Well, the Sox have done it. They've traded Nomar.

As you may have seen by now, the Sox were part of a four team deal that (in part) sent Nomar to the Cubs. At one point this was part of the plan of bringing the Big Unit to Beantown (he's now staying in Arizona, which is fine by me). Instead, we've now gained Orlando Cabrera from the Expos and Doug Mientkiewicz from the Twins (I don't expect he'll be in the Sox lineup tonight).

I suppose I should be happy that the Sox got something of value for Nomar, rather than letting him go via free agency. But there's a mental block about getting rid of Nomar, an iconic player and the first of the first-name only Sox (though I figure Dougie may join Pedro and Manny in that group, if only so people don't have to attempt his last name).

But I do worry about this actually solving the Sox problems. Nomar's been hitting the ball well for a team that's not had a lot of punch. Cabrera's not going to help there. And it does nothing to address the pitching situation, meaning that the Sox may still be aiming for an October run on the arms of Derek Lowe and Bronson Arroyo (not to mention some of the more frightening bullpen denizens). Yikes.

Then there's the Carleton Fisk thing, where the team loses/gets rid of a well-liked player and enters a down period. The Sox are more willing to spend to get talent now, but I still fear that the Sox won't return to the playoffs until 2011 or so. One bitten, twice shy I suppose.

I'll miss the calls of "Nomahhhhhhhhh!" at Fenway.

Sarah's been seeing more obvious security the last couple of mornings, including visible weapons. Probably not surprising given Kerry's arrival. Even so, her trip doesn't seem to be taking any longer (outside of the Beverly-Salem drawbridge being stuck open yesterday, which I don't even think Anne Coulter would blame on the convention).

We also had our first significant protesting today, not sure about what. It didn't seem that big (though an American flag did get torched), and the police moved in and took care of business. My guess is that the protesting will focus on NYC, though with the sitting President being there I'd have to guess the security perimiter reaches out into New Jersey.

Not much else going on with me. Next week is some sort of local civic celebration, and there's a Scrabble tournament at the library. I'd been mulling it, but it's $15 to enter. I'm a little gun shy about tournament Scrabble after reading Word Freak, especially when I may need that money for bills and such. There is a regular Scrabble club at the library, so maybe I'll check that out. I didn't think I could be more of a dork, but there you are. I'd be much better off following Greg's lead into reasonable physical pursuits, but there doesn't seem to be much call for curling or fencing up here.

Though after watching this year's Great Outdoor Games, I was half-tempted to take up shooting. I don't think I could do skeet, but the target stuff looks cool.

My trip into Boston today was, from a transportation point of view, anti-climactic.  Both trips took under an hour, helped no doubt by my not traveling during peak times.  Security was present in some areas (didn't see any at the Beverly depot), but I don't think I drew more than a cursory glance.  I did a little better in the swag department than Sarah, as I got a free T token (taped to a flier from a mortgage company) and free passes on a gambling cruise out of Gloucester. 

Security was much more obvious once I got into Boston.  One of the first sights present when I surfaced at Government Center was a gaggle of MPs.  There was a very visible presence by the US Park Police in the Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market area.  One thing I found interesting was the ring of metal barriers around Faneuil Hall, every third or fourth one bearing a small paper sign reassuring me that the shops in the hall were still open. 

MSNBC had a tent set up on the south side of Quincy Market, which drew a crowd.  I saw one guy being interviewed by a Japanese camera crew, and another guy in a W mask (but wearing several pro-Kerry pins) got his face time, too.  The opposition was represented, too, but by two guys in their early 20s bearing homemade signs.  One of the guys was wearing a visor backwards and slightly askew, a look that always makes me want to slap the wearer.  I hope they aren't on the campaign payroll.

Anyway, there is a definite security presence, but I didn't feel too locked down.  Then again, I didn't try to get too close to the Fleet Center.

The crowds weren't too bad, either.  Lots of convention types (or at least people wearing what looked like credentials, so some of them were likely media) and locals, of course.  According to Sarah, the local action news folks (WHDH, channel 7) had some story on their news today talking about how there were fewer people in Boston this week as compared to last week, and that the convention folks overstated the problems with coming into town.  Sarah and I both thought that actually was the point of what they've been saying for the last 6 months - to get people to stay away if they didn't have to go into Boston.

That being said, it was hardly a ghost town. 

I won't go too far in depth into the interview.  I don't think it went all that well, but as it's my first interview outside of higher education in some time, my antennae may not be fully calibrated.  That being said, I don't expect my call next week will be of the hiring kind.

On the way back home, I could swear there was a guy on the T who I knew somewhat from BU going back to my senior year doing data entry for the physical plant office.  I don't think he's worked at BU for a good 10 years, but I swear I see him from time to time.  It's not like we were tight, so I don't feel compelled to make a re-introduction, but it's funny that someone on that sort of tangent continues to make an appearance, even if it's of my own making.

Sarah, who's just getting used to the commute to Boston, got her first go-round of convention commuting yesterday.  For those of us living up here, we have to take the train to Lynn, get a shuttle bus to the Wonderland T stop in Revere, and then take the subway.  Her report from day one was that getting in was pretty easy (outside of having to get in for a this week only 7 am start time), but getting out was a little more hectic.  She did note that there was an abundance of signage and helpful people, and that there were snacks provided.

She also got a boosterish pack of stuff touting Lynn, though it'd take more than a stress ball and a pen to get me to move there.

As for the convention itself, I don't expect that I'll watch too much of it.  After growing up reading about conventions that took 30+ votes to name a candidate, or where delegations were involving in seating crises, the current stage-managed excuse to party for a week doesn't do much for me. 

Of greater interest is the resurgence of the Red Sox, who are showing some signs of life.  How funny would it be if A-Rod, through his part in the brawl, got the Sox back on track?

Finally, a post from home.

We actually had the computer set up a couple of days ago, but we had a problem with the phone line.  While my call to Verizon suggested an outside problem, turns out the culprit was a bad phone jack in the kitchen.  I was surprised that something like this could take down all of our phones, but what I know about telephony would fit in a gnat's hat box.

