Lovin' My Music

If you work in front of a computer all day you have to have a soundtrack. I love my iPod but i only own so much music. Slacker is a relatively new service available for free. It's similar to Pandora (which I have not used as much) where you plug in your favorite artists and listen to their station which includes similar artists. OR you can create your own mix based on your own preferences. Your playlist is ever expanding as you can add artists or even ban artists or songs. You can also share your playlists with others to expand your personal preference list. Here's my playlist:

http://www.slacker.com/?sid=stations/2773108/1193775903

Enjoy!

All I Want for Christmas is to Get Superpoked?

People who know me as a computer guy know that I'm not a huge fan of social networking sites. I HATE MySpace and I've hated since I first heard of it in 2003 or 04. Yet, I have a MySpace page. Why? because my friends in Medina Sod had a page and I felt compelled to represent. To this day I think they're still my only friend on MySpace.

But I recently started playing with Facebook...Purely for research as I was constantly being asked to reference their UI and workflow for our MyFetch section on FetchDog. As much as I abhorred the concept, I found their interface well-built and their usability in some cases brilliant. But something happened between quietly poking around the site and accepting friend requests. I think I'm hooked. The ultimate turning point was when I started actively searching for people from my past. At that point, I was no longer a closet Facebooker. I'm that guy. That guy on Facebook. Now that I have the mobile app (embarassing), I'm REALLY that guy. That guy who writes on your wall and pokes you. I even superpoke on occasion. I'm taking movie quizzes and throwing Santas. I'm comparing taste in popular culture with people I barely know, and I've reconnected with people I haven't seen in 10 years. I still don't UNDERSTAND why I'm doing it, but for some reason I'm doing it. And it's the guiltiest of diversions. Sorry everyone.

FetchDog Wins CoolHomePages Design Award

Not a huge deal, but it's nice to be recognized. I don't actually bother submitting to too many awards sites, but there are a few that I look at regularly for fun and inspiration. And if submission is free, then what the heck. FetchDog was recognized by CoolHomePages.com in the categories of Products, Info, CSS-DHTML, and Color Schemes.

Thanks CHP.

Snow, Finally?

It's been over a month since we've had any significant snowfall in the Wasatch Range. But we did get a "dusting" last night. As you probably know by now, when there's a dusting in Heber, we expect to see up to a foot or more in various parts of the adjacent mountains. Early reports from The Canyons this morning show up to 8 inches. Alta has yet to check in, but our friend Tracy said it was "dumping" in the Salt Lake valley last night. On their respective commutes, she and Sarah both witnessed the vehicular mayhem typical of an early season storm, as people remind themselves how to drive in the snow...or into a ditch as it may be. Anyway, here's hoping this storm builds some momentum and sets us up nicely to receive another blast on Friday. The resorts have sheepishly started opening, offering mostly man-made snow, but so far this Fall has been stingy. The natives are restless at best. So if you experience any discourteous behavior from your Utah-based compatriots, please don't take it personally. Just pray for snow.

One Magical Time

Well, we finally did it. My brother Jay (Jeff Jr.) has been telling us for years about how much fun he has at DisneyWorld. Despite our cynical nature, we placed ourselves in his competent care for the week prior to Thanksgiving. We arrived at Disney's Dolphin hotel, walked a loop around a lake out back including a quaint boardwalk and had a tremendous sushi dinner in the neighboring Swan Hotel. Later that night, we met up with Jay and his wife Jeannine and their daughter Nichole. Joining them on their flight from Manchester, NH were my parents, Jeff and Cindy Myers and my other brother Jim with his wife Abby and 5-year-old son Jimmy Jr. Inevitably, a group of 10 will face difficulty when it comes to maneuvering through a crowded place. But overall, I think we handled it rather well.

There were lots of things to see and do, but Jay smartly kept us to an efficient, but flexible schedule. We bought the DisneyWorld Park-Hopper passes which enabled us to bounce from park to park as much as we liked with a simple card swipe and fingerprint scan.

Day one started with breakfast with Cinderella in her castle at the Magic Kingdom. After a quick photo op, downstairs, Breakfast was an all-you-can-eat affair while other Disney Damsels checked in at our table. From there we zipped straight to Space Mountain, using the fast-passes Jay had collected before breakfast. En route to this dark thrill-ride, all-you-can-eat started sounding a little ill-advised. But we made it through. We then skipped over to MGM Studios for some shows and more rides. We hit up the Indiana Jones stunt show and the Lights, Motors, Action stunt driving show. Both were action packed and gave us some good insight into how some of the coolest scenes in movies are made. After some buildup, we braved the tower of terror. Sarah was rightfully nervous about the 13-story drop at rate faster than gravity. But after some screaming and bouncing, we all survived. That night we took in Fantasmic, an extravagant Disney Opera where Mickey fights the forces of evil. This truly unique experience, included some live-action mascot characters on a man-made mountain set. Some classic Disney scenes are also projected onto water sprayed from the surrounding moat which at certain points is fully engulfed in fire. The moat is also used for various floats and boats where dozens of Disney characters are represented.

