The Olympics

I've been doing my best to be supportive and watch the Olympics but I have to tell you that I have not been very successful. I just can't get into the flow of it. I can't wait until the day that all events are covered and television viewers like me can subscibe to what we want to watch. I know the media thinks we want to watch ice skating 24/7 but there are so many other events that we never get to see. What's up with that?

The Nightly News...

Tonight I'm watching the NBC Nightly News. Brian Williams is reporting from the Olympic venue in Italy (nice perk). It made me think about Bob Woodruff and his photographer (I can't remember his name)who were injured a few weeks ago in IRAQ. I haven't read or heard of any reports on how either of them are doing. I know they probably have asked the press to cover the "real" news and not their story. But the press brought us the story, doesn't it seem fair to ask that they give us an update once in a while? I realize that people (husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, etc) are injured and killed everyday in Iraq, and each one has an untold story, but I think the public deserves an update on how Bob and his photographer are doing. Don't you?

I don't understand...

I woke up this morning with a sore throat, swollen gland, and ear-ache, all on the left side of my head and neck. The right side of my head and neck feels just fine, isn't that weird? How does a virus or germ or whatever it is enter my body and decide to attach itself to a particular place? Why did it pick me at all? I never purposely did anything to this thing to cause it to want to attack me (at least not that I know of). I was fine when I went to sleep last night. Did it sneak into my bedroom while I was sleeping? Or did someone secretly pass it on to me yesterday at work? I have been being healthy lately, working out, drinking lots of water, getting a good nights sleep, and this is my reward? It doesn't make any sense to me. There is so much about the universe that I don't understand. :-(

Curling

Curling has caught my eye. I'm recently retired from bowling and I could use another winter hobby. I wish there was a curling arena near by. I believe the closest one is in Utica, a couple of hours away. Too bad. Anyone who reads this from the Ithaca area, let me know if you know of a curling arena closer than Utica! Thanks.

Fried Bologna

I love fried bologna sandwiches. Many of you probably think that is an outrageous comment. I really do like them. It's one of the things that makes me feel warm and fuzzy and reminds me of my childhood. Oh, when things were simple... I remember the first time I ate a fried bologna sandwich, it was at my best friend's house, I was probably 8 or 9 years old, maybe younger. Maryann (my best friend's Mom) was making them one day and offered me one, I turned up my nose. She persuaded me to try it and I was hooked. I make them once in a while now, the smell still reminds of when I was young and yes, when life was simple. Happy Valentine's Day.

New race season

I am a race fan. I remember as a kid listening to my Dad talk about Richard Petty, Benny Parsons, etc. He was always an Earnhardt fan and roots for Junior now. I've been rooting for Rusty Wallace since 1993. Prior to that I was a Davey Allison fan (RIP Davey). Rusty has retired and I WILL NOT root for Kurt Busch (sorry Penske). I have spent alot of time thinking about who to root for this season and I've decided to go back to my original garage, Robert Yates Racing. I'm announcing today that I will root for Elliot Sadler in the #38 M&M car! He's as cute as Davey was and seems to be a gentleman in front of the cameras. M&Ms tastes good too! Good luck this season Elliot!

It takes all kinds...

Have you ever created a story about a complete stranger's life? I find myself doing this, especially at malls, waiting rooms, and swap meets. I traveled to the annual motorcycle swap meet in Syracuse today. It was WAY too crowded for me so I found a place in the center of the building where I could breath and started watching the attendees. My eyes followed one gentleman as he walked down a nearby aisle. This guy didn't look like he belonged at a swap meet. He was wearing a Gucci suit and shiny black dress shoes. I imagined that he was from Canada, in town to attend a hockey game, and happened upon this swap show accidently. I can't believe he didn't turn and run once he saw what he had paid to see! I next eyed a young woman who was enjoying the day. She was displaying her beer, tattoos, piercings, and leather proudly (no Mom, it wasn't me). I could go on and on but my dog is barking to come inside so I'll end this post.

zillow.com

Have you heard about this new site, zillow.com? Check it out! The first thing I did was check out if my house was included. Pretty cool. Have fun searching for your favorite house!

