WE ARRIVED!

So we made it 3,627 miles safe and sound. Also in a feat of amazing effort (we had been saving it up sitting in the truck for 4 days) we got the trailer unloaded tonight. We are headed up to the ski hill we drove by on the way in today. We will be snowboarding tommorow. Have a great New Years tonight!

Yellowstone

So we are leaving Yellowstone headed for Missoula. The town was very empty, think of the show Northern Exposure. In fact yesterday a deer jumped out of a yard right on the mainstreet and then proceded to walk down the street. Overall Yellowstone was a good time. We got about 4hrs of snowshoing in around the Mammoth Springs area this morning. On the way out of the park we saw this small herd of very large bison. Also we both had a red beer yesterday on the advice of Pearl, Amy's law school freind, it was alright.

I-90 this morning

Here is what the interstate looks likes right now just inside Montana. It may look bad but it is working out ok, traction is good and the wind is not to bad. We are able to maintain 40-50 mph.

Casey's Wall Drug Purchase

So Casey got a cowboy hat. Tell him it looks wonderful, he really likes it.

Breakfast at Emily's Cafe

Name that shadowed man eating at a roadside breakfast joint in South Dakota.

Dinner time!

We stopped for dinner at Arby's just north Omaha on our way to Sioux City tonight, projected mileage total for today is approx. 850. See ya all for breakfast tomorrow!

I-75 Butter Jesus

So just outside Cincinnati on I-75 there is the Solid Rock Church and they have what must be a 60 foot bust of Jesus coming out of a man made lake. Just the first of what I am sure will be many strange sites on this trip.

And the adventure begins..

So we made it to West Virgina and had lunch at the Applebee's at the Cabela's exit. Not making bad time but we still have about 230 miles to go.

Survival gear

So I was in Campmor today and the impending cross country drive with Casey on my mind the sight of this survival blanket seemed like a good insurance policy for us...11 days until departure from the 'nati to Seattle.

What is not fun.

So you know what is not so fun, having the airline delay your 8:10pm flight until they finally cancel it at 10:30. Then knowing that the next morning is not looking any better you get into your car and drive the 250 miles from Philly to Hartford, CT getting in at 2:30 am. Anyway that was how I spent last night, hope your's involved less time in a car.

Where did you eat lunch?

I had a cheesburger and cliff bar at 11,200' under clear blue skies.

First trail...

Not to shabby here at winter park...

First run

How is your morning? Mines decent.

Sweet, sweet HD

So I finally made the plunge and went for the 42'' panasonic plasma. Right now it is on a stand but will be wall mounted next week. It is all perfectly timed so I will be all set for the Jan 8th gator romp. In fact I may have to smoke some alligator meat just for the occasion!

Christmas cheer in philly

So I was in Macy's today andcaught part of the Christmas organ show.

Keith Sutter

Leaving C-bus

So leaving c-bus on Southwest looks like it will be OK even if we did get B seats. The security line took 5 mins and geting here 2 hrs early was a little overkill. Hopefully we will take off ontime.

Keith Sutter

Jenn's football skillz

This is my sister Jenn displaying her serious football skillz, she is an OSU alumus so she knows how to throw a football - unlike some Michigan fans I know....

Chad's Galaga skills

Turkey Day wrapping up

So Thanksgiving seems to be wrapping up pretty well. Got to see almost the entire family on Thursday and eat a ton of good food. I hope everyone else's families behaved and there was not too much family drama. Yesterday we then went for a 3.5 mile hike on Friday, strategically avoiding the stores on Black Friday. There is only one last hurdle to get over, getting out of Columbus successfully tomorrow at 6:30pm. I am hopeful that it will be problem free, but no matter how it goes it will be better than sitting on the PA turnpike for 9 hours.

on the way to the race

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! So all four of use are on the car on the way down to Paul Browm Stadium to do this 10K. Things are looking good so far. I wl post the results on the way home

1 hour delay

So thanksgiving has started with a 1 hour departure delay from Philly, not to bad for how crowded the airports are and the nor'easter that is charging up the coast. If al goes well Amy and I will be in c-bus in less than 2 hours, and then down to the 'nati. Turkey here I come!

National Championship here we come

So now all that needs to get done between now and 1/9 is the purchase and installation of my 42" plasma. So that I can enjoy the Bucs rolling to a national championship over which ever team the BCS decides upon. In other college football news I was VERY happy to see the 'nati CRUSH the Scarlet Knights from the Dirty Jerz. What a bunch of overhype that turned out to be

Lastly the 10k training is complete, not necessarily because I have completed some great plan but because I am now out of time. Good luck to me. I will have May taking pics to post so look forward to that. I hope everyone has a great Turkey day. If nothing else we all have the Buckeye's to be thankful for.