Day two was a trip to Animal Kingdom, where we took a wild safari ride through an African jungle. This mini-ecosystem houses dozens of large animals from apes to elephants to giraffes to wildebeasts etc. Really cool. The park is built around the Tree of Life, which we entered to see A Bug's Life in 3D inside a fully interactive theater. The seats have hidden features that add to the overall realism of the show. In this 15 minute movie sprayed us, blew on us, tickled us and more. We also hit the Mount Everest rollercoaster which includes many surprises including going backwards in the dark etc. Then it was time for a raft-ride to cool off. After Animal Kingdom, we took an afternoon pool break before the evening fireworks. We rented a pontoon boat to sit on the lake and get right up to the ellaborate fireworks display. That was a great way to see it.

Day three was all about Epcot. Sarah and my parents and I had reserved a Segway tour where we explored the park before it opened to the public. We then took a test drive in GMC's Test Track where we played test-dummy. Epcot is known for its world-of-the-future theme, but also its cultural cross-sections. They have dozens of mini-countries with stores, restaurants and monuments dedicated to each country's theme. We had a great lunch in Morocco complete with a Belly Dancer performance and all. Later that afternoon, Jay and Nichole participated in a guided swim with the sharks at Epcot's Aquarium, the second largest in the world. They had pre-registered and become scuba-certified prior to the trip. For about a half hour or so, they scuba-dived with sharks, sea turtles, and dozens of other species to the delight of their adoring fans. Sarah had picked up a stomach bug at this point so she had to miss a few of these activities.

Day four started with Breakfast with Pooh at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom. Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore, Piglet etc, were all on-hand to sign autographs and receive hugs from the kids. From there, we explored some of the older rides in Magic Kingdom including the Haunted Mansion and the Carousel. My parents and I headed back through Epcot for a quick Pint in an English pub. We then met up with Sarah who was starting to feel a little better and we relaxed by the pool a bit. That night Sarah and I met up with her College friend Amy. We also finally met her boyfriend Jason who turned out to be a really nice guy. We had dinner at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in Downtown Disney and came back to the boardwalk by the hotel to hit the Dueling Piano Bar where we belted out dozens of songs in the audience sing-along. The evening halted briefly as Abby succumbed to an epileptic seizure. My brother Jim was able to get ahold of me as I was only a few doors away at the time. Jason stepped up and started driving us to the hospital, but Abby recovered quickly and had us meet her at her room instead. Throughout the scary moment, Jimmy Jr. stayed brave and quiet, until we reached their hotel room. The situation could have been a lot worse, but thankfully we were all close enough to act quickly.

Our final day at the park started out a little rough for me. We had a typically hearty breakfast before hitting Blizzard Beach, one of two Disney waterparks. Somewhere between the undetermined amount beers the night before, and my spiced apple waffle my stomach decided to revolt. I almost lost it on the shuttle, but was able to hold off until we hit a proper bathroom at the park. After that, it was game-on again. We started slowly on the Lazy River around the park. Then we hit a few small waterslides building up to the monster-slide at the center of the park. This slide was 150 feet straight down. Jay, my dad and I all tiptoed up the stairs and watch victim after victim disappear into the water-jets down a dark tube. Between the three of us our top speeds averaged around 55 mph on the radar gun screen below! The only way to describe that feeling is that I stood up giggling like a little kid, but I'm still not entirely sure I enjoyed it. I must have though.

Sarah and I left at 4am the next morning. My mom chased us down the hall to give us one last emotional hug. We had a wonderful time and it was clear that some family time was long overdue.

Dogs On Parade: "Howl-o-ween" takes over Main Street in Park City, UT

For our third year now, My wife Sarah and I dressed up our dogs for the October phenomenon known as Howl-o-ween in Park City, UT. Historic Main Street is the heart of this affluent ski town with its funky restaurants, bars and shopping. It's also the cultural epicenter for the über hip Sundance Film Festival. But for one-afternoon a year, the whole town goes to the dogs. Main Street is shut down to autos for a few hours while children are allowed to trick-or-treat at local businesses. But around 5pm the butt-sniffing mayhem begins. A town like this is full of dogs large and small. Their diverse owners have made this area their home for a variety lifestyle-oriented reasons and it makes for an eclectic arrangement of tail-wagging hilarity.

Our first year at the parade, we were a little reluctant to go overboard with costumes. Blü, our Weimaraner and Roxie our notoriously shy Siberian Husky were not used to dressing up and we expected some resistance. We found some little tutus at Target and tied them on. When we hit the scene and they saw all the other dogs in costume they got so excited that it's become one of our favorite oddities about this little town. This year we put a little more effort into it and found some hysterical dog-specific costumes. Roxie wore a Dorothy costume from the Wizard of Oz, while Blü was ecstatic in her Tin Man costume. They also exchanged "pleasantries" with the likes of Batman and Robin, Hanna Montana, Darth Vader, Wonder Woman, Yoda, Elvis, Buzz Lightyear, angels, devils, witches, princesses, pirates, you name it. And each dog seems to adopt a certain swagger in their costumes. Roxie, who normally hates crowds, was so brave in her costume — like she really was somebody else. Blü of course was her goofy self, but was noticeably proud of her new identity, and didn't seem all that eager to have it taken off.

