Haha 2 in 1 Day

Ok, so I'm already making up for it. Two cool links to share.

One about baseball and one about beer, what else could you want?

Its been a while...

Wow, I can't believe it has been almost a month since I posted anything. Rolling back into town from my Thanksgiving trip to Syracuse and NYC was like the starting gun on the 4 week sprint to the finish for the rest of the semester. But two projects, two presentations, a huge pile of grading, and a cloud of dust later it is over. Overall a pretty good semester. Felt like the work I did this semester was of a pretty good quality, saw some great football, made my first trip to Madison Square Garden, and traveled to enemy territory for one of the fiercest rivalries in the NHL. The last involved a pretty funny - and somewhat sad - story.

A group of us decided to head to Philadelphia for a Penguins v. Flyers game. We were all pretty nervous on the way for a number of reasons. First, the Pens and Flyers are huge divisional rivals, and Philly is out for some revenge this year after getting swept for the season a year ago. Second, Philly fans are notorious for their outrageous behavior - such as cheering when pro football player Michael Irving was laying motionless on the field. Third, we were all decked out to the 10 in Pens gear. To top it all off, we decided to head down early and tailgate for about 2 hours before the game. But the one thing we had on our side was that earlier in the day was a PSU football game against Temple right next door. We got down there about an hour after the football game. We figured there would be plenty of PSU people out tailgating still, as State is notorious for showing up early and leaving late. So we pulled in to the parking lot and loaded out of the car. There was a group of PSU fans about 20 feet away. Now to identify a fellow Stater, you simply have to say the magic words: We Are. If they are true fans, they respond in turn: Penn State. So we get out of the car and my roommate Mike calls to our fellow Lion fans: WE ARE! And their response: "Boooooooo! F&@k the Penguins!" We felt so betrayed. And that was just the beginning of the verbal abuse we would take that night. Lucky for us, the Pens got blown out or we might not have made it back to State College.

Anyways, I digress. Tomorrow I head to NYC - which is always a good time - and then Saturday it's back to the beautiful Rockies for 3 weeks of winter fun. I'll try to post pictures and stories as the break progresses.

See you in a little over 42 hours Maggie and Glacier!

I'll have my Orange courtside

I was lucky enough to score tickets to the Preseason-NIT tournament in Madison Square Garden on Friday night. There were two games on Friday night: Washington v. SYRACUSE in the consolation game and ohio st (boo) v. Texas A&M. Unfortunately the 'Cuse didn't make it happen against ohio st (boo) earlier in the week and so didn't get their chance at redemption for that First Round tourney exit a few years back. Our seats were incredible. Check out my pictures.

Not what I had in mind.

Ok, so the last post was supposed to bring snow to the Rocky Mountains. But I woke up Sunday morning to find this:



It snowed off and on during the day on Sunday and we probably got about 3 inches. However, since the ground hasn't froze yet it has all since melted.

Sorry Mag for taking your snow. But at least the snow superstitions work.

Thinking about snow

Some disconcerting news today out of the 'Boat as I was informed that Opening Day has been pushed back to November 30th. I've been thinking about snow ever since.

So this is a special post for my sister. According to the Internet (which is never wrong) here are some things you can do in the meantime to help bring on the snow:

-- Wear your pajamas inside out.
-- Flush ice cubes down your toilet.
-- Put a spoon under your pillow.
-- Run around the kitchen table five times (maybe run around your snowboard table instead).
-- Hang a wool sock over your bed.
-- Sleep with your window open 1 inch.
-- Run around your house several times, lay down on your back and count to 30.

It might also help if you could fashion some sort of device that could control the weather.

Snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow!

Something funny for something sad

Robert Goulet - American theater, film, television, and film personality - recently passed away. Concerning Mr. Goulet, the New York Times noted - in an article about his passing - that "few articles failed to mention his blue bedroom eyes, and many female fans tossed him room keys during performances." That same thing happens to me all the time.

In rememberence of Mr. Goulet, please enjoy this great SNL skit featuring Will Ferrell.



Quick, staring contest. Me and you, now! You win, you always do. That's why I come up here. Nature, Goulet!

Thanks for the ride

Well apparently the 9 days off and a better equipped team (talent and payroll) were a little too much - OK maybe way too much - for the Rockies to handle. Being that some members of my fam are pretty serious Sox fans, I wasn't too upset seeing Boston capture their second title in the last 4 years. It would have been nice to see the series at least head back to Boston, but I don't think that does anything to diminish what the Rockies did to capture the NL Pennant.

So to the Rockies I say thanks for the wild ride. And to their management I plead for them to keep this great core together and spend wisely over the next few years. There's no reason why we shouldn't be celebrating Rocktober again next year.

Who's hangin' with Big Mo?

Well both MLB baseball, the city of Boston, and several members of my family were finally able to breathe again last night. The Red Sox rolled through the Indians to advance to the World Series. I'm sure Bud the Boss is pretty happy to know that this World Series should be pretty widely watched. You could argue that the Series will feature one of the biggest bandwagon teams around against the biggest bandwagon team this season. So a lot of people should be tuning in.

The way the Red Sox rolled through the Indians after falling down 3-1 got me to thinking about momentum. No one really knows how to describe momentum in relation to sports, but you know it when you see it. You know it when a team blocks a punt and returns it for a touchdown. Or when a someone absolutely posterizes some poor dude on a dunk. You can also tell it in both the Rockies and the Red Sox right now. The Rockies have won 21 out of 22, and needed everyone of the first 14 to even make the playoffs. They rolled through both the Phillies and Diamondbacks, and in my book are on the greatest run ever. The Red Sox completely destroyed the Indians over the last three games of the ALCS. They outscored Cleveland 30-5 in those 3 games.

So who has Big Mo on their side as we head towards game 1 on Wednesday?

Many people would probably argue that - whatever it is - momentum goes away if you don't use it. The Rockies will have not played in 8 days come Wednesday. Will they still be riding this wave of Big Mo? Or is it in the hands of the suddenly surging Red Sox? The Rocks had 4 games off before they faced the D'Backs and that didn't hold them back. The real question for them will be how they respond against a team stocked with post-season experience. Hopefully both ride their collective momentum to a great series. I guess we won't really know until it gets underway. But my guess is that when Matt Holliday puts a hole in the Green Monster in the top of the first inning, we'll know!

Washington, DC

I was in Washington DC yesterday for a wedding reception of sorts. First time in our nationals capital and was able to spend a few hours looking at some of the cool monuments. I'm looking forward to going back - FROZEN FOUR!!! - and checking out some more cool stuff. View my pictures here.


There are also some beer brewing, football, and disc golf pics in there.

One cool thing that I forgot to take some pictures of - mainly because we were running late, was the Solar Decathlon. The Penn State team took 4th in this competition to design and build the best solar powered homes.

