Change of Plans

I had planned to post an update on the house and other random thoughts that are running through my mind. However, a call I received late this afternoon has me changing things up.

I thought I was receiving a call from my good friend Joe, because that's what the caller ID on my phone said. However, it wasn't Joe. It was his wife Laura.

She was calling to let me know that Joe was in a bad car accident Friday night. He's okay, relatively speaking. He broke a vertebrae, but apparently it's the one to break if you break your neck. He also has a bruise on his spine, which has the doctors concerned.

I don't remember too many of the details of her call. He can't really talk and he will be wearing a neck brace for awhile. I'm not sure how soon he'll be released from the hospital.

She also mentioned that he had been drinking. I don't know any of the details about the accident at all, but that surprised me. Joe's a pretty responsible guy and I don't ever recall him drinking and driving in all the years I've known him. That doesn't mean he hasn't, he just hasn't done it while I've been around.

I hope that if he was drunk, that it is the last time he makes that decision. I love the man like a brother and will be by his side no matter what. I will do whatever I can to make sure that he takes whatever steps necessary to make sure something like this never happens again.

In the meantime, I'll be thinking of Joe and saying some prayers. Hang in there pal...

21 Years Ago Tonight...

Apparently, there's a baseball game being played in Boston tonight. Gee, I never would've known if it wasn't for being surrounded by Red Sox fans.

Anyway, there was a World Series game being played in Flushing 21 years ago this evening. This game (along with Tate George's shot against Clemson in 1990) is the seminal sports moment of my life. It is the genesis for this blog.

As I type this, I'm watching the 10th inning of said game. It's currently the top of the 10th & Dave Henderson just hit a leadoff homerun to give the Sox a 4-3 lead. They just cut to the scene of Roger Clemens celebrating in the Red Sox bullpen, complete with his act of vandalism.

Someday, I'll have a page dedicated to this game. Until then, there's really nothing for me to say that hasn't already been said.

I'd just like to state again for the record that if there's someone to be labeled a goat for this game, it's Rich Gedman, who should've caught Bob Stanley's "wild pitch".

Aside from that, I credit the Mets, especially Gary Carter, Kevin Mitchell, Ray Knight & Mookie Wilson, for not giving up, even when the end looked inevitable.

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words...if that is so, you've just seen a million words but more importantly the Mets are alive and well and will be playing the 7th game tomorrow night." - Vin Scully

Interesting XM Ratings

Arbitron recently released their Spring 2007 rankings for XM & Sirius. Since I don't have Sirius, I have nothing to say about their numbers. (For the record, XM had a cumulative audience (cume) of 10.33 million listeners compared to 6.6 million for Sirius. The Howard Stern channel on Sirius was the most listened to channel on both services, with a cume of 1.22 million listeners. XM's 20 on 20 was second, with a cume of 1.05 million listeners.)

I thought it would be interesting to list some rankings & share which channels I frequent.

Top 10

• 20 on 20 (1,055,300)
• Flight 26 (713,700)
• 70s on 7 (654,100)
• 80s on 8 (648,900)
• 60s on 6 (619,600)
• Top Tracks (607,600)
• Highway 16 (554,100)
• The Blend (548,000)
• The Heart (489,200)
• Fox News (485,400)

Of those ten, I listen to Flight 26 the most, 80s next, then Top Tracks. I'll tune in to the 70s and 20 on 20 and occasionally The Blend. (all are presets, then again, there are 30) I never listen to The Heart and I have never even thought of tuning in to Highway 16 or Fox News. The 60s is also a preset but I very rarely even check it out. I LOVE listening to the vintage American Top 40 Countdowns on the 70s & 80s. They fly by without those pesky commercials.

Top 5 Traffic Channels

• Los Angeles (16,300)
• Washington DC (13,700)
• New York (12,500)
• Philadelphia (7,900)
• Dallas/FW (5,700)

I know Brian isn't surprised DC is second only to LA.

