Amy's B-Day Party

Yesterday evening a few of us stopped up at Amy and Ralphie's place for a little birthday celebration with Amy. I have to say the place looks great, they have put in hardwood floors in the living room and the baby's bedroom. They still have their room to do and then Ralphie said he is going to start on the outside.

I promised Amy I would get her whatever music she wants to put on her new Mp3 player, but I forgot the list last night when we left, but Amy was still filling it out.

I took my camera last night and took a few pictures from last night. I have started and added them to an album on my picture site called general Pics of 2008.

This evening Me, Kim, Brittney, and Terri are going to watch Mom in her Easter play at Riverside Apostolic Church
. The play runs from last night until Saturday.

Happy Birthday Amy

I would like to take this chance to wish my niece Amy a very Happy 21st (you'll figure it out later) Birthday today. I tried calling her earlier, but I think she is at work today and has her cell Phone turned off.

Happy Birthday Amy

Eight Lucky Ladies

The women of the Mon County tax collection office made their trip to Charleston Yesterday to claim their winnings. Each woman was given a $1 Million check initially (waiting to collect all money from all states) to start off. They selected the cash option and each of these eight lucky ladies will end up with $12 Million each AFTER taxes.

I'm glad that not only was another big jackpot won in West Virginia, but won in Mon County. The only bad thing about this scenerio, it wasn't my ticket (I think Phil is trying to get back at me).

They killed our Karma.

I know, we all have big dreams of winning the lottery, this past weekend the $276 Million Powerball jackpot was not only won by someone from WV, but 8 women who work in Morgantown at the Mon County Sheriffs Department Tax Office will be taking the trip to the Charleston Lottery headquarters today to officially turn in the ticket and claim their winnings.

It's nice to have local people hit it, but it kills my karma of me ever winning because they are from the same city.

On top of that, a Blacksville woman ALSO won $150,000. It was a good day to be from Mon County, I just didn't have the right numbers. I wonder if I can get a refund and get the right numbers. =)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Today is Monday, but it is also a time when you can walk into any local pub and find green beer and people decked out in the color green. It is St.Patrick's Day around the world. A time when the leprechauns are a plentiful and everyone is a little bit Irish for a day.

The big question you need to be asking yourself is if you are wearing green today? My iPod is green, so I guess that counts for me considering I'm the only one here. I'm not sure what anyones plans are for today, I'm sure Nick and Terri will have something going on at the bar in honor of the day.


St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time - a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic.--William Maginn

What a great weekend to be a Mountaineer.

Talk about a good weekend for being a Mountaineer. It started on a down note Friday Night when the Basketball team lost to Georgetown in the Semi-Finals of the Big East Tournament.

This afternoon the NCAA Tournament Field was announced. West Virginia is a 7 Seed and will play against Arizona in Washington DC. When they beat Arizona, it will be two coaching legends going against each other when Bob Huggins of WVU will most likely match up against Mike Krzyzewski of Duke in the second round for a Sweet 16 spot. The biggest match up I want to see is USC vs Kansas State. USC is lead by WV native Freshman OJ Mayo who was the nations top recruit last year. Everyone thought he was going to go to Kansas State and Bob Huggins, but chose to go to USC. Kansas State has a Freshman who like Mayo is one of the two players up for player of the year in Michael Beasley. Also on Kansas State was one of the top recruits from two years ago and another native West Virginian Bill Walker. This game will feature three of the Nations top recruits over the last two years, and all three with very close ties to Bob Huggins.

Now as if the basketball news wasn't good enough, how about the 2009 Football recruiting class beginning with a verbal from the biggest name Wide Receiver in the 2009 class and him also bringing his highly ranked QB with him. Logan Heastie gave WVU a verbal commitment for 2009 and his QB team mate Tajh Boyd has also verballed to WVU. Talk about a recruiting class starting out with a bang, WOW.

What a great weekend to be a Mountaineer.

Last Night

Last night I had another date, I'm starting to rack up a number of those for 2009 so far, only this time it was with a girl named Michelle. She was someone I invited to the Christmas Eve party this past year, but she never made it. We ran across each other again on the net in the past week and started talking.

Actually she told me that I showed up on her sisters Match.com account last year as a possible match, which I thought was kind of funny. I think I owe my entire social life to either match.com, Wal-Mart or a combination of the two.

It was a dinner and a movie type of date, started out at Pizza Hut (like you would have to twist my arm to go there) and ended up watching the movie 10,000 BC. It was a movie that looked pretty good in the previews, so we went to see it.

Ouch

West Virginia played Georgetown last night int he Semi-Finals of the Big East Tournament. The Mountaineers playing their third game in three days just ran out of gas against the top seeded Hoyas 55-72 and ended their Big East Title hopes.

Tomorrow the NCAA Tournament bids come out and we should be sitting pretty and get one of the 65 bids, last year we were left out of the NCAA Tournament and won the 2007 NIT Tournament. This shouldn't be the case this year with 24 wins and a semifinal finish in the powerhouse Big East Tournament.

Stay tuned and we'll see who we play next, in the NCAA Tournament.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look forward to, when the work for the week ceases and we sit back and start to enjoy the fruits of our labors for a few days.

It's been a pretty busy week at work for me, thats a first in a while, so I welcome the challenge again. Not having much to do can make a week go slow, so like it is a welcome change.

Did you watch the Mountaineers yesterday? I guess UCONN didn't have an answer for Joe Alexander. He lit them up for 32 points the first time we played and we lost, yesterday Joe torched them for a new career high of 34 points in a 78-72 win in the Big East Quarterfinals. We now advance to the Semi-Finals tonight against Georgetown at 7:00 this evening. Georgetown beat us on a controversial ending earlier this year, so I'm sure the team will be ready.

The weather has been nice and getting nicer, I need to get my rear end out on the rails to trails and start getting ready for Softball season. It's been too long since all the guys have been together again and it's long overdue.

I may go back to Uniontown again this Sunday, Arron's team has advanced to the Championship game and I may go up and watch him play. They won last Saturday and Sunday to advance to the AAU Championship game.

Have a great weekend.

On to round 2 today

Yesterday the WVU men's basketball team played their first round game in the Big East Tournament and beat Providence 58-53 in an ugly game where we were just not playing our best basketball, however they did manage to grab a win with Joe Alexander putting in yet another in his streak of stellar performances.

No time to sit back and relax as we take on UCONN today at 2:30 in the second round of the tournament. Last time we played UCONN got the better of us and Joe Alexander had a career high 32 points, but I would look for UCONN to try a little harder to shut Joe down today meaning others are going to have to step up and have a big game if we want to beat UCONN.

Put on your Blue and Gold and tune in to ESPN at 2:30 to cheer on the Mountaineers.

How about a midweeks tidbits

* Kim called me last night and told me about this new site that I should set up to do the Hall Family site like I did for Christmas. It's actually a script I installed on my host and honestly spent minimal time developing it. Ironically I had already set up a site at the site she was telling me about last night, I did it last year. HERE is that site. It also has a series of badges that we can use. Note to Kim, you used your gmail account to sign up.