The Bucs rolled over the wildcats

So the Bucs and T. Smith look to be in good shape for the big game next week. I will be wishing the week away this week waiting for Saturday - not so much because of waiting for the game but my work calendar this week looks pretty full.

On a positive note the BBQ was a success. Everyone had a good time and we went out to see the new movie Borat. Overall funny - but I wish I had another 2-3 beers before leaving would have helped make the less funny stuff seem funnier. But today has been one lazy Sunday, and I am enjoying every minute of it.

Final Tune Up

So the Bucs final tune up is today befor next weekend's Michigan game. I am celebrating with lots smoked meat (Pulled Pork, Spare Ribs, and Sausages). I will compliment the meat with Skyline dip, apple pie and other delicous foods. Also the weather today in Philly is a bit strange, high of over 70 degrees and sunny. Should be a good time. Looking for a good game today from my man #11 Gonzales.

Vote tomorrow!!!!

Just a quick reminder to make sure you vote tomorrow. Almost 80 million Americans did not vote in the last mid-term and that is a decrease as we have hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the mid-east defending those countries citizens rights for a democratically elected government.

Also I think that before a person is allowed to whine or even comment on any policy or political stance of the US they need to prove they voted in the last election.

Here in PA there is a great online resource www.seventy.org to help you understand who is up for election and links to web pages to find out voting records and to find out politicians positions on key issues.

Polls open at 7am in PA tomorrow morning.

first post from the Q

So this is my first post from my Q. Just a quick update on the training. As a note college football is pretty good for my training schdule as I was able to go for 6.3 miles yesterday on the treadmill at 5.5mph while watching games. Now it is about increasing the speed and getting some miles in outside before the race.

2.5 miles last night

Quick 10 K training update...
I was able to do 2.5miles last night on the treadmill at 6mph without the shin splint wrap and with no pain. So I am considering myself completely healed and now will continue to increase distance by the 10K date.

4 miles not so bad today

So the new shoes, pictured below seem to be having a big impact on the training for the impending 10K. The shoes were not cheap, but getting them from a good reputable store where the employees know what they are doing seemed to be the difference maker. On Track (website is under development) in Englewood, NJ was very helpful. The Reebok Premier FSM shoes are a stability shoes which is apparently what I needed.


In addition to the new kicks a $25 shin splint wrap has also helped reduce the pain I was getting. Pictured below it is a pretty simple wrap that keep pressure on the soft tissue of the lower leg avoiding shin splints.

That plus some icing and Motrin allowed me to run 4 miles today on the treadmill at 5.5 mph virtually pain free. I am pretty sure I could have done the entire 6.3 miles but I did not want to push it. SO with that all I have to say is that the other clydsdale division runners had better watch out, I am coming for you Chad!

Why did Google buy YouTube again?

So I am not sure if YouTube was worth the money but here is another example of a brand manager seeing the idea of free impressions with low production, the Beer Cannon. I fully expect Lew to make one of these and I have not looked into it but if the Milwaukee's Best team is on their game they should have plans on their website for this beer gun...anyway interesting stuff.

10k Turkey Trot

So in the competitive spirit that is my family I could not turn down an invite from my sister Jenn, which in retrospect was not really an invite, in fact all she did was tell me she was doing a 10K on Thanksgiving in the 'Nati and I instantly had to also sign up. So that being said I am now locked in for a 10K in a short 5 weeks. If you know me you may be saying to yourself why is he so worried that is not so bad it is only 6 miles, you were a rower for 7 years this should be cake.

Well the most important part of that equation is that I have been sitting behind a desk for 8-10 hours a day for over 5 years. You tend to fall out of shape with that lifestyle. So what is my plan? Buy some cool gear of course, this job has to have some perks and affording gear is one of them. So I bought new running shoes - turns out I pronate and need stability shoes and the shin splints and have been getting may have been due to the shoes I was running in. I also have a fancy shin split wrap that is supposed to help heal my leg that now throbs with pain when I run. And I am sure I will have to get more before the race. I will provide training updates as I don't achieve them over the next 5 weeks.

Colorado Trip

Well the trip out to Denver for business was good. The focus groups went well. The best part of the trip was the camping and hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. I camped at the Long's Peak campground and did a great 8.5 mile round trip hike from the campsite up to Chasm Lake at the base of Long's Peak, gaining 2355' in elevation to, 11,760'. The hike took about 4 hours. Here are some pictures. It as an amazing trip. I hope to get back again soon.

