The end of a long Trek

We had a very busy weekend. Too busy for me to get around to blogging about the end of Star Trek.

I enjoyed watching the final two episodes of "Star Trek: Enterprise" Friday night. I particularly enjoyed the second to last episode, "Terra Prime," which concluded a two-part story that began on last week's episode, "Demons."

As for the final episode, "These Are the Voyages," I have decidedly mixed feelings.

If you missed it, the story is actually set during the events of the seventh season "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode, "The Pegasus." Essentially, a dark secret from Riker's past comes back to haunt him and he has to decide whether or not to violate orders and share his secret with Capt. Picard.

In the "Enterprise" episode, Troi suggests Riker might find some insight by recreating the final mission of the NX-01 on the holodeck. So what we wind up with is the last episode of "Enterprise" as seen through Riker's eyes.

I understand, and even respect, what they were trying to accomplish with this episode. They were trying to show how Capt. Archer and his crew are revered in the future and cement their place in Trek history. But I don't think is was pulled off very well.

First of all, I remember "The Pegasus" -- in fact I just saw a rerun of it on TV not long ago -- and I don't think "These Are the Voyages" fits into that episode very well at all.

Second, Riker remains in the background most of the time when he's observing the action on the NX-01, but there are a number of scenes where he steps into the role of the ship's Chef (an off-camera character often mentioned in early episodes, but never seen) and interacts one-on-one with each of the crew. I think the episode would have been greatly improved if they had left these scenes out. I'd rather see the characters interact with each other, talking about their pasts and their futures, than with a character so far removed from their own show.

I was also disgruntled that the final mission takes place six years further into the future, and yet very little has changed for the characters. Travis and Hoshi are still lowly ensigns. And the relationship between Trip and T'Pol, which seemed to grow so much just in the previous episode alone, hasn't gone anywhere.

And after the emotional performance from Connor Trineer as Trip in "Terra Prime," could they have made the audience care less about his character's death in this episode?

All that said, it was surprising to see the lengths they went to in recreating so many "TNG" sets, and the closing montage where all three Enterprise captains -- Kirk, Picard and Archer -- recite the famous "Space, the final frontier..." speech was great.

I enjoyed that final two-parter of "Demons" and "Terra Prime" much more. I think they would have been better served running those as a two-hour episode and letting that serve as the finale.

"These Are the Voyages" wasn't awful. But it wasn't great either. Sort of fitting with the whole series -- occasional flashes of greatness, but on the whole never living up to its promise.

When the show was over I emerged from the basement and said to Kris, "That's it. Star Trek is over." After more than 40 years, 10 movies and 18 continuous years on TV, this is how the journey ends.

Eye-opening fire drills

Some kids sleep through shrill smoke alarms
This was a very good report we had on the news last night. But I'm also very proud of the way it turned out on the Web.

Essentially, our crew snuck into the bedrooms of three local kids (with their parents' permission) and videotaped their reactions when their smoke alarms went off.

The results were surprising. All of the kids slept right through the blaring alarms.

(Full disclosure: there was a fourth child who did wake up, but she found out the TV crew was coming and was already awake).

On WNYT.com, you can read the story, watch the 11 p.m. version of the report and read blog entries from each of the crew about what went on behind the scenes.

Beautiful day for biking

Enjoying the sunrise over the Mohawk River.

Now this was more like it.

I've been out on my bike a few times this year, but I haven't really enjoyed myself until today.

It's been far too cold, with temperatures in the 30s that feel much colder on the bike. Not to mention the fact I was exhausted and practically falling asleep on my bike because I was staying up so late every night working on a video I made for Kris for Mother's Day.

So most days I wound up cutting the ride short...sometimes very short.

But today was much better. I was relatively well-rested and the weather was beautiful -- temps in the mid 50s and bright and sunny. I did my usual, run-of-the-mill 12-mile ride, which is actually the most I've done so far. I hope to increase that distance as I get ready for the Tour de Cure.

The picture above was taken along the Mohawk River at a place known as "Train Station Park." It's about six miles from my house. This is where I usually like to stop for a drink of water and watch the sun climb into the sky over the river. It's very peaceful and I often find myself thinking about my dad and my friend Mike while relaxing there.

I sent out most of my Tour de Cure e-mails yesterday. If you didn't get one, it's coming soon. Or please just click on the link on this page. I've got $130 so far. I'm hoping to raise $800.

Coverage and incovenience

So I'm watching the final moments of "24" last night. Jack Bauer has finally captured the bad guy, but he's too late. The clock is counting down to the launch of the bad guy's nuclear missile. There's less than 40 seconds to go...

...and so that's the perfect time for Fox 23 to break in early with the promo for their 10 p.m. news! ARGHH!!!

Fortunately, the promo ended and we still got to see the final seconds of the show, including the missile launch.

I know it's not like they crawled the lottery numbers over "Schindler's List" (that's another story), but it was still pretty annoying.

Mmm...candy bars... D'oh!

I had exactly 65 cents jingling in my pocket. That means one thing -- a trip to vending machine for a Big Kit-Kat.

I put my coins in and made my selection only to have the machine just beep at me.

It turns out the price of a candy bar has gone up to 70 cents. When did that happen?!?

The heck with gas prices...this is a crisis!

Jack Bauer changing allegiance?

News Shorts

Could the Jack Bauer Power Hour move to the peacock network?

This report is from Media Life Magazine:

Rumor du jour: Fox's '24' may be heading to NBC
Is Fox’s “24” headed for NBC? The New York Post reported this morning that the struggling network is interested in Twentieth Television’s Kiefer Sutherland drama, whose four-year deal is up after May 23’s season finale. The Post story quotes an anonymous source that says NBC has expressed its interest in “24.” This season the show has averaged a shade under 12 million viewers an episode, its best season ever. The odds still remain Fox will keep the series, despite an expected increase in its licensing fee, but if it does make the switch it wouldn’t be the first show to do so: “Grounded For Life” aired on Fox for two seasons before it jumped to the WB in February 2003, and “JAG” aired its first season on NBC before moving to CBS for its final nine seasons.

That would be quite a "get" for NBC. "24" has been may favorite show on TV ever since it debuted.

But would NBC be jumping on the Bauer Bandwagon too late? This season has been great. Despite plot holes big enough to dive a truck through, the show still remains very satisfying. But how long can they keep that up?

Of course, this is all rumor and speculation. I'll believe "24" is moving when I see it.

The Greatest Rivalry

I made an observation while we were in Florida last week: New York and Boston are the center of the baseball universe.

Just about every baseball cap we saw was either a Yankees or Red Sox hat. And the number was 50-50.

The few that weren't Yanks or Sox hats were usually Mets hats. I think I saw one Cardinasl hat and one Oakland hat.

We also stopped into a sports clothing store that had gear from nearly every team, but the majority of the merchandise was Yankees and Red Sox.

The Dog House

When company comes over, everyone always winds up hanging out in the kitchen.

We've been dog sitting for some friends this week...which is no problem for Chester! He's loving having his friend Hershey around so much every day.

A Wink and a smile

Have you seen this Orbitz commercial with Wink Martindale?  Is he drinking from the Dick Clark fountain of youth?  He doesn't look any different than he did when he was hosting "Tic Tac Dough" 25 years ago.

 

Watch out for the dragon!

'Hitchhiker's Guide' blasts off

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy :: Dolphin Sing-a-long
I'm pleased to see "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" had such a big opening weekend. Reviews have been mostly positive.

That's great, because I really want this movie to be good.

But alas, despite how much I've gone on and on about how I've been looking forward to this movie, I have no idea when I'll actually get around to seeing it. Like with "The Incredibles," I'll probably wind up waiting for the DVD.

Kitten Cannon

Kitten Cannon - shoot the cat as far as possible. Funny game
Ok. If you like cats, then this game isn't for you. But if you enjoyed "Penguin Baseball" then you'll love this addidctive game. My high score so far: 1,123 feet!

