Brotherly Love

My younger brother brought his cold from Ohio with him this weekend to my mother's house for Easter. A great example of brotherly love. I woke up with a sore throat this morning. As the day progressed, sinus pressure increased in my head, I had the chills, I felt a little disoriented, and I just felt run down. I started talking Cold-EEZE zinc lozenges at work. I still feel crappy, but I mustered up the energy to listen to the Penguins game and watch CSI Miami. I actually plan on going to bed early this evening. Lights out.

Winter Weather Forecast Pet Peeves

I am getting annoyed with the Pittsburgh media hyping up the Winter Weather forecasts. Here are my pet peeves (or conversely the media's sly techniques) for overblowing the winter weather forecasts:

• Teaser Trailers - these are short teasers less than 5 seconds in length telling you of impending doom, but you will have to watch 15 minutes of the newscast before the forecast is revealed.


• Live Reports - TV stations feel there is a need to have a reporter on the spot showing and telling you the current conditions. A few Saturdays ago, KDKA TV had Ivy league educated cutie Alison Morris reporting live from a Giant Eagle parking lot in Beaver County. It was ridiculous. There was no precipitation at all, so the camera panned to a snowpile that was created from a snowplow plowing the parking lot.


• Snowfall totals spanning 2 or more days. If the amount of predicted snowfall for one day is not newsworthy, the snowfall totals are predicted over a span of 2 or more days. This makes the total snowfall amount more dramatic.


• If the snowfall totals in the Pittsburgh area are not going to be significant, the Teaser Trailers hint at more significant snowfall totals. However, when you see the forecast, the significant snowfall total was for a "surrounding area" like Altoona or Erie. There are TV stations in Altoona snd Erie.

I am hoping Spring arrives soon.

Vernal Equinox

From http://www.weather.com/, here is today's weather forecast for the first day of Spring, the Vernal Equinox: High 36 degrees. Intermittent snow showers and windy this morning. Peeks of sunshine later. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 40%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. Lovely, do I really enjoy the joys of all four seasons?

Widget1000 Spam

Here is the text from a comment left on one of my blog posts:

anthony bremond has left a new comment on your post "Pittsburgh Penguins Season Opener - 10/5/2007":

Dear Mr,
I'm an intern with startup widget 1000 and I created a news widget for Pittsburgh Penguins News.It's updated every hour with Pittsburgh Penguins headlines from several different sports websites like ESPN, FOX Yahoo,etc. (Take a look: www dot widget1000 dot com). Can we add Pittsburgh Penguins blog to the widget,too? That means that every time you post to your blog the headline of the post will show up on the widget and link directly to your post. Anyone who puts this widget on their start page or on their website will see your Pittsburgh Penguins posts too. It's a powerful and free way to publicize your site. Finally, would you add your Pittsburgh Penguins News Widget to your site so that others can see it? Everyone who grabs the widget will automatically link to you so it's great for your search engine rankings. Plus, it shows a lot of stories about Pittsburgh Penguins and since it's updated every hour it is fresh and will make your site even more appealing than it already is.
What do you think?
Go Pittsburgh Penguins
Anthony Bremond

I am all for free enterprise, but I did a search on Google for "widget1000" and found the above text on a bunch of other blogs. The only thing that was different was that the name of the sports team had been changed. Google also found advertisements for widget1000's paid services. Obviously, I rejected this comment on my blog. You are not going to make a buck off of my blog.

Sunglasses of Justice

CSI: Miami has become my favorite of the 3 CSI franchise television shows. I used to really like the original, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, but have lost interest recently. The original CSI always had interesting, odd, puzzles to solve, which was the main appeal to me. David Caruso's portrayal of Horatio Caine is the reason why I like CSI: Miami so much. At times, his acting can be a little over the top. Horatio always gets the bad guy, and he does it while being as cool as a cucumber with a heart for the victim. Horatio Caine is infamous for his one-liners at the beginning of each show. The content and delivery of the one-liners make them unique. Here is a YouTube link to a whole 7 minutes of Horatio Caine one-liners, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcD0Mmyp3f4. Enjoy!

Driver Pet Peeves

Here is a my list of pet peeves about drivers:

1. Talking on a cell phone while driving - this is my absolute #1 pet peeve about drivers. I have tried to drive and talk on a cell phone at the same time, but I only have two hands, not three. If you are going to use your cell phone while driving, please use a handsfree headset.


2. Driving slow in the passing lane - Why is it that slow drivers in the passing lane are totally clueless that they are causing a huge backup of vehicles? Cars do come with something called mirrors.


3. Non use of turn signals - cars have turn signals for a reason, to let other drivers know you are changing directions.


4. Leaving you turn signal on - this is almost as bad as not using your turn signal. Are you turning or not? It only takes on quick flick of the wrist to turn off a turn signal.
   

