2011: The Year in Review

Another year has come and gone.  Hard to believe we're at the end of 2011 already.  What a year this has been.


January was crazy as we welcomed Emily to the world.  It was definitely tough for the first few weeks.  We spent a lot of sleepless nights and were extremely tired.  I went back to work and tried my best to balance being a new parent with my job.

February saw us continuing to be parents.  As a result for the first time since 2000 I didn't attend the Daytona 500.  I missed it, but for good reasons.  We were still struggling with being new parents and still learning how to balance everything, but things were getting easier.

March brought on another round of surgery.  As some of you may remember I had surgery on my left ear last year to remove a mass that had engulfed my middle ear.  I had surgery to do reconstruction in the beginning of March.  It was a success and my hearing is much better than it was.  I continue to recover, but I'm doing better.

April brought back the Caps playoff hopes.  As usual they broke my heart.  Towards the end of the month I got to do a ride-along at Dover Int'l speedway.  It was awesome.  We hit speeds around 130 but it felt like a lot faster.  Considering I've been a NASCAR fan for a long time it was a great thrill.

May brought my return to a NASCAR race by going to Dover with friends.  We had a good time and got to enjoy a great weekend.  Emily was growing like a weed.  She was starting to get a personality and was much fun to be around.

June was fairly quiet.  I was supposed to go to Oklahoma but ended up not going.  So Lauren and I just enjoyed most of the month with Emily.  My friend Doug came to visit and meet Emily.  It was good to see him and catch up since we don't get to do it so often.

July was supposed to bring a trip to Hawaii, but due to logistics it was delayed until August.  So we spent our anniversary in Dover doing some gambling and having a good trip.  We actually came home with a little money in our pocket.  We then took a trip to Nashville for a week.  During the trip I got to see Bristol Motor Speedway on the drive down, giving my self a rather nice self-guided tour of the facility.  I then took in the Nationwide series race in Nashville, meeting several drivers and having a great time.  We spent the week going to places like the Hermitage, Opryland, Franklin, a trip to Chattanooga to visit the Tennessee Aquarium, and Mammoth Cave.  It was a great trip!

August saw Lauren and I go to Hawaii.  I went for work and she went for fun.  I accomplished my mission while there and we went and did things such as climbing Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor, the North Shore, and Hanauma Bay.  We had a great time.  We came home to the two craziest events of 2011:  the east coast Earthquake and then Hurricane Isabel.  Both were absolutely nuts!  I had never felt an earthquake before then, and it was definitely an interesting experience!  Emily also said her first word, "Mama".

September brought on two NASCAR races and also began my ice hockey career.  We went to races in Richmond and Dover, enjoying both.  I joined a rec league team and was signed on as a forward.  I hadn't played competitive hockey in 15 years, so I was definitely rusty.  I played in a few games and had to work the rust off.  Emily was starting to stand up and it was only a matter of time before she started walking!

October was fairly quiet.  I finally scored my first goal in my hockey league.  It was good to get that in the books.  Emily continued to grow.  She was getting bigger and bigger every day!  I ended the month going to Martinsville with my friend Charlie.  We had a blast! 

November came and had me down in Tampa, FL for work.  We spent a week there working on a project, but didn;t complete it due to some logistical issues.  I ended up going to Kennedy Space Center with a co-worker who had never been.  We opted for the large tour which included the VAB.   We got to see Space Shuttle Endeavour in the VAB.  That was neat.   I came home to watch Tony Stewart win the Sprint Cup Championship, but also get sick.  I spent Thanksgiving week sick and trying to recover.  At the end of the month Emily took her first steps, making me a proud papa!  :)

December was mostly spent getting ready for Christmas.  Emily had a great Christmas and a great first birthday. 

I look back on this year as one of fun and enjoyment watching my child grow.  She's defintely made my life interesting.  I've had a lot of fun getting to know her and teach her new things.  I look forward to 2012 to a lot of new adventures and watching my daughter grow even more.

Have a great new year everyone!

After Christmas

Another Christmas has come and gone.  This year seemed to be a little more lax than in previous years -  I think because last year we were waiting impatiently for something to happen. 

It was a good Christmas.  Em got way too much stuff and was a little overwhelmed, but she had a good time.  She likes playing with her new toys and driving mommy and daddy crazy.  :-) 

This will be a short work week for me.  I'm looking forward to spending time with the girls.

Another game, another loss

Another stinker by the Caps last night.  They have now lost 3 of their 4 games under new coach Dale Hunter.  The D still looks lost and the goaltending has been subpar lately.

What's up with the team?  At least they scored 4 goals last night.  But there's still something missing.  Goals are coming from the 3rd and 4th line players - not the top three.  I'm still not panicking - there's still lots of hockey to be played and the season is far from over.  I'll panic if we get to March and the team is still playing like this.

Walking!

My daugher took her first steps last Wednesday.  It was simply amazing.  Watching somebody take their first steps in life are awesome.  She's been trying to walk ever since.  We get to 2-3 steps and then she falls over.  But it's awesome.  I am so happy as a parent!

Bruce Boudreau

Since it's been the hot topic of the week, I'll chime in.

The Washington Capitals fired head coach Bruce Boudreau on Monday and replaced him with fan favorite Dale Hunter.  Dale played for the Capitals from 1987-1999 and was the face of the franchise for several of those years.  Most Caps fans remember his OT goal in game 7 to beat the Flyers in the 1988 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  But he was a leader on and off the ice and will now be the bench boss.

Boudreau came in when the ship was taking on water in 2007.  The Caps were last in the NHL and seemed to be destined for failure.  Boudreau came in and brought the team together to earn a Stanley Cup berth only to be knocked out of the playoffs by the Philadelphia Flyers in a heartbreaking loss.  Boudreau went on to win the Jack Adams award as coach of the year.  Everyone thought this was OUR time.

