Bear loves Lacrosse!

Bear and I playing his favorite game...

Philadelphia Crazies

I went to the Eagles game yesterday. This is the view from my company's season tickets. Nice seats. Although I am not a Eagles fan, I do enjoy a good football game. Getting to the game and back home was a huge pain. It was the "Perfect Storm" of events in South Philadelphia yesterday. The Eagles game, Game 4 of the World Series, and The Who in concert at the Wachovia Center. Nightmare! I digress... Yesterday I was privy to an up close and personal view of how crazy these Philly fans are... I heard the stories. During their dismal Eagles season of 1968, when they pelted Santa Claus with snowballs. When they booed perennial all-star and Phillies hall of famer Mike Schmidt. When they cheered as Michael Irvin of the Cowboys laid motionless on the field with an apparent neck injury. Okay, so I knew they were passionate. Yesterday I got a taste first hand of how passionate they were. They were playing the Atlanta Falcons, an okay team that is doing much better this year than people expected. I was sitting in our club seats with mostly men around me with a few ladies and kids scattered around. The first few minutes were fairly tame. I don't think the booze had kicked in yet. Then an egregious call for roughing the passer against the Eagles kept Atlanta's drive alive when they were deep in their own zone. Then it got loud... I have never heard a collection of 500-1,000 people within ear-shot use the "F" word so uniformly. Basically they all said "F" you in unison a couple of times. Then it was a variable "poo poo platter" of the screamer's choice of profane words and/or vulgar statements. This continued, with a smattering of boos thrown in, for a good 10 to 15 minutes, through the TV timeout and the Eagles next possession. As the game progressed, I thought that bad call would be forgotten. Nope. The fans used any lull in the crowd noise to make remarks about the Referee's sexual orientation and his prowess with blowing other items then a whistle. This continued until I left shortly after the start of the 4th quarter. All I could think of is when little Jimmy is at kindergarten tomorrow and he tells his teacher she is a !@%#&$. She'll inevitable ask him where he learned that language from and he'll calmly reply, "at the Eagles game". My point is if it isn't obvious, don't these people care about who might be around when using profanity? Doesn’t it cross their mind? I guess it was the way I was brought up… I have a friend who swears quite a bit. Alright, he had a tough upbringing and I am sure that gives him some carte blanche to say what he wants. But that doesn't stop me from cringing when he lets a few fly in front of strangers. Okay, now I am no saint when it comes to using salty language. Many a home project has begun and ended with me degrading my own mental fortitude with some not so nice nouns proceeded by a few choice adjectives. Many a driver has been on the receiving end of profanity laced tirade from me, but who hasn't done that? Unless you are a man/woman of the cloth, I am sure you swear as well. We all do. I however like to survey my surroundings before crafting my monosyllabic prose… Apparently they do not in Philadelphia…

Bear's Cousin

Spider Girl (AKA Mom) wanted some shots of Bear's hairy, rambunctious, cousin (terriers!)... Maggie. I like the shot of Maggie behind Bear... I know this is how Bear probably thinks of Maggie whenever he is with her.

His annoying shadow... My dog has social issues...

The Office

This is my office. Looking at it, many might think it looks like a place where Ted Kaczynski might have written a few letters or where Hitler shot himself (minus the computer and iPod). It is my bunker or cave if you like. No windows. Dark. Dreary. A place that makes you want to finish your work as soon as possible just so you can leave. Just the way I like it. Most days I do not know the weather outside until I leave the building. Actually, that is not entirely true. I know when it is raining because I am on the top floor and I can hear rain hitting the roof. As you can see I have a lot of maps. In my business, you have to be familiar of your surroundings. Yes, I like post it notes. The grey matter ain't what it used to be and I need notes to help me remember... I do have overhead lights, but I do not use them. They are fluorescent and fluorescent lights give me an unbelievable headache. Anyway if I turned on them on I would need to wear SPF 50...

Election

I was in NYC all last week and was thrown right into this year's election hysteria... I was walking back on 53rd street back to my hotel one night after dinner and the NYPD had blocked the whole road.. Even foot traffic. The movie "W" was having its premiere earlier that day on the same street. To go off on a tangent, I saw Oliver Stone, Richard Dreyfuss, Josh Brolin, and Elizabeth Banks. I also saw the farmer from the movie "Babe". I can't remember that guy’s name. Anyway, I thought the movie premiere was over, why were there cops still out here? There were about 20 cops and at least another 20 guys in suits with those clear ear pieces in their ears. Well, maybe the movie "W" is a threat to national security. Maybe it was some elaborate hoax to get people excited about the movie... As I walked up the street further, I was stopped by a clean shaven man in a black suit with a large semi automatic pistol underneath his jacket and I asked what was going on. "John McCain and his wife Cindy are checking into the Hilton." Okay, you had to shut down a street for this? There are snipers on rooftops, armed personal everywhere, and about 15 assistants carrying in luggage and other bags. I understand this guy is a senator and somebody might not like his policies, but come on. Who is fitting the bill for the 8 Black Escalades, NYPD police details and sniper crews, secret service personal, and all the other accoutrements that must go into this... Campaign contributions or since he is a senator, taxpayer dollars? I hope it is not the latter. What happened to the Straight Talk Express? There isn't a bed or a cot on that thing? Along with McCain checking into the hotel were all the yahoos and weirdoes with McCain/Palin T-Shirts screaming and yelling hoping for a small glimpse of the man as he walks 10 feet from the car to the hotel door. This is what is wrong with society. Don't you have anything better to do then stand outside for hours, hold a sign that can't be seen for a 2 second viewing of the back of a 70 year old man as he runs into a hotel at 11:00 at night? Wait a second. New York is full of weirdoes. Earlier that day, as I was walking up 8th avenue, a man was standing on the corner pointing at everyone who walked passed him as he was saying, "I love you". I muttered, "right back at you buddy" when his finger pointed at me... the poor guy probably used to work for Lehman Bros.

Bear

What kind of owner/father would I be if I didn't post a picture of my dog/son?

Bathroom Redo

Kate has been buggin me about redoing the downstairs bathroom for months. Well actually since we moved into the house 2 years ago. One day I ripped out the daylight ceiling and next thing I know, I am tearing out the whole thing... New ceiling, new floor, new countertop, new faucet, new toilet, new wainscoting, new lighting...