On Friday last I had the opportunity to attend the dedication gala for the Agganis Arena, the future home of BU hockey (and to a lesser extent, for now basketball). Let's just say that it's pretty much the anti-Walter Brown Arena, in any number of ways:

You can hear the PA, whose crystal-clear tone is a 180 degree change from the WBA set up, where it sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher trying to read Finning through a Dixie Cup and string arrangement.

The video equipment is much improved, which is to say there actually is some. There are replay screens on the center scoreboard, and one of those ribbon displays around the perimiter for ads and such.

The seats are padded, all of them, which some premium seat holders area little miffed about given that padding seemed at one point to be exclusive to premium seat holders. I can't say I care.

It's less murky, with great lighting and a higher ceiling, which opens things up quite a bit. That will deaden the sound a bit, and there is an echo present which does not bode well for concerts.

There are luxury boxes, which are pretty nice. They're at the top of the seating area, so they're not as separate as they are in pro arenas. If the box I got to see was representative, they have leather seating, a sink and counter area, and a phone.

The red line has paw prints on it, which is cute.

Player recognition areas are better, with nicer displays for All Americans, BU players in the NHL, and BU Hall of Famers.

There's a club room, which premium seat holders get to use. It has lounge areas, some food and beverage service, and a number of displays so you can keep track of the game. It's also the current home of the Harry Agganis statue, which I think is being relocated to outside at some point.

Oh, Harry's number is now retired, which I can't imagine will mean much given that the school "retired" the two sports he playedat BU some time ago.

Anyway, I can now say without hesitation that BU has the second-best college hockey facility in the country, after North Dakota.

As for the gala, it reconfirmed that when BU wants to put on a party, it knows how to do so. The food was outstanding, and free drinks are always welcome. The arena appears to have Harpoon IPA as an offering, which puts my stand against buying stadium beer to the test. No idea what they'll charge, but I'm sure it'll be pricey. BU does have a building to pay off, after all.

Oh, something caught my eye from Tom Ridge. He mentioned a couple days ago that it may be a good idea to do something with the color-coded terror alert system. In its current form, he noted that it leads to “questions and even occasional derision."

Occasional derision? I'd say it's a lot more than occasional. Out of all the things Homeland Security has put in place over the last few years, the color-coded terror alert system may be the least effective. How many people actually take it seriously? And of those who do, how many take it perhaps a bit too seriously?

Ridge also mentioned that the lack of information about why levels were changed was a problem, too. Glad to see he figured that out before he left. There really was nothing like hiking up the alert level and then being vague about the reasons why. Keeps us from having to tap the strategic paranoia reserve.

All that said, it does irritate me that Ridge will be gone while Rummy will still be kicking around. At this point it's like, who, him and the Veterans Affairs secretary left from the original Cabinet? And can't we get whoever is in that spot to take Rummy's place?

(NOTE: the current Secretary of Veterans Affairs is Anthony Principi. He looks like a swell guy, and would make a hell of a SecDef.)

Thinking about TV and seeing the Bruce's post about the charity diner getting take out, Gordon Ramsey (the chef at that gala event) has a show on BBC America now called Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, where he spends a week at a restaurant trying to turn it around.

Unlike The Restaurant, where it seemed like nothing happened that wasn't approved by producers, the problems in the restaurants Ramsey visits are quite real. That or they've trucked in moldy ingredients and scum for the cook surfaces.

I will say the kitchen in the second episode wasn't too badly off - mostly an issue of communication - but the first one was pretty bad (they even had to close for a day to correct things the health board would take a dim view towards). Ramsey himself is fun to watch, and has good ideas when trying to point out problems and suggest solutions. He curses a lot, so if that bothers you be forewarned.

The show is on Tuesdays at 9 pm EST.

I've written precious little on The Apprentice this time around, and with good reason. It's been pretty dull.

None of the contestants were particularly interesting, and those that did generate some interest either got lost in the shuffle or fired quickly. We got left with flavorless corporate-wannabes, whose interchangability was visually demonstrated by Jennifer and Sandy's appearance when they sold aMazing Bars.