The firing of Boudreau was surprising to a few, but it was time.  The Caps have not looked good in recent weeks.  It's easy to blame the players.  Ovechkin doesn't look the same.  The D looks horrible.  Backstrom doesn't win enough faceoffs.  The Caps don't have a legit 2nd line center.  Those are some of the rantings and ravings I've heard over the last few weeks.

I've been watching hockey on a regular basis since 1986.  I don't call myself an expert by any means.  If I was, I wouldn't be writing this blog post on blogger.  I do know when something isn't right, however.

Last season the Caps made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs and easily rolled over the New York Rangers.  The Caps went on to face the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Tampa played a system that was extremely effective against the Caps' style of play.  Boudreau failed to adjust the style of play or even attempt to adapt to Tampa's style of play.  The results spoke for themselves - the Lightning swept the Capitals and made it to within one win to reach the Stanley Cup finals.

This season the Caps started off 7-0-0.  Everyone had high expectations.  Since then the Caps have had a dismal 5-8-1 record, with the 8th loss coming last night in Dale Hunter's coaching debut.  The team has looked out played, out coached, and out hustled.  Those are things that need to be addressed, and I don't think Boudreau was being listened to anymore.  Last season the Caps had many "optional" practices, where a lot of the star players would fail to attend.  When things aren't working and the team isn't playing well, the coach needs to step it up and motivate his players.  It didn't happen.  The Power Play went from being 1st in the league to 21st.  The Penalty Kill is in the bottom 3rd.  The team isn't scoring goals.  The defense isn't stopping the opposition from scoring goals.  Something had to be done.  It's easier to get rid of a coach than a team of 20 players.

Boudreau isn't a bad coach.  But even good teams fire their head coaches.  It's a business.  If your team isn't performing, it's easy to blame the coach.  Boudreau was the 5th longest tenured coach in the NHL.  And he's been on the job only 4 years.  Yikes.

Look at the Baltimore Orioles.  They've gone through 5 managers in the last 10 seasons.  The Dallas Cowboys have gone through several coaching changes in the last 10 seasons.  The Washington Redskins have as well.  All of those teams had enough talent to produce winning seasons.  Yet none of those teams have won the championship in their respective leagues in over 10 seasons.  Even with all the talent that those teams (Ok, the Orioles are a bad example) had they couldn't win.

But let's also look at teams that fired their coach that was doing well - Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired Tony Dungy in 2001.  In 2002 they won the Super Bowl.  In 2000 the Arizona Diamondbacks fired manager Buck Showalter.  In 2001 they won the World Series.  The Pittsburgh Penguins fired Michel Therien in 2009.  They won the Stanley Cup in 2009.  In 2000 the New Jersey Devils fired coach Robbie Ftorek mid-season.  They went on to win the Stanley Cup.

It goes to show that sometimes the coach has to take the fall.  Sometimes however it reaps rewards.

I have no ill will towards Bruce Boudreau.  Heck, he even told me to have a blessed marriage on my wedding day.  But unfortunately professional sports is a business.  Players and coaches that we come to love come and go.  It was a sad day for me when the Baltimore Ravens released long time tight end Todd Heap.  But it goes back to the business comment.

Boudreau will probably get another coaching job in the NHL.  I wish him all the best and hope he has a great coaching career.  But for now the Washington Capitals needed a change.  They got it in Dale Hunter.  We are waiting to see if Hunter can right the ship and get the Caps back on track.

Tony wins, and I don't get to enjoy it

Tony Stewart did everything he needed to do and won the Ford 400 yesterday.  In doing so, he won the Sprint Cup championship by virtue of the tie breaker (more wins than Carl Edwards).  I was definitely happy to see him win and excited, but the excitement was short lived.

Yesterday I started feeling nauseated around 4:00.  I had my daughter sleeping on me, so I tried my best to just sit there and tough it out.  However around 5:00 I started vomiting and continued every hour or so for the next 2-3 hours.  I had a hard time sleeping and was in the bathroom half the night.  I stayed home from work today as I couldn't keep any food down at all.  I'm able to keep beverages down, so at least there's something in my system. 

I'm thinking I got either food poisoning or the stomach flu.  Either way I have felt miserable all day.  I don't wish this on anybody.

Tony, I will celebrate your Championship!  It may just take me a few extra days to do so!

Florida

Spent last week in Tampa, Florida for work.  We had some down time and were able to attend a Lightning game and visit Kennedy Space Center.  I even got a chance to go into the VAB at Kennedy to see space shuttle Endeavour being decommissioned.  It was kinda sad.

We didn't get everything done we wanted for work though.  A few issues arose and we didn't get everything done.  I was somewhat disappointed.  But we'll get it done when we can.  It was just a minor setback.

Kyle Busch - NASCAR got it right and wrong

Kyle Busch was involved in an accident last night with Ron Hornaday during the Camping World truck series race at Texas.  After the accident, Busch took it upon himself to retaliate and intentionally wreck Hornaday.  NASCAR responded by "parking" Busch for the night.  Basically they told him he was not welcome to return to the race.  His truck was probably too damaged to go back on the track anyway, but NASCAR wanted to make sure he didn't.

Today NASCAR handed down their decision:  Busch would be "parked" or essentially suspended for the weekend.  He could not participate in today's Nationwide series race, and cannot participate in the Sprint Cup race tomorrow.  From what I read he cannot appeal the decision.

I agree with NASCAR's decision to park him.  It was a blatant disrespect for the sport and for his competitors.  Busch has issued a statement apologizing for his actions. 

What I don't agree is NASCAR's inconsistency.  Similar actions have occurred on the track recently.  Jamie McMurray attempted to make a similar move last week and was unsuccessful.  Carl Edwards intentionally wrecked Brad Keselowski last season.  Tony Stewart has repeatedly wrecked competitors intentionally.  None of those drivers were suspended or "parked".  All these incidents have been similar and nothing has happened to them other than being placed on "probation".