Thanks, Lindsay

The Daleks' triumphant return

The last Dalek seeks revenge on the Doctor but finds an identity crisis instead.

I just got done watching the latest "Doctor Who" episode, appropriately entitled "Dalek." It was fantastic -- "Who" at its best. If you've ever remotely enjoyed a "Doctor Who" episode in the past, then you need to download this episode from somewhere and watch it ASAP.

Here's what some of the reviewers had to say:

The Times

"Tonight's episode may not have the zany, off-the-wall humour associated with the ones written by Russell T. Davies, but Robert Shearman's script -and I can't believe that I'm about to say this -is strangely moving. It concerns the last surviving Dalek, which is being held in chains in an underground museum in Utah. Daleks, as we know from the lessons of history, are programmed to hate. But, amid all the excitement, tonight's episode manages to sneak in a message about the redemptive power of human kindness and the way in which victims can turn into oppressors. This new Doctor Who is an unqualified triumph."

London Evening Standard

"At its best, science fiction is supposed to be a metaphor. It's not a theory that always pans out, but here, in the conflict between a murderous intergalactic dustbin and a double-hearted time traveller, we get a powerful look at the way war- whether it's in the Balkans, Iraq or outer space- twists even the best of people. 'If you can't kill, then what are you good for?' the Doctor hisses at the imprisioned Dalek. But by the end, you're left wondering whether it is the Dalek or the Doctor who has been damaged most by the conflict."

Tee Ball Opening Day

Nolan and his manager, Coach Davenport.

Tee ball season kicked off this morning for the Niskayuna Baseball program.

Nolan is playing on the Price Chopper team, aka "The Choppers." He had a great time -- to the point where he was almost ready to cry when the game was over because he didn't want to stop. (Of course, as Tom Hanks taught us, there's no crying in baseball).


Nolan heads for home.

Nolan "Slugger" Rooney is the only lefty on his team. When he went up for his first turn at bat, the manager automatically put him on the left side of the plate and had him right handed. He hit a couple foul balls before hitting a weak grounder. On his next turn, I reminded the manager to have bat from the other side, and he smacked it on the first try. So perhaps he has a future as a switch hitter.


Nolan plays left field under the watchful eye of Coach Rooney.

I'm an assistant coach on the team. Today I coached third base when the Choppers were up to bat and stood in the outfield when they were fielding. Nolan played left field in the first inning and quickly grew frustrated since hardly anyone in tee ball hits anyting to left field. Fortunately, in the next inning he was moved to first base where he saw plenty of action.

The end of an era

Last night was big night for Thomas.  He spent the night in his new big-boy bed for the first time.

 

He's been acting like he was ready for a while now.  He loves to climb up onto Nolan's bed and will even put his head on Nolan's pillow and pull the covers up over himself.

 

In Florida he did that a lot too.  He would crawl into our bed and tuck himself in.  I'd ask him if he wanted to go to bed and he's smile and say "Yes," in his little voice.  So I'd tell I'd move him to his crib, to which he would reply with a big "No!"

 

So one of the first things we did after getting home was to go out and buy him a bed.  Yesterday Kris took the crib apart and put the bed together.

 

This means that for first time in nearly five years there is no crib set up in our house.

The Rooneys' Disney Adventure

The Rooneys invade the Magic Kingdom.

Well, we survived our vacation to Walt Disney World. We returned Tuesday night, and everyone has been asking how our trip was. The answer: as best as it could be considering Thomas was sick for most of the trip and Nolan was terrified of most of the rides.

We left last Thursday. Traveling with Thomas is never much fun, and flying with him on the plane wasn't any better. It was late in the day by the time we finally got to our resort -- Disney's Port Orleans Riverside. It was past the kids' usual bedtime by the time we got them dinner and they were both bears. The day was pretty much hell, but that's what we expected for the travel day.

We had a system every day. We'd hit a park as soon as it opens. We'd have lunch somewhere at the park and be back at the resort by 1:30 p.m. for Thomas' nap. While he was sleeping Kris and I would take turns doing something around the resort with Nolan.

At the end of every day I'd ask Nolan what his favorite part of the day was and it was always whatever we did at the hotel. He enjoyed the paddle boat ride, going fishing, playing air hockey in the arcade, swimming, etc. Yeah, he liked the parks too, but the resort stuff was always his first answer.

On Friday we did the Magic Kingdom. Anything that was outdoors, Nolan enjoyed. He loved the Dumbo ride. He loved climbing through the Swiss Family Robinson tree house. But he did not want to do any of the indoor rides. We went on the Winnie the Pooh ride (c'mon, Winnie the Pooh, for crying out loud!) and he was a little nervous on that (Thomas, our little thrill-seeker, loved it). Even on a ride like Pooh, I think Nolan was nervous about the combination of the dark, the loud music and sound effects and the fact he couldn't see where the ride was going. He loves "Toy Story," so we tried taking him on the Buzz Lightyear ride and he flipped out. We had to get off the ride and leave. After that we knew to stick to things in the outdoors.

On Saturday we hit Animal Kingdom, which I was a little disappointed by. Kris and I were looking forward to this park since it wasn't there on our last trip to Disney World almost 10 years ago. But I found it to be very congested and hard to get around in. But the safari was cool and I went on the Dinosaur thril ride by myself, which was very cool! Nolan's favorite part of the park was a giant sand box where you can dig for dinosaur bones.

Those were the highlights of Animal Kingdom. But there was a big lowlight. We weren't inside the gates for five minutes before Thomas threw up all over himself. For the next three days he had a fever. We didn't have a change of clothes for him at the park with us. So I bought the smallest T-shirt I could find, which was still two sizes too big for him, and he wore nothing but that and a diaper for the rest of the park visit.

On Sunday we went to Dinsey/MGM Studios. Nolan wanted to go to the park, but didn't want to actually do anything once we were there. We pretty much forced him to sit through Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We also took him on the studio backlot tour, which I remembered as being fairly benign, and for the most part it was. But I forgot just how close you are to that truck that "blows up" and that the tram you're riding in starts to rock. That scared the bejeezes out of him. That said, he and Thomas did enjoy the Playhouse Disney Live show, lunch at Pizza Planet and the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. However, I could not talk him into going to see Muppet Vision 3-D and I didn't feel like forcing him into anything anymore.

Monday we went to Epcot, which was quite possibly our worst park experience. Every day one of the parks opens early for resort guests. On this day, Epcot opened early, but there was nothing to do! A large section of the park was still closed off. All that was available were the indoor rides that Nolan didn't like. We tried to take him on the ride in the Land pavillion -- the one that's all about farming and vegetables and all that good stuff. What could be scary about that? Apparently, plenty. It was the Buzz Lightyear experience all over again, and again we had to get off the ride while we still could. He did enjoy the Living Seas, which has been turned into one big "Finding Nemo" display. But otherwise everyone was fairly miserable, especially Thomas who was still pretty sick.

But at least we ate pretty good. We ate in lots of different places and tried lots of different things. With one exception, we never ate in the same place twice and the food everywhere was always great.

On Tuesday we came home. Traveling with Thomas was slightly better this time than it was on our trip down.

So the vacation was a lot of hard work and definitely had its ups and downs. The big question: was it worth it? Well, that depends on who you ask. Nolan wil ltell you he had a good time, and I suppose that's all that matters. As for his parents, one us would like to go again in five years or so when the kids are a little older and one of us says it would take a lot to go anywhere near Orlando again.

We've got a couple camping trips planned for this summer, which is more our usual speed. We'll see what we decide to do for our big trip next year.

Hittin' the road

This will be the last post for a while. We're all packed up and ready to embark on the big family vacation for the year tomorrow.

We're going to Disney World! This will be the first time Kris and I have been there since our honeymoon almost 10 years ago. Of course, we didn't have two kids with us then. So we imagine this will be a very different experience.

I was hoping to figure out a way to send pictures to my blog with my camera phone, but no luck. So you'll just have to wait until we get back for all the vacation highlights.

