Feeling Fall... and Other Thoughts

With the temperatures in the 60s and 70s this week, and college football set to kick off this Thursday, you can't help but feel that Fall is in the air. It was nice to take advantage of our office location in N. Old Town and get out for a run last night. While attending the DC United games this summer has been great, I cannot wait to watch the Penn State game this Saturday (against Coastal Carolina). Speaking of which...

My rant of the week has to be about how ridiculous Comcast is (not surprising). After enough fans complained last season that Comcast should pick up the Big Ten Network (as DirecTV did), Comcast conceded and added the BTN to their sports pack lineup. As it turns out, the PSU game is only being televised on the BTN this Saturday, and as a Comcrap subscriber, I was very excited to be able to watch the game in the comfort of my own home rather than needing to go to a bar. But no... Comcrap comes through again with runny brown colors... They must have purchased the rights to show ONE channel and ONE game at a time. So, instead of getting the Penn State game at 12 on Saturday, we will only get the Ohio State v. Youngstown State game. If I really want to watch the PSU game, my only choices are to head to Carpool or catch the game on Comcast's BTN channel, Sunday at 11am. Thanks Comcast... as always, you continue to meet my expectation of being an absolutely worthless service provider. If my neighbor did not have the largest tree on the block which happens to stand on the SW side of our house, I'd drop you like the worthless POS you continue to be.

In other news, Fantasy Football is around the corner with both of my league drafts set to take place next week. With FF drafts taking place, it obviously means that the regular NFL season is set to start, with the Skins taking on the Gints next Thursday. I actually got my Sean Taylor #21 jersey on Monday and am ready to wear it proudly at the first game I'll get to (Cardinals game on 9/21).

BTW - the Match update is that she's doing well. She seems to have finally taken to her crate and understands that it is her home when we're not home. She will go quietly into her crate and not put up much of a fight at night when we go to sleep, which has been great... that and the fact that she can pretty much make it all night now without having to go out. Nice to finally get 6 consecutive hours of sleep for a change.

The Dog Gets what the Dog Wants

Long Ride Home
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

So, I set up the car for the ride home exactly as I set it up on the ride out to Salisbury. Full sized dog crate with papers, the bottom half of the smaller crate with a rug, all for Match to sleep in on the ride home. Where does she end up? On top of my pillow on my duffel bag right NEXT to the crate with her rug.

I'm so happy we decided to devote half of the 4Runner's cargo space for our pooch, none of which was used on the long ride home yesterday...

Figures.

Our first road trip

This was Match's first road trip as we went to visit Lauren's parents out on the Eastern Shore. Other than a little vomit incident in the first 5 minutes (before I had even picked up Lauren from work), she did really well. I think the one lesson we learned on this trip is that Match doesn't necessarily need to have both her big cage and the small cargo carrier. She'll be just fine in the cargo carrier next time... WAY too much space taken up by her stuff.

Pooped

This is my Saturday night when one of my girls is sick and the other is totally pooped from a long day.

Fortunately I have a glass of wine in one hand and my iPhone and the remote in the other.

Cheers to the American olympians and the undefeated Skins (in the preseason anyway). Oh and I love Colt Brennan.

Two Georgians Say They Have Bigfoot’s Body

Too funny... A part of me hopes this is true... and that the rest of the bigfoot clan hunt down these guys and capture a specimen of their own.

Two Georgians Say They Have Bigfoot’s Body - NYTimes.com

DC United Advances to US Open Cup Final

Mix of Emotions
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Rounded up a good group of friends last night to catch DC United take on the New England Revolution at RFK in the US Open Cup Semis. After opening the game in the first 3 mins with a goal, the pace of play slowed down a bit... before heating up for a 3-1 finish.

DC plays for the US Open Cup championship and automatic berth to the Champions tournament in September against USSL team, Charleston.

It should be an entertaining final - and it will be nice to see United get back to that place they were a few years back... on top. Now if we can only find a way to get some points in the league play...

Preseason

New Dog!!!

Napping with Mom
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Lauren and I have been wanting a dog for a long time, but had been waiting for the wedding craziness to pass before thinking about a dog. Well, about a week ago, we searched the area for any kind of poodle or hybrid that would alleviate any allergy concerns that might arise. Unfortunately, there were no potential options, so we turned to an online shelter based in Missouri.

Fortunately, we found Match...

You can see the follow along with us and Match moving forward by clicking on this link to see Match's album...

Match is a Goldendoodle though we are unsure which is the dominant gene at this point. My hope is that it's the poodle so that the shedding is minimal. The beauty of the goldendoodle (besides it's look) is the combination of smarts and athletic ability, not that she'll be competing for us some day, but there is that potential...

Anyway, we're thrilled to have this new member join our family.

Big Win

After 4 straight losses at home, DC finally looked organized and
mounted a strong attack. The integration of Guererro was successful
and United recorded their first shut out of the season 2-0.

This was following their first goal.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I know, today must be my big movie day... actually, I was just cruising through my RSS feeds and saw that the trailer for the new Harry Potter movie was out.  Check out the trailer by clicking on the link below:

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

From this quick snippet, the movie looks really creepy and just all around awesome.  Can't wait to see it... Check it out in November!

Dan in Real Life

We watched Dan in Real Life last night, courtesy of Netflix, and I have to say that I was genuinely surprised with how great the movie was.  Steve Carell was brilliant, and the movie itself is a great reflection on putting family first, and proving that love will turn up where you least expect it... whether it's in a bait and book shop, or Match.com.

If you're looking for a movie to relax and watch with your significant other - Check out Dan in Real Life.

A Wii Bit O' Relaxation

Guitar Something
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

After a stressful few weeks of wedding preparation, the actual wedding weekend itself, as well as the craziness that was Disney, it was nice to rock out with some friends on Saturday night, though my attempt at Guitar Hero was more "out" than "rock." As you can see from the blur, Ryan was rockin' out a lot more than my feeble attempt.

Guitar Hero is definitely a great game, and it's nice to see that the Wii can pretty much adapt to any game that people want, but I'm starting to wonder how many of their future games will actually use their motion sensing remotes. If you think about some of their more popular games, the Wii remote actually plugs into some sort of an adapter, whether it's a guitar or a steering wheel. At what point does the Wii turn into your average gaming system?

Of course, note that I do not own a Wii and am simply making this observation based on the limited associations I have had with the system. If I am way off base, please share your thoughts as I'm curious to hear what other people think about where they think the Wii is headed.

Try again

First effort only posted the link... Let's try this again.

Testing iPhone upload

My iPhone finally came in! So I'm testing the upload capability while
I'm here at the office. Will take some getting used to the typing with
one finger.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3286/2696142341_c6a2b880f9_o.jpg

One Thing After Another

As if it wasn't hard enough to sleep the other night with brazillian kids running up and down the hallway, last night we had a crying baby in that room that must have screamed for four or five hours...

Fun times. Hoping we can work off the fatigue on some water slides.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Hot and Steamy

After changing hotels from the Caribbean to Coronado Springs things have definitely started to look up. The staff at Coronado is much nicer than the group at the Caribbean and have gone out of their way to help. So, thank you for that.

