Returning home from errands last night, we encountered several police cars and officers in the street. This is a pretty unusual display for Wellesley. What sparked it? Well, it wasn't a home invader or a gang of punk teens.

It was a moose.

A year-old moose wandered into town sometime yesterday, apparently following a water source (the Charles, they think) and separated from its mom. It wasn't too agitated, but considering that even a young moose weighs a quarter ton there was some concern about the moose getting in front of oncoming traffic. The moose decided to put that concern to the test by crossing Route 9 (divided highway, 2 lanes each way, speed limit averages 45 mph but actual speeds are more like bigger highways), and thankfully didn't get hit. The police did shut the road down for a while, thinking it might cross back. Instead, it wandered into Natick and found a pond to swim in.

The plan, as far as I can tell, is to tranquilize the moose and transport it to more moose-friendly environs. Also as far as I can tell, this hasn't happened yet. Now if someone could just tie the moose to al-Qaeda, it'd be off the streets by lunchtime. Though I can't imagine a moose would do well with the heat at Camp X-Ray.

In case you've missed it (and haven't seen the SI or ESPN the Magazine covers, the Tour de France starts this Saturday. Live daily coverage is available on the Outdoor Life Network (or you can tune into expanded coverage during prime time if you're unlike me and have a job). Do yourself a favor and watch this rather than the CBS weekend coverage, which compresses an entire week of racing into part of an afternoon.

Anyone seeking further information can check out Bob Roll's Tour de France Companion. I'd have liked it to be more about this year's race specifically, but it's a good primer for anyone who has no or a basic understanding of how the race works. The historical information is also good for context, especially when talking about how that history continues to impact the race.

In a typical move for me, I did some checking around today to see what it would take to convert songs on cassettes to mp3 files (considering that a not insignificant number of my tapes aren't available on CD right now). Turns out there's an inexpensive USB device that would allow me to connect a tape player to the computer, and with the right software it looks like it'll work pretty well. Had I only thought of this a few months ago when I knew I'd be moving.

Finally, we're done with the first part of our move. The bulk of our stuff sits in storage, while the rest is in our temporary quarters in one of Babson's grad housing apartments. It's a little light on furniture (it was a staff apartment, and the previous resident had mostly her own stuff), but it'll do.

Given how much of our stuff is already in a box or bag I'm hoping the actualy move will go pretty smoothly. That's probably a pipe dream, but hope will spring etermal until reality crashes in.

As part of our tying up loose ends today, we took our change bottle (a 2 liter soda bottle) to the Coinstar machine in the supermarket (my distaste for rolling coins outweighing their fee). We had a lot of change, earning over $60, even after taking out the fee.

Of course, we had our share of rejected coins. Some were understandable, like the usual collection of Canadian coins. I think, though, that someone who went before us didn't check the returned coin slot. That's the only way I can explain how we got a Canadian $2 coin. They're a little big for the bottleneck.

Also represented in coins we brought back:

Aruba
Trinidad and Tobago
The Netherlands
Cayman Islands
France (a half-franc coin; the only Euro money we got was a 5 cent piece with the Greek logo on it)
Bermuda
Ecuador
Ireland (1p)
Jamaica (whose 5 cent piece has Marcus Garvey on it)
Great Britain
East Caribbean States (some sort of British dependency whose 5 cent piece is this wavy-shaped thing)

There are also several Asian coins that I can't place, though I think more than one country is represented. There is also a Middle Eastern country represented, as the script on the coin looks like Arabic. One of the sides has an ear of corn on it, though, so perhaps I'm not seeing it well.

We also wound up with a New York City transit token and a 1943 steel US penny.

We are mostly done with the first phase of our move, which entails putting most of out stuff in storage for 2-3 weeks before we move it to the final destination. Thankfully, that storage is free, as my boss and the director of my old office were able to arrange the use of a room in this building. That's been incredibly helpful. It'd be even better if we had less stuff.

Kind of a funny thing from this morning. We drove into Brookline to do some errands, with our first stop at the post office on Beacon Street. We get close and start looking for spots, and there are two right next to it, but they're marked no parking for Saturday mornings. We find this odd, but pull in to do a drop off rather than park.

It wasn't until I'd gotten out of the car that I realized why there was no parking - the spaces are in front of a clinic that is regularly picketed on Saturday mornings by anti-abortion activists (around here that generally means Catholic church groups, who are less in your face but use similarly graphic signs, etc.). If memory serves there's some sort of law (fed or state, can't remember) about how close you can park to a clinic.

