night's game was awesome. Back and forth, high tempo, lots of scoring chances. Just a lot of fun to watch, although the Bruins have a nasty habit of making things hard on themselves. Watch the highlights. I thought the first Sabers goal was the result of the dumbest play I'd ever seen in my life, only to see an even dumber play on the second Sabers goal. I think Wideman and Ryder should get assists for the hard work they put into those two goals.
So now we have to wait until Wednesday to see who wins game seven between the Washington Capitals and the Montreal Canadiens. Far be it from me to ever root for Montreal, but if they win we'll have home ice advantage against Philly in the next round. If they lose we'll be the lower seed against Pittsburgh. Both opponents are going to be tons of trouble for us. I definitely prefer to see Philadelphia, although my feelings on their competence have changed 180 degrees after the way they handled New Jersey. Hopefully everyone is saying the same thing about the Bruins right now.
Tuukka Rask is the man. Just have to say that publicly.
In other, equally important, news: Today the pre-sale for tickets to the 9/14/10 Rush show at the TD Garden in Boston begins. It starts in 39 minutes. I am ready. I need to get three tickets. One for Jen, one for Mike, and one for me. Then I can amp up my excitement to the next level. I might load a bunch of Rush bootlegs onto my iPod and start freaking out five months in advance.
We also changed our hotel reservations in Florida because we are expecting to get there a day earlier than we had originally thought. We are going to leave much earlier in the day, and we are going to have Jen's parents with us. That's two extra drivers. We should be able to eat up quite a bit more miles each day.
I can't wait for Rush.
I can't wait for the 2nd round.
I can't wait for Florida.
Go Bruins!
I cannot believe that the Bruins have advanced to the Conference Semi-Finals. I am in a state of shock and awe. Last night's game was awesome. Back and forth, high tempo, lots of scoring chances. Just a lot of fun to watch, although the Bruins have a nasty habit of making things hard on themselves. Watch the highlights. I thought the first Sabers goal was the result of the dumbest play I'd ever seen in my life, only to see an even dumber play on the second Sabers goal. I think Wideman and Ryder should get assists for the hard work they put into those two goals.
So now we have to wait until Wednesday to see who wins game seven between the Washington Capitals and the Montreal Canadiens. Far be it from me to ever root for Montreal, but if they win we'll have home ice advantage against Philly in the next round. If they lose we'll be the lower seed against Pittsburgh. Both opponents are going to be tons of trouble for us. I definitely prefer to see Philadelphia, although my feelings on their competence have changed 180 degrees after the way they handled New Jersey. Hopefully everyone is saying the same thing about the Bruins right now.
Tuukka Rask is the man. Just have to say that publicly.
In other, equally important, news: Today the pre-sale for tickets to the 9/14/10 Rush show at the TD Garden in Boston begins. It starts in 39 minutes. I am ready. I need to get three tickets. One for Jen, one for Mike, and one for me. Then I can amp up my excitement to the next level. I might load a bunch of Rush bootlegs onto my iPod and start freaking out five months in advance.
We also changed our hotel reservations in Florida because we are expecting to get there a day earlier than we had originally thought. We are going to leave much earlier in the day, and we are going to have Jen's parents with us. That's two extra drivers. We should be able to eat up quite a bit more miles each day.
I can't wait for Rush.
I can't wait for the 2nd round.
I can't wait for Florida.
Go Bruins!
Monday, April 26, 2010
All for Science
Okay... read this article.
Now read this blog post, written in response to the previous article.
Seems to make sense. If immodestly dressed women cause earthquakes then we should be able to reproduce the issue by having a large sample of women voluntarily dressing immodestly.
Boobquake.
If you are offended by the second article, read this blog post, which aims to clarify that the blog post above was meant to be funny, not political activism.
I think it was funny, but I think the first article might be funnier.
heh heh... Boobquake.
Now read this blog post, written in response to the previous article.
Seems to make sense. If immodestly dressed women cause earthquakes then we should be able to reproduce the issue by having a large sample of women voluntarily dressing immodestly.
Boobquake.
If you are offended by the second article, read this blog post, which aims to clarify that the blog post above was meant to be funny, not political activism.
I think it was funny, but I think the first article might be funnier.
heh heh... Boobquake.
Rush Documentary Premier
A couple of videos from the Rush Beyond the Lighted Stage documentary premier this past weekend.
I find this to be very funny. Check out how embarrassed Geddy Lee looks.
I was going to embed another one. This one, in fact, but the user disabled the embed function. Oh well.
I think I am going to wait to read up on this movie until I get the chance to see it for myself. The DVD/Blu Ray release will be June 29, and the film maker's website says there will be a one day only release in select theaters. Wherever they may be. I am hoping the Brattle in Cambridge will step up. I like that place. Either that or the Loop in Methuen. I like that place more. It's less than 10 minutes from my house. Yeah, that one gets my vote.
