Two No-Hitters

I have been going to MLB games since 1980 or 1981. Let's say I have been to an average of 5 games every season, and let's say it's 27 seasons. That's 135 games total.

The odds are very low to have seen one no-hitter out of 135 games.

But now, I have seen TWO.

It's well documented that I am from New York originally. The Yankees are my team. I try to put it into perspective with Sox fans who live here and question my allegiance to them while living in Boston. I ask them if they would suddenly become fans of the Yankees if they moved to New york, and then usually it makes sense to them.

I gotta admit, six innings into the game, 8-0 Sox, no-hitter brewing, I absolutely became a fan of the game over a fan of any particular team. Three innings of yelling and screaming for the no-hitter did indeed coincide with cheering for the Sox to win, but truly I just waned to no-hitter. I pledged that if hit #1 came, I'd be done aligning myself with the rest of the crowd there.

But it never came, and it was awfully fun to witness history and to be cheering along with everyone else at Fenway (for me, that NEVER happens).

The other no hitter I witnessed was back in 1997 in Pittsburgh when the Pirates still played in Three Rivers Stadium.

It was fireworks night, they had an extremely rare sellout crowd (we scalped tickets), and the Pirates needed 10 innings before they put up any runs. But when they did, the place went crazy. Two pitchers combined for the no-no, but Francisco Cordova indeed pitched the full nine innings of the regular game. The Pirates just could not score a run to support the effort. It was bizarre. Finally a walk-off three-tun homer in the bottom of the 10th sealed the no-hitter.

I Touch Myself

Something last night left me speechless. That is rare.

I live in a fish bowl. Well, not exactly...but the density of homes here in Southie permits for easy access to what's happening within neighbors' dwellings.

Last night, I finished watching TV in the living room, and went to drop my glass off in the sink before heading to bed.

My kitchen was dark, and I didn't turn the light on because the trip there was supposed to be a quick one.

Right when I turned to corner to walk toward my sink, I could not help but notice what was going on in the kitchen next door. There is a window above my sink, and their window is about five feet beyond mine.

Their kitchen lights were on, and sitting there in a chair next to laundry piles on their kitchen table was a lady, off in her own special happy place, performing an act.

Let's just say....her headlights were showing, and she was double-clicking her mouse.

New Combat Zone

To append my previous posting...I thought a few words describing the hell that is Kenmore Square were worth a few minutes out of my work day.

Forget the disaster that is the MBTA's aethstetic destruction of whatever scenery actually does exist on both street-level Kenmore and underground on the T, but I'm entirely tired of the plywood makeshift walls, orange cones, netting, heavy equipment, asphalt masquerading as sidewalk, chopped up streets, and uneven sidewalks.

Add to that minivans and SUV's filled with clueless out of town drivers with about-to-enter-college children in tow (who undoubtedly want to be rid of mum and dad after a summer of almost independence).

Top it off with large groups of pedestrians and the Red Sox home this weekend, and I'm officially moving Boston's Combat Zone, albeit temporarily, to Kenmore Square.

Moving day in Boston

I spent part of my evening yesterday sweating profusely while assisting Karin with a few heavy items she was moving from her summer rental into her real apartment in Brighton.

I'm fascinated by the stats of how many leases actually turn over on 9/1 in Boston. It's a startling number that I forget - something like 75% perhaps, the majority of those being in Allston / Brighton I would imagine.

Evidence of people moving was already in full effect, with boxes and discarded furniture on the streets, moving trucks and pickups double-parked, and people carrying lots of stuff into and out of buildings.

Assisting with a few items reminded me of my current age (which no longer begins with a 1 or a 2), and my intense desire for cold temperatures over warm ones any day of the week, since once I begin sweating, it's difficult to stop.

This weekend will be incomplete until some idiot gets his or her moving truck stuck at a Storrow Drive overpass. Seems to happen every year at least once.

Best corn thus far

I headed to my eye doctor earlier to get a pair of glasses repaired, but my real reason for the journey (besides having to move my car from our back-alley parking spot and my sheer laziness to climb all the way up 4 flights of stairs only to return back down soon thereafter for lunch) was finding yet another reason to make my way to Copley Square this afternoon (it's Tuesday = Farmer's Market day).

Today seemed to be tomato and sunflower day, because there were many vendors with TONS of those products. When you're used to shopping at Shaw's or Stop & Shop, where the produce section is remarkably the same year 'round (less some peaches in the summer and apple cider in the fall), seeing an overabundance of a particular type of produce is proof positive about what is currently ripe and in season.

I bought some raspberries, ground coffee, and corn (I already had some tomatoes) - all three of which I sampled when I came home, and all three of which were very very good. The corn was so sweet and succulent - absolutely my favorite of the season thus far, and the coffee smelled delicious in the car, that I brewed a pot this evening to have with dinner.

The best part is that I didn't even drop my eyeglasses off for repair, but rather scheduled an eye appointment for Thursday, in case my prescription changed and I need an adjustment in the lenses too. I should have scheduled it for Friday because it's Farmer's Market day at Copley again!

Dolor de cabeza

I have a splitting headache right now. So, naturally my inclination is to post on Platinum Elite.

I'm not usually prone to headaches. Therefore, I should recall the events of the day that are atypical of my usual Monday routine.

1. I spoke with my parents on the drive to work.

2. I did not leave my office building between 8:45am and 8:45pm

3. I threw my socks away at work today

Everything else was pretty standard for a Monday.

It seems to me that every time I discard my socks at work, I get a splitting headache. I won't be doing THAT anymore.

Peace offering

My standoff with itunes has ended, and I'm back on their downloading bandwagon.

This morning, I added a few new songs from M.I.A. and Rilo Kiley. I think M.I.A.'s first CD was so original and different. The new one has some songs that are great, and some I just can't see myself listening to, so I went the itunes a la carte route.

The new Rilo Kiley, however, has more songs than I thought I would like. Their new single is called "The Moneymaker," and while I definitely like it, their old time indie pop fans seem up at arms (God forbid bands evolve or make records that have some pop sensibilities if they began along the indie route).

I thought I would check my most played itunes tracks (I love this feature for some reason), and I'm not sure what to make of these 20 songs besides realizing that most have remained on my active playlist for some time, and I just never seem to skip many of them...hence the highest amount of plays.

I do know that I was at the John Legend show last night at Fenway - my final concert of the summer - and he didn't sing the one song of his that I liked the most (#19). Instead, he spent most of his time on stage sweating and gyrating with some lady who joined him on stage for a slow dance (in all honesty..he was very good).

More currency

It has been a bit of a surreal week for the staff here at Platinum Elite. Marge took the week off, Nancy has been under the weather, and Phyllis unexpectedly quit. There's an open position now for an inside sales person, if anybody is interested.


