Crazy Like a Fox
How cool is this? I took a chance and signed up for SunRocket through this website CrazyRefund.com. I had no idea what to expect, but they said they would give me $80 back if I signed up for Sunrocket with their link and stayed signed up for 32 days (past the free trial period basically). This morning I got an email from PayPal saying they put $80 into my account! Wow, and I didn't even have to check up on them! So, in essence, we paid $200-80=$120 for 15 months of phone service. Awesome. That money will soon find a happy home in our new online savings account. I am a money saving fiend!
Our old phone number is being transferred over to SunRocket by April 9th. This shouldn't mean anything to anyone trying to call us. The old number was forwarding to SunRocket anyway. The only difference will be that the caller ID when we call other people will go back to the old number. Our old phone company immediately sent me a "Please Stay With Us" letter offering $100 to stay. Uh, guys, I'm saving well over $250 over the next 15 months by moving to SunRocket ($255 before taking into account all the long distance charges, taxes and fees). And after that, they're still going to be over $15 cheaper every month. See ya!
It’s Only Happened Once Before
I'm something of a frugal kind of guy. I don't buy new clothes for the sake of having something new. As a result, I wear them till they wear out. This has really only backfired on me once before, but today it happened again.
I picked out a long-sleeved shirt to wear this morning oout of my closet, and put on my jacket to take the dog outside. I got to work, took the jacket off, sat down, checked email, had some coffee. An hour later, I realize my left elbow is feeling chilly. Sure enough, there a huge hole in the elbow. This happened to me once before about 8 years ago, back when I worked at EDS and we had to wear suits and I wore a hole in one of the dress shirts in my far-too-small rotation of dress shirts. This time, I just plain wore it out after 5-6 years of regular wear-and-tear.
So if you haven't gotten me a birthday present yet (one week from tomorrow, hint, hint), I could use some work shirts to fill the hole (ahem) in my wardrobe.
Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout
Had this on St. Patrick's Day as my Guinness alternative. Not really a fair comparison though. I'm also not 100% convinced of the milk/sweet stout label either, but what do I know?
Midnight black color, the head has strong retention and laces the glass nicely. Nice roasty aroma, a tinge of something else chocolatey.
Full-bodied flavor, full of caramelly roast character, mixed with some bitterness, a bit hoppy and a bit coffee. Just a smidge of licorice flavor too. This is an interesting beer, as I found that the flavors would alternate while in my mouth, so there would be a bit of sweet roastiness, some bitterness, more sweet, then more bitter.
Solid stout, one I'll seek out again.
Overall rating: 4.65 (another tied record score)
More on the Scope It Out 5K
I mentioned that we managed to finish the 5K in one piece, but there was a lot that happened that day that I didn't fit into that post.
We started the day early, getting up at 6am to try to beat the roadblocks. Ellie had luckily fallen asleep before 8pm the night before, so by the time she got up just before 7am, she was actually well rested, if not completely coherent. She actually had an accident before we left, so we had to scramble to change her clothes and get her ready.
In spite of all our planning, we turned out to be somewhat poorly equipped. The forecast was for mid-50s and cloudy, but it was really drizzling and colder the whole time. Fortunately, the kids were under the stroller canopy, and only got their feet a little wet, and Lisa and I stayed warm by, well, doing the 5K.
We made it downtown just after 7am, only to find that the roads we were expecting to close later had already closed. We had to detour back across the bridge into Virginia and down across the 14th Street bridge. This actually turned out to our benefit, as we found a spot in the lot that was closest to the start/finish line, about 2/3 of a mile away.
We ate a quick breakfast in the car out of the rain before we headed up for the race check-in. We got our race bibs and took our picture on the stage and headed to the start line. We had to maneuver the double-wide jogging stroller through some of the crowds, but it wasn't an ultra-competitive race, everyone was cool about letting us in. At some point, the crowd started moving in fits and starts, and we crossed the start line about 2 minutes after the clock started. We ran for about a quarter mile, until Lisa had trouble with her asthma. She had brought her inhaler, but didn't bring it to the start line. Luckily, since we parked in a lot right on course, I was able to run ahead and get it and bring her some much needed relief.