When we return, we will be knee-deep in T-ball. Nolan had his first practice Monday night. There will be another practice right after we get back. And then his first game is on April 30. He's playing for the Price Choppher team.

I'm a pseudo-assistant coach. I told his manager I might not be able to make every practice because of my hours, but I would be there when I could and would never miss a game -- so I'd like to help out however I can. So for that, he gave me a team hat!

Well, that's all for now. More to come after the trip...

Doctor Who to play meddling monk?

Now it's all starting to make sense...

Earlier it was reported that Christopher Eccleston was bailing out of "Doctor Who" after only one season. Now we may know why. There is a report he is in the running to play Silas, the albino killer monk, in Ron Howard's adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code."

Meanwhile it's been confirmed that Alfred Molina will play Silas' boss and Sir Ian McKellan will play the eccentric brit the story's Harvard professor hero (to be played by Tom Hanks) turns to for help. However, when I first heard Molina and McKellan were going to be in the movie, I imagined them in the opposite roles.

Willy is still slick

I'm listening to Bill Clinton delivering his speech at the rememberence ceremony for the 10th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.  He's actually getting laughs!

 

Do you think anyone else could get away with punching up an Oklahoma City speech with a few one-liners?

Marathon Update 7

5k - 0:23:55
10k - 0:48:05
15k - 1:12:25
20k - 1:36:45
Half - 1:41:57
25k - 2:00:59
30k - 2:26:23
35k - 2:52:40
40k - 3:20:05
----
Start Time Offset: 04:39
Pace: 0:08:06
Projected Time: --
Official Time: 3:37:04
Net Time: 3:32:25
Overall: 4441
Gender: 3902
Division: 1383

Congratulations, Tim!

Marathon Update 6

5k - 0:23:55
10k - 0:48:05
15k - 1:12:25
20k - 1:36:45
Half - 1:41:57
25k - 2:00:59
30k - 2:26:23
35k - 2:52:40
40k - 3:20:05
----
Start Time Offset: 04:39
Pace: 0:08:04
Projected Time: 3:31:20
Official Time:
Net Time:
Overall:
Gender:
Division:

Marathon Update 5

5k - 0:23:55
10k - 0:48:05
15k - 1:12:25
20k - 1:36:45
Half - 1:41:57
25k - 2:00:59
30k - 2:26:23
35k
40k
----
Start Time Offset: 04:39
Pace: 0:07:52
Projected Time: 3:26:06
Official Time:
Net Time:
Overall:
Gender:
Division:

Marathon Update 4

5k - 0:23:55
10k - 0:48:05
15k - 1:12:25
20k - 1:36:45
Half - 1:41:57
25k - 2:00:59
30k
35k
40k
----
Start Time Offset: 04:39
Pace: 0:07:48
Projected Time: 3:24:21
Official Time:
Net Time:
Overall:
Gender:
Division:

Marathon Update 3

5k - 0:23:55
10k - 0:48:05
15k - 1:12:25
20k - 1:36:45
Half
25k
30k
35k
40k
----
Start Time Offset: 04:39
Pace: 0:07:48
Projected Time: 3:24:21
Official Time:
Net Time:
Overall:
Gender:
Division:

Marathon Update 2

5k - 0:23:55
10k - 0:48:05
15k
20k
Half
25k
30k
35k
40k
----
Start Time Offset: 04:39
Pace: 0:07:45
Projected Time: 3:23:03
Official Time:
Net Time:
Overall:
Gender:
Division:

Boston Marathon 2005: Go Tim Go!

My brother Tim is running the Boston Marathon again this year. You can keep track of his progress on BostonMarathon.com or just follow along here! I'm going to blog his progress as he goes along:

5k - 0:23:55
10k
15k
20k
Half
25k
30k
35k
40k
----
Start Time Offset: 04:39
Pace: 0:07:43
Projected Time: 3:22:10
Official Time:
Net Time:
Overall:
Gender:
Division:

Tour de Cure

Getting ready to ride.

I've officially launched my personal Tour de Cure page for 2005. Please stop by and make a donation.

The ride is on June 12 in Stillwater, N.Y. Once again I'm going to tackle the 50-mile route. I've only been out on my bike once so far this spring. Later today I'm bringing it to get tuned-up while we're on vacation next week. Then I'll dive into training!

This is my third Tour de Cure. The first year I did 25 miles. At the time, the was the longest distance I had ever ridden. But I felt great after and thought I could easily go farther. So I decided to do the 50-mile route in 2004. Well, that near killed me! So I'm determined to be better prepared this time.

Last year I raised more than $700 for the American Diabetes Association. This year I'm hoping to raise at least $800. With your help, I know I can do it. Please donate now.

I'll keep you posted on my training and fundraising progress as June 12 approaches.

Play ball!

Nolan and Thomas display their Yankee pride.

Can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em

Dispatcher's Joke
A 9-1-1 dispatcher in Texas has been reprimanded for responding to a mother's call about an unruly child by saying: "O-K. Do you want us to come over to shoot her?"
Read more...

Beef...It's what's for dinner

Courtesy of high school buddy Chris Johnson.

Am I so old?

One of our younger producers e-mailed me to ask me to set up a link
connected to a story she's running in her show about Meatloaf coming
to SPAC. This was news to me. So I wrote back to her, "Meatloaf is
coming?!? Cool!"

Then she came back to my room and said, "Chris, since you seem to know
who Meatloaf is, can you tell me, is it a group?"

"No," I said. "It's a guy."

"A man?"

"Yes. One man," I told her. "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights?" I asked.

She just stared at me like I had two heads. Then she turned and left
the room as I shouted, "It's a classic!"

Thoughts on '24'

If I was a CTU agent, let me tell you there is no way I would ever go out in the field with Jack Bauer! These guys are as silly as the "red shirts" that used to beam down to the planet with Captain Kirk only to wind up vaporized. Anyone who goes anywhere with Jack will wind up catching a bullet within the hour -- maybe two hours.

Oh, sure, there are exceptions. Like Jack's partner, Chase, who got his arm hacked off in season 3 and his girlfriend's estranged husband, Paul Raines, who this year was shot and now will likely never walk again. They were the lucky ones.

Meanwhile, it is now apparent that some very highly placed in the government is helping Habib Marwan. How else could he have gotten the transponder code to track the nuclear football?

I have my suspicions about who that could be. Think about the only other mystery from this season that remains unsolved: how did the terrorists know to find Secretary of Defense Heller at his son's house in the first episode? They only people who knew in advance about that unscheduled stop were Jack, Heller and his daughter (Jack's girlfriend) Audrey. Either Audrey or her father could have the access to the transponder code.

I doubt it's Audrey. That would be too reminiscent of season 1 where Jack's confidant and former lover Nina turned out to be the mole working inside CTU. That just leaves the defense secretary.

But it's not like the show has never repeated itself. Last night's episode felt like season 2 all over again. For the second time, the series has engaged in a storyline about the 25th amendment. And once again, Mike Novik, David Palmer's former chief of staff, is at the center of it. It appears he is now highly placed in the Keeler administration. But why is the former chief of staff for a Democratic president working for a Republican president?

Also like season 2, next week it looks like Jack will be running around trying find a rogue nuke in Los Angeles.

The clock keeps ticking...

Get to know me!

PSTValumni.com - Profiles
I am the subject of this month's "Profile of the Month" on PSTVAlumni.com!

Who needs TV networks?

I'm getting quite adept at finding and downloading the new "Doctor Who" episodes. The latest episode aired Saturday afternoon ET on the BBC. By Saturday night I was able to start the download before going to bed and the show was there waiting for me in the morning.

I burned it to a CD Sunday night and this time it played great in the DVD player. The last time I tried this the CD kept skipping and the audio would often lose sync with the video. I was hoping this was just a problem with the disc and it turns out that must have been the case. My viewing last night was as good as if I was in the U.K.

The episode, "The Unquiet Dead," was pretty good. The show seems to be getting better each week.

Yankees vs. Red Sox...Again!

Got the game on here at work. We're one week into the season and the Yankees are about to play the Red Sox for the fourth time! Are there no other teams in the American League?

