Where are They Now

If you get a chance, pick up the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated. It's my favorite issue of the year - the annual "Where are They Now" issue the profiles athletes of yesteryear. It's entertaining and very well written and the article on Stan Musial is one of the best you will ever read. I only wish that the LeBron's of the world take the time to read about what the obligation of the professional athlete. Although to Musial it was not an obligation, which is partially what made him such a special athlete and person. Trust me, you don't need to be a sports fan to enjoy thii article and issue.

Beer of the Month Club

For my birthday my wonderful office mates bought me a six month membership in a regional beer of the month club. Each month I get 12 beers from renowned regional brewmakers. Yesterday I received my July shipment which included beers from the Florida Beer Company and from the Michigan Brewing Company (for my Michigan readers they included a Mackinac Pale Ale and a Celis White). I'm sampling the Mackinac as I type and I have to say - it's pretty good. Funny when I moved here I though I would move in the direction of wine and while I enjoy it, (interesting) beer is definitely becoming a bit of a hobby. Beer also tastes better after a hard run - and given my bachelorhood I've been doing quite a bit of that of late, including an early evening nine mile trail run.

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And Now, A Note From My Father

I think this speaks for itself..... good to hear from The Man again though.........

__________________________________

I cannot make “comments” from my computer at work or home. Our computer guys at work cannot figure it out. Too bad cause your sudden infatuation with chickens is a tempting target. Talking about chickens when I was a kid I sometimes went with my mother to buy a bird at a live chicken store. I recall seeing an old man sitting on a small box holding a chicken by its neck hanging between his legs. Obviously the source of the expression “choke the chicken”

Post 800

It's hard to imagine I made it this far. 800 freaking posts. I'm not one to boast but I have to say; that is something. When I started this thing back in 2007, I never, ever thought I'd make it this far. And I never thought I would have such a terrific community, either.

In celebration of post 800, I'd like to declare a roll call. I know there are a lot of "regulars" who make their voice heard on a somewhat frequent basis. These regulars include Todd, Finkel, CrazyMama, Gail, Payro, Rob S, my brother Neil, formerly my father (I have no idea where he's been hiding out), Scooter, Carrie's Dude (who's getting married this weekend btw. To Carrie. I think this is the second time I've said that), my man Nick, Beno (I think), my main man Dave M, my girl Amy and of course the Wife and Nana, and a few others I'm likely missing. But all you "lurkers" -- in the spirit of post 800 (whatever that means!) declare yourselves in the comment section. Would be good to hear from the quiet ones out there.

And to all of you, both quiet and loud; thanks for sticking this thing out with me. I've had a ton - ton - of fun with this blog, my recent existential angst aside. I hope you've found some amusement along the way as well.

Onward ho!

Long Run

I did the longest training run of my life today; four hours, about 19.5 miles and 4,000 feet of climbing. Suffice to say, i am shelled. I did a lot of recon on the course of a race that I'm running in a month with my boy Todd. Todd, if you are reading this I have two things to say. One, I promise this will be the most beautiful course/trails you have ever seen. It's off the charts beautiful. Second, you will likely not enjoy much of it at all because it's so hard and hilly it's borderline ridiculous. Nice and slow is most certainly going to be the order of the day. Anyway, attached are a few photos.

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Stanford Swimming

I had a great time today visiting some awesome friends who live in Palo Alto. It was their daughter's championship swim meet and holy cow were the facilities at Stanford amazing. I have never seen an aquatic center that even comes close to rivaling this. A few feet from the meet members of the Stanford diving team - who are among the best in the nation - were practicing. I was lucky enough to catch this amazing dive.

By the way, note the varying heights of the dive boards. I wouldn't climb to the top of either of these, let alone jump or dive from it.

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IMG_0478.MOV (1573 KB)

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Onward, Ho

So I was really serious about packing this site in at post 800. Unlike what I think Carrie's dude (who's getting married next weekend. To Carrie) said, it really wasn't a ploy for attention. Butni got some really nice notes, the best one from my college buddy Amy, as to why I should carry this forward. And so I shall - with bit of a renewed sense of spirit, too. And anyway, there's no way I couldn't not blog when I get my chickens later this Summer. I've decided on names for them by the way: gonna name them Dre, Easy-E and Cube after one of my favorite rap groups of all time.