Home sweet base camp:


Getting started up the trail:


Breaking through the tree line with Long's Peak in the background:


And finally Chasm Lake:


And one last picture, the sunset over Long's Peak from my campground:

Lost at Sea

I guess the deep sea fishing trip could have been even worse...check out what happened to these guys. Lost At Sea

(Thanks to Trip for sending the story along)

New Phone

So the new phone came in quite handy this weekend in terms of keeping up with scores for the major football games on Saturday while not being anywhere near a TV. The internet features are quite good and overall I am very happy. I will continue to play and figure out all the bells and whistles but for now I give the Q 2 thumbs up!

New cell and convertible luck

So I have been pretty bad about posting recently, working hard trying to impress the man. That may be my first mistake. Any way the man did help fund a trip home to Cincy last weekend and the rental car Gods were shining on me as I got a red mustang convertible for the normal midsize rate. So that was good news. Here are some pics from the trip.
Here is my sweet ride.

And like a good grandson I went a took my grandma, mom and Don for a ride.

We had a dinner at a restaurant on the Ohio river.


I also went up to Ohio to watch the Bucks walk all over the Bearcats (eventually). And saw Lauren's new house. Quite a nice example of suburban housing. Even if the cable guys run the wires right through the walls...


Also today my contract with Verizon is up and I can get the new Q for $199. I will be so happy to have a new phone...

17-3 w/ 23:30 left

So while it is not over Texas is down 10 and Teddy Ginn and the OSU defense is getting it done! What a pefect b-day for me!

Labor Day Weekend

So the rainy weekend turned out OK. We started out Friday night at Lucky Strikes in Center City. I highly recommend it. Very cool place with $4 draft lagers, decent food, lots of TVs and comfortable couches and the best part is that it is smoke free. An A+ in my book.

The rest of the weekend was spent painting my office. Here are a couple of before pictures. This was the last room I had not re-painted from when I moved in.



After some color debate and worries that we were heading down the path of "institutional green" we did land on a color. Check out the after shots. Not to bad if I do say so. Now I have to get all the stuff back on the walls.



To end the weekend we met some of Amy's friends in Rittenhouse for a dinner potluck picnic. The beautiful weather did come this weekend just a little late for the camping plans.

And the rain arives just in time for the weekend..

Damn you Ernesto!

A Dilbert just for Lew

So today's Dilbert is highly appropriate for Lew and his lunch obsession that drives him to share it with the rest of the world.

Ernesto - why do you ruin Labor Day....

This damn storm is keeping Amy and I from enjoying a great Labor day out in the wilds of Tobyhanna PA State park.


Anyway I guess we will make the most of it. The good news is Comcast is scheduled to come tomorrow to fix the weak signal that is keeping me from getting Video On Demand and hence keeping me 3 weeks behind on Entourage. Also a strong desire to actually accomplish something on this crappy weekend will probably end up with me painting my home office and organizing my tools. I love condo living but the one downside is no garage. I really want a garage to keep stuff like tools, bikes, kayaks, etc, someday it will happen. Look for updates on the blog as the weekend progresses and the rain drives me into action.

ESPN Announcers don't appreciate Skyline

So while watching the last part of tonight's game on ESPN I was shocked that the ESPN announcers not having much to discuss about the game, as the Bengals were whopping up on the Packers, they start talking about Skyline and how great it is. Then a beautiful 3-way appears in the studio and no one wants it! Damn them - I would have paid $20 for that 3 way right then - it looked so good....Skyline. I will be back in the 'Nati in a couple of weeks to get my fix, 3-ways and coneys with mustard here I come.

ESPN Announcers don't appreciate Skyline

So while watching the last part of tonight's game on ESPN I was shocked that the ESPN announcers not having much to discuss about the game, as the Bengals were whopping up on the Packers, they start talking about Skyline and how great it is. Then a beautiful 3-way appears in the studio and no one wants it! Damn them - I would have paid $20 for that 3 way right then - it looked so good....Skyline. I will be back in the 'Nati in a couple of weeks to get my fix, 3-ways and coneys with mustard here I come.

Deep Sea Adventures

So the long anticipated fishing trip was not the tuna bonanza we had hoped for. I think it was memorable and worth it for the stories we all now have to tell, but a pleasant day on the Atlantic is was not...

The trip started out at the crack of dawn - wait make that the end of Friday night. Below is a picture (a much more clear version of a clock than another blogger I know recently took) of the car clock as we left Jamie's house in Ventnor, NJ.

As we got to the boat filled with anticipation and dreams of battling huge tuna on the blue waters of the Atlantic we see the Top Shelf come in to view with her captain "Capitan Bill" and his mate Mike (an out of work NJ State Marine Biologist - way to go Corzine!)