Based on what reality shows I do watch, this seems to be a common problem. Subsuquent groups of contestants aren't as interesting or talented as those that came before. American Idol seems to prove this in spades (that's the only way to explain half of last season's finalists), and Eva seems a far cry from her forebears as America's next top model.

It could also just be that the bloom goes off the rose quickly with reality programming. I assume part of it is that the concept becomes less novel, giving viewers less to be interested in with the mechanics of the show. I also think that reality programs self-select the best group of contestants first, meaning that the people who best suit the show are the ones that are initially interested and booked. Later groups bring in prior knowledge of the show, which colors the application process and eventualy participation if they're cast.

Anyway, The Apprentice's second go 'round closes with a three hour finale tonight. That's at least one hour too long, especially when you consider the third installment of the show will start in January. At least we'll get to see what happens when Trump's hair goes into hibernation for the winter.

Pedro a Met? Did he ever meet Mo Vaughn? I know, different balky joint, but still.

Schilling apparently doesn't think he'll be ready for opening day. I get the feeling the starter will be chosen by drawing a name out of a hat.

Some movement on the job front to report. I'm now doing "content analysis," which basically means I read articles about a certain product, and tally various items as requested by my employer (such as what product is mentioned, the tone of the article, etc.). It's not the most glamorous work, but it's reasonably well compensated and it's been interesting. I also get to work at home, which has been less distracting than expected. Not sure how much work they have for me, but hopefully it'll last until I find something permanent. Whenever that may be.

Before you ask, even with Pats offensive coordinator Charlie Weis going to ND they're still going to be on my personal probation. They may even get more of it if the hiring backfires on the Pats. Sorry, Chaz.

Mike Tice must be the saddest guy in football right now, between the Vikings home loss to Seattle and the UW job being a done deal for Willingham. Given the former, Tice could really have benefitted from the latter not happening.

He should still start polishing up his resume, though.

There was some non-football content to the weekend (though I did get to see parts of both 1-AA semifinals - go JMU! - and a big chunk of the div 2 final), as I went Christmas shopping with my wife and her sister. That went about as well as you think it would, especially as I bought almost nothing.

We're doing something interesting on Sarah's side of the family this year. All six of us drew names, and we're only buying presents for the person we drew. It's making things a lot easier (or it will when I finally start buying), as we also used the time over Thanksgiving to put together a list of what everyone wanted.

Unfortunately, that sort of game plan wouldn't go so well with my side of the family. The kids tend not to see the beauty of drawing names.

While it wasn't on TV for some reason, I was happy to see that the Icedogs took out RPI, as we've been having problems racking up non-conference wins (BU now stands at 2-5 outside of Hockey East, and has three more non-conference games coming up). I was also impressed that Harvard beat Maine, they're now 3-0 versus Hockey East teams. Sadly, they don't play BC in the opening round of the Beanpot in 2005.

So I've made a couple of decisions regarding college football.

1. Notre Dame is on my personal probation list. I'm not rooting against them per se, but I'm not going to be going out of my way to watch, either. They get an exemption against BC, of course.

2. In their place will be the collected teams of the service academies. I've always been an Air Force fan (comes from growing up when the wishbone was king), and like the resolve Navy's shown over the years. I can only think positive thoughts about Bobby Ross and what he's trying to do at West Point, as hard as it'll be to turn things around.

There's the Coast Guard Academy, too, should they crop up on TV. I'll have to look at the Comcast channel lineups more closely from here on out.

Oh, just thought of a third.

3. I'll have to root for any team that plays ND coached by Ty Willingham. Not sure about taking it to the next level and including other coaches done wrong like Ron Zook or that Cutcliffe guy from Mississippi. Nah, just leave it with Ty, although it looks like Mike Tice might beat him to UW (in case you missed it, Tice was quoted the other day saying he'd like that job assuming he winds up looking for a new one, which may very well happen if the Vikings fade again).

Like so many others, I had my real life and blog life intersect recently when my brother, apparently on a break from apprehending wrong-doers, apparently came across my little presence here. While I'm glad all the mean stuff about him is somewhere else (kidding!), I will honestly note that he replied to three or four different posts, which is a lot more than most of you do. Just saying.

