Another Picture Credit

Our local ABC affiliate, KATU, included my Mount St. Helens picture in an online story.

World Series Pictures

I posted them here. Be sure to click on the thumbnails to see a bigger picture, or just hover to get the commentary if the thumbnail is big enough for you.

In addition to the celebrity pic I posted, I also saw Steven King (spoke to him briefly -- "Great job, Steven. I love your books" which elicited a kind look), Mitt Romeny (MA governor who is looking straight into the camera in both shots I have of him), Mrs. Gene Autry, Rowdy Gaines, and That 70's Show stars, Danny Masterson (Steve Hyde) and Mila Kunis (Jackie) who were hand in hand and very cozy.

And, an update about the Mount St. Helen's picture below. I sent it to our local news stations, and our NBC affiliate, KGW, used it in an online story (registration required). :( The news director sent me an e-mail today saying a reader wanted to use it in an advertisement. I contacted the reader and she wants to use it in an ad for a dog show. She's going to super-impose last year's winner into the photo. She'll send me a copy of the ad soon, and of the magazine in which she's placing it. I think that's cool. I'll share it when I get it.

Thar She Blows!

What are the chances that on a late October day, we'd have blue skies in WA & OR, that I'd be on a flight, and that Mount St. Helens was blowing steam? Well, today the chances were 100%:


MSL, I'm finally delivering on one of your picture requests. Thanks to you, I had my camera with me on my travels to MSFT today, and was able to snap the Mount St. Helens pictures. Thank you!




World Series pictures coming soon, I promise!

World Series

I'm back from an intense time in Boston where I took in Game 1 at Fenway and Game 2 at a sports bar with friends. Someone asked me what it was like, and I couldn't give him an answer on the spot. Thinking about it more, I have to get an little unusual in my description/analogy.

If fervor and adrenaline could be delivered to you like a web page downloads -- you know, you can pull it up on demand -- then you know what the game was like. I went in wanting an intense, electric experience and I got it. I had built it up in my head so much that I was fearing a let down. Suffice to say I was blown away by it. The history, the comraderie, the players, our seats, the celebrities, the souveniers, etc.

When I have time later this week to upload some pictures, you're in for a treat. Let's just say you big baseball fans will be happy, and so will you US Weekly/People Magazine fans. I was a regular ole papparazzi.

I did the weekend on the (relatively) cheap. I used miles to fly, paid face value for tickets ($190 each) and stayed with friends and family. I had made a promise to my Godfather that I'd take him the World Series if the Sox made it, and I was fearing I'd have to shell out $5K just for flights and tickets. In the end, I spent less than $1000 on everything, including souveniers, drinks and meals. Though, I was surprised when I realized how much of my funds were devoted to car related expenses:

$213 to rent a car for 3 days -- they surprised me with taxes, taxes, taxes. More than $80 of taxes.

$25 parking ticket when the meter ran out during my souvenier bonanza (for other people, I might add).

$44 garage fee for 12 hours of parking on Sunday night when I unexpectedly stayed with a friend and his wife downtown after MANY beers.

$69 parking fee for parking at Portland Airport for 3 1/2 days

So, I paid almost as much for parking, fines and rentals as I did on the game itself. Robbery.

World Series Update

It's Game 1 I'm going to. We'll see Tim Wakefield throw the first pitch of the 2004 World Series. Here's an excerpt of an e-mail my Godfather sent to my family:

I have in my possession two tickets...seats one and two in row AA of box 117
in section 16 in the greatest baseball park in the world. Tonight as my
Godson flies across this great nation back to the Cradle of Liberty, to
where the shot was heard around the world, to the land of the Super Bowl
Champions, the City of his birth, to the home of the Cod, the City on the
Hill, to where he met his true love, Colleen... as he COMES BACK HOME, I
know that he will travel with God's Speed and tomorrow on what is expected
to be a beautiful Fall New England evening after they play our National
Anthem, I will put my arm on his shoulder, think of all of you, look him in
the eye and say: "Rob....it doesn't get any better than this" GOD BLESS
AMERICA!!

Not sure I'll be able to sleep tonight on the red eye after reading this. I'll be anticipating my time in Boston even more now!

A Dream Come True

I'm Boston bound and headed to Game 2 of the World Series.

My godfather, Richard, somehow found tickets, so I'm going taking the red eye tomorrow and arrive in Boston Saturday morning. I'll rest up, then take in Game 1 in a Boston bar with a really good friend. 7:30 Sunday night, I'll be singing the National Anthem in Fenway Park and watching Curt Schilling throw the first pitch. Look for lots of pictures early next week.

Until then, enjoy these pictures of the sneaky smoker. She works in a building near ours, but walks about 200 yards to our parking lot and hides behind trees that block the view into her building. And she thought no one was looking.

1: She approaches
2: She's caught (and I think she saw me snapping the photo -- she quickly retreated further into the trees)
3: She furtively begins her trek back
4: She's now in view of her own building
5: She's on her way back to her job, stinky with smoke

Answers

To answer my own questions from yesterday:

Can D. Lowe do it? Yes. 6 innings, 1 run.