There is no question that the Yankees-Red Sox is the greatest rivalry in sports. But I think so much of the current rivalry is overhyped by the media and driven by MLB's lousy schedule.

I've gone on record before as saying that I really hate the unbalanced schedule baseball has used for the last few years. Out of 162 games, Yankees fans will only see six games against the likes of Seattle, Kansas City, Cleveland, etc. while it seems like every other game is against Boston, Tampa Bay, Baltimore or Toronto. Yeah, I love a good Yankees-Red Sox game as much as the next fan, but come on -- I want to see some other teams too!

Happy birthday, Thomas!

Yesterday, our little Thomas celebrated his 2nd birthday. We had a small party last night with my mom, Thomas’ friend Grace and her family. Grace is about six weeks younger than Thomas and, coincidentally, was adopted from China. Her family goes to our church and Kris and Grace’s mom run together. The toddler twosome usually gets together for a play date once a week.

Birthday pictures will be coming later. I haven’t had a chance to upload them yet.

The hit presents were anything related to Thomas the Tank Engine ("Choo-choos!"). My favorite was the miniature Yankee jersey from my sister Annie and her family, although the number on the back was 25 – Jason Giambi – I assure you my little guy has not taken any steroids. The only cream he’s used is for diaper rash.

Craig...Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig is the new James Bond
It looks like they may have cast James Bond #6. Daniel Craig is a British actor who is apparently already well known in the U.K. The only thing I've ever seen him in was "Tomb Raider," where he played Angilina Jolie's love interest.

Back in the saddle

The weather's getting warmer, and this morning I took my bike out for a spin for the first time this year. It felt great to be pushing the pedals again!

I like to get my bike tuned up at a local lbike shop in the spring. I haven't taken care of that yet. But the bike still seemed to ride great anyway. Suprisingly, I didn't have to put any air in the tires when I took it down off the garage wall last night. However, my bike computer seems to have bit the dust. I'll have to spring for a new one.

I didn't ride too far this morning -- only a few miles. I didn't want to overdo it my first day out, and it was still a little colder than I thought it would be this morning. As nice as it was to be out on the bike, it was also nice to get back home and put some coffee on while everyone else was still sleeping.

Pretty soon I'll be posting a link for you donate to my efforts to raise money for this year's Tour de Cure. I'm going to tackle the 50-mile route again, but hopefully I'll train better for it this time.

...a fool for a client

Man who represented himself appeals competence of attorney
This guy sounds pretty out there...

The Force's effect on the weak-minded

'Star Wars' fanatics line up at wrong theater for May debut
It's a common misconception that all sci-fi geeks are smart nerds...

'God Bless America, yada, yada, yada'

I've got the Yankees-Red Sox game on here at work. This is the thrid straight game where I've heard Ronan Tynan sing "God Bless America" during the 7th Inning Stretch.

Do you think he ever gets sick of singing this song? I'm sad to say I think I've gotten sick of hearing him sing it!

'Doctor Who,' episode 2

Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor in "The End of the World."

I know I said I wouldn't get sucked into the habit of downloading every "Doctor Who" episode, but after an e-mail conversation with college buddy Joe Video who had watched it, I couldn't resist.

The second episode, "The End of the World," was a huge improvement over last week's show. I was willing to overlook a lot in that episode, "Rose," because it was after all the first new "Doctor Who" in more than 15 years. That is, unless, you count the Paul McGann TV movie, which also left a lot to be desired, but I similarly enjoyed it at the time anyway.

Now I can tell you that "Rose" did stink. It's no wonder the Sci-Fi Channel passed on it. But "The End of the World" was better in almost every respect. A better story, better effects and some mysterious hints dropped about the Doctor's past.

Let's hope they can crank out more like this one. The download I found included the trailer for next week's show. It looks like the Doctor and Rose are going back to 1860 to meet Charles Dickens and fight zombies.

I should mention that I was able to get the episode I downloaded to play in our new DVD player. Unfortunately the disc I used was prone to skipping. But when it worked, the show looked and sounded great on the widescreen TV.

Home Improvement, Part 9

The basement is now furnished. Last week Kris picked up some more shelves. So now more of our miscellaneous stuff has a home.

Over the weekend we went shopping big-time. We picked up a futon, which Chester has already seemed to claim as his new favorite place to sleep.


The new futon offers a relaxing spot for TV viewing.

We also picked up a new TV and DVD player.

When we bought the new TV for our living room last year, we decided to stick with a standard TV and we told ourselves we would spring for an HDTV the next time around. But at the time, we had no idea we'd be in the market again so soon. An HD set is still out of our price range, but I was hoping to at least get a flat-panel LCD set. That we could have afforded, but we would have had to sacrifice on screen size. Finally we decided we'd get a tube TV, but still go widescreen. We got a good deal on a 30-inch widescreen JVC TV.


We can now watch TV and movies in 16:9 glory.

When I was first watching regular TV on it and seeing how the image was distorted to fit the 16:9 screen, I was a little unsure as to whether or not this purchase was the right thing to do. Then I popped in a DVD. Oh. My. God. It looks so cool seeing a widescreen movie fill up the screen. We definitely made the right purchase!

Major news events

Once again, I've been out of touch because the news, among other things, has been keeping me busy. I had every intention of commenting on the passing of Terri Schiavo and Pope John Paul II, but I just haven't had the chance.

On the Schaivo case, I'm really tired of hearing about this story. I've heard so many "apples and oranges" comparisons made by people taking issue with allowing this poor woman to die. No, this doesn't mean we're going to start starving people in wheelchairs. No, this doesn't mean we're going to give up on people when it's no longer convenient to care for them. I believe this case is somewhat unique.

Ultimately it was all about a family disagreement. I've heard Schiavo's death referred to as a murder or "judicial homicide" and her husband has been compared to a Nazi. But if the family had been on the same page, then this woman would have died quietly years ago without anyone hearing about, without anyone caring and without anyone crying "murder!"

As for the pope, it was sort of sad as "Pope Watch 2005" last all day Friday and into Saturday. I was hoping for a swift end to this man's suffering. There is little I can say at this point that hasn't been said by so many others in the last few days.

I first got the news he had finally passed in an alert on my cell phone. Kris and I were shopping in Target at the time. I read the bulletin to Kris and another woman stopped to listen. The three of us stared at each other for a moment and then moved on. Suddenly I felt very silly that as the pope was dying I was shopping for a TV stand and a DVD player.

I will relate this story: Kris was trying to explain to Nolan on Friday who the pope was and what was happening to him. Nolan doesn't know who the pope is, but he knows who our priest is. So she told him the pope was Father Jupin's boss and he was very sick and would die any minute. Saturday evening I was sitting at the computer doing some work when Nolan walked over and asked what I was doing. I told him I was sending an e-mail to my boss.

"He's gonna die?" Nolan asked very concerned.

"No, he's not going to die," I told him.

"He's gonna die any minute?" he asked again.

I assured him my boss was fine -- it was just Father Jupin's boss who died.

Big things brewing on '24'

Check out this news release issued today by Fox...

Thursday, March 31, 2005
HOT FROM FOX…


PIVOTAL APRIL 4TH EPISODE OF “24” TO ENCORE
FRIDAY, APRIL 8, AND SUNDAY, APRIL 10, ON FOX

Can’t-Miss Episode Reveals Shocking Plot

As the fourth season of FOX’s acclaimed drama series 24 intensifies, the most riveting and pivotal episode yet, “Day 4: 10:00 PM-11:00 PM,” airs Monday, April 4 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) with special encores Friday, April 8 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and Sunday, April 10 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). The episode is so gripping that two additional airings have been scheduled to ensure viewers an opportunity to catch this critical and controversial turning point. Leading into the final heart-stopping hours, this episode will leave viewers gasping and is certain to be the most talked-about hour in the show’s four thrilling seasons.