I have been consumed with my "other" job, and been working late and/or early all week. Somehow, through it all, I have managed to complete a full week with exactly one dollar bill in my wallet. Perfect time to get mugged (which did not happen). I didn't even break out the plastic all that much to compensate. I'm going to the ATM today, however, to end my cash poor status.

Ambiguously content

My mood today is content, for a specific reason.

I would prefer not to articulate why, but my state of being content has nothing to do with anyone who reads Platinum Elite.

Perhaps I'm loading up on good fortune, since I have found two heads-up pennies this week already.

But, we'll just leave it at that. Have a great day, readers!

2 for 3 on istockphoto

Lord - getting approved on istockphoto is sure difficult! I am up to two of three approved photos (the second one, a bit begrudgingly on their part, with their backhanded approval of one of my Dubrovnik pictures with the comment: "Ok - do be aware of focus issues")

I keep reminding myself that this is all fine, and it's a good approval process, as it keeps out the less skilled amateurs from uploading. For now, I'm one of those less skilled amateurs it seems. But one more approved photo, and then the fun begins.

With my new Digital SLR, I think I have a better shot now. I am still getting a handle on lighting and such, so after reviewing my pics from over the weekend from the Boston Harbor islands, it's a bit strange that I'm selecting a close-up of a valve on the boat that brought us out to Spectacle Island, but I think it's a good shot with a clear subject in the foreground, and a blurry background for effect (I did that on purpose!)

Their issues with all rejected photos have been "artifacts" in the photos when viewed at full size. This photo of limes is the latest not to make the cut. I'm having a difficult time determining if the photos have artifacts, so we'll see if this one is artifact-free. I still like the pic.

Pat Rent-a-Car

My summer concert tour de force continued this weekend with two shows at the Bank of America Pavilion.

Friday night was Nickel Creek, who played for over two hours straight, and had Fiona Apple join them for about 30% of the show. I have seen them three times now, and they are a tough band to watch live. Many of their songs are instrumental, or have very quiet vocals, and generally the audience does not simply sit there and listen. Rather, they talk to their friends. So, every Nickel Creek show I have attended has featured a dull mutter from the crowd during the entire show, which I find disrespectful on the concert-goers parts.

Last night was much different, and much louder. Pat Benatar played, now giving equal billing to her husband/guitarist/collaborator Neil Giraldo. Pat has not had a hit in the US in 19 years, and the bulk of her hits were from 1979-1983, so it's safe to say this was a nostalgia show.

And the audience reflected that! Lots of bedazzled jeans, big stomachs, frosted hair, and a lady in leopard print spandex pants who hit on Ryan twice.

In looking at her hits online, it's kind of surprising she did not sing "Fire and Ice" and "You Better Run" during her set. Everything else was pretty standard. Technically, she had 15 US Top 40 hits, but the real mystery was twofold. First does she close with "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "Heartbreaker," or "Love Is A Battlefield" (Heartbreaker closed the show, Battlefield closed the encore). Second, can she still hit the high notes in Heartbreaker (answer=no...but she had quite a range and powerful voice nonetheless).

Pat miscellany:

I had an old co-worker who would always refer to Pat as "Pat Rent-a-Car," which I found a bit amusing.

Last season during kickball, our most fun post-game celebration was with a team that we dubbed "the nicest team ever," because, well, they were. We went out drinking with them at some dive in Somerville after the game, and we were able to convince the DJ to play "Love Is A Battlefield," AND a condition of that song being played was that members of our team (to remain nameless) were to do the Pat Benatar boob dance that she does at the end of the video. It was probably a lot funnier after copious amounts of beer.

istockphoto.com

I was recommended to check out istockphoto.com a couple weeks ago, and I can see this site becoming my new obsession. It's a great website that can be used for fully-licensed, inexpensive photos. The site, however, seems to double as a cool artist's community with vibrant forums and profiles for the photographers.

In an effort to weed out the less serious artists, istockphoto.com requires people to complete an approval process, which consists of a brief 10-question test about their policies, and the submission of three photos to be judged on whatever they're looking for, before they are permitted to upload photos

It's more difficult than it seems. Reading the message boards, I am keenly aware of how excited people become upon their approval from the site, and how frequently photos are turned down for a variety of reasons.

I'm a casual photographer, and am fascinated by this site. Just the thought of taking pictures that other people elect to view and possibly purchase is so flattering to me. I know I have a good eye for photo composition, and have always enjoyed taking pictures - all the way back to high school when I constantly snapped pictures for the yearbook. I just bought a brand new 10 megapixel Canon digital SLR camera, which arrived yesterday and is sweet.

So far, I have one of three photos approved (one of home plate). The more I look at the photo that they approved, the more I really like it's simplicity and quality. The dirt isn't perfect, the pebbles and grains are distinct and visible, and the subject is obvious.

According to istockphoto.com's photo evaluators, the two that were rejected had "artifacts" that were visible when viewed full size. I resubmitted two new photos yesterday, but the process takes a week or two before they are able to view them and respond.

The third largest U.S. State

Ugh, second place AGAIN in Team Trivia at C.F. Donovan's last night. We were in the lead the entire way and screwed up the final question (for the record, Connecticut is the third smallest state, not Hawaii as we guessed).

Special acknowledgement to my teammates Ryan, Dan, and Meaghan, without whom we would not have scored a perfect score of twenty points during the written bonus round that consisted of naming Michelle Pfeiffer movies based on one of her co-stars and the year it was released. For the record, I would have answered them all incorrectly. It's one of those questions that after reading them, you're thrilled to be sitting there with the specific people you have on your team.

Have they run out of F's?

Who names a hurricane "Flossie?"

Summer Lent

Every so often, it's worthwhile to dip into the pool of Catholicism and repurpose one of their thoughts or doctrines.

Today is the start of my Summer Lent. 40 days from today, I fly to Rome. What a perfect fit.

It's time for a change. I need some cleansing and redemption.

I have three guidelines for my Summer Lent.

1. No more alcohol for the next 40 days. Cold turkey.

2. The only beverages I will consume will be water, coffee (with half and half is fine), sugar-free flavored seltzer, or unsweetened iced tea. Any unopened containers of diet soda in my home will remain as such, but any already opened containers will be OK for me to finish.

3. I will only play online poker during days in which I had a substantial athletic workout before beginning play (i.e. 10 pushups don't count).

I trust that my friends will be supportive of my Summer Lent, and will police me to the letter of my three rules.

New England Revolution / Gillette Stadium parking lot

Entirely unrelated subject - but how entertaining is Big Brother 8 this season? Could these people hate each other any more? Whether it's truly Evil Dick stirring the pot, or the producers inciting the players and shaping the story the way they want, it's great TV and, as usual, absolutely my guilty pleasure of the summer.