Blog Action Day

Thanks to Maggie's suggestion, I quickly jumped on with Blog Action Day to write something about the environment. But the question then became, what should I write about? With over 16,000 blogs all writing about the environment what could I possibly add to the conversation. So I've decided to write about how much I love the environment and landscape that we call home. And I've decided to do it in the only way that I really know how - through the power of haiku's. So here is how my Blog Action Day post will be organized. I've decided to take some of my favorite pictures, which I feel represent a wide range of the environment, and try to write some very introspective and thoughtful haiku's about how I felt when those pictures were taken. Here we go, the picture is followed by the haiku.




sun peaks through dense trees
a morning breeze rustles leaves
the stir wakes me up




lungs burn from steep climb
but stillness reminds you that
now you feel alive



quiet hike broken
as the powerful spring thaw
takes your breath away



you're above the clouds
looking down you feel so small
your role uncertain

Haha, haiku's are good times. Really, for Blog Action Day I'll try to make some more changes in my house to cut back. It seems like a good occasion to think about those kinds of things. I'll be taking many suggestions from this top notch blog. I think the 3 of us do pretty good, but we're ready to step it up. Hell, one of my roommates already faced off against racism. Well not in this particular race, but that statement required a link.

Welcome to Big Time Football

When I made the move from Mountain West powerhouse University of Wyoming to the 11th member of the Big 10, I had prepared myself for everything football related to be bigger, much bigger. Now, I love the Cowboys. I'm typing this post while wearing a Wyoming Football Jersey I just got on eBay cause I had to send Waymon's old jersey back to Wyo. The big news in Cowboy history was beating UCLA 24-21 in thrilling fashion at the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl. But things at Penn State operate at a different level. Pre-season talk around here is about winning the National Championship (the Lions have 2). The recruits here are of a higher caliber. The Pokes have one recruit verbally committed with a rating of 70. Of the 10 verbal commits to Penn State, only 3 have a rating below 70. As I made clear earlier Beaver Stadium is really REALLY big. The coach is Joe freakin Paterno.

However, the off-field issues are also much bigger. Let's review for the folks back home. Since last season ended, Penn State football players (and coaches HAHA) have been involved in the following issues:

Today - Running Back Austin Scott charged with rape, sexual assault, and aggravated indecent assault in connection with an incident last weekend. He was suspended for the Iowa game for a violation of 'team rules.'

Also this week - Head Coach Joe Paterno was involved in some sort of a traffic incident. To me, it seems like it was a pretty hilarious encounter. At least thats the impression I get from the CDT.

Also this week - Several players were reportedly involved in a fight at the Student Union.

Also this week - Two reserve freshmen — punter Ryan Breen and tailback Joe Suhey — were cited by police for underage drinking.

Earlier this season - Tight end Andrew Quarless and backup defensive back Willie Harriott had been suspended by Paterno for a few games after university police cited them for underage drinking.

Last spring - Several players were disciplined after an altercation. Two of the players, safety Anthony Scirrotto and defensive lineman Chris Baker, are scheduled to stand trial in December on related criminal charges. From what I understand, Scirrotto was involved in a fight of some sort, gathered up his boys, and went back for some more. Paterno is currently making the team help clean the stadium after games.

Lets hope the squad can keep their minds on Wisconsin. My final score prediction: 5-3. Winner? Flip a coin. Both teams will get first half field goals and one will get a third quarter safety.

In other news, GO POKES! Let's get it to 5-1 this weekend. Just under 4 hours (10:18 eastern time) till the Rockies start again!

Playoffs - Divisional Round

I have been watching - and blogging about - a lot of baseball lately. But with all these quick series, I'm on baseball withdrawal so I feel the need to blog again. For me, the divisional round made two impressions. First, only one series went past 3 games. This means there are no games till Thursday, thanks to the new schedule based on TV contracts. Only one series clinching game was really all that exciting. The Rockies had three straight hits with two outs to score the go ahead run in the bottom of the eighth. It was a pretty good game. The Cubs and Angels both got beat down, and the Yankees were never really in that fourth game.

But the main impression the Divisional Round made on me can be summed up in 2 words: Frank TV. Now I'm not really sure what Frank TV is going to be about, but TBS is certain that it's going to be awesome. At the beginning and end of every commercial break they ran an ad for Frank TV. I couldn't take it anymore. I commented on this to a friend and he suggested that I send TBS an email. So I did. This is the email that I sent on October 4th:

"I think we are all well aware that you have a new show starting soon called Frank TV. You are going to ruin the playoffs for myself, and millions of other people that are already tired of seeing a John Madden impersonation, if you continue to plug the show at the beginning and end of every commercial break.

I know that you believe that 'more is better', but when all you do is show the same guy in a costume doing an impersonation it gets to be a bit too much.

Please cut back on the Frank TV promos.

Please."

Keep in mind that the playoffs started on October 3rd. If Frank TV turns out to be horrible, you heard it here first.

This site is for me...

A little known fact is that sometimes I think in haiku's. I just came across this cool site. Finally, beer and haiku's together. What a glorious day.

Here is one I just wrote in celebration of moving the IPA we brewed last week into the secondary fermenter:

no more bubbles seen
time to get the carboy clean
we'll cheers this one soon

Rockies Strike Again

How can you not cheer for this team to make a run. More proof that the Rockies are awesome!

What do you think?

Jerry Crasnick has a cool article on ESPN.com discussing the set-up of MLB playoffs. I like the way that the playoffs in baseball are set up. The season is long, and I like that the playoffs - in relation to say the NBA or NHL which have 16 teams - are short. However, I've never known a different system. I'd like to know what people think who have seen MLB playoffs before and after realignment.

Purple Pride

Milestones aside, this baseball season will stand out for me for two reasons: (1) The Mets being 7 up with 17 to play and not even making the playoffs. (2) The Rockies winning 13 of 14 down the stretch to force - and then win - a dramatic one game playoff to win the Wild Card.

The Colorado Rockies have not been around for all that long, making their MLB debut in 1993. They moved in to Coors Field in 1995 and have been there ever since. With the Rocks making only their second playoff appearance (first being 1995), the Purple Pride Bandwagon is pretty jam packed. It was definitely great to see Coors Field packed towards the end of the season as the Rocks stormed to the playoffs. It also reminded me of some of the not-so-great displays of baseball I witnessed at Coors Field during the numerous Rockies games I attended while at UW (I think my Mom and Dad probably remember the 26-4 (?) debacle we witnessed from the Rock Pile one year). Let me also note that Coors Field is an place to watch a ball game - and you can buy a game ticket for less than a beer!

While this may be hard to believe, I became a Rockies fan while most people were staying home during some tough years. I had watched the Rockies make several efforts to put together a team that could compete in the National League. After the Mike Hampton/Denny Nagel disaster in Denver, the Rockies were basically forced (poor attendance wouldn't allow them to pay big names and a depleted farm system provided few answers) to start over.

