My Other Blog

Big Unit Wins 300!

2009-06-04T16:40:00.002-07:00

He seems pretty stoic about it but in is a major accomplishment in terms of it being very difficult to do in the age of five man rotations and complete games almost disappearing but he did it.

The Maine Monster

2009-06-01T15:44:00.003-07:00

The Portland Sea Dogs are the AA affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. They play their home games at Hadlock Field which has the pictured replica of the Green Monster from Fenway Park.

Very cool.

The only thing Prescott, the town where we live, is missing is minor league baseball.

Memories

2009-05-25T09:58:00.003-07:00

This morning I saw on my FaceBook page where one of my fraternity brothers and his son went to a Mariners game his son got a ball from one of the bullpen coaches (John Wetteland, interestingly enough).

On Saturday I was chatting with a friend who recently bought an investment property for her daughter, daughter's husband and their children to rent. My friend was telling me how her husband has been doing some the work on the house with the grandkids, sort of teaching them a little about how to do certain types of handiwork.

Both are great stories because as adults (and presumably sports fans in the one case) we know that the kids in these stories will remember getting the ball and working and learning from their grandfather forever.

When I was twelve I got a baseball at a game, still have that ball and remember just about everything from that day. The game was at Fenway, the Sox were playing the Royals and a bunch of kids were down the third base line before the game and there was a ball on the ground and collectively we asked a female photographer to toss the ball to us. She did and I happened to be the one to catch it. Earlier Al Hrabosky was sitting in the first or second row signing autographs for (mostly) kids while I didn't want an autograph (even then I was not an autograph guy) I did ask him if I could shake his hand he gave me an enthusiastic alright and a hearty handshake.

As I was saying; memories.

While I do not know who said this first, you all have heard it before; it is about the journey not the destination and the stories from my fraternity brother and friend are both great reminders of this.

Whither Big Papi?

2009-05-14T16:52:00.003-07:00

The misery continues for David Ortiz as he went 0-7 and left 11 runners on base.

No one seems to know what is wrong. There have been comments on various telecasts by various announcers about not doing the right thing with hands or not driving the ball both of which imply he never got better after his injury last year.

The question I have is how much time does a manager give a player who has delivered more than his fair share in the past to get it all sorted out?

Manager Terry Francona has earned the benefit of the doubt in my estimation on anything baseball related so I will not second guess him. But how much time is right? The team has played just over 1/4 of its games. We are coming up on interleague play and so Papi can sit those games instead of playing first base, or not.

Does he get 54 games to work it out or maybe 81 or the entire season? Do his past deeds mean he should get as long as it takes?

One thing is certain it is much more difficult for an American League team to succeed if its DH is struggling with the Mendoza Line.

MLB to Texas Rangers:Drop Dead

2009-05-12T18:58:00.003-07:00

There was a little bit of a hullabaloo a few days ago when White Sox relief pitcher Bobby Jenks threw behind Ian Kinsler at about rear end level after six White Sox hitters had been hit by Rangers pitching.

The fine for Jenks came down from MLB offices at a whopping $750. I did not take the time to do the math but this is far less than he makes per pitch.

Dom DiMaggio

2009-05-08T16:28:00.005-07:00

Dom DiMaggio passed away this morning.

I have always known he was a pretty good player and Joe's brother but in watching the NESN coverage today he had, like many players in his day, an interesting story.

I am intrigued by the players who interrupted their careers to serve in WWII. I've not heard of any players doing so since the Korean War. The way society and the military have evolved it is not surprising--I am not being critical as I never considered joining the military but more making a comment on what these guys were made of and I find it admirable.

Manny, WTF?

2009-05-07T17:58:00.003-07:00

Man Ram got popped for a banned substance and is out for 50 games. The suspension will cost him about $7 million in forgone salary.

As is always the case there is some ambiguity about what the real story is; was there something in a prescription that he did not know about, did he willfully do the wrong thing or is the answer somewhere in the middle?

Regardless of what the truth may be, unlikely we ever get the truth, this is inexplicable. If there was something in a prescription (assuming the most benign possible explanation) how is there not someone watching his back to find out what is in the prescription and whether it is banned or not.

If you assume the most malignant reason then how, with they way the testing is supposedly done, could he think he would be able pull a fast one?

While he has always been able to hit you have to wonder where the common sense has gone or if ever had any to begin with.

The Eck!

2009-05-05T20:11:00.003-07:00

Dennis Eckersley filled in for Jerry Remy last night and tonight do the color analysis for the Red Sox broadcast.

He has been one of the studio guys for the Sox for a while now but I'm not sure how long. I'd never heard him do a game before and I thought he was very good.

As I mentioned the other day a hall of famer with rings (or a ring anyway) has the credibility to say just about anything. He was more comfortable tonight so he had more to say. First, I would mention that I have never heard a color analyst who was less prepared in terms of knowing the players' back stories. There was very little effort there.

That said his baseball insight combined with his to the point manner were fantastic. Jose Molina came up in the 6th inning with a chance to knock in Nick Swisher from third base to tie the game with two outs and Eckersley commented from the mindset that Josh Beckett should have had at this point. "This guy is an out, he just needs to go take it, he is an out. If he (Molina) knocks a run in Beckett deserves to lose."

Wow.

In the top of the fifth when Joba Chamberlain hit Jason Bay with a pitch Eck said he didn't like that at all. He said that since the first he's been pitching well in the game and that he didn't suddenly lose it, he added that enough guys in the Red Sox club house don't like him and repeated that he did not like that.

All in all, pretty good stuff Eck.

Announcers

2009-05-03T17:22:00.004-07:00

My brother and I had a conversation today about baseball announcers and how bad most of them are these days. I mentioned that I liked Joe Morgan who does the Sunday night games for ESPN. A lot of people do not like Joe Morgan for some reason but I am not sure why.

The way I view it, a guy in the hall of fame with championship rings can say anything he wants about his sport and be credible. Obviously lesser players can be great announcers too, I'm very fond of Jerry Remy of the Red Sox and Kuiper and Krukow who do the Giants games but the credibility of hall of fame and rings makes that someone I want to listen to.

The above also applies to Bill Walton and basketball, you probably forgot he was on the Clippers at one point.