After triggering a fatal train crash, kidnapping the Secretary of Defense and setting off a chain-reaction meltdown of the nation’s nuclear power plants as well as detonating an EMP bomb, criminal mastermind Habib Marwan’s (Arnold Vosloo) worst terrorist threat is yet to come. In last Monday’s episode, "Day 4: 9:00 PM-10:00 PM," Marwan diverted the attention of CTU operatives with a hostage exchange of captive CTU super-agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) for witness-protected Behrooz Araz (Jonathan Ahdout). The diversion allowed defector and former Air Force pilot Mitch Anderson (Ned Vaugh) to successfully steal an F-117A Stealth fighter jet.

In “Day 4: 10:00 PM-11:00 PM,” the plot takes a terrifying turn as Marwan sets his sights on his most momentous and potentially devastating target – an outcome that agent Bauer might not be able to prevent. Meanwhile, President Keeler (Geoff Pierson) wants to address the nation before the 11 o’clock news.

24, created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, is a production of Imagine Television and 20th Century Fox Television in association with Real Time Productions. Brian Grazer, Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon and Evan Katz are the executive producers. Kiefer Sutherland is a co-executive producer.

-FOX-

Well, that was quick

Outpost Gallifrey: New Doctor Who Series News Page
The good news: after airing only one episode, the BBC has confirmed the new "Doctor Who" has been picked up for a second season.

The bad news: the BBC also confirms Christopher Eccleston will NOT be returning after season one ends. This makes his tenure in the role the second-shortest, behind Paul McGann who only appeared on-screen once in the 1996 TV movie (but did lend his voice to several audio productions).

The BBC says they are in talks with someone I've never heard of named David Tenant to become the 10th Doctor.

More strange news from Binghamton

I have no connection to the Binghamton area. I just like news of the weird and unusual and it's coincidence that so much of it is from Binghamton. Here's the latest...


Police: Obscenity forcibly tattooed on teen's forehead
NORWICH, N.Y. (AP) - Police near Binghamton say you can't miss it. A bold, black ink obscenity tattooed on the forehead of a 17-year-old boy.

The youth walked into a local police station Friday and told officers he'd been held down by a man and another teen while they forcibly tattooed the vulgarity.

Norwich police officer Craig Berry told Binghamton radio station W-N-B-F the victim was "very upset and embarrassed."

Berry declined to describe tattoo except to say it's "very obscene."

Berry says it's a "permanent" tattoo in the middle of the boy's forehead. He says it's not going to wear off, so plastic surgery or a laser process likely would be needed to remove the ink.

Twenty-three-year-old Kenneth Peer, of South New Berlin, and a 17-year-old boy from Earlville, were charged with felony assault and unlawful imprisonment. Police were withholding the name of the 17-year-old, who was charged as a youthful offender because of his age.

They're being held in Chenango County jail on 25-thousand dollars bail.
Police have not established a motive for the attack, in which a homemade tattooing instrument was used.

(Bob Joseph, WNBF, Binghamton)

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Sorority Gets the Boot

Another Greek organization at Plattsburgh State bites the dust...

Plattsburgh State sorority kicked off campus for hazing

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (AP) - A Plattsburgh State sorority - on probation for aiding a fraternity charged in a 2003 hazing death - has been permanently kicked off campus for hazing its own pledges.

Officials say Phi Kappa Chi sorority hazed pledges by blindfolding them, which is in violation of the college's regulations covering student clubs and organizations.

The group was also found in violation for allowing an ineligible student to participate in the initiation process.

Phi Kappa Chi was the college's last sorority without any ties to any national Greek organization. The sorority was on probation during the spring 2004 semester when the latest violations occurred.

In late 2003, Phi Kappa Chi was suspended for aiding fraternity Psi Epsilon Chi, the banned local fraternity that 18-year-old Walter Dean Jennings was pledging when he died of water-intoxication in March 2003.

As a local organization, Phi Kappa Chi will never be allowed to return to campus.

Around 13 fraternities and sororities are still operating at the college.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Happy Easter!

Very happy Easter eggs.

With the exception of Kris having a nasty cold, we had a great Easter. The kids came downstairs around to 6:45 a.m. to see what the Easter Bunny brought them. By 7:05 a.m. all of their gifts were torn into and all of the eggs were found (the eggs were hidden in our new basement room this year).

Church was very nice. The kids were very well behaved, which is a good thing since we had to sit up front today. Kris' friend Sunny, her running partner during the marathon last October, was confirmed today and Kris was her sponsor.

Went up to my mom's house this afternoon for dinner. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins.


The Rooney family in their Sunday best.

Busted!

I've been caught in a dishonest act by a Radio Shack employee.

I've been meaning to mention that, despite our well documented nightmare with AT&T CallVantage (here, here, here and here), we're taking another stab VOIP telephone service. This time we signed up with Vonage. After a few weeks, there have been no problems to report.

Once again, we have to plug our phone into a special router that is connected to our cable modem. Like with CallVantage, this would mean that we could only have one phone for the who house. Except this time, on the advice of one of the guys working on our new basement, I decided to wire the router directly to the telephone junction box in the basement. This would allow us to still be able to use all of the phone jacks in the house as long as I first disconnected the box from the outside phone line (are you still with me).

To help me out, the basement guys ran a phone wire up through the floor near our computer so I could plug into the router. The only problem was that the wire was left without any connector on it.

Those connectors can really only be attached to a phone wire with a special crimping tool. So I went to Radio Shack and bought a box of connectors and the tool.

I felt a little bad blowing $11 on a tool I figured I would only use once. But then I realized that the packaging was such that it would be very easy to put it back together without it looking like I ever even took the tool out. So after I was finished with it, I figured I could just return it.

I finally got around to taking the tool and the receipt to the Radio Shack near work today. I walked in and told the clerk I wanted to make a return.

"Is there any problem with it?" he asked.

"Nope, I just didn't need it," I answered.

"But you needed the ends," he said, glancing down at the receipt.

"Excuse me?"

"You needed the ends," he repeated.

It took a few seconds for me to realize what he was talking about. Then it dawned on me. The connectors were on the same receipt. They're pretty much useless without the crimping tool, and yet I wasn't returning those.

"Oh, well it turns out I already had a tool like this one," I said trying to think quick on my feet.

The clerk told me they see a lot of people trying to return tools after they're done using them. I'm not sure if he bought my story or not, but he went ahead and processed my return anyway.

Don't think any less of me!

Smart kid, dumb mom

Mom trying to prove she was sober winds up arrested for DWI
ALBION, N.Y. (AP) - When Diane Viza got into an argument with her son over whether she was sober, she drove to the local police station asked to take a sobriety test.

That turned out to be a bad idea.

The 45-year-old woman was charged with driving while intoxicated after she showed up at the police station in the Orleans County village of Albion and asked officers to administer a breath test.

The unusual request came after she had picked up her son at a friend's house and got into an argument with him because he suspected she had been drinking.
Viza is due back in village court on April 12th.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Stupid criminal of the week

Is Binghamton some sort of nexus for goofy news stories in New York state? First there was the guy who slathered his hotel room in Vaseline. Then there was the kid who put a hunk of sheep's brain in the school cafeteria salad. And let's not forget the fuss over the penis snow sculpture. Now there is this:

Man nabbed with pot after not buckling up driving from jail
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) - A visit to a relative in an upstate jail lands a Binghamton man right back behind bars -- this time as an inmate.

Authorities say 21-year-old Knud Knight's trouble started when a sheriff's deputy noticed he wasn't buckled up as he left the Broome County Jail parking lot.

The deputy pulled Knight over. He admitted he didn't have a driver's license. Then, police say, he fled on foot.

When deputies caught up with Knight, they found he had some marijuana on him.

Knight wound up being charged with driving without a license, resisting arrest, possession of marijuana -- and not wearing a seat belt.

He's being held at the jail on a thousand dollars bail.


(Bob Joseph, WNBF, Binghamton)

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Doomsday device

Solar Death Ray

From the Too Much Free Time Department:
Someone has built there very own "Solar Death Ray" and given it a home on the Internet. Like a miniature version of a Bond villain's secret weapon, the Solar Death Ray is a collection of mirrors all focused on a single point.