Around this same time I started to become disenchanted with baseball in general. While baseball is - without a doubt - my favorite sport, we've had some hard times in recent years. It started in 1994 with the strike. Baseball seamed to bounce back, but we had apparently become firmly entrenched in the steroid era. While the home run has always been part of the game, the increased power numbers didn't make me a bigger fan. It made me long for small ball. To most, it probably isn't exciting to see someone lead off with a single, get bunted to second, and score on a base hit. But that's what I love about baseball, all of the complex strategy. In the end, however, it was the lack of a salary cap that really threatened my relationship with baseball. Over the past couple of years I got really disgusted by big market teams throwing money all over the place while most small market teams struggled pay emerging young talent.

And this is where the Rockies come in. Over the course of the last 3-4 years I've watched the Rockies young talent start to develop. And during the last month it all came together. After last season I had a lot of conversations with people about the possibility of the Rockies parting ways with Todd Helton. My typical response was something like this, "I'd really like to see him have an opportunity to play in the post season, but I don't think it is quite the Rockies' time so maybe they should trade him for more young talent." Well the move never happened and nothing made me happier than Helton's career defining home run last night.

Now we can only hope that the Rockies can hold on to some of their talent and compete for the NL West Crown for years to come! And no, replay does not belong in baseball.

GO ROCKIES!!!

What a finish!!!

Go Rockies!!!

(I don't think Holliday touched the plate, but that makes up for the missed home-run call.)


Bring on the Phillies!

Gives me a headache...

All of the possible baseball scenarios are CRAZY! I can hardly follow all of the possible scenarios with only 1 game left. Here is a good NL link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21054345/

I'm not quite sure they have it all covered. AL is playing for home field, also important, but far less confusing (head-to-head records).

It's gonna be a crazy day.

Happy Birthday!

Happy early birthday to my mom - the breadmaker!

You're the best! Thanks for the recent shipment of bread and chocolate.

Tour de Banned

"I'm innocent and we proved I'm innocent"

That was the quote by Floyd Landis after the ruling that he would be banned and forced to give up his Tour victory. I guess that the arbitrators were not quite as convinced.

He still has the opportunity to file an appeal...I just hope he goes away.

Catching up...

So Lori requested my input on the crazy catch from last weekends Penn State game. First let me mention that my cousins Todd and Jeff came down for Buffalo for the game. I wouldn't let them cheer for UB in the Penn State student section, but I did let Jeff have his moment when UB took the early 3-0 lead.

The Jordan Norwood - local kid by the way - catch was pretty crazy and I'm still a little skeptical of if he really caught it. I didn't get a great view from my seat and I'll tell you why. Sometimes our quarterback - Anthony Morelli - makes some really bad decisions with the ball. Worse than most quarterbacks. So when he normally lets go of the ball, the student section takes a collective gasp. When he makes a bad decision, the crowd really gets on him. On that throw that Norwood 'caught' I was somewhat distracted by all the funny Morelli shots that I heard around me. I can just remember everyone going from a "what was that" look to celebrating the touchdown. Pretty funny.



I've been meaning to write about the Rockies for a while. They are hanging tough and it is mainly because of - wait for it - the best and most under-rated 'under the radar' player in the league. While Matt Holliday had a little bit of a coming out party at the All-Star game this year, he is not getting the street cred for the incredible numbers he has been putting up. Let's take a look:

Batting Average - .339
Home Runs - 35
RBIs - 127
Runs - 110

That would be first in the NL in batting average and RBIs and fourth in home runs. He's sniffing around a Triple Crown! I raise the beer I'm about to grab out of the fridge to Matt Holliday! And the Rocks are hanging around the Wild Card race, but they're gonna need to be hot down the stretch.

Let's hope the Pokes can turn it around this weekend as the travel closer to me to take on University of Ohio. There isn't much of a chance of me waking up Friday morning and trying to go to the game, but there is a small one!

GO POKES!

Sam Bowie 2.0

I'm sitting here watching the Portland Trailblazers News Conference about Greg Oden missing the entire upcoming season after having microfacture surgery. The Sports Guy has a post comparing this situation to the Sam Bowie pick over MJ. Good thing the Blazers took the safe pick with Oden.

The funniest thing I've heard so far:

"We're lucky to have a player who cares about the organization this much."

The team general manager said this when he remarked that Oden was so upset about missing the entire season. I think that I would rather have someone like Allen Iverson ("We're talking about practice? Not a game, practice") out there on the court than someone who really cares about the organization sitting out the whole year. And, there is no given on the comeback from this type of surgery. It took Amare Stoudemire like 2 years to really recover from this surgery. If Durant develops a fade away jumper and goes on the rule the league, we're all gonna be feeling a strange sense of deja vu in about 20 years.

Ok, someone just asked the general manager how the surgery went. His response was something along these lines:

"If there is a silver lining, his knees look good cartilage wise, he's young, there wasn't a lot of flaking, it was as clean as they had seen."

Trust me Portland, there is no silver lining on this one. Not when your future franchise guy goes in for cartilage surgery and ends up having micro fracture surgery.

One last thought. Zach Randolph and Darius Miles both had the same surgery. What's in the water in Portland?

Top 5 Sporting Events

Since last weekends Penn State v. Notre Dame game I've been thinking a lot about this. So my challenge to you, name the Top 5 sporting events that you have seen - IN PERSON. These can be at any level. However, they can only be one game. You can't name a tournament of some sort, you must pick a particular game. Here are my 5:

5. 2 Rows behind the penalty box for the Avs v. Tampa Bay Lightning
4. Penn State taking down Notre Dame in front of the second biggest crowd at Beaver Stadium (and everyone in white)
3. The 2007 Frozen Four Championship Game
2. Wyoming beating UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl
1. Syracuse beating Kansas in the Regional Finals of the 1996 NCAA tournament.

Ankiel Update

I've been meaning to post a Rick Ankiel update since I first posted about his comeback. So here has what has been happening lately for the comeback kid:

In 29 games with the Cardinals, Ankiel is batting .301, with 29 RBIs and 9 HRs. He also has 3 outfield assists.

However, the big news with Ankiel was the story that he received shipments of human growth hormone in 2004. Personally, since we live in a time that every athlete that accomplishes anything is automatically under a scrutiny of suspicion, what Ankiel has accomplished this year is in no way lessoned by this story.

I still want his jersey! And I hope he makes the Opening Day roster next year, as it looks like the defending champs have fallen out of the NL Central race.

Sorry Charlie

Check out my pictures from the Penn State game yesterday. Here is one of my favorites:



It was the most intense thing I have ever witnessed. The crowd was so crazy. My friend Anna - a UW grad now living in Virginia Beach - bought a ticket and came up for the game. It was cool to be able to share the insanity that is a Penn State game.

