RIP Larry 'Bud' Melman

Very sad news. Clavert DeForest, the actor who portrayed the character Larry “Bud” Melman on “Late Night with David Letterman” and later appeared under his own name on the CBS “Late Show has passed away. He died Monday at age 85.

DeForest retired from the Letterman show in 2002.

Here is one of his classic bits...

An incovenient movie

I’ve never been a big fan of Al Gore. I saw him speak in person when he came to Albany in 1996 during the presidential campaign and he did nothing for me.

That said, I was willing to watch his documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.” Kris—the most non-partisan person I know—had wanted to see the film. I said that, in the interest of being open minded and willing to listen to all sides, I would watch it too if she ever brought home the DVD.

Kris got it at the library yesterday. After watching it last night, I can honestly say that I was completely…underwhelmed!

Gore preaches that global warming is not a political issue, but a moral one. Yet this movie was incredibly politically charged. It was filled with shots at the current administration, not to mention former President Bush and even Ronald Reagan. Then there was a little retrospective of the 2000 Florida recount that cost Gore the presidential election. I’m still not sure what that has to do with global warming.

It wasn’t so much a movie about global warming as it was about Al Gore. How many shots do we need in one film of Al staring out a window? Scrolling through photos on his laptop? Old footage of him as a handsome young member of Congress (Look at me! I’ve been fighting the good fight for years! Aren’t I great?)

This isn’t just coming from me. Kris, who as I said doesn’t have a politically biased bone in her body, made many of the same observations.

The movie was big on listing problems and short on listing solutions. It ran 96 minutes. Within the first 30 minutes we were both thinking, “Okay, so we’re faced with a big problem. What should we do about it?” We had to wait until the last five minutes of the movie for that. And then there were few details about his suggestions and why they would work. I guess we just have to take Al’s word for it.

I had other nits to pick with the movie, but you get the idea. My problem isn’t so much with the message as it is with the messenger (that includes the filmmaker—not just Gore). This could have been a good issue-oriented film. It just needed to keep its focus on the issue, and not on Al Gore.

As it turns out, I started a good book while on my trip Minneapolis. I wish I had spent the evening reading that instead. Talk about an inconvenience.

Checking in

Thanks to the lovely ADKmom for posting about our recent activities. We've had a lot blogworthy stuff going on, but I've been too busy to keep up with the blog. I'll try to pick it up and maybe throw something on tonight.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Chris is at the airport right now, on his way to Minneapolis overnight for a work thing. He'll come home in the wee hours Tuesday night. We've been too busy to blog about family stuff lately, so I thought I'd jot down a few things new. I don't know how to do pictures so maybe Chris can illustrate when he returns.
We celebrated St. Pat's Day this weekend in lots of ways. On Friday, Nolan had a party at school that Thomas and I attended as well. That night, the leprechauns visited! We have a tradition where we put a decorated treasure box in the window so the moonlight hits it and the leprechauns see it. They take the boxes, fill them with their treasure and then hide them somewhere. But they always leave a trail behind so that we might find it. So the boys woke up Saturday morning with trails of gold coins going throughout the house and found treasures of candy, magazines and green shirts. It was cool eating chocolate for breakfast. Nolan had a baseball clinic in the morning, but that night was the Pinewood Derby. So cool! A huge track with 6 lanes raced cars for 2 hours. Unfortunately, Nolan's car didn't win any big awards, but he did get a nice little trophy that every scout got for participating. Thomas was an excited spectator. On Sunday was church, religion class and another baseball clinic. But that night we celebrated with the Rooney clan in an all-out St. Pat's Day feast: corned beef, cabbage, red potatoes and Guiness. It was great.
So we are coasting into spring right now and anxiously awaiting baseball, Easter, Thomas' 4th birthday and Chester's 7th. We are also planning a trip to the Bronx Zoo in April which should be fun. We got hit with a ton of snow over the weekend but I think it's warming up this week and will hopefully melt. Here's to warmer days!

