Kevin's Ramblings…

Although this was a short week at work, it dragged on and on …  Gotta hate those weeks.

Well, the weekend is here, finally.

We have our late registration tomorrow for baseball.  Hopefully we will go well over the 200 mark for registrations tomorrow, that would be great.  We will start to cap teams off after tomorrow as well – it is getting to crunch time.

I have an outdoor practice/workout scheduled for Sunday afternoon as well.  The forecast is calling for a high of 13 degrees or so, it’s going to be a bit chilly.  We’ll survive though – as long as it is dry.

I am planning a return trip to Washington, DC for the end of May.  I am waiting to hear if I have a dog-sitter and just have to confirm plans 100%.  I will drive down on a Friday, stay until Monday morning and then return on the Monday.  I am using Tuesday as a “rest” day and then back to work – just a nice long weekend. 

What else is there?  Not much – pretty non-descript really.  More later.

OK, another few days have gone by without a post.  I’m getting bad.  It isn’t necessarily that I have been overly busy I don’t think – who knows …

I just finished a 5-day long weekend.  Spring came early to the Niagara area.  We had temps in the mid to upper 20’s – very unusual for this time of year and very welcome as well.

Thursday – Brought BP and his bike over to Bike fit on Scott Street.  BP is going to do the Ride to Conquer Cancer in June and he needed some work done on his bike.  Well, while waiting for him, Kevin decided to purchase a new bike.  It is a good bike and I got it for a good deal.  I put 20% down on it and will be picking it up at the end of the month.  I wish that I could take Zeus out for a run while I ride but I am afraid that he would end up getting run over – that might not be pretty.

We had our first outdoor workout on Thursday as well (baseball).  The Minor Peewee team has been scrubbed.  This should help our numbers at the Major level – a few of the minors (12 year olds) will make the club.  I am really looking forward to the season.  Still gotta work on my brother in law to get him as my 3rd base coach.

Friday – Non-descript day, it was Good Friday, everything was closed.

Saturday – Drove to Peterborough for my almost-annual lunch with JB.  We go to a place called Hot Belly Moma’s, great Cajun style food.  It was an awesome day for a drive and good to see JB.  PC didn’t drive me insane on either the trip to or from Peterborough so that’s good.

Sunday – Slept a LOT on Sunday.  Had a couple of naps.  Again, everything is closed, Easter Sunday.

Monday – Went over the river to the factory outlet mall in Niagara Falls, NY.  No really good deals unfortunately.  Good food at Appleby’s though.

Well, that was my weekend.  The five days flew by, not sure why time off seems to go faster than work time, but it always does.

I’ll try not to take so long to post again.  🙂

Well, it has been nearly a new week since I last posted something. I guess I was busy this week …

A few changes have occurred. I cancelled my home telephone service. I figured for the little that I use my home phone, is it really worth $35 per month or so? I guess not, so I am going to try the cell phone route. That way, people can get a hold of me regardless of where I am. I will see if it works.

I have also cancelled my cable – just for the summer. I realize that it isn’t summer as yet, but it will be here right around the corner. I watch very little TV as it is and I was spending WAY too much TV. When I get it back, I am going to get either basic cable or the next step up so that I can get a few of the specialty channels. I will have to check pricing I suppose. That can wait until September though – that seems like a LONG time from now but I am sure it will be here before I know it.

So, what else is new? Well, I purchased a new bike. I plan on doing some riding this summer and this will MAKE me ride. I am going to sell my old bike, it is still in good condition and is an excellent bike. It needs some work, not a lot. I should take it out of the shed and see what it needs done to it.

I bought a bike from Bike Fit in St. Catharines. It was on sale so that is a good thing and they let me put it on lay-away for 20% down. I plan on picking it up at the end of April – that will give me several months to ride it. I will keep this one inside though – over the winter anyway. I think it will be ok in the shed otherwise.

It has been decided that SCMBA will only have one Peewee club this summer. We didn’t have enough players for two clubs. That is unfortunate, but, in the long run it will help my team – there are a few minor players who will help me out for sure. The decision should have probably been brought to the Board, but it has been decided – I hope that shit doesn’t hit the fan – at least it wasn’t my decision, just my recommendation.

I am really looking forward to the season starting. We had our first outdoor workout last evening – it was excellent weather for sure. Now I have to work on Dave to agree on assisting me this summer (that would be my brother in law Dave). I am hoping that he will. Guess we will see what will happen on that front – if he isn’t done his rec-room it might be tough to get him to help.