Yesterday we did the Magic Kingdom and scored two sets of free fast passes that helped us bypass the lines for Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. We only had to wait for the Haunted Mansion which was exciting the an afternoon downpour. Last night we did DisneyQuest after being surrounded by about 20 annoying 10-12 year old girls at dinner.

Side note: there appears to be a girl's dance competition and major contingent from Brazil that have taken over WDW this week.

DQ was pretty fun, despite the fact that I lost my wedding ring for a few nerve wracking minutes. I was lost in focus kicking Lauren's butt at basketball. The kids were all very nice though, knocking me over and jumping in front of the line to play while I was on the ground looking for the ring. Fortunately, we found the ring halfway up the game where it must have slipped off.

Today, we're doing Animal Kingdom and are currently waiting in line for the African Safari where it is super hot and super steamy.

The adventure continues!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Not So Disney

Little did we know when we last minute booked our trip to Disney this morning that the Caribbean Beach Resort's pool was under construction. Even after we arrived and were checking in was no mention made. It was only after we walked to our room did we notice that the main pool was covered in tarps and under construction.

The whole reason we chose to come here today after our perfect honeymoon to Bermuda was ruined was because we both knew Disney was a no brainer. Their reputation for service and excellence is unquestioned. Yet no one mentioned the pool to us. A key component to our vacation was the sun, whether it be through a beach or pool. Not at the Caribbean.

You would think that they would be more hospitable and allow their guests to use another resort's pool.

No.

So much for coming through. We have called their hotline and have been told that there is nothing they can do. Not even help us change resorts. No, we have been told that our best bet is to complain to our resort, which we will do.

Again, thanks Disney.

Not impressed with my first stay here...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Disney Ho!

We thought Bertha was going to veer off and not impact our honeymoon plans, but sadly we received a call at 6:30 AM informing us that our flight was indeed canceled. So, what did we do? We called the magic kingdom and are on our way down to spend four days with Mickey and his pals. I haven't been down there since 10th grade and only toured the magic kingdom, so four days of park hopper passes should give us plenty to do and allow for all kinds of fun.

Stay tuned for more as our adventures continue!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The Big Day

Speaking of Bermuda... (great segue right?) the big day is finally here. Over a year of planning and a few memorable moments have led to today. And while I'm super excited and hardly slept last night, I cannot wait to officially begin my life with Lauren.

This weekend has been amazing so far, and we still have the ceremony and reception to go!

It's unfortunate that you are truly only surrounded by all your friends and loved ones like this just once in your life. And last night at the rehearsal dinner you definitely feel the love and be reminded of how lucky you really are.

I am lucky to have met someone like Lauren to spend her life with me and lucky to have the family and friends that I do.

To all of you, thank you...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

No Dice

I meant to post yesterday using my Flickr pictures of our wait in line yesterday morning to inform the world that we did not get the iPhone yesterday, but in the craziness of the day did not get the chance. When things settle down and I have an internet connection again I'll upload the photos. Hopefully, by then I will HAVE my iPhone. I guess we'll see.

In any event, I'm disappointed that while we we're probably number 45 or so in line they ran out of units at number 30. So I have no idea how many they had in stock. So much for Apple's impressive launch where everyone who wanted an iphone was supposedly going to get one.

The plan now is to hopefully order one on Sunday when we get back and have it waiting for when we get back from Bermuda.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Waiting in Line

Well, we rolled up at 7am this morning unsure what to expect in terms of the line here in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Surprisingly, there were already 50 people in front of us and an hour later we have about 60 people behind us. Starbucks in hand, it's actually pretty pleasant out here other than the fact that the sun is brutal. I'll probably get more sun waiting in line than I will on the beach today.

Another hour to go...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Ocean City

Dusk on the Beach
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

While we take care of a few things for the wedding we're using Ocean City as our base of operations. Amazing how quiet the beach can get after a long holiday weekend.

Having something like this at your fingertips definitely eases the stress associated with the big day.

Wrist GPS

So as a treat to myself for this wedding, I bought myself a Garmin Forerunner 305 to start mapping my trail runs and bike rides. I thought since the weather was so nice yesterday I'd test it out on my neighborhood hill run.

Amazing what they can map.

Check this out.

I am particularly interested in the distance, calories burned, heart rate, and elevation. In any event, it will be fun to post these and keep track of how I progress over time.

Those Were the Days...

I definitely remember making these types of runs with both Bo Jackson and Christian Okoye. It's a shame they don't make video games like this anymore...

Great Shot from Sunday's Game

If you haven't seen this already, it's a great picture of the Barra Brava section from the field. Love #14.



Benny.... Olsen.... Benny... Olsen!!!!

United and Beckham Round 2

While the conditions surrounding the game were a little different on Sunday as compared to last year's rain-enhanced match against L.A. Galaxy and David Beckham, the result was the same. DC crushed the Galaxy, beginning with the penalty kick below, finishing out with three other great goals from Emilio and Gallardo.

Emilio continued his torrid scoring pace, rising out of the ashes from the beginning of the season to 2nd place on the goals scored list so far in 2008 with 10.



I have another video which I'll post when I have a faster connection of the great crowd on hand and a special appearance by Beckham in the stands with us - though he was wearing less clothes than he had been earlier on the field.

All in all, the 4-1 finish, the DC summer weather, combined with a Spanish victory in the Euro finale made it out to be a long, but fun day on Sunday. I feel very fortunate that I was still able to get this time in, despite being less than two weeks away from the wedding.

Two Weeks Away

That's right... after a year of planning, a few arguments, many memorable moments, and a  little bit of stress, the big day is only 14 days from today.  In fact, 14 days from this very moment the wedding and reception will be over, and we'll be officially man and wife.  It's been an interesting 13 months, but it's been a great 13 months, and in a few weeks, I'll have even more stories to share.  However, do not be surprised if the posts get to be rather sparse as things get a little crazy here in the final stretch.  I'll do my best, but won't make any promises. 

On another subject, tomorrow is the big Galaxy-United game at noon, serving as game 1 of a two game doubleheader on ABC, with game 2 being the Germany-Spain Euro finale.  I'll be at the first one and will be hauling tukass to get to a friend's house for game 2.

Stay tuned.

Charity Event in NYC

Thought this was pretty cool if you're a soccer or basketball fan.

http://aplfilms.com/NASH.mov

Kind of funny when you think that Reyna has not been healthy enough to play for the Red Bulls, yet he was able to play in this charity event...

That's What She Said

Psyched to see this today. 

Carell Clocks In for More Office - E! Online

It's actually pretty surprising to see how quickly (one might say meteorically) Carell's career rose with the success of The Office. 

Obviously, I love the show so I am very happy to hear that it will be on for 3 more years... Though I'm NOT too thrilled to hear that there will be a spin-off.  Personally, I think it can only take away from the success and reputation the American version has attained.  In fact, we're almost "Americanizing" a British hit...

I'm probably being too harsh... I'm sure it will be as successful as Joey was after Friends ended.