I'm looking forward to seeing this.
I find this to be very funny. Check out how embarrassed Geddy Lee looks.
I was going to embed another one. This one, in fact, but the user disabled the embed function. Oh well.
I think I am going to wait to read up on this movie until I get the chance to see it for myself. The DVD/Blu Ray release will be June 29, and the film maker's website says there will be a one day only release in select theaters. Wherever they may be. I am hoping the Brattle in Cambridge will step up. I like that place. Either that or the Loop in Methuen. I like that place more. It's less than 10 minutes from my house. Yeah, that one gets my vote.
I'm looking forward to seeing this.
Game Six
I didn't watch any hockey this weekend. Not a single second. Vancouver clinched against Los Angeles. That makes me 0-2 on predictions so far.
It'll be worth it if the Bruins can win their series. Game six is tonight. They are up three games to two. They could have won it on Friday if they had bothered showing up to rink. They were flat and looked bored. It was the Bruins team that lost 10 games in a row earlier in the year, not the team that won three straight over the favored Sabers. Hopefully the games two through five team will show up tonight, not the game six team.
After a long day of shopping for Florida supplies on Saturday we went to Mike and Tammy's house to play on their daughter's new swing set yesterday. It was a good time. Mike and Jen and I got up to speed on the upcoming Rush tour/documentary/album, and possible pre-album release of a song or two... that's just a rumor, but it was started by the band so maybe it'll be true.
I went to the gym on Saturday and really wore myself out. I didn't over do it, but I did give more than the usual push. I went back on Sunday and couldn't quite repeat Saturday's performance. I was just too dead by the end of the hellish elliptical machine that I couldn't push it for another couple of minutes. We're going back tonight. I think I'll just try to redo Sunday's workout and not try and push ahead any. We'll see how I feel when I get there.
Until then...
Go Bruins!
It'll be worth it if the Bruins can win their series. Game six is tonight. They are up three games to two. They could have won it on Friday if they had bothered showing up to rink. They were flat and looked bored. It was the Bruins team that lost 10 games in a row earlier in the year, not the team that won three straight over the favored Sabers. Hopefully the games two through five team will show up tonight, not the game six team.
After a long day of shopping for Florida supplies on Saturday we went to Mike and Tammy's house to play on their daughter's new swing set yesterday. It was a good time. Mike and Jen and I got up to speed on the upcoming Rush tour/documentary/album, and possible pre-album release of a song or two... that's just a rumor, but it was started by the band so maybe it'll be true.
I went to the gym on Saturday and really wore myself out. I didn't over do it, but I did give more than the usual push. I went back on Sunday and couldn't quite repeat Saturday's performance. I was just too dead by the end of the hellish elliptical machine that I couldn't push it for another couple of minutes. We're going back tonight. I think I'll just try to redo Sunday's workout and not try and push ahead any. We'll see how I feel when I get there.
Until then...
Go Bruins!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Pocket Dial
My phone just rang. I didn't recognize the number. It was from area code 805 in Carmarillo, CA. They left a voicemail. It was almost five minutes long. It was a pocket dial and the message was two guys and their grandmother talking about some game some where. It was a little on the fascinatingly voyeuristic side.
Ain't cell phones cool?
I had my first cell phone back in 1995... I think? It looked like this:
Subject change...
Nearly two years ago I popped the question to the love of my life. She said yes. She also bought me a little tiny pocket sized 10 megapixel camera. We took it to a bunch of places, including a couple of Rush concerts, and had some fun with it. Unfortunately the battery charger vanished. We tried to find a replacement but couldn't.
Last weekend, magically, the charger reappeared. I charged it and it's now back in action. It's been totally trumped by the awesomeness of the awesome Nikon D90 Awesomest awesomeawcity. But it's still pocket sized and can go with us anywhere.
I used it to get a picture of my Jenny on a swing.
I also got a picture of this cryptic message... but what does it mean?
I also got this awesome shot of the 2nd most awesome ice cream shoppe in the universe. This is the Kimball's store in Carlisle, MA. The awesomest ice cream shoppe of course is the Kimball's in Westford, MA.
...and in closing, Phineas and Ferb is currently the best cartoon in this and any other universe.
...and in closing, again...
Go Bruins!
Ain't cell phones cool?
I had my first cell phone back in 1995... I think? It looked like this:
Subject change...
Nearly two years ago I popped the question to the love of my life. She said yes. She also bought me a little tiny pocket sized 10 megapixel camera. We took it to a bunch of places, including a couple of Rush concerts, and had some fun with it. Unfortunately the battery charger vanished. We tried to find a replacement but couldn't.
Last weekend, magically, the charger reappeared. I charged it and it's now back in action. It's been totally trumped by the awesomeness of the awesome Nikon D90 Awesomest awesomeawcity. But it's still pocket sized and can go with us anywhere.
I used it to get a picture of my Jenny on a swing.
