First Scrimmage

Last night was our first scrimmage of the year. I ended up playing for the other team because they didn't have enough guys, so me and a couple other guys laced them up for them and playing.

I hit the ball well a few times, but my timing is still way off and I am definitely not in Softball shape. I need to shed a few pounds and start getting in game shape. I think I am finally starting to feel my age. ouch.

We're losing one of our better players for most of the season. Dan Barnes is having surgery this morning on both of his elbows and will be out for some time. Let's hope for a quick and speedy recovery.

Let's lace em up and play two

Tonight, after just two practices on the year, our softball team will take to the field in a double header scrimmage against March Westin from 6-8:00 at Ogden Field. Hopefully for the first time this year we should be at full strength at sometime during the scrimmage. We have a couple guys coming a little late because of other commitments.

We have had a few changes since last season, hopefully Chris can find the right group to give us the best chemistry before the start of the season next week.

This is the time of the year that I most look forward to, however I am a little behind in my training this season. I'm still looking for my timing on the year, but it will come.

Bacl to work kind of Monday

It's Monday morning again. The weekend has passed us by and it's time to put our noses back to the grindstone and return to the offices or places we work.

Those cheating bastards from Notre Dame won two out of three this weekend from the Mountaineers in baseball. Have I mentioned that they cheat?

The Pittsburgh Pirates are also off to a regular start. They are horrible once again this year. They just dropped a three game series with the Cubs. I had faith in them last week when they reached .500, but have managed to lose the last four games. The glory years are decades behind us.

Hi Ho....

Spring Game Yesterday

Yesterday I went to the WVU Spring game in the afternoon. I do have to say that I have been attending Mountaineer Football Spring games for some years, and yesterdays game was probably the biggest crowd I have ever seen for a spring game at WVU. I would guesstimate the crowd to have been roughly 25,000 fans. The lower deck was full, the upper deck appeared to be full and they started letting people go to the other side of the field.

I thought the defense looked very good, they were swarm tackling and appeared to be very quick. I think this years defense should be an improvement on last years defense, and that is saying a lot. Great job by the defense, they carried us at times last season and will be much improved this season despite losing so many players to graduation.

The Offense didn't impress me too much beyond the first team and with Pat White and Noel Devine. With these two players on the field we will always be dangerous. Jarrett Brown is solid as a backup QB, but depth at other skill positions at this time are a concern a little. However we have a couple running backs coming in this fall who I would guess will be #2 and 3 on the RB depth chart behind Devine.

Terrence Kerns



And Mark (Snoop Dogg's Cousin)



Both appear like they will be quality fits to the program and will add depth ton the running back position after Steve Slaton's departure to the NFL.

Yesterday afternoon, I took Michelle to meet Mom and Gerald and then we went down to Nick N Terri's to see the Weed Hawks. They are everything as advertised. If you get a chance to see them, take advantage of it. I give them an A+++ for ability to entertain.

On a side note and I did not go to the game, WVU baseball beat the Cheating bastards of Notre Dame 11-6 in baseball yesterday afternoon.

Hillbilly Hotdogs on food network.

A West Virginia restaurant down near Huntington (yeah they are Marshall fans) called Hillbilly Hotdogs has made the food network.

I'm going to have to try one of those burgers someday.

No good cheating bastards

Last night, me and Michelle went to the WVU vs (No good cheating SOB's) Notre Dame for a baseball game. It started off as a great night, but those cheaters paid off the umpire who's grandmother must have slept with Knute Rockne on a daily basis and we got royally screwed by a cheating, no good, rookie, satanist, Notre Dame fan that was behind the plate. Notre Dame cheated their way to an 8-4 stolen and cheating home plate umpire helped victory.

In other news the WVU Football game is this afternoon. Michelle promised to help her Nephew's wife with her baby shower, sucks to be her. I'm going to the Gold-Blue game to watch a little Mountaineer Football and listen to Rich Fraud stories in the parking lot. Rumor has it he is going to lose in his $4 Million case against WVU meaning he will have to pay, so I hear Rita will be in the parking lot selling "Pay Up Rich" T-shirts to the true Mountaineer fans trying to earn a few extra dollars to help pay WVU their $4 Million plus interest.

