I am sure a lot of you consider people who do Ironman triathlons crazy, but I bet you have no idea what kind of mental toughness the pros have to have. Like anything else, you have to first do something in order to fully appreciate the level that professionals are operating on. If you already appreciate the physical toughness of professional Ironman athletes, read the article below from one of the professional women and you will have a whole new concept of what it means to be “mentally tough” as well. Click the link below to read more.
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This past Friday we celebrated my big 30th birthday by having a full fledged Casino Night. If you didn’t make it, shame on you, because you missed out on one of the funnest nights I have had in a while. We had a full size craps table, and two black jack tables, all with professional dealers, chips, etc. The format of the night was $30 gets you some raffle tickets and chips to gamble with, and at the end of the night you change in your remaining chips for more raffle tickets. The raffle prizes were a pair of movie tickets, a mystery prize which was a book about betting, a bottle of wine, and ipod shuffle, and the grand prize was an ipod nano. The night started at 7pm, with most people showing up around 7:30 or so, and the tables stayed open until 11pm. I would say we probably had about 30 people total, and everyone seemed to be playing all the time, except for when the pizza arrived. The funny thing is that the people we rented the tables and dealers from said we had plenty of room b/c not everyone would be gambling the whole time, but apparantely she didn’t know my friends. Unfortunately, we don’t have any pictures from the night as we left the camera at work, so you will all just have to try and imagine it. Either way, the night was a blast, and I’m already thinking we should do something similar next year, although I’m going to have get some friends to help out with the costs.

Proof positive that sports can have a huge impact on people’s lives:

Man requests longer prison sentence to match Bird’s jersey number

I have finally finished listening to this book. Yes, this another one of the audio books that I have gone through, only this one was as long as the other two combined…about 18 hours worth (or about 500-600 pages). Anyways, the book is absolutely great for the first 9 hours (i.e. first half of the book), but then I found myself losing interest at the end. I really don’t think this is b/c the book gets any worse, but mainly b/c the subject matter is just not as interesting for me. In the beginning, the main topics all deal with Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, and other miscellaneous things, which are of course right up my alley. At the end, it mainly is referring to Archaeology, Paleontology and Biology, things I don’t really care for. Therefore, if you are like me, you will only need to listen to the first half of the book, which I must admit was excellent! The narrator, as well as the real author, are Bristish fellows, and it seems to add a little bit to the flavor of the book listening to this British chap give you all sorts of information, all the while mixing in a good bit of humor. I must admit I learned a ton of nifty little facts, as well as learning a good overview of a lot other things, even those things I don’t care too much about. If you ever read the reviews on Amazon.com, you will notice that a few people complain about the vagueness, or sometimes inaccuracies of the book, but you must realize this is not a scientific text book, so if he is in vague in areas, it’s probably b/c he doesn’t understand himself, and is just trying to give you the gist of it. As for accuracies of the book, I’m not going to try and disprove anything, although I am sure in another 100 years or so, people will laugh at what didn’t know, or what we thought we knew.

Overall, if you are into scientific things, I highly recommend reading, or listening, to this book. I actually don’t know if I could have read this book, but listening to it in the car, while walking the dog, or simply on a train somewhere, seemed to make it much easier to comprehend. With all the strange scientific words out there, it was sure nice not to worry about how to pronounce them.

I am not sure if you have heard about what happened to Michelle Wie this past weekend, but it is absolutely horrible. In case you didn’t know, Wie is a golfer who is only 16 years old, but she is a phenom. She recently went pro, and signed somewhere in the neigbourhood of $10 million in endorsements from Nike and Sony, and this past weekend was her first time playing as a pro in a tournament. At the end of the tournament, she was tied for 4th, and was to take home a check for a little over $50,000, nothing much when you already have $10 million in the bank, but still important b/c it was her first tournament where she could earn money.
Well, apparantely, after she has already signed her scorecard, a reporter decides to notify officials that he thinks she may have cheated by dropping her ball closer to the hole after being stuck in a bush. Well, normally this wouldn’t be so bad, but it had happened the day before on Saturday, and now that the tournament was over and she had signed her scorecard already, Wie couldn’t change anything. Well, they measured it out and found that her ball was approx. 12-15inches closer to the hole…what a joke. Well, rules are rules, but what jerk the reporter is for not only waiting an entire day to come up with this, but also waiting til she had signed her scorecard. I actually read that the reporter walked off the distances after she played the hole the previous day to see if it was closer…talk about looking for a story and willing to go to almost any means to get it. Needless to say, he shouldn’t be allowed at any more golf tournaments. Here is an article about the incident:

Michelle Wie Disqualified

Apparantely the stars were aligned this week b/c the number of close games this weekend featuring undefeated teams was phenomenal. Unfortunately, as most of my friends are none too shy to point out, FSU ended up on the losing side of one of these games. Here’s a quick look at the games:

#6 Alabama 13 – Mississippi 10: Alabama kicks the game winning FG with no time left to remain undefeated.