NASCAR needs to be more consistent with their discipline.   If they're going to "park" a driver for aggressive driving, do it consistently.  This is only the 2nd time in the last 10 years that a driver has been suspended from competition for an incident during another race.  There have been several incidents where drivers should've been suspended and were not.

NASCAR, while I respect your decision on this one, you've dropped the ball previously.  Fix it before it's too late.

Martinsville

Sunday I took my annual trip down to Martinsville for the race.  I brought my friend Charlie who has slowly been getting the bug to go to more races.  He's definitely enjoyed the few we've been to so far and was looking forward to this one.

We drove down to visit some of my friends Saturday.  Charlie fit right in with them.  It's amazing how friends from different aspects of your life can bond.  It's awesome.

We drove up Sunday morning to the track.  I surprised Charlie with pre-race infield passes.  We were only allowed on the front stretch, but since he'd never done it we got to enjoy our time down there.  We saw several drivers and even signed the start/finish line.  I can tell Charlie enjoyed the experience!

Then of course we had to get some of the Martinsville famous hot dogs - I love those things.  They're small but cheap.  You can eat several and not feel too bad about it.

The race itself was wild.  I think Dale Jr hit everything but the pace car.  Brian Vickers looked like a silver ball inside a pinball machine.  Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth watched their championship hopes meet the SAFER barrier.  Carl Edwards got lucky.  Jimmie Johnson had the race in the bag and a late race caution screwed him.  Tony Stewart looked possessed.  Denny Hamlin tried his best but kept getting shuffled into the wrong line on restarts. 

It was a great race, and a great weekend.  Tony Stewart looks like he's on fire again - can Smoke carry the momentum into this week?

Goal #2

Played hockey last night even though I haven't been feeling good over the last few days.  We looked flat and tired.  By the middle of the 2nd period we were already down 3-0.  I did my best to get us back in the game by scoring a rebound goal to make it 3-1.  As with my first goal, it was a rebound that I sneaked under the goalie.  Garbage goal, but I'll take it.  It didn't help as we ended up losing 4-2.

Even though I felt terrible and didn't have a great game, it was good to get goal #2.  My confidence is slowly increasing.  I think had I felt better I would've been able to give more of an effort.

Our next game is Sunday.  Can't wait for it!

Not what we planned

We were supposed to go away this weekend, but it didn't happen.  A sick child, a wife that didn't feel great, and a good friend that was supposed to go with us that didn't feel great either.  So we just stayed home and enjoyed what we could.

Sick children are not fun.  It just sucks that you can't just do something to make them better.  I did what I could to make her feel better, but nature just has to run its course.  She's had some colossal poops though.  Ugh.  Those were not fun for either of us.

Hopefully everyone feels better and we can have a good week.

At least my hockey team won again tonight, 7-4.  I had an assist but dont' know if I got credit.  Not that it matters other than to me.  As long as we keep winning that's what matters.

SCORE!

Today I finally got it done.  I scored the first goal in my rec league career. 

I had a great chance in the 1st period.  I got the puck in the slot and basically had an open lane to the net.  I took a step and fired a wrist shot.  The opposing goalie made a great glove save.  A lot of guys on our team really thought that was going in.  I was a little disappointed myself - it was one of the best shots I've had this year.

In the 2nd period, we had the puck in the offensive zone.  We had been dominating at times and our line was buzzing.  I positioned myself in front of the net as I have been doing lately.  One of our wings took a shot that the goalie stopped but left a juicy rebound.  There wasn't a defender near me.  I had a wide open net.  Took a backhand shot that easily went in.  I let out a "YEAH!" but didn't really celebrate.  I got a few high fives from my team mates.  It felt good to get that monkey off my back.

The goal turned out to be the game winning goal as we won, 5-1.  I had a few more chances but didn't get another goal.  I thought it was the best game I had played to date.  Now that I have one, the next one will be much easier, right?

Asham/Beagle

I watched the fight between Jay Beagle and Aaron Asham last night.  I like many wasn't happy with the reaction from Asham after the fight was over.  Beagle obviously was in need of medical attention when it was done.  I know the Caps players weren't happy with Asham going after Beagle.  I understand and respect that.  I don't condone Asham's reaction to the end of the fight, seen here:

At least Asham had the decency to apologize for his actions.  I know he was trying to bring the crowd up and get his team going.  It did work, but the Caps' Tomas Vokoun stole the show.  Vokoun made 39 saves in the victory, including 17 of 18 shots in the 3rd period.

Hopefully Beagle is ok.  I don't have any ill feelings toward Asham.  Fighting is part of hockey.  It's been around since the start of the game.  What I don't care for is gloating when the opponent is on the ice and clearly in need of attention. 

It just sucks that this one incident takes away what was a great game.  Pittsburgh definitely outplayed Washington.   It was a great game to watch.  Without Vokoun the Caps definitely wouldn't have won. 

Jimmie Johnson

Several of my NASCAR friends thought Jimmie Johnson was out of the Chase after the first race.  I told them to never count him out until he was at least 47 points out of the lead going into Homestead.  Looks like I was right. 

Since Johnson won today and now is within a few points of the lead, the rest of the field better watch out!

Steve Jobs

Since everybody else is blogging, writing, or talking about Steve Jobs' death,  I will throw my own personal banter out about him.

To be first, foremost, and up front, I was not an Apple fanboy.  I own an iPod and that's it.  I don't own any Mac, iPhone, or iPad.  Nor do I plan on buying any of them anytime soon.  I didn't hate Apple either - I just never really saw the need for one of their products.  I don't get the whole tablet craze.  Yes, it's portable and easy to carry, but I don't see the practical side of them yet.  I'm sure that will come along in the future, but when Jobs released the iPad saying it would change the way we do computing, I wasn't agreeing completely yet.