View my page on Hall Family Network

If you want to sign up, go HERE

* For those of you interested, WVU plays basketball today at 2:00 in the first round of the Big East Tournament when we take on Providence. WVU is currently 22-9 on the season and should be able to advance in the tournament today.

* I watched American Idol last night, my favorite in the competition put on a horrible performance. David Archuleta put on his worst performance of the season. However if I have to guess who is going home, I would guess Kristy Lee Cook, although votefortheworst.com is recommending everyone vote for Amanda Overmeyer.



* Mom is going to be in a play next week at Riverside Apostolic Church . I guess it is supposed to run for four days next week. Kim asked if I was going to go and I told her I would go. She suggested anyone who is planning on going, going on the same night.

* I ran into one of my softball team mates yesterday at Wal-Mart, Steve Dodrill says he is ready to go.

Have a great day.

Over the Hill Quiz

1. What builds strong bodies 12 ways?
A. Flintstones vitamins
B. The buttmaster
C. Spaghetti
D. Wonder Bread
E. Orange Juice
F. Milk
G. Cod Liver Oil


2. Before he was Muhammed Ali, he was...
A. Sugar Ray Robinson
B. Roy Orbison
C. Gene Autry
D. Rudolph Valentino
E. Fabian
F. Mickey Mantle
G. Cassius Clay


3. Pogo, the comic strip character said, 'We have met the enemy and...
A. It's you
B. He is us
C. It's the Grinch
D. He wasn't home
E. He's really mean
F. We quit
G. He surrendered



4. Good night, David.
A. Good night, Chet
B. Sleep well
C. Good Night, Irene
D. Good Night, Gracie
E. See you later, alligator
F. Until tomorrow
G. Good night, Steve


5. You'll wonder where the yellow went,
A. When you use Tide
B. When you lose your crayons
C. When you clean your tub
D. If you paint the room blue
E. If you buy a soft water tank
F. When you use Lady Clairol
G. When you brush your teeth with Pepsodent



6. Before he was the Skipper's Little Buddy, Bob Denver was Dobie's friend,
A. Stuart Whitman
B. Randolph Scott
C. Steve Reeves
D. Maynard G. Krebbs
E. Corky B. Dork
F. Dave the Whale
G. Zippy Zoo


7. Liar, liar...
A. You're a liar
B. Your nose is growing
C. Pants on fire
D. Join the choir
E. Jump up higher
F. On the wire
G. I'm telling Mom



8. Meanwhile, back in Metropolis, Superman fights a never ending battle for truth, justice and...
A. Wheaties
B. Lois Lane
C. TV ratin gs
D. World peace
E. Red tights
F. The American way
G. News headlines



9 . Hey, kids, what time is it?
A. It's time for Yogi Bear
B. It's time to do your homework
C. It's Howdy Doody Time
D. It's Time for Romper Room
E. It's bedtime
F. The Mighty Mouse Hour
G. Scoopy Doo Time


10. Lions and tigers and bears...
A. Yikes
B. Oh no
C. Gee whiz
D. I'm scared
E. Oh My
F. Help Help
H. Let's run


11. Bob Dylan advised us never to trust anyone
A. Over 40
B. Wearing a uniform
C. Carrying a briefcase
D. Over 30
E. You don't know
F. Who says, 'Trust me'
G. Who eats tofu


12. NFL quarterback who appeared in a television commercial
wearing women's stockings.
A. Troy Aikman
B. Kenny Stabler
C. Joe Namath
D. Roger Stauback
E. Joe Montana
F. Steve Young
G. John Elway


13. Brylcream...
A. Smear it on
B. You'll smell great
C. Tame that cowlick
D. Greaseball heaven
E. It's a dream
F. We're your team
G. A little dab'll do ya


14. I found my thrill...
A. In Blueberry muffins
B. With my man, Bill
C. Down at the mill
D. Over the windowsill
E. With thyme and dill
F. Too late to enjoy
G. On Blueberry Hill


15. Before Robin Williams, Peter Pan was played by
A. Clark Gable
B. Mary Martin
C. Doris Day
D. Errol Flynn
E. Sally Fields
F. Jim Carey
G. Jay Leno


16. Name the Beatles
A. John, Steve, George , Ringo
B. John, Paul, George , Roscoe
C. John, Paul, Stacey, Ringo
D. Jay, Paul, George , Ringo
E. Lewis, Peter, George , Ringo
F. Jason, Betty, Skipper, Hazel
G. John, Paul, George , Ringo


17. I wonder, wonder, wonder, who
A. Who ate the leftovers?
B. Who did the laundry?
C. Was it you?
D. Who wrote the book of love?
E. Who I am?
F. Passed the test?
G. Knocked on the door?


18. I'm strong to the finish
A. Cause I eats my broccoli
B. Cause I eats me spinach
C. Cause I lift weights
D. Cause I'm the hero
E. And don't you forget it
f. Cause Olive Oyl loves me
g. To outlast Bruto


19. When it's least expected, you're elected, you're the star today...
a. Smile, you're on Candid Camera
b. Smile, you're on Star Search
c. Smile, you won the lottery
d. Smile, we're watching you
e. Smil e, the world sees you
f. Smile, you're a hit
g. Smile, you're on TV


20. What do M & M's do?
a. Make your tummy happy
b. Melt in your mouth, not in your pocket
c. Make you fat
d. Melt your heart
e. Make you popular
f. Melt in your mouth, not in your hand
g. Come in colors




Okay, now scroll down for the answers!












Here are the right answers.
1 d - Wonder Bread
2 g - Cassius Clay
3 b - He Is Us
4 a - Good night, Chet
5 g - When you brush your teeth with Pepsodent
6 d - Maynard G. Krebbs
7 c - Pants On Fire
8 f - The American Way
9 c - It's Howdy Doody Time
10 e - Oh My
11 d - Over 30
12 c - Joe Namath
13 g - A little dab'll do ya
14 g - On Blueberry Hill
15 b - Mary Martin
16 g - John, Paul, George , Ringo
17 d - Who wrote the book of Love
18 b - Cause I eats me spinach
19 a - Smile, you're on Candid Camera
20 f - Melt In Your Mouth Not In Your Hand



It might help if you are over 60; this is no 'pushover'.

A coupon that NEVER expires

Read the fine print.

A good review

Both Gary and jean have converted to Comcast's new phone service and eliminated their traditional land lines for phones. Val has hers scheduled to be switched over as well.

It is saving them all money on their bills by eliminating a phone bill and picking up a more robust, and cheaper plan with the cable company. This is a VOIP service, so all the extras are free plus they have unlimited calls and unlimited calls anywhere in the US.

After to talking to both Gary and Jean, they have said there is no static in their lines now like there was previously and so far are impressed with the new service. Both were able to port out their land line numbers and retain their old phone numbers, so nothing changes.

Once again, the workweek starts.

Yes it once again that time to go back to work, especially after we just had a shorter weekend due to setting the clocks forward on Sunday Morning.

I went to Gary's yesterday and helped him with some computer work. His laptop is so on the frits that I don't have a clue as to what is going on. It has to be some kind of a hardware problem because I even gave him a live CD and that couldn't even completely boot up. This might require a little more research.