121-63

2009-04-27T20:05:00.001-07:00

That was the final score in tonight's win for the Nuggets over the Hornets.

That's for a playoff game folks.

Simply unfathomable.

Ellsbury Steals Home!

2009-04-27T08:18:00.002-07:00

Jacoby Ellsbury stole home last against the Yankees. I can't recall hearing an announcer, ESPN's John Miller, sounding so shocked by a play. He made a great call on a very exciting play.

The Red Sox swept the homestand, how often does that happen?

Sox and the Yanks

2009-04-25T10:28:00.003-07:00

The Red Sox beat the Yankees in an unusually thrilling game for April. Down by two in the ninth inning Jason Bay hit a two run homer off of Mariano Rivera with two out in the ninth inning.

Then in the 11th inning Kevin Youkilis hit a solo shot so hard and so far that I think the ball is rolling down the turnpike.

The job being done by Ramon Ramirez should not be ignored either. He has been lights out in every appearance so far.

Big win even if it is only April.

Earth Day Uniforms

2009-04-23T17:16:00.002-07:00

I know the Astros wore green hats but I did not see any other teams dress out for the occasion.

Did you see any other teams in green?

Best Card Ever?

2009-04-22T15:35:00.003-07:00

I had a baseball card collection that somehow was lost in a very stereotypical fashion when my mom moved out of the house I grew up in.

My collection now consists of about a half a dozen card including the Tim Flannery surfboard card. Is this best card ever? Probably not but it is pretty cool. I was going to college in San Diego when this card came out in 1988.

On an unrelated note Jamie Moyer, 46 year old pitcher on the Phillies and son in law of Digger Phelps, was on PTI today. Tony had a great one-liner asking who the tougher out was; Moses or Noah.

Did You See This?

2009-04-20T19:33:00.002-07:00

How does this even happen? A couple of jerseys for the Washington Nationals were misspelled and read as you see in the pictures.

Natinals.

Tony and Wilbon had a lot of fun with that one on PTI.

Celtics Bulls

2009-04-20T19:16:00.003-07:00

The action in the Celtics Bulls series has been amazing. I'm a Celtics fan so I wish it were 2-0 C's but you gotta tip the cap to what the Bulls are doing.

They are laying the foundation for a future championship if they can keep this nucleus together.

Just Can't Do That

2009-04-19T19:21:00.003-07:00

I don't remember exactly when I first heard this hockey truism but if team fails to convert on a two-man advantage they lose the game.

So I have been paying attention for this little nugget ever since and it is almost always right.

Tonight the St. Louis Blues had two two-man advantage opportunities and didn't score on either one and lost the game 3-2.

Pumpsie Green

2009-04-17T17:53:00.002-07:00

Pumpsie Green was the first black player in Red Sox history joining the team in 1959. He threw out the first pitch tonight at Fenway and was in the booth with Don and Jerry for the home half of the fourth inning.

I've known about Pumpsie as far back as I can remember (that's how long I've been a baseball fan) but I've never seen him before or heard him speak. He talks a little slow but his recall from his playing days was great.

That it took the Red Sox 12 years longer to break the color barrier then the rest of the sport is a bad blemish on the Sox history but that is the past.

Jackie Robinson

2009-04-15T17:39:00.003-07:00

Baseball fans will know that April 15th is the day that Major League Baseball pays tribute to Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier in 1947.

On the Rangers Orioles game telecast just now (I have the extra inning package) I learned that after he retired from baseball Jackie was in the coffee business and his son David is also in the business owning a coffee plantation in Tanzania.

You can click here for a look at David's plantation.

I love coffee, so I found it interesting and chances are his involvement in coffee is something you did not know.

Interesting, not in a good way, comment about the baseball card is that the quick bio has no mention of his breaking the color barrier.

BU Wins

2009-04-12T11:34:00.003-07:00

Miami of Ohio outplayed the Boston University Terriers for about 58 minutes and built a 3-1 lead. With 3:32 remaining BU coach Jack Parker pulled goalie Kieran Millan and then starting about about the 19:00 mark (1:00 to go) BU scored two goals in 42 seconds to send it into OT. BU scored a few minutes in to win the Championship.

Certainly it was one of the best championship games ever if not the best.

The desperation exhibited in both NHL and NCAA hockey playoffs is about as good as it gets in sports. Hockey is not my favorite sport to watch but the excitement is tough to beat.

Mid October

2007-10-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

The Jets broke out Titans uniforms from the days of YA Tittle for their retro day. These are much cooler than the Jets regular uni's which actually aren't cool at all.

Memo to Jets...

Last night the Red Sox gave up the most runs ever in an extra inning for the post season when the Indians put seven on the board in the 11th.

While I know this is wrong it seemed like Terry Francona was willing to concede the game when he put in Eric Gagne in to start the 11th. Gagne gave a up walk a couple of earned runs while only lasting 1/3 of an inning.

Things then got worse from there.

In watching Gagne this year on the Sox he seems to have major league velocity but time and again it does not matter and he gets racked.

It appears that for now he does not have major league stuff. No personal offense to Eric but based on performance I think they need to shelve him for the season on the hop.

Throw Back

2007-09-23T12:28:00.001-07:00

Wow, that is some throw back.

I get a kick out these old uniforms that the NFL sports every now and then. This is what the Eagles are wearing today.

I am not sure when they wore these, maybe the early 1950s. They really are something, even down to the socks.

No Hitter

2007-09-02T07:43:00.001-07:00

What a weekend for sports. There were a bunch of great football games yesterday including the Appalachian State win and then to cap it off Red Sox rookie Clay Buchholz threw a no hitter against the Orioles in just is second major league appearance.

Crazy action and maybe it can provide a bit of a spark for the Sox so they can finish a little stronger than they have been playing of late.

Many in the media long ago conceded the division to the Red Sox but a lot of Sox fans know nothing can ever be conceded until it is actually over.

The Yankees have had a phenomenal summer after a bad start and their catching the Sox is far from impossible.

A Biggin

2007-09-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

The Mountaineers of Appalachian State, a 1-AA football school, beat number 5 Michigan, obviously a big D-1 program, 34-32 blocking a field goal on the last play of the game to hold on.