The rest of the race was fairly uneventful, and according to my watch, we finished just over 44 minutes. You can see me in the official men's results and Lisa in the women's results.
After the race, a nice lady gave Ellie and Evan little bunny toys to take home. Apparently, Charles Kraenzle (whose foundation sponsored the race) always had a toy for the kids he saw, and she was carrying on that tradition. Ellie was happy to get something for being such a good girl for that long race.
We had to get back to our car quickly since Ellie was signed up for a class at 10am at the National Zoo. The race had originally been scheduled for 8am, but with the start pushed back to 8:30am, our timeline was seriously crunched. And with the marathon still going on, getting to the zoo turned out to be quite the trek. What would have normally been a ten minute drive up Rock Creek Parkway turned out to be a 40 minute nightmare getting lost on DC's crazy streets. Here is a rough estimation of our route starting down by the Tidal Basin and making our way up to the Zoo. Lisa actually dropped us off at Connecticut and Macomb before getting lost down off Adams Mill and getting directions from a good Samaritan who directed her to the Zoo entrance.
We arrived about 20 minutes late to the class, so Ellie was still able to do most of the stuff, including making wings, tails, and antennae, and jumping on the trampoline and crawling through tunnels. We also saw the fancy birds in the bird house, and Ellie led the class in a frog hop across the bridge there.
After a stressful morning, we decided to try out 2 Amys Pizzeria. It was much easier to get to, since we had already gotten lost right near Wisconsin and Macomb, which is where the restaurant is located. We found parking quickly, and they had a table for us immediately too, unlike the people who arrived 30 minutes later. We indulged in Pizza Margherita and Norcia (Tomato, salami,grilled peppers, fresh mozzarella, grana (grated parmesan)). We even splurged on their weekend special of "Inside and Out" doughnuts (a regular doughnut AND a doughnut hole) and some hot chocolate to boot. Whatever calories we burned in the 5K were quickly put back. We definitely recommend 2 Amys for some good Neopolitan pizza.
And all this before 2pm. It was a busy day.
Frozen Four!
I sat down in front of my computer and TV on Friday night, college hoops in HD on the computer, and what I was hoping would be college hockey on MASN on the TV. Unfortunately, somehow the hockey was not on at 8:30 like it was supposed to be, and it was not on when I went to bed around 10pm either. Apparently it started broadcasting just after I went to bed. At any rate, Michigan State won that first game easily, 5-1 over Boston University and played again on Saturday night. This time, the broadcast started on time, and I watched every minute of Michigan State's 2-1 victory over #1 seeded and #1 ranked Notre Dame. Jeff Lerg had a great game in net, and MSU just kept constant pressure on the Irish in a hard fought win.
MSU will now play Maine in a Frozen Four with no #1 seeds, as North Dakota and Boston College fill out the teams.
In basketball, I was worried last night that UCLA would have to carry the banner for the non-#1 seed to win it all, but Georgetown came through in the clutch, continuing to run their offense through their big men instead of jacking up three-pointers in desperation. UCLA plays Florida and Georgetown plays Ohio State, and hopefully both will come through for me. In spite of my idiocy in picking the early rounds of the tourney, I did correctly pick 3 of the Final Four, with Ohio State being the lone exception (I had Texas A&M, like a lot of the pundits did).
We had our old man's version of Spring Training yesterday, a one day, two hour workout that consisted of some infield practice and short batting practice. Unfortunately, in spite of the dire warnings to not overexert ourselves, one player was seriously injured while chasing down a fly ball. He caught his foot in a divot or something, and nearby players said they heard a pop as he went down. The ambulance and fire truck came and put a brace on his leg and took him to the hospital. They weren't sure if anything was broken at the time, so hopefully he will be okay. I took it easy myself, since I was plenty worn out from our 5K and various running around on Saturday. I was just glad to get out there and get my new uniform. I'll be wearing #2 this year. Unlike #47 that I wore last year, at least there are some well-known people who have wore #2: Tommy Lasorda, Nellie Fox, Charlie Gehringer, and of course, Derek Jeter. In addition, the uniform is red pin stripes, so it'll look real nice, I think. The season starts next week, and since we are off for Easter and then we will be on vacation the following two weeks, I won't play again until the 29th. Well, it will give me plenty of time to recover from the first game anyway!