In any case I was left alone (being an unlikely abortion candidate), not like when we used to walk by the Planned Parenthood on Comm Ave en route to Star Market. It got so I'd just start pointing at the market when we got within protester range.

Living out in the 'burbs, I'd forgotten all about this protesting stuff. The folks out here are too busy taking up both lanes on Route 9 in their Lexus SUV (an encounter we had on our way to Brookline; I even got to honk the horn).

While not an Illinoisan, I'd have to say I don't think I'd have voted for Jack Ryan even without the scandal. It's not so much his politics (which I know nothing of outside of the fact that he was running as a Republican), as it is that he messed up being able to, uh, "snuggle" with Jeri Ryan on a regular basis. That would be enough for most folks, wouldn't it?

I know Dwight's on vacation, but I'd like to start the Fraught Watch now on the upcoming Spears-Federline nuptuals. In case you missed it, Britney is engaged to her current beau, Kevin Federline. You knew it was going to be true love when they got dice tattoos (hers are pink, his blue, of course).

The future Mrs. Federline will also be a stepmom to his two kids, one of which is still in utero. The future Mr. Spears may also owe Chris Judd some money for using his patented system for marrying up.

I don't mind aging - not that much, anyway - but while packing I keep running across old pictures of myself. I don't think I need so many reminders of the hair I've lost or the middle I've gained. This peaked when I ran across my old ID from freshman year, a picture taken during summer orientation when I was tan on top of everything else. Sigh.

One from the where are they now files: while watching CFL coverage on NESN tonight, former World Bowl MVP Yo Murphy caught a TD for Ottawa as they defeated the Toronto Argonauts at a rainy Frank Clair Stadium. Looks like he's getting off to a good start, as are the Renegades, who are 2-0.

No Latvia in the second round of Euro 2004 - they lost to the Netherlands. There'll also be no Germany, as they lost to the Czechs. Your quarterfinal matchups:

Portugal v. England - An interesting matchup, as both teams overcame disheartening first game losses (to Greece and France, respectively) to qualify. I'm going to go with the hosts by a whisker, mostly because they're the hosts.

Sweden v. Netherlands - The Dutch seem to be peaking a little bit more than Sweden, who blasted Bulgaria and then put up two draws to win the pool. So I'll go with them.

France v. Greece - The French should win, but I'm going to be pulling for the Greeks.

Denmark v. Czech Republic - The Czechs were the only team to put up a 3-0-0 record in prelims, and did so in a tough group. I think they'll prevail, though I'm pulling for a 1992 repeat for the Danes.

Denmark made it to the second round of Euro 2004 yesterday by tying Sweden 2-2. Italy beat Bulgaria 2-1, leaving all but the Bulgarians with 5 points. Italy finished third based on goal differential and get to go home, the most surprising non-qualifier yet (Spain doesn't count, as their m.o. pretty much requires an early exit). For their troubles, the Danes will get to play the Czechs, who have already won group D.

Speaking of which, Latvia can move on if they beat the Netherlands and Germany fails to beat the Czechs. It's not as unlikely as it sounds, but it'd be pretty surprising if it happened.

While channel surfing this morning before Perry Mason (OK, I like old cop and lawyer shows), I ran across the video for "Jesus Walks" by Kanye West. The song's been in my head all day. One of the pitfalls of unemployment.

I just spent the last 5 minutes watching CSPAN, as reps from Ohio and California went about the nation's business by discussing a resolution congratulating the Kenyon College men's swimming and diving team on their most recent national title. I know this sort of stuff happens regularly, but you can't appreciate its surreal quality until you watch it live.

Adding to the feeling was that the California rep actually said something along the lines of "I yield myself as much time as I may consume." I don't know what I like better - the self-yielding or the idea that she eats time.

Started packing in earnest today, and have come to the conclusion that we have too many books. There will be no book blowout, though. That being said, still plenty of tapes available for the asking.

Thought it was funny to see the ads on ESPN today for their 2004 World Series of Poker coverage. It starts in July, 2 or 3 months after the thing wrapped. I suppose if people keep watching their 2003 WSOP shows there's no need to be timely or to rush. It reminds me of when CBS used to show NCAA championship games in sports like lacrosse and track well after they were actually played. I wonder how many people got suckered into bets on those?

Kudos to NESN, who is now showing CFL broadcasts. They had Ottawa-Winnipeg on the other night, and have the Hamilton-BC game on right now. It's tape from last night, but given the coverage we had before - none - this is a nice change.

