Moved

Hello y'all. if you have not figured it out at this point, my blog has moved to my new site. I no longer update this blogger site. I'll see you over at the new place.

Only the Names an Numbers Change

I'm home today and have the opportunity to catch a lot of the media related to the tragic shooting of 32 innocent college students at Virgina Tech yesterday. I work at an urban university here in the northeast, and I can't imagine the impact such a tragedy will have on the VT community. My thoughts are with the dozens of parents who will have to come to the Blacksburg, VA campus to bring their children home for burial.

They won't have the joy of a commencement or even the difficulty of a transfer. All they will have is the outpouring of support from a nation that is shaken yet again by a gun rampage whose origins we can't understand. I wish there was more for them. I wish they had something more.

There are a million thoughts in my mind at this time. I won't say that any college I have ever worked for would have done better, but gosh it seems like the two hours after the initial shooting should have given Virginia Tech Police time to find this guy and do something.

NPR interviewed a Lucinda Roy, a professor of the gunman today. She discussed her attempts to inform campus authorities about her concerns about the 23 year old South Korean murderer. Her concerns went unheeded.

Liviu Librescu survived the Holocost, endured Communisim in Romania and was a well-thought-of professor at VT. He saved several students yesterday, heroically putting his body between them and the gunman. He died in his classroom. he was 76.

I'll be interested to talk to my brother, who just this minute is touching down on a return flight from London. I want to know how this horrible event was reported abroad and how his feelings differ from those of us who saw it unfolding live here in the US.

About the headline ... it just seems like these incidents keep happening in the US. I can't help but think that if guns were harder to come by, that many of the hundreds who have died since 1999 would be alive.

Changes

As i promised a few weeks back, things may look a bit messy around here for a while. I am converting this blog to a TypePad blog which will allow more flexibility. Stop by to see the changes. I think. If it doesn't we'll be back here. I will update both for a while, but you will always find the latest blog by going to http://www.cavalier92.com. Have a good one!

We Got To See A Win

We had a great time at Citizens Bank Park today and we got to see a Phils win, homers by Utley and Rollins, a fan ejection, and 7, count 'em 7 clutch RBIs. Lots of photos up on my Flickr site. It was a fun day for us all and a great Phils win. Maybe this was the game that turns the corner. I'll e back in the house on Monday, courtesy of a free ticket from Flickr friend Podolux. Have a great night! The kids are fast asleep and We had a great day!

Phils won!

Phils winning 7-5

We are here!

At the park!

TAA Opening Day

Today was Opening Day for TAA Baseball! John enjoyed seeing all his friends but really wanted to play a game. He's on the Marlins this year and I am helping Coaches Chad and Pete out this year. We are all looking forward to our first game against the Red Sox on Tuesday. Let's hope the weather clears up by then. I put a bunch of pictures up at my Flickr site from Opening Day. Enjoy them! We're getting ready to head down to the Phillies Kids Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park. Hopefully the Phils do a bit better than they did last night, as they gave up a 3 run lead on Roy Oswalt to lose in spectacular fashion, 9-6. We'll probably post more photos from the Phils game later tonight! Check back!

These Things are Cool!

You never know what you will see walking through Center City on the way to work. Today, running late in the rain I just HAD to stop to take a picture of the SmartCar that was parked at Broad and Spruce at the Kimmell Center. I first saw one in Maine last year, where the neighbors from Canada had one. I don't know much about them, but they look cool and I can't figure out why city dwellers with no kids aren't demanding them. The website says that they won't be available until 2008 in the US, but this one had a license plate and everything! NO real info on pricing yet, but these babies are HOT!