At www.solardeathray.com you can see what happens when such items as a rubber duck, a Hootie and Blowfish tape and a robot dog are exposed to the death ray's awesome power!

Thanks, Marc.

Boil, boil, toil and trouble

Moviefone: 'Bewitched' Movie Exclusives
First came the news that after years of development hell, a movie version of "Bewitched" would finally be made with Nicole Kidman and Will Farrell. Ok, that doesn't sound too bad.

Then I heard about the premise. The movie was going to be about a remake of "Bewitched." Kidman and Farrell were going to play actors who play Samantha and Darren. The catch being that no one realizes Kidman's character really is a witch. This, I thought, sounded like a terrible idea.

Then I saw the trailer today. It actually doesn't look that bad if you like Will Farrell, since it pretty much seems to be his movie. One highlight his him ranting on the phone, probably to his agent, about his stalling career. He yells, "I'm Darren. On the TV show they replaced Darren and no one noticed! I'm Darren!!!"

'Enterprise' finale plot released

UPN Releases 'Terra Prime,' Finale Plot Details:
Here's the scoop on the final episode of "Enterprise" according to TrekToday...

"These Are The Voyages..." will be set six years after the other fourth-season episodes, and will see Archer and the rest of the crew return home for the decommissioning of the Enterprise, as well as the signing of the Federation charter. UPN has officially confirmed that Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker) and Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) will appear on the Enterprise finale, in a sequence set on the holodeck.

Brent Spiner has also stated that he has an off-camera speaking part in the episode, which means we'll most likely hear Data over the intercom speaking to Riker and Troi.

Sound asleep

Thomas and Chester travel in luxury.

I just came across this photo I should have posted sooner. This was taken a couple of weeks ago while en route to visit Kris' parents in Moira. Don't you wish you could sleep that easily in the car?

The three musketeers

A movie, the Easter Bunny and race cars: what more cuold you want?

Unfortunatley, the camera on my phone doesn't take the best pictures, especially in bright settings. But here are Brendan, Danny and Nolan with their Bunny ears posing in front of one of the race cars on display at the mall last weekend.

Movie mania

I took Nolan and two of his friends to the movies Saturday afternoon to see “Robots.” A few people commented that they thought I was nuts, brave, etc. to take three 4-year-old boys to the movies by myself, but it really wasn’t that bad. They were pretty easy to manage.

We were watching Nolan’s friend Danny and his little sister Stephanie that day while their parents were out house hunting. So I thought Kris had the harder job, trying to get Thomas and Stephanie to nap at the same time.

I was already planning on taking Nolan and Danny to the movies. Then Kris suggested checking to see if Nolan’s friend Brendan could some too. I thought, sure, why not? Kris wondered if I could handle all three kids and I reminded her that she was the one who suggested it.

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d say yes,” she said.

The movie was decent. Parts of it seemed reminiscent of “Monsters, Inc.,” which was a much better movie.

What was more fun was watching the kids watch the movie. Before the lights went down I reminded all of them to let me know if they needed to use the potty and we could go outside.

“Outside?” one of them asked.

“Well, no, not outside. But there’s a bathroom out where we came in,” I clarified.

But one of Nolan’s friends proudly declared for the whole theater to hear, “I tinkle outside! I tinkle on the grass with my daddy!”

Then we saw the preview for “Star Wars: Episode III.” Nolan hasn’t seen any of the Star Wars movies yet, but got very excited when Yoda appeared on the screen.

“Hey, I’ve got him! Yoda!” he said, referring to my old Yoda hand puppet that now sits on top of his book case in his room.

I’m not sure if Brendan knew who Yoda was, but he shared Nolan’s excitement, yelling, “Yeah! Yoga! Yay, Yoga!”

Danny remained pretty quiet throughout the movie, but Nolan and Brendan were a little chatty. Then, during the movie’s big climax, the three of them all stared at the screen in silence, transfixed by the action.

Finally, Nolan asked, “What happened to that guy?”

“I don’t know,” Brendan answered, “but I’m still stuck in this chair.”

It was then that I noticed the theater chair had folded up on top of Brendan who was stuck in the seat.

After the movie we paid a visit to the Easter Bunny and took in the sights of some race cars that were on display in the mall.

On Sunday, we decided to let Nolan watch “The Lion King” for the first time. Most people we know don’t seem to have any reservation about letting their kids watch this movie, but for some reason we always sheltered Nolan from it. After all, the death of Mufasa is pretty heavy and the fight at the end between Simba and Scar is kind of violent.

But we decided Nolan was old enough, as long as we sat there and watched it with him. He doesn’t seem scarred for life so far.

The funny thing is, we always worried that Nolan was too young to watch it before, but now here was Thomas sitting right there with Nolan watching it now. Although I think he’s still young enough that a lot what’s on TV sails right over his head.

Today a friend at work loaned me a copy of “The Incredibles.” I’ve been dying to see this one myself. So we’ll watch this later this week.

The Doctor is in

Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler.

You’ve got to love the Internet. I just got done watching the first episode of the new “Doctor Who” series.

I figured I’d never get to see the show – or at least not for a long time. It’s set to debut on the BBC later this month, but there is still no word where or if it will ever be seen in the United States.

However, I read earlier this week that the first episode had leaked out on the Internet. I managed to find it yesterday, but had trouble downloading it. I took another crack at downloading today and was successful. Although at nearly 350 MB, it took almost the entire day to download. I started the download around 11 a.m. and it was finished around 5 p.m.

The episode was pretty good. There is still plenty to nitpick about, but I think any “Doctor Who” fan that put up with the cheesiness of the original series will still enjoy it.

The production values are head and shoulders above the old show, but still seem a little low budget by 2005 standards. There were some CGI effects that didn’t quite hit home.

However, I think the biggest improvement was a very subtle effect: whether someone was standing on the inside or the outside, you could now see through the TARDIS doors to whatever is on the other side. If the Doctor is standing in the doorway, you can see the vast control room behind him. Or when he opens the doors to exit you can see the world he’s walking into.

As for the Doctor himself, Christopher Eccleston plays the character much more light hearted and humorous than I expected. I’m not that familiar with the actor and in the publicity photos I’ve seen so far he always looks fairly serious. But he actually has a wit you can’t help but compare to Tom Baker.

A good part of the plot revolves around introducing the Doctor’s new companion, Rose Tyler, and re-introducing the Doctor to us through her eyes.

There is a rather odd choice of villains for the episode. They bring back the Autons, who first appeared in a Jon Pertwee episode back in 1971. They’re an alien intelligence cable controlling anything plastic. Before you know it, department store mannequins everywhere are coming to life and attacking. That’s pretty much what happened in the original episode, except that one also featured the Master. There is no reference to the original episode or any explanation for why the Autons have returned.

In fact there are few references to the original series. The episode begins with the ninth Doctor already in place. I read that they deliberately decided not to start with a regeneration scene. The concern was that if they tied the new show in too closely with the original show they would risk alienating younger viewers who may have never watched it. Yet there was a scene where the Doctor pauses to glance at himself in a mirror and mutters, “Could have been worse,” and makes some sort of comment about his ears, seeming to imply that he only recently regenerated.

The Doctor’s moment with the mirror lasts only a few seconds, and seemed clever at the time, but was enough to spoil another scene later in the episode. As she tries to find out more about who this Doctor guy is, Rose meets with an Internet conspiracy nut who runs a Web site dedicated to the Doctor. He shows her photos of the Doctor from throughout history: the Doctor at the JFK assignation, the Doctor posing with a family moments before the Titanic launches, etc. Yet all of the photos are of the ninth Doctor. He’s been around a lot for a newly regenerated Time Lord.


Everyone's favorite writer's device, the sonic screwdriver, returns.

There was another reference to classic “Who.” The long-absent sonic screwdriver appears frequently throughout the episode.

Another nitpick: why does every store in London have the same style mannequins?