Keyless Remote Adventure

For the past year and a half, I have manually locked and unlocked the door of my Toyota 4Runner because I had thought my keyless remote was defunct. I was under this impression because I had replaced the battery, and had spoken to representatives at my local Toyota dealership who informed me that I needed a new remote, for somewhere in the neighborhood of $400. Instead of paying for a new one, I figured that I could live with manually locking the door.

One day, my brother mentioned to me that I could probably find a remote online, and program it myself to match my car. A year passed and I had never gotten around to it... until last week.

Lo and behold, I found a remote for $40, that came with Contra cheat code-like instructions on how to program it for my 4Runner. 2 minutes later, I had a remote control that worked. On a hunch, I decided to try and program my old "defunct" remote to see if that made a difference. 2 minutes later, I had TWO remote controls that worked for my car.

Lesson learned, you can buy your own remote and program it to match your car. If your remote has stopped working and replacing the battery does not work, look for the programming instructions online rather than taking it to your dealer to get a new one.

For those of you who have the 4Runner remote with Lock/Unlock/Window down, the following instructions will program your remote:

HOW
1) Driver's door open, all other doors closed, key removed from ignition switch.
2) Insert key into ignition switch, then remove it.
3) Press LOCK and UNLOCK on the vehicle door lock control switch at 1 second intervals 5 times.
4) Close and re-open driver's door.
5) Press LOCK and UNLOCK on the vehicle door lock control switch at 1 second intervals 5 times.
6) Insert key into ignition switch.
7) Switch ignition ON and OFF once to program a remote transmitter code whilst retaining the original codes or twice to program a remote transmitter code whilst erasing the original codes. Three times to check how many remote transmitters are currently registered or five times to erase all codes.
8) Remove key from ignition switch:
9) System should now lock and unlock vehicle. Once, twice, or five times depending on which mode has been selected. One to four times, slowly, to indicate number of remote transmitters registered.
10) Press and hold LOCK and UNLOCK remote buttons together.
11) Press LOCK remote button for 1 second:
12) System should now lock and unlock vehicle once to confirm, twice to indicate registration has failed.

Note: To exit programming mode: Close driver's side door or insert ignition key. A maximum of four transmitters can be programmed.

Have fun!

What could have been...

Always frustrating to learn what could have been...

Back To The Future: News Corp. Launches A Weather Site (NWS) - Silicon Alley Insider

I obviously have my opinions on how we ended up in that position in '05, but at some point you have to let go of the past and focus on how happy you are with your life in the present, and I couldn't be happier.

To all my friends still there, I wish you the best and hope you do what is best for you now, and in the future.

Babysitting Little Man

Ready for Bed!
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Last night Lauren and I got to spend time with our favorite nephew who was in pretty good spirits most of the night. I think I've said it before, and I'll say it again now, you can have the hardest day imaginable at work, but when you walk through the door and see this little face looking back at you, everything outside of the present moment melts away. Combine the babysitting with watching Knocked Up last night on HBO and it's safe to say that babies were definitely at the forefront of our minds last night... Oh boy...

Not yet.

Monticello

Back Lawn
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Lauren and I thought we'd take advantage of the long weekend and gorgeous weather to shoot down to Charlottesville, and tour the Monticello grounds and house. I've always been fascinated by American history, particularly the late 1700s and 1800s. Thomas Jefferson is one of those guys that accomplished so much in his life time, that you almost feel like you will never know the whole story.

Anyway, the place was packed (shocker) and as Lauren put it, it was an opportunity to be surrounded by so many different types of people as everyone, regardless of background, is interested in these types of places. Unfortunately, after waiting nearly 3 hours to tour the house, we were a little disappointed to learn that we'd only tour the first floor... seemed like kind of a waste given how long we had waited.

Oh well, it was a nice day for a drive and it's always fun to take pictures and have a new adventure.

Finally

After a four game losing streak, DC was finally able to get off the snide with a tough win over FC Toronto, 3-2. As many of the fans agree on Goff's blog this morning, Well has a long way to go as an MLS-caliber keeper. There were many instances where I grabbed Lauren's arm unnecessarily (not that she minded) because he either charged out halfway and then tried to back-peddle back to the line, or was frozen like a deer in headlights. Our loud-mouthed season ticket holder friend beside us (usually he sits behind us) was kind enough to let Zach know just how bad he was (thanks guy).

Anyway, a win is a win... and it was a nice night to hang out with Lauren and enjoy a win. I have to say that I do love being able to leave the house at 7:15, get to RFK in time for kickoff, and then be home by 9:50. One of the many reasons we enjoy living in Del Ray.

Read the full story here.

Finally someone who gets it...

After going round and round with the people at Washington Sports Club a few weeks back when I discussed how ridiculous the concept was to CHARGE someone for DOWNGRADING their membership, as well as charging them to change home clubs, I had a great conversation this afternoon with the General Manager at the club over on King St. who said himself that he'd like to see the fees removed. 

To recap, I joined Washington Sports Club about 5 years ago when I lived in Arlington and got the passport membership which allowed me to workout in Arlington and Germantown where I worked.  Over the past 5 years they've steadily raised prices such that I'm now paying around $83/month.  However, I now live and work in Alexandria and have been working out at the club on King St. with no need to workout at any other club.  As Lauren and I have been trying to find ways to pinch some pennies, we decided 3 weeks ago that it was time to change to a regular membership and lower the monthly bill by $20/month to $60 something.   Well, when I called to make these changes, I was informed that there was an $80 downgrade fee and a $40 home club changing fee.  When I informed the account manager who I was talking to that $120 seemed like an awful lot to downgrade and change my membership  they told me that when they make the changes in the system, they HAVE to assess a fee, that there was no other choice.  So I responded that if they HAD to assess a fee, they could credit my account 2 months of membership free to makeup the difference.  The account manager wasn't sure what he could do and thus I instructed him to cancel my membership.

After working out one morning at the YMCA, I decided that while it would be cheaper for us to both belong to the Y, their workout facilities are just not the same nor anywhere near as good as what you'd get at WSC.  So, today I decided to talk to the General Manager and he was quite helpful, agreed that we shouldn't have to pay a fee when we've been loyal members and promised to take care of it for me this week.  As he admitted himself, it's easier for them to get me to stay than it would be for them to acquire a new member.

Finally, someone who gets the value of a customer... It's a shame it took a few weeks of frustration to get there.

Flock

Checking out Flock today... while it's been around for awhile now, I really haven't heard as much buzz about it as I would assume a social media browser would generate.  I like the concept of having all of your social media accounts at your fingertips in a space you use all day long, a web browser, but am still learning how everything plugs in, and how exactly I'll use this.  I'm actually posting this from Flock, after clicking on a button to post to my blog, which I like, so we'll see, I might end up using this a lot more than I anticipated.  I'll do a full evaluation once I've had some time to kick the tires a bit more.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Respite

Looks like the proposal madness has finally slowed down a bit and I can actually come up for air and relax somewhat, which is nice. There's a lot to take care of and it's about time I returned to my normal gym routine. While I enjoy writing and it's been fun working on proposals for the different industries, taking some time to look at the broader interactive space, and where our clients could get more involved will be a nice change of pace.

Stay tuned as I finally carve out some time to blog a little more.