I did introduce him to the world of torrents. I think he was quite surprised with the amount of speed he was downloading what he was looking for. There are a few smaller tricks to this, but I think he's got the hang of it now.

Back to work.

Phil is everywhere

Yesterday Diane and I planned and went on a day trip to Pittsburgh. I had a hunch that that pesky Phil just wanted to try to disrupt my plans and arrange to drop some snow on us for the trip. Gary and Renee canceled their plans because of the weather, but Diane needed a day of rest and relaxation and I wasn't going to stop until I accomplished my mission.

I think the little rat was spying on us, I managed to get a picture of him hiding in the train exhibit as you can plainly see. Come on Phil, it's March already and you don't to encourage Mother Nature to go the whole six weeks do you? Let it go and let the warmer weather begin, let the winter go Phil.

It was a great day. We went and seen "The Body" exhibit which was quite fascinating, everything that you saw during the exhibit was an actual human or human remains that were preserved. There was no photography allowed in the exhibit which kind of stunk. The one thing that stood out to me was they had three cases side by side by side. The first case was occupied by the lungs of a smoker. The lungs were darkish and black and not very pleasant to look at. The next case was the lungs of a non smoker. They looked normal, but were a big difference from the first case. The third case was a big glass case that was about half way full with a slot on the top to drop your cigarettes if you chose, like I said this big case was half way full. This exhibit will be there until May and then it is gone, it is well worth the plan and the trip to going and seeing.

After a fun filled day, I introduced Diane to the world of Primanti Brothers. Add one more person to the list of people who I have introduced to them that was impressed. I should work on commission for them, or at least they should put one in Morgantown.

My promise to Diane was to give her a relaxing day off after such a long work filled stretch and to return her home in one piece. Mission accomplished.

Layla Rosiak

Last night I took Trish and Aaron to Uniontown for his game, he's playing with the 7th grade All-Stars and they are playing an AAU tournament in Uniontown at the YMCA.

I did get a good chance to see "Wee One" as I call her, Trish calls her Layla and get my first photograph of her before we headed out yesterday afternoon. She seemed to be full of life and a happy and smiling baby and full of joy.

Today is the big day however, Diane and I are going to Pittsburgh. Funny story though and there was no pre-planning on this at all on ether side. My brother Gary and Renee are also planning on going. I mentioned to Gary about possibly getting together and going to Primanti Brothers today.

Scratch that, Gary just called and said they aren't going.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes, it is once again that time of the week work the work stops and we once again take time to enjoy the fruits of our labors. It is once again the start of the weekend!!!!

Diane and I are planning on going out of town tomorrow and heading north to the Carnegie Science Center for a day of fun and relaxation. We are planning on taking on the bodies exhibition and probably one movie at the imax. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

I did run across a nice website this morning dedicated to West Virginia Weather that may be worth a bookmark if you have any interest in the weather in West Virginia.

Spring is getting closer, according to todays Dominion Post, the Summer Softball packets are now available for pick up at the BOPARC office. It's getting closer!!! Winter is now starting to look like it is in our rear view mirror and warmer days are n the horizon.

Just a reminder, clocks spring forward Sunday Morning and it won't start getting dark until about 7:30 next week. I have actually put on a pair of shorts twice this week so far and managed to make it to rails to trails for a brisk stroll.

Have a Great Weekend.



The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.--Albert Einstein

WVAQ is kaput

I woke up this morning and as usual I turned my Radio Dial to 101.9 here in Good Ole Morgantown, West Virginia to listen to my morning fix of the Eric and Kevin show. I could find the station on my radio, so I went to my car to see if I could pick up the signal there. Once again, no success in being able to pick up the station.

So, I went to the net and streamed the show to my computer. When I did this they were broadcasting on WQZK out of the Cumberland/Keyser area. Come to find out, that when they got into the studio this morning there was a note saying that WVAQ was blown up (ie broken).

The AM affiliate WAJR is working, the problem just seems to be the FM station. So if you are in the Morgantown listening area and can't get WVAQ, they know there is a problem.

I think it was the Canadians who snuck in and did it. You know, they did bomb the Baldwins (if you don't get it, forget it)

Over the Hump Day

OK the week started off with a bang and warm weather. Nice enough that I could actually get out to rails to trails to get a good walk in. This morning however is a different story. The weather is not as cooperative as it was a few days ago, I guess Phil must have forgotten about me. Either that or the lazy rat just wanted to crawl back into his hole and sleep a little longer.

Kim called me yesterday and asked me if I was still alive, the funny thing is I already knew what she was talking about as I read my name in the obituaries on Sunday Morning, only this was a George A Hall. I hope that's not me, let me check....It's not me and pinching yourself can hurt.

For those of you following Girls High School Basketball in West Virginia, the State Tournament starts today in Charleston.

There was one major announcement in the sporting world yesterday. Brett Favre decided to call it a career yesterday as the future NFL Hall of Fame QB announced his retirement.

Weather permitting Diane and I are thinking about getting out of Morgantown Saturday for a day trip. There are a few options on the table so I guess it is going to depend on the weather and how we feel that day as to what interstate we jump on and what direction we start to head.



Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.--John Lennon

A Blowout in Morgantown

Quoting the great Tony Caridi "It's a Great Night to be a Mountaineer". Last night the despised evil twin from the north came into Morgantown and tried to sweep the season series. They cheated and cost us a chance at a National Championship in football on my birthday, then they used a last second three pointer to beat us in basketball in Pittsburgh.

Last night, led by former WVU basketball player and future hall of fame coach Bob Huggins, WVU extracted it's revenge on the evil twin of the north in front of 13,960 Pitt Hating Mountaineer fans. WVU dominated Pitt to secure a 76-62 win in the basketball version of the Backyard Brawl.

I watched the game on TV, and the Coliseum seemed to be rocking with a sea of gold in another Gold Rush. Joe Alexander was absolutely on fire and matched a career high in points with 32. This is back to back games he has cashed in 32 points for the Mountaineers.

This was the final regular season home game ever for two seniors in Darris Nichols and Jamie Smalligan and they were bid a very happy farewell. Also playing his last game as a Mountaineer was redshirt Jr and fan favorite Ted Talkington who has been admitted to Med School this fall and it would be just too much to attend Med School and try to play a sport, much less do anything other than have your nose in a book. Something I did find out last night, Ted is Football Coach Bill Stewart's Nephew.

It was a great night to be a Mountaineer.

New sidebar item added

I have added an RSS feed to Slashdot, a site that is very good for geeky news for geeky people.

Thanks to Mark for the Heads up

Windows Vista, a program I am not very fond of and is supposed to have all this security behind, has finally been hacked. Not that I would advise anyone in using this horrible fumble of an operating system by Microsoft, the one that was supposed to have increased security to protect you (from itself), but the software has been hacked.

For the record I run XP and Linux Ubuntu as a dual boot home system and persuade any new computer buyers to MacIntosh.

I just find it kind of funny that the "unhackable" was just hacked.

Monday Tidbits

I think we should declare this day officially the "Kiss a Groundhog Day" in honor of my buddy Phil and the talk he must have had with Mother Nature. It's going to be a great day to get outside today as the temperature is predicted to peak at 69 degrees. It looks like my front door may actually be opened up this afternoon and I'll even feed Phil's cousins, the squirrels. Thank You Phil.