The only downside was that I had to play a flag football game this morning and was not in the best condition. However, I did take our first offensive play to the house on a 60 yard catch and run...barely! I was looking for the oxygen after that one! Much like Penn State, our team put up a dominating performance today. With the Pokes victory it was another good football weekend. Can somebody get me a Horns update?

110,078

The announced attendance at the Penn State v. Notre Dame game was 110,078. The second largest crowd in the history of Beaver Stadium.

Little Jimmy Clausen couldn't handle the crowd. I took a gang of pictures that I'll post later on.

GO POKES!!!! 2-0

515,004 vs. 107,678

Curse or no curse, this past weekend brought about the start of one of my favorite sports. The first full weekend of college football ranks pretty high on my list of anticipated season starts. Opening day in baseball is probably at the top, but then college football is tied with a host of other season openings (hockey, college basketball, NFL, and I still really enjoy the Tour even if everyone in the field cheats). But this particular weekend was probably the best college football opening I have ever had.

First of all, the Cowboys put the hammer to Virginia and avenged the heartbreaking loss of a year ago. And even better, I was able to watch about 2/3 of the game, as it was on Versus. One of the pros of having a few roommates is that we can afford digital cable. This really makes me look forward to the start of hockey. But anyways, the Pokes looked pretty good to me. The Virginia offense could not get anything going. GO POKES!

Then tiny Appalachian State goes in to the Big House (biggest stadium in the country) and stuns the world. Watching the previews of that tiny little quarterback running all over the field was pretty cool. And I loved knowing that all my friends who are Michigan fans were hiding in shame from that loss.

But the biggest shock to my college football system came from attending the Penn State v. Florida International game on Saturday. Now, State was favored by almost 40, so it seemed the only question to be answered was: Will there be a fight? FIU is infamously known for their brawl with the Hurricanes last year. But there was none of that to be had, as I believe the final score was 59-0.



I still don't think I've come to terms with the size of Beaver Stadium. Let me put it in perspective. The "official capacity" of Beaver Stadium is 107,282; the 6th largest stadium in the WORLD. The announced attendance for the game I attended was 107,678. The estimated 2006 population of the State of Wyoming was 515,004. First in our hearts, but last of the 50 States in terms of population. The two largest cities in Wyoming are Cheyenne (55,314) and Casper (52,089). The combined total of those cities is 107,403. There were 275 more people at the Penn State game Saturday than in the two largest cities in Wyoming, combined.



It was intense. And with Notre Dame coming - and tickets going for upwards of $500 - next weekend promises to be just as intense.

Here is the curse update: my computer is now up and running - with a lot of stuff yet to be replaced; my car is scheduled to go in tomorrow (I think it is the trunk cable); I got some new sunglasses; but my TV is breaking. I guess that is what I get for buying the display model. We're not out of this yet!

Unfortunate development...

Well I talked to the computer guy this morning and the news was not good. My hard drive was damaged beyond repair and so this morning had to buy a new hard drive ($70) and a Windows software upgrade ($70).

And everything is gone....

Something must have happened to me to start this recent curse of bad luck...and I need to figure out what to do to turn it around.

A hiatus of sorts...

Blogging will be sparse for the time being as something happened - something that seems pretty bad right now - to my computer while I was camping this weekend.

McAwesome's Old Ale House

Last weekend in NYC was the American Sociological Association Annual Conference. While I did not have anything to present - or was even registered - I thought it would be fun to cruise up to the city and check it out...but it was mainly an excuse to take a trip to NYC. It was a pretty great time.

One funny story before other details about the trip. When I was in Denver a few weeks ago I lost my debit card - for like the 5th or 6th time - and thus had to order a new one. Well it hasn't come in yet. No worries, I thought, I'll just go to the bank before it closes and get cash for the trip. Well, being kind of a slacker, I didn't make it to the bank Saturday before it closed. No worries, I thought, I'll just take my credit card and it will be all good. I didn't make it on the road until Sunday morning. Somewhere in Eastern PA I realized - OH SHIT! I forgot my credit card! So here I was, $35 in my pocket, no debit or credit card, traveling to possibly the most expensive place on the planet. Well, Jack was able to save the day and loan me cash while I was there, so that crisis was averted. I'm not sure you can have much fun in NYC on $35, especially when they charge you $6 just to cross the George Washington Bridge.

After that minor crisis the rest of the trip was really fun. I spent a little time at the conference, and most of the time at various bars drinking heavily (What a surprise!). By far, the best bar we visited on the trip was McSorely's Old Ale House, the longest continuously running bar in NYC and possibly the country (it didn't shut down during prohibition). And it is probably the coolest and funnest bar I have ever been to.
At McSorely's you have 2 drink choices - McSorely's Light Ale or McSorely's Dark Ale - and you always order in combination. For example, my good friend Andrew - the infamous 'Lindno guy' - and I (who were there for about an hour before the rest of crew arrived) ordered 3 & 3 for most of the night. As pictured above, it was pretty awesome every time the new order came - and orders were coming in all night at McSorely's.


Once our full crew arrived the night basically turned to nonsense. The guy standing was our waiter, and seated is myself, Jason, Jo and a couple of her friends. All told, our table ordered 46 beers, but because McSorely's is totally awesome the tab barely broke $100. With the additional 8 that Andrew and I ordered before we got a table, that puts the grand total at 54 beers. Now it should be noted that I would guess that 2 McSorely's are probably the equivalent of a little more than a pint. Had we been somewhere else the damage would have been much worse. Between all of the old historical crap on the walls - most of which has probably never been cleaned - and the sawdust on the floor McSorely's is a great bar and my new favorite part of NYC. Plus it was a great atmosphere, and I almost forgot I was in entrenched in the city with the most assholes per square mile in the world. Everyone there just waned to drink and have a great time. And the great crew we had that night made it even better!

After McSorely's and a piece of - at the particular time - the greatest piece of pizza ever, I was hoping for an easy subway ride back up to Washington Heights. Unfortunately, the A train apparently stops at 168th when it gets late, so I was forced to walk the last 20+ blocks back to Jack's. The next morning I awoke sore, hungover, and basically feeling like there had been small men kicking my body while I slept (perhaps the Underpants Nomes, but I still had my underpants so I'm not sure). I knew it was time to go home.

You won this round NYC, but I'll be back!

The Comeback Kid

Baseball is easily my favorite sport. I love pretty much everything about it, and I love the great baseball stories. Last night Rick Ankiel added a chapter to baseball lore.

