The Saturday after Christmas, Tony, Chris, my friend Bob and I took a drive down to Charlotte to cheer for Pitt in the Meineke Car Care Bowl against UNC at Bank of America Stadium.
Before we even left Hillsborough at about 10:45 AM for the 140-mile trip, we benefited from some alert Web browsing by Tony, who noticed (on the WRAL-TV web site) that there was a major traffic tie-up on southbound I-85 in Alamance County. A tractor trailer had overturned blocking 3 of the 4 southbound lanes.
With that knowledge, we planned an alternate route and took US-70 from Hillsborough through Mebane and into Graham where we were able to pick I-85 backup (5 or so miles after the mess at mile marker 154). The going was slow on US-70 (it is 2 lanes in stretches with a fair number of lights and fairly heavy traffic) but we were back on I-85 by 11:30 or so.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wiffle Ball - Or How I Used to Spend My Summers - Part 1
(This post has loser/geek/social retard written all over it - just bear with me please.)
My Dad's Aunt Jean and Uncle Jimmy had a small cottage on the Juniata River in a town outside of Huntingdon called Ardenheim. Various families on my Dad's side would use the cottage during summers and I have some vivid memories of those times. Unfortunately, Hurricane Agnes produced major flooding in 1972 which wiped out the cottage (and our sole vacation destination).
Outside of one infamous trip to Ocean City, MD in 1976, my summer vacations from 1973 through 1980 consisted of basically day trips 2 or 3 times a year to Pittsburgh each year for Pirate games. There wasn't any disposable income for exotic traveling or planned activities to enrich the children. (Somehow I survived.)
Our summers were spent playing outside in our neighborhood Alley (imagine that). Once I really got into basketball around 74 or so (and later when our backyard was paved), I spent a fair amount of my summer playing hoops and improving my game.
But the biggest summer game in the Alley during the years between 72 and 76 had to be Wiffle Ball. This is how I spent basically every day of my summer vacation in those years (7 days a week from the first week of June until the Tuesday after Labor Day).
Balls
The Wiffle Ball Classic - There were several variations of the ball, but by far, the most popular and best ball was the classic holes on one side ball. I will refer to this as the Wiffle Ball Classic.
This was perfection. The plastic was high-quality. The aerodynamic features of the ball permitted all sorts of movement:
While tape could be used to extend the playable life of a ball, after extended use and patching, the ball would become completely covered in black tape.There were several disadvantages to having to play with a ball in this condition: 
My Dad's Aunt Jean and Uncle Jimmy had a small cottage on the Juniata River in a town outside of Huntingdon called Ardenheim. Various families on my Dad's side would use the cottage during summers and I have some vivid memories of those times. Unfortunately, Hurricane Agnes produced major flooding in 1972 which wiped out the cottage (and our sole vacation destination).
Outside of one infamous trip to Ocean City, MD in 1976, my summer vacations from 1973 through 1980 consisted of basically day trips 2 or 3 times a year to Pittsburgh each year for Pirate games. There wasn't any disposable income for exotic traveling or planned activities to enrich the children. (Somehow I survived.)
Our summers were spent playing outside in our neighborhood Alley (imagine that). Once I really got into basketball around 74 or so (and later when our backyard was paved), I spent a fair amount of my summer playing hoops and improving my game.
But the biggest summer game in the Alley during the years between 72 and 76 had to be Wiffle Ball. This is how I spent basically every day of my summer vacation in those years (7 days a week from the first week of June until the Tuesday after Labor Day).
Balls
The Wiffle Ball Classic - There were several variations of the ball, but by far, the most popular and best ball was the classic holes on one side ball. I will refer to this as the Wiffle Ball Classic.
- Classic curves
- Reverse screwballs
- Coming from the side, you could make it rise.
- Drop balls coming straight over the top.
- Knuckle balls were a bit riskier with this variant. I don't think anybody ever really figured out a good grip on the ball to get a consistent flutter type of knuckler going.