My Favorites

• Boneyard (223,000) (35th)
• 90s on 9 (366,000) (17th)
• Lucy (388,000) (15th)
  
• Flight 26 (713,700) (2nd)
• The Rhyme (80,400) (69th)
• Cinemagic (50,600) (85th)
• ESPN Radio (262,000) (26th)
• MLB Homeplate (81,500) (68th)
• XM Comedy (422,200) (12th)

I'm not surprised by the Boneyard being so low on the list. It's very specific in content and varied in the years covered, different types of metal/rock, etc. I'm most disappointed in Cinemagic being so low. That is such a unique, fun channel and I find myself listening a lot at work. I suppose part of the problem with Cinemagic is if the current movie is one you're not interested in, you have to wait 20 minutes or so for a new one to come up. By that time, you'll most likely have found something else to listen to. I'm glad Lucy & the 90s are high on the list. Two channels I thought were underrated.

(rankings via post from Orbitcast)

Still Drying Off

Last night, I was lucky enough to work the chains along with Mike for our local high school football team. We do it every home game, pocket a bit of money and enjoy a little football up-close.

For those of you in the Northeast, you remember last evening's weather. It poured. The wind howled. It was blast. Poor P.J. had to work in it. I loved it.

It wasn't too bad until the kickoff. Then the skies opened. The first half was played almost entirely in the downpour. The second half started off fairly dry, but the last five minutes of the game was easily the worst. It didn't matter to me. I was soaked as soon as the game started, so after that, it didn't really matter how much it rained. BTW, the home team won.

I would've loved to have been playing. I played in two games with weather like that in my brief career, both blowout losses. The first one was a home game versus Naugatuck, which we lost 50-something to zero. It was our second game of the year & I saw the field as a free safety for the first time in mop-up duty. I picked off a pass & became the starting free safety the rest of the way.

The second game in that weather was at Ansonia, a traditional Connecticut HS football power. By that point in the season, I was starting on offense, defense & special teams. Once again, we lost 50-something to nothing.

Perhaps I should amend my statement to say I would've loved to be playing in that weather as long as my team wasn't being trounced.

One other thought that crossed my mind working the game last night. I was figuring out when the kids playing were born & sure enough, if they are 17, they were born while I was playing football or even after that. It amazes me how fast time has flown, especially since high school ended.

Whither The Squirrels?

I feed birds. I enjoy having different birds around and the cats greatly enjoy watching them fly from trees to the feeders and back.

We have a regular feeder and a suet feeder outside of a living room window. I also have a small feeder hanging from a tree near the driveway.

In addition to the bird feeders, I have a squirrel feeder. It is attached to a tree in the backyard, right at the edge of the yard and woods. It holds four ears of corn & spins. Back when I lived in the house years ago, the squirrels loved it and I would replace the corn constantly, almost on a daily basis. This feeder is primarily entertainment for me.

Well over a week ago, I filled up that squirrel feeder and I also installed another one. This is similar to the suet feeder, only larger and instead of suet, it's a giant corn cake.

The birds seem to enjoy the corn cake (I think there are sunflower seeds in it) but the other squirrel feeder hasn't been touched. I understand it may take some time for them to re-discover the feeder, but I haven't seen one squirrel in the yard.

Mary said she saw one in the yard last week, but not since. I'm wondering if something is keeping them away. There is a neighborhood cat, Daphne, who patrols the yard, but I doubt she's chasing squirrels.

However, this past spring, a fisher cat was spotted in the woods behind the house, eating a small animal. It looked like a squirrel, but I couldn't be certain. Perhaps the squirrels took a hint and decided to vacate the area?

Stay tuned...

This Is A Test

Just trying to see if I can post to the blog via email.

Seeing as Blogger  & Twitter are two of the sites blocked here at work, this will be a way for me to post updates if anything interesting were too happen while sitting at my desk.