Troubleshooting

I am a computer geek. I troubleshoot computers. If I can't figure out the problem, the computer doesn't run reliably. Big deal. I spent yesterday at a hospital with a friend. He has been having trouble with his eye sight for more than 3 years. Two operations later and the doctors are still puzzled. They don't have a clue what is causing the problem. I sat in the waiting room and watched many patients filter in and out. We are at an Institute, a state of the art facility. The best specialists in the area. I wondered how long each patient had been visiting the doctor. Sometimes I think I have stress. Yesterday made me put my stress into perspective. A doctor's stress level must be unmeasurable.

No surprise

The discussion around the water cooler today was, without surprise, not about the Super Bowl, but about the ads. Everyone agreed that for the most part this years ads received a big thumbs DOWN. More people liked the Budweiser streaker commercial than I expected. I personally didn't like it. I wonder what that says about me?

My favorite ad

My vote for best ad was the Budweiser one with the baby horse pulling the wagon with his parent's help... what was yours?

Super Bowl XL Champions - STEELERS!!!

3rd quarter:
Pittsburgh receives... Touchdown, 75 yard run by Willie Parker... woohoo! defense, defense!
sh##!!! - interception - seattle has the ball - boo! need to stop them here. Touchdown Seattle. Steelers 14, Seahawks 10. 6:45 to play in the quarter. 3 and out for Pittsburgh. defense, defense! 4th and 2, seattle has to punt. steelers will now punt... time runs out...

4th quarter
It seems like Seattle has the momentum right now, the Steelers need a big stop, right now! woohoo! Interception. That's what I'm talking about! Now let's start something. AWESOME! Touchdown! Gotta love the gadget plays. Steelers 21 - Seahawks 10 Okay, now we need another STOP. defense, defense!
4:45 left to go, come on Steelers! we need another 1st down... woohoo! 2 minute warning... defense, defense! 1 minute, hang on guys! WOOHOO!!!!

second half ads:
Ameriquest - airplane incident - Dont judge too quickly ;-)
PEBL - what the heck was that about??? looked it up, it's motorola's cell phone... weird commercial.
Sharpie... Capt Hook
ABC - Lost - again, sigh
Budweiser - horses - baby looking at the past - trying on the harness "I'll never tell"... too cute!
Nationwide - spoof - Shampoo - Fabio - be ready for whatever comes at you...
NFL Mobile - in the old days on the internet...
Hummer - Love is strange - monster and robot make a little monster the new Hummer
Practical Solutions - cleaner -stop the spread of bacteria
ABC sons and daughters
Careerbuilder.com - working with monkeys and jack asses...
Taco Bell - 2 geeks in love with classic taco bell
Slim Fast - new protein blend
ABC - sons and daughters - again
NFL - players reflecting on winning the lombari trophy
Gillette Fusion - new razor again
movie trailer - Fastest Indian -
Toyota Tacoma - yeah, right... truck survives the ocean tide
superbowl.com - vote for mvp
SPRINT - music downloads - funny in an odd way
Ford - Bill Ford - rebirth of Ford... blahblahblah
Fidelity Investments - Paul McCartney
ABC - Boston Legal
Budweiser - in the stands - sounds like their drinking the beer, cool
movie trailer - Johnny Depp in Dead Mans Chest - another Pirates movie
Mastercard - ...
ABC dancing with the stars - again
Sports Heaven - Mobile ESPN
Honda Ridgeline -
Beer - heerstobeer.com
ABC Jimmy Kimmel live
MLB - world baseball classic
godaddy.com - domain sellers - funny, but not nice, poor old man
movie trailer - running scared
Outback - boomerangs - ??
Westin - non smoking hotels . Breathe.
ABC Grey's anatomy... can't wait to see it
NFL Probowl
NFL Jerome Bettis - reflections - on the Lombardi trophy

half time

more ads before the entertainment:
Sprint - crime detterant - funny
NFL - fan appreciation
ABC Desparate Housewives --- again
Nationwide - missed it :-(
time warner - all in one
ABC - Gray's anatomy - looks scary, I like this show!
ABC - new show ... sons and daughters
ABC - Lost

half time entertainment:
Rolling Stones - tongue shaped stage - boy are they old!
Start me up... time for me to go change the laundry!