I can remember watching the playoff game against the Braves when Ankiel just completely lost his stuff. It was a really sad story because he was so young and seemed to have such a promising career ahead of him. As the linked Wikipedia article documents, Ankiel made a few unsuccessful attempts to return to The Show as a pitcher. Then a few years back he decided to switch to the outfield. I became an instant fan and was really hoping to see Ankiel roaming the Cardinal outfield someday. Well that someday was last night. And not only did Ankiel return, but he blasted a 3-run homerun in his first professional game as an outfielder. I got goosebumps just typing about it!

The only sad part of this story is that it took a drug problem by Scott Spiezio for Ankiel to get his second chance.

The Top 5

Now things really get hard. Number 5 was really a part of many other moments on the list, but he deserves his own spot.

#5 - Glacier the Dog



Glacier and I first became friends on the drive from Denver to Steamboat over Christmas break last year. He was just a young pup back then and decided to cuddle up for the majority of the trip. We've been friends ever since. This particular pic was on my first day in Steamboat at the river behind Maggie's house. I miss having Glacier bring me something to show off every morning.

#4 - Beer Tasting Party



We obviously like to start 'em young in Meeteetse, and the first Gary Brew Tasting Party was no exception. This idea came together at the last minute, and it was a great success. The food was great, the tasting glasses were awesome, and the beer was INCREDIBLE.

And the night was capped off with a Warner sibling trip down to the Cowboy Bar. Well, our original destination was the Elkhorn, but they were closed by 9:30 on Friday night. Taking over the bar is just how we roll...



#3 - Rockies Game



I love Coors Field, so was thrilled to be able to attend a Rockies game while I was back. The only down side was that Maggie couldn't go; and our seats were horrible. But it was still a lot of fun. The Rockies made a furious late rally - thanks to 2 8th inning home runs - which meant that my original plans to drive back to Laramie were replaced by staying in Denver and drinking heavily.

And what trip to Denver would be complete without a stop at Flying Dog Brewery? I'd been looking forward to a stop by there since Dad and I went to the Avs game over Christmas. And we had a great crew for the brewery and the game.



#2 - The Glacier Party



I had meant to take a bunch of pictures at the Glacier Party, but for some reason never got around to it. Oh wait, I know why...it probably had something to do with the 16 gallons of Glacier Beer that consumed my attention. So a picture of the party mascot will do here. The party was awesome. I felt like someone needed to be graduating for such a great party. Can't wait till next year!

And finally......

#1 - Gilpin Lake



I guess that only Maggie will know why this is #1 on the list. But when you stand at the crystal clear and calm Gilpin Lake you know why it tops the list. She had told me about this hike a few weeks before I went out there and I was really excited about it. There are a ton of pics on picasa of this hike. I can't really describe how cool it is up there. But even on top of that, I can't describe how proud I was of Maggie for dominating the last uphill portion of the hike! I can't wait to get back out there and hike the longer loop, which promised to hold even more spectacular views.

Well there it is. It was pretty hard to pick just 10 things from the trip to put in a Top 10. There are plenty of things that got left out, and many more that probably aren't blog appropriate. I miss everyone and can't wait till Christmas!

Let the debate begin....#6-10

No, not the debate about Barry Bonds. Although I will comment on something interesting I heard while watching the game last night. The pitcher who served up #756 - Mike Bacsik Jr. - had a father who was also a major league pitcher. Some time back, the Sr. Bacsik squared off against one Hammering Hank Aaron, who at the time was sitting at 755 career home runs. It would have been cool if Mike Sr. had given up 756 to Hank and then have Jr. serve up the same to Barry. On top of that, history will also remember that Bonds hit #755 off of a pitcher - Clay Hensley - who was previously suspended for using a banned substance. What a crazy game!!!

But the real debate will center around the ranking of the Top 10 moments from the trip. Really I can think of about 20 things that would all be tied for 1st, but what fun would that be? Just a warning, this will be long which is why it will be 2 posts. So here we go....

#10 - Weekend fun in Laramie



It was really great to spend a weekend in Laramie with a bunch of my friends who are still there - either working or still going to school. Plus some of my other friends were also there that weekend. Good times were had by all. I really miss my friends from UW quite a bit.

#9 - The Ride to Red Lodge



This is just a great ride to take anytime, but it is even better when you know that Sam's Tap Room is your destination. I'd forgot that I was wearing a Sid the Kid shirt that day when I said to my dad, "Hey take my pic, I'm gonna do one of those stare into the distance looks." Maybe I should email it to Sid's people...looks a good piece of advertising.

#8 - The Wood River



Now even though it rained for a large part of my time in Meeteetse, that didn't stop us from making several trips up the Wood River; which is one of my all time favorite places to hang out. Going back to high school, I've always loved just cruising up there because you'll never know what you'll see. The steam off the river on this day was really cool.

#7 - The Warner Jeep



When the sun finally came out in Meeteetse, it was time to take the Jeep up the Wood River, which combines 2 of my favorite things: the Wood and the Jeep. When Zack and I stopped at the campground for a little driving break I noted that "the Jeep is looking really fierce right now, let's take an action shot." The Jeep thought it was a great idea.

#6 - The Food



As always, the food for the trip was spectacular. From the pie and various good eats at Maggie's (I still think about that salsa!), to the amazing food in Meeteetse. I almost freaked out when I saw that huge pile of spicy noodles.

And how can we forget, the Triple B...



That would be Blueberry, Bacon, Beer Pancakes; made of course with homebrewed maple wheat and topped with high quality maple syrup. I skipped golf to have these pancakes, and it was worth it.

Tune in to the next post for the rest of the top 10.

There is now an "I" in Warner

How could you not cheer for a guy who is one misplaced vowel from being family...check out his prize.

From ESPN

Coming soon...

It has been requested that I make a 10 ten list from my recent trip. However, I still do not have the Internet at my new place. So it will be coming soon. I also have to figure out what were my best 10 moments from the trip...there we so many!

Pictures

Ok, I uploaded pictures from my trip. There are 3 separate - but equal - albums.

Adding Weather

So a few people wanted to know how to add the weather link...

First, go to the AccuWeater Download Center

One of the options should be "Free Weather for Your Site or Blog." Click on the "Free Sign Up" link. You'll get to a screen where you enter the basic set-up (units, language, and location). Next you'll be able to choose the size, category and theme. The size on my blog is 180 x 150, but there are a lot of size options here. Once you do this and agree to terms/conditions, you'll reach a screen where you can copy and paste the web site code. Copy the code.

Next, go to the Add/Arrange page elements of your blog editor. You want to "Add a Page Element", and this will open a new window. Select the "HTML/Java Script" option. Paste in the copied web site code, save the changes, and you should be all good.

Hope the directions work...

Everything you need to know...

I was browsing through the Internet today and came across a site that gives "Statistics, Articles and Analysis for U.S. Cities and Towns,"

So naturally, I had to look up Meeteetse. Check it out:

http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/wyoming/meeteetse

It is a little dated, but my favorite part is the projected growth/decline for 2000-2005. The estimated decline for Meeteetse for those 5 years was 4 people.

