Got back from a weekend in Chattanooga, Tennessee about an hour ago, and look at all the snow! Seriously, look at it; given the weather report for this week, it'll all be gone by Thursday at the latest.

I was in Chattanooga for TrashMasters, probably the top invitational trash tournament in the country (well, it and Michigan's Ann B. Davis are 1 and 1a). Quick recap: my team finished second after losing to the the team that won three times: once in prelims and twice in the playoffs. Had we beaten them at any one time, we'd have won the whole thing. Clearly, though, you lose three times to one team and it's meant to be.

Personally I started well, and was the tournament's leading scorer fairly deep into it (trading the spot on and off with Craig Barker, linked at left) until one of my teammates (Greg Sorenson, also linked at left) got back to his usual self and wrested the title away. Finished fourth overall, not bad, but I'd have preferred playing a little better in the playoffs and actually winning the thing.

Unrelated to the tournament, some observations:

* For all the weather hoopla, I had a mostly problem-free travel experience. We left Logan late on Friday morning due to poor visibility in Atlanta, but landed on time. We left Atlanta a little late today, and considering that Logan was closed until 1 pm that we left at all was surprising. We were a little late, but we had to wait for a plane to leave so we could take its gate.

* At the airport today I was subjected to Denver-Kansas City, even after it became a whitewash. I'd have appreciated a cut to the then-still close Pats game, which I heard most of the first half of on the drive to Atlanta.

* While Boston has the Big Dig, Chattanooga has the Little Dig, some sort of street improvement project that I suppose looks more daunting to navigate than it really is. I think we did have to make one detour, but nothing serious. At least not as serious as the parade that sent our dinner convoy on a bit of a roundabout way.

* Krystal, the southern knock-off of White Castle, is OK, but it is no White Castle.

* I also got to eat at Sonic, and had a combo I'd not recommend: the pancake on a stick (which has a sausage in the middle) and a watermelon Coke. The pancake on a stick actually wasn't that bad, but the watermelon Coke will remain a once in a lifetime experience.

* Finally, I rounded out a "places I've not eaten at" trifecta by lunching at Buffalo Wild Wings. Tasty.

* Going back to Friday, I spent a lot of time at the Atlanta airport waiting for various people, and got to learn that it has several shops, but no arcade. I suppose getting your money a quarter at a time is less efficient, but throw us a bone.

* We then decided that the airport probably had a lone '80s arcade game in a neglected corner of one of the more remote terminals. And it was probably this one.

* There was also a crazy man at the airport who missed his flight, had to rebook, and then decided not to get a hotel room because he'd already spent $150 on his new flight. He spent most of his time pushing around a Smart Carte with a couple of suit boxes on it talking to anyone who'd listen and asking people to read a screenplay he'd written. I imagine it involved a talking pie.

* While not part of the trip per se, anyone who can explain in a satisfactory manner how USC can be #1 in both polls and not playing Oklahoma or LSU should write me. The BCS people are talking about how we're getting two great bowl games out of this (Oklahoma-LSU and USC-Michigan), but I'd have to think Oklahoma-USC and LSU-Michigan would be pretty good, too.

* And while I don't know if it can happen, I'd like to see Delaware and Colgate make the 1-AA football final. Funny how they can decide the national title on the field.

* Anyone who saw the Al Sharpton episode of Saturday Night Live should write me with a review. The NBC affiliate we had showed a best of Steve Martin.