ESPN noted that this is the first time this type of upset has ever happened. Assuming that is correct that makes this the biggest upset ever.

Amusingly enough Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit were talking about the scheduling of these cupcake games.

This type of game says a lot about facing up to challenges, gutting it out and doing all you can to overcome the odds.

We may not always be successful in the challenges we take on but we can go all out with our effort.

Series Winning Home Run

2007-08-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

Dalton Carriker hit an extra innings solo home run to win the Little League World Series for is Warner Robins, GA team.

Mike and Tony on PTI had an amusing bit about whether he can ever top this moment in his life.

That might be a good question but my take on this is that success from coming through in the clutch on the sports field carries over into other aspects of life for a long time which is what makes sports such a great thing for kids to be involved with.

I had a little bit of luck in this regard on the basketball court (much, much smaller scale) and the confidence instilled is real and stays on. Good for him.

Micah Owings

2007-08-19T10:37:00.001-07:00

You probably have never heard of Diamondbacks pitcher Micah Owings. He has been having a fine, not great and really maybe not even a good, season but has often been the odd pitcher out of the rotation.

Last night he blew it up against the Atlanta Braves. No he didn't pitch a no hitter he blew it up with his bat. He went 4 for 5 with two home runs, six RBI, eleven total bases and was a triple away from hitting for the cycle.

According to the Baseball Tonight crew on ESPN he was a gifted hitter in highschool. They made it seem like he holds every Georgia schoolboy hitting record. I don't know what records he really has but he can hit and the numbers from last night are great for anyone let alone someone who is only expected to successfully bunt twice a month.

I Have Seen The Future...

2007-08-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

...and it is tall.

The Boston Globe said that people are already making the comparison pictured here. Well I hope it is true after so many years of bad basketball.

I hope this can the off season that finally washes away the Len Bias tragedy but that remains to be seen.

It has been a long time since the Celts have been consistently good. There have been a couple moments here and there but nothing great.

Maybe it starts right here right now.

Le Tour

2007-08-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

First Vino then Rasmussen. They blew up the tour and I wonder if they killed it.

The thing about Vino and the transfusion that makes no sense is that he could have never overcome what I believe was a nine minute deficit. He took a big chunk out of it but that was because he was essentially allowed to. He wouldn't have broken away like that is he had been three minutes behind.

Risking his career with a very detectable form of cheating with no chance of winning makes me think there is more to this story.

I don't think the tour is dead but there is no arguing with the naysayers. I love the action, the scenery and I think Phil and Paul are a hoot so I will watch but it is tough to really care who wins.

Jeff Salazar

2007-07-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Diamondbacks recently called up Jeff Salazar and he came through with one of the greatest catches to take away a homerun I have ever seen. I saw it live, on TV, and almost as impressive was how cool he was about it, cooler than when Ken Griffey Jr. made his great catch against the Yankees (I believe).

He had to climb up the wall to reach over into the bullpen and pull it back but the wall was just netting which increased the degree of difficulty.

The video appears to be from a cellphone and just captures the replay on the jumbotron. I will keep looking for a better video and replace this one if possible.

Perseverance

2007-07-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

Robbie McEwen won the first stage (as opposed to the prologue) of the 2007 Tour de France.

The first couple of stages or so tend to be flat which favors sprinters like McEwen. What makes today's win noteworthy is that he went over his handlebars with 12 miles to go hurting his wrist and cutting his knee.

In an interview on ~~OLN~~ Versus he said he never gave up, he just did what he had to to get back in the race and obviously it worked out.

This is a great metaphor for life. Occasionally we all go over the handlebars and when that happens we need to get up, clear our head, make sure we are not hurt and then get back on the bike to get back in the race.

If you have never needed to do this you will at some point, hopefully you will be ready and hopefully it will make you stronger.

Tour 2007

2007-07-07T13:55:00.001-07:00

The 2007 Tour de France got under way in the old French city of...London...huh?

For the third time in Tour history the Tour goes through the UK and for the first time London which is where they had the prologue (I was going to say the opening prologue but that might be from the department of redundancy department).

The regular tour is underway on Sunday to Canterbury.

Watching the Tour is a real treat even in the post-Lance era or if you prefer the dopers-are-finally-getting-caught era.

Regardless of the alleged cheating the effort is real and the scenery is fantastic. My attitude toward whether or not there is cheating may seem cavalier but quite frankly the idea of worrying about things beyond my control (what could be more out of my hands than this?) seems like wasted negative energy.

Why not just watch and enjoy?

Jittery Joe's

2007-07-04T13:36:00.001-07:00

Jittery Joe's mixes two things I enjoy; coffee and (watching) cycling.

This is a picture of the team Mini from their blog. They also have a website to sell their coffee and team gear. I am going to order espresso from them the next time we need to order, hopefully its better than what we get now so we can support the team.

Jittery Joe's is a US team that does not have a massive budget like the teams the do the grand tours in Europe.

Check out the site, try the coffee, buy a t-shirt and support the team.

Izzy

2007-07-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

Baseball Brawl

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Old School Padres

2007-06-23T10:19:00.001-07:00

The Red Sox were in San Diego last night to play the Padres for what I am assuming is the first time ever. I joked with Joellyn about driving over there to see the game. Given that the Padres busted out with the old school circa 1982 unis in honor of Tony Gwynn we should have, doh.

Dice K out pitched Greg Maddux as the Sox won 2-1.

This NL West swing the Sox are finishing up has been pretty cool. The Padres are a good team this year so the action should continue to be good the rest of the series, too bad I can't get any of the games here.

The second picture is of Greg Maddux and gives a better look at the uniforms.

The Pursuit

2007-06-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

Today in my travels on the Internet I stumbled across the Amazon page for a book called The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss.

I found one review but I am not crystal clear on what the book is about specifically.

More broadly it is about making changes in your life to live the life you want to have for yourself. I am all for this concept and taking whatever risks that need to be taken to get your life to where you want it to be.

I have put up posts along these lines before and I think it is crucial not to wish away time hoping for something different to come along.

If you are in this situation now I hope you seek out the change you want and make it happen. Its not easy and can't come without sacrifice but it will be worth it.