Great Author

Not sure if many of you have heard of James Rollins, but I stumbled upon him about a month ago between jobs and am addicted to his writing. I'm pretty much averaging about a book a week and will probably finish up his written set in the next week or so. If you like action/adventure, definitely check him out.

Late Nights

Four weeks into my new job and as funny as it is, I've probably logged more hours in four weeks here than I did in two months at the old place. It's a combination of being passionate, enjoying what you're doing, and tight deadlines. A healthy mix. What makes it bearable is being as close to home as I now am. I can run home at lunch and catch that episode of Lost that I missed last week, or grab dinner with Lauren before coming back in for a "few" hours (a term I am using loosely). In any event, this has been a quick four weeks and as I've been saying, the "new guy" syndrome is no longer the case. I feel at home and very happy that I've made the switch. Kind of weird how quickly it has all faded away..

Also on the topic of late nights, Lauren and I attempted to get to the Radiohead show on Sunday night, only to be thwarted by the 4.5" deluge the DC area received Sunday-Monday. We left the house at 6:30 assuming we could be in our seats by 8:30 for Radiohead. Boy, were we wrong. What started out as typical traffic on 66 turned into a nightmare when we found out our way into Nissan Pavillion was flooded thus sending us on a crazy journey that ended with us sitting in traffic just to get into the parking lot. Finally, at 9pm we gave up and went home. Kind of disappointing considering we spent good money on the seats and I LOVE Radiohead, but nothing is worth ruining your whole week as we were sitting in traffic in the pouring rain. I heard the next day that some people sat in the parking lot until 1:00am waiting to LEAVE. Definitely a good decision to go home.

Spring, You Gotta Love It

My Blanket Bunny
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

These days in the DC area are so few and far between where the air is clean, the sun is warm, and there is NO humidity. We took advantage of the day by taking a quick hike along the Potomac Heritage trail and then spending a few hours along the Potomac getting some sun this afternoon. Doesn't get any better than this...

Babysitting Duty

Baby Cosmetics
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

I was called into babysitting duty last night for my favorite nephew for the first time without Lauren's help... Despite my initial trepidation, I couldn't help but be happy around this baby... even when he was a little frustrated with me for not realizing I fed him the wrong meal. Whoops. :) Not squash Uncle... I was supposed to get cereal!

Potomac Centennial Parade

It was a Hat Parade
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

One of the few benefits of living on Commonwealth are the various things you witness from your driveway... I've seen Avon Breast Cancer walkers, a police blockade, the annual Turkey Trot, and today, the City of Potomac Centennial Parade. As noisy as the street can be, particularly when it's the main cut through for police and the fire and rescue squads, mornings like this make up for it.

For more information on the history of the parade, click here.

Quickly...

Every day I have had the intention to post an update on the new job, the demise of the Caps in the playoffs, and the Wizards inability to close out a playoff game, but sadly, despite being 7 minutes from the house, I am working harder now than I was prior to the switch. That being said, I'm actually having more fun than I've had in a long time. After 7 days, I can say that I enjoy working with my new co-workers, I am being challenged in ways I've never been challenged, and see an opportunity to learn so much more than I ever have. To sum it up... I'm happy. Funny how things work out the way they are supposed to...

In other news, I was in a car accident yesterday at the intersection of Madison St. and Washington St. in Old Town Alexandria. Somehow, I survived 80 miles a day for 7.5 years without a single incident... and 6 days into my new job 4 miles from the house I get sideswiped. Weird. The long and short of it is that I was traveling east on a 2 lane, one way road, and a lady in the right lane attempted to turn left as I was passing her in the left lane. She claims that she was in the left lane, but logistically, it would be impossible for someone to pass to the left of her if she was in the left lane. I've traveled on that road for over 10 years and have reviewed the incident in my head the three times I've driven through that intersection since and cannot see how I she thought she was in the left lane. In any case, the 4runner sustained relatively minor, cosmetic damages while her driver's side wheel well was completely smashed. Gotta love the tank. What annoyed me most was that she jumped out of her car and started yelling at me, whereas the first words out of my mouth were, "are you ok?" Her response was, "of course I'm not OK, you wrecked my car!" Which proceeded to make me even more agitated since she was clearly not of sound mind... but oh well. We traded insurance information and we'll see what the impact is to my rate... ugh. Knock on wood, that's the last of my troubles with my crazy commute.

For those of you that I have not mentioned this to, Grafik is a Mac shop, which means that I have to learn all of the shortcut keys that I have grown accustomed to on the PC. What that has led to is me using Mac commands as I'm typing this, and PC commands as I attempt to work. It's very frustrating and I'm sure I'll have even more stories as I convert to the Mac. All in all, I really cannot comment on Macs as a whole since I do not have my final laptop yet and thus have only spent as much time as I've needed to in the past 7 days on what I have. I'll keep you posted though.

Finally, I DO have some stories to share from my experiences on Saturday trying to negotiate a lower cable bill, a lower cell phone plan, and a different gym membership, but my frustration level is so high still with that and I was so unsuccessful that I'll leave it for another time.

New Start

The grand plan was to blog every day that I was off from work last week. Then of course the weather got warmer and I wanted to spend less and less time indoors. I finished off the week with two trail runs around 4-5 miles each, a trip to the gym and a 15 mile bike ride down to my parent's house. On Saturday, Lauren and I ventured out to Chesapeake Beach, MD for lunch and to check out some of the properties on the water. For those of you who have never been out there, it's a great place to do a summer weekend night dinner or get married if you live locally. The air is definitely cleaner and the people seem a tad friendlier than their neighbors 35 miles away. In any case, it's pretty safe to say that I was able to make the most of the weather before starting my new gig on Monday.

Speaking of which, yesterday was day 1 of being the "new guy" a role I had not played in over 7 years. While it's always a little uncomfortable the first few days, my new co-workers were all very friendly and are excited for me to be joining the team. After one day it's very apparent that I'll be kept pretty busy and will be challenged, which is exactly what I was hoping for... Now, if I can only get my own computer...

On to local sports... sadly, the Wizards continue to struggle with the Cavs while the Caps have now forced a Game 7, which wraps up tonight at the Verizon Center. It's definitely a first to have two DC teams in the playoffs playing games on the same night... something I could definitely get used to.

Anyway, that's all for now... more on the latest happenings soon!

Week Off, Day Two

So, it's that week between jobs, that week that we all look forward to while we're working wherever it is that we're working... a week that reminds you of Spring Break in college when you don't have to worry about anything. I don't have to think about my old job, and don't have any obligations yet at the new job. So what's the agenda for the week?

Well, the "Big Week Off" started early last Friday, when the weather was in the high 70s. I was able to sneak in a long bike ride in the afternoon on my new hybrid bike before Lauren and I went to the Eastern Shore for the weekend and tasted the food that will be served at our reception on Saturday. We also checked out the church so that we could actually see where we'll be declaring our life-long love for one another. The church is "ok." It's not your traditional Catholic church with high ceilings and stained glass windows, but it's not the building that matters... it's who is standing across from you at the altar. Anyway, from the church, we went on to Salero where we tasted pork spring rolls (C), scallops wrapped in bacon (A-), mini crab cakes (A+), Baked Salmon (B), Ham and Grueyere Cheese stuffed chicken (A), and a house salad that consisted of bleu cheese, cranberries, and nuts (B+). It was definitely enough to fill up, and helped settle some of the indecision we had about certain foods. The menu is not final yet, but it's safe to say that based on what we tasted, it's going to be a VERY tasty reception!