By the way, when I talk about good movement, I am really referring to predictable and reproducible movement under the control of the thrower (both the pitcher and the fielders). The standard definition of movement usually refers to the ability of the thrower to not throw a ball in a straight line. If you couldn't control the ball, it didn't matter if the ball exhibited the property of good movement. Hell, by that standard definition, you could argue that Steve Blass had good movement in 1973 :-)
The ball was durable and rarely would dent. In terms of quality control, this ball was able to sustain some serious game play. Everything about this ball said top-of-the-line. Even the packaging was first rate:
The ball was durable and rarely would dent. In terms of quality control, this ball was able to sustain some serious game play. Everything about this ball said top-of-the-line. Even the packaging was first rate:
When you went to Thrift Drug at the Cricket Field Plaza to get a new ball, you would see gorgeous stacks of these boxes on store shelfs along with the other high end stuff (like cans of tennis balls). You would never see these in the bins holding the other balls.
But engineering is all about trade-offs. There were some high-stress areas on this sphere. The areas of plastic between the holes would tend to get cut up first.
The Taped Ball. So we adapted and improvised. Duct tape and electrician's tape could be used to patch up a cut ball. (Electrician's tape by far was preferable - the duct tape would easily peel off.) While tape could be used to extend the playable life of a ball, after extended use and patching, the ball would become completely covered in black tape.There were several disadvantages to having to play with a ball in this condition:
- The ball became much heavier.
- The ball could be hit farther.
- It was impossible to get good movement with such a ball.
As a result, games played with such a ball resulted in much more offense. Essentially, taping the ball violated the perfect equilibrium that existed between the physical dimensions of the Alley, the physicial properties of the ball and bat, and the physical capabilities of the players. (Think of this as our own Juiced Ball Era).
In addition to damaging the purity of the game, there were other more practical disadvantages to playing with a taped ball:
- It lessened the reaction time that a pitcher had when one of those bad boys was drilled though the box. Think about it. You are throwing essentially a batting practice watermelon with no movement to a hitter that is standing 15-17 feet away. I can still feel the welts that those tape balls could leave.
- The taped ball was quite difficult to track in our twilight games after supper.
- The opportunity for property damage increased. The taped ball was hit harder and could travel longer. I need this confirmed, but I recall that it was a taped ball that once broke a window in Charlie Perry's house (this was dead center field in the main Alley field - think Monument Alley in Yankee Stadium). The window was actually covered with a screen but didn't stand a chance against that plastic and electrical tape missile).
The Too Many Holes Ball. There were several other types of balls that we used as well. The following ball got used a bit (when no one had a Wiffle Ball Classic).
This ball shared the same high-quality plastic of the Wiffle Ball Classic but that is where the comparison ends. One had no chance to get consistent movement with this ball. The additional holes led to more cuts and less durability.
I have to think that the Product Manager for this ball just didn't get what Wiffle Ball was about - the movement of the ball. Probably some bean counter who saw an opportunity to reduce costs by reducing the quantity of plastic required to produce a ball and thought that his target customer wasn't discriminating enough to care.
This ball was OK to use in a pinch or as a teaching tool - Hell, we all used training wheels at one point learning to ride a bike - but not for serious game play.
The No Holes Ball. The last type of ball featured a hard plastic with no holes and a hollow interior. Some of these balls had seams that simulated a real hardball. The ones with seams permitted decent movement and this ball also had higher durability (better than the Wiffle Ball Classic).
The main disadvantage was this ball's high dent-quotient. Nothing would kill the pace of a good Wiffle Ball game more than having to call time and work out the dents. Of course repeated dents would significantly stress a ball to the point where you would see one of these balls lying in the Alley, beyond all repair and in a grotesque form.
This ball had a high welt-quotient as well. When early season games were played with this ball in April, prudent players would make sure that as much skin as possible was covered. This ball could tear through a windbreaker.
The No Holes Ball. The last type of ball featured a hard plastic with no holes and a hollow interior. Some of these balls had seams that simulated a real hardball. The ones with seams permitted decent movement and this ball also had higher durability (better than the Wiffle Ball Classic).
The main disadvantage was this ball's high dent-quotient. Nothing would kill the pace of a good Wiffle Ball game more than having to call time and work out the dents. Of course repeated dents would significantly stress a ball to the point where you would see one of these balls lying in the Alley, beyond all repair and in a grotesque form.
This ball had a high welt-quotient as well. When early season games were played with this ball in April, prudent players would make sure that as much skin as possible was covered. This ball could tear through a windbreaker.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
On Fanboys
I discovered a really cool site that describes the behind-the-scenes history and development of the Apple Macintosh in the early 1980s - Folklore.org: Macintosh Stories. It is written from the perspective of Andy Hertzfeld, who was one of the primary developers of the Macintosh Operating System.Some of the technical articles around how the team managed to squeeze so much groundbreaking user interface functionalities into 128KB of memory are fascinating.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Thank God There Was No YouTube Then!