I'll be going to the game with future WVU great Arron Hill-Rosiak, I will be trying to influence him to sign with the Mountaineers at his earliest convenience. Being he is coach Stewarts sons friend, my job should be easy.

O)h well, I think I am going to swing by the softball fields for a few before I go pick up Arron. Enjoy the sun and a nice day, I know I will. (I don't have to go to any baby showers!!)

Last Minute Booking

Terri just called me and said she could not get it into the paper on time, but there was a late booking for Nick N Terri's this Saturday Night at the Bar on State Route 73. (call her at 304-290-3407 if you need directions to the bar)

The Weedhawks came into the bar last night and played for about an hour. They ended up booking a show for tomorrow night, and get this, PBS is going to be there to film the occasion. Needless to say she is quite excited and wants to get the word out about this this booking.

A few samples of their music:







Come out and enjoy some great music and the best wings in Morgantown.

It's a Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes readers it is once again where the work for the week ceases and we take out time to enjoy the fruits of our labors, it is once again the start of the weekend. It's time to sit back and relax a little and enjoy this nice weather we are having.

There were a few things that broke in the past couple days in the Rich Rodriguez case. There was an allegation this past fall by former WVU assistant coach Calvin Magee about racism at WVU and why he was not offered the job at WVU. He stated that a WVU administrator made the statement that he would not get the job because the color of his skin, although I would imagine getting on the plane with Rich to go to Michigan at the initial Press conference had more to do with it than that. However WVU asked that Calvin name names on who made such a statement. I guess the guys name was Larry Aschebrook who they named as the source. I have obtained a copy of Aschebrook's Sworn statement that pretty much lays it on the line and identifies what was happening behind the scenes during the entire fiasco. It will make very interesting reading.

The WVU Spring Game will be held this Saturday at 12:30 at Milan Puskar Stadium at Mountaineer Field. It's a chance to watch the last football scrimmage of the year and donate to a great cause. Admission is just $5.00 a person and 100% of the proceeds goes to WVU Children's Hospital. Come out on a nice sunny day, help a good cause and watch a little football. Trish called me last and I'll take taking Arron to the game.

If baseball is your thing, WVU will be playing a three game baseball series against Notre Dame (Boo) this weekend at Hawley Field. Admission is only $5.00 and it will be a good time for all. Games are at 7:05 tonight, 3:00 tomorrow and 1:00 Sunday.

Michelle and I will be getting into something this evening, not sure as to what yet, but it will probably be something memorable.

Have a great weekend, get out and enjoy the weather.

An interesting Human Interest story

Yesterday Kim sent me an e-mail a man who had pancreatic cancer who was getting a lot of attention on the internet. His name is Randy Pausch and he is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University .

This is the video Kim sent me yesterday. This is the 11 minute short version.




Here is the full 76 minute lecture that is on Youtube.



It all makes you think a little. HERE is his daily update page. Kim heard he passed away a couple days ago, but I can't seem to confirm this.

A trip this morning

I wil be leaving the office this morning and heading to our corporate headquarters to get my security badge taken care of and made.

We had softball practice last night, it was a good night of practice and I think we have added a few good players this year that should fit in quite nice with the team chemistry.

Hi Ho Hi Ho.....

A Picture from Saturday Night

Saturday Night, Michelle and I went to her nieces birthday party. There were many flashbulbs flashing and we ended up having our first pictures taken together.


This is one of if not the first picture taken together of the both of us.

Congrats Robert

Last night my Sister Kim called and was very happy and somewhat ecstatic. She even Blogged about it. The state bowling tournament was this past weekend and Robert, as he does every year, was bowling in it. This is probably the states biggest bowling event, and on a big stage.

Earlier this year Robert had gotten 11 strikes in a row and just missed a 300 game. Well, I guess he can finally lay that memory to rest now with his perfection that he threw yesterday.

Every sport has a moment of perfection, where it is the dream that everyone wants to accomplish. In Baseball it is the walk off home run, in Football it is that game winning Touchdown. Every sport has its moment of supreme accomplishment, some are more easily obtainable than others. In Bowling, it is to complete the ever elusive perfection of throwing twelve consecutive strikes in one game and rolling a 300. It is a rare feat that is a lifetime accomplishment. Robert now can claim that achievement with his first career 300 yesterday.