On the eve of starting a series with the Red Sox, Barry Bonds noted that he'd be happy to end his career in the AL - except not in Boston, which is "too racist" from what he's heard from his dad and some unnamed group of "guys."

I'd like to say that, based on what I've heard from my own set of "guys" I think Barry Bonds is an idiot, and it doesn't seem to be changing nowhere.

Oh, I may have been a little abrupt in writing off Latvia, as they tied Germany in their Euro 2004 game today. It's still an uphill road - Latvia has to play the Netherlands next - but they've got a little light left. Moreso than Bulgaria and Russia, at least. They both look done.

We were in Target this morning and had our first sighting of Coke's new C2, on sale by the registers. Of course, I grabbed a bottle.

Let's just say if C2 is what it means to be low-carb, I'm sticking to pasta. Coke cut the calories and sugar by using aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose (known commercially as Splenda) to sweeten. Something in that combo, though, left me with a bit of an aftertaste, a sour-soapy flavor that, while not strong, wasn't particularly what I was looking for.

Suffice it to say that I won't be trying it again. If I want to cut carbs, I'll just go straight to diet soda or water, thanks.

I've not been able to watch any of Euro 2004 (don't have digital cable for the PPV package, and the Spanish language stations don't seem to be airing games), but I've found my rooting interest: Denmark.

Not sure why, exactly. I think it comes from a country of 5.5 million doing so well on an international stage. They look like they'll go on to the next round (they play Sweden next, and both can advance with a draw, though Denmark's +2 goal differential isn't that strong considering the Azzuri will play Bulgaria). They've also gone past the first round of the last two World Cups. They even won Euro 1992. So I figure I'll go with them. They seem to be a better shot than Latvia, who's in the same group as the Netherlands, Germany, and the Czechs. Thanks for nothing there.

To wrap this item up, the Lady Hornets did not prevail in the state tennis finals yesterday, dropping the match 3-2 to a school whose name I can't remember. Another great season, though.

In a completely unrelated announcement, the impending move necessitates a bit of pruning. Part of that will be paring down my tape collection, which stands at somewhere over 400 titles. Considering how infrequently I listen to it, it can stand a winnowing. I'll probably hold on to stuff that's out of print (which, to allay the fears of one reader in particular, is not that large a percentage of the total), but the rest is up for grabs.

I'll be trying to sell some of the more coherent parts of the collection on eBay, but am more than willing to give away tapes as well. To that end, you can browse titles at Mark's Tape Blowout!, which will list what I have. It is also conveniently linked at left.

You want something, email me. That simple.

The Manchester-Essex girls tennis team did prevail over Cohasset, and for more than the tangential revenge I mentioned. Turns out that in the same spot last year, Cohasset beat the Lady Hornets en route to the title. Hopefully this table-turning will lead to similar results.

Today is my last day at Babson in an official capacity, though I'll be around campus for a couple of weeks preparing to move and such. My last official act as an employee, believe it or not, was playing for the student affairs softball team in a game against the athletic department. In true softball fashion, we gave up five runs at the top of the first, but scored six in the bottom half of the frame. We wound up winning 15-10 or something like that.

I had my first good game in about 3 years, going 2-3 with a run scored (though I don't think I got the RBI from my first ups, when I reached on an error). So that was nice.

On my first day of unemployment my former co-workers are taking me out to lunch and for a round of miniature golf. That will be followed by several days of putting things in boxes and, hopefully, interviewing.

Various parts of my high school and current lives are intersecting today, as the girls' tennis team from my high school is taking on Cohasset in the state semifinals right here in Wellesley. The last time I remember us playing Cohasset in anything was my junior year in high school, when we went down there to play them in football and lost. Perhaps we can get some tangentially-related revenge - if the weather holds out.

Sarah and I went to see the latest Harry Potter movie last night, and we liked it very much. I would agree with all the points that John Heaton made on the film (or at least the ones that would be more likely for someone who's read the first three books once).

Today we went looking at apartments, and found one that we liked much more than the other ones we saw. We'll see how it goes.

During our travels, though, we did see something that will get a reaction out of you BU types who are of an age more like mine than not: the Sesquientennial double-decker bus! For those of you who never saw it, BU obtained a double decker bus that they incorporated into their 150th anniversary celebration. The last I knew of it it was full of information on US presidents and touring local schools.

Now, it sits in a small lot in Beverly. And it doesn't look like it'll be moving soon, given that it's missing most if its nose.