In any event, dial-up is actually going pretty well.  I'm patient enough to wait the time it takes, but probably not patient enough if it took much longer.  I think about when I used to dial up from Manchester using the 28.8 on my old Mac Classic - I'm not sure how I didn't snap.  I also got very used to using that text-based Web browser - Lynx?  I hope it's enjoying its time at the old tech rest home; it's probably got the upper bunk rooming with Mosaic.

Sarah and I went to see The Bourne Supremacy, and it was pretty much what you'd expect.  Probably less loud than the first one, but I think it made up for the change in volume with even more jerky camera motion.  I thought we were over that.  In any event, it was nice to see Joan Allen again, though I wish her role had more personality.  Then again, you could say that about pretty much all the characters in the movie.

Previews were a mixed bag.  There was one for Ocean's 12, but no footage - just a date and a promise that everyone will be back (along with Catherine Zeta-Jones, which is vaguely worrisome).  Julianne Moore will apparently extend the unfortunate string of movies where she remains fully clothed with The Forgotten, where lives are rewritten for some nefarious purpose. 

I also think I may have a problem, as I felt way too positive about Ray, a Ray Charles biopic starring Jamie Foxx.  He's got the look down, I'll say that. 

Oh, there was also a preview for a movie called Cellular, where a kidnapped Kim Basinger gets help by calling some guy on a cell phone.  They don't seem to know each other; I'm wondering why she didn't just call 911 or get the operator.  I know, that wouldn't be much of a movie.

Let's see, what else?  I've watched a goodly portion of the Tour de France, and I think if Lance can hold the team together he could win next year, too (he'd also need Discovery to maintain the high level of funding that Postal gives, to help with the tech and pay salaries).  I don't think that'll happen - talk is that Floyd Landis is gone after this year.  As strong as Lance is, he may not be giving up the reins any time soon, so it's probably for the best. 

Job front is going pretty slow, though I have a second interview for a job next week.  In Boston.  During the convention.  I think if I show up on time I should get the job just for working out the logistics right.  More on this as it becomes available.

 

Back at the library again, though I hope to be addressing you from a home computer in the next day or so.  Unpacking what used to be our back room (which will hopefully rise again in a less chaotic version in our front room) is going slowly.  Admittedly I could be working harder at it; heck, I could be doing it right now rather than taking the time to walk over to the library (at least it's a short walk).

For the time being we've spurned high speed connections from Comcast or Verizon, due in large part to cost.  The sticker shock is pretty bad, especially as we've gotten very used to free high speed access from whatever campus we were living on at the time.  Dial-up didn't seem to do too badly during our brief stint with it in 2001, so we'll see how this goes.

We did get digital cable, which is OK.  Early returns suggest that I like the dish better, or at least the dish interface (the TV Guide-sponsored thing is clunky).  The "On Demand" feature isn't too bad.  I've actually gotten to watch episodes of Beat the Geeks and Monty Python this way. 

Phone and mail are in line as well, so we're slowly moving towards normalcy.  Sarah's commute is even going well, though that'll be shot to hell next week by the convention. 

The job thing could be going better, and hopefully will perk up once we get settled.  I was supposed to have a second interview for a job this week, but haven't heard from them.  Sent an email to get an update; I just hope they don't try to have me come in to Boston during the madness.  The travel may last longer than the interview.

Greetings from the Beverly Public Library in Beverly, Massachusetts, where Sarah and I are in the process of setting up housekeeping (or apartmentkeeping, if you want to be more precise).  We moved on Friday, a process that went better than expected, if you measure by the number of expletives used (very low compared to the move to Babson).  Special thanks to Shawn DeVeau for his help in loading the truck!
 
We live downtown, which is pretty convenient.  We're in walking distance to pretty much everything we need outside of a supermarket, which is a pretty short drive.  Parking is ample (there's a municipal lot across the street where you get 4 hours for a quarter) and we're about a block off from police and fire.  There's also about a half-dozen salon-type places in walking distance (the number of such places per person seems really high).  So we did pretty well with location, I think.
 
The apartment itself is a floor in a Victorian, has a few things that need fixing but nothing major.  The one serious issue is storage - no real closet space and very little counter space in the kitchen area.  We'll work through it.
 
Unpacking will dominate this week, which should be fun.  As much as I hate moves, this one went pretty well.

Quick TV notes:

* Caught the first two episodes of I Love the '90s and it was OK, but not as good as the editions for the previous decades. Not sure if it's too recent, that we've already applied irony while living in the '90s so the ironic comments weren't surprising, or if the formula is just getting old. There's no Donal Louge, either, which is unfortunate. But it's OK.

* As much as I like that ESPN is showing other events besides no limit Texas hold 'em for its 2004 World Series of Poker coverage, did we really need a countdown clock to new episodes during PTI?

* Speaking of PTI, Kornheiser and Wilbon need to give Ken Jennings more dap. Perhaps they should get his face into the background?

* Caught the 2 hour premiere of The 4400 on USA, and it was OK. The premise: 4400 people, missing from the 1940s on, are dropped off by Mount Rainer one day by a big ball of somethin'. Our heroes, a rogue Homeland Security agent and a CDC staffer (let's call them Mullder and Skully), try to get to the bottom of where these people were and what the deal is with their somewhat altered being (such as the kid who apparently has a life and death giving touch).

For basic cable, it's not too bad. Peter Coyote plays the regional DHS head, while Michael Moriarity plays one of the 4400 who, like the Hulk, isn't easy to love when he's angry (though in this case he doesn't turn into Lou Ferrigno or turn green or wind up only in part of his pants).

It's on Sunday at 9 or 10 (can't remember), which is dead time enough to keep giving it a look - for now.

Got a reply today from the DNCC about credentials to the convention: thanks, but no. No mention of who did get them, but you have to figure that the usual suspects are involved.

Sorry to say that our moose has been caught. She was tranqulized in Framingham this morning, loaded into a truck, and driven to New Hampshire. While it's likely a better location, I enjoyed having a moose in the neighborhood, so to speak.