He would not be my brother, however, without noting that I should perhaps stay away from the Moon Pies. Point taken.

I know it's old news by now, but Urban Meyer going to Florida is perfect. Notre Dame gets what it deserves, and hopefully their AD, Kevin White, will as well.

Speaking of places south of here, I got to spend the weekend in Chattanooga, fun as always. As part of any trip to the south, I try to eat some things that we don't really have up here.

I got sweet tea at dinner on Friday, nice and sweet but still could taste the tea. Grits came along on Sunday morning with breakfast.

The problem, oddly enough, was the Moon Pie and RC Cola combo. On Friday night I found the RC but no Moon Pies (which are made in Chattanooga!). Sunday as we were leaving I got Moon Pies but no RC (except in 2 liter bottles, which is really overkill). So I wound up washing the Moon Pie down with Double Cola, another Chattanooga product, thinking that the local drink should be able to compliment the local baked good.

Well, not so much. I don't think I'd buy Double Cola again.

Not much else to tell from the weekend. Team finished third in the tournament, I played very well at times and horribly at others, including what has to be my first 0/3 performance in a game ever (though I still think I got rooked on one question, such is life). I did get a couple of really horrible CDs as prizes, one of which was actually requested by my wife. Musical taste was clearly not a deal-breaker in our relationship.

I've just been witness to one of the more inane arguments I've seen in some time.

The guy on the computer next to me was looking at job listings, and wanted a definition of "telecommute." While it seems kind of obvious to me, he may have some age-related intechnoracy (patent pending), as he said something to that effect to one of the librarians.

The librarian said she could give him a dictionary to look the word up, but couldn't "interpret" what he was reading. This led the guy to throw a hissy fit (quietly, we are in the library after all) about how it wasn't "interpreting" anything. The librarian was not moved.

At this point the disagreement petered out, the modicum of sound and lack of fury signifying pointlessness.

My thought for the guy: any on-line dictionary is going to have telecommute. If the definition there still isn't clear, write the person who posted as the librarian suggested. True, this may demonstrate that you're not quite the candidate for any job that requires telecommuting, but that may be for the best.

My thought for the librarian: things may have gone better if, rather than saying you couldn't "interpret" the information. That's a little cold/impersonal. Help the guy find a definition, but then stick to the point about contacting the poster for more detail.

Hey, I said it was inane.

While it's not at the Twilight Zone level of the Ron Zook or Frank Solich firings, I'm annoyed at Notre Dame's firing of Ty Willingham today.

Willingham becomes the first Notre Dame head coach to get fired before the end of his initial contract. I don't necessarily find that annoying, but it's irritating to think that lesser coaches (hello, Gerry Faust) got that consideration when they probably didn't deserve it.

More annoying is that Willingham spent three years installing a new offense, only to get canned just as he's starting to get all of the players recruited specifically for that offense into the starting lineup. Then again, the problem may be more defensive in nature (see the late losses to BC and Pitt and this past weekend's thumping by USC, which proves that I should watch the whole game as I didn't think it got that bad).

Most annoying - I don't think Willingham would have gotten the gate if Urban Meyer wasn't out there. Not that it's his fault; that lies squarely with the alumni, tout sheet writers, and other loudmouths who've been fueling the fire since September.

What it comes down to, I suppose, is that I'm irritated that Notre Dame is allowing itself to fall prey to the same inanities that bedevil other division 1A programs. I know they're not perfect, but the idea that Notre Dame approaches college football differently from other schools is in the ICU and fading. I suppose it was only a matter of time (and, of course, money).

Stealing a page from Craig, here’s my 24 hours of football (from over the last 4 days):

HIGH SCHOOL: While I didn’t see the game, it is my sad duty to report that the Manchester-Essex Regional High School Hornets fell to our hated rivals from Georgetown, thus tagging the Hornets with a 0-11 record for the season. I’m not sure if it’s the first winless season in school history, but I have to think it’s the first 11 loss season they’ve ever suffered. The team was very young, having graduated many of the players who led the team to the conference title last season. Better things have to be ahead for 2005.