Steve Jobs turned a small company into an empire.  He took existing technology and made it better.  Look at how many people use iTunes.  Look at how many own Smartphones.  But the one thing that Apple always did right was producing computers that were excellent at graphic arts and editing.  Why else would movies made by Pixar use Apple products to do their artwork and rendering?

Apple and the computer industry will move on without Steve Jobs.  There will be others that come along, but it will take time for one to be as influential to the industry as Steve Job was.

Friendlys

Friendlys filed for chapter 11 this morning:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/05/friendlys-idUSL3E7L51GD20111005

Kind of a bummer.  Their food isn't the best, but their ice cream is good.  I have a lot of memories of going to Friendlys after various events.  I remember going there after getting teeth pulled by an oral surgeon and having ice cream at 9 AM.  Those were the days.

Hopefully they can turn things around.  But with the sagging US economy and people not going out to eat as often as they were, I fear that this could mean the end for yet another American icon.

Dover

Today I went to Dover for the Sprint Cup race.  This was the 2nd race I've attended in 3 weeks.  Insane. 

The start time of 2:00 annoyed a lot of fans at the track.  Why does NASCAR seem to always change the start times, when they promised the fans consistent start times at the beginning of the season?  I guess TV talks.

It was a cold, misty day.  I don't remember a Dover race where I was wearing a coat the entire race and it rained on and off all day.  It was not pleasant to sit through, but I didn't complain once.

I got a great picture of AJ Allmendinger doing his drift/spin.  It's on my Flickr site if anybody cares.

Kurt Busch got his first win at Dover, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards now share the points lead, and my driver corps had terrible days.  It's disappointing that Denny is pretty much out of the Chase already, and Tony lost the point lead.  Bummer.

The crowd was better than May, but still rather scattered in the turns.  At least Dover is getting aggressive with their ticket pricing for next season.  It has been nice getting in and out of the track fairly easily.

On to Kansas!

"We figured you had that one!"

Last night in my beer league hockey game, I made one of the biggest blunders you can make in a hockey game.  Besides the bad clearing attempt that led to an opposition goal (d'oh) - but that wasn't the worst.

I've been playing right wing on a line with two more experienced players.  They told me when we have the puck in the offensive zone to go to the net and wait for rebounds or slot passes.  So I followed instructions.  My center was battling in the corner and I think took a shot that bounced off a defender, hit the back wall, and bounced into the goal crease - where I was with a wide open net.  It was a lay up.  It was one of those "I could've scored on that one."  And well...

...I didn't.

I took two whacks at the puck, and neither had enough to get in the net.  The goalie was able to cover it before it went in.  I had fallen down by this point and was on my stomach, my face into the ice.  I heard a few comments above me, most starting with "What the F" or "We thought you had that one!"  After a few seconds I got up, skated towards the bench with my head between my legs and getting a bunch of crap from my team mates about not scoring.

We ended up tying the game 3-3.   I told the guys after the game that I would be seeing wide open nets in my sleep.  I didn't quite do that. 

It just shows that I still have some work to do.  But I felt better out on the ice last night.  My confidence is starting to rise and I feel better and better each game.  Our next game isn't for 2 weeks,  so I have some time to regain my confidence and redeem myself for what would've made a team blooper reel.

Playing hockey has taught me a few things in the last few days:

1.  I'm really really out of shape.  I have no endurance.
2.  I really need to work on my puck handling skills.
3.  Staying in the right position is tough.  You have to pay attention to everything that's going on around you.
4.  At least in beer leagues, most players are friendly.  I've been knocked down a few times only to get an apology.
5.  Communicate!


One of these days I'll get it right.  A lot of it will come with time.  I need to get more confidence on the ice and earn the respect of my team mates.  I went in with the warning that I wasn't the best player out there, but I don't expect anybody to give me a break either.  I have to earn every inch of ice out there.

Back2Black

Last night I played in my first rec (beer) league hockey game.  I hadn't played in a formal game in probably 15 years, so I was a bit nervous.

I hadn't even met any of my teammates until about 35 minutes before game time.  I was pretty much welcomed in pretty quickly.  Most of the guys are a few years older than me, but they've been playing together for a few seasons.  It's a C2 league, so it's basically a "beginner" league. 

I was RW on a line with two other guys.  They had both played previously.  It was pretty easy to get acclimated.  However I learned very quickly I don't have the endurance right now.  I was winded after almost every shift, and was dead tired by the end of the game.  We ended up winning, 6-2.  I didn't factor into any of our goals, but had a few chances.

We play again tomorrow night.  Hopefully we'll have just as good a game as last night.

Richmond

I attended the NASCAR race in Richmond over the weekend.  It was a surprise birthday present for my wife's cousin.  In all seven of us went.

It was a good race.  There was plenty of action, some stupidity, and some just flat out good luck.  Watching Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson get into each other twice right in front of us was priceless.  In the end I was ok with Kevin Harvick winning.  It came down to who was fastest in the pits, and Harvick's crew got him out front.  Carl Edwards gave Harvick a run for his money but couldn't seal the deal.

I hadn't been to Richmond since 2005, but thoroughly enjoyed myself.  We had decent seats in turn 1.  We were able to see the action unfold and almost every lap was heart-pounding.

It was good to be back at a race track.  While I know auto racing isn't for everybody, Richmond definitely put on a good show.  The 9-11 tributes, the patriotic paint schemes, and just an all-out good race made it worth the trip.

On to the next race I attend - Dover in 3 weeks!

9-11: where I was

Since the trendy thing to do this past weekend was to tell your 9-11 story, I decided I'll tell mine.


I was in college, attending Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach, FL.  I was just starting what was supposed to be my senior year (I graduated in Dec 2002).  It was a Tuesday morning.  I got to campus around 8:15 as I normally did on Tuesdays for my 9:45 class.  Parking was always a pain on campus and since I lived off campus with two roommates, I usually got there early and played in the computer lab either on homework or just browsing the internet.  That morning I went to a computer lab and was moving e-mails from one mailbox to another since they were going to be doing some network maintenance a few days later. 