OK, time to solicit some help from the public, though Boggie may be the one person Mac savvy enough to help.

I've got things set up such that I should be able to record my tapes to make MP3 files. I have the line in from the stereo to the iMic, which is connected to the computer via USB. According to the sound control panel, there is a signal going into the computer; the meter moves up and down as I turn the volume up or down.

The problem is that the signal never gets to the recording program, either the one that came with the iMic or iMovie, which can record sound. I also don't get music through the output jack in the iMic, though I do get computer sounds.

The iMic does show up as an input and output device, and it shows up in the system window the iMic people tell me to check to make sure it's being read. So I'm a little confused as to what the problem is. Suggestions are more than welcome.

Sarah pointed something interesting out to me while we were at the mall today: the logo on the Pottery Barn Kids bag (and one that they use at the entry of their store) is a child with a lampshade where their head should go. As much as that store is about conspicuous consumption, I didn't think they'd flout the point so clearly. Perhaps having enough money to shop there dulls the higher faculties?

I've been mulling this Kerry-Edwards thing, and I'd like to make three points.

1. All harping on experience is trumped by two words: Dan Quayle. I know, the argument is that in these heigtened times we need someone with experience in case they become President. But if Dan Quayle could be a heartbeat away during the fall of the Soviet Union and the first Gulf War, anyone can.

2. Let's go easy on the insider rhetoric. Our governor, Mitt Romney, took this tack rather than the experience route, saying that Edwards is an insider's choice, even with his lone term in the Senate. Given that the sitting President is the third generation of America's reigning political dynasty (Neil Bush notwithstanding), Romney may want to tread lightly in pursuing this line of attack. My guess is he'll fall in line with the inexperience argument, so this may not be that big a deal.

3. The 'trial lawyer' thing may not work so well, either. OK, it will in some circles. Doctors, for example. But this may not be the best time for a couple of oilmen (especially Cheney, given the trouble Halliburton got into over in Iraq) to dig at someone else's career path. I suppose doctors can contribute more money to a candidate than the average person, but there are a lot more average people who get pissed off by gas prices over $2 a gallon. That does seem to be slackening, but if the prices crest again after Labor Day, look out.

I also question Kerry's assumption about his ticket having the best hair. They clearly win on quantity, but I don't know if the Kramer-inspired pompadour that Kerry sports is anything to write home about.

So what's been going on the last few days?

Yesterday we did our movie-going duty and saw Spider-Man 2. Liked it, especially as it focused more on the mental or psychological aspects of things (or ast least as much focus as you get from a summer blockbuster). Thought Alfred Molina did a nice job as Dr. Octopus.

On the 4th we did our usual, going up to Manchester for the parade and then to my sister's (using her pool while her family was away). The parade was much better content-wise than in the past, good number of bands and even some interesting floats. But it continues to have large delays, either in the "intermission" variety where you have 5-10 minutes between seeing things, or the thing just stops for a similar stretch of time.

I had hoped to see some of my high school classmates, but the impromptu trip to my sister's put the kibosh on that.

For those of you who were at the wedding, you may remember Dean Burgess, an old friend from Manchester who was the groomsman who wasn't my brother or Shawn DeVeau. Saw him at the parade and learned that he'd just gotten engaged, which was fantastic news!

On the 3rd we honored America in a somewhat dorky way by taking in parts of the Minute Man National Park, which runs through sections of Concord, Lincoln, and Lexington. We saw the North Bridge, where colonials turned back the Brits and started the retreat under fire that went pretty much all the way to Boston. We also got to see some of the colonal buildings that were involved in that retreat along the Bay Road.

Walking that part of the road was probably the most amazing part of the visit, as you get a real sense of just how closely fought this thing was. The road itself is about 8 feet wide at best, and at the time would have been open farmland (there are a lot of trees and other growth now). Also pretty amazing to think that this dirt path was, at the time, the main link to New York.

Thinking about dodgeball, we actually played that game under a different name when I was in elementary school: bombardment. Dodgeball, for us, had everyone playing for themselves without any lines. You ran around the gym, were out if you got hit, and got someone out if you caught their throw. Even more diabolical was elimination, where a caught ball allowed anyone who was put out by the thrower to get back into the game. We often went entire recesses without finishing a game.

Then again, this is the part of the country where after bombardment we'd get a drink from the bubbler, or maybe a tonic at home. We also called suitcases Swedish lunchboxes, back then in nineteen-dickety-two. Damn the Kaiser.

If you've not seen Dodgeball yet, you are hereby ordered to go see it. I'll agree with the comments made by others, it's much funnier than you'd think. It's also got some good cameos and other unexpected bits. I'll also say that I now want to work for either "The Ocho" or Obscure Sports Quarterly.

As for previews:

Without A Paddle, some sort of buddy/adventure movie with Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and a guy I've never heard of before. Pass.

Seed of Chucky, a movie that I hope cost someone their job.

Alien v. Predator, no thanks, though fans of the original films, the game, or CGI geeks will probably like it.

I, Robot, which I bet has more vehicle chases than Isaac Asimov put in the book.

Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, which gets props for using White Castle. I'm clearly in the wrong demographic for this movie.

While in line to get a soda one of the TVs had a preview for an Anaconda sequel (Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid), which seems like the definition of strinking while the iron is stone cold and stored in the closet. It's probably from the folks who brought us Analyze That and that sequel to The Mask that keeps getting bumped back (release now slated for February '05).

OK, so much for the semis, as I'd have probably called both games wrong. Given that the Greeks continue to surprise, I'm going with them for the final. They seem to have a knack for getting the timely goal.

After going 3 for 4 for the Euro 2004 quarters (missing Greece's upset of France), I passed on the semis. I thus missed calling host Portugal's win over the Dutch (though I'm not sure I'd have actually called it) and predicting midnight for Greece against the Czechs (which I'll still put out there, as they're currently 0-0 at half).

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.