Congrats to Robert and Thanks to Kim for catching it on Camera. She has the whole game captures, and she is planning on putting all ten frames into one movie file. The Final ball.

Meeting a lot of Michelle's Family

Last night I went to Rt 18 Bar to help celebrate Michelle's niece Samantha's birthday. It was the first time I got to meet the majority of her family and they all seemed to be a fun loving bunch of Steeler fans. A great group of people to meet and be around even though my head is still thumping from the sounds of the DJ from last night.

I met quite a few of her nephews and nieces, her sister Chris and her husband and they all were all having a great time. I've already been invited to watch Steeler games this fall, it will be nice actually watching the game around a lot of enthusiastic Steeler fans.

Today

I haven't gotten into too much today, other than just doing a little paperwork for my bills and paying them. Yes I know, fun fun.

This evening Michelle and I are going to go to her nieces Birthday party. I really haven't met any of her family yet other than her son and daughter and her mother briefly. So, tonight should be interesting and meet a few members of Michelle's family.

How about this weather? No snow, it's warming up, trees are starting to bud and bloom and I think we can officially call winter over and done with.

It's a Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes readers, it is one again that time of the week where the labors for the week cease and we once again start to enjoy the fruits of our labors. It is once again that most anticipated time of the week, the start of the weekend.

The only thing I have planned is Michelle's cousin is having a birthday party Saturday Night and that's about it so far. It's going to be Saturday evening at some at some bar past the mall, I think it was the old Gambino's /Ladie Godiva's/Players building.

I just checked the4 WVU baseball schedule and they are away all weekend at Seton Hall. They managed to come back from 9 runs down again on Wed for the second time in a week. There is a lot of young talent on this team that is having a great deal of success. If you get a chance, going and checking them out may be worth the $5.00 price of admission.

I got a call yesterday from BlueMountainEngineering, I of course had to tell them that I had accepted employment elsewhere. This was my #2 choice, my #1 is where I was offered for the record.

Have a great Friday and a great weekend.


You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.--Eleanor Roosevelt

An evening Blog

Most of the time I Blog, it's usually in the morning. I think my creative juices are running more after I wake up rather than at the end of a day. Although writing at the end of the day can give you something to reflect upon as you are looking for the words to scribe.

Today however, this is an evening blog. Running a little behind this morning for what I wanted to do to get out of the apartment and get to work, so I didn't blog at all before my drive to work.

Work has been great, learning a new piece of software that I really didn't have a whole lot of experience in prior to this job. I had used it before, but not that much. It's nice to be able to expand my skill set.

The people I work with are great and I think I will really enjoy working for this company. I can see big things happening within the company and our department if we're on top of it, Chad really seems to have a handle on things and is trying to explore more options.

I actually reached in my closet this morning and realized that since it's been a couple years since I worked in an office, it was time to go do a little shopping. After work I made a track up to JC Penney's to see what kind of sales they were having. For some reason I can't seem to find some of my casual business attire. I had it when I went to Sterling, but I couldn't seem to find it. No problem, time to shop!

Have a great evening.

WVU Men's Basketball finished season #17

The WVU Men's basketball team, with the help of a Sweet 16 finish this season, ended up ranked #17 in the final ESPN/USAToday Poll released yesterday. This is the third time in the last four years that WVU has been ranked in the final poll, the only year we were not ranked was last year when we won the NIT tournament.

Congrats to Coach Huggins and every member of this years team, they were fun to watch and I eagerly anticipate the next season. It seems like only yesterday that we attended Mountaineer Madness this past fall.

The final Women's Poll should be released today.

I warned Terri

I warned Terri years ago that she was going to turn Nick and Terri's into a Music bar, now she has gone and done it. It is honestly amazing the amount of untapped musical talent that just comes to that bar just to hang out if not play.

From the Hillbilly Gypsies, to Floyd Cowger to Lindsey and the Clear Mountain Boys to Mahlon Kisner who is getting ready to do an album with Luke Short that I will have to buy. I heard these two playing together a couple weekends ago at Nick and Terri's and was amazed how well they play together.

Now it seems like Mahlon who plays every other Wed at the bar is going to be opening up for Kansas in a couple months at the 2008 Mountain Fest here in Morgantown.

I warned her she was going to end up with the reputation of a Music Bar.