Awesome...

Catching up...

Ok, so there has been a lot going on lately that I haven't written about. So this is kind of a catch-up post.

Last Friday - I guess two Fridays ago now - I took a little trip to the NYC to catch a Yankees game. I got a call a few days before from family friend Jack who said he had an extra ticket. So I hoped in the Corolla and cruised up to the big city. There was so much interstate construction in Eastern Pennsylvania that I spent most of the trip consulting the atlas trying to figure out ways around. I took a couple of small detours on both trips, but don't really know if they saved me any time. But it was certainly better than being stuck in deadlock on the interstate.

The seats at the Yankee game - as shown in the following pic - were really good. The Yankees won 2-1.



Here is another good pic as evening set in over the Bronx.



After the quick trip to the big city, it was time for 4th of July. As my other posts displayed, State College puts on quite a party for the 4th. Upwards of 70,000 people come to town for the events, with the highlight being the all volunteer fireworks show - hands down the best fireworks display I've ever seen. The whole area around the basketball arena and football stadiums are used carnival style, with lots of good - and horrible for you - food to sample. The weather was pretty crappy all day, and we all got rained on more than once. But you can't have a bad time when looking forward to a 45 minute fireworks display.

The day started, however, with the State College Spikes treating us to a horrible display of baseball. The Spikes are a short season Single A affiliate of the Pirates, and they looked like it on the 4th. They committed 3 errors in the first 2 innings. However, they did rally and were able to win with a bases loaded hit by pitch in the 10th. Here are the Spikes celebrating their hard fought - and really anti-climatic - victory.



The 4th was a good time for all of us. Even though Lil Turner had to stay home during the day, I definitely didn't forget about him, and neither did the Spikes. All fans were treated with a free mini flag at the baseball game. Turner was really looking forward to this because he has told me repeatedly that, "No ballpark is complete without an American flag." So he was pretty happy when one of the flags actually made it through the day.



Well that's enough catching up for now. About a week and a half of hard work and I'll be making my way back across the country for some good ole' western fun!

More 4th Fest

By popular demand, here are a few more vids of the State College 4th Fest. Notice the big ball of fire at the beginning of the first video. This was the last of about 5 huge balls of fire that were part of the ground show.



Here is one more....

Fire in the sky

So I didn't get a free VIP ticket, but at least we didn't get rained out on the 4th of July. I did end up finding a very good free spot. Here is a little taste of the grand finale:



More to follow on 4th Fest.

State College 4th Fest

Ok, here is the deal. The people of State College love their 4th of July. And they like to cap it off with one of the most spectacular fireworks displays around. For those of you that don't know, I'm a pretty big fan of fireworks. Here is some details from the website:

"Close to 11,000 shells are shot during the 45-minute show. The grand finale features over 40 shells a second.....The 4th Fest is the largest all volunteer fireworks display in the nation.The Wall Street Journal ranked the State College show as one of the Ten Largest Displays in the United States in 1999. The Travel Channel and Discovery.com ranked the show #4 In The World in 2000!"


Last year I watched them from the roof of a parking garage in downtown State College. After the viewing I decided that I needed to be much, much closer for this years festivities.

Then I discovered the VIP seating. For $25 you can sit in a special section that includes a view of the coordinated ground show that not many people get to see. Now, 25 bones seems a little pricey for me. So I'm on a quest over the next few days to somehow, someway find a free VIP ticket to the fireworks.

And I need suggestions on all of the ways to increase my chances of getting one....so let's have 'em.

Lil' Turner

The State College Spikes - our fine Pirates A affiliate and member of the New York Penn League - had probably the greatest promotion ever at last Saturday's home game. To celebrate our new skipper - and former Pirates outfielder - Turner Ward, the Spikes brass decided that a bobblehead was in order. I know, this itself is great news. However, the Spikes decided to kick raise the ante on bobblehead promotions everywhere by designing a bobblehead to commemorate Turner's legendary catch at Three Rivers Stadium.

So let me introduce Lil' Turner....

Lil' Turner was not too pleased that this was the best shot of him that I got at the game, and wouldn't stop belly-aching until I assured him I would post some more later on. But I think that you can get the idea. Notice the door on the outfield wall that actually swings open and shut. And if you don't know why this is a totally awesome bobblehead than you obviously didn't follow the link for Big Turner's catch.

More to follow on Lil' Turner

One of my favorite artists - David Berkeley - has a new website. Check it out:

http://www.davidberkeley.com

Happy Birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday to my little sis Maggie!

At least I mailed your present on the right day....you should be thankful for that. Judging on how long it takes something to get to the west, your gift and I should arrive on about the same day!

Thanks for convincing me to try snowboarding...and being my source of strength!

birthday shout out

Just wanted to wish my pops a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Three of the things that I enjoy most in life were passed along to me by Pa Warner: baseball, hockey, and beer (don't ask me to pick an order).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

drink it up before it goes bad

i just noticed when i took a drink from my bottle of water that there is a 'best by' date on it. i wonder what exactly happens to the water after it "goes bad." mold?

if you were stranded on a desert island - that didn't have a renewable source of fresh water - and a bottle of water washed up on shore, would you drink it even if it was well past its expiration date? i'm talking a bottle of water from the mid 1990s that had been floating around for some time. i guess i would probably take my chances.

Boys of summer

Took a little day trip to Pittsburgh yesterday to take in my first Pirates game at beautiful PNC Park. And for my first game of the season, it was really exciting. Here is a pic of our crew before the game started.

PNC Park is a really cool stadium. You'll often hear people say that they like a place because "there are no bad seats." At PNC this really is the case. Officially, the park can hold 38,496; however, it seems much smaller than this. I think it is because there are not many seats in the outfield. As the picture below shows, it really opens up nicely for views of downtown Pittsburgh.

And it is pretty cheap to catch a game. For $26, we sat in the 4th row of an outfield box. I was - as I am at every ball game I go to - certain I would catch a foul ball, but, as always, it didn't happen. Here is one of the view from our seats. Like I said, very good view from here.

And once night falls, the views are even better, as the following pic demonstrates.

The game itself was really exciting. Derek Lowe took a no hitter into the 7th inning before almost giving back all 5 runs the Dodgers had built up for him. After the first 5 innings I was starting to get pretty convinced that he might do it because he was rolling through the Pirates line-up. The defense behind him was both really good and really bad at times. Rafael Furcal made an incredible play on a ground ball up the middle to keep the no hitter alive in the 6th, I believe. The third baseman, however, was of no help; as he had 2 throwing errors in the same inning. The Pirates made a furious comeback, but fell a little short. They had men on the corners with nobody out in the 9th down by 2 runs, but could only get one across.