Two more quick things vaguely related to the topics in this post. First, the Washington Post's Beer Madness is down to the Final Four: Ellie's Brown Ale, Brooklyn Lager, Dominion Ale and Saranac Pale Ale. I can attest to the fact that these are four fine American beers. Go Ellie's Brown! Second, in case you missed it, and I am sure you did, you have to watch the amazing finish to the Division II basketball championship, Barton versus Winona State. Enjoy.
Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion: The World’s Great Beer Styles, Gastronomy, and Traditions
Michael Jackson's Beer Companion: The World's Great Beer Styles, Gastronomy, and Traditions by Michael Jackson
My review
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is not the Michael Jackson you are thinking of. This one is a world renowned expert on beer, and this is his ultimate guide to the ultimate beverage. It took me a while to get through it, just because there is a lot of information to absorb. He delves into a little bit of history on the various styles, as well as the intricacies on how beers can vary widely within a particular style. This one is a must for a beer lover like me.
Next up is 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann. Lisa got it from my cousin Bill and thought that I should read this history of what the Americas were like before Columbus arrived.
Travishamockery
Last night, after I got Ellie to bed, I sat down for some fine NCAA hoops action. I got to see the end of the Southern Illinois-Kansas game, which was quite the tilt. I was pulling for the Salukis, but they just couldn't pull it out. Then they showed the end of Texas A&M-Memphis, which officially killed my bracket. I checked the clock, and it was 10pm already, and the second games hadn't even started yet! When games don't start until 10pm on the East Coast, I am not likely to stay up and watch them, especially when I have prior commitments the following day. It looks like tonight will be more of the same as well, which is a damn shame.
Spielin’
I'm going to be a tired boy on Sunday Monday.
I woke up early yesterday so that I could leave work early and go with Lisa and the kids to have Easter pictures taken. That boy of ours takes some damn cute pictures. Ellie was acting a little shy, but still cute. Relatives can expect their copies after we pick them up at the beginning of April, but trust me, super cute.
This morning I got up fairly early again to make the drive up to the curling club, where I was subbing for a team whose members wouldn't be arriving until later today. We got down early 2-0 after two ends, but we figured out the ice and played well the rest of the way, taking an 11-3 win. We had lots of fun, and I am looking forward to playing more next year.
Unfortunately, when I walked out it was beautiful: 70 degrees and sunny. It has since clouded over a little bit, but I am second guessing my decision to come in to work at all today.
Tomorrow we have to get up early for the third straight day to make it downtown before they start closing roads for the National Marathon. We're running in an unrelated 5K at 8:30am, but we need to make sure we can get a decent spot because Ellie has a class at the zoo at 10am. Did I mention you can still make a direct donation for colon cancer research any time? Lisa's brother is doing well, by the way. They made him walk around the day after the surgery, which he said was a big help since it got the air pockets cleared out of his belly area. I'm not sure what he's eating at this point, but I know they were taking it slow and just making sure he had plenty of fluids. Thanks for all the kind words, he's glad to know people are thinking of him.
Finally, on Sunday, we have our version of Spring Training for baseball, a two hour "workout," which is essentially a meet-and-greet/make sure the new guys can throw and catch. Plus, I get to pick up my nifty new uniform. Good times. There's a rumor going around that since the age limit for pitching in this league is 32, I will be pressed into service in that regard. Guess I'd better work on my gyroball!
2007 Baseball Preview
The baseball season starts in just over a week, and since my college basketball team is out and my bracket is wrecked, there's no better time to take a look at the upcoming season.