- Gorgeous dark green base with understated gold trim for the shorts and jersey.
- The shorts were of the nut-hugger variety, but hey, this was the 1970s. (Think John Stockton of the Utah Jazz, only shorter and tighter.)
- The lettering was classy and block-styled, patterned after the UCLA Bruins (who at that time had won the NCAA Championship in like 14 out of the last 15 years).
- For socks, the baseball-style stirrups had gold stripes over green. In those days, basketball players wore knee length tube socks as the base, with the stirrups over those, and (yet) another pair of shin-high tubers over those to complete the look.
- White shooter shirts and warm-up pants with green trim. It was unheard of in those days, for any Altoona Parochial League team to have warm-ups.
- The ensemble was completed with Pro Keds sneakers and plenty of Bubble Yum (this was before the spider eggs scandal).
(I am not sure who took the above pictures, but, Lord, their sense of orientation is a bit off - either that, or they were intent on highlighting the window treatments at my expense.) The warm-up pants were of the drawstring variety and on a December evening in 1975, those drawstrings contributed to one of the most embarrassing moments in my life.
We were playing the last game at the Jewish Memorial Center on a Thursday night. (We played in two separate leagues. During the week in a league at JMC and then in the official APL games on the weekend, which were played at BG.)
The opponent was an APL bottom feeder (either Mt. Caramel, St Johns, or St. Patricks). The kind of team we would steamroll in the first half, so the second and third string could get plenty of run in the second half. This game would be over by halftime. (I think we lost a total of 4 games the whole year including 2 to Johnstown West End Catholic in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese Playoffs).
I don’t remember much about how I played in the game. What I vividly remember is the sequence of events between the time the buzzer sounded ending warm-ups and the tip-off.
As I walked over to the bench, I noticed that I had a knot in the drawstrings of my warm-up pants. How that knot got there, I have no idea. Also, my drawstrings seemed to have been drawn abnormally tight that evening.
Our policy was that we would all take our warm-ups off at the beginning of the game (starters or backups). So as everyone walked over the bench and stripped out of their warm-ups. I ripped off my shooter warm-up shirt and went to work on the damn knot.
At this point, we would gather around Coach Mike (Mouse) Malligan for our last minute instructions. We all would just stand up, circling Mouse as opposed to sitting on the bench.
The score board at the far end of the JMC would count the time down until the final horn signaling the tipoff. My recollection is that it was counting down from 1:00 minute.
Mouse wasn’t the most original orator as a coach.
OK guys gather up.
Still focused, trying to work out the knot, Have no finger nails, so this is frustrating.
Starters are Kasun and Strobert underneath. Bauer at the point and Sleaze and Needy on the wings. We are going 3-2 zone on defense and 2-2-1 half-court press after made baskets.Sleaze was Steve Lawruk. I would alternate as a starter with Joe Page that season. This was one of those nights where I wouldn’t have been disappointed if Page had gotten the call as I was still trying to work this damn knot out.
On offense , just run the standard stuff. Look inside first and don’t be afraid to take the open shot. OK Needy?At this point I am getting frantic. So, I take a chance on trying to brute-force this sucker and yank the one end of the string like there is no tomorrow. Of course, this only serves to strengthen the knot. So at this point, I only have one option.
Everybody in. On 3. 1….2…..3…. Pride!Pride was our team nickname. I just grab my warm-ups and yank them hard to the floor. The warm-ups fall to the floor…..along with my basketball shorts, underwear (tighty whities), and my jock. That is right, sports fans, I hit the trifecta.
At this point, I scramble like hell to get three of those articles off the floor and in their appropriate spots (or best that I can). I look up nonchalantly (acting all cool) and make direct eye contact with our assistant coach, Joe Mashue (my homeroom teacher and science teacher). Mashue is laughing his ass off.
I honestly don’t think any of the other players on my team saw any of this. The starters were heading out to center court and everybody else had their backs turned heading to their seats on the bench.
Come to think of it, there was this one girl in the two rows of chairs right behind our bench that (I assumed) was a family member waiting for one of the players from the previous game to return from the locker room. She was our age (13 or 14) and seemed to be staring at me all night long with this somewhat whimsical look on her face. To this day, I can’t tell you if it was a look of adoration or pity.