Greetings from Maine, where the wife and I have been spending the long weekend at her parents' house. The local flea markets were sadly unforthcoming with prizes for Cancel Bowl, and the moose head was way too expensive.

For those of you who may remember my mention of Cheez Waffies, I found them at a supermarket in Belfast, Maine. The first few were a little hard to take, but I think I re-acquired the taste. But I don't think I'll be pestering my local grocer to stock them.

Not too much else to report from the north country. I've actually watched more auto racing in the last 36 hours than probably in the entire year previous, as I saw parts of the Indy 500, European GP, ASA's Erie 250, and heard a chunk of the Coca-Cola 600 (yes, heard through the "magic" of NASCAR radio). Yee haw!

Now that it's aired, time to talk about my Millionaire appearance.

First, if you didn't see it, a recap. I moved through the first 10 questions pretty briskly, getting to $32,000 with all my lifelines. This took an abrupt turn with the very next question, as I was asked to give the current year in the Chinese calendar. Not the animal year but the numerical year.

I asked the audience, not expecting much, and am rewarded by vote totals for the four choices ranging from 23 to 28 percent. I then phoned a friend (who is among those at left) who wasn't able to help. As he said later, all he got were animal references and Web pages in Chinese when he tried to Google an answer. So I used the 50-50 and guessed the answer that the audience actually picked. Wouldn't you know it was right?

The $125K question gave the title of the first chapter of a non-fiction best seller, which I had to name. I had no idea, would have picked Silent Spring if forced to choose one, and would have been wrong (answer was The Feminine Mystique). I opted to walk rather than heave one up from half-court. Even for making $64,000 in about 20 minutes, I was surprisingly irritated given how well things were going. I should just have been happy at my good fortune.

Later, I thought that I may have been able to save a lifeline if I'd gone with the 50-50 after asking the audience. I'm pretty sure the $125K question can be Googled pretty easily (which I've just confirmed). Not sure I'd have done this even if I'd thought of it - I'm too risk averse to gamble in such situations.

It also turned out that the woman who went before me knew the answer to my $125K, ironic given that I knew the answer to hers (the topic of the legislation in the Schoolhouse Rock segment "I'm Just a Bill").

Getting to today, I wound up watching it down the hall from my office, with a group of co-workers and students. I was a little apprehensive about it, but it turned out OK. I didn't look too bad, though the height of the screen I got to read was low enough to display more chin than I'd like.

Oh, some of you caught the look that Sarah gave when I started talking about using some of the money to travel. She'll be happy to tell you it was a purposeful look of doubt that we'd be going to Italy or Australia any time soon. Perhaps if I'd won more money and weren't leaving Babson.

I got to watch it again later in the afternoon with some other Babson folks who couldn't see it at its local airtime (12:30 pm). Sorry to report I didn't win any more money. I also got to IM with JQ as he watched it down in Atlanta, which was kind of a surreal experience.

Should any of you be heading to the New York area this summer, I would highly recommend trying out. You can sign up on the show's website starting in June.

I don't have too much to say about Fantasia Barrino winning the American Idol crown. Of the final pair she was clearly the better performer, though that's not been a slam-dunk for victory in the past.

The show was its usual overblown nightmare. The first half-hour was kind of a pre-show thing, with Jennifer Love Hewitt hosting a "concert" where finishers 3 thru 5 performed their songs from the American Idol 3: Sucking the Life Out of Soul Classics album. Ford (as sponsor) had big logos on the stage that were occasionally visible, while a Chevy billboard could be seen frequently during performances. Money well spent.

Christina Christian from season one did a red carpet thing which suggests that she's got a future doing this long-term with E! (who, sadly, was doing their own red carpet thing).

The show itself had a bunch of performances by the final pair, a medley by the finalists (a waking nightmare preview of their concert), and songs by Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard. Rather than have local Fox folks cover rallies in the final pair's hometowns, they had Kimberly Caldwell and Clay Aiken do the job. I think Kimberly Caldwell bought all of that skank that Christian Aguilera had left over.

As for the upcoming first single, "I Believe," it's pretty much the same theme as the previous songs - "look at me, I've made it after all this struggle and blah blah blah." It was co-written by Tamyra Gray, whose album finally got released yesterday. What a coincidence!

The archdiocese of Boston released the list of parishes that are slated for closure, and there were a few familiar names on the list.

Most familiar is St. James the Great here in Wellesley, which Sarah and I had been going to for a time before moving over to St. Joseph's in Needham (go figure that we found a church we like just as we're planning on moving out of the area). Kind of saw that coming given the statistical comparisons with the other churches in town.

Another with a personal connection is St. Joachim's in Rockport, which has seen a few Coens come through for baptism or funerals. It's a nice church, very New Englandy. It may stay open as a "worship space," the meaning of which I haven't quite figured out.

There's a church in Newton that my office-mate used to go to that's closing; he said they averaged about 10 people a Mass, so he wasn't surprised at all (the one time Sarah and I tried to find it we got lost, so perhaps location is an issue, too). There's also a church in Chestnut Hill that's closing whose location is such that the land alone should bring some serious coin. Probably for the best, given that a new round of lawsuits is supposed to be on deck.

My Millionaire appearance is finally airing on Thursday. Should you be interested in seeing it, check to see if it airs in your neck of the woods.

Quick sports post before I go to bed, to note three things:

1. Like the Bruce I've been pulling for Calgary, with it now being official that the Flyers are out (with apologies to Rosenberg). I think it goes back to their Atlanta days and when they had Jim Craig - I didn't follow the team, but it did make some connection. I just wish Chris Drury still played there.

2. The only part of tonight's Indiana-Detroit NBA playoff game I saw was Reggie Miller's 3. Timing is everything.

OK, only two things.

I will mention the two movies we rented this weekend, though.

First, Lost in Translation, which I don't think I fully comprehended. I liked it, but have a feeling that there's some sort of context I'm missing. I know I missed some of the dialogue when there was a lot of background noise - it's not my best hearing environment. I'll probably have to watch it again.