I will stop complaining now.

I Scream for Ice Cream

National Blog Posting Month has a theme for March, LISTS. The goal is to post every day for a month. Obviously, I am already ten days late, but LISTS are an idea that I have overlooked to add variety to my posts. Even though I watch my diet very carefully, I do have some "cheat" foods, and Ice Cream is my favorite cheat food. Ice Cream has changed - you can buy sugar free and double/slow churned versions with less fat. Another thing that has changed is the container size - no more half gallons. Anyway, here are my top 5 favorite flavors, starting with my most favorite:

1. Cookies N Cream - brings me back to the days as a young kid eating cookies and milk before going to bed.


2. Mint Chocolate Chip - the chocolate chips and the mint ice cream are a great pairing.


3. Vanilla - a classic, sounds basic, but you can add almost any topping to Vanilla ice cream and it still tastes great. I particularly prefer brands where you can see the vanilla bean specks.


4. Moosetracks - the perfect combination of everything that is bad but tastes so good.


5. Chocolate - double, triple, with fudge, chocolate chips, or anything with chocolate ice cream as the base is just outstanding.

Yes, I still eat ice cream in the winter, even if my body temporarily gets the chills after eating a few scoops.

Workout Rewind – February 2008

In February, I decided I needed to get back in shape after my layoff from tennis elbow. I managed to fit in at least one, sometimes two, and one week actually three weightlifting sessions. I aggravated my tennis elbow a few times due to removing snow and/or ice from my car. For my upper body, I have limited my range of motion to only partial repetitions. The elbow still bothers me, so I am reluctant to complete full range of motion repetitions. Maybe I am being too cautious, but I do not want to re injure myself.

The Power of The Pensblog

My favorite Pittsburgh Penguins blog, The Pensblog, is known for it's creative photoshops. Another blogger recently "stole" some photoshops from The Pensblog. Not a smart move. The Pensblog and its readers basically flooded the photoshop thief with comments and the thief had no choice but to take down the stolen photoshops. Readers of The Pensblog are numerous, united in their love of the Pens, and united when it comes to a cause. Do not underestimate the power of bloggers, in particular, the Power of the Pensblog.

Myron Cope Passes Away at 79

Mryon Cope, writer, legendary broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the inventor of the Terrible Towel, and a pioneer in sports talk radio, died today at the age of 79. My prayers go out to the Cope family.

Pittsburgh Penguins Blogs

With the Pittsburgh Penguins having another great season and the blockbuster Marian Hossa trade, I thought I would list my favorite Pittsburgh Penguins Blogs. So here goes:

• Pittsburgh Penguins, The Official Web Site - No explanation needed here. Go here for the official schedule, stats, etc.
• THE PENSBLOG - This is a great website run by a group of die hard Pens fans. The guys here make liberal use of reader submitted Photoshop pics, which at times have made me fall off of my chair laughing. Warning, do not visit this blog if you are easily offended my male, testosterone driven humor.
• Faceoff-Factor - a little bit more cerebral than THE PENSBLOG.
• Pittsburgh Sports Insider - these guys usually have the latest breaking news. Not just the Penguins, but all Pittsburgh Sports teams.
• 105.9 the X - the official radio broadcast station for the Penguins games. You can listen to the games live on 105.9 FM, or listen live on the internet.

The Symphony Over Lunch?

I brought my vehicle to the Sears at Ross Park Mall to get my tires rotated. I was pleasantly surprised that the Three Rivers Symphonette was performing at the mall. The Symphonette is comprised of 35 students, aged 10-15, strings only. Classical music usually is not my thing, I am more of an alternative rock kind of guy. These kids were very good, their parents should be proud of their hard work and dedication. Hats off to the Ross Park Mall for bringing these kids in to perform.

Winter Driving Tips

The last two days have been an adventure driving to and from work. I feel fortunate that I do not have to drive on any of the Parkways to go to work. I live in Northern Allegheny County and drive up Route 8 to Butler. Even though I avoid the traffic jams of the Parkways, I have to deal with Penndot's less than desirable snow and ice removal on Route 8. You know immediately when you have crossed the Allegheny/Butler County line. I am not an expert on winter driving, but I wanted to share information on how to drive in the winter. Rather than me writing my personal observations, I used Google, and found what I believe to be, one website with very good overall winter driving tips. I could have provided links to several sites, but I found that AAA has a downloadable publication which seems to cover just about everything. It is called "How To Go On Ice And Snow". Please take the time to read it and be safe out there.