One the 2 hour ride out to "Elephant's Neck" a spot in the Atlantic about 40 miles from Cape May, NJ 3 brave fisherman crack open the first beers at ~4:30 am.

Turns out that may have been a bad idea as Karim found himself very seasick about an hour later, still pitch black and already chumming the water. I am not one to throw stones as about 2 hours later I was giving my morning coffee and breakfast back to king Neptune. This resulted in my spending most of the rest of the trip laying in the middle of the cabin on my back with my eyes shut trying to ignore the pulsing waves of nausea - and all of that after popping a Bonine that morning!

Well after a couple of hours we did manage to land a fish, and a pretty large blue fin tuna at that, however it need to be about 5 inches longer to be regulation. Scott was more than a little disappointed after having made the effort to land the fish to watch Capitan Bill throw it back in.

On a side not - the entire group is unanimous about this, we do NOT recommend Captain Bill for trips he was an ass to his mate Mike and the only time he came down from the wheel was to throw Scott's fish back in and get some Aspirin for his headache which I am sure was the remains of his hangover. He did not make an effort at all to make a somewhat miserable situation any better.

To try and capture at least some of the feeling of being on the boat for 13 hours I took this short video of what it looks like sitting in the fighting chair:


Finally I was up next to catch fish, and after walking outside to talk with Mike he asked me to reel in one of the poles. As the line got near the boat I realized there was a fish on the line. A 21" Dolphin or Mahi-Mahi as it is sold commercially, was on the line - just long enough to keep. Anyway here is a group shot of the salty crew and next year we are going to Miami to fish.

College Football is almost here

Alright Bucs fans, it is almost that time of year, where Saturdays start with Game Day on ESPN and end with Buckeye victories! The season gets under way Sept 2 at 3:30 PM against against Northern Illinois. In good news The Bucs have toped the ESPN Power 16, and 4th among the computer rankings. The Bucs they have quite a bit to live up to this year. I am looking forward to seeing a lot from Ginn this year and the new superstar recruit Chris Wells. I hope the mostly new D will get eh job done.

This also means I know have to have some general animosity towards Liz and her damn school - even if they are ranked 7th by the computers...

Comcast Sucks, Mountain biking & Tuna

So video on demand has now been broken for over a week and all I really want to do is watch Entourage. The show is great, but Comcast can not seem to get out to fix my cable. Even at $135 a month they are having me wait over a week to get VOD back. You can bet I will be calling about credits on my account after this wonderful customer service.

On a more positive note Lew and I did some pretty serious mountain bike riding yesterday. Wissahickon Creek, for those non-Philly residents is a great park about 5 miles from my house and is 5+ miles of trails and paths through some great wooded land all inside city limits. You can even find people fly fishing in the creek. After 22 or so miles yesterday I am fully embracing the indoor life today.

Also I am looking forward to posting some great pictures form next weekends deep sea fishing adventure with Doug and crew. We shove at 4am from the Jersey shore and hopefully will return 12 hours later with a boat so full of Tuna we will all be rich from selling it. There is a bit of gold rush feeling to this trip b/c if we catch a big enough fish apparently we can sell it and keep some of the profits. And the potential upside could be 10s of thousands of dollars with the right fish. Chances are we will all be drunk by noon but it will be a good time anyway.

best marketing ever...

So check out this great you tube video/marketing effort from Smirnoff..

Tea Partey

Liquid Terrorists....

So apparently what else sucks while flying - British liquid terrorists. These fuckers were going to mix up a bomb while on board and blow up planes over the Atlantic. Hats off to the British for busting this one up and anybody starts mixing shit on any planes I am on in the future beware, you are likely to get a punch to the back of the head.

Although I do applaud the entrepreneurs out there that are already figuring out how to make some money on this by opening up toiletry booths at airport for arriving travelers.

Dallas thunderstorms Suck while flying

So I was on my way to Dallas on Monday afternoon and the flight pushed back from the gate right on time at 2:45. We were cruising along all fine with the world when the plane started a big banked turn to the right. The pilot comes on and tells us that b/c of the thunderstorms in Dallas that are not moving we are being diverted to Little Rock, Arkansas. Ok I am thinking not to bad we will pull, they will let us off, re-fuel and in an hour or so we will be off again only an hour or so late - guess again. We get to AR and we sit on the runway with little AC, no water or snacks - not even some damn pretzels! We take off 2 hours later, land in Dallas and then sit there for another 2 hours waiting for a gate.