Anyway, a good time was had by all. Maybe we'll see you and your trick-or-treater out there next year!

The Curse is Broken (again)

Photos courtesy of Boston.com
After 86 years of suffering (25 endured first-hand by yours truly) and 3 years of tepid arrogance and band-wagon, cross-country worship during which we've irreversibly waived our proud underdog heritage, Red Sox fans have another reason to march drunk and rowdy through Kenmore Square, raging against the unspecified protocol for celebratory behavior. The culmination of a season's worth of expectations met and goals reached is an unfamiliar circumstance indeed. (I do realize I'm not actually ON the team but for the purposes of this post, let's assume fans actually do have something to do with the victory.) I have to say I'm impressed with this team. Having so much talent in one dugout can actually be tough to manage. But the combination of youthful enthusiasm, veteran leadership, and pure silliness is the perfect recipe. Then there's the on-field arsenal of well-rounded hitting, solid defense aided by speed and consistency, and top-notch pitching: LETHAL. This team had everything going for it this year and come post-season was firing on all cylinders. You can thank management and coaching for recognizing where guys needed rest and when they needed to be pushed. Fox Sports asked fans last night which team was better: 2007 or 2004. The answer is without a doubt this 2007 team. 2004 was entirely different but utterly spectacular. We were still the underdogs. We weren't supposed to win. And in the words of Mr.s Cowboy-Up Kevin Millar, "We shocked the world." But despite the lack of any bloody socks in 2007, I do think that the stories from this year will live in Red Sox lore for generations to come.

There's no denying that we witnessed the birth of a hall-of-fame career in Josh Beckett this year. He was already considered one of the best young talents in baseball, having the one ring to his credit in Florida. But despite his dominance in 2003, it almost doesn't count until you prove it. Last year, was a good year for Beckett but it was obvious he was still getting adjusted to life in Boston. But as the only 20-game winner this year and being absolutely lights (4-0) out in the post-season this year, and being the ace on the best pitching staff in baseball Beckett has come into his own as the premiere starter in the game. What's more is the Zen approach to pitching he's developed. His android face and casual confidence has to be maddening in the other dugout.

The bullpen was on drugs this year. You gotta love Okajima being picked up from Japan while shopping for Dice-K like an impulse buy that was near the register. This scrawny man made fools of the AL all year long. Timlin, is a horse. Coming in late in game 4 with not a fear in this world, my favorite red-neck shut it down hard. West Roxbury native, Manny Delcarmen was impressive all year long. Not over-powering but he did his job well. I also like the look of Kyle Snyder and occasionally Javier Lopez. The one low-light of the season was the unnecessary trade of the promising young pitcher Kason Gabbord (and more) to Texas for the Canadian waste of space Eric Gagne, who immediately proceeded to blow almost EVERY lead with which he was entrusted and almost single-handedly cost the Red Sox their season several times. I don't want to dwell on this topic, other than to say that Harpo Marx looking goober is the worst thing to come out of Canada since Celine Dion and I've often said he should be set adrift in the Atlantic on raft made of sugar cubes, eh?

We also witnessed the continued domination by one of the most entertaining Red Sox pitchers in a while, Jonathan Papelbon. His mound presence is unbelievable. That stare to the plate (as my friend Keith putt's it) is that of a high-school kid who just got pushed into one too many lockers and is ready to start fighting back. But we also saw the other side of Papelbon. A side we all really got to like. No one can walk around all the time with the intense bravado that Papelbon carries on the mound. As it turns out, he's quite the party animal. And what's more amazing is that he's that way all the time, except from about the 7th inning, to the last pitch. This kind of colorful dichotomy is one of the quickest ways into a Boston sports fan's heart.

And what about the other career years that were had? Kevin Youkilis? Or as the rest of the league was calling him before this year, Kevin Whokilis. The guy had an absolutely monster first half. He cooled off a tad in the second half, but was absolutely murderous in the post season. He has willed his way into household name status with his consistent hitting and fielding. Setting a major league record for error-free games at first base (*a record that is still on-going in the regular season) and just killing the ball to all fields while wearing down pitchers by making the 10-pitch at-bat an art form, this guy's the most beautifully disgusting dipping mass of sweat I've ever seen.

And how'bout that Mikey Lowell? Theo Epstein took a chance on the aging third-baseman, figuring he'd bring some veteran leadership, post-season experience, maturity and class to the organization. Tough shoes to fill at the hot corner too, after the departure of Billy Mueller. But boy did that work out. Not only did Lowell set an all-time Red Sox season record for RBI by a third-baseman, but he was money in the bank in the post season. With a solid 21 regular season homers to his credit, he also provided some protection in the lineup for Manny Ramirez. With his much-deserved World Series MVP in hand, his free-agent leverage is securely in hand. I just hope the Sox can resist the urge to entertain the idea of allowing him to slip away while wooing the ever-nauseating and morale-killing A-Rod. It would be damn near impossible to ever cheer for that cry-baby pretty-boy. And I'll go on record that A-Rod does NOT deserve to wear a Red Sox uniform.