Year of the Rat

Happy Chinese New Year! 2008 is the Year of the Rat. If you are interested in the Chinese Zodiac, some attributes of the Rat are: Rats are leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Rat people are endowed with great leadership skills and are the most highly organized, meticulous, and systematic of the twelve signs. The Chinese New Year is sometimes called the Lunar New Year. If you collect stamps, see the stamp issued this year by the United States Postal Service.

Back on the Bench

Yesterday, I made my first attempt in 3 months to exercise my upper body. I have been on a self imposed, but wise, decision to let my elbow tendonitis heal since the beginning of November. My elbow is not entirely healed yet, but I really need to do something before my body turns into Jello. My weight and percentage bodyfat has not changed significantly in 3 months, but my body seems to have re-distributed itself. I do not want to re-aggravate my elbow tendonitis, so I was very careful with my workout. Yesterday, I attempted some bench presses with a few differences from my normal routine. I dropped the poundages to one-third of my normal poundages and I completed only partial repetitions so my arms were not fully extended with elbows locked. So how do I feel? My chest is actually a little sore. It is probably a result of my inactivity and not the actual poundages. I also completed the partial repetitions very slowly and with good form. One of my objectives from last night was to get my body accustomed to the movement again, muscle memory as it is called. My elbow is not sore today, so it seems like I accomplished what I wanted to. I am pleased that I am taking baby steps to getting back into the groove of things.

Tennis Elbow Update - 2/4/2008

I saw my hand surgeon this AM for a follow up visit after receiving a cortisone shot one month ago. I had an 8:30AM appointment and was pleasantly surprised by the non-existent wait time and the very pretty receptionist who could have a second career as a model. Anyway, my grip strength has improved but is not quite equal to the grip strength in my good arm. The Doc recommended gripping/carrying items with my elbow bent versus elbow extended straight out. Also, I should carry items palm up versus palm down. This puts less stress on the elbow. My Doc likes to spread out cortisone shots every 3 months if necessary. I should also wear a Band-It elbow strap as needed. He did not schedule a follow up appointment. Instead I am supposed to schedule an appointment if my progress starts to go backwards.

Later Sunsets

As I was driving home yesterday after work around 5:30PM I noticed something strange - the sun had not set yet, there was still some daylight, the days are actually getting longer ! This winter has been blah for me. I stopped working out in November to let my elbow tendonitis heal and I really have not been able to get back into any type of consistent workout routine. My physical therapy sessions were $30 a session, even with my insurance covering the rest of it. I am not looking forward to my credit card bill next month. Shopping for winter clearance clothes is even depressing - everything is either black, gray, navy blue, dark green, or dark red. Winter colors are so boring. I need something to snap me out of the winter doldrums. Hopefully, more sunlight and an earlier Daylight Savings on March 9th will energize me.

Al Gore, No Inconvenient Truth Today

Al Gore, there is no"Inconvenient Truth" today, it is damn cold. Even though I should be acclimated to setting my thermostat at 69 degrees, it is a very cold 69 degrees. Here is a breakdown of what I am wearing today inside my house: Head - Nike baseball hat turned backwards; Upper Body - Reebok Play Dry compression T-shirt, Reebok Play Dry Thermal Long Sleeve Mock Turtleneck, cotton full zip front sweatshirt; Lower Body - Champion Duo Dry sports brief, Under Armour Cold Gear leggings, cotton sweatpants; Feet - wool socks, Nike running shoes.

Tennis Elbow Update

I saw my hand surgeon this morning for a re-evaluation of my tennis elbow after 6 weeks (12 sessions) of physical therapy. My Doctor measured my grip strength and said my strength had not dramatically improved. My Doc said it can take 6 to 9 months to fully heal. He gave me the options of allowing more time to heal by itself, or have a cortisone injection. He recommended the cortisone shot since my grip strength did not improve a lot. My physical therapist suggested 2 weeks (4 sessions total) of additional physical therapy and my doctor agreed to this. I will see my doc in one month to see if the cortisone shot worked. I will keep you updated.

Drive Time

No, this is not a post about being stuck in traffic on the Parkway. The second DVD drive that I installed in my PC died yesterday. It was a Sony DVD writer and only worked for almost 3 years. Of course, it only had a one year warranty, so I replaced it with a DVD writer drive that I was saving for my unbuilt new PC. I sent an e-mail to Sony tech support complaining about the quality of the drive. I doubt if they will even reply since I was not asking for tech support. The drive is dead, trust me. The very first DVD drive I installed 4 years ago was only a reader, not a burner. It was made by a no name company, Pacific Digitial, and died about one month after the one year warranty. My PC is seven years old and surprisingly the original CD writer drive still works. It is very slow compared to today's technology and makes a horrible grinding noise, but it still works. I also took some time to dust out my computer case, the cooling fans, etc. I will have to wait and see how long this drive will last.