Designing to Write
Up until I was about 24 or so, I used to think that my left-brain orientation would prohibit me from ever being a passable writer. Writing and composition were more art in my mind than anything else - those artsy Liberal Arts majors could have it and I didn't need it. My thinking was such that at Pitt, I took "Calc 4 - Differential Equations" for kicks my senior year even though neither my Major (Computer Science) or Minor (Mathematics) required it. This was the safe choice for me - it was an easy 4 credits and I didn't have to sweat out some course with major writing requirements in it.
That thinking totally changed once I joined industry. It turns out that I learned quickly that writing is an important part of the professional engineer's job as all sorts of software development phases require the ability to communicate clearly with the written word. We develop all sorts of documents such as Requirements Specifications, Software Architecture Definitions, High and Low-Level Software Design Documents, and contribute to user manuals and guides.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Fashion Sensibilities
So Santa is going to bring me one of these for Christmas. It is the new Nike Replica of the Home Jersey of Pitt's outstanding Wide out, Jonathan Baldwin. I plan to wear this on Saturday when we take a road trip to Charlotte to watch my Alma mater face the UNC Tar Heels in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
My rationale for buying this was that....
First, they tell you that you can't wear a baseball cap backwards if you are above a certain age and now this. Sigh, just like David Puddy, I am just trying to support the team.
My rationale for buying this was that....
- I think the jersey looks sharp as hell.
- Baldwin is a true sophomore, so it will be current next year as well when he comes back to Pitt.
- In all likelihood, Baldwin will be the next in a long line of great NFL pros that Pitt has produced, which also enhances the useful lifespan of the jersey.
First, they tell you that you can't wear a baseball cap backwards if you are above a certain age and now this. Sigh, just like David Puddy, I am just trying to support the team.
Guilty of Intentional Nudity
Came across this bizarre story in the Washington Post:
'Intentionally naked' Fairfax County man appealing his conviction.
Don't know about this unintentional vs intentional stuff. I just hope for the sake of my siblings (and their families) as well as Maggie's folks in Northern Virginia, that Erick gets his package wrapped in time for Christmas.
(Yes, I am on a roll today.)
'Intentionally naked' Fairfax County man appealing his conviction.
Don't know about this unintentional vs intentional stuff. I just hope for the sake of my siblings (and their families) as well as Maggie's folks in Northern Virginia, that Erick gets his package wrapped in time for Christmas.
(Yes, I am on a roll today.)
Bread Stuffing and a Lot Of Money
In the summer of 1981, between my freshman and sophomore years at the University of Pittsburgh, I worked in the Housekeeping Department at Mercy Hospital in Altoona. The job was courtesy of my sister Joan who worked in the Human Resources Department at Mercy.
The job description involved mopping and buffing floors, picking up trash in offices, polishing elevators, and a general clause of "Other Responsibilities As Required". Turns out these "Other Responsibilities" included cleaning up the odd case of projectile vomiting in Pediatrics or tending to situations where explosive diarrhea had gone bad (does that ever not go bad?). Think of Winston Wolf (played by Harvey Keitel) from Pulp Fiction, only without the blood and guts (well not all of the guts anyways).
It was my first real job and I learned much during that summer just by observing how people in various levels of power and status within an organization treat those in lower levels. Lessons that served me well in the Real World a couple of years later.
Summer jobs were incredibly difficult to find in those days (the Early 1980s Recession was just starting) and I was really grateful to Joan for pulling those strings for me.
The job was second shift (3:00 PM to 11:30 PM) from Monday to Friday and one of the side benefits of that was that I really got into late night TV. I would have a hard time winding down so would often stay up until 3:30 or 4:00 each morning.
I began to appreciate the brilliance of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (though that summer I would usually miss the monologue). Carson was a true American original, born and raised in the Midwest, but able to successfully navigate the politics and egos of the entertainment industry in both New York and Los Angeles. Through it all, Johnny continued to seem to be one of us.
If you are among those of us that are male and have gone through a divorce, the following exchange between Johnny and band leader Doc Severensin is a classic. Even if you aren't or haven't, this clip is still "Gold, Jerry!"