It's A Miracle

38 years ago today, Jerry Koosman got future Mets manager Davey Johnson to fly out to Ron Swoboda, completing the storybook year of the Miracle Mets.

I was still four years away from being born, but I love reading about that team & all the early Mets teams. Hopefully there's some interesting items in the Hall of Fame I'll be able to check out when I get up there in December.

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In other news, here is a shot of Payton, her soccer team & handsome coach.

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The "renovations" on the house are continuing. I still feel like we're camping. The first project we're doing is redoing my computer/TV room. We ripped out the carpet & Mary has painted the ceilings. Once the primer & paint is up and I scrub off the old paint off of the hardwoods, I'll be able to set everything up in there, including this computer. I haven't touched my 360 in almost two weeks!

I do have lots of pictures to share, but first I'll need to locate my memory card reader so I can take them off of the camera. The real interesting shots will be of the driveway/patio project, which started yesterday and is progressing nicely.

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I should have plenty of time to enjoy my new setup during the first week of November. I will be having my wisdom teeth ripped from my mouth. I am not looking forward to this procedure as I have been hearing horror stories about this my entire life. Ugh. Hopefully I'll get to enjoy lots of ice cream.

Bandito!

This is Bandit. He loves water. The only time I've ever seen this cat drink water is from a running bath faucet. He's a piece of work.

In other news, tomorrow we'll begin the first phase of fixing up the house. We'll begin painting my computer/tv/guest room and hopefully I'll be able to hook all my stuff up. (Surround sound, Xbox, wireless network, etc.)

We'll also start to peel the wallpaper off of the master bedroom walls & paint some of the hallways. I'll also continue to clean out the basement. (HUGE project) The driveway paving project is set to begin Monday.

I will be sharing before & after photos of all projects.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

I'm Back!

Yes, the DSL is running. Finally.

There's too much for me to do around here to do a large post, but I do want to respond to P.J.'s new header over at A L'il HooHaa, which proclaims "At least they (Phillies) ain't the Mets".

I'll agree 100% with that little nugget. The Phillies have been playing baseball for a loooooong time. They've been the Phillies from 1890 - 1942 and 1945 - 2007. (They were also the Philadelphia Blue Jays in 1943 & 1944 & the Quakers from 1883-1889.)

Someone else will have to do the math for me to figure out how many years they've been around. In all those years, they've amassed a winning percentage of 0.469, while winning ONE world championship.

The Mets on the other hand have been around only a fraction the time of the Phillies and have a winning percentage of 0.478 and have won TWO world championships. Plural.

Yes, at least they aren't the Phillies. :)

Moving Update

So the U-Haul got picked up this morning and by 6:30 PM, it was fully loaded with all pieces of furniture and any other large items. It was a fairly easy process.

The rest of the stuff that has to go is all small & can be boxed up. That, the big TV & the cats & goldfish. We have until Sunday to get all that out.

Nothing like sleeping on couch cushions on the floor! Good times!

Hopefully fall weather will show up soon & kick these mid-80's temps out to sea. Yuck.

Funny, I didn't miss being at work today. :)

Moving Time

Well, the time has come. Wednesday was my last day of work until next Wednesday and the focus is now on moving everything out of this apartment.

We pick up the U-Haul tomorrow morning & will be spending most of the day tomorrow and Friday loading it up with the large things (couch, mattress, couch, bookcases) and the odds & ends we haven't been able to move to the storage unit over the past month.

My Xbox 360 is already packed away. :(

Friday morning, the DirecTV installer is supposed to arrive between 8 AM & noon. Yeah, right. Hopefully he/she won't be too late so I can get back and help load the truck.

Saturday morning we unload the U-Haul with most of the big stuff, drop off the sectional at the storage unit & return the truck. The rest of the day & weekend will be spent cleaning, removing wallpaper, painting and slowly bringing boxes from the storage unit to the house. I will be sharing before and after photos here as we progress.

On Monday, we should see the beginning of the driveway paving project, along with a nice square paved area for a basketball court. Sweeeeet.