A little before 9 the director of computer services ran in and yelled "A PLANE JUST HIT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER!"  Since there was no TV in the lab, everybody started scrambling to open any website they could to try and follow.  By that point CNN, FOX, MSNBC, among others, were unresponsive.  Finally somebody in the lab thought to go to BBC America, which had some information.  At first we all thought it was an accident.  Since I was attending a mostly aviation school, there were a lot of pilots and investigators in training.  Then we got the news that a 2nd plane had hit the other tower.  We all then knew that it wasn't an accident.

I stayed in the lab until 9:35-9:40.  We still had no clue, but the school hadn't cancelled classes or anything yet.  I went to my class, my professor completely unaware what had happened.  He held class like nothing happened.  We got out of class around 10:45.  I met up with some friends for lunch when I found out that the towers had fallen.  I thought it was just the top, and was still in disbelief when one of my friends told me that it was both towers.  Then we got word about the Pentagon being hit.  I started to think about my dad and my sister.  My dad had gone down to "somewhere around DC" for a meeting, and my sister was working in northern NJ at the time.  I reached for my cell phone.  Where was it?  Crap!  My phone was back at my apartment! 

I had another class at 2:15.  I debated about going home, but decided with everything going on I would stay and wait.  One of my roommates went back to the apartment.  He didn't want to be on campus anymore.  We then saw the word about the FAA grounding all flights.   I sat in a computer lab, trying to e-mail both my sister and my dad.  I sat on AIM talking to some friends making sure they were ok.  I finally got an IM from one of my sister's friends that had gotten a hold of her.  Somehow she had talked to my dad and found out he was ok. 

Embry-Riddle never cancelled classes, even though almost every school and university in Florida did.  A lot of students were panicking, some not able to reach family and friends in NY and DC.  Later I would find out that several students lost friends and relatives that day.

In the following days, there was word that the FBI was on campus looking for information.  We found out later that one or two of the hijackers had learned to fly at Embry-Riddle.  It was disturbing, but at the same time a lot of us felt that there was no way to know what somebody would do with the knowledge they learned.  It would be like blaming a school for training a computer hacker or virus writer. 



Life certainly changed that day.  It's too bad that people don't remember what happened in the following days - people came together as one.  The country was united.  People were volunteering to help in any way they could.  And some were scared to death.  This was something that had never happened to the US.  People didn't know how to react.  Some still don't.

I remember my grandmother, who lived through World War II, thought she would never see another Pearl Harbor.  That's what a lot of us equated it to. 

Ten years later, we don't forget, but I think the message that day sent has been clouded.

Wade Belak

The NHL has lost three family members this summer.  Derek Boogard, Rick Rypien, and now Wade Belak.  There are differing rumors out there as to what happened with Belak, but so far Boogard's was a drug reaction and Rypien was reported a suicide.

It brings the question to mind:  What happened to Belak and why?

Hockey is a very demanding sport, but it doesn't get the press in the US that it does in Canada.  People in Canada LIVE for hockey.  Kids are out skating and playing hockey all the time.  It's a passion.  It's like American football in the USA or Football/Soccer just about everywhere else in the world. 

Wade Belak played for five NHL teams in his career, including a stop in Toronto, which has some of the best and most critical fans in the league.  The pressure of playing in a city that lives, breathes, and dies for their beloved Maple Leafs makes playing there very difficult.  One mistake and the fans are all over you.  They want you traded.  They want you benched. 

Wade had a career as an enforcer.  He was a fighter but also stood up for his teammates.  He seemed to be well liked by his colleagues and teammates.  He had a family and seemed very happy with his wife and children. 

What happened?  Why did we lose Wade?  At the same time, why did we lose Derek and Rick?  We will probably never understand why.  All we can do is keep them in our memories and enjoy the time we got to watch them play. 

The games will go on. Training camp starts in just over a week.  Some players have already been hitting the ice.  In just a few weeks we will cheer for our Leafs, Habs, Caps, Pens, or whatever team you root for.  But we will be without three members of the NHL family that we lost this summer, all very unexpectedly.

Still here!

Hurricane Irene has been affecting us since about noon today - but we're still here!  I still have power, internet, etc.  It's been raining pretty hard for about 4 hours now and the wind has picked up in the last hour or so.  But I'm still here!

Hurricane hysteria

As I sit here looking out the window, I can't help but wonder what it will look like about 12 hours from now.  By now unless you've been living under a rock you'd know that Hurricane Irene is headed up the east coast.  It's definitely going to impact a lot of people.  However the hysteria is unnecessary.

I realize that there is potential for a lot of flooding and damage, but for the most part people will be fine.  If you live in low lying areas, move everything to higher shelves or ground.  Park your car up the street on a hill.  Go visit some friends you haven't seen in a while.  Hell, take a weekend trip somewhere.

Now we sit and wait.  Everything is packed away at my house and I'm just going to sit and wait it out.  I've got food, water, and a grill.  I'm good to go!

Earthquake

Now that I've had time to sit and think about today's earthquake, here's a quick recap of where I was and what I witnessed:

I was at work, talking to a co-worker about our upcoming fantasy football draft.  All of the sudden the floor started shaking, similar to when somebody is running down the hall.  I looked down the hall and saw nobody running.  I then heard the windows starting to rattle.  It felt like a low flying plane.  Our security manager came out of her office to ask what was going on.  I looked down the hall and saw people coming out of their offices with very curious or frightened looks on their faces.  I then said "I think we're having an earthquake!"  We all stood for another 15-20 seconds when things started to quiet down.  Right about then the fire alarm sounded, so we exited the building.

It was strange.  I had never experienced an earthquake before.  While it wasn't as strong as other parts of the area, it was definitely wild. 