I can't give you any.....but I'll sell you some!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Fortunate Son
The holidays are traditionally a time of reflecting and planning. Reflecting on the year just passed as well as planning for the upcoming year. My thoughts, though, with all this down time, always tend to drift back to my parents.
My dad (Cody Nedimyer) was born in Altoona in 1923 - his ancestors moved to this country from Bavaria in the early 1800s and settled in St. Lawrence PA. Mom (Joan Maloney) came from a large Irish Catholic family and also was born in Blair County in 1926. They were married in 1950.
We grew up in a working class neighborhood of Altoona called Fairview. Our house was cater-corner to the Fairview Cemetery and down the hill from the largest hospital in Altoona (The Altoona Hospital) . The houses were dirt cheap - probably with valuations in the 5-7K range (I am sure that my family will correct me if I am way off on any of the history in this article). Even though this was a lower-income area, most of the property owners took decent care of their properties.
We were a paycheck-to-paycheck family. My father came back from World War II and spent the majority of his working life (30+ years) working as a Railroad Car Repairman in Blair County, first for the Pennsylvania Railroad and then, after mergers and nationalization of the US railroad system, with Penn Central and Conrail. I think the highest annual salary my father made was in the ballpark of $21,000. The work was physical work, performed outside in raw Central Pennsylvania winters and the heat of summer. If work was missed for any reason (for example, the flu), Dad didn't get paid.
When IBM Gaithersburg tendered me an offer in June, 1984, it was for $24,500. Dad was practically floored! After I accepted the offer but before I packed up and moved for MD, Dad took me up to the Newburg Fire Hall to have a beer with his peeps. I remember him saying to Uncle John Maloney (one of his favorite drinking buddies and my mom's fraternal twin), that "Joey was going to be making the big money at IBM". I think I physically cringed, but I know that was a proud moment for him.
Dad was also an excellent musician and was named the Dance Band Leader at Altoona High School where he graduated in 1941. He had major chops with the tenor sax and clarinet, could sight read, and would also occasionally dabble on the piano. To pick up some additional money, a couple of nights a week, after work or on weekends, he would hit the road with a couple of other buddies in a 3-4 piece unit that would play Big Band and Swing music at small clubs or VFWs in the area.
Mom was also high school educated and raised the kids. Internally within the family, she was no-nonsense with an unyielding will. You could not win an argument with Mom (particularly those issues with which the Catholic Church had established a position). Her doghouse was legendary and if you ended up in it, you would know it and you would make damn sure you didn't end up there again.
Externally, if someone outside of the family crossed one of us in any way, Mom could bring some serious fury. I think the technical term is that she had our backs.
When the babies of the family (Laurey and me) were around 11 or so, and were able to tend to ourselves for a couple of hours after school, Mom took a part-time job at a company called Modern Communication on 16th Street in Altoona. This company provided a telephone answering service for local businesses. I recall the hours were 12:30 - 5:00 or so. Mom never learned to drive a car and walked to work (and mostly everywhere else) and then would get picked up after work by Dad or Joni.
My parent's marriage was not perfect. I don't believe they were ever very happy - with their relationship with each other or with their lots in life. But I can, to this day, remember so many acts of kindness from both of them. The two things that they both unquestionably had in common (and in spades) were their work ethic and their selflessness.
Dad's work ethic spoke for itself - doing physical work with little job satisfaction, for 50 weeks a year well into your late 50s. (I can only imagine how easy it could have been for Dad to turn the alarm clock off at 4:30 AM on those January mornings and go back to sleep.) With Mom, the house was always clean, clothes were washed by hand (until very late in her life), home cooked meals were always there on time, and children were well-tended to.
With such meager incomes, I am still not quite sure how they were able to put 5 kids through private schools and 3 through college - other than that they simply sacrificed for us.
Mom passed away of malignant lymphoma when I was 18 (two weeks before I left for college) and Dad passed on in 1991 (when I was 29). There is not a day goes by that I don't think of them or miss them.
My dad (Cody Nedimyer) was born in Altoona in 1923 - his ancestors moved to this country from Bavaria in the early 1800s and settled in St. Lawrence PA. Mom (Joan Maloney) came from a large Irish Catholic family and also was born in Blair County in 1926. They were married in 1950.