Jason Varitek. That's a complete sentence where I come from. The strategic, emotional, spiritual leader. He had a very Tek-like year. Solid enough at the plate, godly behind it. When Dice-K was brought over last spring, Josh Beckett's only advice for him was "Trust Varitek". And he's right. The guy is the most prepared, diligent and focused professional athlete you'll ever see. He's passionate, but classy. He gets beat up night after night but never complains. He has the respect of the entire league. And he handles pitchers better than anyone I've ever seen. But seriously, you CAN'T get enough of this picture. My favorite part about this scuffle from '04 was the jab Varitek muttered to instigate the incident. To refresh your memory, the Sox and Yankees were involved in an intense mid-season series. It was A-Rod's first season in New York and (surprise) he wasn't living up to expectations. A-Rod took exception to being hit by a pitch. Varitek, escorting him toward first base tells him "Relax, we don't throw at .260 hitters." CLASSIC!! Game on.

Then there's the rookies. Dustin Pedroia should be the rookie of the year. Period. 5'9"/180 hitting .317 with a strut to boot? Perfect. Jacoby Ellsbury came up for a taste mid-season and he brought some life. But coming back in the late season to give guys like Manny and Coco a break was awe-inspiring. The confidence of those two guys could spark any lineup. And with less than 100 at-bats in '07 Jacoby's still technically a rookie next year! Are you KIDDING ME?! Clay Bucholz came up like a restless child coming downstairs to crash a grown-up party. He turned heads in his first start, but dropped jaws with an unbelievable no-hitter in his second start. The Red Sox smartly protected his young arm after that by giving him limited work the rest of the season.

Then there's Jon Lester. The young left-handed World-Series clincher with big league stuff has an even bigger sense of confidence and perspective. So much is made of his battle with Lymphoma and it seems at times that discussing it with media was even tougher. But his maturity and poise in both cases is amazing. What struck me most, and what Fox failed to pick up on is the heart-wrenching passion of his parents in the stands. In June, he made his first start this year after a remarkably quick recovery from chemotherapy treatments. He proceeded to dominate the game, but a camera was fixed on his parents sitting on the first base line. His father welled up with quiet pride and admiration. His mother, paralyzed with fierce desire, clenched her fists in a kind of joyous anguish. With every pitch her tears seemed to project power into the ball. At one point, Jon struck out the side, and his parents leaped to their feet as if the power of the crowed lifted them out of their seats, out of their own bodies. I'm emotional just writing about it as they seemed so much like my own parents, rooting for each of us. Never with pressure, just furious love.

There's also these other guys, Manny, Papi, Dice-K, Shilling. Yeah they're ok too. It was a great season. I've thanked Sarah repeatedly for buying me the Extra Innings Package so I could see all the games. I'll miss watching the games, but I'm glad I can stop hearing Tim McCarver for a while. Looking forward to spring training, but it's time now to focus on Skiing. Check in soon for powder shots!

Introducing: FetchDog.com

FetchDog is a high-end dog catalog and online community for dog enthusiasts.
link: FetchDog.com

We're live! Sorta. Well we're in our "soft launch" phase for now. We're live but we're not screaming about it just yet. There's still a ton of work to do. The development agency, eOne has been doing a great job but at the break-neck pace we've required, there are still lots of clean-up items on our list.

But there are a lot of things that are 'right' about it too. The store works beautifully with very few flaws. There are blogs, articles, breed centers, resource libraries, and even a breed selection tool to match you up with the right kind of dog. There's even a social networking area where you can create a profile for you and your dogs, upload pictures, add friends and contribute all over the site. Not bad. There's also more to come, like video, forums, ask the experts and more.

So feel free to check us out at FetchDog.com.

Inches in the Driveway - Feet in the Mountains

It started snowing around dinner time last night. It wasn't very cold out so it was a nice surprise. I was surprised to see it accumulate. When we woke up this morning there were actually a couple inches outside. The thing about Heber is that our elevation (about 6,000 feet) puts us below the snow-line for most storms. So when we get any kind of accumulation here, you know it's probably pounding at 9-11,000 feet in the mountains a few miles away. Needless to say, we're excited about ski season.

For a map of the Heber Valley, click here.

Craig Sager - WHO Dresses this guy?!

Just got done watching the last inning of the Yankees' 2007 season. Truthfully, I wanted to see the Yankees win this one so the Indians could win it in Cleveland after an exhausting 5-game series. But I'll take it. The Sox are right on schedule and ready to steamroll into the World Series. The ALDS between Cleveland and NY was great. There were a number of show-stopping moments: the bizarre 30-minute gnat swarming forcing Joba Chamberlain to throw an ill-timed wild pitch; the lackluster performance by the delicate league-MVP, A-Rod; the week starting pitching (especially by Clemens); and the class-less crucifixion of Joe Torre, one of the greatest managers of all time by his team owner, George "The Boss" Steinbrenner.