#8 Penn State 25 – Michigan 27: Michigan throws the game winning TD on the last play of the game to give Penn State its first loss.

#1 USC 34 – #9 Notre Dame 31: USC dramatically scores with 1 second left to play to remain undefeated.

#12 UCLA 44 – Wash. St. 41: UCLA scores 17 points in the 4th quarter to send the game into Overtime, where they eventually won to remain undefeated.

#4 FSU 21 – UVA 26: I don’t want to talk about it!

To top everything off, the Fins lost again on Sunday. Not a good weekend in the world of football.

As you may or may not know, my theory for Harry Potter books has always been to read them before the movie comes out. Well, on Nov. 18th of this year, the new movie will be coming out, so it was time to catch up and get through the 4th book. The last 3 Harry Potter books have all been good, but the first one always seemed to stand out a little more than the rest. However, as of today, there is a new leader among the pack, and it is “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”! This book doesn’t seem to go through the motions that the previous two did of trying to let you know who Harry is, and what his past is all about, but instead builds off the past right away and starts off quite early with a new story and adventure. Probably one of the best things about it is that it brings in a bunch of new characters that your mind is able to completely visualize and imagine. Of course, all your imaginations are for not once the movie comes out, but that is why you read the book first! The book goes from one scene to another, without losing anything and keeps you on the edge. I started off reading about a chapter a night, but in the end, I was reading two to three per night. Of course, the first thing you will notice is that the book is much longer than the previous 3 (700+ pages), but it is well worth it. I don’t want to go into details of the book as to not spoil it for anyone, but lets just say I was never able to figure out the ending, despite putting in my best effort of thinking forward and trying to read between the lines. If you haven’t read this one yet, then you must do so before the movie comes out, if for no other reason than for the pure thrill of trying to imagine for yourself what a guy named “Mad-Eye Moody” with facial scars, a magic eye, and wooden peg leg will look like! All in all, an excellent book!!

Well, this past Saturday we went to see “Two for the Money” with a few friends of ours. If you don’t know what this is, it is the new movie out with Al Pacino, Rene Russo and Matthew McConaughey about a guy who is really good at picking winners against the spread in football games. If you don’t know what “against the spread” means, well, definitely don’t see the movie b/c you are not a gambler. The movie starts off OK, and kinda gets you into the gambling world of the highs and lows of watching a game when money is on the line, but unfortunately, it doesn’t really go anywhere from there. The plot never really goes, although I am not sure there is one. The only thing I can say is that it is “Inspired by a True Story”, so that could be the reason for the lack of excitement. In the end, wait for the rental, it’ll save you some money that can go bet with your bookie!

Boston is just one of those towns with a lot of character. If you aren’t taken aback by the accents of the Bostonians themselves, or by their sheer love of sports, then you are bound to be at least impressed with the history of the city. It’s been around 10 years since I was last in Boston, which basically means I wasn’t able to drink then, so I missed out on some of the highlights of the city. Things I remember from my previous trip were “The Bell in Hand Tavern”, which I believe is the oldest bar in America, Cheers, which I know had the best New England Clam Chowder, and finally Fenway, where I saw my Yankees lose to the Red Sox 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, but where I ironically ended up buying a Yankees hat anyways.

So, this past weekend Barbie had to go there for work, you know…hanging out with a S.V.P., wining and dining with the elite professors and students of M.I.T, Harvard and Brown. Soon enough, and she’ll be the one getting escorted around. Anyways, I saw as a good opportunity to visit Boston, since it wasn’t snowing yet, and just so happens that the Yankees were playing the Red Sox again, but this time it was for AL East crown.
We arrived in Boston on Wednesday evening, and proceeded to head out to Quincy Market for some good seafood. Unfortunately, Barbie isn’t the biggest fan of seafood, so I got fish, and she got…well, I don’t really remember, but mine was good. Thursday and Friday were work days for both of us, mine spent at the hotel, interspersed with Lunch at Quincy Market and a sub shop, and hers spent “hanging out with the big whigs.” Thursday evening, since I was alone, I headed over to the makeshift Cheers bar at Quincy Market. I say makeshift (one word?) b/c it is not the original Bull and Finch pub, but a restaurant designed by the bar on the show. Well, that place was full, so I went to the bar next door, ironically called Sam’s, but still with Cheers paraphanalia everywhere and with the same menu. Not an exciting night, but memorable in the fact that when I walked in and asked if I could see a college football game on a small TV in the corner that no one was watching, the host simply said, “the Sox (aka Red Sox) are on, that is all we’ll show.” Somehow I don’t see that happening in California ever, and very rarely in Miami.
Friday was the same basically, except that I took a walk on the “Freedom Trail” which led me to Paul Revere’s house, and the church where they hung the infamous lanterns from the phrase “One if by land, two if by sea”, in reference to the British army. I’ve seen a ton of historical things that are much older since living in Europe, but it something more special when it is American history, and is your heritage. Anyways, that evening Barbie got home earlier and we were able to go to dinner in the North End, which used to be 100% Italian, but now is only about 20%. Food was good, service was OK…some people just need to learn how to smile. I must admit though, I am starting to tip like Cassidy, which means tip for good service, not just because you feel obligated. After dinner we headed back over to Sam’s (the fake Cheers) to watch the Yanks and Red Sox. It didn’t take long for everyone to know I was a Yankees fan, and even though the Yankees lost, it was still a good time.