Thursday Musings

It's Thursday, the Phils are 2-6 and it's monsooning here in South Jersey. I had a good dinner with Carlo for his birthday last night at the High Street Grill in Mount Holly. I had not been there in a few years and the Ostrich Burger was very good and paired with an Old Thumper on tap, made for a nice evening. We sat in the bar and watched the Phils hold on to a 5-2 win behind strong pitching from Adam Eaton and the pen, even if they were still 1-7 with runners in scoring position. The bartender was a nice guy from Boston and they had the Sawx on the other TV. Dice K's gyro ball looked good, but not good enough as Felix Hernandez and the Mariners blanked the Boys from Beantown 3-0. Other Thoughts on the News of the Week

• The Duke Lacrosse players should get the lawyers who sued the Trop. The Duke guys will never get their reputations back, but somebody should pay for what they were put through.

• Wal-Mart finally got to buy an Eakins. Wonder why the fire sale at TJU. Are things really that bad financially there?

• Don Imus is a racist and he just doesn't get it. It's time for his brand of moronic, right of center 'humor' to take a permanent vacation.

• Kurt Vonnegut died last night. I can't say I ever understood his work, but the New York Times calls him a 'literary idol.' I'd link to it, but you need a subscription, and I hate that, so here's the quote:

"Mr. Vonnegut wrote plays, essays and short fiction. But it was his novels that became classics of the American counterculture, making him a literary idol, particularly to students in the 1960s and ’70s. Dog-eared paperback copies of his books could be found in the back pockets of blue jeans and in dorm rooms on campuses throughout the United States."

• Finally, on American Idol last night, Haley Scarnato and her legs were voted off. Somehow Sanjaya made the cut, which means that this guy stays up on the roof another week. *Sigh* I guess this is his 15 Minutes.

Happy Easter

Good day everyone! We're pretty busy today, but everybody here at Another Delco Guy In South Jersey wants to wish everyone a Happy Easter, a Special Passover and/or an excellent Final Round of the Masters Day. We've got two Egg Hunts, two basket exchanges and a big family dinner today, but we'll be back tomorrow with all the photos and some more news from around the region and world. Enjoy!

And This Guy Is The Governor

I was wandering around the interWeb today and found this NOT SAFE FOR WORK gem: Arnold Schwarzenegger in all his glory fondling half nude women at Carnival in Rio circa 1983. No wonder there were protests when he ran for governor. I can't believe he got elected, let alone re-elected. Well. I have that opinion about somebody else too. Happy Easter! C

The Masters

It's corny. It's racist. It's sexist. It's old-fashioned. It's too quiet. It's too self-important. It's traditional. It's ever-evolving. It's hushed. It's beautiful. It's the best golf anywhere. Amazing shots of blooming dogwood and azalea at Amen Corner. Audio overlay of birds chirping The Masters. Pause. On CBS. Pause. A tradition unlike any other. Fade to shot of Phil putting a kelly green sports jacket on Tiger in Butler Cabin. Just Kidding! It's all of the things I said and yet it's still great golf and wonderful television. Hootie and his Bubbas have figured out a formula that get people to tune in for the second weekend in April every year. I know I'll be watching. Probably so will you. Ken Ferry, Aaron Oberholser and Angel Cabrera are all tied at -1 in early play. Tiger and Phil tee off later. Thanks to flickr user kimberly for the photo.

Photos from the Game

I'm not going to say much except that Opening Day was a blast. My brother and I enjoyed ourselves. Hanging out with Carlo was great, and Mr. Greengenes made us all feel better after Uncle Charlie proved he will never win manager of the year. Photos are up at my Flickr site. The Phils try to put one in the win column tonight.

Phils Lost

But the post game party at McFadden's featuring Mr. Greengenes old school acoustic was a WINNER.

Mister Greengenes in the house

Bryen and Harry trying to make it all better for Phils fans.

Tied in the eighth

Moved out to the bleachers in left center.

We Are WINNING!!!

Walking the Alley with the sun on my pasty face, sipping a HopDevil.

Live at Opening Day

Seats aren't bad!

Tailgating

We're here at the park. We will be live photo blogging all day. Enjoy!