But one train-wreck stands out above the rest. TBS put together what I thought was a great late-season ramp-up campaign to October, featuring the highly animated comedian and Arlington, MA native, Dane Cook. Then, in their first year (to my knowledge) of post-season exclusivity, TBS paraded a full line-up of weak-witted announcers (except for Boston's own Don Orsillo doing the NL games) and unpolished ex-players in front of the cameras on national TV. Among the worst, that I saw was a floppy toupée-wearing scrub of a sideline commentator named Craig Sager. A quick google search revealed that this clown usually holds a microphone over his head while sweaty basketballers humor him and politely rib on his tacky salvation army wardrobe. But after just a few games of his periodic drop-ins I question how conscious his clothing choices actually are. Does a guy like this get up the morning and say "Hmmm...how many dark patterned layers can I jam into the same outfit?....Or should I go with the classic powder blue sportcoat, a tired cream short-sleeve and an orange tie?" I guess you can't blame a guy for having no taste. But who IS to blame? Should we be embarassed for his wife who lets him leave the house like this? Is it TBS's fault for letting him on the air? Is it the camera man's fault for not framing him above the neck? I can't say. All I know is that everyone between his house and the ballpark — passing motorists included — should feel shame for allowing this guy to persist.


Apparently, it's not just me who's bothered by the TBS MLB Mockery.

But, who cares? It actually gets worse. As they signed off, the TBS announcers revealed that Fox's Joe Buck and the inimitably innane Tim McCarver (for whom I've mentioned my disdain in the past) will be calling the ALCS between the Sox and Indians. Tremendous. I'll encourage my friends in Boston to set their tuners to AM radio and mute the TV.

Winter's Back

After scraping the windshield my drive in to work this morning was a little brighter with some snow on the tops of the resort peaks ahead. We've had a few dustings so far, but it's nice to have a reminder like this in front of you. This photo, taken from westbound route 248 into park city shows some of the frontside peaks of Park City Mountain Resort.

Bonds' 756 ball to be Branded With Asterisk, THEN donated to Hall of Fame

Holy Crap, they were serious about this?!

So I took this online poll the other day. Maybe it was on Espn.com or something. It asked what should be done with Barry Bonds' all-time record 756th home run ball. I found the question amusing in a hypothetically absurd way, expecially given that the options were:
A: "Bestow it intact to Cooperstown" (34 %)
B: "Permanently brand the ball with an asterisk before sending it to Cooperstown" (47%)
C: "Launch it into space forever" (19%)

—I voted for "C".

Ha ha, right? well apparently if I was more current, I would have known this was not joke. Hip hop fashion designer, Marc Echo purchased the ball at auction for a cool $752,467 and announced on live TV that he planned on soliciting a national opinion on what to do with it. The choices, although ludicrous, speak to the "passion" of baseball fans everywhere. Over 10 million people voted to have the ball branded with an asterisk to signify the suspected steroid use surrounding Bonds and his controversial record. And whether or not you think Bonds is a juicer, a cheater, or just an arrogant jerk, everyone seems to care about this record. WOW.

read more on MLB.com »

Sam Fuld on SportsCenter

Came home the other night and turned on SportsCenter. I heard the familiar name, Sam Fuld in connection with a nasty, game-saving outfield assist. My ears perked up. This kid was on my senior Baseball team at Berwick Academy. He was in EIGHTH (frickin') grade back then. Coach Libby had to make a special exception for this kid but he was worth it. He was probably the only one on the team to hit a legitimate homer that year. Granted there were very few fenced in outfields and he was a lefty and our field was about 300 to right. But we knew we were watching something special. He wasn't too tall, but he was solid and disciplined. He never took a bad swing. And he had patience and Varitek-like mental toughness. The following year, he moved on to Phillips Exeter, where he got much more exposure and his stats really started to take off. He then went on to Stanford and set the all-time College World Series Record for hits. There's definitely no coincidence there because it requires consistency over 4 years of nationally ranked performance. He also became Stanford's all-time leader in runs scored. But the point is, expect good things from this kid in the bigs. The Cubs are lucky to have him and I'm hoping the Sox trade J.D. Drew for him.

Wiki the kid »
View on The Cubs' Site »

We've gone "2.0"

You may have noticed, we've changed the blog around a bit. Until now we had been building our blog "by hand" meaning we wrote all the code ourselves. It's more work but we got more control out of it. We've recently streamlined the process by using Blogger. We've imported all our old posts to this system and we'll keep working to get it the way we like, but there's a lot of extra functionality now. You can write comments on any one of our postings, search the blog, and find stuff quickly using our archive or by the use of "tags" or content labels. You could even "subscribe" to our blog if you really want. But best of all it's easier for us to post stuff...from anywhere. We can post photos with other computers or even our camera phones through our flickr account. Or we can post on the road using various wireless connections, etc. So HOPEFULLY, we'll be writing more often. We hope you'll do the same.