COLLEGE: When did Craig James become the BCS’s bitch? It seems like every time I saw him talk he was spouting off on why the teams from outside of the BCS arrangement didn’t deserve to make it. He felt very strongly that BC deserved to make it over Utah or Boise State – this before BC got slapped around at home by Syracuse, keeping the Orangemen alive for a BCS berth at 6-5.

Nope, nothing wrong with the BCS at all.

I was rooting for Texas A&M against Texas, both because they’re my default Texas team and because it could get two non-BCS teams into the mix. I didn’t expect A&M to win, but I thought they played pretty well. I had the same reasons for rooting for Notre Dame over USC (ok, they’re not my default Texas team, but you get my drift), and they more or less went the same way as the Aggies.

Oddly enough, the BC-Syracuse game is probably the one I watched the most of, primarily because the result was so unlikely. I had resigned myself to seeing BC in the Fiesta, but should have taken my lesson from the Sox and kept the faith.

I felt badly about Louisville beating Cincinnati 70-7, as the Cardinals went the Bob Stoops route to trying to impress voters to hopefully make up ground in the polls. Because, really, it’s not going to work. Voters know that the Bearcats stink; you don’t get extra credit for pounding that sort of team (or shouldn’t). I suppose they may have had Texas lost.

And I’d like to call a quick truce with northern New England to give kudos to the UNH football team, who won their first 1-AA playoff game ever by handing Georgia Southern its first first round loss ever (and doing so in Statesboro, no less).

PRO: My viewing of the NFL today was impeded by the drive back from Maine and some playing of one of those vintage video game things that have the games loaded into the controller box (the wife got one for her birthday that includes Ms. Pac Man, Xevious, Galaga, and Pole Position – I’m not sure why Pole Position is included with a handset of Namco games, but I’m digging it).

I did see most of the Pats game, and the real story there was the field. It seems like every year at this time the pounding brought by the MLS and NFL make the field a quagmire when there’s rain.

And there was rain today. Boy howdy, was there rain (I think it was the rain the UNH got to play in last night).

The Revs have to find a new home. I happen to know a place where there’s a new turn field paid for by the WUSA. They’d need to put in some new seating, but it’s a nice Boston location in an area with a lot of students. You just have to make sure you don’t have any home games during finals, lest there be more riots.

Address all inquiries to Dr. Aram Chobanian, 2 Sherborn Street, Boston.

I did watch goodly portions of both Thanksgiving games, even that ugly Dallas-Chicago match up. I had picked Dallas as one of my teams in Craig’s cut-throat league, so it was the one time during the year that I lean for the Cowboys to score enough points to beat another team I don’t care about in a situation that will not lead to a playoff berth.

Then again, the way the NFC is going Dallas may still have a shot if they win out.

I also picked Miami in their tilt against the 49ers. I liked the way they played against Seattle the week previous, and figured I had to take them at some point. Why not now?

I’d considered taking both Miami and San Francisco as a strategic two points. Probably a good thing I didn’t, though at some point before the end of the season I’ll still have to take the Niners. Ugh.

I’d thought the Bengals-Browns game went to OT when I saw the score there, but then reminded myself that the NFL doesn’t use the NCAA tiebreak. It’s games like this that make fantasy geeks all tingly.

Now that Eli Manning is 0-2, are we ready for Warner’s second go ‘round? Will they try to get Kerry Collins back from Oakland? Do they have Vince Evans’ number in their Rolodex?

There’s also been an unusual amount of confusion by announcers today. Jim Nantz called Corey Dillon “Warrick Dunn” a couple of times, and Phil Simms had trouble keeping Chester Taylor and Travis Taylor separate. Mike Patrick also noted that it was still odd seeing Warren Sapp in any other uniform than Denver’s – I think the orange confused him.

Are condos evil?

Admittedly, this is kind of an unusual question, given that I know a few people who own condos and they all seem to have made out fine on the deal. But these people own condos in an urban context, where condos make a good option when put against the smallish stock of houses and the lack of return one gets from renting.

My question comes from my current suburban context, where there are plenty of houses and even a few places where one could build more. On some level, I'm thinking that the condo market, purposefully or otherwise, is propping up the high cost of houses by being the only affordable option that results in actual property ownership.