But anyway, I digress. Thank you for the support and kind words and I guess you're stuck with me for a little while longer. Sent from my iPad

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Summer Reading

I haven't enjoyed a good in a while as much as I have Savages, by Don Winslow. Check it out here. It is kind of like a cross between Elmore Leonard and some of the noir-ish, hard boiled writers of the 1950's. It's fast paced, a bit violent and the characters are .... well, characters. It also really captures the essence of Southern California (Orange County, specifically). Anyway, if you are looking for a breezy Summer book that you can read while sitting beach side, look no further.

Next on my list: finish the new Stieg Larsson and then the new Carl Hiaasen, which comes out next Tuesday (and which was reviewed favorably in today's New York Times).

Damn Near Burnt the House Down

I was utterly exhaused all day today and was simply looking forward to heading home and bbqing this nice steak I bought yesterday at WHole Foods. I get home form the gym, take the steak out, moving at a leisurely pace when voila -- the grill isn't working. Figuring it's the starter I look for matches for a half hour and .... nothing. So, thinking it's the gas I head downtown and buy a new thing of propane to the tune of a lot of money. I get home, put it in and ... nothing. Si I call my friend Em and ask if I can use her mother's grill (she lives next door). I head over there -- and her starter is broken too.

So now I am getting pissed. And staring me in the face is this insanely great looking steak.

So finally I say F**& it. I have 1.5 hours invested in this damn thing and I am eating it hell or high water.

So I break out the computer, google "Pan fry a steak" -- and (kind of ) follow the directions. Think I used too much olive oil though because it was freaking splattering everywhere. And my fire alarm went off not once, but twice. And at one point this thing was smoking -- as in literally. After about 12 minutes I turned it off. With bated breath I took a bite -- and holy freaking cow was it good. I'm not saying that fro the sake of the story either; it honestly may have been the best damn steak I have ever had. Perfectly charred, perfectly done -- it was incredible.

Kind of proud of myself if I do say so myself. Though now I have to clean up grease that seems to be pretty much all over my kitchen. And the house? Still standing, though it smells like charred meat. I suspect that smell isn't going anywhere any time soon, either. And if the WIfe is reading this -- we have steel wool anywhere? Not that there's reason for concern or anything.

More Chickens

So I went over to the local chicken joint and spent a half hour talking to the chicken dude. I learned a lot and really think I'm going to do this though later in the Summer when I'm done traveling and when the kids are home. Learned that you can't just get one and that three is the number I should be thinking about. Also learned that the fancy house you see in the below picture isn't cheap. But the chickens are; they are only about $20 a bird.

I have to say, I'm strangely stoked.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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I Think I'm Going To Buy a Chicken

So, I've been wrestling for a while with the idea of buying a chicken. I kind of want a pet but ID like something different and I've narrowed it down to a chicken or a goat. Don't laugh; people out here have goats and they are pretty mellow and cool. But I'm not so sure that's practical plus we have coyotes. Chickens on the other hand are supposedly pretty low maintenance. And they lay eggs pretty much every day which is also cool. Plus, I'll be able to say I have a pet chicken which is most definitely a conversation starter. And if it dies, I can fry it. So - pretty much a no brainer, eh, aside from the minor problem that the Wife will divorce me? Anyway, the place in this photo, less than a mile from my house, has a whole bunch for sale. Might need to check it out tomorrow.

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Horse Hill

This is Horse Hill. It is my biggest nemesis. You probably can't appreciate it from the picture but it is steep - and long. It also features a big old switchback as well. I ran up this thing four times today (each repeat takes about four minutes up) and think that it aged me by about five years. But - it sure does help snap me quickly into shape and with a 50k in a little more than a month, I need all the help I can get.

