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.