ads:
ABC Evidence
AAA
GMC
Geico
ABC Gray's anatomy again - still very scary
Disney - NFL -players - Disney practice - again
NFL - Jerome Bettis and other player's reflections on winning

The first half of Superbowl XL

Super Bowl XL
Coin toss. What a wimpy flip by Tom Brady. Seattle wins the toss (called heads). Boo!
1st quarter
Hmmm, this Jackson guy seems too open for my taste. Hasselbeck has too much time, the Steelers need to put pressure on him! Get HIM! 3 - 0 Seattle.
2nd quarter
Still way too much time for Hasselbeck! Come on Defense! finally, a first down! interception :-( Okay, now we're moving the ball, keep it going. no more penaltys! sigh... we need to score! third and goal on the 1 yard at the 2 minute mark ... reviewing the play, Touchdown Steelers! Defense! Defense! Phew, that was a close one. TO Pittsburgh, a minute left in the half. Poor use of the clock by Seattle. Long field goal attempt, no good. Score: Steelers 7 - seahawks 3!

When are the ads officially considered Superbowl XL ads, after the game starts?
pregame:
pizza hut - two thumbs down, enough of JS already
disney - NFL players practicing saying "I'm going to Disney" cool, cute, warm and fuzzy
Dr Seuss - NFL - Oh the places you will go! Very creative and well done
blockbuster - who cares?

first half:
bud light - too funny - hide the beer in the office :-)
burger king - yuck! gross! no taste whatsoever
sierra mist -
bud light - secret revolving wall - Funny
movie trailer - 16 blocks ... ??
Camry - hybrid car - interesting - bilingual
FedEx - cave men - not impressive
Bud Light - Beer drinking bear - cute I guess
movie trailer - V for Vendetta :-(
Diet Pepsi - P Diddy - Brown and Bubbly - creative...
Memories - NFL - palomolo (sp?)
Aleve - Doctor Spock?
Ameriquest - don't judge too quickly
Bud light - cleaning the gutter, fixing the dish, falling through the roof!
diet pepsi - jackie chan - stunt double coke...
movie trailer - Cars - Disney :-)
Ford - all wheel drive cars - the fusion and the five hundred - nothing flashy
Budweiser - horses - football - goat streaker
sports heaven - mobile ESPN
careerbuilder.com - monkeys
2007 Cadilac escalade - fashion show
movie trailer - Mission Impossible III- Tom Cruise
Dove - self esteem for young girls campaignforrealbeauty.com
movie trailer - Disney Shaggy Dog - voice by Chris Berman
Ford - Kermit and the green hybrid - better
Michelob light - amber - darker family football
NFL - Ben reflections on winning
Godaddy.com - ???? what are they? what do they do?
movie trailer - Poseiden - yikes!
Gillette fusion - new razor - 5 blades
Desperate Housewives ad - cute Shaq, Sugar Ray...
overstock.com -
Disney - 50 years
NFL - bill cowher - reflections on winning

TIGER

One word to describe the best golfer in the world: AMAZING! I heard that Tiger beat Ernie Els in a playoff to win for the second week in a row. The ability to maintain the level of concentration necessary to perform at the level that Tiger does, week in and week out, should inspire us all to strive to always do our best! Go Steelers.

Super Bowl - Are you ready for some football?

Go Steelers! I like Bill Cowher. Did you know he has 3 daughters who play basketball? The oldest is a star at Princeton, how cool is that? Go Steelers! Oh, and my sister-in-law grew up just outside Pittsburgh, she says I have to root for the Steelers.

Reflections

We lost a member of the biking community this week. I didn't know him well, but I liked him alot. He welcomed me into the club when I bought my bike 1 1/2 years ago. He always joked with me about riding the tires off my bike. He would smile when I walked into Farrell's on a brisk fall day and say "Should have known it was you, the sun IS shining afterall." (It might have been 45 degrees outside but if the sun was out I would be out on my bike). He was always smiling and fun to be around. It won't be the same without him. They say "only the good die young", well, we lost another good one. R.I.P. Pat.

Ellen rocks!

I think I have the answer to all of the problems in this country. All employers should provide TV time on the job so that everyone can watch 1 hour of Ellen everyday! Humor in the work place is so important and Ellen is pure human medication. She just cracks me up! How about you?