Baseball Will Be Played Today

It's currently 45 degrees with dense fog. The weather people assure me that by noon it will be a wonderful day for baseball. Regardless of the weather, Brett Myers will be on the mound, Harry Kalas will be doing the game, my brother, his crew and Enrico will be in the house. As well as a few people who have called in sick from work. Some who are teachers. Check out this great Brett Myers interview with Jim Salisbury today where he thanks the fans for a second chance. Sounds like this guy has put it all back together. Also, please take a second to read this great blog by friend Pat Coleman at NBCSports.com. One of the voices of his childhood passed this weekend and he is feeling a bit nostalgic. Great read! We're going to try live blogging with the Ipaq today, but if that does not work, check back for updates and photos tonight. Go Phils!

Hottest Celebritity Nude Photos

Are you looking for naked pictures of Madonna, Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston, Lindsey Lohan, Meredith Marakovits and other HOT women? Well they aren't here!!! April Fools! Seriously though. If you're really desperate, this link might help. Have a good day! C

Just Another Day At Work

I work at The University of the Arts. I'm not much of an artist. I do things here most folks would consider pretty boring, but hey, it puts clothes on the kids and buys good beer, so I won't complain. Yesterday, the University community got together for one of our great traditions. Every other year we take a photo of the whole darn place in one big room. It's called The Big Shot. Students wear wigs, hold signs, dance, sing and generally act like themselves. Prospective students get to be in on it too! As usual, I had my camera and took a few dozen shots of the mayhem. They are up on my Flickr site here. Note co-workers Cisco, Duran and Carolyn as "The Box Robot Army." Not sure. Just don't know. There's also a shot or two of my crew as well as UArts junior and American Idol star Nicole Tranquillo. It was a fun thing to be a part of something like this. And yeah, that's a foot in that photo. Have a good day! C

I'm Speechless - Blogger Gets Death Threats

And that does not happen very much. For some time I have been writing about how blogging finally puts the means of publication into the hands of the producers. No longer do writers need someone to sanction their thoughts and back them to be published. And about 99.44% of the time, this is a VERY GOOD THING. But somebody always has to mess shit up. This morning, in my normal troll through the randomness of life on the Interwebthingy, I found this horribly disturbing blog. It details a series of threats of violence and sex against Kathy Sierra, a well-known blogger, that caused her to have to cancel a speaking engagement and get the police involved. Her blog is usually very good and in no way is there anything in it that might have triggered such a horrible response. It's good that the police are involved and that the blog community has rallied around Sierra. The people who did this are sick, twisted scum who should be be prosecuted. It's never acceptable to use the freedom of the press in such a way that you threaten the physical well-being of another. Such behavior IS ILLEGAL, chills interaction, threatens potential regulation and should be dealt with severely.

Jason Ray, UNC Mascot, Dead at 21

Just a quick update to note that since this morning's post, Jason Ray, the 21 year old senior mascot for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels has passed away. The Associated Press says that the NCAA is discussing how to memorialize Ray's life at this weekend's men's Final Four in Atlanta. CBS has a nice story here that re-caps the last few days. I can't imagine how they must feel at this time. My son John is six and Emma is three and I have so many hopes and dreams for them. I can't imagine losing them so young. My thoughts are with his friends and family at this difficult time.

Anna Nicole Still Dead

Apparently it's news that Anna Nicole Smith died of a drug overdose. I am not surprised a bit. What surprises me is that there were no illegal drugs, either in her system or in her hotel room. Guess the maid got there first. The number one search on the internet today is "Anna Nicole Smith Photos." Some things never change. Here's my question. Will the next generation's Elton John produce a song about this Playboy starlet. Is she the Turn of the 21st Century's Marilyn? I gotta think not. You never saw her on the arm of the President (not even that horndog Bill Clinton) and she was never cool enough to run with the Rat Pack, not even George Clooney's version. Still the world seems a little less glittery and a tiny bit less fun, doesn't it? Bracketology In in the 73rd percentile in the nation, three of my Final Four are alive, and my national champion handed UNC its ass in OT last night. Still I only win my pools if Georgetown wins it all. Go Hoyas! Puts It All In Perspective Jason Ray, UNC Senior and hoops mascot remains on life support. I know how much kids like Jason put into their support of teams. I wish his family well. Have a good one. C