Can our bullpen hold on? Yes. 3 innings, 2 runs.

Can Johnny Damon get out of his slump? Yes. 6 RBIs, baby! Colleen was calling him "honey" and said if she was there, she'd give him a big kiss on the cheek.

Can Manny finally show his power? No.

Can Ortiz single-handedly win a 4th post season game for us? He didn't have to, but he belted a two-run homerun and took home the MVP.

Now on to the World Series!

Sox Nation

I am unbelievably excited and nervous about tonight's game. It's the sporting event I've looked forward to most in my whole life. Can D. Lowe do it? Can our bullpen hold on? Can Johnny Damon get out of his slump? Can Manny finally show his power? Can Ortiz single-handedly win a 4th post season game for us?

Red Sox, Red Sox, Red Sox.

Rope a dope (UPDATED with pictures)

Man, am I'm beat up. My wife has been out of town for a week, so I've been acting as a single parent to Grady and Liam. I don't know how single parents do it. I mean, I've been able to do nothing outside of working, making breakfast, giving them baths, cooking them dinner, reading them books, picking them up from school, taking them to the bathroom, changing tinkled-on sheets, disciplining them, talking to their teachers, rough housing with them, laughing with them, cleaning up their dinner table, etc. It is a full time job. They're on the go from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Last night on the way home, crossing the Sellwood Bridge, I realized there was a beautiful sunset beginning. I pulled into Sellwood Waterfront Park and took a bunch of pictures of Grady and Liam on the dock, with Portland's cityscape in the background.

Looking north on the Willamette River into downtown Portland


The boys watch a boat go by


River rats


The beloved little Sellwood Bridge into our old neighborhood.





This morning when I was putting shoes on Grady and Liam, Grady began lecturing Liam about his behavior in school yesterday. Liam was a toy hog and bit a classmate. Grady said, "Liam, don't push or bite anyone today. I don't bite or p.... I don't bite anyone." So, I guess Grady has been pushing lately, eh?

Colleen gets home late tonight. Thank God.

Let's go Red Sox, ch ch ch-ch-ch!

Web 2.0

On Wednesday, I was in S.F. attending day 2 of a great new conference, called Web 2.0. It was all about what the "next" version of the Web would bring. And, boy, am I excited. It was also fun to hear from and see some computer industry celebrities too: Mark Cuban, Mary Meeker, Marc Andreessen, DJ Danger Mouse, Craig Newmark (of Craigslist.com fame) among others. Those I didn't see but were conference participants: Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Jerry Yang of Yahoo! and Kim Polese of Java fame. If you're interested, a blogger captured pictures and MP3 audio files of most of the presentations.

S.F. was not looking its best. Hotel workers were striking for better health care benefits. Picketers were around all the hotels with megaphones and signs. My cabbie wouldn't drop me off at the door. He stopped a block away.

Don't forget to make photo requests. MSL made some good ones that may take longer than a week to get, but I'll will get to all of them. Give me more work!

Have it your way

Tell me what pictures you'd like me to take and I'll accomodate it if it's within reason and post next week. Suggest as many as you like.

The Coast

On Friday it was 80 degrees and Colleen came up with the great idea to spend Saturday night at the coast. Forecasted was beautiful 75 degree weather for Saturday and Sunday. I got the last room at the Hallmark Resort. The Resort is just opposite Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach. It accepts dogs, has an indoor pool and is right on the beach. The last room was a two bedroom unit with a full kitchen. Perfect!

We left early Saturday morning and got there in no time. For the first time, the drive was enjoyable. Grady and Liam were in great moods and Coltrane rested peacefully in the back. Usually that 90 mile ride is the biggest obstacle to us going to the beach.

About 20 miles from the coast, though, we encountered heavy fog. It didn't lift until Sunday afternoon. So, the 75 degree sunny weather we were supposed to have turned into foggy, cloudy high 50 degree weather. With only sweatshirts, we were a bit chilly and only spent about an hour on the beach.







Thank goodness for the indoor pool at the hotel and the cool art shops and ice cream stores in town. It made for an enjoyable weekend even though our time wasn't spent how we anticipated.

Coltrane gets an A+ for his behavior -- from his quiet time in the car, to sleeping soundly on our bed at night, to being friendly to the teeming population of dogs at Cannon Beach, to just being a "what a beautiful dog you have" kind of dog. He really attracts loads of attention in public, and he relishes it.

Liam was real trouble in the restaurants, but otherwise a happy-go-lucky kid, so gets an overall B-. He would have gotten a C+ if he hadn't have slept until 9:30 Sunday morning. Grady gets a solid B (misses an A for wetting the bed).

A fraternity brother of mine from UVA (Brian Smoluch) lives in Portland, but I'd not seen him for a good five years. Happily, we ran into Brian and his wife at Cannon Beach and learned they have two sons, aged 3 years and 9 months. It'll be good to renew our friendship and introduce the children.