I also got a picture of this cryptic message... but what does it mean?
I also got this awesome shot of the 2nd most awesome ice cream shoppe in the universe. This is the Kimball's store in Carlisle, MA. The awesomest ice cream shoppe of course is the Kimball's in Westford, MA.
...and in closing, Phineas and Ferb is currently the best cartoon in this and any other universe.
...and in closing, again...
Go Bruins!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Saturday
I went to the gym this morning at a little after 7:00. We have the kids this weekend so Jen and I are going separately.
Oh.
My.
God.
My legs are killing me. I pushed the treadmill much harder than usual and I'm totally feeling it. I did a few minutes on the hellish elliptical what-ever-the-hell-it's-called and then I was toast. I was considering a couple of minutes on a bike too, but after the hell machine I could barely move.
Isn't this fun?
Notice how I haven't mentioned the pain that is the Bruins losing game five last night? If Jack Frickin' Edwards mentions 2004 one more time I am going to stick a fork in his eye. Shut up Jack!
Go Bruins!
Oh.
My.
God.
My legs are killing me. I pushed the treadmill much harder than usual and I'm totally feeling it. I did a few minutes on the hellish elliptical what-ever-the-hell-it's-called and then I was toast. I was considering a couple of minutes on a bike too, but after the hell machine I could barely move.
Isn't this fun?
Notice how I haven't mentioned the pain that is the Bruins losing game five last night? If Jack Frickin' Edwards mentions 2004 one more time I am going to stick a fork in his eye. Shut up Jack!
Go Bruins!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Best Photo Ever
Someone posted this on twitter a few minutes ago. I have no idea where it comes from, but it is the best picture ever... maybe. Sure enough it's a great summation of the current Bruins/Sabers playoff series.
Here is the url, I think it might be boston.com?
http://boston.3432.voxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/bruins2-480x440.jpg
Here is the url, I think it might be boston.com?
http://boston.3432.voxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/bruins2-480x440.jpg
Free Turn by Turn Directions on the iPhone?
Sometimes I feel like I get all of my news from Mashable. Of course we know that's not tr... well... maybe it is true.
They posted an article today saying that Google is going to make turn by turn GPS directions available on the maps app on the iPhone. How freakin' awesome would it be if they shipped that out prior to our drive to Florida? We have a GPS unit that we got prior to the honeymoon last year, but if we could just go with our iPhones that would be easier and better and cooler and more Google/Apple fanboyish. I think it would be cool.
I was getting the feeling that Google was going to stop dealing with Apple, but if this happens it would make me happy.
Especially since the Tom Tom app for the iPhone cost an insane amount of money. Free is my favorite price, kids. Never forget that.
They posted an article today saying that Google is going to make turn by turn GPS directions available on the maps app on the iPhone. How freakin' awesome would it be if they shipped that out prior to our drive to Florida? We have a GPS unit that we got prior to the honeymoon last year, but if we could just go with our iPhones that would be easier and better and cooler and more Google/Apple fanboyish. I think it would be cool.
I was getting the feeling that Google was going to stop dealing with Apple, but if this happens it would make me happy.
Especially since the Tom Tom app for the iPhone cost an insane amount of money. Free is my favorite price, kids. Never forget that.
Finally Friday
First: The trailer for the Rush documentary, which debuts at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, can be found here. http://music.msn.com/video/music/?g=42fbdc32-f1f2-4e81-b504-7e760a21f0e1
There, now that you've watched that and can't wait to see it and can't wait for the tour, and can't wait for the expected new song or two to be released... somehow, and can't wait for the new album, we can move on.
So what was it that got me stuck in about 40 minutes of traffic on route 93 South this morning? Oh, a pothole? Yeah, that makes sense.
A POT HOLE????
I had a rough night sleeping last night. At a little before midnight Jen woke me up to try and get my to stop snoring. Yeah, I snore. Some nights it's worse than others, but it's always bad. Last night was really bad, I guess. At first she asked me to sleep on the couch... that's how bad it was last night... but then decided to let me just sleep on the other side of the bed. That seemed to work. She didn't wake me up again.
Karma bit me on the ass though. My step son had a nearly unbroken string of nightmares last night. Twice he came into our room scared. After switching sides with Jen, I was the one closest to the door. >insert smile here< If Jen was having trouble sleeping because of me, then the little man was going to even the score for her and wake me up too. Justice for Jenny!
Just kidding.
I am more than happy to help out with the late night frights. Don't let my smart assedness about my snoring lead you to doubt that. Having been a regular recipient of nightmares when I was his age I will make it a priority to help him through his scares.
Still... sometimes his nightmares (and his sister's too) are just so damn funny. At around 3:00 this morning he knocked on the door and came in and hugged me saying he had a really bad dream. I asked him what the dream was about and he said, still sounding really scared, that a giant pepper with eyes had killed him.