Thanks, as always for checking in.
Joe & Sarah

Jerry Remy Eats "Tuner Fish"

So I'm watching the Red Sox game and laughing about the latest Remy-isms. In this case, Don's feeding Jerry some seemingly benign questions about his lego-person hair-style. Jerry in turn becomes facetiously defensive. He embraces the situation and takes the opportunity to tell Red Sox Nation exactly what hair dye he uses. His diatribe was complete with telestrated analysis. You have to love this guy. Even if you're not a Sox fan, his absurd approach to broadcasting is honest and refreshingly blue-collar, like a favorite uncle.

For the uninitiated, Jerry Remy is a Boston institution. Along with fellow Northeastern University alumnus Don Orsillo, Jerry is a former Red Sox second baseman and color-commentator for the New England Sports Network. He is casual and sardonic. His commentary is actually quite astute but his easy-going delivery often underwhelms his insight. New Englanders have grown so fond of his schtick in recent years, they've formed a cult following, complete with an organized fan-club called Rem-Dawg Nation. But his immediate trademark, especially outside of the New England area is his THICK Boston accent.

I was eating a tuna fish sandwich the other day and watching a game. For some reason I found myself wondering how Jerry might order a tuna Fish sandwich. Would he call it "tuner". I started looking around the kitchen and pointing to things and saying their names like Jerry Remy might: "tuner"; "bananers"; "cawfee"; "papah towels"; "dishwashah"; "windas"; "pitchas on da wall"; "can openah" and on and on and on... It's fun. I suggest you try it.

Anyway it's that kind of small detail that makes me feel really close to home.

New Jobbie Job

My time is up at American Skiing Company and I've accepted a Senior Interactive Position with FetchDog.com in Portland, ME. FetchDog is a high-end dog catalog with a HUGE site on the way. There's not much there yet, but soon you'll be able to browse hundreds of products, find helpful information on dogs, read blogs, forums, and articles about dogs, and even participate in an online community where you can create a profile for you and your dogs.

I'm working from home in Utah. Today's the first day. So far so good. I have a nice work station set up in our guest room. My new commute consists of a walk across the hall. Right now the dogs are sleeping at my feet and occasionally jump up to knock my hand off the mouse for attention. I'm listening to internet radio and I hear the sounds of the neighborhood out my window. But I can really concentrate on what I'm doing. No distractions. That being said, i'll miss the people from ASC, and all the laughing and joking. But I can still see folks whenever.

Roxie’s Swim for Life

The other day, I took the dogs for a run on my bike down the dirt roads out back. They went swimming in one of the stream crossings but the current was a little stronger than usual. All of a sudden I couldn't see Roxie. I dove down onto the pipe/tube that funnels the water under the road. Roxie had gotten sucked in backwards and was swimming against the current. I dropped my bike and ran to the other side of the road to try to coax her to let it shoot her out, but she wasn't having it. She was about 8 feet from where she entered, fighting for her life and trying to keep her head above the water, in the 6 inches of air at the top of the pipe. So I jumped in and started pulling her out. But I had flipflops on and they were starting to float away on me while I lost traction.

I worked my way back up the pipe, dragging her by the collar and grabbing for the end of the pipe. in the commotion if forgot to take my sunglasses off my forehead so they started slipping off. Not a huge concern at this moment, but they were $100 pair of Oakleys. I was about to re-secure them when I looked up and saw Blü, never one to be left out, floating backwards by me. I imagine she got curious and wanted to help, like when we go to dig her toys out from under the couch and she burrows under, trying to help. so I grabbed her and watched the sunglasses plunk in the water.

Now i'm pulling both idiots up the tube, trying to keep my flipflops on my feet and not lose my footing. I was able to shove Blü out of the pipe by pushing her upstream ahead of me and placing enough english on her little bum to scoot her out into an eddy on the side. Roxie in the mean time, probably spent a few brief stints behind me getting dunked by my other hand still clutching her collar and no doubt flailing in the struggle.

I was able reach the end of the pipe now and pull my way out. With the added leverage, I dragged her to shore in a final thrust. I laid there in the water a minute to catch my breath. Roxie of course, climbed to dry land above me and on queue, shook off in my face. I climbed out, and started collecting myself, lamenting the solid run I had had with those Oakleys. As I straddled my bike to head home, soaked to the bone, they both jumped back in the water like it never happened.

Introducing: BuyMaxABeer.com

Every once in a while you come across a great idea. The idea can be entrepreneurial, philanthropic, eerily genious, dumbfoundingly obvious, etc. But sometimes they're all that and more. The other day, Max (aka: the guy who sits next to me...aka:my "work-wife") had one such revelation. Max, who by nature is a man of simple pleasures (drinking, rock-climbing, skiing, baking cookies...) decided to try to forgoe his amateur status and take up professional drinking. You've heard of recovering alcoholics being "sponsored" upon joining AA. But have you ever heard of an active alcoholic being sponsored?