The other movie was The Runaway Jury, which follows the Grisham trend of changing the book around and making various characters more noble than they come off in the book. Not that it matters greatly, but it does confuse me given that the books are written at a level where they could be pretty easily converted into movies without too much monkeying around.

It was also unfortunate in that you had John Cusack, Gene Hackman, and Dustin Hoffman all vying for screen time. I think the film would have been better served if they gave more focus to the machinations with the jury, which would have removed Hoffman from the equation (nothing personal, just one too many big names).

Another problem was that for a movie about a jury, you don't get to connect with any of the jurors (even Cusack's character, really). They're dealt with in a pro forma manner, odder still given that a few of them are played by pretty well known folks (Nora Dunn, Jennifer Beals, Luis Guzman).

Given that you can read the book in pretty short order, do that rather than watch the film.

No, I don't know why I'm still up, either.

Another point from the week - Fox not learning from Millionaire where American Idol is concerned.

In the 8 hours of prime-time programming from Monday to Thursday last week, 5 of those hours were Idol-related. The final results show this Wednesday will be 2 hours, suggesting a level of padding not seen since Clorette DePasto's bra.

On the plus side for Fox, I don't think we're going to see much of the show after this week. So it's understandable on some level that they want to wring as much out of it as possible. On the other hand, this season's seen a dangerous trend in the amount of filler material shown. All we need are a couple of Fox shows to crap out (which is pretty much a given) before we get Idol specials every Monday next season.

I can't say I'd weep for Fox if they ran the show into the ground - for all my regular recaps, it's a pretty dismal exercise in both TV and music - but I fear that they'd replace it with something worse. And don't you think that they can't do it.

I've been meaning to write about this fantastic meal I had Tuesday night.

A bunch of us went to Olives in Charlestown for a birthday celebration. Olives is owned/run by Todd English, one of the area's celebrity chefs. The food has a Medeterranian flair to it (not surprising given the namesake), while the restaurant is pretty informal for higher cuisine. It has an open kitchen, too, which is fascinating (it also allowed us to see that Todd was in the house that night; among other things he appeared to be working on a dessert served in a martini glass).

The menu on the website is nothing like the one we had, but we made the best of it.

To start I had a black olive and goat cheese gnocchi with grape tomatoes which was tremendous- the sauce and the tomatoes gave this sweet tartness which cut the heavier pasta and cheese. I then had some butternut squash ravioli in a brown butter sauce which was on the house as they apparently forgot to enter an order of onion rings (go figure they mess up the easiest part of our order).

For an entree I went with a wild king salmon with an ox-tail ragout. The beef helped to draw out the salmon a bit, as it was lighter tasting than I expected (perhaps the difference between wild and farm-raised fish). It came with a potato croquette and microgreen salad, which were fine. I do find the idea of "microgreen salad" kind of funny, as it really looked like the rabbit food people often refer to when talking about greens.

Dessert was going to be hazelnut creme brulee, but they were out. I instead opted for the pineapple sorbet, which came with a pineapple compote and warm pineapple squares. That sounds like a lot of pineapple, and it was. It was kind of the ultimate palate-cleanser, as the different textures and temperatures were nice contrasts but not much of a flavor change.

All in all, I would highly recommend a trip to Olives. I don't think I can recommend more than one in a single year. At least not on my salary.

After running both Spybot-Search & Destroy and Ad-aware, I seem to have corrected the problems mentioned before. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

I have some sort of adware or other thing going on my work computer.

What it does is find various words - favorites seem to include job, car, flowers, jewelry, and hotel, among others - and links them to some other page of businesses in each area. There's also a thick green line under each word to draw one's eye to it.

I'm also having Yahoo! search results hijacked a bit, with the first page being a bunch of links for companies that seem to fit the search. I don't get my actual hist until the next page. In some places, I also seem to be getting ads placed over other ad space (mostly for smoking cessation products and items that help you tan). There's the occasional pop-up, too.

I've checked in what seem to be all the usual places to kill the thing, but can't seem to get rid of it once and for all. If you know anything about this particular piece of crap, or have some general suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment.

Caught up on three shows tonight:

American Idol entered its final stage yesterday by naming its final pair, Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo. Jasmine Trias, whose continued presence on the show created controversy among people with nothing better to do, was finally given the heave-ho. Her clean teen looks, big smile, vacuous facial expression and marginal singing ability all add up to a future announcement by the Disney Channel of the new series Jaz's Aloha Spirit (writers all over greater Los Angeles are now doing a search and replace on their unused Lizzie Maguire scripts).

Fantasia should win, but if Diana squeaks it out I will take one for the team and adopt her weiner dogs.

Turns out that the first single for this year's Idol was co-written by Tamyra Gray. Yeah, that's pretty much the reaction I had.

We also finally got up to date on 24. You'd think we'd have used that six week hiatus better, but this way everything is at least fresh in our memories. I just hope that next season's turmoil isn't another personal vendetta involving Jack Bauer and the Drazen family. Let's give some other band of crazies a turn.

Adding another reality series to the mix, we also took in the final half hour of Colonial House on PBS. It's pretty good, though it seems like the participants are acting more like modern folks than on some of the other shows. I thought the folks on Manor House and 1900 House did a much better job of staying in the period. It does appear, though, that things will get much more 17th century as the show continues.

The one serious problem with Colonial House is the two hour episode length. I'd agree with TV Barn's Aaron Barnhart that they'd be better off with hour-long segments.

Among other things, mid-May is when the broadcast networks do their upfronts, presentations to announce their schedules for the coming season. The hope being that, with the mix of returning shows and bright new ones, critics will praise and advertisers will write big fat checks.

To this point, three networks have presented - NBC, ABC, and the WB. While most of the new shows display originality that runs the gamut from A to B, there are a couple of new shows that caught my eye. And not in a good way.

First, there's NBC's Father of the Pride, an animated show about the lives of the Siegfried and Roy's tigers. I don't think I really need to go on, do I?