Onward. I went to the New England Revolution game tonight. Ryan invited me to join him in his company's luxury box, which was the first time I had the opportunity to check out those seats. What an amazing vantage point and viewing environment for games at Gillette!

I still don't get the worldwide obsession with soccer. It must have something to do with national pride. Ryan's logic works as well - it's a sport that is simple to play, and can be (and is) played anywhere in the world.

It's confusing to me that the time continues even with the ball going out of bounds, players getting injured, and miscellaneous events that would logically cause a momentary cessation of the timer.

Add to that the eerie silence among the 35,000 fans in the stadium, less a few occasions of excitement.

Tie games, low scores - it just doesn't seem like a sport that Americans are clamoring to get behind.

Beckham didn't even play. In the end, who cares - his presence creates buzz and sells tickets, exactly what MLS wants. Let him ride the pine for most of his time here in the U.S.

What I did see were tons of kids at the stadium - which makes sense. Relatively low ticket prices to watch professional athletes play a game that children play all the time at school is a recipe for a family event.

Which brings me to my gripe of the night - the parking situation at Gillette. Bravo for them to make the parking lots free during soccer events. But if that free parking creates the disorganized chaos that is the pilgrimage back to your vehicle and attempt to get out of the parking lot, then I'd rather pay 20 bucks.

I always wondered what those idiots who I see driving down Landsdowne Street after a Sox game just let out are thinking. Pedestrians enveloping their vehicles, them inching forward as they come perilously close to people weaving in and out between the line of cars.

Now I know the feeling.

We had VIP parking to go with our luxury box seats - pretty much right next to the stadium.

Unfortunately, there was zero order to how people were walking from the stadium to their cars. No orderly line, no fences to keep people and cars separate, no parking lot attendants who seemed to care (or not be talking on their cell phones if they were present).

While I did feel bad for the families who just enjoyed a 1-0 Revs victory attempt to keep their small children from being smooshed between two cars, they could have been using more common sense when it came to walking safely.

Gillette Stadium, on the other hand, should have provided a safer area for which pedestrians could have navigated (not to mention give drivers from my parking area more of a choice of exit route than "drive this way - we're going to make you take Route 1 South home (Bostonians included), and hope that you know that it will intersect with 495 at some point."

People wanting to get home quickly + small children + disorder + dark + lots of cars = recipe for disaster.

Muse live in Boston

I went to the most amazing Muse show last night at Agganis Arena on BU's campus. This band epitomizes "rock star," and their pretention is directed away from traditional rocker excess into a political and social musical commentary that's incredible to watch.

Muse used a few video screens and an awesome light show to enhance the music - I feel like they told a story of some science-fiction battle, mixed with a push toward creating a ground-swell of social change through people organizing and rising up against oppressive governments. I never really viewed their music in this light, so it's an interesting new perspective to have.

I took this video off of You Tube, from their show at MSG a few days ago. I loved the robot video dance march to the tune of "Supermassive Black Hole."

My ears are still ringing.....the perils of good rock music.

You know it's going to be a good weekend when...

....you're driving home down Mass Ave. at 6pm, and at the intersection of Mass Ave. and Columbus, you approach a red traffic light, and see a man running on the right side of the intersection with a gun drawn (he was a cop), and then see 4 or 5 other cop cars swarm the area within minutes, a helicopter circling over head, cops emerging from each car with their respective guns blazing, and then two people apprehended, one in cuffs being walked to a car, the other in cuffs, face down on the ground.

Bring it on!

Lower Depths / Muse / Cold War Kids / Sibling Rivalry

Last night was a busy one - after work, we took Katie out for drinks, since today is her birthday and she (rightfully) has done what we all should do in life...take our birthday off!

We went to Lower Depths in Kenmore, a cool little bar that's beer heavy, wine light, and devoid of hard booze (I'm assuming due to their license). They had their patio doors open, and the scene on the patio was smoky and very "bike messenger," if that paints a picture. I hope we didn't stick out too much because I thought the vibe was cool. They seem to play music off of a MacBook, and we heard lots of Judas Priest and Muse while there (oh...side note...I have an extra ticket for the Muse / Cold War Kids show Sat night, and if any Platinum Elite readers want to join me, just drop me an email at platinumeliteblog@gmail.com).

I left around 7:45 to join Chris and Jamen for dinner, who invited me to Sibling Rivalry. It's Restaurant Week, and always a fun time to explore new digs.

I had never been there before, and must admit that their Restaurant Week menu was the best one I have seen - way more than 2 or 3 choices. They supplied 8 or 9 appetizer choices, and another 8 or 9 entree selections. I had a salad with pancetta and fig to start, then a delicious halibut with escargot, ending with a lemon tart dessert. Add some wine, tax, and tip, and $33 Restaurant Week becomes a $60 debit (that always seems to happen...), but this time well worth it.

Dust Mites

I am overly cognizant of radio marketing these days as we compose our next ad campaign, which will begin soon after Labor Day.

For the past few weeks, there's one ad stuck in my head, that I really don't want to hear any more. I'm not sure how many stations are part of Jordan Furniture's new campaign (WBZ and WBOS are definitely two of them, since that's what i listen to in the mornings).

The crux of their campaign is to buy a new mattress because of dust mites, the excrement of which can double the weight of a mattress after ten years, because they feast on dead skin cells and are the leading cause of asthma.

Interesting angle - gross us out into buying a new mattress. Yuck!

Ambiguously angry

My mood today is angry, for a specific reason.

I would prefer not to articulate why, but my anger has nothing to do with anyone who is reads Platinum Elite.

We'll just leave it at that. Have a great day, readers!

Mean Streets of Southie

The mean streets of Southie have struck me again.

My car has officially been broken into for the first time in my life.

When the dust settled, and I cleaned up what remained of my stuff, I learned that the burglars took....

....nothing.

At first, I thought it was a friend pranking me. But on further thought, I think someone did indeed invade by Jeep.

I don't get it. No forced entry. No broken glass. Perhaps I left the doors unlocked, which I wouldn't put past me, but I do so rarely.

Reading the police blotters, I realize how hot GPS units are these days. Turn around and blink, boom yours is gone. I like my GPS. It was a present from my parents. It was expensive. It got me from Minneapolis to New Orleans. Her name is Jill. I never leave Jill in the car. I don't even leave her cradle on the windshield when she's not helping me (as to not entice situations like this....however my friend Brian told me that it was a good strategy after some of the rubber from his wife's GPS cradle suction cup fused to her windshield during high heat).

I returned to my car Sunday afternoon to find my miscellaneous items scattered about the seats and floor. Tissues, a couple CD's, my sunglasses case, my ipod car player - everything was simply somewhere it didn't belong, but it was all there.

Even the spare change - untouched. There was about $3 in quarters ready for the taking. They passed.