Spring Has Sprung

Internal Clock It's amazing. As soon as the calendar said that spring was actually here, I started to get the itch to head out into the yard and do some work. What causes that? I want to get the spreader out and put down the Scott's Turfbuilder plus Halts or whatever, gather up the fallen branches, trim up the bushes and plant some flowers. Yeah I'm a guy and all, but I do love to get out and mess around in the yard and I would love to know why last week I had zero desire to do anything and now I am suddenly ready. I was out there briefly, and while the spring sunshine LOOKS warm, the wind cuts pretty hard just to remind me it's still March. Maybe next week. Timeline Finally Set On Iraq The House Democrats pushed through a measure (HR 1591) this week to set an end date on the war in Iraq. While it's unlikely this measure will become law since President Shrub says he will veto it, I think it begins to show that things are starting to change in DC. The final vote was 218-212-1. My initial question was who the hell elected a guy who votes PRESENT on a WAR??? Then I read this. Mr. Stark, you have immense courage and I stand humbly corrected.

OK - I Am Officially Worried

Tom Gordon can't find the strike zone, Freddy Garcia is pitching like Karim Garcia and the lineup is hitting about .240. And this team comes north next week. Even Uncle Charlie is starting to fret:

“We need to get off to a fast start and this definitely makes me concerned,'' he said. “Do you think jumping off the Causeway Bridge would help?”

Think the Phils' manager is looking around and noting all these guys on his coaching staff that have managerial experience? Think that's what has him worried? The Phils know one thing for sure. Brett Myers will be on the mound when the Phightin's open the season against the Braves at 1:05 on April 2nd at Citizens bank Park. Matt and I will be there. Bracketology Pitt killed me. I still have 3 of my 4 final four alive, but only 40 picks right so far out of 56 puts me in the 52nd percentile nationwide. Oregon is a surprise, UNC and Kansas look VERY scary. I'll stick with my Hoyas pick, but I will not be surprised if the Tar Heel Nation hoists the trophy. Sad Note Jason Ray, the University of North Carolina senior who portrays the Ramses mascot at athletic events was struck by a SUV and critically injured yesterday just hours before the UNC win over USC. Roy Williams addressed the issue after the game. My thoughts go out o him and his family.

Priorities

This Guy Needs To Get His in Order John Edwards just announced that he will continue his presidential bid despite the fact that his wife Elizabeth's cancer has returned. Ok. You are running for president and you find out your wife has cancer that is likely incurable. Only a COMPLETE ASSHOLE keeps running for president at that point. I've never been a fan of Edwards. I think he's style over substance at a time when America needs leadership with credibility. This decision now makes me wonder if he would be capable of handling the complex decisions of the presidency. I know he's saying his wife is forcing him to stay in the race, but he can say no. He can say thanks for your support dear, but my most important job is here with you now. My other issue here is that he told us that his wife being cancer-free was a major factor in his getting into the race. Now suddenly it doesn't matter. I see a credibility gap. At any rate, I sure hope that her treatment is successful and this is all a minor setback for her. Phoenix Has It Priority that is. Over Philly. The Daily News has a rather confusing story today that basically boils down to this: more people live in Phoenix than live in Philadelphia. We dropped from 5th largest city in the US to 6th. Probably sometime last year. Bummer. At least we still have grass. Umm Yeah No-Brainer Here Ok. I'll admit I have done it. But texting should not be your priority when driving. Our friends in Trenton are ready to help us by banning texting while driving. You already can't use a cell phone when driving in NJ. Yeah right. Thanks to Assemblymen Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester, and David Mayer, D-Gloucester, we now have another thing that we wont be allow to do. Sure. Uh-huh.