I probably won't have the computer hooked up again until Saturday sometime, but I should be able to jump online here & there. I'll try & keep my two readers updated via Twitter.

Dark Days

While reading Mike's blog today & his gloating over the Patriots & Red Sox, I was brutally reminded about how horrible things are for me sports-wise right now.

Nothing more needs to be said regarding the Mets collapse. The Dolphins are currently the second worst team in the NFL according to ESPN's NFL Insiders. Compounding those two horrific scenarios is the fact that I'm surrounded by Patriots & Red Sox fans, which is simply nauseating. Sprinkle in the occasional Yankees fan, along with my friends the Phillies fans, who by the way, get to enjoy the postseason at the Mets fans expense, and life is simply brutal.

If you are one of my few readers (I lost another one, thanks Eric) who happens to be a Red Sox fan, I'd like to remind you that you are considered the most obnoxious fans around. Most Patriots fans believe football was invented with the Tuck Rule and couldn't tell John Hannah from Hannah Storm.

There are a couple of silver linings in this world of misery. The UConn football team is 5-0 and is currently "receiving votes"! However, nothing can top the fact that Notre Dame is horrible. (Sorry P.J. It's not personal!) Charlie Weis is some offensive genius! Their ineptitude is the welcome result of bad karma for how Tyrone Willingham was treated. Go Service Academies! This is your year!

In Other News...

Just some quick & random thoughts while I wallow in self-pity thanks to the Mutts...

• I've pointed www.game-six.com to now point to gamesix.blogspot.com. The blogspot.com address should be added to your RSS reader (I highly recommend Google Reader) to be able to keep up with my ever so frequent posts.
• Now that I know I can be tracked a little easier, I suppose I should try & update this a little more.
• I actually have a couple of interesting post ideas in the can, just waiting for me to write.
• I'm currently in the process of moving. I'm very excited (MUCH closer to Payton, MUCH shorter ride to work), but since we're moving this week, I'm starting to get a little anxious. Not stressed, just anxious.
• For those of you who don't know, I'm coaching Payton's soccer team. I don't have any photos yet to share, but I will soon. She seems to be having a good time and I know I am.
• I'm currently watching Season 1 of Friday Night Lights & Season 2 of The Wire. I love them both, but The Wire is a television masterpiece. Look for more detailed thoughts on both shows soon.
• P.J. and I have started a separate blog that will cover our baseball card collecting & collections. We are currently soliciting unique titles for the blog. Submit your ideas in the comments.
• I'm giddy over the arrival of autumn.
• Damn, I still have a lot of junk to pack.
• I think Tom Glavine just gave up another run.
• Halo 3 is everything the hype led everyone to believe. I would more than likely be playing right now, but I didn't have the patience tonight after the Mets game. I'm really, really bad at Halo 3 & I couldn't take a night of beatdowns.
  

The Choke's On Us

Ugh.

I don't know what to say or where to begin. The Mets collapse is finally complete. It was a long, drawn out process these past two/three weeks. It wasn't a quick death. It was long & painful. And the Phillies benefit. I think that makes it even worse. While I'm happy for P.J. and Brian, that list ends there. I'll be happy for them if they have success in the post-season, but I will be rooting for the Cubs.

At least I have the Dolphins, right?

GPTN

Go Matty!



Tonight, my cousin Matt Burr makes his national TV debut as his band, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals performs live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

They'll also be on Good Morning America August 7, the day their new album arrives in stores. Also, the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on August 10. Did I mention that Grace Potter also appears on the August issue of Glamour? (Yes, George Costanza's favorite magazine.) These guys are going big time!

Whatevah

So I go almost two months without updating here and I only hear one "complaint" about not updating the site. (Sorry Eric.) Granted, I know that outside of Eric, one, maybe two people check in regularly. Also, I don't really post anything here for others, considering the extremely low readership, but it's still nice to be noticed every now & then.

Oh well.

