First Halloween

Oh yeah...check it out!

Trade Mags

Ah, the wonderful world of free publications. Every now and then, we get calls confirming our information for free publications. Things we never read...wastes of energy, postage, paper, ink and space.

This is the most recent call. Please keep in mind that I have very little patience for these phone calls. They are a waste of my time.


"Hi, may I speak to (name ridiculously pronounced...first and last and, mind you, the first name is not hard to pronounce)".

"I'm sorry, she's not here."

"Oh (dead silence)."

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well, I'm calling to confirm your address for free publication on automotive design and fabrication."

"I think we are all set. We don't have anything to do with automotive design."

"Let me remind you that is perfectly free!"

"It doesn't pertain to us."

"But it covers all aspects of automotive design, the build process, tooling and other things within the industry."

"We don't manufacture automobiles."

"What do you do?"

"We make bicycles."

"Oh. (dial tone)"

Ray Lamontagne

A huge thanks to Molly and Cheryl for last night. Cheryl for getting us tickets to see Ray Lamontagne over at Macky Auditorium. And Molly for looking after Emi while we were off galavanting around.

Ray played well last night...it seems like every show ends up just a little bit better than the one before. Most of the time, he was playing with his band but he did do a few songs solo. He even addressed the audience for a somewhat extended period of time...he had us all in stitches.

Some day we will bring Emiko to one of his shows and hope that she appreciates his music as much as we do.

Dirty Politics

This is what it comes to. Call center workers walking out of their paid jobs because their script is too slimy.

Attacks on Obama trying to strike fear into our hearts because he opposed protecting kids from danger.

Giuliani himself claiming that Obama "opposes mandatory prison sentences." You have to note that he has struck the fact that Obama opposes MINIMUM mandatory prison sentences.

Karl Rove politics are alive, well and just as dirty as they have been in the past. I can't wait to see what turns up during the polling day. And finally, I am truly disappointed in the man McCain has shown himself to be. A politician I had admired in the past as a Republican I would have voted for is now showing where his values lie.

Despicable comes to mind....

Wassup?

So much for a blog that was supposed to be about parenthood and hockey.

It turned political...watch this all the way through.

Pride

I have several friends who have taken on a great deal of societal responsibility. From social work to teaching to simply helping others in need, I am proud of you all.

Mr. Baldwin and I share the typical male friendship. We pick on each other, give one another a great deal of grief and, when we were younger, we used to tear around our family homes wrestling and breaking various things.

All of that aside, I'm not sure words can quite express how proud I am of what Brandon is doing back home in Maine. He has taken on a great deal of responsibility in doing his part in helping educate children and promote their acceptance of diversity. I envy him for what he does and proud that he is one of my greatest friends.

All because of this.

Keep it up Mr. Baldwin. You are broadening horizons and making a difference!

A Weekend at Home with Emi

Last weekend was my first weekend at home alone with Emi and we had a blast. We hung out all morning long on Saturday and did a quick trip to visit with Mom during her lunch so Emi could eat too.

Sunday was another full day alone and we spent the afternoon running errands together. She even sat with me while I ate lunch at a nice little Asian cafe. Good times!

And how did it all go, you may wonder?

Everything still works!

A New Stone - Part Deux

So...the first test is complete. I managed 36.2 mpg in the Saturn. I filled up at 361.5 miles and had a little less than a quarter tank remaining. Less than what I was anticipating. However, I must note that we had to use the little car on the highway quite a bit over the weekend.

A trip to the Pepsi Center on Thursday.

One run to Hope's Master's Class on Saturday and one run to the car pool pickup for the same on Sunday.

Highway miles seem to kill this experiment. I refuse to drive slowly on the highway or to limit my acceleration and risk getting rearended.

Thus we have agreed to try and limit the highway miles in the Saturn to help us complete the quest to 500 miles on one tank.

A new stone

I am prevailing upon myself to turn over a new stone while driving. As many know, I have traded cars with Hope (quite willingly) so that Emi always rides in the Volvo. Somehow, having the baby riding in the plastic car doesn't leave me with incredibly safe feelings.