The other is the WB's Commando Nanny. This is apparently based on the real-life experience of Mark Burnett. This explains the "depth" (and illogic) of many of the emotions displayed on Survivor and The Apprentice - he learned from working with five year olds. Gerald McRaney passes on the fatigues, as he goes from being Major Dad to Rich Jerk Dad.

I was under the impression that Commando Nanny aired right after Admiral Baby.

New York City is a finalist for the 2012 Olympics, and I have to think they're the favorite. All the other finalists are European (London, Paris, Madrid, and Moscow), and three have already hosted. And with Athens hosting this year, I don't know if they'd go back to Europe so quickly.

As much of a pain as it may be to host, I do look forward to the possibility of an Olympics in a city where I know people whose floors I can hopefully crash on. I'm just going to have to bring my own food and water, as the prices will probably triple the week before the opening ceremony.

A sad note today for anyone who followed BU football (the couple dozen of us). Dan Allen, who coached the team in its playoff runs in the 1990s, died this weekend. He'd been suffering from multiple chemical sensitivity, which robbed him of most of his mobility, among other things. He spent last season coaching Holy Cross from a wheelchair, which was pretty gutsy.

His tenure at BU was odd, in that he had those two playoff years but also coached some really bad teams, too. Given that the program was cut not too long after his departure, I assume that he didn't get much support from the school to build on the successes. Others who stop by here from time to time can probably talk to this, and to Allen himself, better than I can, and I invite them to do so.

Things we so busy yesterday with us closing the college that I didn't even know that the Red Sox have now graced their roster with a divine presence. All bow your heads for Youkilis, the Greek god of walks.

I just watched the last 20 minutes of the Frasier finale (which I missed last night, and discovered on while flipping around tonight). I've not really watched the show since the start of the Daphne-Niles relationship (and even then hadn't been a regular viewer), but it seemed like a solid ending. I have to admit slight resonance with the idea of moving and starting a new chapter of one's life, albeit mine is less dramatic given the shorter distance and lack of a romantic angle.

Even for the last 20 minutes, I got to see some of what I both liked and disliked of the show - good writing that ventured into the indulgent, and misunderstandings of borderline plausibility later rectified (in this case, thankfully quickly). While I didn't feel like I'd missed anything by not watching last night, I'm happy I caught what I did.

I've read in a couple of places that Kelsey Grammer may bring the character of Frasier back at a later date if the situation is right (not sure if that's a creative or financial decision; perhaps both). It makes me think a little bit about James O'Neill, father of playwright Eugene, who made a career out of performing The Count of Monte Cristo, to the detriment of not being able to perform any other role with the same public acclaimation. You have to feel at some level like that's where Grammer is (and if so, perhaps bringing Frasier back for a nice pay day wouldn't be the worst thing). On the other hand, if Down Periscope is any indication, another decade of workplace humor and troublesome coupling may just be what the doctor ordered.

(Props to Neil Steinberg's fantastic Complete & Utter Failure for the O'Neill reference.)

Yesterday was an Afternoon of Culture, as I got to go to both an art exhibit and a music performance.

Going to the musical performance was spur of the moment, though as it was (a) free, (b) during a block of time I had to kill, and (c) out in the open on BU's Marsh Plaza, thus allowing me to enjoy the sunny afternoon, the decision wasn't that hard to make.

So I wound up listening to part of a concert by students from the Academy of Performing Arts of Detroit. It was founded by Marvin Winans, a member of the noted Winans family of gospel performers. The venue wasn't the best (they had to compete with traffic noise and the T), but they did pretty well.

The art part of things came at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where we went the exhibit Gondola Days: Isabella Stewart Gardner and the Palazzo Barbaro Circle. The Barbaro was the Gardner's home in Venice, which attracted artists like Sargent and Whistler. Most of the works were by them (and Anders Zorn, who I'd not heard of before but whose work I really liked). Monet even makes an appearance, with a work from his first trip to Venice (and Gardner's last).

Adding to the exhibit was its location, the fourth floor of the museum, which was Gardner's living space. This is the first time they've used the space for an exhibition, which is interesting even though it's hard to get much of a feel for it as living space. You do get a great view into the museum's courtyard, however.

Some of you already know about this, but now that I've managed to inform all the people that needed to know, time to get the rest of you up to speed.

I'm moving on from Babson College next month, looking to move closer to where I grew up and do something else. What that something else is I'm not sure yet - though if you've got a something else that might work, let me know.

The move is mostly personal, though there's a small professional component to it as well (mostly related to the blurry line between work and personal life when you live where you work and get calls at 3 am relative to young adults acting as such). I am really looking forward to the relocation aspect of things, especially as we'll be up there for at least part of the summer. Always nice to be near the water during the summer.

I'm not surprised that Jasmine Trias remains on American Idol while La Toya London went packing. I am surprised that there's such a deep and devoted fanbase for music sung by atonal Hawaiian teens. It would not surprise me to learn shortly after the crowning of this year's Idol that Jasmine's success is due to some sort of Internet cabal that used technology to advance her candidacy.

And if there wasn't one before, let's start one now. Take some time over the next few days to configure your modem or other software to act in an auto-dialer capacity, and then tune in next Tuesday to get Jasmine's number. Together, we can bring what appears to be America's wishes into fruition.

The really incomprehensible part of tonight's show was Donna Summer singing "Macarthur Park." Hand to God. "Macarthur Park."

On the positive side, Clay Aiken came on to sing Earth Wind and Fire's song "Fantasy" with the remaining contestants. The positive there being I remembered how much I liked the original, and that I had some free songs to use. I'm now that much more funky.

Speaking of free songs, I got a soda out of the machine in my building tonight, and it turns out to still be from the Pepsi/iTunes promotion. Remember how I never got a free song when it was still going? Now, almost two weeks after it ends, I got a code under my cap. Solid.

It says something about the state of the NHL that a team with its division's best record resorts to giving away free beer in the hopes of goosing season ticket sales. The Tampa Bay Lightning did this during their most recent Eastern Conference finals game, offering unlimited suds if you put down $100 towards 2004-05 season tickets. They got about 25 takers, and were quick to note that people who were drunk would get cut off and anyone needing a ride got a free taxi trip home. No word if there was free stomach pumping or an express list for a new liver.