Anyway, just some random notes before going to bed.

- I played golf for the first time since last October today. (Thanks Johnny!) I played horribly, but since it was free & I was able to hang with Johnny V for a couple of hours, it was a blast.

- A week from tonight (Tuesday), there will only be one more regular season game left for my work schedule. It's amazing how fast the season flies by.

- The last post I had prepared was about Payton's goldfish, Fiona & Sleeping Beauty. Sadly, only Fiona is left. However, she is thriving. Maybe I'll finally post that info in October.

- I may actually watch a few Celtics games this year. I'll definitely check out the preseason game at MoSun Arena.

- All this talk of rain the past few days that never delivered has left me in a foul mood. This guy is with me.

- Tonight I finally earned the stupidest achievement yet for the 360. I had to simulate 60 seasons of dynasty mode in NCAA 07. I've been working on that for two weeks. What a waste of time. I only went for it so I could earn all 1000 points for the game before picking up NCAA 08. I love unlocking achievements, but the pointless ones need to be left off of these games. Now I just have to block a field goal & recruit eight, five-star high school players to finish it off.

- I finally upgraded my web browser to Mozilla Firefox.

- I'm starting to get excited for fantasy football again.

Look for another update sometime in late September Eric.

Happy 30th Birthday Star Wars!

Star Wars turns 30 today. Just another sign that I'm getting older & older. :)

Since I can't be at Celebration IV, here's my own little celebration. My Top 20 Vintage Star Wars Action Figures.

Every vintage figure is special to me. If I didn't have a figure, one of my friends did, so I got to play with them all. I'm sharing the pictures of the packages, as those images trigger more memories as they aren't as common as the loose figures.

Honorable Mention:
Gonk Droid, IG-88, Ree-Yees, Snaggletooth, Ugnaught, Imperial Tie Fighter Pilot, Bossk, Death Star Droid

#20
Walrus Man

Apparently, his name is Ponda Baba, but he'll always be Walrus Man to me.

#19
Jawa (with cape)

I didn't have one of these guys, but Todd Sipala did. Well, he had one, until he lost it in a hole on one of the giant rocks we used to climb on.

#18
R5-D4

Always overshadowed by R2-D2.

#17
Greedo

Han shot first!

#16
AT-AT Driver


#15
Stormtrooper

A classic package.

#14
Bib Fortuna

"Die wanna wanga!"

#13
Han Solo (Hoth Gear)


#12
R2-D2 (with Sensorscope)

I loved the clicking sound his head made when you moved it.

#11
Yoda

The accessories that came with Yoda (the cane & the snake) were fantastic.

#10
Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot)


#9
C3PO (with Removable Limbs)

What? A figure that was actually made to be broken? Sweet.

#8
Admiral Ackbar

Honestly now, who doesn't love Admiral Ackbar??

#7
Darth Vader

Ah, the telescoping lightsaber. Quality stuff!

#6
Biker Scout

I picked up my first Biker Scout, along with the Speeder Bike, while visiting Uncle Sonny in Greenfield, MA.

#5
Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues)

This one is this high for one simple fact. After seeing "The Empire Strikes Back" multiple times, I made this figure anatomically correct. I rubbed off his hand on the cement, wearing it down to a nub.

#4
Imperial Snowtrooper

Just a cool looking figure.

#3
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight)

This was one of the first "Return of the Jedi" figures I obtained. I know exactly where it was purchased too. The Groton CVS.

#2
Emperors Royal Guard

Any & all incarnations of this figure are an immediate favorite.

#1
Boba Fett

Was there really any question as to who would be #1?

Birthday Recap & More

Ugh. Another birthday came & went on Tuesday. 34.

With every year that goes by, the day feels more & more like an average day. I try to fend off all the well-wishers, although I do appreciate them. It's obviously not the same. I look more forward to Payton's birthday than I do mine.