The rest of the weekend was spent watching the Masters and Tiger fail to make a move on the final day for the first time in awhile. I was actually disappointed that Immelman was never challenged on Sunday, though he seemed like a pretty decent guy in the interviews, and you have to feel good for a guy who four months ago was in a hospital bed wondering if the tumor in his body was cancerous. Sadly, the weather itself was a bust on Sunday... cold and kind of rainy. Also watched the Caps give away Game 2 to go into Game 3 today tied 1-1.

Yesterday, Lauren took the day off and we spent most of the day running errands letting the weather slowly warm up. By the afternoon, it wasn't too bad (mid 50s), so we went down to the water in Old Town and laid out in the sun for a few hours reading. Speaking of which, I picked up a great book by James Rollins, called Subterranean. It looks like this is one of a few books that he has written, so I'm looking forward to spending more time today and the rest of the week doing some much needed reading.

So, today... I've already been to the gym and perused the Washington Post to get caught up on my local sports news. In summary, the Wizards won last night in futility as the Cavs locked up the 4th position in a bizarre set of events that had them shooting the winning free throws after the 76ers had already left the court. The Wizards will face the Cavs in the first round for the 3rd straight season beginning this weekend I think. Meanwhile, the Caps play Game 3 tonight against the Flyers and hope to regain home ice advantage. Based on what I saw on Sunday, the Caps need to shake off the mental games and play their game. The Flyers are playing a rough style that seems to shake the Caps, particularly Ovechkin, who cannot seem to get into a rhythm. That being said, if Boudreau can wake them up, there is no reason why the Caps can't take this game tonight. We'll see.

Finally, I came across this great video on Chris Cooley's blog this morning that pits Portis versus Cooley's fiancee to see who knows Chris best. I am pretty excited that Chris is blogging since he's by far my favorite Skin and a guy that seems to have no problem giving his fans a window into his life.

Anyway, time to get moving and make some lunch. I think I'm going to try and go check out another part of the Potomac Heritage Trail after lunch and see if it's going to provide a place to go trail running in the future. Have a great day everyone!

End of an Era

Well, it's official... my time at WeatherBug has come to a bittersweet end after seven and a half years of amazing and memorable accomplishments. During this time period I've learned so much about product management, about building a business, and made some great friends along the way. The products that I've helped build are used by millions of people every day and have saved countless lives over the years.

For those of you who do not know, I've accepted a position at Grafik, a marketing communications firm based in Old Town as their new Director of Interactive Strategy. In this position, I will get to work with a great team to build up the interactive practice, and learn so much more about marketing and advertising. Not to mention, it's 5 minutes from our place in Del Ray.

As I shutdown my laptop and get on I-270 South one last time, I wish everyone at WeatherBug good luck and thank everyone for an unforgetable seven years.

Coming Out of a Haze...

After 7 days of feeling absolutely terrible, I woke up this morning feeling as if a great fog had been removed from my head. While I am still horribly congested, I have a lot more energy and have no problem eating. Not sure if it's the weather or the drugs, but regardless, I'm happy that this craziness is almost over... I hate being sick.

Birthday Fun

Grandpa's Birthday Present
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Despite fighting some form of the flu and feeling absolutely miserable, there is something to be said for how a happy baby can make you feel. We celebrated my dad's birthday over at my brother's and this was surely the best present of all.

Big Night Tomorrow

After a 4-1 win last night over Tampa Bay, the Caps have taken over the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference, temporarily. Philly plays tonight against the Devils while Boston faces off against Ottawa. The outcome of those games should determine where the Caps sit going into tomorrow night's season finale against the Panthers.

That being said, not only are the Caps finishing off their regular season tomorrow night, the Final Four tips off, AND we have DC United's home opener against FC Toronto. A pretty big night for Washington sports...

Regardless of how the season ends for the Caps, it's been an amazing run that Boudreau has spear-headed the second half of the season, and I can easily see a Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry developing for the next 5-10 years which will be great for the NHL and great for this town.

Sick... Again

I'm not sure if it's the changing seasons or if Lauren continues to bring home various sicknesses from work, but I am suffering from yet another malady. I felt OK yesterday morning, but after doing a few odds and ends around the house and eating lunch, I been completely laid up by some form of flu/cold crud. I don't know about you, but when I get sick, I slip into a selfish survivor mode where I have no interest in anything but myself and feeling better.

How do you handle being sick? Any special remedies out there I should be aware of??

The Verdict Is In...

Despite emptying half of the trash can that was full of dirt from our little project, the trash team decided that it was still too heavy to take this morning. So, I'll be out there again this morning trying to remove more dirt until it reaches acceptable weight standards.

Lesson learned.

Another Day, Another Dollar

Saturday's Project
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Today, Dan (pictured above) and I decided to build a patio for the the grill I got for Christmas. Four hours and $100 later, mission accomplished. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be though the blisters that are currently forming on my hand will hurt for awhile. The REAL question is whether or not the garbage trucks are going to pick up the 350 lbs. trash can of dirt on Thursday.

I know you're asking, what in the world were you doing with dirt in the trash can.... well, ask Dan... it was his idea. ;)

Local Sport News (3-29)

In local sports news, the Wizards won a big game over the Kings tonight 114-108 further improving their impressive March record.

Meanwhile, the Flyers lost in OT and Carolina won big over the Trashers making it harder for the Caps to make the playoffs. I think our only hope is going to be catching up with Boston or Philly, but Boston has a game in hand at this point, so I guess we'll see how the weekend plays out.

And Then There Were None...

No Big Ten teams left in the tournament. It's not that I'm surprised that both Michigan State and Wisconsin lost to Memphis and Davidson respectively, I'm more surprised at how badly they were dispatched. Wisconsin couldn't find an answer for Stephen Curry and Davidson and MSU was completely run out of the gym by Memphis. They say that this could be the first Final Four that contains all of the #1 seeds... I guess we'll see if that's the case on Sunday when play completes.

In our NCAA draft pool, my money pick of Stephen Curry is keeping me within striking distance and if Davidson somehow finds a way to dispatch of Kansas on Sunday, he could be my ticket to the cash this year. Stay tuned.

The Billygoat is Back

The arrival of spring and warmer weather of course means that it's time to start the trail running again. I figured that since I had been doing 3-4 days of cardio a week over the winter that I would be able to slide back into trail running without a problem...

I finally found a web site that has a great explanation of what the hike/run is like. Click here for more information.


View Larger Map

Sadly, I was only able to run the trail in one direction yesterday and had to hoof it back on the towpath. This morning, I woke up with sore legs from the various muscles you use to maintain your balance as you make your way over the various rocks and branches. Oh well... can't wait for the next run... It's so peaceful out there, though yesterday the quiet was broken up now and again by what appeared to be Fire and Rescue were practicing something on the river as they were speeding up and down in about 4-5 different rafts.