I laughed. I couldn't help it. A giant pepper with eyes? What might his seven year old subconscious be trying to tell him with this? Stop eating salad? By morning he was laughing about it too, but at that time he was really scared so I felt pretty bad for chuckling. I gave him a hug and asked him what he would like to dream about when he went back to bed. The Easter Bunny was his answer. Not a bad idea. He's a smart kid.
At about quarter after four he was knocking on the door again. Poor little man! He said that every time he fell asleep he had another nightmare. He could remember five of them. Five nightmares in one night. That would have ruined me when I was his age. I tried to calm him down again and gave him another hug and then he went back to bed.
This morning when I got up he followed me down the stairs. He didn't want to sleep anymore. He said that after the last nightmare he had not gone back to sleep. He says stuff like that often, and usually you can tell that he was really asleep the whole time, but I asked him if he heard his mom wake up earlier and he said yes. He looked really tired and had huge bags under his eyes. I think this time he really did stay awake. From 4:20am-ish to about 6:30am he must have been laying in bed afraid to go back to sleep. I think he's going to be in for a rough day today. Maybe he'll be willing to go to bed a little early tonight... probably not though... would you have been willing to go to bed early on a Friday when you were seven? Nope, me neither.
This leads me to our plans for tonight. On Wednesday, the last time the Bruins played, we took a short walk to the park hear our house and hung out on the jungle gym equipment. The Bruins won that game... so maybe the park was the source of the good luck. Maybe if we don't go back to the park tonight they'll lose. So, back to the park it is! (assuming the weather continues to cooperate) After that hopefully we'll be able to catch the game. If the rest of the family really doesn't want to watch then I will hang out with them in the living room, listening to headphones. Or at least with an auto-updating scoreboard running somewhere.
I need the Bruins to win tonight. They simply aren't good enough to let Buffalo back into the series with a win. They have to put the hammer down now while they have the chance. If this series stretches on I am going to be very nervous about the outcome. Win tonight please!
I should probably make a quick update on the rest of the league... there is a rest of the league after all.
Philly ousted New Jersey last night which means I got at least one pick wrong. I didn't think the Flyers had it in them. Show's ya what I knows.
Pittsburgh had a chance to eliminate Ottawa last night and failed. They now lead the series three games to two. I still think the Penguins win this one.
Chicago and Nashville are tied at two games a piece, as are Colorado and San Jose. Still hoping for another San Jose choke.
Los Angeles and Vancouver, and Detroit and Phoenix are also tied at two games each. I think the Kings and the Coyotes are both going to pull off upsets.
That leaves the Capitals and the Canadiens. I hate the Canadiens almost as much as I hate the Yankees. Washington hasn't been the monstrously dominate team I thought they'd be, but they are up three games to one. Hopefully they will also close out their series tonight.
Go Bruins!
There, now that you've watched that and can't wait to see it and can't wait for the tour, and can't wait for the expected new song or two to be released... somehow, and can't wait for the new album, we can move on.
So what was it that got me stuck in about 40 minutes of traffic on route 93 South this morning? Oh, a pothole? Yeah, that makes sense.
A POT HOLE????
I had a rough night sleeping last night. At a little before midnight Jen woke me up to try and get my to stop snoring. Yeah, I snore. Some nights it's worse than others, but it's always bad. Last night was really bad, I guess. At first she asked me to sleep on the couch... that's how bad it was last night... but then decided to let me just sleep on the other side of the bed. That seemed to work. She didn't wake me up again.
Karma bit me on the ass though. My step son had a nearly unbroken string of nightmares last night. Twice he came into our room scared. After switching sides with Jen, I was the one closest to the door. >insert smile here< If Jen was having trouble sleeping because of me, then the little man was going to even the score for her and wake me up too. Justice for Jenny!
Just kidding.
I am more than happy to help out with the late night frights. Don't let my smart assedness about my snoring lead you to doubt that. Having been a regular recipient of nightmares when I was his age I will make it a priority to help him through his scares.
Still... sometimes his nightmares (and his sister's too) are just so damn funny. At around 3:00 this morning he knocked on the door and came in and hugged me saying he had a really bad dream. I asked him what the dream was about and he said, still sounding really scared, that a giant pepper with eyes had killed him.
I laughed. I couldn't help it. A giant pepper with eyes? What might his seven year old subconscious be trying to tell him with this? Stop eating salad? By morning he was laughing about it too, but at that time he was really scared so I felt pretty bad for chuckling. I gave him a hug and asked him what he would like to dream about when he went back to bed. The Easter Bunny was his answer. Not a bad idea. He's a smart kid.
At about quarter after four he was knocking on the door again. Poor little man! He said that every time he fell asleep he had another nightmare. He could remember five of them. Five nightmares in one night. That would have ruined me when I was his age. I tried to calm him down again and gave him another hug and then he went back to bed.