We grew up in a working class neighborhood of Altoona called Fairview. Our house was cater-corner to the Fairview Cemetery and down the hill from the largest hospital in Altoona (The Altoona Hospital) . The houses were dirt cheap - probably with valuations in the 5-7K range (I am sure that my family will correct me if I am way off on any of the history in this article). Even though this was a lower-income area, most of the property owners took decent care of their properties.
We were a paycheck-to-paycheck family. My father came back from World War II and spent the majority of his working life (30+ years) working as a Railroad Car Repairman in Blair County, first for the Pennsylvania Railroad and then, after mergers and nationalization of the US railroad system, with Penn Central and Conrail. I think the highest annual salary my father made was in the ballpark of $21,000. The work was physical work, performed outside in raw Central Pennsylvania winters and the heat of summer. If work was missed for any reason (for example, the flu), Dad didn't get paid.
When IBM Gaithersburg tendered me an offer in June, 1984, it was for $24,500. Dad was practically floored! After I accepted the offer but before I packed up and moved for MD, Dad took me up to the Newburg Fire Hall to have a beer with his peeps. I remember him saying to Uncle John Maloney (one of his favorite drinking buddies and my mom's fraternal twin), that "Joey was going to be making the big money at IBM". I think I physically cringed, but I know that was a proud moment for him.
Dad was also an excellent musician and was named the Dance Band Leader at Altoona High School where he graduated in 1941. He had major chops with the tenor sax and clarinet, could sight read, and would also occasionally dabble on the piano. To pick up some additional money, a couple of nights a week, after work or on weekends, he would hit the road with a couple of other buddies in a 3-4 piece unit that would play Big Band and Swing music at small clubs or VFWs in the area.
Mom was also high school educated and raised the kids. Internally within the family, she was no-nonsense with an unyielding will. You could not win an argument with Mom (particularly those issues with which the Catholic Church had established a position). Her doghouse was legendary and if you ended up in it, you would know it and you would make damn sure you didn't end up there again.
Externally, if someone outside of the family crossed one of us in any way, Mom could bring some serious fury. I think the technical term is that she had our backs.
When the babies of the family (Laurey and me) were around 11 or so, and were able to tend to ourselves for a couple of hours after school, Mom took a part-time job at a company called Modern Communication on 16th Street in Altoona. This company provided a telephone answering service for local businesses. I recall the hours were 12:30 - 5:00 or so. Mom never learned to drive a car and walked to work (and mostly everywhere else) and then would get picked up after work by Dad or Joni.
My parent's marriage was not perfect. I don't believe they were ever very happy - with their relationship with each other or with their lots in life. But I can, to this day, remember so many acts of kindness from both of them. The two things that they both unquestionably had in common (and in spades) were their work ethic and their selflessness.
Dad's work ethic spoke for itself - doing physical work with little job satisfaction, for 50 weeks a year well into your late 50s. (I can only imagine how easy it could have been for Dad to turn the alarm clock off at 4:30 AM on those January mornings and go back to sleep.) With Mom, the house was always clean, clothes were washed by hand (until very late in her life), home cooked meals were always there on time, and children were well-tended to.
With such meager incomes, I am still not quite sure how they were able to put 5 kids through private schools and 3 through college - other than that they simply sacrificed for us.
Mom passed away of malignant lymphoma when I was 18 (two weeks before I left for college) and Dad passed on in 1991 (when I was 29). There is not a day goes by that I don't think of them or miss them.
Friday, December 18, 2009
The Boys Are Back in Town
Well, at least one is.
Chris arrived yesterday back home fresh off of finals at UNCG. He brought a friend with him as well (and it wasn't Sharene). The friend is named Hailey and is a mixed husky/lab not yet 6 months old. So now I have gone from being able to hear myself think in my 2200 square feet to sharing my space with 2 additional living creatures. Hailey is a cute pup. While she doesn't stray far from Chris, at any point in time, she seems to have adjusted well to me so it is all good. Yesterday, Chris said that she took a run at a deer in the back yard :-) When that pup is all grown, she is going to be a handful.
We are all creatures of habit to a certain degree and I am no different. My cycle or routine is not entirely synchronized with Chris' whose pattern is probably typical for a 20 year old - so there is a little adjustment on both sides.
I'll get up generally around 5:30 each morning and like to get my exercise out of the way. My equipment is in the formal living room (on padding on the hardwoods) and when working out, I like to crank the receiver (in the great room) loud enough to listen to the digital music channels on cable or pop a CD in.