* For any of you thinking about going to the Van Halen Reunion tour with David Lee Roth or if you have already purchased your tickets, you might want to be calling for a refund. They have canceled the tour. You see why I think Sammy is the better front man for the band? He actually likes to play rather than pretending like he does.

* With the nice and warm weather I may be making my first (really second) trip to rails to trails for the season. Needless to say I've added a few pounds and softball is just around the corner, so I need to get out there to start getting ready.

* Seems like everyone has been under the weather in some sort lately. I have managed to avoid getting sick this time around, so for all of you not feeling so well. Kiss my butt, better you than me and I'm going outside in shorts today to enjoy the nice weather.

* Big basketball game tonight when WVU plays that horrible team from up north when Pitt invades Morgantown. This is a must win situation tonight for WVU for them to make it to the NCAA Tournament, We would be a lock for the NIT to defend our title, but I think I would much rather see this team take their shot in the NCAA Tournament.

* Woo Hoo, just heard on the radio that temps are going up to 71 degrees today.

* Remember this coming weekend you will lose one hours sleep as it be the start of Daylight Saving Time begins on March 8. at 1:59 AM Sunday, the next minute will spring forward to 3:00 AM.

* Josh Judy has reported to the Cleveland Indians Spring Training Camp this past week. This will be his first full season playing professionally, I was talking to Steve a couple weeks ago and told him I hoped he pitched for the Youngstown minor league team to start out. Youngstown is only a couple hours away and I used to love it there, although I am hearing my old stomping grounds have now established a very bad element.

* I have started drinking a lot of Diet Lipton Green Tea lately and I can say I am feeling much better than I did when I was drinking all the Diet Coke again.

* Have a great day, I plan to.


Now, here is one for Diane since she relaxes by working in her flower garden:

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.--Margaret Atwood

Stew's Pregame Fiesta Bowl Speech

March coming in like a Lion

Ok as far as the old saying goes about March, it is coming in like a lion, so hopefully this means it will go out like a lamb. I looked outside this morning and saw an abundance of the white stuff falling from the sky. Once again it is snowing outside, and starting to cover the ground. So, since it is coming in like a lion, the month of March will leave like a lamb. I'll have my fingers crossed.

I stopped down at the bar yesterday and sat and BS'd for a while. Nick and Terri are serving Prime Rib on Friday nights now for a fair price if you are looking for dinner ideas. Tonight the Tom Bachelor Band is playing. They are a reggae band with former members of Rasta Rafiki.

Trae from the Hillbilly Gypsies was there last night. We were talking about a few local shows that they would be playing. Terri mentioned Mayhem on the Mountain that they will be playing May 23rd and 24th in Pentress (Couple miles past my sister Kim's House), so it may be worth a stop. A few of the bands including Lindsey and the Clear Mountain Boys who along with the Gypsies and a few other talented Musicians are regulars down at Nick and Terri's.

Nick and Terri's internet is now back up and running.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

We are once again at that time of the week when the labors for the week cease and we can start to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It's the start of yet another weekend and another Big Ole Hairy Friday!!!

I heard what I would consider the first signs of spring this morning as I was taking my morning stroll to the newspaper vending machine to update my lavatory library with new reading material. It was a cold 15 degrees, but I was laying heed to the pleasant audibles of young birds singing for their morning breakfast. It was the first sign of the year that days are going to start getting longer, new foliage would start to develop on the trees and omit a relaxing smell of spring time. I eagerly anticipate this change of the season as a child would anticipate Christmas Morning.

It is cold and tomorrow is the start of March. There is an old saying that is March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb. I guess the cold temperatures and snow on the ground has it's good points if you believe in superstitions.

One final thing, this is February 29th. Being that this is 2008, this is the one date that only comes once every four years because of leap year.


Seek first to understand, then to be understood.--Stephen Covey

No school today in Mon County

This morning just like yesterday started out with a two hour delay for local school kids because of weather conditions, however I was on the road just before 6:00 this morning out to grab a newspaper. I was on my way to the store when I first heard the announcement on the Eric and Kevin Show on WVAQ and was thinking to myself the roads were a little worse than they were yesterday morning. However after two school bus crashes yesterday, school administrators played it a little cautious today and decided to follow Marion Counties lead and cancel school for the day.

I ended up falling asleep last night and missed the womens version of American Idol, but I think this season already has its winner in David Archuleta seems to be walking away with this competition. Here he is singing Imagine by John Lennon.



Here he was with the season one finalists when he was 11 years old and just blowing them away on the street basically. This kid is destined.



And his audition:

Myron Cope Passes Away

LINK


Steelers Announcer Myron Cope Dies

By ALAN ROBINSON – 1 hour ago


PITTSBURGH (AP) — Myron Cope, the screechy-voiced announcer whose colorful catch phrases and twirling Terrible Towel became symbols of the Pittsburgh Steelers during an unrivaled 35 seasons in the broadcast booth, has died. He was 79.

Cope died Wednesday morning at a nursing home in Mount Lebanon, a Pittsburgh suburb, Joe Gordon, a former Steelers executive and a longtime friend of Cope's, told The Associated Press. Cope had been treated for respiratory problems and heart failure in recent months, Gordon said.

Cope's tenure from 1970-2004 as the color analyst on the Steelers' radio network is the longest in NFL history for a broadcaster with a single team and led to his induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2005.

Even after retiring, Cope — a sports talk show host for 23 years — continued to appear in numerous radio, TV and print ads, emblematic of a local popularity that sometimes surpassed that of the stars he covered.

Beyond Pittsburgh's three rivers, Cope is best known for pioneering the Terrible Towel, the yellow cloth twirled by fans as a good luck charm at Steelers games since the mid-70s. The towel is arguably the best-known fan symbol of any major pro sports team, has raised millions of dollars for charity and is displayed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"You were really part of it," Steelers owner Dan Rooney told Cope in 2005. "You were part of the team. The Terrible Towel many times got us over the goal line."

An announcer by accident, Cope spent the first half of his professional career as one of the nation's most widely read freelance sports writers, writing for Sports Illustrated and the Saturday Evening Post on subjects that included Muhammad Ali, Howard Cosell and Roberto Clemente. He was hired by the Steelers at age 40, several years after he began doing TV sports commentary on the whim of a station manager, mostly to help increase attention and attendance as the Steelers moved into Three Rivers Stadium.

Neither the Steelers nor Cope had any idea how much impact he would have on the franchise. Within two years of his hiring, Pittsburgh would begin a string of home sellouts that continues to this day, a stretch that includes five Super Bowl titles.

Cope became so popular that the Steelers didn't try to replace his unique perspective and top-of-the-lungs vocal histrionics when he retired, instead downsizing from a three-man announcing team to a two-man booth.

"He doesn't play, he doesn't put on a pair of pads, but he's revered probably as much or more in Pittsburgh than Franco (Harris), all the guys," running back Jerome Bettis said. "Everybody probably remembers Myron more than the greatest players, and that's an incredible compliment."