Thieves are becoming less discerning these days. People walk around on trash days and take 5 cent deposit cans from recycling bins, but a robber won't even take coin money right in front of them. I suppose that's a bit unfair, because the logic of that assumes that can collectors are thieves, which they are most certainly not synonymous.

But, next time, I should leave my GPS, meth, or heroin on the front seat for them to find. I won't have to reorganize the rest of my possessions.

Fire at Hackley School

Yesterday, I learned that there was a major fire at my high school, Hackley. A friend of mine emailed me, as did the school. My parents saw the news on the local NYC newscast (which often covers the suburbs), and in our conversation today were amazed that I had heard already (they are still pretty old-school when it comes to realizing how news can travel very quickly in the Internet world we live in).

It appears that the library was struck by lightning overnight last week, and 21 (?!) separate fire departments responded to the massive fire.

We had our commencement photo (I'm in the front row, naturally) taken in front of the library which has now been completely gutted and reduced to nothing but the facade. The building had stood there for over 100 years.

I'm extremely fond of Hackley, even more so than Brown, as I spent 10 years of my life there, and I credit my parents for finding the means to send me to such a great institution. Taking nothing away from those who received public schooling, I believe that Hackley was very instrumental to helping me get to where I am today.

Simpsonized

I'm probably about a week or two late with this, but I finally Simpsonized myself yesterday.

For some reason, I'm wearing all black at the Kwik-E-Mart. Going for the urban hipster / ironic writer look, I suppose.

Word of Mouth 101

We have some folks in from out of town this week at work, and usually that involves lots of business meals.


Last night, we went to Bouchee - a restaurant I haven't been to since last November.


It appears that in the time between visits, our CEO and his wife have become well acquainted with the restaurant's menu and staff. During our meal, numerous employees greeted us, stopped by the table, or chatted at length with us.


The food is quite good, but the customer service was the real winner last night. After asking for the check, we were brought four plates and not one, but THREE complimentary desserts to share.


If our CEO and his wife arranged for that in advance (which I don't believe they did), that was a smart move, making them look well-connected and well-known there.


If the restaurant did that on their own (which I do believe is what happened), that simple gesture made them remarkable in my mind. Very smart business move.


You never know who your talkers are. Get to the talkers, give them good things to say, and let them talk about you. Word of Mouth 101.

The Police at Fenway Park

I came into some last-minute Police tickets that were just put on sale. I'm told there were three price points for face value tickets - $55, $95, and $225, and for $95 sitting in the Home Plate Pavilion Club was incredibly cool.

We had the fifth (and final) row of seats, which are high seat-back seats with a counter in front of them, just like the Monster seats. We had full club access, free popcorn, and very convenient bathrooms (we wondered how the people front and center made it to the bathroom and back in the same half hour).

The fact that the concert was at the opposite end of the stadium (In center field) was irrelevant. We had a great view of the entire stadium, and any time I can make a viewing experience more comfortable and convenient, sign me up!

Synchronicity was one of the first 4 cassettes I ever owned (Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger," Kenny Rogers' "Greatest Hits," and Men at Work's "Business As Usual" would be the other 3). I remember receiving it for my birthday in 1983 from my Uncle Bob and Aunt Joan, and being drawn to "King of Pain" immediately.

The Police disbanded soon after I began liking them, so it was nice to see them during their reunion tour 24 years after I first learned about them. I played a ton of their songs on the radio during my WBRU days, and knew every song last night for that reason (and that fact that I have owned their box set for a long time). Their set list has been remarkably consistent during the entire tour. Granted, the hits are the hits, but they have pretty much played them in an identical order from night to night, and avoided any obscure picks that weren't played every night. That's one of those Internet perils - sometimes knowing less is indeed more.

As an aside, after looking at the photos from yesterday, I'm 100% buying a new camera for my Italy trip in September. It's time for a technology upgrade.

Shakespeare on the Parke (or, "It's Like Books on Tape")

Yesterday, I attempted to swallow a spoonful of culture by joining Brian and Kelly and Shakespeare on the Parke (I added the final "e" for symmetry).

I brought a change of clothes to work, my beach mats and a low-rise chair, and was looking forward to rehashing a live performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," which I read for the first (well...only) time in 7th grade.

On the walk over there, I bumped into Kristen and her sister Meghan. Kristen was the coach / organizer of our kickball team for the past few years, and I hadn't seen her in a while, so that was a nice surprise. I mentioned that I was meeting Brian & Kelly, and they joined us for the night.

There was quite a crowd of people. Brian and Kelly were there early, but somehow picked a spot behind people in too-high chairs sponsored by Heineken. So, this was my view for the start of the performance.

Just before it began, for some odd reason I asked if this was a musical. In retrospect, one of my usual dumb comments. The immediate guffaw from the 20-something woman behind me indicated that it was not. While there was weird techno-ish music throughout, it was most certainly not a musical. That would have made it much more enjoyable in my opinion.

About 6 minutes into it - I looked at my watch - I realized that I'm just not cut out for Shakespeare. Perhaps its comedic elements were funny in 16th Century England and to the legions of New York Times-reading Cantabrigians who made the trek across the Charles. I'm a self-admitted USA Today reader having settled into Southie, and looking forward to seeing The Simpsons Movie and Superbad.

Basically, I viewed this as a chance to spend time with my friends, and actors happened to be performing in the background. Kelly mentioned that it was like "books on tape," because our impeded view forced us to rely more on our auditory senses.

About 25 minutes into the performance, I realized that lying down and staring at the stars while hearing the play in the background was a relaxing way to gather my thoughts and spend my time. We left at halftime around 9pm and went drinking.

Classic Albums - Graceland

We're in a cycle of the music world driven by singles rather than full albums. The a la carte nature of itunes and the slump in CD sales is truly hurting the full album as an art form. While I have purchased some great full CD's recently (for example, the new Wilco CD as terrific, as is the new LCD Soundsystem), there is a void of great albums.

Gone are the days when CD's sell 10 or 15 million copies here in the US (well, besides High School Musical, I suppose).

It's a shame because I used to feel a certain magic when walking into a music store. The possibilities of what to buy, finding hidden gems, collecting CD singles - all replaced by by the digital world.

It's hard to stop technology, and while I truly love the "custom radio station" I created with my playlists on my ipod (though I'm still a bit bitter with itunes after my fight with them), I am afraid that there have been many more memorable full albums already released in the past few decades than there will be in the next few decades.

Thinking to the 80's - my intro to music - The Joshua Tree, Purple Rain, Thriller, Graceland, Born In The U.S.A., Synchronicity - albums EVERYONE from that time owned.

I'm thinking this while watching this great show on VH1 Classic called "Classic Albums." Basically, it's a "Behind the Music" about a specific classic album, the stories behind it, and the recording process. It's fascinating to learn the stories behind the songs. Even more interesting is watching the artists deconstruct the songs, stripping the actual tracks apart so viewers can listen to the individual instruments - the bass track, the backing vocals, and all of the elements that made the music great.