If it's free it's for me

In my never ending quest for free stuff, I bring you these two items:

First—a reminder that once again Stewart’s will be giving away ice cream on St. Patrick’s Day. Show up wearing green and you’re entitled to a free ice cream.

This is assuming you’re willing to brave the snowstorm. If you’re like me and you’re anxious to celebrate spring, then take comfort—the vernal equinox arrives on March 21. And Dunkin’ Donuts will mark the occasion by giving out free iced coffee.

Go Great Danes!

As I’ve explained before, I’m not a big college basketball fan. I’ve never in my life bothered to fill out an NCAA bracket. To me, March Madness usually just means baseball is around the corner.

However, with all that said, I will be rooting for the UAlbany this afternoon. Go Danes!

Here’s some video of the Great Danes practicing in Columbus yesterday…

SueTube

Make sure to read Jeff Jarvis' smart comments on Viacom's $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube/Google. Here's a sample...

I’ve been reading Viacom’s boneheaded $1 billion complaint against YouTube. Viacom complains about YouTube but, in truth, they’re complaining about their own viewers. They whine about theft but, in fact, they’re whining about recommendation, about their audience finding them more audience. Viacom is trying, singlehandedly, to turn the TV industry into the music industry. They are trying to spread stupid. From the complaint, notice what they’re really complaining about is their fans...

The Shield

I got busy last week and never got around to commenting on the publicity stunt involving the death of Captain America.

The Sentinel of Liberty was struck down by a sniper’s bullet in a recent Marvel comic. But as true-blue American Stephen Colbert shows us, Cap’s spirit lives on…

Beer Madness

I’m a fan of Saranac beer. Have I bored you yet with the tale of the time Aaron, Mike and I took the brewery tour? It’s a classic story!

Anyway, I got an e-mail last night form Club Saranac alerting me that they’re among the 32 beers competing in the Washington Post’s “Beer Madness” tournament.

A panel is conducting blind taste tests to determine the best beer in America. You can view the bracket here.

Saranac Pale Ale has already reached the second round, having defeated Miller High Life on Sunday. Next weekend it goes up against Sierra Nevada.

Some other notable upcoming match-ups include Pete’s Wicked Ale vs. Redhook ESB, Brooklyn Lager vs. Samuel Adams and Budweiser vs. Rolling Rock.

Besides Miller, Killian’s Irish Red, Coors Original and Pabst Blue Ribbon have already been eliminated.

So what do you think? What’s your pick for best beer in America?

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!

Zeroes

It turns out this "Heroes" parody on YouTube, about ordinary people with pointless abilities, was actually created by NBC. But it's still kind of funny...

The magic room

From today's UPSTREAM post...

An Amish man from Montgomery County who had never been to a city before went to Albany for the first time with his wife and son. They walked into the Corning Tower and while the wife was using the bathroom, the father and son watched a wrinkled, old women walk into a tiny room after which the door closed behind her. Some numbers lit up over the door and then a minute or so later the door opened and a beautiful, young woman walked out. The Amish man stroked his beard and thought for a minute, then said, “Hurry son. Go get your mother.”

Keep it simple

That seems to be the motto, at least when it comes to the title, for the next Star Trek movie.

Until an official title was announced, people have been referring to the upcoming movie as "Star Trek XI." But now writers Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci have said in an interview with MTV.com that the title will simply be "Star Trek."

"That's the intended title," [Orci] said. "I don't think we want to put any colons or anything on it."

For some time now the speculation has been that the new movie would be about Kirk and Spock meeting at Starfleet Academy. But I read recently that although the story would likely focus on Kirk and Spock's first adventure together, it would not be set in their academy days. All the writers will confirm at this point is that it does take place on a starship.

Now for the big question: is this a "reboot" of the franchise, like "Battlestar Galactica," or does it fit into the existing Trek canon? I think people were assuming it was going to be the latter. But then an article on SCI FI Wire states the following. Make of it what you will...

The writers wouldn't discuss details of the story, other than to say it is a reimagining of the franchise that will remain true to its history, but aim for the broadest audience possible.