Cope and a rookie quarterback named Terry Bradshaw made their Steelers debuts on Sept. 20, 1970.

Just as Pirates fans once did with longtime broadcaster Bob Prince, Steelers fans began tuning in to hear what wacky stunt or colorful phrase Cope would come up with next. With a voice beyond imitation — a falsetto so shrill it could pierce even the din of a touchdown celebration — Cope was a man of many words, some not in any dictionary.

To Cope, an exceptional play rated a "Yoi!" A coach's doublespeak was "garganzola." The despised rival to the north was always the Cleve Brownies, never the Cleveland Browns.

He gave four-time Super Bowl champion coach Chuck Noll the only nickname that ever stuck, the Emperor Chaz. For years, he laughed off the downriver and often downtrodden Cincinnati Bengals as the Bungles, though never with a malice or nastiness that would create longstanding anger.

Many visiting players who, perhaps upset by what Cope had uttered during a broadcast, could only laugh when confronted by a 5-foot-4 man they often dwarfed by more than a foot.

During the years, it seemed every Steelers player or employee could tell an offbeat or humorous story about Cope.

He once jammed tight end Dave Smith, fully dressed in uniform and pads, into a cab for a hectic ride to the airport after Smith missed the team bus for an interview. He talked a then-retired Frank Sinatra into attending a 1972 practice in San Diego to make him an honorary general in Franco Harris' Italian Army fan club. He took a wintertime river swim in 1977 to celebrate an unexpected win, and was sick for days.

Cope's biggest regret was not being on the air during perhaps the most famous play in NFL history — Franco Harris' famed Immaculate Reception against Oakland in 1972, during the first postseason win in Steelers history.

Cope was on the field to grab guests for his postgame show when Harris, on what seemingly was the last play of the Steelers' season, grabbed the soaring rebound of a tipped Bradshaw pass after it deflected off either the Raiders' Jack Tatum or the Steelers' Frenchy Fuqua and scored a game-winning 60-yard touchdown. As a result, play-by-play man Jack Fleming's voice is the only one heard on what has been countless replays over the years.

"He ran straight to me in the corner, and I'm yelling, `C'mon Franco, c'mon on!'" said Cope, who, acting on a fan's advice, tagged the play "The Immaculate Reception" during a TV commentary that night.

Remarkably, Cope worked with only two play-by-play announcers, Fleming and Bill Hillgrove, and two head coaches, Noll and Bill Cowher, during his 35 seasons.

Cope began having health problems shortly before his retirement, and they continued after he left the booth. They included several bouts of pneumonia and bronchitis — he smoked throughout his career — a concussion and a leg problem that took months to properly diagnose. He also said he had a cancerous growth removed from his throat.

"Wherever I go, people sincerely ask me how my health is and almost always, they say `Myron, you've given me so much joy over the years,'" said Cope, who also found the time to write five sports books, none specifically about the Steelers. "People also tell me it's the end of an era, that there will never be an announcer who lasts this long again with a team."

Among those longtime listeners was a Pittsburgh high school star turned NFL player turned Steelers coach — Cowher.

"My dad would listen to his talk show and I would think, `Why would you listen to that?'" Cowher said. "Then I found myself listening to that. I (did) my show with him, and he makes ME feel young."

Associated Press Writer Joe Mandak in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.

Phil getting defensive

Intelligence reports are coming in that I am not the only one who is tired of this cold and snow and am ready for a little warmer weather. The silent majority is starting to speak and I hear my old buddy Phil is starting to get a little bit nervous.

Rumor has it he is packing heat in fear for his life because of the weather situation. "I'm going to talk to Mother Nature and see if we can get spring here quicker" Phil said. "Every time I go outside I feel as though people no longer love me, and I feel less loved than Rich Rodriguez in West Virginia" Phil expressed.

In other news, I found a recipe for Groundhog Stew.


1 Groundhog, preferably one responsible for this weather.
2 onions, sliced
1/2 cup celery, sliced
Flour
Vinegar and water
Salt and pepper
Cloves

Clean Phil up; remove glands; cut into serving pieces. Soak overnight in a solution of equal parts of water and vinegar with addition of one sliced onion and a little salt. Drain, wash, and wipe. Parboil 20 minutes, drain, and cover with fresh boiling water. Add one sliced onion, celery, a few cloves, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until tender; thicken gravy with flour.

Moke doing ultimate fighting

Pam called me last night and gave me a few updates on Moke. First and foremost his deployment to Iraq has been moved back until October of this year instead of June. Not really sure why they have moved it back, but it has been.

She said he has entered and is doing some kind of Ultimate Fighting now out in Ohio. I really don't have too many details, I was working on my computer when she called, but I'll try to get a little more information on who, what, when and where.

I guess I have been a good boy as of late, Diane is taking me out to lunch at Black Bear in downtown Morgantown today, that is time permitting if she can get back from the vet in time and I'm not in a rush with a deadline of data that is due today (the data is still in India).


What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.--Aristotle

Back to another dreary Monday

Can't weekends last a lot longer? I'm not complaining but man this weekend just flew by and was gone before I could even really bat an eye.

I do have to say that I had a good weekend, Saturday Night was nice and relaxing and yesterday I did manage to get a nice relaxing nap in. I guess that is what I like about Sunday afternoons between football and softball seasons. You know the time, where the weather still stinks, but nothing really on TV other than Comcasts new On Demand feature.

I did try to stop down late yesterday afternoon and visit Nick and Terri, however Choo was working in an empty bar and Nick and Terri were no where to be found. Hopefully they were out having spending a little quality time together. I'm sure they need a little time together outside of the bar considering they have to spend so much time there.


Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.--Abraham Lincoln

Last Evening.

last evening Diane and I went out for dinner a relaxing dinner and a little bit of cinematic entertainment in the form of a movie. It had been a while since I had been able to see her, so needless to say I was a little excited to be able to spend a little time with her.

Dinner started out at one of my all time favorite restaurants, we both visited for the first time the new Cracker Barrel . I really like the one we have, and I will say it may be my favorite one I have ever been in, and I have been in a few of them. When I travel and am looking for a place to eat, I always try to find the nearest Cracker Barrel, knowing I am going to get a good home cooked meal at a fair price. The Cracker Barrel in Morgantown seemed to be laid out quite nicely, it was spacious and relaxing with that rustic cabin grandma's kitchen feel about it.

After dinner we stopped by Best Buy, her computer was running ultra slow and I noticed that she only ha d 192 MB of Ram on a 90 GB Hard Drive. I was thinking other things were fighting for system resources, seems that the system resources were very low and that was the problem. She bought 512 MB of Ram and I installed it for her, she was quite surprised what a difference that has made in her computer.

Then after dinner and a little computer work, it was off to see Vantage Point. It had a star studded cast, but the movie was a little slow and repetitive, almost to the point where people in attendance started laughing. If you have ever seen the movie groundhogs day (yes Phil your movie you rat) and how the day kept starting over by playing a Sonny and Cher song, I almost had that feeling last night watching this movie. It was supposed to be a suspense filled movie of a Presidential Assassination attempt from multiple viewpoints. I guess it could best be summed up by Ground Hogs Day Meets the TV show 24.