I have a couple more episodes to watch (Who's Next, Hysteria, Dark Side of the Moon, Metallica), but have already seen episodes on Face Value, A Night at the Opera), and am now seeing on Wikipedia that a ton of these episodes have been produced. Can't wait until VH1 picks up the full slate!

Way to Communicate

CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com must hire tons of young folks right from college, and tell them to get on the phone and cold call businesses to pitch their websites.

And I'm guessing they have made some hires recently. It would make sense, here in late July, they probably have summer interns and newly-trained post-grads working their phones.

A couple days ago, Monster called me with an underwhelming sales pitch. The guy sounded like an amateur. I felt like a cat batting around a little mouse for a while before letting him go. It was fun.

Just a few moments ago, a guy from Career Builder called me, and about 2 or 3 minutes into his pitch, I said to him "do you realize that we already buy job postings from Career Builder?" He, of course, did not. He asked who my rep was. I checked in my MS Outlook contacts, and after telling him the name of our rep, he said "Oh, she sits right next to me!"

This is a tech company built on selling, in essence, the capabilities of their software. How strong is their own internal CRM software that two cubicle mates are calling on the same businesses, pitching initial services to people who are already clients!?

Lock 'em Up

I have been summoned for jury duty. Again.

I served about 4 1/2 years ago in a court near Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, which was my first time serving. Lucky me, I was actually placed on a jury (and not simply sent home with a thank you), so my tenure lasted an extra day.

Actually, I didn't mind the process. I found it interesting, actually. The judge and court staff could not have been nicer to us, thanking us for our service at every juncture.

What I thought was a slam-dunk, dude's guilty somehow became a "not guilty" conviction that we returned. A kid was allegedly dealing drugs in a school zone, and when the cops caught up with him in a known "shooting gallery" (I'm told that's where IV drug users shoot up), he had no drugs on his body. Circumstantial evidence was not enough to convict, unfortunately (and I say unfortunately, because he was obviously doing something illegal, but due to the police work, it could not be proven).

I was the one holdout in the jury room, but eventually realized the facts were the facts, and while my fellow jurors shared my belief that he was dealing, it could not be proven without a reasonable doubt.

It's probably awful to think this way, but I'm viewing this opportunity as a second chance for me to be involved with putting away a drug dealing scumbag. I would imagine they would disqualify me from serving if they knew that.

This time, I am postponing this next tour of duty for a few weeks because they summoned me to appear the week right after my trip to Italy, and that's just going to be tough to leave work for a week, then come back and have my return week punctuated by jury duty.

Lesson in Sales

One of my favorite parts of caller ID is being able to dodge calls.

My current responsibilities at work have increased dramatically the number of emails and phone calls that I field daily.

Inbound calls on my office line do not show the number of the caller. I don't like that.

I have my cell phone number on my work voicemail, and people who truly want to speak with me track me down on my cell if I'm out of the office. While my cell phone does have caller ID, many of these calls are from numbers I don't recognize.

Most of the people calling me, especially the ones I would like to dodge, are attempting to sell me something. The easy part of chasing away inbound solicitations is attempting to drive them down on price. If they don't budge, they go away.

What inexperienced sellers forget to recognize is that, especially with cold calling, they are selling something that people didn't necessarily want, nor know they needed.

I give credit to the people selling products who are persistent. It's so easy to send one email and assume your audience has read it, and wait for them to respond. Someone like me that receives tons of these emails from potential vendors, repeated emails and sales calls might lead to business. Not a single call, a single email, or even a single call followed by an email.

Above all, I prefer inquiring about things I want to buy, not being sold things I wasn't looking for.

Spice Up Your Life

While sitting on the beach this afternoon, I had the misfortune today of reading an article in Entertainment Weekly about the Spice Girls' reunion, and have been singing "Wannabe" over and over in my head all afternoon.

It could be worse. I could be singing their awful follow-up "2 Become 1"

I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha.

And The Beep Goes On...

It's been over a month now...and the neverending beep persists in the area outside my back porch.

I am so used to the periodic beep that it's no longer annoying...but I would just like to know what it is, and why nobody has dealt with it yet!

Mildred T. Gibson

I am in creative mode. For me, that means lots of reading, browsing, and stealing from others. I love making lists, brainstorming, and basically creating too much content, and then whittling it down to much less.

I stumbled across a website called Fake Name Generator which creates randomly generated new identities for anyone who lands on their website.

Here's mine:

Mildred T. Gibson
4665 Rosebud Avenue
Arkadelphia, AR 71923

Email Address: Mildred.T.Gibson@dodgeit.com
Phone: 870-464-4366
Mother's maiden name: Pollard
Birthday: May 23, 1976
MasterCard: 5202 2174 3978 1142
Expires: 12/2010
SSN: 430-50-4199

Being that I'm not female, a quick browser refresh, and I became:

Matthew S. Gonzales
1188 Abner Road
Rhinelander, WI 54501
Email Address: Matthew.S.Gonzales@pookmail.com

Phone: 715-369-5369
Mother's maiden name: Robinson
Birthday: November 12, 1960
MasterCard: 5162 4527 3788 1256
Expires: 12/2008
SSN: 388-92-8636

Much better.

It's Miller Time

This weekend could not have come soon enough. I'm pretty beat from a number of long work days, exacerbated by my unfortunate need to stay up until past midnight to catch up on some of the television in my DVR. Partially my own fault.

I don't have any plans this weekend, besides a going away party tonight for Christopher, who is leaving our fair city and working amidst the gypsies, tramps, and thieves of Washington DC. Perhaps his arrival there will usher in an enhanced Democratic presence on Pennsylvania Avenue. I'm glad he has sold most of his Boston possessions and can pack up much of his rental truck himself tomorrow. While I'm an excellent manager of truck packing, I really need to sleep in tomorrow.

Last night, we stopped at John Harvard's in Framingham for dinner. I picked up a growler of their Hop Chronic brew (I think that's the name), which was my favorite from the sampler platter I ordered. It's quite a deal for these things - something like $9 for 64 ounces of microbrew. Perhaps I'll bring it to the party tonight...I just want to make sure I take the growler bottle back with me, because I have taken to putting empty growler bottles atop my kitchen cabinets.

Must change immediately

I have discovered my latest "I must flip the radio immediately" songs.

Previously, it was "Cupid's Chokehold" by Gym Class Heroes. They samples "Breakfast in America" by Supertramp, and did some awful rap on top of it. Way to ruin a great song.

Now, there's some song by a guy named Sean Kingston called "Beautiful Girls," which he samples "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King. He whines a rap atop the the classic song, and it makes my blood boil

Must change immediately. Terrible.