I GIVE YOU: www.BuyMaxABeer.com

The concept is mind-numbingly simple. Click on the link above and read Max's mission statement. There's no profit assumed, no alterior motives, no carbon offsets to buy. Just click the button to buy Max a beer with your credit card. The money is transferred to Max's "Slosh Fund" which he will use ONLY to buy beer. No drugs. No sportscars. No hookers. You can even buy Max's friends beer (eh-hem) if you want. That's where the philanthropy comes in.

So check it out. You'll be glad you did. Even if you don't decide to buy one, leave a comment so we know you stopped by. ANd be on the lookout for my friend Ross's spin-off site : www.wrenchforbeer.com where you can solicit his bike mechanic skills and pay him in beer.

BMX Bargaining

So I sold my little BMX bike last night. I had bought it for $200 in 1997 for a commuter bike in Boston. I rode it solid for a year or two and almost not once since then. So it had to go. And although $50 seemed like a generous price to me, others contended it was probably worth less.

Anyway, the buyer drove 45 minutes up from Provo at 8:30 at night to buy the bike. He new it was $50 and he still found it necessary to haggle it down. He's a little Japanese guy so he was talking in broken english:

Him:"You take a discount?"
Me: "No, it's fifty bucks. I've got another guy looking at it tomorrow if you don't want it."
Him: "Oh....you take a 45?"
Me: [it's raining and 45°] "If it gets you out of my driveway, sure. It's raining dude. whatever."
Him: [fishing through his wallet] "You have change? I only have a fifty."
Me: "Are you serious? NO! And honestly dude, that's insulting."
Him: "Oh. Sorry. Well I have a four. [along with his 2 twenties and a ten]. You take a fourty-four?"
Me: "Fine. [snatch] Enjoy the bike."

I took the money, turned around and walked in the house while he spent 5 minutes putting the wet bike in the back seat of his car. I didn't even offer to help.

Our Yard-Sale

As part of a spring-cleaning effort, Sarah and I decided to have a yard-sale. We discussed it with our friendly neighbors, Nicole and Petie, and Mary and Neil. We planned for weeks and in preparation we placed ads on websites and in newspapers as well as placing signage around the neighborhood. When the big day arrived, we even announced it on the local Saturday morning classifieds radio show in Park City.

The morning started out well. We had a few quick sales, but we were hoping to sell some big ticket items like bikes and skis. Nicole proved to be the day’s most motivated seller, pricing items at pennies on the dollar. As the day wore on, we found ourselves enjoying the laziness of the event, sitting on the front lawn on Mary’s matching lawn furniture set, a steal at $100. We broke into a solid round (or two) of margaritas and watched the world ogle and evaluate our unwanted items. Some classic conversations went something like this:
“How much is this?”
“Ten cents.”
“Oh…Nevermind.”

Good times were had by all. And at the end of the day, we tallied and divvied and compared. Nicole and Petie came out on top with $120 sold. Neil and Mary were right behind them with $100. We on the other hand sold $30 worth of unwanted crap. However, factoring in that we also bought $10 worth of Nicole’s stuff, and spent $10 on the newspaper ad, and $10 on signage we actually broke even. And to add insult to injury, we’re expecting the Big Brothers-Big Sisters organization to pick the remaining items up for a charitable donation. Their first available time-slot for pickup was 2 weeks after the yard sale, so our garage is now packed, wall-to-wall with THREE family’s stuff. Ah well.

The “Rem Dog” comes to Utah!

One tough thing about moving away from home is missing all the Red Sox games. Sure they're a big market team and they command a majority of national broadcasts. The ESPN games are OK, but if it's on Fox, FORGET IT. That's when you have to listen the insufferable Tim McCarver. Back east, when the Sox were on Fox, we'd turn the sound off and listen to the game on the radio. You can also keep up on-line or by watching SportsCenter etc. but it's not the same as coming home on a Tuesday night and camping out with your local commentators for a few hours. So for my birthday this year, my beautiful wife bought me the DirecTV MLB Extra Innings Package. Now I get all the games for every team. Do I care about all the teams? NO! But you can't just buy one team so oh well. Now it's like coming home to hang out with my old friends, Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy (the RemDog) on NESN.

Sometimes when the Sox are on the road, you'll get the local broadcast from that city, which can be interesting. Last night, they were in Baltimore and I got the MASN (Mid Atlantic Sports Network) broadcast. They feature capable play-by-play man Gary Thorne alongside Color Analyst and hall-of-fame pitcher Jim Palmer. I was excited at first, until I realized what a know-it-all Palmer is. I can take the constant stat spewing or the second-guessing, but then he started ripping on Manny. I almost lost my mind. But hey, even when it's not NESN, it's better than nothing. Unless it's on Fox.

It's Spring again...

We've had a few tastes of warm weather and we're done with snow for now. I got 42 days of skiing in this year and a few of them were epic. I may have had more if the season were a better one. But I'm still not complaining. My brother, Jay visited for a few days in early March and had some fantastic snow. A few weeks later, Sarah's college roommate Meredith visited with her husband Brian and they seemed to enjoy themselves. We recently took a trip to Melbourne, Florida for Mike Spalluto's and Lucy Boyd's wedding. That was a beautiful affair. We had gorgeous weather and a great hotel on the beach. You can see pictures of all this stuff in our latest gallery.