Back Home In Omaha

2007-06-21T17:13:00.000-07:00

On the way back from a work trip to New York City we stopped in Omaha and we got to go to the College Baseball World Series, a life list event for me.

We saw Rice spank North Carolina.

I would encourage anyone who is a sports fan to get to the CWS at least one time in their life.

The action is exciting and the atmosphere is great.

1973

2007-06-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

In 1973, when I was seven, my father took me up to the top of the Empire State Building. Today we went back. Back then we just took the elevator up. On this go around it was a little more involved with various lines but we made it up there.

I realize how touristy it is but no matter, the idea hit us today and Jack was up for it.

We don't get to see each other all that often which made it even neater for me.

Sox D-Backs

2007-06-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

The Red Sox came to Arizona last night and my brother Larry and I went to the game. This was the first time that the Sox played here and will probably be a long time before they come back. Larry got us sunken seats along the third base line, just past the dugout. There was only one row in this section, section S-W, so we were right there.

The Sox pounded them. Julio Lugo, he of the .217 batting average lead off the game with a home run. JD Drew, who's been struggling badly, went berserk with two home runs and a double to knock in seven RBIs. Josh Beckett pitched a great game. He had a lot of heat and a very low pitch count.

It seemed like there were more Red Sox fans there, than D-Backs fans but even if that isn't true the Sox fans were certainly louder. I made the comment to my brother that every transplanted New Englander in our time zone had driven in for this one.

What a great time.

On Second Thought

2007-06-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

After winning two NCAA championships in a row at Florida, Billy Donovan thought he wanted to coach in the NBA but appears to be changing his mind.

While I have no place to tell Billy Donovan what he should do it is pretty tough to beat the collegiate life especially when you are very successful. The NBA is clearly a different job. The management of players is a vastly different kettle of fish, but chances are you know that and now perhaps so does Donovan?

In a bigger picture sense Donovan even pursuing the NBA reveals a very human response which is to always believe the grass is always greener elsewhere.

Conversely a more yogic view on these sorts of things is to be in the moment which means finding happiness where you are, which if you have things pretty good is great advice. A more Grateful Dead-ic view would be if you're not with the one you love, love the one you're with.

LeBron!

2007-06-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

The sentiment that LeBron going for 48 in the manner he did, scoring all of the Cavs points in both OTs, was one of the best post-season performances ever holds water.

Everyone seems to agree he is wildly talented but there was some question about his big-gameness after he passed to Donyell Marshall for an open three at the end of game one but that he had the presence of mind to make that pass made me think otherwise. The game last night was the start of the legend for me.

With last night's game 5 win LeBron exceeded the hype, think about that, exceeded the hype.

Chart

2007-06-01T09:10:00.001-07:00

Boise State

2007-01-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

This was the end of the two-point conversion play in overtime that involved a lot of trickeration.

After jumping out on top 14-0 Boise State stalled out offensively for most of the game and let Oklahoma come back and take the lead with almost no time left.

Boise State sent the game into OT on a last second hook and ladder pass play.

If you missed it, try to catch when it comes on ESPN Classic.

Red Auerbach

2006-10-29T08:14:00.000-07:00

I was saddened to hear that Red Auerbach passed away last night at 89. I grew up in Boston and Red was revered as a legend for his coaching in the 1950's and 1960's.

In my time I saw him as an executive, engineering dynasty re-building trades. The most famous of course was trading the rights to who turned out to be Joe Barry Carroll aka Joe Barely Cares to Golden State for Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish. McHale had made a name for himself at the University of Minnesota but Parrish went from obscurity in the Bay Area to perennial all-star with the Celts.

As a lifelong Celtics fan, Red, thank you for what you gave to the game, the Celtics and to the city of Boston.

Reverse The Curse Of The Bambino

2006-10-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

I just saw this on HBO. I don't mind saying I got tad verklempt when they got to the Sox winning the 2004 world series.

Petapalooza

2006-10-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

My wife volunteers for an animal relief organization that helps take care of pets if there is a disaster like a wildfire. Somehow this lead to both of us volunteering at something called Petapalooza in Sedona yesterday where a bunch of like organizations try to adopt out dogs and cats that need a home.

It rained like crazy and everyone got wet despite being under cover.

There were a couple of Cesar Milan wannabes there which is not a big surprise but amusing nonetheless.

Kung Fu

2006-09-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

I am a fan of certain bad television shows from my youth. One such show is Kung Fu which I haven't seen in years.

There is some weird channel on the satellite, 255 on Directv, that is showing a bunch of episodes today and it looks like it may be on Sundays at 3pm as a regular thing.

Wild

2006-09-13T10:25:00.000-07:00

Good Short Workout

2006-08-22T16:46:00.000-07:00

I have been physically active and fit my entire life but I just ramped up the amount of working out I do in anticipation of our rim to rim hike of the Grand Canyon scheduled for October 6.

Before lifting weights I used to ride the recumbent bike but I recently switched to a stairmaster which is a much more productive and efficient workout. I was, and still am, lifting weights a couple of time a week but I go two other times and do the following very short work out.

Stairmaster: eleven minutes on level 8 (I have been increasing the time and the level slowly)
Three sets on one of the stomach machines
One set (soon to be two) of ten of what I think are squat thrusts. I go from standing, to squatting, to doing a pushup, back to a squat and back to standing (this is more difficult than you think when you are already sucking wind)
60 seconds face down (a push up position of sorts) with only your toes and forearms touching, this works stomach and is very difficult as well, I'm not sure what this is called

The whole thing takes 25 minutes. It is a great off-day workout. We also go for a long hike one the weekend as part of our training.

We hike all year round but we are going out longer with our trip coming so soon. I plan to keep up the above workout after the big hike, save for the occasional tweak.

Reflection

2006-08-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Sweden and Iceland. We will put up more pictures shortly.

At my work we are bringing in a new person and part of the process was meeting me. Our newbie wanted to get a feel for whether or not I would be staying with the company.

This caused a little reflection on my part. While I don't plan on going anywhere the question took on a different and bigger context for me.

Also contributing to this reflection is that a family member currently going through a rough patch.