Grenade Ho!

I was racking my brain this morning about what was newsworthy or worth blogging about, and fortunately the daily crime report produced by the City of Alexandria came through for me... Directly from the report:

400 block of Crown View Drive. 03/24 between 3:00 P.M. and 3:30 P.M. The reporting person, a 48 year-old Alexandria man, reported a grenade attached to a basement window in a residence. The Alexandria Fire Department, Arlington County Bomb Squad, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Army Emergency Ordnance Disposal (EOD) responded to the scene. A perimeter was set up and several homes were evacuated. Army EOD safely removed the device from the home.

As you can see from the image below, it's not a neighborhood where one would expect to be requiring a helmet or flak vest, but there's always something interesting going on in Alexandria.


View Larger Map

If you live in the area and do not subscribe to the Alexandria enews, I highly recommend it as you learn a lot about your neighbors by the crimes that are committed... Click here to subscribe.

Easter Fun

Bunny on the Loose
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Nothing says "Happy Easter" like a baby in a bunny suit. I hope all of you had a peaceful and relaxing Easter!

Badger Fan

Hoping the Big Ten can continue to represent.

Bowling

Lauren is apparently bowling here...

Tournament Time

For some reason this Thursday and Friday haven't felt the same as they have in past years. Not sure if it's the fact that not as many of the peeps are able to take the time off, or if it's watching it in the living room versus the "cave" of a few years ago, but it has lacked the excitement of previous years. I am sure this so-so feeling is a combination of the factors mentioned above, and changing priorities, a lackluster day one of the tournament, and a few other life changing events over the past few months... In any event, it feels like a little bit of the magic, or "madness" if you will, has disappeared for the moment. Honestly, up until Davidson's win over Gonzaga, and W. Kentucky's win over Drake, I was more interested in doing some spring cleaning than watching hoops.

Side note: how in the world is W. Kentucky beating Drake an upset? Since when did Drake earn the right to be "upset?" Makes no sense to me.

Anyway, Georgetown advances, and of my NCAA draft team (see below), only one guy (from Kent St.) has been eliminated in the first round... Could mean big things for Team B-rad...

Team B-rad
Josh Shipp - UCLA
Darrell Arthur - Kansas
Stephen Curry - Davidson
David Padgett - Louisville
Connor Atchley - Texas
Wayne Chism - Tennessee
Lazar Hayward - Marquette
Keaton Grant - Purdue
Kyle Weaver - WSU
Al Fisher - Kent St.
Keith Benjamin - Pittsburgh
James Mays - Clemson

3 Goals in 4 Minutes

After a sluggish 1-0 first half DC exploded to make it 4-0 by the 68th minute. Not a bad first home game of the season.

UPDATE:Game finished 5-0 after the flurry during the second half.

Milking Cows

Dan has done this before.

Ragin Rabbits

Lauren and Leslie in action. Some have rhythm and some don't. In this case, Lauren does not...

Angry Face

What gene thinks of me blogging.

Yeah... This close

Yep... 3 rows behind the bench.

Stardust

If you have not heard of the movie stardust I highly recommend you checking it out. We netflixed it and while we were thrown at first by the fantasy nature of the movie we were pleasantly surprised in the end. The cast includes Robert De Neiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, sienna Miller, Claire Daynes and a few others that you would recognize. It's a great break from reality and a fun movie to watch. Which is just what I needed last night after this weekend. Check it out and let me know what you think. 

More Fun

Well, the weekend is over... But it didn't end without a little more excitement. It took a battery reset to get the speedometer working again after the car's fun on Friday.

And it Continues

I'll have to take some better pictures with my camera but after getting about 6-8 inches of snow last night it has started again this morning (I guess it's still morning though I went to bed this morning... But I digress).  It should make for some more good sledding (yes, we went sledding last night... Morning - sorry).

Snow

Safe to say that we were not expecting the "snow emergency" when the group left national airport this afternoon.  And when I say national airport, I mean there was a lot of subterfuge going on before we arrived here at Deep Creek. That being said, before we settled in for the evening we dealt with a stuck MDX, a stuck Mercedes, and a stuck infinity sedan in the snow up here... Snow that everyone down in Alexandria did not deal with this evening.

In any case, we all finally arrived safely, though I definitely got my fill of snow for the winter... Pictures to come. (the fact that I had to push multiple cars this evening is a little annoying and unexpected).

But like I said, I will post some pictures of the debacle when we get back.

Treacherous Drive

So we are heading to the snowy mountains of MD. What's funny is that our friends back in dc won't see any of this snow. For us... We get snow.

The Big Day is Here...

... and I'm all packed up. Whether or not I'm going to be appropriately packed for this mystery weekend is an entirely different matter. I guess we'll have to wait and see what is in store for the big bachelor!

Given that I have no clue as to where we are going, I am unsure if I will be able to blog about the weekend as it is happening. If I get a phone signal, I'll try and post some pictures. If not, I'll recount as much as I can on Sunday when we get back.

For those of you joining me on this excursion, I want to extend my thanks for taking the time off from work to spend this time with me. I know what it's like to work around busy personal and work schedules, so this means a lot to me.

To everyone reading at home... have a great weekend!

Firesale?

Looks like someone in the building is offloading some computers... That, or some very clever thieves are making off with the goods...

Annoyances of the Day

1) In an effort to further control the speeding that is happening in the parking lot here at work, the property management company has decided to raise the speed bump total from 20 to 40 (rough estimates) in our parking lot. Keep in mind that the original 15 are of the short but severely sharp kind, and the additional 25 are wider and a tad shorter. While this doesn't really bother me in the 4Runner, I am annoyed that this could have been nipped in the bud originally by posting stop signs at areas where traffic patterns cross rather than influence traffic patterns by arbitrarily throwing speed bumps down. I'll try and take a picture at some point to give you an idea of what I'm talking about, but for those of you working at WeatherBug, you KNOW what I'm saying...

2) My Outlook has up and decided not to work anymore. My "OST" file is "corrupt." As a company that relies on Outlook for communication and schedule management, not having Outlook since I got in working has been a real pain. I understand that there is a web version available, but it's just not the same... and I appreciate some of the suggestions, like "use your BlackBerry to do email" but in an effort to conserve my thumbs, I will pass.

Big Weekend Ahead

Well, despite being a few months away from the big day, it's been decided that my bachelor party will be this weekend. And while it is technically my weekend I have been uninvolved in the planning. Traditionally, these type of things are more fun for the married friends than the bachelor or bachelorette, so we'll see how different this one is. I've received my official instructions as seen below...

b-RAD,

Your surprise weekend destination could require a multitude of clothing
requirements.  Here are a couple of things that you might want to throw in
the ol' duffel bag:

Swim trunks
Pair of shorts or two
T-shirts
Jeans
Clothes that can get gooey
Clean underwear
hiking boots
gloves
socks
toiletries
flip flops
towel
Government Issued ID
Some cash

So it appears that I will be going to a lakeside marshmellow fluff factory on top of a mountain that MIGHT be across some international border.

Hopefully, if I can get the photoblogging worked out I can keep you all posted on the events... It should be fun irregardless. These are my peeps and I'm pretty honored and psyched that they can all get away for a weekend with me.