That said, as happy as I am in being able to give my daughter one of the safest cars in the world to travel in, the Saturn leaves me quite grumpy as I drive the little beater around town. Compound this with my predilection for speed (yup...another speeding ticket in the Volvo last weekend) and I have realized the need to change something.

So...I have decided to see just how far I can drive the little Saturn on one tank of gas. Hope has said that the furthest she ever made it was 400 miles. I'm aiming for 500.

I have not yet taken off the roof rack. I have not yet aired the tires to maximum capacity. I have not yet done a tune up on the engine or replaced the engine oil with a lower viscosity. I have not yet replaced the air filter.

I have taken to shifting between 2 and 2.5 grand. I have taken to driving right at the speed limit. I have taken to coasting down inclines in neutral...sometimes with the engine off (depends on the traffic and other road conditions).

I will not draft. I will not run red lights or stop signs. I will not run below the speed limit. I will not try some of the nerdy stuff I have read that hypermilers do.

We'll have to see what is under this new stone....

Balance

Throughout life I have sought balance.

The balance between responsibilities and leisure. Obligations and desires. Education and sports. Friends, family and work.

Balance was found on two thin tires when riding my bike. Alone through the woods. In a two wheel drift on a loose corner. Along quiet highway shoulders. With Hope riding stoker on the tandem.

Balance was found on an 1/8 inch of steel. Carrying a stick. Blowing a whistle. Balance in making the call...or not making the call. All whilst balanced on an incredibly slippery surface.

But now I find myself searching for a new balance point. All the obligations, sports and leisure are getting shifted to the far side of the fulcrum as I grow into this new position as a parent.

The desire to stay at home to hold Emi and relax with Hope has an overwhelming draw. It seems as if it would be far too easy to fall into that parental trap and forget about some of the other passions of life. They all seem to pale in comparison.

The question is how to balance it all out. I'm still searching....

God Bless John Cleese

He doesn't make nearly enough appearances these days. Can you imagine the fun Monty Python would have with this election were they still together and willing to spoof American politics?

In Remembrance of Darrell

Not all of you have had the opportunity to have met Darrell. But all of you will have a chance to know him just a little bit through this blog.

Darrell was a wonderful Yellow Lab who lived with Pat and Ed. Hope and I have spent some wonderful time with him. He has traveled with Gibson in the back of the Land Rover. We have gone hiking, spent time playing at the Lewis' cabin and simply watched his antics as he played with a young puppy named Gibson. In fact, Darrell was the one who taught Gibson the lab crawl.

The lab crawl? When Darrell was in a down stay, he would often, while he thought no one was watching, inch closer to whatever was of interest. The family, the dining room table, the kitchen or the food which was recently dropped on the floor. To his credit, this was incredibly endearing. And Gibson picked up on it. Knowing our monster, he will continue to practice his lab crawl for years to come.

Darrell and Gibson made for fast friends. Their romps around the house and in the backyard terrorizing the cat and racing about kept us on the edge of our seats as we sat and watched. Darrell's antics with Gibson usually culminated in him trying to mount Gibson. They had a very unique relationship and both were far more patient with each other than the rest of us ever expected them to be.

Pat and Ed raised Darrell from a puppy for a specific purpose. When he was old enough, he was sent off to become a seeing eye dog. He did amazingly well. Pat and Ed both thought they would never get a chance to see him again. But on the last day of instruction...his final test...he failed out. He was too focused and too compassionate to become a full fledged guide dog. And much to Pat and Ed's surprise, he showed up back at their doorstep, ready for a life of leisure with them.

Not that he got it. As Pat is an instructor for vision and mobility impaired students, Darrell often served as a guide dog for her students. And he performed his job impeccably whenever he was called upon to serve in his guide harness. To the best of my knowledge, he even passed muster and boarded an airline with his passenger in tow.