Farmer's Market

While convenience during my lunch hour usually wins out to finding more interesting places to eat than Kenmore's paltry take-away options, I am beginning to find the need to branch out.

Yesterday, I returned to the Copley Mall to pick up my watch, and noticed the Farmer's Market at Copley. Now, I've known about this from my time living on Clarendon St. years ago, but that information was displaced with more current facts and details (I have a theory that my brain is full, and in the zero-sum game that is my memory, anything new that I want to remember causes something else to be forgotten).

This will be my new favorite midday activity on Tuesdays. And, doing some quick searching online for details on the market, I'm now learning they have it on Tuesdays AND on Fridays. Score!

The produce looked real - not like the hothouse fabricated kind that Stop & Shop sells. The vendors were chatty. They had plants, pies, and breads. I walked away with 4 herb plants for just $10. I now have rosemary (since mine wouldn't grow from seed), basil, and two kinds of herbs so Ryan can make his special mojitos during my impromptu Nintendo Wii parties.

I'm very happy about this find, which is probably a big yawner to the many people who regularly pass through Copley.

Mandy Moore at the Pru

On Thursday at dinner with my folks, I dropped some ice cream on my watch, which my mother promptly pointed out soon after it occurred. I looked down, wiped it off, and happened to notice that while it was keeping correct time, the second hand was only moving every four seconds (though it was moving four seconds at a time).

Irreparable dairy damage to the time piece, or coincidence with a failing battery. My vote was the latter.

I bought this watch at Tourneau in Manhattan years ago, and remembered that watches purchased at Tourneau came with lifetime battery replacements - a nice added benefit considering that my last replacement through Alpha Omega cost $50 because they had to do something special with the watch and pressurize it to keep it waterproof. Since then, a Tourneau moved into the Copley Mall, so I get to keep my cash.

I ran over there yesterday during lunch, figuring I would grab some food at the food court in the Pru. My visit there was well-timed - in the courtyard outside Barnes & Noble was a huge crowd of people. I checked out what was going on, and there's Mandy Moore performing (and after taking this pic, realized that there was my friend Phil in the yellow shirt)

She released a CD called Coverage a few years ago, which was a commercial flop but one of my favorite CD's that year. She covered songs by John Hiatt, The Waterboys, Elton John, Talking Heads, Joan Armatrading, and many other singer-songwriters. Completely different from her manufactured teen pop.

I remember reading that she co-wrote her entire new CD, which caused for much record label strife, and she was again dropped by whatever major label she was on. The labels - scrambling to remain relevant in a digital world - are increasingly dumping artists that can't make them a quick buck (the opposite way to develop artists correctly).

Mandy sang a few songs from the new CD, bantered with the crowd, sounded great, and looked stunning. I always forget that she started her career very young (she mentioned that she's now 23). She seemed genuinely excited to be performing to what turned out to be a couple thousand people on a beautiful, sunny day.

Painfully Uninformed

One of the side effects of living in an on-demand world is that, at times, I feel painfully uninformed. It's ironic, because among the Internet, podcasts, and traditional media, all the information I could ask for is there for the taking.

Sure, I could DVR news programs to guarantee that I'm staying on top of world affairs, but instead I choose to DVR things like poker shows, pro wrestling, and Big Brother 8. I rarely watch live TV these days, since there's always something on the DVR list. I listen to my ipod or Pandora a ton these days, both forms of music consumption devoid of personalities and information. My ipod is my personal favorite radio station, but it doesn't tell me the headlines.

I think that media overload has defeated me. There's so much to consume, that I don't particularly focus on any one source (since there's always something else to check out).

Every Sunday, I used to buy the paper and spend a few hours reading it. These days, if I buy the Sunday paper once a month, that would be a lot (and ironically, deep down inside, the reason I bought it was in hope that they would have a Home Depot circular to see the prices on grills....info that I'm fully aware is available online).

This leads me to the Boston Globe magazine, and their Sudoku. I was planning to rip through the Sudoku in mental preparation for the Crossword. Instead, this Sudoku absolutely creamed me. I stared at it for an hour (while watching BB8), and reached an impasse so wide that I went to bed angry.

Double Meaning?

I took 95 back from NY this week, and saw this sign at a rest area in Rhode Island.

I suppose it can be interpreted a few different ways.

Mother Nature's Son

I'm fortunate to have been raised in a loving, stable household - always a roof over my head, a chicken in the pot, and presents under the tree. And even though I'm no longer an adolescent, my old boss reminded me that "you're always someone's child" after I told him a story of seeing the press release of my first promotion to VP attached to my parents' fridge, report-card style.

But at some point, things change. The child becomes the parent, and the parent becomes the child. Parents can always worry that their kids are drinking (note to self....never mention to parents that you had two glasses of wine at home alone last night - mother now thinks I'm a lonely drunk), but truly at this point, you just hope that your folks don't fall and break a hip, or start having serious medical issues.

I have discovered that the transition from being parented by your folks to parenting your folks happens somewhere around age 30. Give or take a few years.

Innocuous changes begin to occur.

You hear a story about how your father somehow gets stuck on the roof while cleaning the gutters after he manages to knock over the ladder he used to climb up, and your disabled mother has to call their friends from down the street to come by, laugh at the man on the roof, and set up the ladder again.

You meet your parents at a restaurant for dinner, and they show up wearing shirts that could not clash any more if they were cymbals. The kaleidoscope effect of Dad's Hawaiian floral print walking next to mother's brightly-colored vertical stripes was astounding and inexplicable.

But somehow, glimpses of hope remain...

Like when your father manages to successfully transfer the 12 phone numbers in his cell phone book from one phone to another

Or when your mother finally remembers that their new HDTV has higher-quality versions of CBS 2, NBC 4, ABC 7, and FOX 5 at corresponding channels in the 700's.

I'm just waiting to hear about them someday getting locked out on the deck...

Paramus Park

I'm about to hit the road for a quick overnight with my parents in NY. I have a meeting today in Paramus, NJ, and as schedules sometimes work out well, today is my father's 61st birthday. Perfect time for a (quick) visit!

Paramus is the land of Paramus Park and Garden State Plaza - the upscale behemoth of a mall that outshines Paramus Park when it was built in the late 80's, I believe. I distinctly remember trips to Paramus Park with my parents - it was more of an adventure than going to the Nanuet Mall because they had an enormous food court on the second level, a cool waterfall that you passed when descending the escalator, a funnel cake stand, and a Chick-fil-A store that I never knew was a play on words for "fillet" until I met someone at college who worked for them as a high school job (I always thought it was pronounced "fill-uh," one of my many obvious jokes I never quite picked up on over the years....a second one being the Kellogg's Nut-n-Honey cereal commercials where a man would ask his wife what she was eating, and would look bewildered upon hearing the response "Nuttin' honey." I honestly never got that. Now I do. Play on words.)