A Day of Firsts

Today can be considered a day of firsts in many ways. I will start my new job with my new company today, I start work for Information Manufacturing Corporation this morning at 8:00. I'm actually quite excited to get work for a company in Morgantown and be able to get back into an office environment and actually get a chance to interact with people some of the time.

I see a great opportunity with this company, the sky is the limit, this time however as a company experiences exponential growth, I'll be in the office. Here is to hopefully a long career with a company getting ready to really grow.

Also in this day of firsts as you can tell by my picture, is the first softball practice of the 2008 season. It's that time of the year that I most look forward to, the time when Mountaineer Football and Basketball are done with their seasons and are preparing for the next school year. A time when the squirrels come by for a daily visit and the sun is shining. When longer and warmer days are prevalent and summer festival seasons start. It is once again time to gather the guys, talk a little trash, remember the old days and play some softball.

We will once again be sponsored this season by the best sponsor/pitcher you could ever ask for. Mountain Valley Paintball Park. You got to love a team that gets together a few times a year and shoot each other. Can't you just feel the love of the brotherhood?

Have a great day, mine is going to be interesting.

Michael and Ashley's wedding

Jean called me this morning and said that Michael had went to Las Vegas to get married.


The wedding is available online HERE, if you have trouble viewing it you can watch it on my BLOG as I have uploaded it to Youtube for everyone's convenience.

Happy Birthday Terri

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my Sister Terri a Very Happy Birthday. She is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her 21st birthday today.

Michelle and I stopped in to see her on Friday evening and she had a band playing at the bar Saturday night with Slow Club.

Happy Birthday Terri.

Last Day with Infotech

Today is my official last day with Infotech. I have been wrapping any work up that I may have been in the middle of and sending a few personal e-mail's out to a few co-workers and bosses thanking them for the honor and opportunities that were presented to me.

I'm leaving on a good note like I always try to do. It's been three years I started working for VARGIS/Infotech, the picture was from our official public grand opening in Frostburg, Maryland. Only Myself and Srinu (Back row on left) still remain with IEA and only Srinu after today.

Sadness for today, Happiness for the opportunity to work for my new company tomorrow.

Yesterday

Yesterday Michelle and I went to the WVU baseball game that was at Hawley Field. WVU came back from trailing 13-4 in the bottom of the 8th inning to pull out a 15-14 victory in 10 innings. Local native and Freshman Jedd Gyrko with the winning RBI in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Mountaineers ran their record to 24-6 on the season. They won the uncompleted game from Friday night earlier in the afternoon. The final game of the three game series is this afternoon.

After the game we planned on going out to dinner, but a big l;ate rally and pushing the game to extra innings delayed our dinner plans a little bit so that we could make it to the move we planned on seeing, Leatherheads. Great movie, I highly recommend it to anyone who may be interested in seeing it.

Michelle joked she wanted to see Horton Hears a Who, OK, here you can watch it.



After seeing leatherheads, we went out to dinner to Eat N Park , but we once again had a spy following us as we once again saw Brittany at the same place we were at. I thought it was kind of funny.

It was a good day.

The Big Announcement

On March 24th, I received an e-mail from the COO of Infotech Enterprises of America, my current employer asking me to call him. Over the past few months since a couple big projects wrapped up that I was the final editor on, work has been slow and it was basically me waiting on work and almost begging for things to do. I called Jim and the news was delivered, I was going to be laid off. We were moving in a new direction and no longer working on planamteric data and were going to concentrate on ortho generation. In other words, we're going after the pictures rather that the geometrical shapes around the data. I received my official notice this past week and Monday, April 7th is my last day at Infotech.

Now, go back a few weeks to a BLOG I WROTE about the play that mom was in and Kim, Terri, Brittany and I attended. The guy playing Jesus, Chad Rowan, was a GIS guy and couldn't be all that bad. I had known Chad though college and I did a google search on his name and noted where he was now at.

Right after I got off the phone with Jim from Infotech, I immediately sent Chad an e-mail informing him of my circumstances. He informed me he had a Technician leaving that Friday. The ball was set in motion.