This morning when I got up he followed me down the stairs. He didn't want to sleep anymore. He said that after the last nightmare he had not gone back to sleep. He says stuff like that often, and usually you can tell that he was really asleep the whole time, but I asked him if he heard his mom wake up earlier and he said yes. He looked really tired and had huge bags under his eyes. I think this time he really did stay awake. From 4:20am-ish to about 6:30am he must have been laying in bed afraid to go back to sleep. I think he's going to be in for a rough day today. Maybe he'll be willing to go to bed a little early tonight... probably not though... would you have been willing to go to bed early on a Friday when you were seven? Nope, me neither.
This leads me to our plans for tonight. On Wednesday, the last time the Bruins played, we took a short walk to the park hear our house and hung out on the jungle gym equipment. The Bruins won that game... so maybe the park was the source of the good luck. Maybe if we don't go back to the park tonight they'll lose. So, back to the park it is! (assuming the weather continues to cooperate) After that hopefully we'll be able to catch the game. If the rest of the family really doesn't want to watch then I will hang out with them in the living room, listening to headphones. Or at least with an auto-updating scoreboard running somewhere.
I need the Bruins to win tonight. They simply aren't good enough to let Buffalo back into the series with a win. They have to put the hammer down now while they have the chance. If this series stretches on I am going to be very nervous about the outcome. Win tonight please!
I should probably make a quick update on the rest of the league... there is a rest of the league after all.
Philly ousted New Jersey last night which means I got at least one pick wrong. I didn't think the Flyers had it in them. Show's ya what I knows.
Pittsburgh had a chance to eliminate Ottawa last night and failed. They now lead the series three games to two. I still think the Penguins win this one.
Chicago and Nashville are tied at two games a piece, as are Colorado and San Jose. Still hoping for another San Jose choke.
Los Angeles and Vancouver, and Detroit and Phoenix are also tied at two games each. I think the Kings and the Coyotes are both going to pull off upsets.
That leaves the Capitals and the Canadiens. I hate the Canadiens almost as much as I hate the Yankees. Washington hasn't been the monstrously dominate team I thought they'd be, but they are up three games to one. Hopefully they will also close out their series tonight.
Go Bruins!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Top 10 Excuses of the Guy Who Lost the iPhone Prototype
From David Letterman,
"Top 10 Excuses of the Guy Who Lost the iPhone Prototype"
"Top 10 Excuses of the Guy Who Lost the iPhone Prototype"
Wonders Ne'er Cease!
Are you a Bruins fan?
If you are, then let me just say... Wow.
I didn't see the first period. There is a park near our house and the four of us took a walk there so the kids could show of their prodigious monkey bars skill. It was a nice little change of pace and we managed to get back home before it got too cold.
The first period was just about over when we got in but we all sat in front of the tube to watch the second. The kids stayed up about 30 minutes later than normal because none of us were paying any attention to the clock.
It was one to nothing Buffalo after one. It was two to nothing Buffalo after two. It looked pretty bad. After the kids went to bed Krejci scores to make it a one goal game. Not long after Patrice Bergeron scored yet another huge goal for the Bruins to tie it. Jen wanted to go to bed but was sweet enough to stay up with me until the end of the third. It was two to two after three. Overtime babie!
From the sports fan's point of view, there is nothing more stressful than over time during playoff hockey. Overtime in Football is a joke. Overtime in basketball is fun, but they always play a full period so the only possibility of heart attacks is at the end of the OT period. Baseball, like everything else in sports, is it's own animal. The pace is slower, and you know the home team will get it's last chance. It's very exciting, but it's just different. Hockey however... sudden death. It can all end at any moment. It's edge of your seat from the start of the period right until the end of the game. I went to a playoff game between Boston and Washington once, back in... 1995 was it? Something like that. The game went to double overtime. It was hands down the most exciting sporting event I have ever been to. Nothing else comes close. The Bruins lost that game and it was devastating, but I will never forget it.
Last night... double overtime. Tuukka Rask and Ryan Miller both played like super heroes. I had the game on the radio (on my iPhone, thanks Apple app store and AOL) and was trying not to scream while Jenny slept. I think I did all right... mostly.
The Bruins lead the series three games to one. I never saw this coming. I really believed that the way they played post Olympics they were going to get blown out. Somehow though, they have saved their best play for the post season and have really looked fantastic. Buffalo too. I can't knock how they've played. They've been unable to hold the lead in the third and frankly I am thankful for that, but they have played some great hockey too. This has been a really fun series to watch.
Still... Bruins in five would make me happy. Please don't try and be cute and wait to win it in game six at home. Just go to Buffalo on Friday and do what you've done the last three games and get it over with.
Please, my heart can't take it. I've had to change the batteries on my defibrillator twice this week!
Go Bruins!
If you are, then let me just say... Wow.
I didn't see the first period. There is a park near our house and the four of us took a walk there so the kids could show of their prodigious monkey bars skill. It was a nice little change of pace and we managed to get back home before it got too cold.