The only down side of the game was this guy:

A few times early on in the game he tried to get the "Lets Go Bucs" chant going, but nobody around us was all that interested. So it seemed he had let it go. But once the Pirates started their rally, he was back at it with a furry. I would say that for every Buccos batter from the 7th inning on he would yell: Lets....Go...Bucs. And I mean every single batter, and he would pump up the volume a little bit right before each pitch. But it was a little slower than it should be. When they tried to get the "Lets Go Bucs" chant going using the sound system, he couldn't quite keep up with everyone else. His wife tried to get him to stop a few times, but he wasn't having any of that. His voice is ingrained in my mind and I'm not sure it's going anywhere anytime soon.

But even with "Lets Go Bucs" guy trying to make me go crazy, it was a really good time and I can't wait to go again.

Some Memorial Weekend Hiking

We had some pretty great weather around here for Memorial Weekend. I decided that I needed to take advantage of it and get a little hiking in. So I picked a few hikes out of 50 Hikes in Central Pennsylvania and did one on Friday and another on Sunday.

Friday I hiked Jackson Trail, which is just south of Pine Grove Mills and only about 15 minutes from my apartment. I did a 7 mile loop which consisted of about 3 miles on Jackson Trail, 3 on Mid State Trail, and the last mile straight up to the top of a ridge on Pine Grove Trail. Jackson Trail is a ridge hike that gives some pretty nice views, especially to the south. Besides the extremely rocky trail and the tough uphill ending, it is a nice hike. As I was descending the ridge on Mid State Trail I got a little nervous about the hike back up. And it was a pretty steep climb; I was glad when I started to hear cars on the highway as I got close to the top. It was a little hazy on the day I went, but on a clear day this would be a pretty cool place to go and hang out for a little while if one didn't want to do the whole loop.

On Sunday I drove about 25 miles and hiked around Cherry Run Gamelands. The 50 Hikes book outlined a 10 mile loop, but made it seem like a fairly easy 10 miles. The trail starts by following a mountain stream (Bear Run) for about 4 miles. This knocks out the uphill portion and there are no difficult claims here. About half way through is a wildlife clearing and then a maintenance road that descends till Cherry Run. The trail follows this stream back at your car. The trail begins and ends at slightly different places, so you hike the first half a mile along a paved county road until reaching Bear Run. But you end right at your car, which is nice. As I was about a half mile from the end it started to POUR. That made me really glad I parked where I did and started with the road, rather than ending that way. This was a pretty nice, easy hike that I think would be pretty fun to mountain bike. The only downside is there isn't much for views, as most of the hike is through some pretty thick forest.

I put an album of the pics on took on Picasa.

EVERYONE is concerned

The price for a gallon of gas has hovered around $3 here in State College for a while. With the upcoming Memorial Holiday the price is likely to increase with all of the extra travel. So, like most parts of the country, people here are pretty concerned about the price hike for gas.

But I didn't realize how many people were concerned around here until I was I walking out of the gym yesterday and overheard a conversation between two girls about how expensive gas was around here. Now normally this wouldn't be a conversation that I would find surprising. However, I don't think that either of the two girls had reached double digits in age. Shouldn't they be more concerned about........well I don't really know what they would be concerned about. Maybe unicorns and tea parties, but definitely not the price of gas.

It all reminded me of a very funny comment made by a US Appeals Court Judge in a trademarks case I read for a class last semester. Circuit Judge Frank (in Triangle Publications v. Rohrlich) said: "As neither the trial judge nor any member of this court is (or resembles) a teen-age girl or the mother or sister of such a girl, our judicial notice apparatus will not work well unless we feed it with information directly obtained from "teen-agers" or from their female relatives accustomed to shop for them."

While I am not, nor have I ever been, an 8 year old girl, I would think they have better things to worry about than the price of gas.

when will it stop?

I awoke this morning to find another dead baby bird. The smell of death lingers all around right now - or maybe that is the stench of the new Spiderman movie. I'm not sure, I can't separate the two.

The whole tragedy inspired me to write a haiku....

you lived by my door
but you'll never get to fly
now you chirp to god

bird update

Not a good day for my new neighbors. I'm not sure what happened - maybe the strong wind we had today - but there are two little piles of dead baby bird outside my door. Very sad.....

No word on memorial services.

the birds and the beers

I know that I have been slacking some on the posts lately. But in my defense, the last stretch of the semester was really busy....I'm thinking the words 'intellectual chaos' are an appropriate fit. But that's really no excuse. So here are a few small updates.

Batch #2 was brewed on Sunday. Thanks go to The Beermaker for passing on a recipe for a pale ale. As such, naming rights are reserved for said Beermaker, so you might want to do a little brainstorming. I'm a fan of alliteration when it comes to names, so keep that in mind. We were very pleased with how the first batch turned out, so hopefully this one won't be a step in the wrong direction. One of the things that I really like about the brewing is that my apartment smells like a brewery for a few days afterwards. There is something so aromatically pleasing about the balance of sweet malted barely and strong bitter hops. I guess it is also the memories that it stirs - of the countless times our house back home had that same smell and all the good times that I've had in breweries. But is it really possible to have a bad time somewhere that beer is made?

I've also recently welcomed some new neighbors. For all that haven't been to State College and thus my place, I live at ground level and have a little patio area out back, and there is a balcony above. I had noticed a bird flying around there quite a bit lately. This morning when I went out to have some breakfast in the beloved rocking chair that I found on the side of the road in Laramie, I understood why there had been so much recent bird activity - a new family had arrived. The little guys have been chirping all day. Lucky for them I can't hear it - at least yet - when I'm inside. Maybe I can talk them in to contributing to the rent a little bit during their stay. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a very good picture. You can kind of see the momma bird in the top of the hole, but only if you know - like I do - that she's there. And I only know because as soon as the flash went off she came screaming out of there.

And I can't end without a late shoutout to my great mom. Happy mothers day to Ma Warner! Sorry mom, I forgot to mail your present again today....you might have it by your birthday.

some demon magic....

These david blaine street magic spoofs (original and sequel) may be the funniest thing I've seen...some serious competition for charlie.

Thanks to the numerous people who pointed these vids out. The folks back home should get a kick out of them.

No gel for you!

Iran recently baned Western haircuts and eyebrow plucking for men. I wonder what they consider a "Western haircut?" Does the mullet count? What might happen if you walked into a barber shop in Tehran, sat down in the chair and confidently asked for business in the front and party in the back?