One of the benefits of living in a development with decent sized lots (mine is 1.35 acres) is that I can do this at 5:30 in the morning without perturbing the neighbors.
That really wouldn't have worked at 1521 Ninth Street in Altoona where my bedroom (inherited from Steve and Rich when they went off to college and then their careers) was separated from 1523 by about a 3-4 foot buffer. From the summer of 1975 (before my 8th grade at McNelis), I have vivid memories of hearing Someone Saved My Life Tonight by Elton John played over and over and over again one hot July evening. (I think the Shannon's really liked that song.)
When Chris or one of the other guys is home, I usually compromise - I keep my workout typically in the morning, but no music. The rhythm of the treadmill once it gets moving is easy to sleep over upstairs, however it makes for a pretty boring run.
I hear that there is this thing called digital music and these gadgets called iPods. Hint. Either that or a nice flat screen to wall mount within viewing distance of the equipment so I can get the updates for the Tiger bimbo count on the Sportscenter ticker. Yo Santa - get to work on it!
The other big difference with Chris back is the need to restock the food supply - both quantity and variety. Chris mentioned that he has gained 15 pounds since summer (the "Sophomore 15"?) And of course, I now feel obligated to (egads) prepare real meals.
It is great to have Chris back now for the holidays and looking forward to Joe,Jr and Tony joining us later in the week.
Chris arrived yesterday back home fresh off of finals at UNCG. He brought a friend with him as well (and it wasn't Sharene). The friend is named Hailey and is a mixed husky/lab not yet 6 months old. So now I have gone from being able to hear myself think in my 2200 square feet to sharing my space with 2 additional living creatures. Hailey is a cute pup. While she doesn't stray far from Chris, at any point in time, she seems to have adjusted well to me so it is all good. Yesterday, Chris said that she took a run at a deer in the back yard :-) When that pup is all grown, she is going to be a handful.
We are all creatures of habit to a certain degree and I am no different. My cycle or routine is not entirely synchronized with Chris' whose pattern is probably typical for a 20 year old - so there is a little adjustment on both sides.
I'll get up generally around 5:30 each morning and like to get my exercise out of the way. My equipment is in the formal living room (on padding on the hardwoods) and when working out, I like to crank the receiver (in the great room) loud enough to listen to the digital music channels on cable or pop a CD in.
One of the benefits of living in a development with decent sized lots (mine is 1.35 acres) is that I can do this at 5:30 in the morning without perturbing the neighbors.
That really wouldn't have worked at 1521 Ninth Street in Altoona where my bedroom (inherited from Steve and Rich when they went off to college and then their careers) was separated from 1523 by about a 3-4 foot buffer. From the summer of 1975 (before my 8th grade at McNelis), I have vivid memories of hearing Someone Saved My Life Tonight by Elton John played over and over and over again one hot July evening. (I think the Shannon's really liked that song.)
When Chris or one of the other guys is home, I usually compromise - I keep my workout typically in the morning, but no music. The rhythm of the treadmill once it gets moving is easy to sleep over upstairs, however it makes for a pretty boring run.
I hear that there is this thing called digital music and these gadgets called iPods. Hint. Either that or a nice flat screen to wall mount within viewing distance of the equipment so I can get the updates for the Tiger bimbo count on the Sportscenter ticker. Yo Santa - get to work on it!
The other big difference with Chris back is the need to restock the food supply - both quantity and variety. Chris mentioned that he has gained 15 pounds since summer (the "Sophomore 15"?) And of course, I now feel obligated to (egads) prepare real meals.
It is great to have Chris back now for the holidays and looking forward to Joe,Jr and Tony joining us later in the week.
Why The Change of Heart?
Even though I make a decent living in the technology industry, until now, I have resisted the urge to join the blogging scene. This was partly out of fear that a) no one could possibly find what I have to say interesting (I bore myself most of the time) and b) someone actually might find it interesting.
The former would be like kicking a man when he's down. I could envision some sort of table showing all of the blogs listed by order of popularity and the hit count for my blog being a negative number.
The latter of course would bring with it the subsequent obligations to continue to be interesting. Who needs more obligations, eh?
The former would be like kicking a man when he's down. I could envision some sort of table showing all of the blogs listed by order of popularity and the hit count for my blog being a negative number.
The latter of course would bring with it the subsequent obligations to continue to be interesting. Who needs more obligations, eh?
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