If you want to see the movie yourself, save the price of admission and just watch it HERE (yes this was just released in theaters a couple days ago). Amazing what computer literate people can do. =) Kim and Robert went to see Jumper the night before.

After the movie we went back to her place and I installed her new RAM, now has 706 MB (For some reason XP takes 64 MB of RAM in either of her configurations for some reason. Not sure why this is happening, but it is for some reason.

Overall it was a great evening and I got to spend a little quality time with someone special to me.

Something I may be looking into

As much time as I spend on the internet and the resources I have at my disposal, naturally one would look for ways to make a secondary income on the internet. I did run across something called Associate Programs that appears to be pretty legitimate. I may be looking into this with a little more depth in the near future and see if I can use it to generate a little side income.

Last year I attempted something similar to this with Shitzngiggles.com, but income from this wouldn't cover the price of a half priced candy bar so far. I'll keep it up and try a few new things.

Hopefully eventually I can find something that works and generates a little extra income on the side with little effort.

How an affiliate program works. You generate customers for a client. For example NetFlix is one of the largest internet Movie/DVD places on the net. For every new subscriber you sent them, you're commission would be $9.00. Thats just the tip of the iceberg, there are numerous opportunities out there. I play softball for MVP paintball, so anyone I could lead to Paintball-Online, I would earn a 5% commision on everything the buyer send to them would purchase. Best Buy offers a 3% Commission for Electronics and a 1% for computers.

The list goes on and on in the directory.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes readers it is once again that time of the week where we cease the our labors for the week and take time out to enjoy the fruits of our labors for a couple days, it is once again the WEEKEND!!!!

Anyone want to put an over/under bet on how long it will take Kim to order the new 32 GB iPod Touch ? We're getting those additional tax breaks this summer ($600 per person and $300 per child). Any Bets?

Speaking of the Rebates, here's a little information on them:

Singles

Determine Eligibility:
If you earned less than $3,000 - unfortunately you’d get nothing.
If you earned more than $3,000 but paid no taxes, you’d get $300.
If you earned more than $3,000 and paid taxes, you get $600.
If you have children, add $300 per.
Determine Phaseout Reduction:
The phaseout levels begin at $75k and end at $87k, at a reduction of 5% per $1,000 over the lower limit. If you earn above $87k, you’re over and thus get nothing regardless of the math.
Couples

Determine Eligibility (appears to be the same as singles):
If you earned less than $3,000 - unfortunately you’d get nothing.
If you earned more than $3,000 but paid no taxes, you’d get $600.
If you earned more than $3,000 and paid taxes, you get $1,200.
If you have children, add $300 per.

These checks will come in May, June or July.

Diane and I have mentioned about trying to go out to Dinner and a movie this weekend. We have yet to decide about where we are going or what we may see. I told her it's her choice this time, so the Chick Flick just may be in the cards for me.

I think Phil gave me a read yesterday and must have had a talk with ole Mother Nature. We did get a little bit more snow, but the temps at least warmed up a little bit. Now if we could just convince my little rodent buddy to get rid of the rest of this white stuff on the ground and give us favorable softball weather I would much very appreciative.

Enjoy your weekend.

Is this snow and cold going to end?

I get up this morning and go out and get a paper and it is 5 degrees. Hey Phil, we're halfway to spring since your drunken tirade and having to see that shadow of yours. You have three more weeks of this crap and then, then it is time for the temps to warm up and I can retire the winter jacket for the season and bring out my shorts and sandals that are missing me. Stupid rat, who in the heck left this decision up an annoying, egotistical, overgrown mouse.

For you survivor fans, I guess that there is a new all-stars survivor this time around. Considering I haven't watched it in few seasons I am pretty much out of the loop on on what had happened with the show. I used to love it, but after so many seasons it was just time to turn it off for a while.


The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration.--Claude Monet

Happy Birthday Renee

I would like to take this chance and wish my Brother's Fiancee Renee a very Happy Birthday. I have had the privilege of knowing Renee since way back in our Recourse Days. I hope she has a very anniversary of her favorite Birthday.

Kid's Know Best

Found this, thought it was very cute.


HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY? (written by kids)

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
-- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
-- Kristen, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
-- Camille, age 10

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
-- Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
Both don't want any more kids.
-- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
-- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that Usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
-- Martin, age 10

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?
I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
-- Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
When they're rich.
-- Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
- - Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.
-- Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
-- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?
There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
-- Kelvin, age 8

And the #1 Favorite is........
HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump truck.
-- Ricky, age 10

1,000th Blog Post

I have just became a Millennium Blogger. This very BLOG post is my 1,000th BLOG post since I first started Blogging with my first post on September 11, 2004 when I posted "My First Post" as my very first ever blog. Who would have ever imagined after that first post I would reach such a milestone as a Blogger.

I would like to thank my Sister Kim who first started her own online Journal on her old website. I would like to than Evan Fedorko for making the statement that he was a Grogger not a Blogger to make me wonder what a Blogger was. I would like to thank any and all dedicated readers who read this on a daily basis for information, News or just some rambling on my part.

What is amazing is how many times George's Journal has appeared in Google searches when I Google things up because of something that I have said in my Blog.

It's amazing sometimes how you can see yourself develop over the internet if you know where to look. 1,000 Blog posts says a lot about my post collegiate life since I became a Blogger after I graduated college. However like I said it's a matter of knowing where to look to see other material. During College years and also post college I have 20,000+ posts on Blue and Gold News and my username returns 1,490 returns of me expressing myself on the internet in one manner or another. Most of this was done during and post college. If you are looking for anything prior to me going to college, well that stuff is there too. I used to post on Newsgroups pretty regularly and if you google my username there you can come up with another 378 times I posted my opinion on one subject or another. Most of those were done in my WebTV days when I first started using the World Wide Web. Now if they could only google up my old IRC Chat transcripts from the early 90's with AOL and and later at Talk City we would be set.

Needless to say that I have left my mark on this thing that they call the internet. My computer life all started with a TRS 80 my Dad and Jean bought us for Christmas in the early 80's, to my Dad's first PC in the early 90's and I saw him connect to Prodigy. He was looking at stuff on his computer through the phone lines. Fascinating.

I have developed my skills exponentially since that first time on a computer in the early 80's or the first time ever online with prodigy to AOL to WebTV to a PC to having my own domains and Websites.

1,000 BLOG Posts is something to celebrate, but it is only the tip of the iceberg.

Here is to my next 1,000 posts. Keep Reading and I'll keep writing.

Let's See

I made 61 Posts my first year as a blogger in 2004.
I made 206 Blog Posts the next and first full year as a blogger in 2005.
I made 258 Blog Posts in 2006.
I made 404 Blog Posts in 2007.
Up to this point and including this Blog post I have made a total of 70 Blog Posts for the year 2008.

61 + 206 + 258 + 404 + 70 = 999


So, my next Blog Post will be......

I've been tagged

This is nothing more that a repost of a BLOG I had to do on my MySpace account. So I thought I would bring it over here for a little more readership. I thought since I'm such a softball enthusiast and this is about being tagged, I thought I would add this little picture.