The first period was just about over when we got in but we all sat in front of the tube to watch the second. The kids stayed up about 30 minutes later than normal because none of us were paying any attention to the clock.
It was one to nothing Buffalo after one. It was two to nothing Buffalo after two. It looked pretty bad. After the kids went to bed Krejci scores to make it a one goal game. Not long after Patrice Bergeron scored yet another huge goal for the Bruins to tie it. Jen wanted to go to bed but was sweet enough to stay up with me until the end of the third. It was two to two after three. Overtime babie!
From the sports fan's point of view, there is nothing more stressful than over time during playoff hockey. Overtime in Football is a joke. Overtime in basketball is fun, but they always play a full period so the only possibility of heart attacks is at the end of the OT period. Baseball, like everything else in sports, is it's own animal. The pace is slower, and you know the home team will get it's last chance. It's very exciting, but it's just different. Hockey however... sudden death. It can all end at any moment. It's edge of your seat from the start of the period right until the end of the game. I went to a playoff game between Boston and Washington once, back in... 1995 was it? Something like that. The game went to double overtime. It was hands down the most exciting sporting event I have ever been to. Nothing else comes close. The Bruins lost that game and it was devastating, but I will never forget it.
Last night... double overtime. Tuukka Rask and Ryan Miller both played like super heroes. I had the game on the radio (on my iPhone, thanks Apple app store and AOL) and was trying not to scream while Jenny slept. I think I did all right... mostly.
The Bruins lead the series three games to one. I never saw this coming. I really believed that the way they played post Olympics they were going to get blown out. Somehow though, they have saved their best play for the post season and have really looked fantastic. Buffalo too. I can't knock how they've played. They've been unable to hold the lead in the third and frankly I am thankful for that, but they have played some great hockey too. This has been a really fun series to watch.
Still... Bruins in five would make me happy. Please don't try and be cute and wait to win it in game six at home. Just go to Buffalo on Friday and do what you've done the last three games and get it over with.
Please, my heart can't take it. I've had to change the batteries on my defibrillator twice this week!
Go Bruins!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Wednesday
Happy Wednesday everyone. I don't know why I said that... I guess I just don't know quite what to say today. It's going to be one of those random subject posts, I think. There is a maintenance crew working right near my desk. I don't know what they are doing, but it sounds like an industrial vacuum is running and it's driving me up the freakin' wall. (pointless note: maintenance and vacuum are two of those words that I always, always, always misspell. And look, I used them both in one paragraph. Is that an omen? If so, is it a bad one or a stupid, pointless one?)
This week is school vacation week in Massachusetts. My step kids go to school in New Hampshire so you'd think it wouldn't affect me at all. You would be wrong. (of course, why else would I have brought it up?) School vacation in Massachusetts means one thing for me: Light traffic. I get the impression that roughly 40% of the working, commuting folks in Mass work for schools. How else could it be that there is almost no traffic at all on the highways during vacations? I don't care, it's beautiful.
On Monday I drove Jen to work and she needed to be in early. We took route 93 South to 128 South and didn't even hit the breaks once. We got to her office in half an hour. On a regular work day that same trip would take twice that. Monday, as you've probably read on this site already, was Patriots day and many residents had the day off. That's not a good indicator for traffic. Tuesday, we left together again only a little bit earlier and the trip took about 30 minutes again. That is a good indicator. No traffic at all. Today we didn't drive in together (she has to get the kids this evening) and I left at 7:15. I took the highway again, route 93S to 128S to 90W and the drive took less than an hour. On the average day it would have taken 20-30 minutes more. I did hit some heavy traffic on 128 (between route 2A and the Winter Street exit) but it was manageable and much lighter than a non-vacation commuting day.
I did see one very unusual thing today. I was on 93S and the traffic just after the route 495 junction slowed to a crawl. Slow enough, in fact, that I could snap a couple of pics.
Check out the plume of smoke in the distance. Safe to say that would end up being the cause of the little traffic tie up.
As the traffic inched closer we could see that the source of the smoke was a car on fire in the Northbound breakdown lane.
The closer we got the slower we drove, and the worse the fire appeared. The entire engine was completely engulfed in flames. It was a pretty scary sight.
Not long after passing the fire, less than a mile... maybe less than half a mile, I saw two police cars heading North with lights blazing. Not far behind them was a fire engine. They were on their way to the fire. When I passed there were no emergency personnel there at all. It had started so recently that I sort of beat the rescue folks to it. I couldn't see any sign of what might have caused it. There was a tractor trailer truck pulled over in front of it. Maybe the car hit the truck and after pulling over burst into flames? Maybe the truck driver flicked a cigarette out his window and it hit the car and maybe the car had a gas leak somewhere? Maybe the truck driver was a Jedi and the car driver was a Sith Lord and the truck driver used his light saber to cut the fuel line and ignite what spilled out? Who knows.