Darrell, truly, was a phenomenal dog. It is with many fond memories and a great deal of tears in my eyes that I try to recount just a small part of his life with the Lewis' today.

Darrell, your kind eyes, your youthful energy and your wise, wise looks will live on with us forever. And to Pat and Ed, Emi, Hope, Gibson and I mourn with you. We will all miss him.

From A puppy named Gibson

Thanks Ma!

Last night was the season opener for the Avalanche. Hope and I were able to head to the game with Robbie and Kevin. While they didn't beat the Bruins last night, it was still one heck of a game. Good to see them skating again.

Emi?

She stayed home with my Mom and they had fun too.

We are very lucky.

The man

The man is out to get us all, right?

But every now and then, the man gets the next guy in front of you. And it was so deserved.

I drove home to have lunch with Hope, Emi, Mom and Gibson today. On my way out of Golden, several of us were stuck behind a large dump truck moving very slow up the hill on Hwy 93. The pickup directly behind the slow moving behemoth was swerving back and forth, trying to find a good spot to pass. Keep in mind, there really is no place to do so.

However, this pickup driver finally saw an opportunity to pass in an intersection on the right hand side...in the break down lane. From where I was seated three cars back, I was watching and waiting for this to unfold...you could see it coming from a mile away.

So too could the motorcycle cop one car behind me. I could see his eyes watching and waiting. The moment the pickup darted, the man had his siren and strobes on. It was fantastic. A little moment of satisfaction derived when I am usually watching my mirrors and the road ahead nervously trying to avoid being nailed for speeding.

Good stuff!

Funny!!!

Finally...a hockey related post. Unfortunately, this is less about my words and more about the image (and I'm realizing now that this may actually be fortunate in some of your eyes...).

Amendment 51

I had another NPR moment this morning listening to NPR's Colorado Matters. They were discussing Amendment 51 and whether or not Colorado should increase sales tax another percent to help pay for the developmentally disabled.

But I am not here to argue the merits of such a proposal. I'm still not sure where I stand on this matter...it seems that Colorado should be able to find some extra funding inside our current tax dollars to help handle this initiative. Then again, a couple extra cents on a sale would be a small price to pay to help families and individuals in this situation. Socialism anyone?

No, this is about Douglas Bruce who was interviewed and argues against this increase. Keep in mind that Mr. Bruce serves as a State Representative here in Colorado. A self proclaimed Ronald Reagan Republican.

Mr. Bruce had the gall to compare using tax dollars like this to George Orwell's 1984. WHAT? Mr. Bruce, have you ever read 1984? Do you have even the slightest notion as to the premise of 1984? Have you been waiting years to be able to throw "this is like 1984" into an argument?

This is a situation where the government is being upfront about a tax increase. They are telling us specifically where and why these dollars will be allocated. This is to help a group of our citizens cope with the additional stress of caring for children/adults who are unable to fully fend for themselves.

Wow. I'd say Douglas Bruce was the last person the anti-tax movement should have offered up to make an argument against Amendment 51.

That said, I'm still not sure how I will vote.

For Phoebe

A long time ago, you asked for a video of my little happy dance....

Why we need to vote

Everyone should read this article. All ten pages. Take the time to read it all the way through, it is worth it, I promise. I'm not going to summarize it. I'll warn you that it takes a bit of time to get through. If you are subscribers to Rolling Stone, you may have already seen it.

Enjoy.

Here's to you, Dad!

These days, it's the little things that begin to matter so much

Yesterday marked the first game I have officiated where the Canadian Anthem was played before the puck dropped. I was working the Air Force v. University of Alberta game yesterday evening and I was a little giddy when I stepped on the ice for the puck drop. As O Canada played, I thought of all the times the old man must have listened to the anthem as he took the ice and it made me happy to know that I have been able to follow in his footsteps, albeit in a slightly different roll. And I was a little bummed that he wasn't here in Colorado and able to come watch the game I was working.

I do know that he will be happy to hear I didn't screw up any calls. (His words of advice before games? "Seth, don't fuck it up.")