I'm no expert on state funeral etiquette, but I do feel pretty confident that the woman sitting between Justices Rhenquist and Souter shouldn't have done the big smile and wave thing, followed by the "call me!" hand sign, to someone else in the National Cathedral.

Though I did see Colin Powell give a smile and wave in an earlier shot. His was much less demonstrative, though, which is probably more fitting for the solemn occasion.

In case you hadn't heard, those idiots who run the BCS have decided the way to fix things is to add another game to their rotation that will happen about a week after their four bowls. That game will rotate among the four hosts, meaning that once every four years a city will get to double dip with their regular bowl and the new, as yet unnamed game (which for our purposes we'll call the Avarice Bowl).

The best thing about the Avarice Bowl is that it will solve none of the problems with the BCS. While it's styled as a national championship game, it does not correct the problem that led to last year's split title. The Avarice Bowl will also never see a team from a non-BCS conference. They should still feel lucky that the BCS deigns to give them an opportunity to perhaps appear in one of their contests.

There was talk of more formula-tweaking to help avoid last year's situation. I assume this is based on all the success they've had with previous tweaking.

With the timing of the Avarice Bowl, we'll also now have a major college football season that stretches from mid-August to mid-January. But remember, we can't have a playoff because it would take the players away from school too much and last too long. Just ask those teams in the other three divisions who have a playoff system.

I don't suppose we needed more proof that the BCS is a sham or that the NCAA might as well sell out to the pros. But the Avarice Bowl is perhaps the most naked cash grab in college sports history. It also confirms P. T. Barnum's maxim about suckers being born every minute, because as much as people will complain about the Avarice Bowl, those same people will still watch it (myself included, unless I don't like the teams).

And that's the worst part of this. The BCS hierarchy knows it can get villified for essentially putting a new coat of paint on a lemon and still come out making money. I would say that they should leave academia for the corporate world, but they pretty much already have.

I am no longer my division's reigning closest to the pin putting champion, losing the title today at our end of year BBQ. I was hoping to repeat and ride off into the sunset, but I underplayed both putts on the fast sports court surface. Next year I'm sure they'll be back to an outdoor chipping contest, as in my Babson tenure we've never had this event outdoors. Now that I'm going the sun can come back out.

I also started to clean out my desk today, and I'm thinking of just firebombing my corner of the office. It would be easier.

Finally, please take a couple of seconds to remember Ray Charles, whose version of "America the Beautiful" is, for me anyway, the best version of a US patriotic song ever. Godspeed, Ray.

Thinking about that other pretend cowboy with an airport named for him, there's some movement afoot in Orange County to rename it "The O.C. Airport at John Wayne Field" or some similar nonsense.

So Wayne has to have a long career and die of cancer to get the airport named for him. All Fox had to do was recycle some 90210 scripts and spring Peter Gallagher's eyebrows from the lab. Is there a word that fully describes how pathetic this idea is?

Got sucked into watching Last Comic Standing tonight, which wasn't as bad as I feared but wasn't all that great, either. I missed the start of the show, but over the course of a half-dozen cities (NYC, Boston, Chicago, Tampa, Nashville, and Dallas) they gave away fewer than half the 40 semifinal spots. I fear how many Hollywood rejects got a free pass.

One who did, though in New York, was Sue Costello, who you may remember from her brief, brief tenure on the Fox sitcom Costello, the first show to get the axe in the 1998-99 TV season. She even referred to getting too much too soon after making the semifinals. Still, it strikes me as being against the premise of the show to allow someone who has already had a shot at TV to get another turn at the wheel, so to speak.

Another familiar name is Frank Santorelli, a local comic who got one of the two slots from Boston. He's a local institution, has done some TV work (it looks like he's got a small recurring role on The Sopranos), but is using this show for more national exposure. I'm a little less dubious about his inclusion, but still think he's too well-known, at least locally.

Jay Mohr is technically the host, but it seems like all he has to do is stand in Times Square and segue. Nice work if you can get it.

Anyone really curious as to how my weekend in Houston went can now read the recap, available in the Travelin' Jones section linked at left. You'll probably get a sense of my take from the title.