Thinking back over the past twelve months, I have taken this drive to NY much less than I used to during my previous job life. Between trips working with clients in NY or Hartford, I used to do the Masspike to 84 drive at least 8-10 times per year just for work...sometimes ending in Hartford, other times continuing onward. I can almost do the drive in my sleep, though that would be a bad idea.

Gardener's Eden

I figured it out - Gardener's Eden. Clever name, huh?

But I'm thinking they are now out of business...Brookstone owned them (apparently), and their domain www.gardenerseden.com leads nowhere.

Oh well. I'll take Jamen's advice and focus on the grill..

Potter's Bench

My new project is finding a potter's bench, or a piece of furniture that I can put on the deck and toss all of my outdoor potted plants onto it.

I have been sitting at my kitchen table for 20 minutes, trying to think of the name of this particular garden store on Rte 9 in Chestnut Hill, right by the Container Store. I can't even find it on Google because I'm not exactly sure what to look for.

It's driving me a bit nuts this morning, so it's time to give up and get to work.


I'm glad my only household worries these days are where to find a potter's bench.

The Battle of South Bay Center

I have watched the progress of South Bay Center since I moved to Boston six years ago. I remember it in its prior state - when the old Stop & Shop was where the current Circuit City and Bed Bath & Beyond reside, before Target existed (I believe it was a K-Mart), when Toys R Us occupied Best Buy's current location, and before they built the expansion in the back .

What I have always liked about that shopping plaza is its proximity to where I have lived, and the ample free parking. Both major plusses to a closet suburbanite like myself.

...Which leads me to this past weekend. My breaking point. The parking lot is undergoing major renovations, and is currently a war zone. The traffic patterns at South Bay have always been chaotic, but adding random jersey barriers, loose blacktop, torn up roadways, heavy ground-moving equipment, clueless pedestrians with small children in carriages, and entitled Boston drivers, and it's a recipe for a sludgy disaster.

On Sunday, I just couldn't do it. I could not go to South Bay Center. I needed to shop elsewhere for a change. I grabbed Jill (the GPS) and brought Ryan down to some of Braintree's big box retailers.

While eating at Tennessee's BBQ was not an alterior motive, I always attempt to work in a trip there for lunch or dinner when I'm in Braintree.

As the picture clearly indicates, I thought the food was terrible. Ha Ha.

They should open one of these in the city!

My Personal Independence Day

I had a strange feeling hit me today - and that's the feeling of not having to complete a home improvement project. It's very liberating.

I even purchased some hanging plants for the deck today. The brown floor stain looks more like paint, but regardless - it turned out great, and the finished deck looks 18 million times better than beforehand.

I checked the archives of Platinum Elite to find that on Sunday, April 22nd, I first posted about my brilliant idea. A mere 11 weeks later, the deck is done and the kitchen is painted. The projects would have taken much less time if Mississippi River driving trips, conventions in Minnesota, inclement weather, Mother's Day, and my full-time job didn't interfere.

Ryan deserves lots of credit for helping along the way; I'm sure he will enjoy resuming his normal weekend activities, whatever they may be.

The only flat surfaces in my building that I can possibly paint next are my laundry alcove, my back staircase, or my basement. I intend to paint none of those, so let's consider today - July 8th - as my personal Independence Day from home painting, staining, and sanding projects.

The deck...

...is done. Photos coming after it's done drying.

Never. Again.

Big Brother is Back

I'm at a very low point in terms of motivation to exercise - I mean very low. It's terrible, because it's low on my radar screen of priorities now, and I just need to get back into an agressive cycle. It's much easier for me to play some poker online than it is get myself moving and sweating (though I did finish 2nd in a 65 person tournament last night).

I'm at that age in my early 30's where my metabolism just isn't what it used to be, and it's much less forgiving when burgers and brownie sundaes make their ways into my belly.

Which doesn't bode well for me when the most vapid of vapid reality shows just debuted last night, Big Brother 8. I always get sucked in by BB, and their jedi mind tricks have idiots like me tuning in 3 times each week to watch other idiots live in a house, bicker, and posture for the cameras. This season is especially interactive through CBS's website, complete with their Big Brother Wiki that anyone can edit.

I sat down at like 11:30pm to watch the episode DVR'ed from earlier. It turns out this year's cast is particularly camera-ready, young, and all buffed up for TV. Forget living in the house this season if you're not white, thin, or stupid.

And for some reason, it's going to become one of my first-watched shows off the DVR list yet again.

Fireworks

This is such a weird 4th of July - I was just thinking at around midnight last night while coming home that I'm never out until midnight on a "work night." Even if I go out after work on a weeknight, I'm usually home by 10 (besides Fridays). I'm a bit tired, and still in weekend or holiday mode, but I have two very busy days at work ahead, so it's time to soldier on.

Just before we left to watch the fireworks, we were watching WBZ's local coverage of the Hatch Shell festivities. The whole Pops show seems surprisingly boring up until the fireworks, and the Blue Man Group's performance last night was shockingly awful. If they want to sell tickets, three blue dudes standing still, banging a flat surface on top of some pipes won't do it for me...and I've always wanted to see them.

We watched the fireworks from the room of my office in Kenmore. I always through that would be a great viewing angle from the moment I began working there last year, and boy was I right. I was amused at the drivers on Storrow westbound who illegally parked on the entry ramp (and then others double-parked on the same ramp) right around 10:30 - perfectly timing their ride on that road with the fireworks.

Doug mentioned yesterday that Southwest Airlines was coming to Boston and pulling out of both Providence and Manchester - a move that I can't substantiate, and that I can't imagine is true. Even if they did enter Boston, that move should not preclude them from flying to the other two cities as well. The population here is quite dense and could support Southwest in all three. I'll have to investigate.

Wii-eally sore

Just when I thought it was lame that this morning I was feeling a bit sore from....playing Wii bowling and Wii tennis....I spoke with Ryan earlier this evening to find out that he spent his day at work sore from head to toe.

I'm assuming that my other friends who were over yesterday were also sore, but just haven't spoken up.

Posting #200

I have been writing Platinum Elite for over 8 months now, and according to Blogger, this is posting #200. What began as a compendium of travel stories has evolved into the typical stream-of-consciousness blog. I wasn’t sure for whom I would be writing Platinum Elite, and to be honest, I still don’t know. I think I’m writing it for myself, but I must admit that it’s fun to have readers, both regular and periodic. I am glad that some of what I say inspires readers to comment, to laugh, or simply to learn more about me and the way I see things.

Taking a page from the Don of the blogosphere – the 1st place Los Gatos Con Queso fantasy baseball team manager and author of Surgical Strikes himself, Dan Tobin – I thought it might be fun to list some of the search terms that have drawn people to Platinum Elite. Some of these make sense, others befuddle me.