It was still a nice day. My big gifts were tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld a couple weeks ago & this nice jersey:

I also received some nice gear with the 2007 US Open logo on it. I love squirrels. :)
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Anywho, just some random items to close this entry.

- More t-ball photos have been added to the online gallery. Eventually I'll throw a link up on the right, but for now, scroll down a couple of entries to find the link.

- Speaking of t-ball, here's Payton's YouTube debut. Notice the lack of a tee.


- I had no idea Coach T had been through this. Wow.
Cystic Fybrosis & Coach T

- In closing, another fantastic shot from Patty. The M/V Race Point sailing back to New London in a gorgeous sunset.

Disney Animated Movies

As promised, here's another Top 20 list, this time I'm counting down my all-time favorite Disney animated films.

As with all my Top 20 lists, this only lists MY favorites, not which film is necessarily the best. Any & all comments are appreciated!

(I apologize for the brevity of the comments. I'm trying to get to bed at a decent hour.)

Honorable Mention: Fantasia, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Toy Story, Incredibles, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Jungle Book, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mulan & Brother Bear.

#20
Sword in the Stone

Just a movie that has always stayed with me, even though I can't remember actually watching it. Very strange.

#19
Pocahontas

I just watched this for the first time this past weekend. This makes the list simply for having one of the greatest Disney sidekicks ever, Meeko the raccoon. Awwww...

#18
Home on the Range

A decent, recent movie, but this is on the list because it was the first movie Payton saw in the movie theater.

#17
Bambi

I love me some Thumper!

#16
101 Dalmatians

Ewww, Cruella DeVille. I was working at the Disney Store part-time when the live action version of this was released. I hated that job.

#15
Lady & the Tramp

Who can ever forget the classic spaghetti eating scene?

#14
Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs

My Aunt Linda collects all things Dopey. My favorite dwarf would have to be Sleepy, for obvious reasons.

#13
Monsters, Inc.

This movie made me realize that everyone associated with Pixar is a genius. The little things you pick up while watching this movie is incredible.

#12
Rescuers Down Under

The late John Candy provides a voice for this movie. What more needs to be said?

#11
Little Mermaid

This is a movie I only discovered on video, a few years after being released. I realized then that I missed watching classic Disney movies.

#10
Sleeping Beauty

The image of that spindle, Malificent & her dragon alter ego are all burned in my brain as images of evil.

#9
Aladdin

See #11. This may be Robin Williams' greatest role.

#8
Beauty & the Beast

I'm guessing that this is Payton's favorite Disney movie. I enjoy the story greatly & love hearing Jerry Orbach's voice.

#7
Finding Nemo

Again, Pixar hits another home run. The beauty of the colors in this movie are fantastic.

#6
Rescuers

R-E-S-C-U-E
Rescue Aid Society
Heads held high, touch the sky
You mean everything to me

In a fix, in a bind
Call on us anytime
We'll appear from nowhere
Mighty are we

R-E-S-C-U-E
Rescue Aid Society
Honesty, loyalty
We pledge to thee

#5
Lion King

Now this one I saw in the theater. James Earl Jones baby!! This is a classic & I'm sure Elton John has a lot to do with that.

#4
Fox & the Hound

I saw this one in the theater too, at Fishers Island, on a summer night a long, long time ago. I remember wearing my very first pair of Nike's that night. They were white & because they were new, they helped light the way back home. (I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, yet I can remember that like it was yesterday.)

#3
Cars

Never mind Disney, this is one of my all-time favorite movies period. I've seen it probably seven or eight times now & it doesn't get old. The 360 game lets me drive around Radiator Springs 'til my hearts content. I prefer to do it at night, when everything is lit up.

#2
Robin Hood

I don't think I can pinpoint a specific reason why I like this movie so much, other than I feel like I'm 5 years old again whenever I see it. Simple nostalgia.

#1
The Aristocats

It's about cats! Of course it's going to be #1! I'm eagerly anticipating the release of the special edition DVD later this year. "Everybody wants to be a cat..."