Part of my makeup and thought process is to seek the path of least resistance whenever possible. For me the path of least resistance lead me to want to do my own thing (work-wise) and do it from home. Being entrepreneurial usually has risks, and I have taken a few but they have all been quite measured and so really not risks at all.

I also try to not get too stressed by things that happen, especially things I cannot control. My work entails managing around all sorts of things beyond my control. No amount of worry can give me more control...so I don't worry.

Fortunately for me, my wife understands these things, which believe it or not many folks don't. She also is not much of a worrier and as far as not having a traditional 9-5, she has has been doing her own thing (work-wise) longer than I have.

As I have been lucky enough to figure out what I wanted to do and have been able to get to the point where I am actually doing what I want to do I would be crazy to take action that would change my situation which was essentially my answer when asked the question this week.

2006-07-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

Thugeration

2006-07-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

Announcers Dave O'Brian and Marcelo Balboa (who attended San Diego State at the same time I did, I did not know him though) spent the entire game gushing over this guy, French midfielder Zinedine Zidane, and he closes out his career pulling a Kermit Washington by head butting Marco Materazzi in the chest during overtime.

Mahoning Valley Hitmen?

2006-07-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

This is the banner for the Mahoning Valley Hitmen of the Eastern Indoor Football league.

It looks like Maurice Clarett will suit 'em up for the Hitmen for their winter 2007 season. If I read correctly this will be the league's inaugural season. According to the EIFL website there are only three teams, the Hitmen, the Bayshore Brawlers and the ThreeRivers Rats.

I actually just spoke to the coach of the Hitmen (no kidding) and he said that there will be three more teams announced shortly.

In general terms I think this sort of thing is great. It allows guys to pursue their dreams a little longer and it brings professional sports to smaller cities.

Prescott Valley, near where I live, is getting a minor league hockey team called the Arizona Sundogs. There are very few big cities that can handle four professional sports team like Phoenix tries to do but there are plenty of cities that can handle one minor league team.

Tour de France 2006

2006-07-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

Well they blew it up!

Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich and a couple of other biggies were punted from tour by there own team managers for being named in emails that have something to do with doping.

Guilty or innocent is not for me to say but cycling continues to be a wild sport.

I love watching the tour for the scenery and the action.

Copa Mundial

2006-06-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

This is Brazilian soccer player Fred's moment of glory as he punched in the go ahead goal against Australia.

My favorite announcers by far have been Adrian Healey and Tommy Smyth, you know the two guys who sound like the Guinness Beer commercial guys.

They know their soccer and they are very entertaining.

About today's Australia vs. Croatia ~~game~~ match, Adrian said "two teams enter and one team leaves, it's the Thunderdome of the World Cup."

According to something I found in USA Today they are calling the games from Connecticut while looking at TV monitors. I had no idea.

What Is That?

2006-06-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

This little guy was on our porch railing. Anyone know what this is other than leaf bug?

The TiVo's Flyin' and My Wife's Cryin'

2006-06-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Between the World Cup and the World Series (college version) this should be a good weekend.

Last night it took UNC 13 innings to beat Cal State Fullerton.

Time For Profanity and Fighting

2006-06-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

Deadwood is back tonight on HBO.

How profane is the dialogue? HBO boasts that the coming third season will be as profane as ever.

The fighting I refer to in the title of this post is the fighting between my wife and me about watching the show. I suspect there are many similar arguments in many HBO homes across the country.

Iran vs. Mexico

2006-06-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

I have no idea how good Iran is or what is expected of them in the World Cup but what happens to the players if they go the equivalent of oh and two and a barbecue?

I Admit It

2006-06-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

I am watching the World Cup.

A favorite American heckle about soccer is the excitement generated from a 0-0 tie but this morning Trinidad and Tobago tied Sweden at zero and it was exciting. The hero of the game was T and T goalie Shaka Hislop. He was not even supposed to start the game but came through huge.

Sweden and its fans looked devastated and the T and T squad was jubilant.

Do you know about the Ivory Coast story? The country is at civil war but they have suspended the fighting for the tournament. Maybe they can decide to stop altogether.

The Green Fire

2006-06-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday we had a real forest fire in our community. It was called the Green fire and burned 35 acres about four miles from my house and it burned up the trail head for the trail that my wife and I hike on.

I can't recall if I have mentioned my fire fighting involvement on this site before. We live in the woods in rural Arizona where there is a high forest fire danger. My wife and I have been very involved with the Walker Fire Protection Association since we moved in to our cabin full time, this is my fourth fire season and I am one of two assistant fire chiefs. If you are interested you can read more about our department here and here.

The Forest Service was the first to respond which means we could not go unless we were called. The initial need from our department was a water tender (this is a big water truck). Shortly there after they requested a type-6 vehicle (this is a pick up truck with 250-300 gallons of water and are very useful in forest fires).

Despite being ordered to the fire I had limited expectations as to what our involvement would be, typically when the forest service is managing a fire they don't really want our help. On most fires we are the first to arrive, assume incident command, work the fire for a few hours and then are relieved from the fire and cede command to the forest service.

Early on in the fire the wind kicked up and they pulled everyone off the fire. This was a potential problem. What saved the day was the air support available to us. We had two helicopters dropping water and small plane dropping a retardant called slurry.

We stood around for a while and then were assigned to work with a crew from the Sequoia National Forest watching for spot fires. A spot fire is when wind (the conditions were very windy at the Green Fire) picks up an ember or something similar and carries it some distance to start another fire. Not recognizing a spot fire can be dangerous because often a spot fire, once it is going, will run back to the main fire, potentially causing control to be lost and endangering anything in between.

Sure enough we had a spot fire and I was the one to see it. It took us about 20 minutes to work on it. It was burning very hot (because of the manzanita) and smoky. When we first got to it I saw it jump about 8 feet in one second, I had never seen fire move that quickly. I sucked in a little smoke and we worked very hard getting it out.

Given my role as assistant chief I was there as the boss of the type six engine and had to keep tabs on the water tender as well, for a time before we were assigned to the spot fire duty.

Although we did relatively little in our five hours at the fire it was fulfilling nonetheless. Also we received some very positive feedback from the folks managing the fire.

One of the nerdier aspects my interest in fire fighting is seeing the various rigs that other crews have.