When I got home, I found some pictures crooked and a few light items had fallen down or shifted.  Luckily I didn't notice any structural damage to the house.  We were lucky.

Wow

We had an earthquake here in MD this afternoon.  Shook my office for about 20-30 seconds.  It was nuts.  Luckily no damage or injuries at my office.  Never been through one before this.  That was definitely crazy.

Nashville

We took a family vacation to Nashville from July 22-29.  What a good time.  Here's the rundown of what we did and saw:

22nd:  After stopping for the night in Bristol, TN, I borrowed some time in the morning to go over to Bristol Motor Speedway to attempt to do one of their track tours.  It didn't quite work out as I had planned as they had rented the track out, but instead got to do a self-guided tour of the infield!  Basically I signed a waiver, walked through the tunnel, and had freedom to roam around the infield.  It was really crazy.  But a lot of fun.  I even got my exercise by climbing the banking into the turns, getting my picture taken, then seeing a car had pulled onto the track and had to run down the banking (which was a lot harder than it sounds).  It was the best $5 I didn't have to spend!

23rd:  I attended the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.  As it stands right now, it's the last NASCAR race there for at least 18 months.  I bought the "All Access" pass which allowed me to go into the pits and meet drivers like Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Elliott Sadler, among others.  It was pretty cool.  My name is on the start finish line and may be there for some time now since there will be no racing at NSS for a while.

24th:  We went to historic downtown Franklin.  Enjoyed walking around the downtown area.

25th:  Visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, Bridgestone Arena, and walked around the Opryland Hotel.  The Hall of Fame was really well done.  We got to see the Williams family collection, which was the rotating exhibit. 

26th:  Visited the Hermitage, which was Andrew Jackson's estate, and the Belle Meade Plantation house.  Jackson's estate was rather interesting.  There was lots to see, and they have done a very good job maintaining a lot of the artifacts that Jackson owned and had in the house.  Belle Meade was also well done, but we did not allow enough time to tour the entire plantation, but we did sample some of their wine and even brought some home.  We finished the day at Cooter's museum.

27th:  We left Nashville for the day to head over to Chattanooga and visit the Tennessee Aquarium.  What a place!  It was very interactive and there were plenty of activities for "kids" of all ages.  My daughter, who turned 7 months hte next day, enjoyed watching the fish and sharks.  At one point, there was a large catfish that was swimming right where she was being held.  Her eyes lit up every time he swimmed by, but finally he stopped and made her day.  She also enjoyed seeing the penguins.  We had dinner with some of my friends that night who I hadn't seen in 8 years.  It was good to catch up and see them again.  We joked that the next time needed to be sooner than 8 years from now!

28th:  Last day in Nashville.  We decided to take a day trip to Mammoth Cave up in Kentucky.  We did the historic tour, which was quite amazing.  There's one spot on the tour called "Fat Man's Misery" where it's only 2 feet wide and about 4 feet high.  My back and my legs surely got a workout!  The guide was very  good and was very talkative.  The part that interested me the most was how dark and quiet it got in there.  At one point we stopped and were told to turn all lights off.  It was rather dark and quiet in there!  But the simple glow from a camera or cell phone was enough to help you find your way out!  That night we went and had dinner with one of Lauren's friends.  We went out for a bit afterwards and got to catch up with her.


All in all a great trip.  Although I think we saw all the major things within the Nashville area, it was very relaxing and I would go back.

So I witnessed history

I attended what appears to be the final NASCAR race at Nashville Superspeedway for the forseeable future:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dover-motorsports-inc-declines-2012-nascar-sanctions-for-nashville-superspeedway-2011-08-03?reflink=MW_news_stmp

Happy birthday USA!

235 years ago a group of men signed a piece of paper telling the King of England to kiss their asses.  Today we celebrate our Independence Day!

Wild, fun weekend

This has been an enjoyable weekend.  The best part is it's not over yet!

Thursday night my friend Doug from college came for a visit.  I hadn't seen him since last November when he was driving through and we saw each other for about 20 minutes.  We went out to dinner on Thursday, then spent Friday at the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Center in Dulles.  We had a great time.  I even got to use the shuttle simulator to land.  And no, we didn't crash.  The 8 year old that was actually doing the flying did a great job.  Friday night we got ready for people to come over and watched who signed who in the first day of NHL free agency. 

I was happy with the moves the Caps made at the start of free agency.  They filled a few holes but also made a couple of moves that made me scratch my head.  Bringing back Jeff Halpern and bringing in Tomas Vokoun were surprises.  I was disappointed to see Varlamov go, but it happens.  Hopefully that trade works out for both sides.

Saturday we had people over for a BBQ.  All in all about 30 people showed up during the course of the day.  It was wild.  We were glad to see some folks we don't get to see very often and a few that we haven't been able to socialize with.  It was a good relaxing day, but I Was exhausted last night.

Today has probably been the laziest day I've had in a long time.  It rained today for the first time in a while, so it was a good day to stay indoors and just relax.

Hope everyone has a great July 4!

Brooks Laich

Today the Washington Capitals signed Brooks Laich to a 6 year, $27 million contract, effectively keeping him in a Caps uniform for several more seasons.  I am happy about this signing.  This will keep Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Laich in Caps uniforms (barring trades of course) for years to come. 

I do think the Caps overpaid slightly for Laich, but this being a very weak free agency year the Caps had to step up a bit to keep him.  Hopefully they're able to sign a few more guys.  July 1 will be interesting!

So frustrated

It's been a few weeks so  I figured I would update.

First, it was really tough to see the Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup.  They are a rival and a lot of my friends are Bruins fans.  So it was hard to see a rival win.  But at the same time it was good to see a team that hasn't won in a while win it.  I couldn't believe the stupidity that ensued in Vancouver after the game however. 