Nonetheless, I’m a big fan of website analytics. It’s always interesting to see what posts get picked up by other websites and drive more readers here. Consistently, Universal Hub causes a surge in traffic, and seems to result in additional regular unique readers each time it links to Platinum Elite. While we’ve never me in person, thanks to Adam G. – my friend in blog.

On to the search terms:

My adoration of Lone Star 92.5 caused an influx of Texans to find Platinum Elite. Many of them continue to read, comment, and email today. So, a big howdy to my friends in the great Republic of Texas. I’m wearing my UT Longhorns hat as I write this:

lone star 92.5
92.5 lone star
willie nelson and lonestar 92.5
92.5 lone star fm
92.5 lone star radio
lone star radio 92.5
925 kzps
kzps listen live
92.5 dallas
kzps lone star 92.5 radio
kzps listen to music
dallas fm station 92.5 willie nelson
92.5 willie
kzps 92 5 lone star

Then the obvious – people who know that they’re looking for Platinum Elite.

platinum elite
platinum elite blogspot
platinum elite blog

My itunes rant caused a stir at digg.com. I’m glad to see people continue to read about my misfortune in dealing with Apple in this one incident. I’m still irritated, but have gotten over it. I’ve even bought a couple songs from itunes since (“End of the Line” and “Handle With Care” by The Traveling Wilburys – what great songs.)

itunes codes (FYI – they expire)
redeem expired itunes gift cards (good luck)
itunes redemption code
itunes redemption codes
itune gift redemption problems valid code (they’re probably expired)
my ipod
itunes song codes
i had credit left on itunes (key word – “had”)
redeem itunes credit
amex reward ipod 50 songs (these WILL expire)
i have a ? regarding i tunes.

Then, the macabre.

chris benoit
in memory of chris benoit (I would prefer to not remember)
site:blogspot.com chris benoit
vince mcmahon
how did chris benoit & his family die (uh…he strangled his wife, smothered his kid, and hanged himself. What a coward.)

Some errant searches on “Platinum” and “Elite”

platinum elite cheer atlanta (my cheerleading friends at http://www.platinumelite.net/)
klm platinumelite golf
platinum package acapella torrent
pittsburgh platinum elite
platinum living quarter trailers with shell (shell, the gas company?!)
discount code drum corps platinum
pa platinum elite klm
platinum elite hot tub (sign me up!)
koi restaurant amex platinum (koi? As in the fish?)
elite platinum chair

Then…the local Boston references

southie parking (good luck parking overnight during the week if you’re not a resident)
ayla brown tall (yes, that she is)
tollbooth option for northeasterners
applebee's in dorchester (friendliest Applebee’s staff ever!)
direct flight boston to new orleans (no such flight exists that’s non-stop)
jimmy fund scooper bowl smug mug photos
c.f. donovan's restaurant dorchester game night
jam'n 94.5 boat ride
6 house

References to the Great River Road trip

mustard seed alabama mobile bru
rendezvous memphis barbeque coupon codes
nd painted beale street mug
nashville elite companion
beale street ceramic mug

Starbucks references. See, there’s other Starbucks mug collectors out there!

starbucks griffith mug
starbucks park series mugs fairmount park

Finally…the random

the westin mt. laurel, nj sucks (it does?)
bedazzler preprinted patterns (lord help me)
tsa clear solid deodorant (if you’re in Dallas, pack it in your Ziploc bag and don’t complain)
liz phair (awesome!)
using a drum sander for refinishing a deck youtube (haha…yes, good idea)
p90x promo code (I’ll sell you mine!)
2007 verizon wireless thank you customer promo code
tollbooth option for (for what?)
aisle marking,concrete etching (huh?)
sandwash paint ideas (I used Behr Sandwash paint – still love how it turned out!)
fedex (thank you for finding my Wii)

Pink Kentucky

Check-in and security were a breeze here in Minneapolis. I found the TSA agents here at MSP to be pleasant and polite, which is usually the case about 25% of the time.


Given the issues in London and at Glasgow Airport these past few days, I'm surprised that part of my Airworld adventure today went smoothly. Terror level is Orange, but I can't recall if that's up a notch or what it was before this past week.


Northwest actually upgraded me. Codeshare partnership on SkyTeam pays off once again! When I checked in, there were at least 6 other First Class seats unassigned. I believe I lucked out in picking a flight with few business travelers on it - probably today being a Sunday morning and all.


This airport is quite large, but due to its layout, it has a much smaller feel. The waiting areas and concourses don't feel claustrophobic (like in Philadelphia or at that cesspool of a terminal, Delta's International JFK operation).


I am a bit of a map and geography freak. I always have been. I knew all of the state capitals when I was 4 or 5 years old, and I used to love playing this game called Agent U.S.A. on my Commodore 64. Something about maps transfixes me. I even associate states with their colors from a childhood map (i.e. for some reason Kentucky to me is pink, New York is orange, Kansas and Florida are yellow, Nebraska is green, and Oregon is purple).


So, naturally, I spent about 5 minutes staring at the Departures board, just to see what odd places Northwest flies from here. I spotted a bunch of cities that we saw during the Great River Road trip - such as Bemidji, MN; Moline, IL; Davenport, IA; and La Crosse, WI. Then, there's the regular service to places like Casper, WY and Sioux Falls, SD.


We're about to board. I'm looking forward to having a few hours of a weekend when I'm back in Boston. Just enough time to set up my new Wii!

Left-handed bowling

I'm very happy to be returning home today from Minneapolis. The Conclave convention was great, and I reconnected with many old colleagues who I hadn't seen in years (plus I met three radio Program Directors for stations we advertise on, and put a couple bugs in their ears about some new creative ideas for us during our September campaign).

Last night, we had a Bowling Party sponsored by a music monitoring service. I bowled five games, which I had never done before, and finally beat my old co-worker Tom in the fifth one when he switched to bowling with his left hand. The sad part was that I hadn't surpassed his score until the fifth frame.

Yesterday, I was informed by Ryan that my important order from Circuit City was sitting waiting for me in my front entryway. So, it urns out that it was indeed FedEx's fault in the end for delivering it to the wrong house on Thursday. It would have been less frantic for me if they had the correct information or communication with their driver, but they didn't. Even during my final call to them Friday night, they said they had no further info, but in actuality, the driver delivered the package sometime during the day. Their tracking systems just aren't perfect.

I am a bit concerned that Circuit City sends out $400+ orders without required signatures. I assumed that they would leave me a door tag, and I would simply drive up the street to pick up my packages at the FedEx World Ship Center in Southie, since that's how I receive mostly everything from FedEx and UPS. But they didn't.

All's well that ends well. I now have my Nintendo Wii!