Saturday was the day we were hoping to get into Fenway for game 2 of the Red Sox vs. Yankees series, but with ticket prices at a minimum of $300 each for outfield bleacher seats, we decided to watch a game a bar just outside of Fenway Park. After getting our seats, I told Barbie I was going to go buy a Yankees hat and to wait there. I headed out to the same place I bought my hat 10 years prior, but this time it took me about 5 minutes to find the hat. Not because I was being my usual picky self, but b/c there were literally only 2 yankees hats available, both in the bottom corner of the side of the store. Needless to say, it was still fun to watch the guy’s face as I said I want the Yankees hat! I arrived back at the bar about 10-15 minutes after leaving, and sure enough Barbie was getting hit on by some guy. Guys amaze me sometimes, we are simply predators. Single pretty girl equals must sit down and talk to her. Anyways, I laugh at the whole thing, mainly b/c of the awkwardness that the guy feels as I sit down next to Barbie. So, the guy actually had some useful info, as he could get us into the game for the dirt cheap price of $150 each, mind you, it was without a ticket, and we would have to stand the whole game, but it was still 50% cheaper than anywhere else. We passed on the offer, and proceeded to get ready for the game to start.
So…let me set the scenario. Our seats are located at the back of the bar along the wall, and there is a bunch of people in front of us, with the bar at the other end, and the TVs hanging on the wall behind the bar. So, there are at least 100 people b/t me and the TV. Jeter is the first batter to get up for the Yankees, and hits a single. I begin clapping, along with a guy next to me who just happened to be a Yankees fan also. Immediately, and with looks of anger, disbelief and pure shock, all 100 people turn around at once and glare at us. It was amazing to see so many people respond in the exact same way all because I was a Yankees fan. Well, we stayed there until about the 5th inning before heading back to the hotel, mainly b/c there were now about 200 people b/t us and the bar, and it was getting a little crowded. Good for me, as I got to watch FSU play that afternoon.
For dinner that night we told the concierge we wanted a steak and seafood place, but when we got to the restaurant, they only had chicken. So, instead of going there, we decided to go to a fancy Steak house down the way that we had passed numerous times while walking in Quincy Market. The place was called “Plaza III”, and it was good. Only downside was that they ran out of Prime Rib for Barbie, so she had to settle for Filet Mignon (rough life). I ended up getting the Filet Mignon and Lobster Tail, and we both shared Chocolate Souffle for dinner, along with a very good bottle of wine. Needless to say none of this was cheap, but when you figure we saved $600 by watching the Yankees beat the Red Sox at a bar instead of Fenway, it’s like we were saving money.

Sunday was tourist day, followed by hellish travel, for me anyways. That morning we got up and took the Old Town Trolley all around Boston, listening to the quite humorous narrator and driver tell all about the city. We ended up getting off a little before the end so that we could take a nice leisurely walk through Boston Common, the local park, and to have lunch at the original Cheers, aka. Bull and Finch Pub. After all of this, we headed to the airport, where Barbie’s flight took off about an hour before mine, so I was left hanging around for a couple of hours. Luckily, I found a TV showing the NFL games, but it was no where near my departure gate. About an hour before my flight I decided to head to my gate to see how things were progressing, and to my amazement there were about 100 people waiting at the ticket counter. Normally, for those of you who don’t fly often, there are about 5-10 people there, all usually trying to upgrade or change their seats…so seeing a 100 was quite shocking. I immediately took a look up at the monitors and found that my flight had been “CANCELLED”! This stuff only happens to me, so I kinda laugh at it now, but it is still a pain. After waiting in the line for about 15-20 minutes, and seeing that I was going no where, I decided to give American Airlines a call to see if they could put me on the direct flight to San Francisco instead. Although SFO is about an hour north of the San Jose airport, it was still better than having to pay for a hotel, since airlines don’t cover your overnight costs if cancellations are due to weather, which my flight was. Luckily there was room on the flight and I made it to SFO about the same time, actually earlier, than I would have if I were to have taken my original flights…aaah, the advantages of direct flights. Anyways, my plan was to take the Cal Train down to our house, and walk home, as I didn’t want Barbie to have to drive all the way up north to pick me up, especially since she had an early morning the following day. Sure enough, I find out the train stops running at 9:30pm, and it is now 10:30pm, so I am stuck. Thank goodness my wife still loves me, and was willing to come pick me up, but that is my luck when I travel. A bad ending to a fun trip, but that is always better than a bad trip.

For pictures, you may have to wait a day or two til we upload them, but they will be here: Boston Pictures