The Yankees may have missed out on the Matsuzaka sweepstakes, but they did bolster their rotation by jettisoning Randy Johnson and adding Andy Pettitte and Kei Igawa. Igawa has improved over the course of Spring Training, and has likely won a spot in the rotation. With Chien-Ming Wang and Mussina joining Pettitte and Igawa, the Yankees appear to have a solid 4 starters. The fifth spot will either be filled by Carl Pavano or Jeff Karstens, who hadn't given up a run until his last start.
The offense is as good as ever. The acquisition of Doug Mientkiewicz allows Jason Giambi to DH full-time, a role he is finally willing to accept. The lineup is solid from top to bottom, and opposing pitchers will not look forward to facing even the bottom three (Posada, Mientkiewicz and Cano).
Which leads us to the biggest question mark: the bullpen. In recent years, manager Joe Torre has, frankly, abused his favored relievers as Scott Proctor, Kyle Farnsworth and Ron Villone were all in the top ten in the AL for appearances. The Yankees hope that recent acquisition Luis Vizcaino (Arizona trade for Randy Johnson) can help out here. The other question is whether Mariano Rivera will start to show signs of aging after dominating for so many years.
The Nationals at one point had 12 pitchers vying for the 4 rotation spots after John Patterson. It now appears that the rotation will include Shawn Hill (9 career starts), Matt Chico (no experience above AA), with veterans Tim Redding and Jerome Williams, plus young right-handers Jason Bergmann and Levale Speigner fighting for the last two spots. Jason Simontacchi was near a starting spot until he came down with a groin injury, and he hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2004. Not exactly a rotation that strikes fear in the hearts of opposing batters.
So the bullpen will get a lot of work. Luckily, that is one area that seems to be strong for the Nats, though it is sure to be overworked. Chad Cordero is a solid closer, and 6'11" Jon Rauch is an intimidating setup man. Ryan Wagner, Saul Rivera and Micah Bowie all came in to the bullpen from the minors last year and performed well, and Luis Ayala is expected to return from the injury that sidelined him all last year.
The lineup for the Nats is still in flux. Dmitri Young, who had a difficult year with the Tigers last year, spent most of Spring Training with the minor leaguers, but worked hard and may have earned himself a spot at first base to fill in for Nick Johnson, whose return from that horrific broken leg is still uncertain. Travis Lee is also competing for that job and is more solid defensively. Felipe Lopez moves over to second base to make room for Christian Guzman. The Nats hope that Guzman's troubles are finally behind him. Ryan Zimmerman and Austin Kearns will provide some pop in the middle of the lineup, while Ryan Church and Chris Snelling battle for the left fielder position. Neither will be able to fill the void left by the departure of Alfonso Soriano. Speedy Nook Logan will be given the chance to show he's an every day center fielder.
Predictions:
AL East: Yankees
AL Central: Tigers. I think the White Sox gave up too many pieces to contend.
AL West: Rangers, but this is a crappy division this year especially
AL Wildcard: Red Sox, but I like the Blue Jays too
NL East: Mets
NL Central: Cubs, even though it pains me to say it. I still think they will find a way to blow it to the Cardinals.
NL West: Dodgers, but possibly the Padres
NL Wildcard: Phillies
World Series: Yankees over Mets.
Obligatory Nationals record prediction: I'm going to be optimistic and say they will NOT lose 100 games. 63-99.
Bell’s Third Coast Old Ale
Recommended to me by BG, who is nostalgic for Bell's Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo.
Bit of a cloudy deep red color with a slow building head to it. Definite malty tones to the aroma with some raisin or wine like qualities.
Good sweet malt and raisin flavor continues at the front, which is quickly dispatched by a hoppy bitterness tinged with alcohol. I was going to mark it down a tad for the bitter aftertaste, but as I was typing I realized that it actually fades quite a bit, leaving the mouth clean and dry. A nice brew for (hopefully) the last day of winter.
Overall rating: 4.3
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