We just added a brand new type six to our very old fleet and hopefully we can get another new truck in the next few years.

This one caught my eye at the Green Fire. It belongs to the Black Timber Crew from Nevada. I was able to find out that they built it themselves, and that it carries 700 gallons of water. Since it is a home made truck I'm not entirely sure if it would be considered a type two vehicle or something else.

Something like this is probably too big for our roads but it gives some good ideas if we want try to build the next one ourselves.

Interesting Bit Of Philosophy

2006-05-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

My favorite TV show of all time is Northern Exposure. I have the DVD and every so often I watch an episode.

I watched one this afternoon and Chris, the DJ, said something that is a part of the way I live but cuts to it succinctly.

"Happiness is not having things it is being a part of things."

When the show first came on the air I was in my early 20's, living in a studio apartment in San Francisco. It was this show that first opened me up to the idea of living in a very small town in a rural area which is how/where I live now.

That I may have been motivated in this manner by a TV show, well, fair enough that I open myself up to be made fun of but that is how it is.

Wildlife

2006-05-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

This little guy was by our walkway today. He (or she?) is a horny toad, as in Yosemite Sam's exclamation Great Horny Toads.

Minor League Arena Football?

2006-04-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

My love of college lacrosse, college hockey and college volleyball leads me to get the Directv Sports Pack every spring. I see some obscure sports or games on some of the channels that come with the package.

Today I watched about 15 minutes of the Central Valley Coyotes vs. the Everett Hawks in an Arena Football 2 game. I am guessing that AFL2 is a minor league because while I am not really and AFL fan I know that none of the team listed on the league's website show up on NBC's coverage. Anyone can feel free to correct me on this.

I think lesser covered or lesser-known professional sports are a great thing for the athletes involved. Realistically very few people in the AFL2 will make an NFL squad but if they can make a living for a few years in their mid-20's playing a sport they love, I am all for it. Same goes for the different kinds if bicycle riders, water skiers and any other type of athlete along these lines. Most of this people will not make serious money but they might be able to pay the rent and keep the refrigerator full while pursuing a dream.

I received some great advice when I was 18 that I did not heed. Someone told me that your 20's are for horsing around and having fun. You don't need to start making money until your 30's and 40's.

When I was in college I played a lot of beach volleyball. While I had no future playing on the beach I really was a very good setter and had a very good jump serve at a time when almost no one was jump serving. Perhaps those two strengths could have overcome my weaknesses on the court and I could have latched on as a back up in a European league for a year or two. While this would have been a remote possibility, at 23 years old I thought I knew it all and went right into a serious job.

While I have zero to complain about, the proliferation of lower dollar sports makes it possible for people to have more time to go after their dreams.

Jim Rice

2006-04-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

During the first week of the MLB season Directv shows a free-view the extra innings package. It is during this week that I can watch local broadcasts of the Red Sox games and then some of the post game if I am so inclined.

While I don't watch a lot of post game coverage, I am married after all, it is kind of wild to see Jim Rice, a great player from my youth, doing the show.

As a suggestion to Directv, I can not see paying $180 for every single baseball game in MLB. However I would pay $50 for every Red Sox game. I have to think I am not the only transplanted fan living away from my team. I called this suggestion in last year and I think was blown off by the customer service rep.

BC Hockey

2006-04-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

BC plays Wisconsin for the NCAA hockey championship today. The Eagles beat North Dakota 6-5 in kind of a sloppy game but they won nonetheless.

A Pirate Blogger Looks At 40

2006-04-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

Apologies to Jimmy Buffett but today I turned 40 years old. I find myself not worried or bummed out, frankly I'm glad I've made it this far. The only depressing milestone in my life was graduating college.

Not that I have more answers than anyone else but I think one reason that getting older has not bothered me yet is I am not wishing my life away, working in a job I hate and living someplace I don't want to live.

I know people that want to make changes in their lives and have wanted to make changes but have not. Change involves risk and an uncertain result. Some people can overcome this and some cannot.

I think I may be in the middle. I have taken a couple of big risks with regard to not having a job for a while and have no fear of that but before taking those risks I lined up my financial ducks to carry us through much longer than would have been necessary.

Things being what they are it has been a personal priority to not want to waste time. This does not mean I don't believe in working hard and paying dues. I spent my mid-twenties and early-thirties working very hard on a trading desk trying to learn what could and save what I could to get to where I am now. In between there and here I had a bout 18 months with almost no income as I tried to create this current phase of my career.

For anyone with a dream but no plan of action to achieve that dream I would urge you to do whatever you have to to get on the road to making your dream happen. If you are waiting for your next bonus, but you have said that before, recognize what you are doing. To get to where you want to be you will have to give up something. Nothing is free. It may be a bonus or maybe the security of a paycheck or something else.

Change can only come by getting off the pot.

Yet More Onions!

2006-03-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

Jermaine Wallace from Northwestern State hit a clutch game winning three to up set Iowa.

This picture is unrelated to the shot.

Close

2006-03-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

BC needed two overtimes to beat Pacific.

I have three schools I really root for. BC because I grew up near the campus and played a lot of hoops there when I was a kid.

San Diego State because that is my alma mater and University of Hawaii because we go to Hawaii a lot.

Hawaii didn't make it, SDSU, well if you saw them beat Wyoming the other night you probably wouldn't like their chances to be playing this weekend and so BC is my only hope, as a fan, to make real progress.

Onions!

2006-03-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

The Big East Conference tourney action has been awesome. I am a fan of the smaller conferences the week before the NCAA because they have more to play for but you wouldn't know it by how hard the Big East teams play.

Bill Raftery has always been a hoot. I laughed out loud when he bellowed "ONIONS!!" when the 'Cuse's Jerry McNamara hit another crucial three in the waning seconds of regulation vs. Uconn.

Not to get too philosophical here, but I was lucky enough to hit a few game winners or game tie-ers in my day and the confidence that can give a kid for the rest of his life can be huge.

White Shadow!

2006-03-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

For the three of you that have visited this page more than once you may recall that in the spring I get the sports pack from Directv for the extra college sports and the NLL lacrosse.