I should mention that the episode I saw appeared to be complete. However, the newly recorded version of the classic theme song wasn’t in place yet. Instead, the old Tom Baker-era music was being used. Also, the opening sequence was okay, but nothing to write home about.

All the same, for a “Doctor Who” fan, the episode was fun. I hope to see more of the show in the future, although I’m not sure if I’ll go to the trouble of downloading it every week.

Letterman kidnapping plot foiled

Margaret Ray had nothing to do with this one. You may recall that back in the 1980s David Letterman was the subject of a stalker who told people she was "Mrs. David Letterman." She committed suicide in 1998.

Now comes the frightening news that someone else was plotting to kidnap Dave's 16-month-old son.

Man charged with plotting to kidnap Letterman's child, nanny

By JOHN MacDONALD Associated Press Writer

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Authorities have arrested a man on allegations he was plotting to kidnap David Letterman's young son and nanny from the talk-show host's Montana home.

Sally Hilander, a spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Corrections, identified the suspect - who was under state supervision for a previous crime - as Kelly A. Frank.

The plot was uncovered when someone whom Frank had approached about the plan informed local police, Hilander said. Frank was in custody on a felony charge of solicitation.

Steven Rubenstein, a spokesman for Letterman's production company World Wide Pants, said he could not immediately comment or say whether Letterman or his family was in Montana at the time of Frank's arrest.

Mike Ferriter of the state Department of Corrections said Frank, 43, was arrested Sunday and arraigned Thursday. He had been working as a painter at Letterman's ranch west of Choteau in northcentral Montana, Ferriter said.

"An individual was approached by Mr. Frank, an acquaintance of some kind, about his thought on the kidnapping, and (Frank) shared his idea with this individual," Ferriter said. "I'm not sure if he asked him to assist or be a part of it. "

Letterman's girlfriend, Regina Lasko, gave birth to their son on Nov. 3, 2003. Letterman said that the boy, his first child, was named after his late father, Harry Joseph Letterman.

The comedian who hosts CBS' "Late Show" bought the 2,700-acre spread in 1999.

Letterman's ranch is along the edge of the rugged Rocky Mountain Front, an area known for its pristine wildlife habitats and home to wolves, eagles and grizzly bears. In September 2003, a black bear broke into Letterman's home twice before being captured and relocated after returning a third time.

For years, Letterman was famously targeted by a stalker, who called herself "Mrs. David Letterman" and broke into his Connecticut house at least seven times.

Margaret Ray eventually pleaded guilty to breaking and entering. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, she served 10 months in prison and 14 months in a mental institution. In 1998, she committed suicide at age 46 by kneeling in front of a train.
---
Associated Press Writer Len Iwanski contributed to this story.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sorry I’ve been so out of touch lately. Various factors have kept me away.

First, Kris’ grandmother passed away last week. Ironically, we were already planning to go visit her family last weekend. However, that trip was moved up a few days. Then when I came back to work this week I had plenty of catch-up to play to make up for being absent two days last week.

Then I’ve hardly touched the computer at home because I’ve been so wrapped up in Michael Crichton’s latest novel, “State of Fear.”

Some highlights that past during my absence:

• If you haven’t checked out the new trailer for “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” then by all means, what are you waiting for? This movie looks like it’s going to kick serious ass.


• Congratulations to the cast and crew of Niskayuna High School's production of "Les Miserables." My boss' son, Jesse Conti, brought the house down with his performance as Jean Valjean. I attended one of the shows to help my boss videotape the production. We had a four-camera shoot, which he then edits together on his system at home. He just gave me my copy of the DVD on Monday (it comes complete with bonus material) and it looks great. We never had anything like that in my day (I played Mr. Sowerberry, the funeral director, in the 1990 production of "Oliver!").


• Tuesday night I attended a Plattsburgh State Alumni Admissions Reception in Albany. I joined Pete Ensel (head of the communications department), various college bigwigs, some current Plattsburgh students and numerous local alumni. We all hob knobbed with high school kids and their parents and did our best to convince them to go to Plattsburgh. It was kind of fun. Look for the group photo of all of the alumni in an upcoming issue of Plattsburgh Magazine.

Not enough time

I was reading a really good book called "The Memory of Running," but unfortunately I had to return it to the library today before I could finish it. And just whenI was getting to a good part too.

The book is a new release, which you only get for 14 days and can't renew. The woman at the library tonight said she would've renewed it for me anyway, but I had requested it from a different library. So she had to take it back. I'm now back on the reserve list and looks like I'll get my chance to finish it in about 10 weeks.

The book is about a man named Smithy Ide. He's a 47-year-old, 279-pound loser. He smokes too much, drinks too much and has no friends.

Growing up in Rhode Island he was very close to his older sister. However, she was mentally ill and one day the voice in her head took over and she wandered off, never to be heard from again.

As the book begins, Smithy's parents are killed in a car crash. While he's at his parents' house settling up their afffairs a letter comes addressed to his father. It turns out his sister has been found. She was homeless in Los Angeles and is now dead too. Her body is in the county morgue waiting for someone to claim it.

Smithy is devastated. He wanders into his parents' garage and spots his beloved boyhood bicycle. For watever reason, he decides to take it for a ride, maybe just to clear his head -- and he never stops. He winds up riding across the country to claim his sister in L.A.

Along the way he meets all sorts of different people -- good and bad -- and has various adventures. He also starts to learn how to live a better life and be a better person.

I was about two-thirds through the book. Smithy had gotten as far as St. Louis.

The book is the first novel from Ron McLarty. If the name isn't familiar, you would probably know his face if you saw him. He's a character actor probably best known for playing Sgt. Frank Belson on "Spenser: Fore Hire" and he pops up from time to time as a judge on "Law & Order."

I've now moved on to "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton. He's one of my favorite authors. I only have two weeks for this one too, but I usually breeze through Crichton books. His last few have been real page turners.

Home Improvement, Part 8

Don't these stairs look like they'd be comfy to walk on in your bare feet?

The basement stairs were finally carpeted today. This brings an end to our basement renovation project, at least as far as bringing in outside workmen to do things. Really all that's left is some furnishing. We still need to buy some furniture, a new TV and some more of those spiffy shelving units.

As for all that excess carpet I was griping about, we're going to make good use of that. As I told Shannon in the comments section of Part 7, we're going to use the excess to carpet our upstairs staircase and part of our foyer. We had been wanting to make a change to that area anyway, and the installer guy measured it out today and verified for us that we had enough with the excess we were screwed over with. The Carpet King even agreed to give us break on getting our excess piece bound before it's intalled.

'Revenge of the Sith' poster revealed

This has been a big week for scifi-fantasy related artwork being revealed. First there was the debut of the cover to new Harry Potter novel and now... the final poster for "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith."




The poster was painted by Drew Struzan, who I have been a fan of for years. Back when I worked at the Mohawk Mall movie theater in high school and college, Struzan's posters were always my favorites. I snatched up as many of them as I could, including all three "Back to the Future" posters and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." Struzan painted the posters for the other Star Wars prequel films as well as the Special Edition releases in 1997.

It's always bothered me that Lucasfilm hasn't stuck with Struzan's posters for the covers of the DVD versions of the films.

UPDATE: As of 10:30 p.m. there appears to be some sort of problem with starwars.com, where I was linking to the poster image from (as well as many other people). So I found another copy of it on another site, and just to be safe I saved it and uploaded my own copy to Hello, Blogger's image hosting service. So it shouldn't be going anywhere now.

Spike TV 'Enterprise' speculation shot down

TrekToday - Paramount Not Shopping 'Enterprise' To Spike
According to TrekToday, while a Spike TV spokeswoman said the cable channel would consider picking up "Enterprise," she clarified that that's only if the show is offered to them, which it hasn't been. And it appears it won't be.

Home Improvement, Part 7

No pictures this time. Nothing to take pictures of. The carpet on the stairs was not completed today.