I had placed numerous resumes out there and had received a few responses, I had interviews with Enterprise Rent a Car (no Offer), LSI yesterday, I had a response from Blue Mountain, but haven't heard back from them, there was the Holy Smokes, which I thought was AT&T, but it would have been for a Company called Fusion Solutions in Virginia, even though I have come to find out they have an office in Morgantown (this could have potentially been six figures and all expenses paid) and a few other head hunters.

I had a phone interview with Chad's Company last Friday and went in for an in person interview on Wed. I thought the interview went well, but there were two candidates and we were both qualified and he knew both of us. He said I would know something by early next week, but Thursday the HR department called and wanted to do a background search on me.

My goal was to find and start a new job by or at the time of my lay off with Infotech. Mission accomplished.

Yesterday afternoon, I received and accepted an official offer to start working for Information Manufacturing Corporation right here in Morgantown. I will start to work for them on Tuesday, the day after my last day with Infotech. Paperwork still needs signed, but it is in transit to my home through the mail as we speak. My job search is now officially over. Ironically, this is a company that I have known about a few years and wanted to work for them prior to me accepting a job at Vargis/Infotech a few years ago. They were in Clarksburg then, they are in Morgantown on Maple Avenue now.

Also, I was inquiring to my former employer the NRAC about some part time or contract work, Kelly called me yesterday afternoon and said she would get the paperwork started on Monday.

Main Job secured and secondary income secured.

Mission Accomplished.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes readers, this is the time of the week where the work ceases and we sit back and actually take time to reflect back and enjoy the fruits of our labors, it's the Weekend!!

Originally this was supposed to be my last day of employment with Infotech, I was supposed to be getting laid off after today, but I guess my official notice is for Monday the 7th rather than Friday the 4th. So it looks like I will have this job a few more hours than originally anticipated. I think they wanted to make sure I had a full two weeks from the time of my notice for my last day.

On the job search front, things are going pretty good. I actually had a telephone interview this morning and another company has sent me some paper work to fill out, this is my first contact with them however.

I should expect to hear something from my top choice by early next week though one way or the other.

I'll keep everyone updated and be a little more specific next week.

The Job search

My new job search continues. I had an interview yesterday with a GIS Company in Morgantown and I walked out of the interview thinking I was not going to get a job offer. Needless to say I was a little depressed last night.

I have two companies that I will be speaking with tomorrow, One in Morgantown and one in Sterling Virginia. Hopefully all goes well with both of these and I will have a few more options to pick and choose from.

Things have changed today on a couple fronts, one on the one I interviewed with yesterday that is positive and I got a "HOLY SMOKES" contact that got in touch with me today also.

Things are looking a lot brighter today than they did yesterday, I'm still sitting here stunned by the "HOLY SMOKES" (better than what I would say) contact.

I am going to have to sit back and think what is most important to me right now. Home, or a BIG pot of gold that was presented today. There will be some serious thought process going on in the next couple of days.

Some WVU News

I guess there is a movement going on around town that may need a little support. There is a petition ongoing to name the Press Box at WVU after Jack Fleming and they are asking everyone for support. There is an article written about it by on WVMETRONEWS.com for anyone who may like to have a little more information.

There is news on both the Football and basketball recruiting fronts. Bill Stewart signed three more prospects to the 2008 recruiting class when he received official letter of intents from Devon Lyons (former starter at Ohio State and older brother of WVU receiver Wes Lyons), Benji Kemoeatu who is listed as the State of Hawaii's best prospect and has two older brothers playing in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers and Mark Rodgers, a very fast running back out of California who also happens to be rap mega star Snoop Dogg's cousin. So two guys battling for the top running back next year will be someone Deion Sanders wanted to adopt (Devine) and Snoop's cousin (Rodgers). We might be seeing a few famous faces around town the next few years.

On the basketball recuiting front, Bob Huggins is recruiting High School All-American and former Indiana top recruit Devin Ebanks now that he has been released from his LOI at Indiana. Us and Memphis are believed to be the top two for his services. I have said for years, Bob Huggins is the best recruiter in the game. His top recruit last season at Kansas State is going to be the top pick in the NBA draft this year. If he signs Ebanks, this will give him two All-Americans in this, his first real class at WVU.

I think I did a decent job

It seems like I got one heck of a response yesterday from my April Fools Blog Post. I had one up earlier about accepting a job in California, but since I am in the middle of a new job search and am in contact with a few companies, something told me that may not have been the smartest move for a blog post. It was up merely 5 minutes and Michelle actually read it.