Meanwhile I was supposed to go to Oklahoma last week for work.  If things had worked out as they were supposed to, I would've been on a plane home right now.  But I am not.  The trip was cancelled two days before I was supposed to go.  That sucks.  It went back and forth, back and forth, for 2 weeks.  So I had no idea what plans to make or anything for almost two weeks.  Pain in the ass.  Now I'm being told I'm supposed to be going to Hawaii at some point, possibly in 2 weeks.  But I have been given no direction.  I am so frustrated about all that. 

Work is slowly driving me crazy.  Besides travel I've gotten pulled into several projects.  All are demanding lots of my time that I can't devote.  It's just a mess.

Hopefully the summer is good.  We definitely need it.

RIP Atlanta Thrashers

Today it was announced that the Atlanta Thrashers were purchased by a group in Winnipeg and will be moved back to Winnipeg starting next season.

It is a disappointing day for the true fans in Atlanta.  While the Thrashers did not have the support of some of the larger teams, they had a fan base that was excited about some of their young talent.  Atlanta was on the rise and was on the verge of making the playoffs this season until the last week or two of the season. 

The names that went through Atlanta that have gone on in other cities:  Savard, Kovalchuk, Hossa, Heatley.  The problem the Thrashers had was a lack of decent goaltending for several years.  I remember the days of Damian Rhodes and Norm Maracle.  Ownership didn't put the right people in the front office which led to repeated failure.

I think the new Winnipeg team has a lot of talent.  They have a decent young goaltender in Ondrej Pavelec, players such as Evander Kane, Dustin Byfuglien, Zach Bogosian, Mark Stuart, among others.  I think they will have success in the coming years.  However at the same time after realignment occurs after next season they will move to the Western Conference.  The competition is fierce in the west.  The competition will be fierce.

To the fans in Winnipeg:  Welcome back.  To those in Atlanta:  We are sorry to see you lose a team again.

Dover

For the 25th consecutive year I attended a NASCAR race at Dover.  It was good to get back to a track as I haven't been to once since October.  It was very sad to see such a small crowd.  I would guess there were only 80,000 or so.  Dover at one time had almost 140,000 fans on Sunday.  This year I can think of a few factors that caused the smaller crowd:

• The weather service had called for rain all week.
• The economy.  People are just not buying tickets as they don't have the discretionary money they used to have.
• Gas prices. 
• Jimmie Johnson winning 5 championships in a row.
• The racing hasn't been that exciting at Dover over the last few seasons.

Here are a few examples of how sparse the crowd was:







As you can see from the 3rd photo, entire sections of grandstands were closed.  With such a small crowd, is a track like Dover in danger of losing a date?  While it is close to cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC, it is obvious that the crowds are not coming like they used to.

Several years ago  I did some research that a lot of businesses around tracks in smaller markets, such as Dover, depend on these races.  Dover has some subsidy with the casino and other events.  But some of the other smaller market tracks don't have those luxuries. 

It doesn't help that some of the races lately at Dover have been less than exciting.  I can only count 2-3 times that a pass for the lead occurred under green flag conditions that did not involve pit stops.  There were no major accidents on Sunday.  And as I said before, a lot of fans have been turned off by Jimmie Johnson winning five straight championships.

I hope that things turn around for Dover.  It was the site of my first NASCAR race and it will always hold a special place in my heart.  But watching a track that I love half empty is alarming and sad.

New year, old results

For the fourth year in a row the Washington Capitals are bounced out of the playoffs.  I think of the four this one hurts the most.

The Caps were swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight.  The Caps offense never seemed to show up in the series.  They would score goals, but immediately the defense would fall apart and give up a cheap or awful goal and Tampa would be right back in the game.  Several defensive breakdowns led to numerous Tampa chances and eventually goals.

I've been a Capitals fan for 25 years.  Every year it gets more and more painful, especially since the team has shown so much promise and brought in veterans at the trade deadline to fill some holes. 

This is going to be a tough offseason.   A lot of decisions have to be made.  A lot of very tough decisions.  There are several pending unrestricted free agents that will need to be signed or will be gone.  There are some restricted free agents that will need signing.  There's a question whether or not the coaching staff and general manager will return.

It was an interesting season.  It had its high points and its low points.  It's too bad that yet again the season ends on a low note.

bin Laden is dead.  I am speechless.

Ride Along!

Today I was given the opportunity to go to Dover for a complimentary ride-along in a old style Sprint Cup car.  I decided to go ahead and do it.  It was freaking awesome.  I was one of 200 that signed up to do the ride-along.

What a thrill!  We were only going on average 130 around the track, but man did it feel fast!  The track surface was really good.  No bumps, ruts, or dips.  I was holding my breath for a while.  Only thing I didn't get to do was drive.  That would've completed the circle.  But I will save that for another day.

My wife asked me which track was better for a ride-along:  Daytona or Dover.  Hard to say.  Each track had its own unique characteristics and feel.  Daytona was obviously more wide open and more about speed, whereas Dover we spent more time in turns. 

Working on uploading a video from today's ride-along to Youtube.

I love playoff hockey.

That is all.

4 down, 12 to go

The Caps finally remembered how to win a series in 5 games.  It was an exciting day.  This was only the 2nd playoff series win I got to witness in person.  It was awesome.  It was even better that Emily got to be there and experience it.  And she was a happy baby.  She had a great time.  She slept through the 2nd period, but the noise, the crowd, etc didn't bother her at all.

It was quite a series.  The Rangers played well in the first few games but didn't seem to have it after game 3.  They just looked outplayed and exhausted towards the end. 

It will be interesting to see who the Caps play next round.  Hopefully they can carry the momentum from this series onward.  12 wins to finish it!

Bill Walton

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting Bill Walton.  I honestly didn't know much about him until a few days ago.  Considering that most of what he accomplished was before I was born and that I don't really follow basketball didn't help.