In other news, for those of you that didn't know, the first batch of homebrews is disappearing fast. Between splitting it with co-brewmaster Houle and wanting everyone in State College to try one, it is starting to seem unlikely that there will be any left over to crack during the next brew session. We were lucky to come away with a good beer this time being that the instructional video by Midwest Supplies noted the necessary first step to brewing is having a homebrew. My idea to keep a few around till then is to put a couple "somewhere I'll be able to find them later" as this ensures I won't be able to find them for a while. Last week I was sure that I lost my debit card. I called PNC to order a new one - a $7.50 replacement fee - sure it was gone. When they asked if I wanted the option of waiting a few days to see if it would turn up I told them it didn't seem like much use and to go ahead and send out a new one. Sure enough, the next morning the card 'appeared' in the pocket of my jeans.

Oh well...one final note about the beer. We decided to call the first batch the 'Branch Campus Bitter' in honor of our good friend Phil who made a hilarious comment - that I can't seem to remember - about branch campuses during a Super Bowl commercial. The branch campus is a foreign idea to people from Wyo, as we only have UW and a handful of community colleges. But Penn State seems to have them everywhere. I think there is one under the sink in my bathroom.

Backing down from a bad idea

I don't know how many people have been following the debate over constructing walls around Sunni neighborhoods in Iraq. There has been quite a bit of other domestic news over the last week to distract attention from the 'war.' But that doesn't mean it has gone away - over 170 people were killed in Baghdad on the same day as the shootings at VT.

I don't know how we can continue to claim that there are not major civil issues in Iraq and then suggest building walls to keep Sunni's separate from Shiite's. If this is the best idea we can come up with, what does that say for the prospects of a stable Iraq?

On a side note, it completely blows my mind that over 70,000 people turned out to watch Penn State v. Penn State spring football last weekend. It would take 3 regular season Wyo games to total that many fans.

Hope everyone had a great Earth Day!

in the aftermath...

I guess that there isn't much I can say about Virginia Tech that hasn't already been blogged, written in an OpEd, or put on a newsite. Like a lot of people I was glued to coverage - mainly through the Internet. Between what happened at Virginia Tech and a thread about the struggles of ex-cons on chris uggen's blog (see 'keep hanging on'), it was a somber stretch this week.

One thing that I really don't understand in the aftermath of the shootings at VT are calls for the relaxation of gun laws. Is this really the best way to prevent incidents like this in the future? The logic behind it just seems so backwards. I understand that had more people had guns in the classrooms than it is possible that things would have turned out differently. But is it really plausible to try and prevent things like this by arming everybody? Would you really feel safer this way? More guns are not going to lead to fewer deaths. Imagine what would happen if every confrontation now had a lethal weapon involved.

It just doesn't seem like a logical response. In the end, there probably isn't a way to wipe out this problem completely. Even under stricter gun laws, a determined person would probably still be able to their hands on one. Even if we all make an effort to pay more attention to the warning signs, someone is still going to slip by. It could have just as easily have been Penn State, the University of Wyoming, a construction site up the Southfork, a business building, or a hospital. But that doesn't mean that we stick a handgun in our backpacks and leave the house in fear everyday. But it does mean that we can all think about ourselves a little less and others a little more. And we can start listening to Jimmy V and take time to laugh, think, and cry everyday.

And we remember that life is precious.

He's so hot right now...

While the Warner Jeep was the original in my budding career behind the camera, it has not been the most successful. The unique view into championship hockey has surpassed the 1000 view mark. Not bad for a hillbilly from rural wyo!

I just really wanted to mess around with the links. Part of the various nerd activities that get me through the day.

pics

http://picasaweb.google.com/wray1123

After readings Zack's blog I guess you can do this.

People who drink light "beer" don't like the taste of beer; they just like to pee a lot.

Riding the high of a crazy championship game I came home and it was time to bottle the first batch of beer that Jason Houle (the co-founder of this micro-brew) brewed a while back. It had taken a little long, but I was assured that it would be OK. And it tasted pretty good when we sampled it, and it seemed pretty clear. So we're both pretty optimistic about the outcome. I'm sure one particular reader can expect a list of questions tomorrow as I recount everything to make me feel like we did it all right. Amy will be happy to know that I did a Google search for 'beer quotes' for the title (the credit belongs to the Capital Brewery, Middleton, WI)

Houle is a University of Maine grad and fan. Let's try to

remember the lesson learned from the Frozen Four - a hockey fan is alright outside of the rink. He is a Red Sox fan, which sits nicely with some of you out there. I don't feel bad about saying that he got a hard time tonight when some of the bottles he donated to the cause turned out to be twist off. That was a pretty branch campus move on his part. Anyways, in a few weeks we'll crack open the first beer - 48 total - of batch #1 (sign to follow).

On a side note. I put some more pics of other stuff on my public gallery at Picasa. I think you can follow the link to the gallery from the link for the FF album I sent. If not, or if you don't have that, let me know. Might as well take advantage of the technology.

No frickin way...I got too much range for that

Well I figure that I will start the inevitable wave of Frozen Four posts made by the Warner boys. And no matter how much we talk about it, I don't think that we'll be able capture everything about the weekend.

But for me, it has to start with the crap sundae that I was served as I tried to get to St Louis. My flight was supposed to land 5 hours before the puck hit the ice for the first of the semi-final games. I left my house at 5:15am and had what was supposed to be an hour layover in Washington. Well 10 hours later and 2 missed semi-final games I arrived at the Downtown Hilton at about 9pm. My plane in Washington (Dulles) had a mechanical problem and I ended up on a 7pm flight rather than the 8:35am flight I booked. Now I understand these things happen and I tried not to get too upset, but those of use that were stranded in Dulles were in unanimous agreement that we were left in the dark for most of the day. Here's some things we were told:

"Your flight is coming from Syracuse and had a small problem there, so we will be a little bit delayed."

"Your plane is here, we are just waiting to locate a cleaning crew before we can load you."

"Someone got sick on the plane and we have to wait for that to get cleaned up" (But I don't know where this one started, the previous two were announced)

"Your plane has a mechanical problem, but the mechanics are actively working on it and we should be on our way shortly"

And finally, "Your plane might not get off the ground today, so you might want try and get on another flight"

I finally got one a 7pm flight, much too late to see any hockey on Thursday. When I departed they still hadn't cancelled the original flight, then scheduled for a 10:15PM departure. They gave us $100 vouchers, but I have been actively working (and when I say it I mean it) on emails and letters to send out to United which I hope result in a free flight back west this summer. Thanks to Bubba, I can only speculate at this point how many times the phrases "hoser" and "snack on that for lunch" will appear in the letter.

But several angry shots of Jager and $2 pitchers from the Morgan Street Brewery later I put that behind me and was ready for fun. And it was. I'll save hockey details for another post, and share a few of my favorite pics of the Arch, which was amazing. I changed a couple to black and white because I think it looks really cool that way. One quick word on the FF experience. Hockey fans are incredible. There were some fierce rivals there, but off the ice everyone was so awesome and just wanted to see good hockey and have fun. And the championship game was incredible. Can't wait to see all the other pics!