Wll, that is it for the last week. I am into day 2 of 5 days off of work. It is the Easter weekend, gotta love paid time off of work. I am heading to Peterborough tomorrow to meet with JB from Ottawa – looking forward to it.

More later.

I attended the Canadian Thunderbirds Annual Dinner / Auction last evening. The proceeds go to the Thunderbirds and a number of other charities. The Argos Foundation was at the auction with a number of excellent pieces of sports memorabilia.

As soon as I arrived, I noticed a #12 Team Canada Olympic hockey jersey – that would be Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames. It wasn’t one of the silent auction items, it was one of the “premier” live auction items – it was also the first item put up for bid which might have been a bad thing seeing as everyone had money for it.

So, the bidding started and I put in the first bid. Only one other person appeared to be interested which was a good sign – I was able to fend off their attack and came home with the jersey.

I just received my tax refund and spent about 1/2 to 2/3 of the refund on the jersey – it is going to look great in a display case.

I also purchased a 1st basemen’s glove and a Team Canada baseball jersey. I got those for an excellent price and was very happy and had a successful evening all in all.

So, in the next month or so I will have the jersey on display – I can’t wait 🙂

I haven’t poasted in a few days. It was a busy week at work and a busy baseball week as well.

We started our Rookie and Mosquito on Tuesday night. We were at Carlton School, fairly small gym and 14 mostly 8 year olds throwing baseballs at each other … Doesn’t that sound safe and fun? Well, at least we weren’t using real baseballs, we were using soft indoor baseballs. No one got hurt and they seemed to enjoy themselves so I’ll say it was a success.

Wednesday we had a Board meeting. It was a good meeting, fairly productive I guess.

Friday night we had another Peewee workout, not a great turn-out but that’s ok. I am hoping that we get some better numbers in the next few weeks – try-outs will start soon. Not sure if we will have enough players for two teams or if we will just have one club – the final registration is today.

Work was busy, lots to do – all over the place. It is good when we are busy, makes the days go by quickly.

Tonight I am hitting the Thunderbirds Pasta Fest in Hamilton. Should be a good time – I haven’t seen most of these people in over a year – it’ll be a reunion of sorts.

That’ll be my Saturday, tomorrow will be my day of rest.

It is starting to get busy with baseball already and it is only the last week of March. We started with the Rookie/Mosquito clinic this week – it runs for the next five weeks. We had a good turnout, the gym was sort of small though. Lots of kids to pack into a smallish gym and a lot of baseballs flying all over the place – gotta keep your eyes open otherwise you might end up eating one.

The Peewee clinic continues on Fridays. The schedule in April is a little hit and miss though so I have to try to get some additional time.

We have a Board meeting this evening and have our final registration on Saturday. Hopefully we will get a good hold on our numbers for the season. We are sitting at just under 100 right now – it would be good to double it by Saturday.

So, the season is essentially right around the corner. We should be able to get outside in the next few weeks. Our regular diamonds won’t be available until the beginning of May. I am really looking forward to getting outside and getting going this year. I have taken long enough off – need to get back on the field.

Well, that’s my baseball update – wasn’t it exciting?

Today was a typical Sunday. I actually slept in until nearly 7am which is pretty good for me. Hit the greasy spoon for breakfast – French toast is a good Sunday morning item. I should make it at home though, I’d save some buck$.

Had two naps today – one in the morning and another in the afternoon. Other than that, I haven’t done too much at all – sorta the way that I like a Sunday to be.

I have another 5 day work week ahead of me – it is almost like I am working for a living. We also start our Rookie/Mosquito clinic on Tuesday, baseball meeting on Wednesday and the resumption of the Peewee clinic on Friday. I am sure the week will zip by.

Next week will be nice – only have to work 3 days and then I am off for 5 days over Easter. I am planning a trip to Peterborough to have lunch with JB. That will wrap up March and hopefully the nice weather will follow soon afterward – I am looking to getting back outside for baseball, really looking forward to the season.

Well, it is nearing 9pm and although I’ve napped for hours today, I think I am hitting the sack pretty soon. I must be getting old …

I have watched movies where at the end of them you think, “I am not going to get that two hours of my life back”. Well, I feel that way about “Canada’s Pink Floyd Show” that we went to last evening.