Progress

Figured I'd keep you posted on the ever-growing Milestone Center Industrial Park area here in burgeoning Germantown. For those of you who do not traverse up 270 you would have no idea how many companies want to move into this area (I had no idea either). But apparently there is enough interest to justify another building.

Pulled the Trigger

I did it... Upgraded to the BlackBerry pearl yesterday. So far so good. I figure I'll test it out for the 30 days and decide if I want to keep it or change to a phone with a full keyboard. I'll keep you posted.

West Virginia Weekend

View from the Backyard
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

We have a friend who has a cabin in the West Virginia mountains and we were fortunate enough to tag along with him this past weekend. The cabin is seriously in the middle of nowhere (couldn't find it in my GPS), and at night, it is about as quiet and dark as you can get. It was so dark and quiet in fact, I almost freaked myself out standing outside on the balcony Saturday night.

In any case, this is the view from the mountain that the cabin sits on, after a very steep 25 minute climb. Based on some of the maps we had, I think this is about at 3,200 ft. facing east towards VA.

It was really nice to get away from DC for the weekend and truly unwind, and the amazing part about it is that it is only 2 hours away. Pretty cool.

The BlackBerry Saga

As some of you know, I have been jonesin' for a new blackberry for a few months now because: 1) this one is getting old and is much thicker than the new ones, 2) I want a phone with a camera so I can be cool, 3) I want to photo blog from my phone, and 4) everyone else has one.

Well, my anniversary date is February 22nd and I've tried everything I can think of at the Verizon store to get them to move it up without a fee and nothing has worked. When I say the phone doesn't work they give me a new one, when I say I'm spending a lot of money with them they don't care. I've even gone as far as to say that I am personally responsible for building the weather content on their phones, and they think that is cool, their standard response is, "call customer service."

But, the more that I think about it, the more I am inclined to switch carriers all together and go with someone that has the Curve so that I get the full keyboard AND has a camera. I'm not totally set to go this way, but as I am experiencing with Comcast (more on that in a forthcoming post), it may be time to move away from the incumbant. And no, this is not going to spiral into a political post as I am kind of getting sick of all of the primary coverage... Which by the way, thought it was interesting to hear this morning that the Chesapeake region (Maryland, DC, and Virginia) is a battleground area for Obama and Clinton. Our little area is finally politically relevant. Funny. But I digress...

Just in typing this alone, I had to spell Virginia 10 different times to get this small keyboard to figure out what I was typing so maybe it IS time for a switch... Though sources are saying that Verizon will be releasing a curve lookalike in the next few months... Should I wait? What do you think? Just think of all of the fun pictures you'll get once I have a camera on my phone!

Babysitting

Who Me?
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

One of our birthday presents to my brother was babysitting for a little bit tonight so that he and his wife could go out for dinner on his big day. While it was only an hour and a half or so it seemed longer... We had fun though... We love the little guy!

Happy Birthday Bro

My big (and only) brother turns 36 today! Happy birthday Steve! I'll have to dig around for a recent picture of him to post... Which I'm sure will thrill him tremendously.

Wedding Planning Update

For those of you who are nice enough to actually keep up on my blog, I thought I would let you know that we ARE actually listed on TheKnot.com under our first and last names and we ARE working on our registry. I was actually surprised at how complicated and exhausting it is to put together the darn registry, but after switching ideas of where we want to register a few times we have settled on 2 stores, of which details will be posted on the knot and my blog once complete. Should be in the next week or two.

Also, the save the dates are finally in (got them yesterday) and we will be putting together the packet and sending them out in the next week. We truly appreciate your patience, but this also took longer than expected.

That's the latest... More to come as we enter the final six months...

Nobody is Perfect

I don't know about you but I had mixed feelings Sunday night during the game as I watched the Patriots quest for perfection end in a last minute loss to the Giants. On one hand, I was rooting to witness history, and on the other, you couldn't help but he sucked into rooting for the overwhelming underdog. As funny as it sounds, I was at odds with myself and it took some of the enjoyment out of the game for me and left a bittersweet taste in my mouth when Eli escaped the clutches of not one Patriot but THREE Patriots and completed that pass. Don't get me wrong, we all screamed and shouted when they scored, and yes, I was happy for Eli, but I am so sick of the damn 72 Dolphins that I was hoping that it would all end Sunday night. Oh well...

By the way, did anyone else see how hammered Shockey looked in his box? I believe Joe Buck said, "Shockey must be worried about his job" (in reference to how well the rookie Boss [I had mis-typed Voss - thanks Gene] has performed in Shockey's absence) when he must have wanted to say, "geez, that guy is loaded!" I mean, did you see all the empty cups around him??

Thus begins the countdown to next season... Thank God MLS starts in 6 weeks...

Bucket List & Macy's

On Saturday night, we joined our friends Dan and Leslie for drinks and an excursion to the Old Town Theatre on King St. to see the Bucket List, starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. If you haven't had a chance to either make it to the Old Town Theatre or to see the Bucket List, I highly recommend both. While the theatre is not quite what you may be expecting in terms of a normal movie theatre, it makes up for its rough edges by the small town feel you get sitting in the rickety seats. I'd say there were about 14 of us in the theatre total (and that might be generous), and after we were lectured by the owner on bringing in outside food and drink, we were able to put our feet up on the ledge, stretch out, and enjoy our wine during what turned out to be a GREAT movie. I'd have to say that Bucket List vaulted into my Top 10 and will make it to our Netflix list so that we can watch it again.

Now Macy's... last night we did our first round of registry selections. So, for those of you who faithfully check this blog and have been looking for your wedding details, this is one of the first bones I've thrown... The registry will be ready in the next week or so as we wrap up what we want online, now that the initial meeting is over. So, continue to check our knot site for updated details on that one. But as fun as it is to scan items that you wouldn't normally buy on your own, there is also something a bit pretentious about asking people to buy you something that again, you wouldn't normally buy on your own. While our friends have all been actively offering advice on what to scan and what not to scan, my personal philosophy has been to ask for things that we KNOW we'll use on a regular basis, and pass up the item if we answer "yes" to the following question: Are we scanning this ONLY because its our one and only chance to ask for it? And you know me... after an hour, I was useless... not to mention that we're both fighting off some kind of sickness which made it even harder to focus for more than an hour.

Anyway, it's nice to have gotten the ball rolling on that part, and for everyone who has been awaiting a "save the date" the order was processed and it's just a matter of getting the final pieces. Once we get those, you can look for yours soon...

Until next time...

Nothing to Say

I thought I would have grand thoughts and strong opinions following the AFC and NFC championship games yesterday, but the Green Bay loss in overtime has left me feeling a little lost for words. I would compare the feeling to breaking up with that girlfriend you had high hopes for, or Christmas Day when you didn't get what you wanted. The expectations were so high for the Packers and everyone had been talking up a Brady versus Favre Super Bowl so much that when Tynes kick went through the upright after the Packers had won the toss in OT I felt so deflated. I am not a Giants fan. They are hot right now, and that's it. But these are the same guys that were embarassed by a backup quarterback IN the Meadowlands in week 16. While they pushed the Patriots farther than any other team this season, I will be rooting for perfection in two weeks and hoping the G-men get throttled.