Last week the news came out that J.J. Abrams, who had been attached as a producer, is now officially signed to direct as well. They're eyeing a December 2008 release.

There is no word on casting but the names being tossed about include Matt Damon as Kirk, Adrian Brody as Spock and Gary Sinise as Dr. McCoy.

Back with a bang

Series 3 of "Doctor Who" is set to begin on the BBC on March 31. It should show up on Sci Fi here in the states later this summer.

The BBC released this kind-of-cool promotional pic on the official Doctor Who site today.

Can't wait!

Another Spidey sneak

After watching "Heroes" last night I rushed to the computer to watch the 7:30 clip from "Spider-Man 3" on NBC.com. Well that didn't work too well. I waited forever and couldn't get the clip to load!

Fortunately, Harry Knowles came through once again. He's got a link where you can download the clip (it's supposed to disappear from NBC.com tonight). Or if you're really impatient, just watch it here...

1,000th POST!

It’s a landmark day for the blog. This is Off the Top of My Head’s 1,000th post!

Since July 26, 2004 there have been 999 previous posts about things that probably few people care about besides me. Thanks to all of you for putting up with 1,000 posts about geeky subjects like “Doctor Who,” “The Simpsons” and “24,” and for enduring all the family photos.

If I get around to it, I’ll try to put some thought into what were blog’s “most memorable moments” of the first 1,000 posts.

Thanks also go out to my lovely wife for putting up with my indulgence in the blogosphere and for contributing a few posts herself as “ADKmom.”

In other news, we had a busy weekend. Kris attended a Cub Scout Leader Pow-Wow to get all sorts of tips and ideas about how we can be better den leaders.

Meanwhile, keeping with the Cub Scout theme, Nolan and I built his first Pinewood Derby car over the weekend. The race is coming up soon. I’m sure we’ll have some pictures or video. I have an extra kit. So this weekend I’ll probably build another car for Thomas.

Finally, I was immersed in the world of “Beauty and the Beast” for three straight nights. For the third year in a row, I helped my former boss videotape the Niskayuna High School spring musical.

Usually we watch the show on Thursday and tape on Friday. But there were some problems with the set on Friday night. They had a massively huge set rented from a professional theater. It didn’t do all the things it was supposed to do Friday, so we were asked to come back for the Saturday performance.

The show was incredibly impressive. If you didn’t get to see it, then you really missed out. It’s amazing what they manage to get out of high school kids.

'Taste the truthiness'

Stephen Colbert now officially has his own Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor! Run out now pick up a pint of Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream.

Here his how Ben & Jerry's describes it...

The flavor, Stephen Colbert’s AmeriCone Dream™ is a decadent melting pot of vanilla ice cream with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and a caramel swirl. It’s the sweet taste of liberty in your mouth.

Here is some more from the press release...

Colbert believes AmeriCone Dream can make a difference. “I’m not afraid to say it. Dessert has a well-known liberal agenda. What I hope to do with this ice cream is bring some balance back to the freezer case.”

Stephen Colbert is donating his proceeds from the sale of AMERICONE DREAM to charity through The Stephen Colbert AmeriCone Dream Fund. The Fund will support charities of concern to Stephen such as food and medical assistance for disadvantaged children, helping veterans and their familes, and environmental causes. Said Colbert, “I will save the world.”

Day 10

Two delicious looking pizzas just arrived in the newsroom.

I asked a Catholic co-worker if she thought it would be a violation if I subsituted some pizza for the lame lunch I brought from home. I knew what her answer would be and so I sulked back into my room with my mouth still watering.

Beware the Black Suit!

Check out this cool-as-heck new poster for "Spider-Man 3." I spotted it on Ain't It Cool News this morning.

Watch for the new Spidey 3 trailer Monday night during "Heroes." Maybe we'll finally see some official shots of Venom in action?

Ther are only about two months to go until the movies hits theaters!

Think spring!

The weather forecast might be lousy, but spring is in the air. The Yankees are playing their first spring training game at 1:15 this afternoon. They'll be taking on the Minnesota Twins at Legends Field.