This past weekend, we visited Moab for the second time this spring. I headed down early with our neighbor Nicole, who used to work with me at ASC, along with her two-year-old daughter, Zoe. On Friday, Nicole dropped me off at the trailhead of the world-famous Slickrock Trail. Many trails in Moab consist of this unique beige sandstone surface nicknamed "Slickrock", but this trail made Moab famous in the Mountain Biking community. I truly remember reading about Moab, and Slickrock in Mountain Bike Magazine when I was in middle school in Maine. Since then, I've dreamed of riding it, but feared what it might do to my marriage if I should drag my wife on it. The Sandflats state park (home of the slickrock trail) offers a 2-mile practice loop that is designed to give you a taste of the full 11-mile trail. It certainly offers a significant sample, but it can't prepare you for the grind of the full-trail. I'll admit, it kicked my ass, but it was well worth it.

Sarah arrived on Friday night with along with our friends Kristin and Cory from Park City. Saturday included a trip to Karen's K9 Campground for the dogs while Sarah, Nicole and I biked a beautiful trail called "Baby Steps" which is adjacent to the Klondike Bluffs Trail, leading into Arches National Park. The trail was a tight and winding singletrack, and you could tell that it had not yet been ridden much. Saturday night was interesting to say the least. We had a few margaritas around the camp fire and Sarah made some of her killer tacos with our camp stove. So we went to bed happy and full in our luxurious 4-person tent. Of course we have smaller tents, but when camping with the dogs, we enjoy the extra width and height. Then the wind came. As the breeze kicked up, Sarah removed the rain fly from our tent to reduce the noise. Almost on queue, it started pouring rain. So we hopped out of the tent in our underwear to put the fly back on, which was difficult since the wind was howling. When we finally secured the outer layer, it got caught in the wind and started acting as a sail. Before we could hop back in the tent, it started flying away from us. In fact the only thing weighing it down at this point was Blü. Roxie had long since abandoned ship. So Blü took a little ride in the tent eastward, toward Kansas. But we made a lunging effort to grab the tent AND the dog, and dove back inside. But it was too late. The tent's structural integrity had been compromised, the contents soaked, and we were afraid it might only get worse. Our large tent was destined for destruction, while the other smaller tents in our camp site which laid lower to the ground were mostly undistrubed. So we decided to head for the security of the car. We broke down the tent in the pouring rain and howling wind (still in our underwear mind you) and stuffed it under the car. The dogs agreeably hopped in the back and we arranged ourselves in our soaking layers into the front of the car in our now soaked sleeping bags. As we wrestled into any kind of position resembling comfort, the rain and wind eased almost magically. Birds begain to chirp and the sun began to rise. Through the steam on our windows, we watched our campsite neighbors emerge from their tents, rested and serene. They stretched and yawned as they greeted the day, almost completely unaware of the carnage that occured in their calm slumber. Their tents were somewhat damp, but had been mostly blown dry. Ours was crumpled in a puddle of mud and irony under the car. We laid, sweaty, frustrated and unrested in our trusty Subaru.

Following the incident, as we all awoke, we realized our misfortune was mostly self-induced. And we began to laugh about it as we did our best to collect and shake-dry our belongings. It was, after all Easter morning. Nicole and her husband Petie had prepared an Easter egg hunt for their daughter Zoe, which is certainly a cheerful diversion in the wet desert sand. We followed that up with a big breakfast of eggs, sausage and bagels, then casual 3-4 mile hike from the campsite to a large set of sandstone buttes named Monitor and Merimack after civil war ships. The hike was enough to put it all in perspective. Overall, just another day in the desert.

General Update

OK, so it's been a while. You probably thought we forgot about you. Not true. Actually we have been very busy and the winter is always tough with the short days, and busy work schedules. But notice I just put up some new photos for you to look at. That should give you an idea what we've been doing the last couple months.

Things are good. Our house is working out well. The neighborhood is great and the dogs are having a wonderful time there. We go on long walks down a dirt road where they can make eyes at the cows from across a fence and jump in the snow. They also have the downstairs to themselves as a heated den during the day. They have a couch and a doggie door. And there's nothing but dog toys to destroy since all our non-perishables and other items are stored down there in Rubbermaid bins or on high shelves. That doesn't mean they don't get into trouble, but it has certainly reduced our vet bills.

Work is good. We're actually both in the middle of some transitions we'll tell you about soon enough. But everything is good there.

The only thing that's been a little frustrating is that it's been a "relatively" dry year. This time last year, we had twice as much snow. So we may only end up with, say 40 ski days. But I also realize there's worse problems to have in life. Hopefully February and March will bring some extra snow in time for our highly anticipated visits from Patty Caret from Maine, Jay Myers from NH, and Meredith and Brian from New York.

Anyway, I gotta run. Hope to hear from you all soon.
Live well.
Joe