His speech mostly talked about having a plan B for life.  Bill thought he would play basketball forever.  He kept putting that in front of everything.  But after his career ended, he realized that family and health were more important.  He mentioned having 34 orthopedic operations in his lifetime.  That's crazy.  But he hasn't let them get him down.

I walked away from meeting him and his speech that I need to spend more time caring about my health and my family.  Even though my family is my life, I still need to spend more time taking care of myself.  If I don't do those things, what good am I to my family?  They will always be there for me.  I know they will.  So I need to take care of myself so I can be there for them.

Thank you, Mr. Walton, for your inspiration and kind words.  They are really appreciated.

Post surgery update #1

I saw my doctor today for my first post surgery appointment.  He removed the packing from my ear and cleaned it out.  He was very happy with how it looked.  He did say that it may be a month before I am completely healed and may not know if the surgery was a complete success for a few weeks.  But things look good.  For now it seems like my hearing is partially restored.  I am hearing better on the affected side.  Now we just wait and see.

This is great news!

NFL

So the NFL and NFLPA can't agree on a new contract and a lockout appears to be in the future.  They're bitching about 9 billion dollars.  9 billion.  We pay enough money for a sporting league to make 9 billion dollars a year.  Meanwhile my child's future school needs new textbooks, can't afford gym equipment, can't afford tissues for the classrooms, etc.

I know the NFL generates a ton of jobs and whatnot, but it's amazing how much we spend on a sport.

Surgery update

It's been a week since surgery.  So far so good.  I don't have any lingering issues other than being tired.  The pain has gotten better.  There is still bleeding every so often but it has subsided.

I see the doctor Monday.  We'll see how it goes.

Surgery #2

I had surgery #2 yesterday to attempt to restore the hearing in my left ear. After 11 months of waiting, my doctor agreed that we could try. So I had surgery yesterday to implant a few pieces of titanium in my left ear. Of course right now I have no idea if it helped as my ear is full of packing and needs time to heal. WE will find out how things went in a few weeks.

Aside from some pain I feel good. I've been able to eat and I haven't felt as nauseous as my first surgery. I'm slowly on the road to recovery!

Will post updates as I have them.

Daytona 500

Normally I would be sitting in a hotel in Daytona Beach or the surrounding area right now eating dinner or downloading pictures from the weekend. This year I am not. I sit at home on my couch, having just put my daughter to bed.

The 53rd running of the Daytona 500 completed this afternoon with an unlikely winner. Honestly, how many of you had heard of Trevor Bayne before this weekend? I knew he raced in the Nationwide Series last season and I believe the season before, but didn't know much more than that. A guy who turned 20 years old yesterday wins the biggest race of the season in only his 2nd start. How insane does that sound? A guy 10 years younger than me wins the biggest race of the season in only his 2nd career start? He outfoxed names like Stewart, Earnhardt, Gordon, among others. It's just amazing. And it was nice to see the Wood Brothers, who have been in the sport for a long, long time and have fallen off in recent years get a win in the sports' biggest race again.

No, I won't instantly become a Trevor Bayne fan, but it was interesting to see a rookie win the 500. I was speechless after the race had concluded.

Daytona and Bahrain

I've been to Bahrain five times since 2007. While there I never saw the amount or level of protests that I've seen on TV in the last two weeks. It's amazing. At the same time it's easy to understand what's going on. Having seen it with my own eyes, there is a definite separation of class. The rich definitely have a lot and the non-rich do not. The difference is obvious. That being said, I hope that both sides are able to come to a peaceful resolution and business get back to normal there.

I'm getting ready to watch the Daytona 500 from my couch for the first time since 1998. It's weird watching it on TV. I'm definitely missing being there, but know that events in my life have changed my priorities. Hopefully I can return next year.

NASCAR announced today that the Daytona 500 in 2012 will be one week later. They're trying to avoid any conflicts with the NFL's Super Bowl, as the NFL is proposing a longer schedule for 2012. It will be interesting to see what will happen since the NFL is talking about a lockout. If there is no Super Bowl in 2012 (unlikely, but it could happen!), will NASCAR look foolish?

Also, having the Daytona 500 on President's Day weekend was a good thing as several fans have the day following off for a government holiday. It's a little disappointing that NASCAR has already announced this change, so we will see what happens.

Daytona

Currently as I sit here watching the Rolex 24 at Daytona on Speed Channel, I come to realize that the Daytona 500 is only three weeks away.

Yet I'm not as excited as previous years.

With Emily now in the family I decided to sell my tickets to this year's 500 in order to stay home and spend more time with her in her first few months. It's turning out to be a lot harder than I thought. I always looked forward to my trek to Daytona in February to escape the snow, ice, and cold. So this year for the first time since 1998 I won't be attending festivities of Speedweeks.

Don't get me wrong - I'd rather skip Daytona than not have Emily. She's the best thing that's ever happened to us (me) but it's hard to give up something you enjoy doing. I know I will be able to do it again in the future someday. So I keep that in mind.

So this year when the green flag flies at the Daytona 500, I will be enjoying the race from my couch for the first time in 13 years. It will definitely be weird.

Being a parent

Now that 2 and a half weeks have passed, I have time to reflect on that time as a parent.

Holy crap.

No matter what you read, waht you're told, how many questions you ask, etc, absolutely nothing can prepare you for being a parent. Even pets can't prepare you completely. It's amazing how much you try to prepare and when the real thing happens you're not ready.

Em has been eating every 2-4 hours depending on the day. We were on the breastfeeding thing for a while, but it just didn't work out like we had planned. SO now we're bottle feeding, which is easier, but man she eats a lot. A lot more than I had anticipated. Which of course turns into lots of dirty diapers. While not my favourite thing to do, changing diapers hasn't really gotten old yet.

It's fun to come home from work and even with a fussy baby still enjoy her company. And I know my wife appreciates the help when she can get it. She's tired, but at least she's been able to get somewhat more regular naps.

Being a parent is hard. No question about it.