As a the cherry on top of this flight disaster sunday, as we finally pull into the gate they announce there is a a medical emergency on-board in the LAST row of the plane. SO they open the doors to the jet way and make us all sit there for 15 minutes as the medics come and load this poor kid that looks nearly passed out on to a gurrney and take him off the plane. So moral of the story, NEVER get on a plane without something to eat and drink - after 8 hours on that plane with nothing I was ready to chew my arm off, and always bring a book or magazine. After my laptop died I flipped through the SkyMall like 62 times. Anyway back to work I am hoping to get home by 10 pm tonight......

Ham and Pie

So the 2006 Ham & Pie hosted by one Carl Irace in the hamlet of East Quoge was a rousing success. Upon arrival last evening at 6 there was quite the garden party in full swing and potato cannons marked the evening with their familiar whoosh and the corresponding splash of the potato into the bay. Below are some pics from the event.




And after a short nap in the tent, I was PA bound at 6am this morning. But not before catching this great sunrise. After a 2 hour nap back in Philly I was almost back to normal. Overall a great weekend!

Cool new movie

My sister Kristin had this movie linked from her blog. Apparently she loves Zach Braff, I think he is in some pretty good movies, Garden State is a favorite. But this looks like one to catch come September.

Great Weekend

So while it may be a little strange to be posting about the weekend on Wend. I am just now getting around to it...Anyway I had a great time this weekend with my sister and Mom in town for a visit. It was hot but we managed to stay relatively cool and have some fun along the way. Below are a couple of good pics.

Jenn in front of the gates of hell...


My Mom and Jenn on the North Wind. This boat is a not-for-profit, City Sail, that uses the 78 ft boat as a way to educate kids. On Saturdays they run sunset charters for the public, you can bring a picnic (with wine) and have a great 2-3 hours on the Delaware.

Hot in Philly

So at 8:30 this morning it was already VERY hot in the City of brotherly love. I am planning on staying inside for much of the day. Maybe hot the pool later in the afternoon or a movie.

A3

So I went on a test drive yesterday and the A3 2.0t is a great car. Fun to drive and as far as Audi's go at $30,500 it was not to expensive. I am still waiting to see what my insurance will do but the car payments are pretty steep. I will probably keep putting equity against my house. That damn equity line and it's adjustable rate mortage keeps going up. I have to get that promotion at work before thinking about new German cars.....

Pirates

So Amy and I went to see the Pirates of the Caribbean 2nd movie last night and it was mediocre. It was just "middle". I guess they are setting up a 3rd one to have a trilogy.

Anyway it has been awhile since I last posted. Work has been crazy busy. I am actually heading down to my pool with my laptop right now to do work. It makes me feel better doing it while sitting by the pool.

Also it is a couple of days late, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENN! I am happy to say that Jenny and my Mom are coming to Philly for a visit in a couple of weeks! I should have some good pictures to post from that trip soon.

The best is now all of us, Jenny , Kristin and I are linked to each other's cities via southwest. So no excuses for not visiting. Actually I am getting excited for college football this fall. I will have to fire up the smoker and and get to c-bus to see a Bucks game. Here is a picture from my last visit.

Always a good time in c-bus for football.

Company Meetings?

So we have a company meeting tomorrow at Holly Hedge in New Hope, PA. Not so bad except they make us get there at 8:00am, and that means leaving my house at 6:50 to pick up 4 people in the car pool and head up I-95. Anyway this week is turning out to be a real "live for the weekend" kind of week....

Back to work..

Well it is Sunday night and it is back to work tomorrow. The summer requires living for the weekends. Also TV is so bad these days. I watched the Treasure Hunters show on NBC tonight and it was pretty bad. Product placement gone crazy.

The good news is that I have good plans for this weekend. Amy and I will be heading to Ohio for a camping trip with my Mom's side of the family. Should be a great time. We are staying in cabins on a lake in the Hocking Hills. Amy and I will probably leave on Thursday night and then camp somewhere along the way so we can get there during the day on Friday.

Also my Dad leaves for his Peru mission tomorrow. He will be gone for 2 weeks but not into the deep dark jungle this time. He is staying in a city. They are expecting to build 3 churches in 3 weeks. I say good work and enjoy the trip.

Rafting Rocked!

So the rafting trip was great. This despite the downpour we lived through on Saturday and a 5 hour drive from Boston up to the cabins. The water was running high and the rapids were great. The folks at Three Rivers put together a great trip for us. Check out the pictures of my boat below.

This is a great one of my boat entering the first rapid


This second picture is us setting up for a big hit.


This is the hit we took


And we all stayed in for that one!


Overall the trip was a great time and thanks to Kate and Casey for planning it!