The Beer Launching Fridge

I spotted this on TheNewsHole. This may very well be the single greatest invention of our time...

Kids can be evil

I just read this article about one family's horrible experience with cyberbullying. It's extremely moving and makes me dread the thought of my kids going to middle school.

What's wrong with this picture?

Someone at the Topps baseball card company had a little Photoshop fun when putting together this recent Derek Jeter card. Take note of who appears to be watching the game from the dugout and the stands...

The card is now selling for anything from $25 to $400 on eBay.

NH Bound

We had a fun weekend with old friends in NH. It was Michael who introduced Chris and I to each other over 16 years ago! Mike lived on my dorm floor the year before at Plattsburgh State and then sophomore year, I moved to another floor in the building, MacDonough Hall. So I would go up to visit him and kept seeing this funny guy Chris as I would pass through the lounge. Finally we met, became friends and the rest is history. Michael's wife Sharon is his high school sweetheart and so I knew her through Mike over the college years (She went to Marymount in Tarrytown so they loved long-distantly.) and now we are wonderful friends of our own too. They lived in Georgia and then Vermont and have finally settled in New Hampshire where they have 2 children about the same ages as ours. I got to go see Mike at the flower shop where he works and the kids got to play a lot together. We even went to church together which I thought was very grown-up of us. It's so different being together now with the kids, considering how we used to get drunk together and skip classes on sunny days. But I love that our friendship has been through so much throughout these years.
This weekend was after an extremely long week of vacation with the kids. I can officially say I am sick of my children and will be very happy tomorrow when they will both be in school for a few hours and I might actually get something done! Of course, I love them dearly and the work that goes with them, but it is very hard and I am a person that needs to recharge every so often with some alone time. So I am looking forward to tomorrow and nobody better get sick! :)

Globetrotting

I took Nolan and his pal Danny to see the Harlem Globetrotters last night.

It’s funny…Nolan really had no clue who the Globetrotters were before this.

It seems like when I was a kid the Globetrotters were on TV all the time. They were often on ABC’s “Wide World Sports,” they paid a visit to Gilligan’s Island and even had their own Saturday morning cartoons.

The likes of Meadowlark Lemon, Geese Ausby, Sweet Lou Dunbar and Curly Neal seemed to be household names (not to mention Wilt Chamberlain).

I didn’t know who any of the current players were before now, but they still put on a great show. My dad took me to see the Globetrotters in 1982. It was fun last night to see them doing some of the same bits—like the Magic Circle, the bucket of confetti and the stolen pocketbook.

Nolan may not have known who the Globetrotters were before last night, but he sure knows who they are now. He and his friend laughed almost non-stop for two hours straight.

Day 2

Today's cooking segment on the noon news was all about wedding cakes. Right now, everyone in the newsroom in raving about how delicious all the scrumptious varieties of cakes left for our eating pleasure are.

I'm sitting in my room and trying to ignore them!

40 days

It's Day 1 of Lent and I'm already being tested.

I've decided to give up eating extra food at work. I did this two years ago and it was hard. There is always something at work...someone will order a pizza for everyone, candy jars are on people's desks, somebody might bring in cookies and of course there is always the food from the cooking segments on the noon news. And I eat all of it!

Yesterday, in honor of Fat Tuesday, I pigged out on two slices from a pizza someone brought in.

But today is a new day. And sure enough, I walked in the door this morning only to be greeeted by the sight of bagels, cream cheese and doughnuts. Oh, the tempatation!

When I did this before I swear I lost at least five pounds. So I did the weigh-in this morning. I checked in at 170 lbs. We'll see how that stands on Easter.

I haven't been below 170 in years. I couldn't tell you how long it's been. But I'm optimistic. Besides giving up extra food at work for Lent (I'll still eat my lunch), we rejoined the YMCA yesterday and once the weather gets warm I'll start training for this year's Tour de Cure. So there's a good chance I could be in the 160s some day. Cross your fingers.

Mmm...new 'Simpsons Movie' trailer...