As I have written, I am not a big fan of the City of Toronto – it is too busy for my tastes, that is pretty well it really.

The drive there was good – traffic was a bit slow through the never ending construction but that is to be expected. We found a parking spot right near The Opera House – good deal.

We decided to walk from The Opera House to the Eaton Centre. Well, this was quite the walk … It wouldn’t have been so bad under a few conditions:

a) the temperature hadn’t been 3 degrees celcius
b) there hadn’t been a 20kph head wind
c) I had actually been wearing an appropriate jacket

Anyway, the walk did me good I am sure. We got back to the car just after our first parking permit expired. We put in an extra $5 to cover us until morning. Time for a coffee. Now, Toronto is no St. Catharines when it comes to Tim Horton’s and other places to have coffee. We luckily had passed an Espresso Bar a block back so back we go. Slam a slice of pizza down to ol’ gullet and now stand in line @ 7PM for the concert.

The line almost immediately starts which is good – it is getting cold. We are inside in about 10 or 15 minutes so that is great. I have mentioned, the name of this place is The Opera House. I get a vision of a concert hall with row after row of seating. Well, no, not here. It is, essentially, a giant multi-leveled bar. Interesting … There are only a few tables to sit at and they are all taken, so, this means that we will be standing for the show. OK … It is 7:20 or so and the show is supposed to start @ 9PM and will likely last 3 hours. Our feet are going to be tired.

9PM rolls around and the show starts. OK, they can play Pink Floyd, the instrumentation is pretty good. Now it gets BAD, the singer starts to sing.

Pink Floyd could be described perhaps as, well, mellow … This guy is rushing through everything. I am disappointed to say the least. The light show is good, that’s a positive note anyway.

The second song starts, Great Gig in the Sky. This is the song where the woman essentially screams through it. She isn’t bad, she isn’t good though. I’ve decided at this point that I want to leave. These guys don’t have a clue …

A few years ago, I saw a GOOD Pink Floyd cover band, the Australian Pink Floyd show and it was something else. It was amazing, the best concert that I have ever been to. I am not even sure what I am listening to here. I am hoping that perhaps the singer will fall into a coma and perhaps the band will continue just with the instruments and then it happens – the band actually starts to ad-lib and add their own little “flairs” and what-not to the music, they changed the endings, they add “stuff” in the middle, they quicken the pace, in one word, they SUCK.

So, we’ve be in there for a few hours and we have suffered through 40 minutes of this show, I decide that I need a breather.

When I return, I suggest that if the other people want to, we can leave. I praise the Gods that wisdom has prevailed and it is agreed that yes, we can leave. I hate to waste money as much as the next guy but I would have preferred to simply burn two twenty dollar bills than to have made this pilgrimage to Toronto.

The drive home is quick. We don’t listen to any Pink Floyd on the sound system – we listen to the radio – they don’t play any either – I am sure that there is a bad taste in Q107’s mouth as well, they sponsored this thing. How embarrassing …

A Perkins run ended the evening. Didn’t end it that well either – for some reason they changed their onion rings and brought out something that could have been considered onion rings, maybe, in the third world …

Let’s forget Saturday – how does that sound?

My rating of Canada’s Pink Floyd show? How about 2 out of 10? That’s being generous …

I am heading to Toronto in 14 hours or so to go to the Canadian Pink Floyd show. RK and I hit the Autralian Pink Floyd show a few years ago and it was amazing. I am hopeful that this one will be its equal.

Although they are only cover bands, they do a fantastic job. The ticket prices aren’t too bad either. We paid about $60 the last time for 3rd row, centre. This time the tickets are general admission so that could be interesting.

It is at The Opera House in downtown Toronto. I have never been there before and I can’t drag up much information on how the seating is arranged so I guess I will find out tomorrow.

I will post some pictures and what not tomorrow. Yes, I can say tomorrow since it is already Saturday. Where the hell did the evening go?

I have uninstalled Windows on both my home laptop and desktop computers and have installed Ubuntu – a version of Linux.

I haven’t used Linux in quite a few years, wow, has it ever changed. Right out of the box, everything works – very impressive.

There are a few things that I can’t seem to do with it, not too many as yet though. I have looked but haven’t been able to find anything to allow me to sync my Blackberry – that’s OK though. As long as I have it synced with my work computer then that will work for me. I am sure that I will find something at some point though.

So, this should be an interesting experiment anyway. Wish me well.