The local news started with some Reagan coverage tonight, and had a shot of Arnold Schwarzenegger paying his respects. Interestingly, when he crossed himself he went from right to left. Which means either:

a. he's Orthodox, which seems odd for an Austrian
b. the tape was backwards, which is entirely possible given the station involved (our tabloid NBC affiliate)
c. Arnold's not been to church in a while

Shawn De Veau is up from off the bench, and well worth reading for his personal take on the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

Apologies for the radio silence over the last few days, the missus and I were in Houston volunteering for the NAQT High School National Championship quiz bowl tournament. I'll have a write-up about it in the travel section sooner or later, which should be interesting given that we saw almost none of the city.

As for the big news of the weekend, I have mixed feelings about the Ronald Reagan legacy. I have some difficulty picking out the things that happened because of him and those things that were perhaps more of a team victory. The slant of coverage on foreign affairs is also interesting, but not surprising. I don't know how much anyone wants to delve into the contradiction of his drive for smaller government while jacking up spending. Of course, the money spent on defense comes back around to support the foreign policy stuff, but still.

While I don't often venture into the political here, I did something today that could, for at least the short-term, change that.

I applied for a Democratic National Convention press credential.

As you may have heard, the Dems are looking for a few good bloggers to cover the convention. My guess is that they'll most likely select from the well-known political bloggers who are out there.

But I think there's value to letting in someone who is, for all intents and purposes, an amateur. I don't have a reputation to play to or a desire to enhance my "brand." My hope would be to give a "Democratically independent" view of the convention.

I'm also less of a demagogue than some, which would translate into a better level of discourse than a sound bite or a quote and snarky comment. Not that I can't do that - it has its place - but there's going to be enough of that to go around.

There is one angle I'd approach if given the chance, and that's trying to explain why an individual should care about the convention, if not the political process in general. Between the yelling and the money and the shenanigans, the average American doesn't seem all that interested in politics. I'm not sure if a convention, given its organizational nature, is the best place to try for a grass-roots awakening, but it's worth a shot.

It'd also help that I've always lived in the Boston area, and thus have that lens to examine the convention through. That may bear more fruit in the convention trappings than the convention itself.

So there it is, in at least rough form. Readers are more than welcome to make comments that would speak to my abilities to cover the convention!

I'm feeling a bit muddled today, for what I think is a combination of reasons:

* Weather We've not really had a consistently nice stretch of days in some time. The sun is out right now, but the average day over the last couple of weeks has been 58 degrees and grey.

* Work More the impending end of work than anything else. It's not quite the senior slump, but whatever I'm going through lives around the corner from it.

* Home I've not gotten a firm date for when I need to be out of my apartment. I'm working with a July 1 date, but some confirmation would help in terms of getting out and actually seeing places.

* The Sox Given what some of you go through this shouldn't be a problem, and I apologize for being frustrated with a team that's 31-21.

There are probably other things, too. But that's enough for now.

Saw what appears to be Anheuser-Busch's respons to the Miller "President of Beers" ads yesterday, notable for the return of the lizard spokesreptiles.

It was also notable for being a very poor ad. It really sounded like some VP was pissed off and wrote a memo that got turned into the ad's script. The ad tended to focus on Bob Odenkirk and made a lame comparison between his character and the back end of a Clydesdale. Overall, though, the ad was as crappy as your average Bud product. It was a traveshamockery, you might say.

(NOTE: This post does not constitue an endorsement for Miller beers, which also tend to suck. If the ballot included in a recent Sports Illustrated is accurate, you can write in a candidate, and I would heartily endorse any of the following: Harpoon, Tremont, Ipswich, Newport Storm, Geary's, Magic Hat, Saranac, Goose Island, Anchor, Sierra Nevada, Rogue, or Pyramid. Feel free to nominate your own favorite in the comments.)

There's a poll on ESPN.com asking to pick "America's Team" out of the Lakers, Yankees, Cowboys, and Notre Dame football. Seeing these choices made me realize what an active dislike I have for the three pro teams among the options. If any of them are America's team, I'll be busted for treason any day now.

On the flip side I do consider myself a Notre Dame fan, which I can track back to my dad. But he was also a nominal Cowboys fan (having grown up in Dallas), which didn't rub off at all. To be fair, though, I think if you asked him to rank his favorite football teams it'd be ND first and whoever was playing the Patriots second.

(If I've not mentioned it, my dad had a fairly serious antipathy for the Pats based primarily - from what I can remember - on the Sullivan family. Not sure why he continued to dislike them so once they were gone, but at some point I assume it became second nature.)

Interestingly, the Atlanta Braves weren't an option. They're probably the one pro team who's tried to use the "America's Team" bit that I can stand to watch. I assume the snub was for business reasons.