Getting back to the hockey angle, you'd think a team that racked up 106 points would sell itself. And it might in some parts of the country. Just not in Florida, which I know comes as a surprise to many of you.

Even worse is that this is a pretty young team - average age 28.4 years - suggesting future years of success. It's just that their "fans" will be too drunk to notice.

In the interest of adding a layer of banality to the proceedings here, I've started a new blog, Web Test Central, for taking and posting results of all those web tests that are out there.

Unrelatedly, I commiserate with Delta and their need to raise revenue to avoid bankruptcy. But I'd rather they didn't get into cahoots with AOL to clog my mailbox with CDs, even if they do promise Sky Miles if I sign up for 9.0 service. It's not going to happen.

There's not much to say about an American Idol episode with a disco theme. Well, there is, but it'd mostly be expletives. Oddly enough, it was less vocally painful than the last couple of weeks, but I really don't care for disco. Donna Summer was this week's guest judge, and actually gave criticism, which was refreshing.

This would be the umpteenth week in a row that I'd guess Jasmine Trias was going, especially after how badly she performed compared to the other three contestants. I won't even start on her crimped hair. But she's proving to be popular beyond anything her singing would suggest, so I'm guessing Diana gets the gate.

More fun came after this, when UPN gave us an America's Next Top Model special catching us up on the 12 contestants from this season. A few of the women are making a go at modeling, though appearances in Maxim and FHM seemed more common than runways shows or high fashion shoots. There's also a healthy percentage that aren't quite back in front of the camera - though they're all planning to get there. Of course. Most frigtening was the scene where two contestants were doing a line reading for a UPN flack. I don't think we're ready for America's Next Top Sitcom.

Sarah and I have started watching another reality show, a Monday night offering. The good news is that it's not The Swan.

Not sure how we got watching, but we've seen the last 2 or 3 episodes of The Restaurant. For those of you who've not seen it, the show follows the opening and operation of chef Rocco DiSpirito's restaurant Rocco's on 22nd. The main theme of this "season" (which appears to be all of six episodes) is the clash between DiSpirito and the restaurant's financier/owner (title depending on who is talking)Jeffrey Chodorow. Suffice it to say that news is out-stripping the events on the show, which takes a bit of the mystery out of things for me.

When we're not getting this stand-off, we get tension everywhere else. Last night, for example, featured a spat between the maitre'd and a hostess, a waitress and various floor staff, and two of the cooks. The level of conflict here isn't much higher than what you get between housemates on The Real World, as if anyone possessed the maturity of an average adult things would be running much smoother.

I'm also a little confused about Rocco's participation in this venture, as I don't think I've seen him in the restaurant more than once. It seems like his mom is the real force behind things there (she's the executive chef), but she's been largely out of the power struggle.

I generally don't like shows where the plot is driven by stupid arguments. Give me off-key singing and naked photo shoots anyday. Even so, I'm mildly interested in The Restaurant. But I won't recap it, so there's that to be thankful for.

And now the posts are back in order. Odd.

Now that Manny Ramirez is an American citizen, would he play for the US in a future baseball World Cup, or would his Dominican origin allow him to play for them? I've always found the rules for who can play for what country in international competition pretty odd. I mean, we had guys on the US national soccer team in the 1980s and '90s who didn't speak that much English (or at least heavily accented English).

On the other hand, it'll work out for whatever Americans get to play baseball for Greece this summer. I imagine the Greek baseball jersey will be a big hit at the Greek Festival this year. Opa!

Blogger sprung a new look on us today, and somewhere in the changing seems to have done something to reverse the order where posts show up on the page. Hopefully we'll get this sorted out soon.

A slight organizational change to report - all the trip reports and Mark Across America are now found under the Travelin' Jones link at left. I've added a short recap of a recent long weekend spent between Chattanooga and Atlanta, most notable for our trip through the international beverage pavilion at the World of Coke.

You've probably heard about the guy who died at Six Flags New England when he fell out of the Superman roller coaster. A report about the incident suggests that a factor in the death was that the victim was too large for the ride's t-bar restraints.

While I don't want to overly personalize this man's fate and the tragedy of the situation, if he was too big for the ride at 230 pounds, how would I have fared back in 2001 when I almost went on the coaster, but passed thanks to a fear of heights?

(Oddly, I'm OK with indoor coasters like Space Mountain and the Aerosmith one at Disney MGM. I suppose I don't see the drops and thus don't worry about them.)

I'm in the office this afternoon, as the college is closing today. It's actually been pretty quiet, as check-out is running through another room in the building. The real fun will be tonight when we start to actually check rooms.

Not much to report on otherwise, other than I noticed that some committee of the Louisiana House approved of that bill that would ban low-riding pants. Now I have a cleared idea of how they once wound up with a governor's race that featured a convicted felon and a well-known racist.

While I've not read about his testimony in-depth, it seems that Donald Rumsfeld is both taking responsibility for this whole Iraqi prisoner torture thing and refusing to resign. This even though there are more photos and apparently video of mistreatment.

I don't begin to presume that I know what it takes to be Secretary of Defense, and I know that the heads of much smaller entities are often unaware of gross negligence on the part of those working beneath them. But it does strike me that keeping Rumsfeld around will hurt Bush in the long-term, especially if we start to see more images of abuse (and if the ICRC is correct in their claims that mistreatment has been ongoing and pervasive for over a year).

If Bush is smart (OK, if Karl Rove is being smart for him), they'll work on positioning someone to take over should things continue going poorly. And if there's any real sense, they'd not hand things over to Paul Wolfowitz, who makes Rummy look like Eugene McCarthy.

Bring back Bill Cohen, I say.

OK, well the finale of Friends wasn't too bad, certainly nowhere near the soul-sucking crapitude of the Seinfeld send-off.