I’ve been tagged.

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged

I've been tagged....

Here's how you play: Once you've been tagged you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random, facts, habits or goals about yourself , at the end choose 10 (or more) people to be tagged, list their names and why you tagged them. Don't forget to leave them a comment saying "Tag! You're It!" and to go read your blog. You cannot tag the person that tagged you. Since you can't tag me back let me know when you are done so that I can go read your blog answers.

Random Facts:

1. I am double jointed in my left thumb.

2. I have three sisters and One brother and I am the oldest

3. I once played a basketball game in Jr High where we, or should I say I lost 55-2. There were four other guys on the team I think, I never saw them do anything. Yes I scored the two.

4. When I was younger and had hair I had a cowlick.

5. I'm a Kevin Smith fan

6. My favorite show growing up was Happy Days.

7. When I was a kid, I used to love to go to dirt track races at the old Morgantown Speedway.

8. I love pizza and Reeses cups, bot nout on top of each other.

9. I love playing softball, and am fortunate to play with a great group of guys.

10. I fluently speak a language called Gibberish. I spoke it roughly 15 years BEFORE the movie the slums of Beverly Hills.

Now I tag.....
Kim -- Ha Ha Sis, now we can give you something to talk about.

Val -- The Myspace queen, noe this will give you a reason to BLOG.

Kayla -- She likes doing these little things, so this is probably a go.

Sandi -- Come on Mom, spill some dirt

Moke -- Haven't heard from you in a while, might as well challenge you.

Brittney -- Here is another no brainer, I know shew is a myspacer and will do this.

Amy (Neice) -- Come on spill the beans on the big news.

Smitty -- One of my oldest and dearest friends, if he doesn't spill the dirt I will.

Kamey -- Got to move this out of state and get Kentucky involved.

Linda -- Talk about getting out of State, let's bring Alaska into the picture.

Back 2 Work

Yep, this is where the enjoyment of the fruits of our labors ceases and it's back to the labors of the week. This will be a short week for me, only four days, so it should go by pretty quickly.

My Sister Kim called me yesterday with a little news that she read on Val's Myspace Blog. She posted a BLOG about it yesterday on her Blog. She wanted Amy's number so that she could call her and talk to her.

I didn't get into too much yesterday, I did go to JC Penney's, but they have a very depleted inventory because they are switching over from the winter line to a spring and summer line.

Last night I watched Deal or No Deal and their Million Dollar Challenge. Thirteen of the twenty six cases were Million Dollar Cases. The girl got down to the final 3 and she had 2 Million Dollar cases. She selected another case and wiped out one of her Million Dollar cases. She took the bankers settlement of like $440,000, but she knew her case had the Million Dollars in it. It did. next round there will be fourteen cases with the million dollar prize.

A Holiday for me!!!!

Today is the third day of my three day holiday weekend, although I'm not planning on doing anything any different than any other day. I'm still doing laundry this morning and still playing on the computer, so I guess it's no different than any other Monday for me.

I may head up to the mall later this morning, not really sure yet. See what kind of Presidents Day sales are going on JC Penney's or just waste some time and get out of the apartment today for a while.

I don't know, maybe I'll look around at the cinemas and see if there are any new movies worth seeing.

Sunday

Typical Sunday Morning for me, breakfast and shopping to start out my day. Nothing out of the ordinary so far for my Sunday Morning.

Yesterday I went to the WVU men's basketball game and took Trish's son Aaron. He wanted to go and Trisyh asked if I could go with him and of course I said yes. The WVU Womens team did set an all time single game attendance record of with 8,307 people in attendance. The dominion post was donating $0.25 for everyone in attendance that showed up (with a free ticket) to Women's Breast Cancer research. The 11th ranked women lost a 1 point 80-81 heartbreaking loss to DePaul. That is $2,076.75 they raised though for Breast Cancer, so it was a successful day.

This morning I am going over and putting some Music on Mom's iPod. I've shown her a few tricks of the trade plus I have some music that she wants, so we'll set her up today.

For you racing fans, the Super Bowl of NASCAR is today with the running of the Daytona 500. This is the start of the ten month long racing season and the one race of the year I do not miss.

Playing with Linux

I have decided this morning to shut down Windows for the day and spend a little time getting used to Ubuntu Linux. This is a free operating system that i installed a few weeks ago as part of a dual boot system.

It's much different than windows and installing new software that is not part of Ubuntu has to be done from a command line in a terminal. I installed a couple GNU license GIS programs a few weeks ago and then managed to install Linux's version of bittorrent called Azureus.

It is going to take a little getting used to and it is definitely not for the beginner. You have to either know how to program or how do do specific code searches on google and know how to use a terminal window.

If anyone wants to try Ubuntu though, it will boot from a Live CD first and you can install it from the Live CD.

A couple years ago I started playing with Live CD's and Knoppix while I was working at the NRAC a few years back. I had played with it here and there a little, then when my computer went kaput earlier this year, I decided to install the dual boot system.

I have come to learn that there are multiple live CD's out there. I may be trying a few others of these in the coming months on Live CD's. I'll update if I try any of these now Live CD operating systems.

Grid Iron Bash announced

A few weeks ago I mentioned that WVU was going to have a concert at Milan Puskar Stadium on April 18th, the night before the spring game. It's part of a National campaign for Gridiron Bash. Over the past few weeks there has been speculation as to the artist to play WVU would be. Rumors were correct and WVU's artist will be Dwight Yoakam for the first ever concert at the Stadium.


Can't say I have any Dwight Yoakam on my iPod, but I am of the movie Sling Blade. Of course he got killed in that movie for being an a-hole.

It's a Bigger Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week where the work ceases and the time to enjoy the fruits of our labors commences. It is once again...THE WEEKEND!!!!!

It's a nice long weekend for me, it's a three day weekend because of Presidents Day on Monday. Hopefully I can get into a few things this weekend.

Last Night I went to the WVU v Rutgers Mens Basketball game where the Men won 81-63 and never once trailed in the entire game. Rutgers was shooting the bottom out of the nets before the game, I'm just glad they didn't do that during the game.

Get a Dominion Post today and you will have two free tickets to tomorrows WVU Women's Game against DePaul at 2:00. They are wanting to pack the house tomorrow, so if you have nothing to do and are looking for a little cheap entertainment, this is your event. Come out and support the 11th ranked Women's team and put more people in the seats of a WVU Women's basketball game than ever before.

Tank McNamara post has been updated.

The Passing of Rusty has been updated

Pleasant little surprise

I was looking through some work e-mails today and realized we added additional Holidays for 2008. This coming Monday Feb 19th is celebrated as Presidents Day and is a Holiday for us. I guess they wanted something in between a five month stretch between New Years Day and Memorial day.

Looks like I've got a THREE DAY WEEKEND!!!!!!

Public Sevice Commission Changes Mind

The Public Service Commission initially was going to geographically implement a new area code for the Northern Half of West Virginia. We were going to get a new 681 area code for everyone in the northern part of the state.

However the PSC has rescinded this decision and has decided to implement the new 681 area code on a overlay instead of a geographical breakdown. What this means is that new numbers will be given the 681 area code while others can retain their original phone number. Seven digit dialing will soon be a thing of the past, as with the overlay a ten digit dialing (including the area code) will need to be implemented.