And for the record, I am not an Eli Manning fan at all. He is no Peyton, and quite frankly I find it hard to be a Manning fan at all. I didn't give them permission to inundate me with their family from all angles. What other family does that? Who gets more airtime as a family? It started with the ESPN commercials, then the DirecTV commercials, then the commercial with Leinart, and now these credit card commercials... It's too much.

Anyway, we have two weeks now to dissect this game every which way, and we'll hear over and over how well the Giants play on the road, that by the time the game comes around I'll be ready for soccer season.

Let's go United!

Funk & Soul

With the Birchmere as close to our house as it is, we decided to take in Isaac Hayes last night for something a little different from what we would normally go and see. I have to say that we were not disappointed, and it was one of the few shows that we've been to in recent memory that was an "experience." And when I say experience, not only was Isaac fantastic, but the crowd was in to it, and his whole band knew how to play to the crowd. I had a smile on my face from the first note until Isaac walked off the stage.

There just doesn't seem to be music like his anymore... full of funk, soul, and emotion. I can only imagine what he must have been like in his prime back in the 60's and 70's. What a life he has lived, and what stories he must have... Who in our day can polarize a community like he could (and probably still does)? Not many musicians... The only person I can think of is Bono. He might be one of the remaining "rockers" who can pull a crowd and community together like Isaac could in the 70's.

Anyway, I wish we had pictures to show, but sadly, they did not allow flash photography last night. But take my word for it... it was a great experience all around, and one I will remember for a long time.

Two Wins

I thought that last weekend was one of the best weekends ever, but if the weekends keep up at the pace they are going, I'm going to have the best year. Unless you've been out of the country, you should have seen Joe Paterno record his 500th win on Saturday night over Texas A&M and the Redskins vault into the playoffs as they whacked the Cowboys 27-6.

Two wins.

Not Sure Which is Cuter...

David_PostGifts
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

... or this one. My Christmas nephew! Such a happy Christmas!

Not Sure Which is Cuter...

Passed Out
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

This one...

Two Boys Fast Asleep

Two Boys Fast Asleep
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

It doesn't really get much better than this on Christmas Eve... A grandfather holding his grandson, fast asleep on the Lazy Boy. Of course, I set him up with the feeding and burping first...

Big Weekend

Where do I begin to retell the weekend that was? Should I start with the big win from the Redskins last night, or should I start with the fact that I welcomed my new nephew home?!? I don't think it really matters either way given that it was a happy and joyous weekend all the way around ranging from dinner with Lauren's family on Saturday night to celebrate the Christmas season, to holding (and feeding) my new nephew for the first time, to wrapping it all up in a Burgundy and Gold bow last night.

After a year of getting to know Lauren's family better over the past year dinner this year was much more fun and much less stressful than last year. Anytime you walk into a room of 20+ people, all of whom want to know everything about you, it gets a little nerve-wracking. But this year, I felt like one of the group and was able to be more of myself. We even got a surprise gift from one of Lauren's cousins... Hopefully I can get a hold of a picture to post.

We then flew home yesterday morning so that we could have lunch with my brother and sister-in-law AND their cute baby boy! Oh, he is as cute as all baby's are... And he's home just in time for the holidays! Though I have to admit that I have always been a little nervous holding babies in front of their parents... But he was a piece of cake the whole time and I even fed and burped him, though Lauren is the pro at burping... Seriously.

Finally, the Skins finally put on two convincing performances in a row rolling over the Vikings last night putting them one win away from making the playoffs. Shockingly, Todd Collins continued his strong showing as a backup moving the skins effectively down the field supported by one of Clinton Portis' best games as a Redskin.  Just a win over Dallas who has nothing to play for will get them in... Whew, what a game that will be.

It doesn't get any better that this at Christmas time...

The Contest Begins

It's that time of year again when the gloves come off and our collaborative teams become combative opponents... No, I'm not talking about fantasy football anymore, though I am still psyched about moving on to the Super Bowl and bitter about getting knocked out of the other league... I digress... I'm talking about the WeatherBug holiday decorations contest!

If you recall, last year while the battle was tight between the Marketing and Product teams, and publicly, the contest was declared a tie, the judges later told us it was a clear victory due to our creativity and the length we went to execute on the theme. However, given all of the effort the Marketing team spent on creating their Winter Wonderland, the felt guilty and awarded them 1st as well.

Well, that supposed "tie" has sat in our stomachs for a whole year and we're out to prove that not only are we more creative, but we are the true winners.

Am I competitive? Maybe.

Stay tuned for pictures of the decorations contest tonight and the piece de resistance tomorrow.

Happy holidays...

Big Wins

Between my 28.5 victory propelling me into the Exit 16 Super Bowl yesterday and a gutsy 22-10 win last night for the Redskins this has to go down as one of the bigger win weekends in recent memory. My 133.5-105 win over the hot $75 was all due to the fact that I got lucky on 2 kickoff returns from the Bucs and me going with my gut to bench Winslow in the snow in favor of Donald Driver in the dome. The Skins meanwhile won thanks to the mettle of their 2nd string QB and the play from their defense. All in all, a big weekend all the way around.

Sets up a big showdown in Minneapolis between the Vikings and Skins next Sunday night and a Clark Super Bowl for the Exit 16 crown. Woo hoo!

Christmas Couple

Christmas Couple
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Did the annual Christmas show at the Kennedy Center last night. This was our pre-show posed photo since we usually are very anxious to get out of our clothes (take that how you will) when we get home.

All in all, dinner was good, the show was great, and we had a lot of fun. The National Symphony Orchestra always put on a great show and get you into the holiday spirit. Last night was no exception.

FFL Holiday Spirit

As you may or may not recall, I started blogging about my fantasy football team a few months back when the regular season started. I participated in two leagues as I usually do and had decent teams in both. The total investment is $175 with the total potential winnings of somewhere around $1,500 assuming you won both leagues.

Well, for the first time in four years, I made the playoffs in both and seemed on my way to winning my first game last weekend when disaster struck on Monday night football. Football night in America. With a 12 point lead going into the final game and my opponent having a WR playing for Atlanta I thought I had it in the bag. And I did, even after he scored a TD in the first quarter to narrow the gap. But for those of you who watched the game - if you remember the last play of the half where 3rd QB throws a hail Mary from the 40 and the New Orleans DB jumps and intercepts the ball though the officials claimed the Atlanta WR had a hand on it as well ended with them awarding a catch to the WR (tie always goes to the offense in that situation). The catch gave the WR 3 more points changing the score to 111-110. The WR didn't touch the ball again that game. And while I could blame the loss on McGahee not doing squat on Sunday night (4 points) that one play will live in my head until next season.

On the bright side, I'm still in the hunt in my other league with my WR Brandon Marshall putting up 15.5 points last night for the Broncos. In the other semi-final, my brother scored well against Lauren's brother which might set up the first brothers only super bowl if all goes well.

Thanks for letting me vent and stay tuned for more crazy hi-jinx and holiday spirit!