The installer was supposed to be at our house at 8:30 a.m. today. But the weather was pretty rough in our neck of the woods, with icy roads, snow and wind. He was coming from Clifton Park and couldn't make the trip.

The problem is, he doesn't have my phone number and I don't have his. We do all of our dealing through the Carpet King. So he called the King and left him message at his store. Of course, the store doesn't open until 10 a.m.

After the guy was more than an hour late -- again -- I called the King to find out what was going on. He soon called me back after getting the message.

Now we're set up for the installer to come tomorrow morning. Except the King was supposed to call me today to let me know exactly what time -- and he never did. So I'm assuming the installer is coming tomorrow. Stay tuned...

6th 'Potter' covers revealed

Illustrator puts a bit of herself on Potter cover
The cover artwork for both the American and U.K. editions of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" were released today.

MSNBC has an interesting interview with Mary GrandPre, the illustrator who has drawn all of the American covers as well as the chapter artwork.

Is there hope for 'Enterprise'?

Enterprise To Get Spiked?
I know, I know, I should have gone to bed hours ago. But I wanted to share this tidbit of "Enterprise" news. SciFi Wire is quoting a Boston Herlad report saying Spike TV is considering picking up "Enterprise" for a fifth season.

Meanwhile, over at TrekToday, their quoting a Toronto Star interview with Jolene Blalock (T'Pol) in which she says she's been pleasantly surprised with season four's scripts and all of their refrences to the original "Star Trek" series. However, she calls the final episode, penned by Trek honchos Rick Berman and Brannon Braga "apalling."

Identifying herself as a fan of the original series, Blalock said that doing scripts that make so many references to the original series has been "a treat, a joy to do" this season. "It was an unexpected surprise to have the scripts that we did...it was fun to come to work again." However, asked about the series finale, written by longtime executive producers Rick Berman & Brannon Braga, Blalock said, "I don't know where to begin with that one...the final episode is...appalling."

Home Improvement, Part 6

Whenever you take on a project like this, you have to expect to hit a snag at some point. Things have been going remarkably smooth with our basement renovation. But late last week, we hit our snag.

When it came time for choosing a carpet for the room we shopped around. The first store we went to gave us a rough estimate based on my approximate measurements that was about double what we figured we’d spend on carpeting. So we went to another store. Their carpet was nicer and overall we got a better vibe from the store. Plus, it was less expensive – still more than we hoped to spend, but not as much as the first place.

We thought we were all set, but then we saw an ad in the paper for another store promising great sale prices. With a name like “Carpet King” you would think we would have known better.

At first we figured the price would be a lot lower. However, after talking to the Carpet King we realized that in the end it would still be pretty close to the store we were going to use. What sold us, besides the slightly lower price, was the fancy-shmancy mat to go under the rug. It’s supposed to be water-resistant and do all sorts of other great things. In a pinch, I think they can use it to line the bottom of the space shuttle to protect it on re-entry.

So the King of Carpets sent one of his minions over to take measurements in our basement and give us the final price. I kid you not, his name was George Bush. The King uses subcontractors to install the carpet. So we would have to pay him upfront for the rug and then pay the installer separately.

The first sign of trouble came when were told the carpet wouldn’t be ready on time. It was supposed to go in on Thursday. Actually, the rug was ready, but the space-age mat wasn’t in yet. So we had to put things off until Friday.

After re-arranging our schedules some to accommodate the installers came our second sign of trouble. The installers showed up an hour late Friday morning. They seemed a little gruffer than most of the other guys who have been in and out of our basement over the past few weeks. One of them was clearly the guy in charge while the other was the Teller to his Penn and barely said a word.

Now, our carpenter recommended to us that on the stairs we have carpet go up over the stringers (the sides of the stairs). This was mentioned to George Bush when he was here. However, it was news to the installers who informed us it would cost an extra $80 for them to do it that way. I insisted this wasn’t the price we agreed to, but the boss installer stood his ground. When I said I’d like to call the King and see if I could work something out, he politely said fine and left. He told me that it wasn’t worth his time to do the job for any lower price. He said the King had someone who could install it for less, but he insinuated that the quality wouldn’t be as good.

Before long I was on the phone with the King and we managed to haggle out a new price. The only other option was to have George Bush, the guy being blamed for giving us the wrong price in the first place, be the one who would come install the carpet for a lower price. The King confided in me that George wasn’t very good, which had me wondering why he was working for the King in the first place. Anyway, we settled on a new price and within an hour after leaving our house the installers were back and began putting the carpet in.


Cushy brown carpet now covers our basement floor.

They finished the floor and then set to work on the stairs, beginning with the stringers. However, what our carpenter didn’t realize when he suggested carpeting the stringers was that it wouldn’t work well with the commercial grade carpeting we picked out. The boss installer brought it to our attention after they started working on it, and sure enough, it looked like crap. So after all that drama over the extra charge for carpeting the stringers, we told them to forget about it.

However, this would mean having to spackle and paint the stringers and installing some trim on the top. The installers wouldn’t finish the job until Tuesday, pointing out that we were better off doing our painting first.

So Kris painted the stringers over the weekend. Our carpenter came back today to install the trim and I painted that tonight. The carpet installers should be back tomorrow to finish the job.


These stairs were the cause of some carpet controversy.

But it doesn’t end there. I don’t know if George Bush took lousy measurements or what, but we have a ton of excess carpet left over that we seem to be stuck with. The agreement we signed with the King says “no returns.” So if you would like a big piece of commercial grade carpeting, I can hook you up.


The toys and books that have been overtaking our house have a new home.


Meanwhile, Kris went out over the weekend and bought some of the shelving units we wanted and put them up. Now most of the kids’ toys as well as all of our books and photo albums have been moved downstairs.

We have a chest that we use as a coffee table in our living room. Before we had kids, we used to keep blankets in it. But for the last four and a half years it’s served as a toy box. Kris emptied it out, brought all those toys downstairs last night and returned the blankets. I did not think this would go over well with Nolan.

This morning, while watching TV, Nolan hopped down from the couch and opened up the chest, probably looking for a Rescue Hero to play with. He was surprised to find the blankets and his toys gone. I explained to him that his toys were in the new room now. Much to my surprise he seemed to think that made sense and had no problem with it all.

Doctor in distress

DOCTOR WHO Dreadful??
What, Where and Why??
These two reviews posted on AICN further lower my expectations, assuming I'll ever get to see the show...

Diagnosing the new 'Doctor Who'

Warrenellis.com >> The New DOCTOR WHO:

"Word is that Sci-Fi Channel declined to acquire this new DOCTOR WHO series. And I can see why. It's too damned English. As Rich Johnston said to me tonight, it's your actual English family sci-fi show. There's no way it'd fit on Sci-Fi. I imagine, to be honest, it's going to bypass much of the American audience..."

Comic book writer and author Warren Ellis has seen the pilot for the new "Doctor Who" series that debuts later this month on the BBC. He's posted a review of it on his site.

The review is mostly positive, but far from glowing.

As for the quoted comment above, it was reported last week that the SciFi Channel got a look at the show and passed on it.

I find it hard to believe the show won't turn up somewhere in the United States, since there is such a large "Doctor Who" following over here. But I've read that you can pretty much rule out the show returning to PBS because the BBC is charging way too much for it. I've also heard that the BBC is trying to sell it as a package deal -- if you want the new series, you also have to buy the original series as well. That might be a bit more "Doctor Who" than many U.S. networks are willing to swallow, and I can't say I blame them (I don't know if this BBC demand is true).

At this point, it's looking more likely that if it's going to appear in the States it will be on BBC America, which sucks because I don't get that channel.

Spring is in the air

My cell phone just buzzed with the first Yankee score of the year. That's always a good feeling.

Of course, it would be a better feeling if they'd actually won.

PIT 2
NYY 2 F

A long time ago, in a county far, far away...

'Star Wars' Trailer to Premiere March 10
I have never watched "The O.C." before and have never had any intention to -- until now. The new trailer for "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" will debut during the Fox show on March 10.

Maybe I can just tape and scan through the show to the commercial breaks.