I was fiddling with the on screen guide and found that the NBA-TV channel is airing White Shadow reruns. I loved that show when I was a kid. I'm sure I will watch a couple of them but I am not very hopeful about how well that show stands up over time but maybe it does?

In this picture we see Goldstein, Salami, Haywood and if I can see clearly and that is the big guy, that would be Coolidge. Believe it or not I came up with all the names on my own but it took an extra second or two to come up with Goldstein.

March Madness Starts Today!

2006-03-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

At least for me it does. ESPN and ESPN2 are giving center stage to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference tournament.

If you are a fan of college hoops, you need to check out these games. The fans make a big party out of it and the players play their hearts out. One aspect of the intensity on the court is that, unlike the Big East, there won't be nine CIAA teams going to the NCAA tourney.

Chances are most of the schools are ones you've never heard of but most of the schools are more than 100 years old and the sports rivalries are almost as old.

That they are getting the spotlight in this way this week speaks to how good the games usually are.

Lax Is Back

2006-02-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

NCAA lacrosse started over the weekend. Albany stayed very close to Johns Hopkins, losing 10-8.

Albany's goalie, Brett Queener scored a goal. I had never seen that before and the announcers said that it hadn't happened since 1995.

If you like like colllege lacrosse, you need to get ESPNU and CSTV.

Sweden Wins

2006-02-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

Sweden won the gold medal in hockey by beating Finland 3-2. It was a good game but not great. I think the reason they won is because they brought out what looks like the old Buffalo Sabres uniforms from the 1970's.

Old time hockey!

No Medal, Eh

2006-02-22T17:59:00.000-07:00

Somehow, Canada lost to Russia 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the Olympic tournament.

Shocking.

Changing subjects, NBC has managed to ruin the curling curiosity factor by pounding us over the head with it on CNBC and elsewhere.

This is almost as dumb as the attempt to sell events in a pay-per-view format for the Barcelona games in 1992.

Olympics!

2006-02-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

This guy has been an olympic skier since 1992. He is from Norway and this is his last olympics.

Team Bermuda

2006-02-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

This is Patrick Singleton. He is the entire Bermuda Olympic team. His event is the skeleton. According to the opening ceremonies he is also a reporter for Bloomberg Television in Tokyo.

Good luck Patrick.

Wow

2006-02-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

I found this picture on the Forbes website. There are many more people in this picture than in my entire town. This picture is amazing.

Seeing Double

2006-02-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

I had the chance to watch the first couple of episodes of Deadwood on DVD.

The actor that played Jack McCall in season one is the same guy that palyed Walcott in season two.

I can't believe I didn't notice before.

Great Story

2006-02-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

Did you hear about this? Grant Bowman works at Lehman Brothers (I worked at this firm a long time ago) but used to be a professional football player. He got cut by the Steelers last summer. They called him back after they beat Denver because of injuries to other players.

I don't know if he got into the game but he got to dress for it and will get a Super Bowl ring. He said in an interview that we will be back on the desk tomorrow morning.

Old Time Hockey!

2006-02-04T15:37:00.000-07:00

My wife brought this movie home the other day. I actually saw this in the theater in 1977. It is hysterical but inappropriate for almost everyone.

Only In Walker

2006-01-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

Things being what they are, occasionally I get to talk with some interesting people or do interesting things related to my work.

I had the chance to talk to a revered figure this afternoon. It was great to learn from the source in a one on one phone call.

His name doesn't matter nor does the topic of conversation but it was fun and not something a lot of people get to do. The Only in Walker title comes from the fact that after this high brow phone call I had to help my wife fill the back of the Jeep for a dump run she needs to make after she cleaned out our shed.

Number One Super Guy

2006-01-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

A blogger who writes about things related to my work finds some great images.

While I found these on my own, I have to say he inspired me to look.

It doesn't get much sillier than Hong Kong Phooey.

Dog Food

2006-01-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

We just started feeding our dogs this brand of food. It is called Merrick and the dogs love it more than any other food we have ever had.

We buy Grammy's Pot Pie flavor. Some of the other flavors have venison, trout and buffalo.

We buy at a store where we live but you can also buy it directly from the Merrick Petcare website with no shipping charges. If you have pets you really need to check out the food and the creativity that goes into the product.

Who Was She Talking To?

2006-01-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had to go to our office in Phoenix. I stopped in at the Starbucks in the Safeway store at about 6am. There was woman there about my age drinking her mocha, or whatever, on the phone chatting away like it was the middle of the day.

It was 6am.

My wife didn't think there was anything odd about this. Maybe it is a Venus Mars thing.

81 Points?

2006-01-24T18:06:00.000-07:00

Kobe Bryant had 81 points the other night vs. Toronto, 55 came in the second half.

Good grief. I can't imagine anyone likes this guy anymore but that is quite an effort. There are issues around whether he shoots to much relative to the number of shots his teammates get.

I wonder how they felt after 81.

Funny

2006-01-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across a picture of Count Chocula and after looking around a little bit I found this terror chart.

Hysterical.

Hrbaty

2006-01-23T07:06:00.000-07:00

This is professional tennis player Dominik Hrbaty and his shirt that he first made famous at the 2005 US Open and continued to wear in the 2006 Australian Open. In case you can't tell, in addition to the two holes the light color on his shoulders is pink.

I think it is very funny and I hope he sticks with it. Not to be too critical but I doubt casual fans would no who he is but for the shirt so it is a clever idea.

NDSU?

2006-01-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

The North Dakota State University Bisons beat Wisconsin in a huge upset yesterday.

NDSU has a great hockey program but this is the first time I have ever of their basketball team. I'm not sure that it is a D-1 program, and my guess is that this might be the biggest win in the school's history.

It's games like this one that makes college basketball so exciting.

Theo's Back and Boston's Got Him

2006-01-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

Theo Epstein is back as GM of Red Sox. I don't really get what happened but I am glad he's back. Too bad they dismantled the team while he was on vacation.

Life List Updated

2006-01-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

I have a new one to add to the list. This week I have been watching the Dakar Rally. It is a 5000 mile off road race that this year started in Lisbon and finishes in Dakar.

