My new job

I enjoyed seeing this headline on St. Patrick's Day...


Actually, the job went to Dan Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Close encounter

Just 48,000 miles to the left, and we would have needed Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck to save the world...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

What Super Bowl?

Is there a big football game this week? I almost forgot!

Well, ok, maybe that's a slight exageration. But this is usually the point when I start getting really sick of the two-week Super Bowl hype.

However, my attention was captivated so much last week by the inauguration and the Senate speculation here in New York that I paid very little attention to anything going on in the world of sports.

But now things are starting to settle in and I can shift my thoughts to the things that really matter! ;-) Go Steelers!

A sad sign of the times

The effects of the weakened economy hit home today as one of my favorite restaurants closed its doors for good. This was the last day of business for Garcia's Mexican Restaurant in Colonie.

I developed my love of Mexican food in Garcia's, which seems like it's been around forever (it's actually been 25 years).

Admittedly it has been a while since we last ate there. But for a while, we would go there often (for us that might mean two or three times a year). I remember going there to celebrate our first Gotcha Day and another time for dinner on New Year's Day. The first time I ever went there was for lunch with a bunch of people from work shortly after I started at the station (that had to be 1994 or 95).

Garcia's owner Rick Lamparelli was a frequent guest on the noon news for cooking segments. Whenever he came in he usually brought in plenty of food for everyone -- and it was always so good! I enjoyed his Cinco de Mayo visits almost as much as the famous Golub Price Chopper feast.

When Rick did come to the station he usually brought a stack of free Margarita coupons (at least he used to). We still have some in a drawer that we never redeemed. Sadly, now we never will.

So adios Garcia's. Thanks for all the great food!

Burning brewery

Flames have struck the F.X. Matt Brewery in Utica, where Saranac beer is made.

It appears some sort of welding accident touched off the blaze yesterday afternoon, which cause $10 million to $20 million in damage.

The owners are vowing to rebuild.

The brewery is the oldest in New York. It's been a family business since it was started in 1888.

Saranac has long been one of my favorite beers. I've bored many people with the story of the day Mike, Aaron and I spent at the brewery swigging free beer after free beer.

Life moves on

A sign that life is moving on after the Virginia Tech shootings...MSNBC just reported an Anna Nicole Smith story for the first time in several days.

Peeling away layers of news

I've long been a fan of the satirical newspaper/website The Onion. Now comes the word they're getting into the video business. Rejoice!

Presidential humor

Politicians always get funnier after they retire.

Former President Bush got some laughs today at the funeral of Gerald Ford. He talked about Chevy Chase’s depiction of Ford on “Saturday Night Live,” which characterized the 38th president as a stumbler. In reality Ford was quite athletic and just had one very public trip down the steps from Air Force One.

However, Bush 41 said Ford thought the Chevy routine was funny. He went on to say Ford taught him the importance of being able to laugh at yourself if you’re going to work in public service.

He then provided an impression of Dana Carvey doing an impression of him when he said:

“I could say more on the subject, but as Dana Carvey would say, not gonna do it. Wouldn’t be prudent.”