I then deleted it and changed direction to see if I could reel a few people in. Myspace is a feature that many members of my family use and use regularly. So, I come up with some hair brained scheme that they were going to start charging. I even threw in a little oxymoron when I said they were going to charge you for free downloads. I'm just glad everyone read the last line of the blog before anyone deleted their myspace accounts. I did get contacted by Val, Kim, Pam and Mom (women are so vulnerable) about the myspace charges.

I have pulled a few good pranks in my day, I even laugh at one I did about ten years ago when I used Kim's website to throw the possibility that Jeff Gordon was our cousin. I've pulled a few good ones, the one yesterday even though it was not very well thought out or written (on purpose) was still very effective.

Last night on ESPN's Pardon the Interuption they did a real nice one that was actually believable for a brief period of time.




However the best one I think I have ever seen pulled by the media was by George Plimpton and Sports Illustrated years ago when they published an article on Sid Finch, and his 153 MPH fastball (about 50 MPH faster than the fastest ever recorded pitches.


It was a good day.

Myspace is becoming a pay per use site

Myspace, one of the internet's largest social network, is becoming a pay per use site. Beginning soon, MySpace will be charging $9.99 a month to use their social networking site for all new users. Existing users can buy a subscription for the remainder of 2008 for $49.95, but this only will go until the end of the current calender year.

Here is the kicker, there is a termination fee if you close your account after today, but it is free to close it today. Anything after today will inquire a one time $25.00 termination charge to close your account and prevent any further charges to your account.

New features to myspace will be added once the non-optional subscription only services begin later this evening. One of the new features will be "Share your iPod" music. Where you plug your iPod in and log into myspace and will be able to share and download anything off of any iPod that is plugged into the network for free. A $0.99 charge for each free song will be charged.

Make sure you check the date before you cancel your account.

Last week with Infotech

This is my last official week working for Infotech , I've been working for them for three years now, basically the last two from home as a remote employee. There is a little sadness in leaving, but there is a little more excitement in being able to move on and get back into an office on a day to day basis.

It's been nice working from home, but as the work log deteriorated I had less and less to do. It almost got to the point where there was no challenge and no excitement anymore. I think the best time I had in the past couple years was when I was needed in Sterling and had to go down there. Don't get me wrong, working from home exclusively was nice, but with no workload or no challenge it was like heading down a dead end.

As for the job search, I have two interviews this week after having one phone interview last week. I have a phone interview tomorrow and a personal interview with the company that I had a phone interview with last week. Nothing is official yet, but once I get the "i's" dotted and the "t's" crossed I will let everyone know one way or another. I'll be more specific later this week.

I have put out numerous Resumes over the past seven days, so I have been busy to say the least. My top choice is the company I am interviewing with Wed, as it is a company I wanted to work for a few years ago. I'm also working on some setting up some supplemental work in my field.

It's going to be an interesting week.

Gridiron Bash cancelled

The much ballyhooed Gridiron Bash , which was to have included West Virginia University with Dwight Yoakam appearing in Morgantown has been canceled. Not just at WVU, but all participating schools everywhere.

There was a conflict between NCAA Athletes and them being allowed to participate in a for profit venture.

Alabama was leading the voting in the $1 Million donation to their scholarship fund, but this will now no longer be.

Jack Flemming Tribute

Eventful week to say the least

I have to say this past week has been one event filled week in my life. It started the first thing Monday Morning when I got an e-mail from the COO from Infotech telling me I was going to be laid off April 4, to me putting out quite a few resumes and getting a few contacts.

I think I have found my next company I am going to work for, but nothing is official yet so I'll wait till the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed before I make any kind of announcement on that situation. If things go as hoped, I'll go from one place of employment to another and that was my initial plan as of me finding out my situation Monday. Right Place, right time to say the least.

The WVU men's basketball team fell to Xavier 75-79 in Overtime to Xavier ending the 2007-8 Basketball season.

We have started to get organized for the 2008 softball season, we're finalizing our initial roster, secured the sponsor and should be hitting the field here in a few weeks or so now that both WVU Men's and Women's Basketball are done for the season. A few of our team mates are associated with the Athletic Department, so it has been a busy week for them to say the least. We will once again be Mountain Valley Paintball once again. Sean and Danny will sponsor us once again.

Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.--Demosthenes

Sadness last night

The WVU Men's basketball season came to a sad end last night with a 75-79 Overtime loss to Xavier. WVU fell behind 0-8 and 10-28 early in the game, but bravely fought back to eventually take the lead just past the halfway point in the second half.

The game was nip and tuck from that point on and ended up in a 64-64 tie at the end of regulation. Overtime saw the Mountaineers jump out to a six point lead, but saw it falter as Xavier started nailing deep, unguarded three point shots and that was the final difference in the game.

The Mountaineers finish the season 26-11 in Bob Huggin's first season in Morgantown. It was sad to see Darris Nichols and Jamie Smalligan end their WVU careers, it was a game I think we should have won. However this is March Madness and you have to bring your "A" game all night long.

2008-9 Season looks like it could be a very good one with the players we have coming back plus the players we have coming in.

Take a bow guys, great season.

Sweet 16

Tonight the WVU Men's Basketball team will be playing in the Sweet 16 against Xavier University for a shot at going to the Elite 8 on Saturday.

Michelle and I will be watching the Xavier game together since we won the Duke game watching it together tonight at Nick and Terri's and maybe the good karma will stay and we will advance to the Elite 8. IF and that is a big IF, we win tonight we will most likely be playing UCLA in the Elite 8, a team who we have beaten the last two years in a row.

Let's Gooooooooooooooooo Mountianeers

WVU Basketball team

At lunch yesterday I went over to the WVU Coliseum to see the WVU basketball team of on their trip. I did get a little video footage of Johnnie West (Jerry's sone) shooting baskets before they got on the bus.

New Job Search is under way

Well, I can't say I haven't been busy the past 24 hours. Since learning of my upcoming layoff on April 4, I have been quite busy both yesterday and early this morning sending out e-mails, applying for jobs and forwarding my resume to about anyone and everyone I know with any GIS connections. I would say I have made 15-18 solid contacts, now I have to be patient and hope someone calls in the near future. I don't want there to be any lapse in time between this job and the next, so I have been quite busy to say the least. I have filled out one application that was not GIS based, only because this company has stuck in my head since my recourse days.

Have a good day.

I just got some very bad news.

Over the past few months, the workload at work has been very slow, to the point where I was worrying about it and starting to wonder if I would have a job. Infotech has been growing at an exponential rate, but it has been getting away from GIS type work and leaning more towards the photogrammatry type of work. My area of expertise is in the GIS aspect of it all, not the photogrammetric.

This morning the news I did not want to hear came through. April 4, 2008 will be my last day with Infotech, I am being laid off. I even asked if my presence in Sterling would make a difference, but our backlog of work even for that office has diminished to the point that the only thing we are doing on shore is project management, and we have plenty of project managers. I even inquired about a reduction of pay, but it was not a performance issue, I was told I was probably the most diligent employee they have had and they would assist me in finding other employment.

What does this mean to me? Well first of all goodbye to working from home. I was given a unique opportunity and it may be next to impossible to find this situation again. So obviously I am going to have to start looking for work outside of my home. It could also very well mean a goodbye to Morgantown and a goodbye to West Virginia. I hate to imagine this, but this could be my reality in a very short period of time. This is a place that I have grown up in and loved, and the thought of me leaving is horrible, but life just tossed me a curveball and I have to accept it.

To say I am a little worried and not confident right now is an understatement.

Great Day to be a Mountaineer

Tony Caridi has never said any truer words. Yesterday was definitely a great day to be a Mountaineer no matter where you may be. Me and Michelle watched the game together yesterday at BW3 here in Morgantown as the Mountaineers won one of their biggest games in years with a 73-67 beating of 23 seed Duke. I have to say it was a game that I was a little worried about at the start, I said before the game we would win, but after the first five minutes or so I had my doubts. Duke was starting to blow us out early and took a 10 point lead 6:00 into the game and again at 8:00 into the game. However WVU played a great game and just took it to the Blue Devils and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years. the men moved their record to 26-10 on the year.