Now, if people didn't want condos you'd assume they wouldn't sell. But they seem to be (based on what I see being built), so I'm trying to sort out whether they're popular or people are just giving in. Like with the root canals, I may be talking through my hat and looking for a scam where none exists.

My concern here may be fueled by condo projects that went up in my home town when I was in high school and college, many of which struggled to find full occupancy. I suppose they're full now, but the years of seeing places with as few as four units only half full makes me skeptical.

In any event, thoughts on this are welcome. Happy Thanksgiving to all where a Happy Thanksgiving would apply!

I think the person who came up with the metaphor of herding cats for a difficult task was, at some point, a middle school gym teacher.

At least, that's my theory based on my experiences this week, where I was involved with trying to corral up to 60 7th and 8th graders. Thankfully, there are three teachers, and the weather's been nice enough that outdoor stuff is available.

I think that gym has been the hardest subject to sub for so far given that the students are (a) semi-anonymous, and (b) in a large room with several exits, some out of the locker rooms. It went OK, but it was much more touch and go than regular classroom assignments where the students have work and there's one door.

Anyway, here's one for the P.E. teachers.

So there's good news and bad news relative to my just-completed trip to the dentist.

The good news is that one of the fillings went off without a hitch. The bad news is that the other was worse than expected and a root canal, with a post, crown and all the trimmings, is in the offing. Can't say I'm thrilled at the prospect.

(And for all of you who are planning on posting saying that it's what I get for waiting so long to return to the dentist, Sarah's beaten you to it. So don't bother.)

While I am disliking both the likely pain and certain cost of the procedure, there's also a feeling that I'm pretty much throwing money down a hole. It seems like anyone who's had a root canal has pretty meagre results. I'm wondering if it wouldn't make more long-term sense to chuck the tooth and get an implant. Granted, this could be the inexperience with things dental talking.

I'll open the floor to discussion - do I have any options here, or do I just suck it up and get the root canal?

OK, I've really got nothing to say, but I'm trying to kill some time before going to the dentist to get some cavities drilled. I'm told that most of what's coming is minor, but given my continuing stance on the lack of progress in dental technology since the 15th century, I'm not looking forward to this.

Given what some of you've been through recently (hello, Greg), I have no right to be a baby about this. On the other hand, having a blog gives you a licence to whine, doesn't it?

I've not said anything about reality TV in a while (and I know you've missed it), but there is one particularly annoying thing that's become more obvious on The Apprentice. There's an increasing amount of post-taped boardroom dialog from Trump (and at least once from Carolyn), which stands out given that it sounds different. I don't know the technical terms to use here, but it just sounds remarkably different. Content-wise it sounds a little scripted, too, given Trump's usual off the cuff remarks. You'd think with the two-plus hours of boardroom they'd be able to get 10 good minutes, but apparently not.

Greetings from the computer in the lobby of the Hampton Inn in Voorhees, New Jersey! Sarah and I are here for a wedding, as fellow BUCBer Chris Rosenberg takes the plunge.

This is a very positive end to a week that saw me attend a funeral on Tuesday for a family friend and former co-worker of my mother. She had the same cancer as her husband, which was also the same sort of cancer as my mother. As you can imagine this has raised some warning signs regarding unusual environmental exposures (especially as we all live near the town Highway Department yard), though my mom and the friend's husband were both long-term smokers. Not sure if it's time to go all A Civil Action on people or not.

In a lot of ways, Tuesday marked the end of our neighborhood. The people I remember growing up are all pretty much dead (outside of one family that moved in next door when I was in late elementary/junior high). As much as I went to mourn this woman, I also went to mourn the end of where I grew up. I suppose this happens to everyone eventually, but I'd not really considered it until Tuesday.

This was also the first non-Catholic funeral I've ever attended (not counting graveside-only funerals), which suggests I'm a little closer to Mike Kellerman's Irish Catholic cocoon that I'd imagined previously. For those of you who don't get that reference, please peruse an episode guide for Homicide: Life on the Streets and don't expect me to say anything about wanting to plotz.