Read this article from CNN and learn about something that makes Robbie sad.
Production on the next James Bond movie has been put on hold indefinitely! That is terrible! Not as terrible as "Octopussy" or "A View to a Kill" but still terrible. "Casino Royale" was so good it was crazy. "Quantum of Solace" was all right, but better than the last couple of pre-Craig flicks. I am a huge Bond fan and I am hoping MGM gets their act together quickly. I want another Bond movie.
I'm not sure how I feel about this next subject. Recently the tech site Engadget posted pictures of what they said was an actual next generation iPhone. The pictures looked good, but there was no real reason to suspect that they were genuine. Then a couple of days later, tech site Gizmodo published this story. I might have the time line a little jumbled, but I guess Engadget said the iPhone was found in a bar. Gizmodo also said it was found in a bar, but they somehow acquired it from the person who found it. They tried to use it but it was remotely whiped by Apple (assuming it is what the article said it was) and they couldn't set it up again because the software to do so does not exist publicly yet. So they plugged it into iTunes and took a look at the connect screen and deduced that the resolution was much better than the iPhone 3GS. They also explored a couple of buttons and a new front facing camera, and the new casing, and then broke it apart and checked out the components.
The word is that gizmodo's parent company paid a heafty price to get their hands on the phone. There may also have been a bidding war between tech blogs for the chance to buy some one else's property. Was it stolen? Who knows. There are stories coming out saying that the Apple employee who lost it really did just lose it. I don't know... the whole story kinda smells bad to me. Apple has since had a lawyer make a formal request for the phone's return. That proves one of two things, either it's the real deal next generation iPhone, or Apple set the whole thing up as a hoax because they have a weird sense of humor about their renown internal security. I chose to believe the thing is just real.
Still... it's just a test model. There is no reason to believe the final product will look exactly like the iPhone that caused the fuss. What it does do is take a lot of the fun out of the lead up to the unveiling. Really, a big part of what makes being an Apple geek fun is the speculation. The rumors leading up to the iPad were crazy. Almost every day some one published a story speculating on what the final product would look like. It was fun. Not this time though. This time we know what the new phone looks like and we know what it's made up of. There might still be software surprises, but on the hardware end it's already old news. When Steve Jobs gets up on the stage with his new iPhone 4G in hand we'll already know most of what he's going to say. That kinda sucks.
Of course, after reading the story I immediately tried to find out when I would be able to get a hardware upgrade. I think January. iPhone... iWant.
Last night the Red Sox won in a walk off. Darnell McDonald, just called up from Pawtucket was the hero. A Cinderella Fenway debut if ever there was one. I am happy about the win, but I am also embarrassed. The Rangers stole nine bases on us last night. NINE (9) BASES! We didn't throw them out a single time. They were nine for nine! That's the worst showing for a Red Sox team since 1913. (at least that's what I read on ESPN's recap this morning.) It's shameful. Nine stolen bases. Even Vlad Guerrero stole on us last night and I'm pretty sure he doesn't have any knees in those legs of his.
In sad minor league hockey news, the Lowell Devils lost last night. Worcester leads the series three games to one. Game five is tonight at the Tsongas in Lowell. If the Devils lose they are out. Good luck to my Devils.
In much more exciting news, tonight is game four between the Bruins and the Sabers. I am really excited for this game. More excited than I've been all season. A B's win tonight puts us up three wins to one. We'd have three chances to beat the Sabers once. While we all remember a few years ago when Montreal came back to beat us after they trailed 3-1 I would prefer to think of this as a new season and not dwell on that painful memory. Of course a loss ties the series at two and gives Buffalo back the home ice advantage. The Bruins have to win tonight. They have to.
Go Bruins!
Go Devils!
Go Bruins!
This week is school vacation week in Massachusetts. My step kids go to school in New Hampshire so you'd think it wouldn't affect me at all. You would be wrong. (of course, why else would I have brought it up?) School vacation in Massachusetts means one thing for me: Light traffic. I get the impression that roughly 40% of the working, commuting folks in Mass work for schools. How else could it be that there is almost no traffic at all on the highways during vacations? I don't care, it's beautiful.
On Monday I drove Jen to work and she needed to be in early. We took route 93 South to 128 South and didn't even hit the breaks once. We got to her office in half an hour. On a regular work day that same trip would take twice that. Monday, as you've probably read on this site already, was Patriots day and many residents had the day off. That's not a good indicator for traffic. Tuesday, we left together again only a little bit earlier and the trip took about 30 minutes again. That is a good indicator. No traffic at all. Today we didn't drive in together (she has to get the kids this evening) and I left at 7:15. I took the highway again, route 93S to 128S to 90W and the drive took less than an hour. On the average day it would have taken 20-30 minutes more. I did hit some heavy traffic on 128 (between route 2A and the Winter Street exit) but it was manageable and much lighter than a non-vacation commuting day.