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Home Alone

So, the family left yesterday for their annual sojourn to the Left Coast, leaving me by my lonesome for a month plus. Right now I'm running 100 miles per hour with work, but not fast enough to realize that I already miss them a ton. We are a pretty tight little family and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I miss coming home to chaos. More on this later. I've had yet another 15 hour workday and it's time for sleep.

Couldn't Say It Better Myself

Just back from the annual swim team banquet. Lots of accolades for the Little Girl. I'm so proud of her. The coaches talk about each kid and here's what they have to say about her. What I love about this is how they recognize her love of the water. They refer to her as a "water baby" which I just think might be the ultimate compliment.

Congrats on a great season, Little Girl.

Ferry to San Francisco

If you ever make it to the Bay Area, one thing I could not recommend enough would be taking the ferry from San Francisco to Marin (or vice versa). The perspectives from the water the entire 30 minute trip are nothing short of magnificent.

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Champs!

Today was Champs - the biggest swim meet of the year. The Little Girl rose to the occasion and had a great race. She swam three best times, which is always the objective and a heck of a way to end a season. She finished fourth overall in backstroke (and she won her heat); fifth in fly and 8th in IM. A great day overall and next year should be even better as she returns to the same age group.

The most important thing though? She loves to swim, always gives her best effort and is a terrific teammate who always demonstrates good sportsmanship. And those are the things that really matter. Anyway - Good job Little Girl. If you ever read these here pages I am super proud of you. You are an excellent athlete and an even better Kid. And while on the subject, I am proud of your brother too for the way in which he supports you 100 percent. You might nto realize it now, but he's really your biggest fan.

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Dodger's Game

Kind of a cool experience last night; my client sponsored the Dodger's Game. Though I was working I got to go on a tour of the stadium; was on the field for the first pitch (which my client threw) sat in the luxury box for a while and got to meet some very interesting new people. I didn't get home until around 2 am or so - it was a 17 hour day that i am feeling even now - but it was definitely a fun night.

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Time to Say Goodbye?

SO, this is something I have been thinking about for a while now. This is post number 785 (!) and I've been at it for about 2.5 years now. To be honest, I think my voice is getting stale and I am fearful that I'm starting to run out of things to say (which is ironic, given that I am a bit of a motormouth and always have an opinion). My feelings are slightly borne out by the numbers; site visits have been in a bit of decline these past few months. Though that being said, I hasten to add that this site has been about many things over the years, but it has NEVER been about numbers/visitors. I have said it time and again and the sentiment is real; our community here is small, but it's pretty meaningful. To me, at least.

So anyway, my thinking is that I make it to 800 and then kind of wrap things up. Maybe keeping the site active to post pictures, etc. from time to time. And who knows, maybe even use this as an opportunity to start something new -- or focus on building out Techdork a bit more.

So -- thoughts or reactions? As they say, all good things come to an end -- and I think the end of this site might be near.

Oh and I predict Lebron James is going to be a Knick. I didn't think so earlier this week but I am getting a vibe. Not that I necessarily want him by the way. From a PR perspective, I think the manner in which he has handled all of this - culminating in his live announcement tomorrow -- redefines the word overindulgent. You can substitute egomaniacal there, too if you'd like.

Anyway.....

Yankee's Game

Went to the Yankees game tonight at Oakland Coliseum with the entire family. My third Yankees game of the season - I'm kind of proud of myself if I do say so myself. I have to say - there's lots of things that give me pleasure in life. That's the result of being a cancer patient I think. But I'm not sure anything gives me greater pleasure than jumping up and down and high fiving with my Little Boy - and Little Girl for that matter - after ARod hits a grand slam (which I might add was just the first of his two home runs tonight). Under those circumstances, not sure which one of us is the bigger Kid. And that is exactly what baseball is all about.

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Happy Birthday

Happy belated eight birthday to my Little Girl. I love this kid more than anything. I give her a hard time but she's a terrific kid, has a lot of personality, is kind to others and is one heck of an athlete. She's also pretty damn cute in my opinion. I always wanted a girl and I wouldn't trade this one for the world.

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