For most cell phone owners, this will be nothing new as we do this now.

Happy Valentines Day

This is that magical time of the year when sweethearts spend a little special time with that special person in your life. Many people have been married on this day including my Sister Pam and her Husband George who are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary today.

If you have nothing to do this weekend, in tomorrows Dominion Post there will be two free tickets to the WVU Women's Basketball game on Saturday. The tickets will be first come first serve, but they are trying to get the largest crowd ever for a womens basketball game. If you are looking for a little cheap or free entertainment and would want to support your community, have some fun and go to the game and support the 11th ranked Women.

Tank McNamara..Tune in tomorrow

Click on each picture for a better view or chance to read.

Playing around a little with Kodak

After work, I decided to play around a little bit with the software that my Camera came with.

The passing of Rusty

Sometimes you find things out on the internet that maybe you should haven't. Yesterday I was posting on Blue and Gold News and the topic of Moundsville HS was brought up. Seems like one of the posters is Rusty's brother in law and he informed me of the news.

Edit:

I got a message from Renea and at her request I am providing the correct information. It should read as follows:

Rusty passed away on March 11, 2007, at Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, after a valiant fight with Amiodarone Pulmonary Toxicity which destroyed the lining of his lungs. He is survived by his loving wife of 39 years, Renea; three children, Chuck (Lori) Wolfe, Julie (Scott) Coplan, and Jason (Amber) Wolfe. He also has five grandchildren who were his best friends: Logan (16) and Jacob (13) Wolfe; Craig (4) and Chelsea (2) Wolfe; and Isabelle Rose Coplan (19 months). Rusty has a brother, Jim, who lives in Hawaii. He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles & Juanita (Hall) Wolfe, and a grandson, Christian Scott Coplan, in 2004.

Anyone who wishes to make a donation in Rusty's name and in memory of Christian Scott Coplan, may do so at CNDC (for the benefit of) Jeune's Foundation, P.O. Box 261181, Highlands Ranch, CO 80163.

RIP Charles "Rusty" Wolfe Jr

Doctor's Appointment today

I realized this morning that I have a DR's appointment this afternoon. I don't know why I was thinking that it is next week, I must be thinking this is still last week for some reason.

It's my six month checkup, only problem is I have been a bad boy and put on a few pounds. That's OK though, it my buddy Phil would bite Mother Nature in the ankles or something to help speed spring up, I'll be out and more active. I hate winter time, I'm ready for softball season.

Brrrrrrrrr

I'm ready for spring already, tell Phil I surrender to the great groundhog, just have him skip through this cold weather and let us enter into some spring weather. It's time to warm up already, come on old buddy, master of all groundhogs, have a little talk with ole Mother Nature and tell her to be nice to me this year.

There is already a two hour delay for school here in Monongalia County and so far only Brooke and Ohio Counties have called off school for the day. That's because they are a bunch of whimps. I don;t know if I ever told any of you this, but when I was a kid I walked to school 10 miles a day, in 4 foot of snow, uphill both ways and barefoot and never missed a day. What has happened to our society.

Windy Sunday Morning

Have you heard that wind outside this morning, wow is it blowing pretty hard. It's a good morning to snuggle up in bed and take a good nap. LOL

Over the pasty couple days I have been playing with uTorrent. What uTorrent is is a way to file share, but it is a little quicker and you load a torrent rather than doing a random search.

When you want to search for something, you would look for the torrent file and load it into the client. I have found quite a few torrent sites, Torrent Reactor is the one I am finding what I like. I'm not one to search for a song, but an entire discography of an artists entire work. Now downloading copywrited music is illegal and I am not advocating this, and there is a lot of it out there, this is just a quick and easy way to find what you are looking for. Say for example you were looking for a specific artist that may have published multiple albums and you would like the entire collection, this is the best way to do it. The torrent will help you gather bits and pieces from multiple locations and assemble them for you. Probably a little more secure than straight P2P devices and if a torrent is bad, it is removed. So you get what you are looking for, uncorrupted.

Wind is still blowing.

A geeky day

Growing up who would have ever thought I would be such a geek? Of course geek from then and geek today have different meanings, yesterday it was a derogative to be considered a geek, today it is a sign of computer intelligence and problem solving.

I started the day resetting my iPod and iTunes to sync together since the last time I reformatted my computer. Choo asked me to put some Music in her iPod, so I waited until I finished hers before I reinstalled my library.

This afternoon I went over to Mary's to work on her computer again, seems like she had a little malware infection that was being a pain in the butt. We got her up and going again and even installed Macafee to help prevent prolems like that from ever happening again. I did get a really nice gift of a $20.00 gift certificate to New Day Bakery (Old daily kneads) that I am quite tickled about.

Fear not readers, I have now blogged.

It's a Big Ole Hairy Friday Once again.

It's that time once again to let the labors of the week cease and enjoy the fruits of of labors once again. It is that thing that so many of us call the weekend!!!

I woke up this morning and seen that white crap laying all over the ground, I'm finally feeling better and it's almost the weekend and what do I get? Snow.

Did anyone see that game last night? It was the basketball edition of the backyard brawl against Pitt, and Pitt won 54-55 on a last second three pointer for the win. The game did have a little controversy though. Earlier in the game WVU shot two foul shits and made them, but after a timeout, the refs rules the wrong guy was fouled and made another player shoot the free throws. He misses the front end of a 1 and 1 and took 2 points off the board.

The new area code for West Virginia has been announced. Northern counties over then next 12-18 months will be switching to a 681 area code. Everyone in the northern part of the state will be getting a new phone number, although I'm not sure if it will affect those of us with cell phones since they are mobile devices.

Have a great day

Rain Rain Go Away

Is it spring yet? I'm ready to start getting out and having some fun and stop sitting inside with the flu doing nothing. This is one of the worst times of the year for me, football is over with and baseball and softball aren't quite ready to start yet and March Madness is still over a month away from starting.

I did buy a movie last night that I have been wanting to see for sometime, or should I say re-see. Over the past year I've been looking to see the 1980's movie Amadeus. I've actually thought about buying it off of eBay but never did. The Academy Awards will be coming around soon, so Wal-Mart puts their Academy Award winning movies in a special section. I saw it yesterday and immediately grabbed it. I watched it yesterday afternoon, so I guess I am going to have to come up with another movie to look for and want to see.

There is still no announcement as to who the artist will be for Gridiron Bash for WVU this year. The artist has already been signed but not announced. I have it narrowed down to a list of three. Dwight Yoakam is one, but being he is from Kentucky, I look her him to play at the University of Kentucky who also has not announced their artist. Kelly Clarkson, who was just here a few weeks ago. The one I think it will be, and I may be wrong, will be Maroon 5. The gridiron bash will be a concert at the football stadium the night before the WVU spring football game. Hopefully there will be an announcement soon as to who the artist is. Other bands who have been mentioned for gridiron bash but not confirmed (so it wont be WVU) are Kiss, Kid Rock and a few others.

We're on the downside of the week, so enjoy the ride.