I did see one very unusual thing today. I was on 93S and the traffic just after the route 495 junction slowed to a crawl. Slow enough, in fact, that I could snap a couple of pics.
Check out the plume of smoke in the distance. Safe to say that would end up being the cause of the little traffic tie up.
As the traffic inched closer we could see that the source of the smoke was a car on fire in the Northbound breakdown lane.
The closer we got the slower we drove, and the worse the fire appeared. The entire engine was completely engulfed in flames. It was a pretty scary sight.
Not long after passing the fire, less than a mile... maybe less than half a mile, I saw two police cars heading North with lights blazing. Not far behind them was a fire engine. They were on their way to the fire. When I passed there were no emergency personnel there at all. It had started so recently that I sort of beat the rescue folks to it. I couldn't see any sign of what might have caused it. There was a tractor trailer truck pulled over in front of it. Maybe the car hit the truck and after pulling over burst into flames? Maybe the truck driver flicked a cigarette out his window and it hit the car and maybe the car had a gas leak somewhere? Maybe the truck driver was a Jedi and the car driver was a Sith Lord and the truck driver used his light saber to cut the fuel line and ignite what spilled out? Who knows.
Read this article from CNN and learn about something that makes Robbie sad.
Production on the next James Bond movie has been put on hold indefinitely! That is terrible! Not as terrible as "Octopussy" or "A View to a Kill" but still terrible. "Casino Royale" was so good it was crazy. "Quantum of Solace" was all right, but better than the last couple of pre-Craig flicks. I am a huge Bond fan and I am hoping MGM gets their act together quickly. I want another Bond movie.
I'm not sure how I feel about this next subject. Recently the tech site Engadget posted pictures of what they said was an actual next generation iPhone. The pictures looked good, but there was no real reason to suspect that they were genuine. Then a couple of days later, tech site Gizmodo published this story. I might have the time line a little jumbled, but I guess Engadget said the iPhone was found in a bar. Gizmodo also said it was found in a bar, but they somehow acquired it from the person who found it. They tried to use it but it was remotely whiped by Apple (assuming it is what the article said it was) and they couldn't set it up again because the software to do so does not exist publicly yet. So they plugged it into iTunes and took a look at the connect screen and deduced that the resolution was much better than the iPhone 3GS. They also explored a couple of buttons and a new front facing camera, and the new casing, and then broke it apart and checked out the components.
The word is that gizmodo's parent company paid a heafty price to get their hands on the phone. There may also have been a bidding war between tech blogs for the chance to buy some one else's property. Was it stolen? Who knows. There are stories coming out saying that the Apple employee who lost it really did just lose it. I don't know... the whole story kinda smells bad to me. Apple has since had a lawyer make a formal request for the phone's return. That proves one of two things, either it's the real deal next generation iPhone, or Apple set the whole thing up as a hoax because they have a weird sense of humor about their renown internal security. I chose to believe the thing is just real.
Still... it's just a test model. There is no reason to believe the final product will look exactly like the iPhone that caused the fuss. What it does do is take a lot of the fun out of the lead up to the unveiling. Really, a big part of what makes being an Apple geek fun is the speculation. The rumors leading up to the iPad were crazy. Almost every day some one published a story speculating on what the final product would look like. It was fun. Not this time though. This time we know what the new phone looks like and we know what it's made up of. There might still be software surprises, but on the hardware end it's already old news. When Steve Jobs gets up on the stage with his new iPhone 4G in hand we'll already know most of what he's going to say. That kinda sucks.
Of course, after reading the story I immediately tried to find out when I would be able to get a hardware upgrade. I think January. iPhone... iWant.
Last night the Red Sox won in a walk off. Darnell McDonald, just called up from Pawtucket was the hero. A Cinderella Fenway debut if ever there was one. I am happy about the win, but I am also embarrassed. The Rangers stole nine bases on us last night. NINE (9) BASES! We didn't throw them out a single time. They were nine for nine! That's the worst showing for a Red Sox team since 1913. (at least that's what I read on ESPN's recap this morning.) It's shameful. Nine stolen bases. Even Vlad Guerrero stole on us last night and I'm pretty sure he doesn't have any knees in those legs of his.
In sad minor league hockey news, the Lowell Devils lost last night. Worcester leads the series three games to one. Game five is tonight at the Tsongas in Lowell. If the Devils lose they are out. Good luck to my Devils.
In much more exciting news, tonight is game four between the Bruins and the Sabers. I am really excited for this game. More excited than I've been all season. A B's win tonight puts us up three wins to one. We'd have three chances to beat the Sabers once. While we all remember a few years ago when Montreal came back to beat us after they trailed 3-1 I would prefer to think of this as a new season and not dwell on that painful memory. Of course a loss ties the series at two and gives Buffalo back the home ice advantage. The Bruins have to win tonight. They have to.
Go Bruins!
Go Devils!
Go Bruins!
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