Anyway, more positive focus tomorrow for Chris and Ali. It should be a joyous time!

I am proud to announce that, like one of the Coreys (Haim, I think), I am now licensed to drive.

This may come as a surprise to some of you, assuming that most people of my age got their license years ago. I managed to avoid this through a curious mixture of disinterest and city living.

Unlike many of my fellow teens, I didn't care all that much about driving. I was fortunate enough to have older friends who had their licenses, so as I neared the usual age the lack of a license didn't weigh on me as much. So I didn't really do too much to get one (though I did eventually take driver's ed and take a lackluster go at the driving test).

Then there was the good decade or so that I was living in Boston, where having a car is often a disadvantage. I got an ID to take care of the various things that require one, but never really thought about driving.

This did make the time I lived at home a little dicey, not to mention my time out at Babson. There was only so much I could do on foot in either location.

As it is with so many things, it was the wife that got me moving towards actually obtaining my license. And as it is with many of those things, it's probably for the better.

Not that getting it was that easy. In Massachusetts you take the road test with a state trooper (they took over the Registry police force about 15 years ago), and they don't often pass you the first time around. In fact, the first time I took the test the trooper who rode with me didn't even get the stamp that they use to endorse the learner's permit until my test (bad luck for the 2 or 3 people who went before me). Not that it mattered; I was told that I needed more experience. This based on a test whose trickiest element was a three point turn.

The second test went well - until I hit the curb in front of the Registry at the end of the test. The third time proved to be the charm, ironic in that (a) I had a different trooper this time, and (b) I think I drove better during my two other tests.

I've not really taken the car out on my own too much, as I don't often go places without the wife and gas is too expensive to go joyriding. At some point I'll get out on the open road. I'll try to warn you before that happens.

After a couple days of processing, there's not much more I can add to what some of my fellow bloggers at left have said about the election.

But there was one interesting statement made by Tucker Carlson during the CNN coverage. He noted that after Goldwater lost, the GOP spent some time "in the woods" so to speak, writing and thinking about the party and conservatism, setting a base for the GOP success over the last 20 years or so.

I'm wondering if it isn't time for the Dems to do the same. Not that they need to cede the playing field, of course, but rather that it may be a good time to stop and really think about long-term focus and direction. Right now it's kind of a mess. While he was speaking in a different context, I think Danny Concannon had a point about Dems being bumfuzzled a bit.

Going back to suggestions made by Cooch and Boggie, if you really are concerned about where our government is taking us, just showing up to vote every two to four years may not be enough. I was heartened to read about a number of people my age (and younger) taking time to work at polls, which is a nice break from the string of retirees who usually inhabit polling places.

I would also like mention Dwight and Craig's burgeoning Mascot Party, of which I think I'd have to be a charter member given my Yahoo profile picture. Please note it is the only picture I've ever used.

Sticking with Dwight's comments for a second, I was also disappointed with the skating rink turned electoral map on NBC. Horribly underutilized. I mostly watched ABC and CNN. You'd think it was ABC's first time covering a Presidential election, given the overall lack of coordination. Peter Jennings also seemed to be having a lot of trouble with the touch screen that accessed maps and such. Good thing he's Canadian; his lack of touch screen prowess could have messed up a polling place big time.


CNN was as CNN does, though they were being very cautious with calling states. On the other end, the first call for New Hampshire that I heard came from a guy on our local NBC affiliate. I suppose he had less to lose than a national anchor.

While I can't speak for other locations, I can say that voting in ward 2, precincts 1 and 2 in Beverly, Massachusetts is going swimmingly. Having the flexibility to vote in the early afternoon, after lunch and before work lets out, is a real plus. No lines, no lawyers trying to disenfranchise me, and no chads.

Speaking of which, I'm not sure why more locations don't use optical machines. I imagine there's a technology investment to make, but the tech is pretty straightforward. Not to mention that if you've ever had to fill out a form, or went to kindergarten, you understand the single most important principle to voting this way: color in the lines. Even I, as someone who could never stay in the lines in my youth, can get the hang of these ballots.

There's really nothing I can say about the process here, too easy. The benefit of living in a state where the results were never in doubt, if you can call it that.