Ride Along For At Least One Day In The Dakar Rally
One of the race classes is the garbage truck-looking vehicles that I have a picture of here. There would be room, for a day, for someone to ride along. This idea is not as remote as it seems. An aquaintance of mine is racing in the car class in this year's rally. It is possible, I am not saying likely, that I could make this happen in the next couple of years.

I am saying part one but I do not know if there will be a part two or not but this is something I want to put together and try to live up to. I do or have done a couple of interesting things but not that many. I've been on the Fox News Channel a couple of times, I've been to Alaska once and Hawaii a bunch of times, I've hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim in one day, I've gone to two world series games and I fight forest fires. I'll put down some things and maybe a little color about why. These won't be any particular order, just as I think of them.

~~Visit New Zealand~~ (Done)
This is likely to happen very soon, perhaps around my 40th birthday. We know someone with a house there and we can stay for free.

Visit Peru or Chile
We have seen both of these places on the show Amazing Race and they are beautiful, not what I would expect an emerging market country to look like, we own stock in a Chilean bank. Both places have mountains and beaches, which is our cup of tea.

~~Visit Iceland~~
Again we have seen Iceland on Amazing Race (I am a vidiot) and it looks fantastic. I am planning on opening an investment account at Kaupthing Bank to buy ETF shares. I think Iceland will develop a lot over the next 20 years or so.

We went to Iceland in July 2006.

See Mount Everest
Not climb, see it from base camp. I am not extreme enough to want to try to climb it, but seeing it from 16,000 feet may be something I can do. We used to know a couple of sisters that did this and base camp was too high for one of them. This is by far the least likely thing we will do.

~~Go To The College World Series~~
I watch every year and I love the action.

We went in June 2007. Links here, here and here.

Watch A Game in Fenway On Top of the Green Monster
We have to go to Boston in the spring of 2006 for my niece's bat mitzvah, this is doable but painfully expensive.

I am adding a couple of more today (June 12, 2005).

Serve As Fire Chief For A Year Or Two
I actively volunteer as a wildland firefighter. At this point I am an engine boss in training. I have had a fair bit of training and have fought a few fires in my time. We are in the process of trying to become a fire district. The benefit to me will be that my volunteer work will become a part time job. The downside with regard to this goal is that my becoming chief is just about impossible. Either way this is at least ten years away although I did get to be IC for a while in a drill we had yesterday.

Be A Part Owner Of A Minor League Baseball Team
I think minor league baseball is one of the great American things. If this is doable I would look to the pioneer league which is mostly in Montana and Idaho. This would very capital intensive. There are also investment companies that own multiple teams that take smaller investors as limited partners.

Dakar 2006

2006-01-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

I had heard of this race but had never seen it before. They are showing some of the race on OLN. As best as I can tell there are three classes; cars, motorcycles and these things.

I actually know (sort of) someone who is in the race.

Dakar

2006-01-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

This is another picture from the Dakar Rally.

One Last One

2006-01-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

Camaro

2006-01-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

The Camaro is back. Some of the details look like the 1968 version. I will be curious to see how many people will want a great American muscle car if gas goes back to $3.00.

GrizzlyMan

2006-01-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

We watched this film the other night. It was tough to watch. It boiled down to being an indepth character study of Timothy Treadwell, a guy who devoted his life to studying bears in Alaska.

It was tough to watch because Treadwell was portrayed as someone with many unresolved conflicts. The film told his story with Treadwell's own footage mixed in with some interaction that film maker Werner Herzog has with some of the people in Treadwell's life.

Herzog's portrayal left me with the impression that Treadwell had a messianic complex, was paranoid, was gay and did not know it and a couple of other things.

I am not saying he was any of these things but I am saying that these were the impressions the film created.

While the film was tough to watch I thought it was well done and definitely worth the time.

Flutie

2006-01-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

Doug Flutie became the first player to drop kick an NFL extra point since 1941.

He has been an amazing athlete for his entire public life. That he is still in the league is a marvel unto itself.

If anyone was going to do something like this, it makes sense it would be Flutie.

2006

2006-01-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

2005 was quite a year for us and I am thankful for the luck we had. I am not a huge goal setter but I usually have a couple things I'd like to see happen.

On a personal note we plan to buy a small house in New Zealand. This is the type of thing that could easily fall through due to many variables. The financing should be easy, our house is paid off. I plan to use the equity in our home to make the purchase. I don't find this to be particularly risky in that we have no mortgage but we can afford to have one. We will try to rent it out for vacationers when possible but we won't be in trouble if it doesn't rent.

For the fire department (I am the co-assistant chief for our volunteer fire department) I hope to complete the purchase of a new truck. We need a newer Type 6 truck. A Type 6 is a pickup truck with a small tank, a pump and hoses that we use for wildfires. We have needed a truck for a while. I had the idea about a year ago to buy a used one in a particular way that has finally rotated into favor with everyone else. I have been very committed to this having raised some money through my other blog. Finally this will happen and I am thrilled that I was so involved with it.

Professionally, I hope to keep learning more, continue to add value for clients and reach more people with my writing.

I hope this will be a good year for everyone, happy new year.

BC

2005-12-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

BC hung on to beat Boise State in the MPC Computers Bowl on the blue turf in Boise. The Eagles almost let BSU come back and take but a late interception in their own endzone locked up the win.

As a friend asked, yes this was one of the many meaningless bowl games but the action in the lesser bowls has been very exciting in the last few years.

Its A Go

2005-12-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

We passed our home inspection and have made arrangements to pick up our new family member, Roscoe the red dog, tomorrow.

Our plan is to pick him up and take him for s short walk to wear off some of the energy he might have. After that we will introduce him to our other dogs at a neutral site, the firehouse. Roscoe already met Tater, who will be more his playmate than our older dog, Kramer.

Roscoe

2005-12-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

Hopefully this will be the newest addition to our family, a rescue dog we will call Roscoe.

He is being fostered by some very nice people and their son is upset about having to give him up. Fostering dogs must be very difficult.

Roscoe looks so much like our dog Tater Tot that we wonder if they could be litter mates.

They met at the dog park in this picutre and bonded right away.

We have to get a home visit, which will be on Monday. We don't really know what they are looking for but people have been denied for working outside the home or not having a fenced yard. We have a fenced yard and we both work from home but there is no telling.