Snow, Stephen and Bo

I have to consider the possibility that Philadelphia is being paid to store snow for other communities. There is snow EVERYWHERE. I thought the white stuff was fun and all this weekend, but coming into the city today made me think twice. I mean what are my wage taxes paying for if not snow removal in Center Friggin' City. It's not like this is Outer Manyunk or Mayfair. This is the Gayborhood! And property owners, if I managed to get off my butt and shovel my walk, you can at least pay someone to shovel yours. I damn near fell on my ass at 13th and Spruce because some slumlord hasn't even considered the potential liability of his uncleared sidewalks (left). Eventually It Had To Happen I agree with Stephen A. Smith. Finally. He has finally written a column where he doesn't talk out of both sides of his mouth. He rips the fans. He rips Mr. Snider. He snubs the players. Last night, after the 76ers lost by 50 at home, Mr. Smith Went To The Visitor Locker Room. Skipped the home guys. No matter. They weren't talking much after posting the worst home loss in franchise history. The Rockets were though:

"We were up by 40, dunking the basketball," Rockets point guard Rafer Alston said after the game.

The Sixers "didn't give any hard fouls," surprised Rockets guard Kirk Snyder added. "They didn't get called for any technicals."

It's sad that these guys have no heart and now they have no Kevin Durant or Greg Oden.

Bo Ryan Doesn't Get It

The Pride of Aston or Chester or Brookhaven or where ever he says he's from, Bo Ryan, just doesn't get it. In one of the great stories of this NCAA Tournament, his Wisconsin badgers were BOMBED by UNLV's Kevin Kruger, son of head coach Lon Kruger. In this article, Ryan complains that Kruger should not have been able to play in the game because of his circuitous road to eligibility at UNLV. How can you fault a kid who wants to play for his dad? Hey Bo, I love ya man. I loved what you did for D3 at Platteville. I love the defensive intensity. But when you get your ass handed to you in The Show, be gracious.

Enjoy!

C

March Snowball Fights and Much More

On Friday, we had a messy late winter snow storm that covered the Delaware Valley in 3-6 inches of wet snow and sleet. It was a pretty, but a bear to drive in. I like snow and I seem to live in a spot that gets more than the surrounding area. John loves that we get more snow here than at Mommy's house. However, as you can tell from the photo to the right, John is ready for spring. Yesterday, he and Eli and Eli's sisters had a great snowball fight in the back yard. A few photos are up at my Flickr site. I remember all of the great snowball fights I had as a kid back in Brookhaven with Greg and Matt and the girls. Mr. Feld was always around to help construct complicated snow forts and walls and participate in the fights. Billy Wagner - Moron In Jim Salisbury's column today, he reveals again, for anyone who has missed it before, that Billy Wagner is a moron. You may remember that Wagner played here for a few years, before moving on to New York because he could not handle ... the fans. he claims that the fans will be the Phils' downfall this year. Brett Myers puts some sanity into the article by noting:

"That's why Billy couldn't make it here. He could have been a superstar in Philly. The fans loved him because he threw 100. But he chose to focus on the negative part instead of the positive: The fans are the way they are because they care."

And that's why Brett Myers will make it here. Despite being a wife beater, Myers gets it. he understand who pays his salary and who the people are who care enough about a sport to enable him to throw a baseball for a living. Bracketology I am 8-2 in the second round games so far as March Madness rolls on. That puts me in the 98th percentile of all online pools and behind only Goot in each of the two online pools I am in. Who knows how I am doing against the folks at UArts.

Cats Run Done

It was pretty clear to me early on last night that the Nova Cats were not going to move on in the NCAA tournament. Sorry Mr. Davis. By halftime, I was ready to move upstairs to watch the game f