The War Between the States (and our marriage)

This evening, Karyn and I attended the Maryland-Illinois game, which was a part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. It was very exciting because Karyn and I are both huge fans of college basketball and enjoy the atmosphere so much. Plus, we had never been to the Comcast Center - the new arena at the University of Maryland.

However, Karyn and I were rooting for different teams. Even though I didn't attend Maryland, I have always been a Maryland basketball fan. Pitt is my other favorite men's basketball team since I went there for school. So that means Maryland and Pitt are my two favorite teams. Karyn doesn't like this because she thinks I need to root for Illinois as my second favorite team since I married someone that went there. Illinois will always be my #3 favorite team - but not #1 or #2.

So tonight Maryland held off Illinois 69-61 (and last year they ended Illinois' 51 home non-conference home winning streak in Champaign) and our marraige survived the night where one of us wore bright red and the other bright orange.

Go Terps and Go ACC!

The Ultimate 12th Man Experience

This past Monday, work brought me to Northeastern Ohio and even though I was particularly nauseated by the overabundance of Ohio State University paraphernalia, I was able to take some time to go and see the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Holy good fun Batman!

I have to say I never realized why the Hall was in Canton, Ohio but it turns out Ohio played an important role in popularizing football way back when (and yes, I realize Pennsylvania played a major role too!). Turns out there were teams not only from small Ohio towns but other places like Rochester, Providence (Go Steamrollers!), Racine, etc. Maybe I should create some sort of "Former Teams" fantasy football roster? That would be fun.

This was my first Hall of Fame in any sport and it was pretty awesome. I missed out on the a previous opportunity to go to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto because I had to leave a conference early but so far I am on board for seeing more Halls. In September it was Presidential Libraries - now onto November where it moves to Sports Hall of Fames.

If you would like to view my pictures from the stop at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, click here (and press the "i" button to read captions after you start your slideshow).

A Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

My newest addiction....

So I have a problem. It's not drugs, it's not even airplane models. It's not reality TV, Nope, not even fantasy football. How about Pad See Ew at Thai restaurants? Nope.

It's Facebook!

People, this website is beyond addicting. I have been able to not only find my long lost friends from middle school, cousins, etc., but I also have been able to spread the gospel on what books I have been reading and where I have traveled to on this planet. There are geography, movie and book quizzes and who doesn't love quizzes!!!

Plus I am learning about new phrases such as Tagging, SuperPoke and iLike (ok, some some of these sound not so G-rated) but I am telling every one of you this site is awesome.

Of course some of you who are reading this have already joined the Facebook addition.

And for all of you who are still using Friendster or MySpace, it's time to come over to the better site, Facebook.

Go and sign on at www.facebook.com and make sure you Add Me, Poke Me or Tag Me. (seriously, this is not dirty)

Lights, Camera, Grid System!

Greetings from Chicago O'Hare - Concourse H is headed to Vancouver, Canada for a week of work. About an hour ago, I landed at O'Hare and as I peered over the annoying couple who felt the need to make out the entire flight - I saw the most beautiful sight ever (with regards to nighttime urban aerial views).

The view of Chicago at night by air is unrivalled by any city. A grid system that goes on for as long as the eye can see. It also doesn't hurt that the city has one of the most beautiful group of skyscrapers in the world. And hello, the prize at the end of your flight is that you get to be at Chicago O'Hare. This is coming from a person that has done 1,000s of nighttime arrivals over the Potomac and into Washington, DC. (close second perhaps - or maybe we will give that arrival the daytime award...).

After my recent travels through European cities, the sheer nature of America's urban planning as a new world example of layouts, street systems and population flows defininitely exceeds that of many other nations. However, not to get on my tangent again but other countries still have perfected the ability to get around on mass transit...

So here I am at the heart of the America, the center of our nations Rail network, a poignant place in the history of our Labor force - getting ready for my next departure and view!

By the way, I seem to be making my way through future Olympic host and bid cities - London 2012, Vancouver 2010 and Chicago 2016 (bid). Oh, when will my company send me to Beijing (2008) and Sochi (2014)?

And thanks Tami for waving to me as I landed - I'll throw another high five at you in another 15 minutes.

Side Note: I can't believe the Redskins actually won. Hallelujah - I was about to start the losing sports team checklist, it goes like this - "I have a roof over my head and a beautiful wife, who cares if the team you root for didn't win this week" - This may be coming in the future....