Next up for the Mountaineers is the Xavier Mountaineers (same name) who are a #3 seed. They have a little bit better record than us, but we have played a much tougher schedule this year than they have. If they can get past Xavier and into the Elite 8, there is a good chance we will play UCLA, who we have beaten the last two years. This season may be very memorable before it's over with.

The WVU Women's team opened it's NCAA tournament up last night against New Mexico on their home floor. This was a tough draw for the #5 seed Mountaineers, even though New Mexico was a #12 seed, they were at home and were 40-0 over the last two years when they scored 60 or more points. Well, that 40 game streak came to an end last night on their home court as the WVU Women won 61-60 last night. the women ran their record to 25-7 on the year and I think they play Vanderbilt tomorrow in the second round to try to advance to the Women's sweet 16.

It is a true testament to this University's Athletic Department when you consider the current combined record of the WVU Football, Men's and Women's Basketball and Baseball teams are currently a combined 78-23 on the school year. Not to mention both the Men's and Women's soccer teams both advanced to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 this year also.

It is a great year to be a Mountaineer.

Happy Easter

I would just like to take this time and wish everyone reading this a very Happy and Safe Easter. I hope the Easter Bunny treated everyone very well, I wonder if he has any no carb Peanut Butter Eggs?

Have a great day

Free Cinemax Weekend

Here in Morgantown, Comcast is giving everyone a free preview of skinemax this weekend, all you need is a digital cable box and you are set to go. Remember Cinemax on Demand is on channel 907.

Mountaineers in action today.

Both the WVU Mens and the WVU Women's basketball team will be in action today in their NCAA Tournaments. The WVU Women travel to Albuquerque to take on New Mexico tonight at 8:30 Eastern Time. It is a little strange that the 5th seeded Mountaineers have to travel to play on 12th Seeded New Mexico's home court, but this is the draw that we have, and I think the game will be on ESPN 2 this evening.

When it comes to the Men, they play Duke this afternoon at 2:10 on CBS in a second round game. Duke almost lost to some school I never heard of a couple nights ago, I'm hoping Huggs has these guys ready and brings home what could be a very memorable win in the schools history. This could be monumental if we beat Duke.

So sports fans, there you go a chance to see both the WVU men's and WVU women's teams in action today.

At 1:00 this afternoon, WVU will be looking to make it a three game sweep over Pitt in Baseball at Hawley Field if anyone is interested.

It's a Big Ole Good Friday

Yes, for most of us we have reached that time of the week when the work for the week ceases and we sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor, unless you have Good Friday off then it started yesterday, it is once again the weekend.

Where to start on what happened yesterday. Last night Me, Kim, Terri and Brittany started out the evening with a trip to and dinner at the Olive Garden for dinner. To tell you the truth, that was the first time I have ever eaten at the Olive Garden, it won't be the last. After dinner we headed on on over the Riverside Church to watch the play that they were putting on, Messiah and I have to say I was a bit surprised. I walked in and it was a large elaborate set with many actors and very realistic costumes. It was very well done and quite entertaining. A guy I used to work with at the NRAC for one summer, Chad Rowan, played the part of Jesus. He's also a GIS Analyst guy so he can't be all that bad!

The pictures from last night from my camera have been uploaded to my picture site, Kim and Terri both also took pictures last night, Kim is going to put hers up and I'll try to grab the pics off of Terri's camera and put them up sometime soon.


How Bout The EERS!!! They are off to the suffering Succotash 32 (so named by Eric Maguire) to play Duke after beating Arizona 75-65 last night in DC. The Mountaineers were lead by Alex Ruoff's 21 points and 5 of 7 from three point land. Duke, Saturday's opponent, almost made history last night in what would have been the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history by barely beating Belmont 71-70 in the earlier game. People are asking themselves this morning, who the heck is Belmont?

I got a little love on WVAQ this morning. They are running a NCAA Tournament Bracket Pick Em for two 2009 WVU Season Basketball tickets next year and there are I think 612 of us competing. I am tied for first place (after one half of the first round) after last night, but there is still a lot of basketball to be played. I think WVU will beat Duke Saturday, or at least I hope they do, because I have WVU going pretty far in both my brackets. Actually I have all Big East Final Four in both brackets that I have picked (another one on Yahoo). Come on Huggs, win it all!!

Everyone have a good, safe and happy Holiday Weekend.




The family is one of nature's masterpieces.--George Santayana

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.