I am a little confused by some things, though, primarily the lack of set up for the Joey spin-off. As the show left it, the only really major relocation was Chandler and Monica moving to Westchester. Given that Joey was the one who didn't want anyone to move, how does he wind up in LA? I know, wait for the first episode of the new show.

Then there was this odd bit hanging off by itself where Phoebe and her husband Mike decide they want kids. The moment is fueled by seeing the the new babies, but it was oddly out of place.

For the most part, though, it was what you'd expect out of an episode of Friends. Which is probably for the best, really.

This is marginally better for the comments. It'll do for now.

If I've done this right, we've got comments now. Maybe this will get more of you to ask me three questions.

Today marks the airing of the final episode of Friends. I know I'm supposed to be besides myself with grief, or some other emotion appropriately teased out of me by the NBC promo (by which I mean news,with all the Dateline coverage) department. What I'm actually feeling, though, is more akin to when Macy's bought out Jordan Marsh or when BU West Campus institution Ellis the Rim Man closed its doors. It's the mild unease of change, a minor signpost that the march of time continues.

Part of what feeds that is that the characters are, theoretically, contemporaries. I say theoretically given that I know no one like them. But even so, they are of a similar age and have, over the last year, transitioned into full-on adulthood with weddings and babies and the like. Given my own recent past, that does resonate a tiny bit.

Overall, though, the end of Friends isn't going to alter my life. It was a reasonably fun show that I'll be able to see from time to time in reruns or on DVD (Sarah's affinity for the show will lead to the eventual purchase of the set, I'm sure). Anything more that I take from it will come from reflecting on my own past decade. Which isn't so bad, really.

Another prognostication turned to dust when George rather than Jasmine got the boot from American Idol earlier tonight. We're now down to four women, which for this quartet means a lot of belting and glory notes. God help us all.

More importantly, the Sox finally won a game outside of the AL East, besting Cleveland 9-5. Now if Oakland can just do us a favor on the other end and snap the Yankees' winning streak...

Three more questions to answer, courtesy of W. Scott Monty:

1) What is your favorite breakfast cereal?

A tough one! If forced to choose one, I'd go with peanut butter Cap'n Crunch. This elicited an "eewwww" from Scott, which just means more cereal for me.

2) If you could live anywhere in the country, where would you choose to live?

Somewhere coastal between Salem and Newburyport, MA (I grew up in a town on the coast between the two). Wouldn't have to be right on the water, but I'd like to be able to see the ocean every day.

3) What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? (European, if you must know).

According to this article, 11 m/sec or approximately 24 mph.

There is something fundamentally wrong with a show whose idea of big band music results in more Barbra Streisand songs being performed than Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday combined. But that's what we got tonight on American Idol, as the big band competition resulted in a score of Mrs. Brolin 2, Actual Legends 0. The real loser, of course, was the viewing public.

That being said, the night made it pretty clear that Fantasia and La Toya are much better than the other three singers. Not that that's going to get them into the final. As far as tonight goes, any of the other three could go, and for no particularly good reason I'm going with Jasmine. Not the first time, but she seemed to fit into the theme least.

And for those of you who find my following of this show problematic, I will happily say that I did not watch last night's clip show. There are some limits.

Got my first set of three questions, thanks to Greg Sorenson:

1. What one question in your life are you most sick of people asking you?

Right now, it's "when is your Millionaire episode going to air?" I like that people are interested, but when I've answered the question 4 or 5 times for the same person, it gets old. Listening is at least as fundamental as reading.

2. What was the first *compact disc* you purchased?

It's a tie: Mermaid Avenue by Billy Bragg and Wilco, and Painted From Memory by Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach.

3. What, if any, (movie/show/book) kept you up all night scared?

Summer 1980. It's a hot and sticky night, and the power's gone out. For whatever reason, I could not get the sinister cat-eye drawings from the Choose Your Own Adventure book The Mystery of Chimney Rock out of my head. (Yes, I was a dorky kid, too.)

Just read that Al Gore is planning to buy NewsWorld International, a cable channel that currently airs international news broadcasts, in order to form a new network with a liberal bend.

While the last thing we need is another politically-slanted cable channel (regardless of slant, though some of the fringier groups could have interesting programming), I more lament the loss of a US outlet for international news. We get so little idea of what others are reporting, either in general or about the US, that even a slightly-watched channel is a valuable resource.

I suppose we'll still have the news on BBC America, and whatever random sightings of Deutsche Welle one can find.

Counter worked, but I didn't like the location. Let's see if this is better...

Testing a new counter...

After a long time riding pine, welcome back to Matt Couture! His second go at blogdom is linked on the left, and in honor of his return I'll do as he asks in his second entry.

All readers of this blog should email me and ask me three questions - no more, no less. These three questions can be on any topic. I would then request that you (assuming you have a blog or LiveJournal or such) do the same for your readers.

As sometimes happens when you watch TV, you see something that triggers a memory. For better or worse, my most recent example of this is snack food related.

Last night we were watching an episode of Unwrapped about snacks, and they went to the Wise plant to see them make Cheez Doodles. This got me thinking of another Wise product which I hadn't seen in years, which had these wafery cracker type things sandwiching an orange cheese food-type product which should have been on some sort of USDA watch list.

This led me to get on the Wise website, and discover that the product, known as Cheeze Waffies, still exist. I don't know why it's 'waffies' rather than 'waffles' (which would make more sense given how they're shaped), but they're apparently still out there. A quick scan of the supermarket shelves this evening didn't turn them up. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's probably for the best.

If you happen to see them in your travels, let me know. I'd be interested to see where exactly they turn up.

My tendency to get paged during movies has followed me home. Tonight, just before the climactic Battle of the Bands in School of Rock, the pager went off. This necessitated a five minute pause as I sorted out what was, in essence, stupidity.

In any case, tonight's movie was much better than last night's. I tend to think Jack Black is a taste best doled out in small doses, but his manic personality worked pretty well. Bonus points for making my general disdain for Sarah Silverman work for me by casting her as a completely disagreeable shrew. Extra bonus points for the use of Joan Cusack in a supporting role, too.