Make sure to check out the new trailer for the "The Simpsons Movie." It opens on July 27 and joins "Spider-Man 3" on my list of must-see-in-the-theater movies for 2007.

I would embed this if I could. I'm still not sure why movie studios don't want people embedding their trailers on their blogs and giving them oodles of free publicity.

UPDATE: Woohoo! I knew it would be on YouTube eventually. We'll see if it gets yanked...

Dig Dug

The kids were home with another snow day today. They spent part of their day digging through the backyard...

Snow dog

I hope you’re all surviving the “Great Blizzard of 2007.”

I wound up working from home today. I started driving to work and only got about a block away before I thought better of it. Since I have the capability to work from home, then why would I want to be out driving today?

After that I only ventured out twice to clear the driveway. But everyone else enjoyed the snow—including Chester…

From the 'Duh' file

Check out this dumb headline from KSTP in Minneapolis...

Gas may have fueled north Mpls. gas station explosion

Finally-a potential snow day!

This entire winter there has been nothing but complaints. It's too mild, or it's too cold, or there's not enough snow. Everyone is talking about the weather. I'm guilty of complaining too. And today I've heard a lot of complaints of the upcoming snow tomorrow. But I say yippee! Finally, there will be snow to play in. And I'm a little weird, but I really like to shovel. It's good exercise and a real sense of accomplishment when it's done. I see other people snow-blowing their little driveways when what ever happened to man-power? I mean woman-power. I like all the seasons, and if we're going to have a winter, then I say Let's Have It! Of course, I'm still glad not to live in Oswego.

Hey! Let's Go Bowling!

We met up with our friends the Prices today for an afternoon of bowling.

We had two lanes. One with bumpers for the kids and one without for the grown-ups.

The boys have been bowling before. But this is the first time I've ever bowled with them. So I brought along the camera and slapped together a little video...

Eeewww!!!

Following my rant yesterday about distracted driver laws, comes this story...

A truck driver in Wisconsin flipped his truck over while fiddling with his MP3 player. Interstate 43 was closed for two hours while his cargo was cleaned up.

Oh, what was that cargo you ask? Forty tons of cow intestines! Yuck!

The driver suffered non-life threatening injuries and was ticketed for inattentive driving.

Put down the Big Mac!

When New York became the first state to ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving, I told everyone to mark my words: they’ll try to ban Big Macs in cars next.

Sure enough, Vermont lawmakers are considering a measure that would ban eating, drinking, smoking, reading, writing, personal grooming, playing an instrument, "interacting with pets or cargo," talking on a cell phone or using any other personal communication device while driving.

There are similar bills under consideration in Maryland and Texas. Connecticut already has a loosely-defined law that bans activity that could distract a driver.

Look, I comply with the cell phone law because it makes good sense to use my headset or speaker phone. I was doing that before the state told me I had to. But I thought it was silly that we needed a law for this.

However, if Vermont’s “distracted driver” legislation comes to New York (and make no mistake, it will) I will resist it whole heartedly. There is no way lawmakers should be able to tell me that I can’t take a sip from my coffee or eat a Pop Tart in my car.

Where do we draw the line? Can I change the radio station? Can I talk to a passenger in the car? Can I pass a pair of sunglasses to one of my kids behind me?

The bottom line is, you can’t legislate against stupidity (look at how state Sen. Carl Kruger became a laughing stock when he proposed banning the use of iPods, cell phones and other digital media devices while crossing the street). No matter what law you pass, there will still be plenty of fools out there doing stupid things.

RELATED NEWS: Felix Ortiz, the assemblyman behind New York's hand-held cell phone ban, is now pushing for a total cell phone ban for drivers unless they're calling 911.

Internal affairs

I'm really curious about the scoop behind the reunion of 80s rockers The Police.

They're performing on the Grammys this Sunday night and are set to announce a world tour the next morning.

They're break-up was a rather bitter one. The last time they got together was just to do a couple of songs for the guests at Sting's wedding, and they couldn't even do that without fighting with each other.

So what's changed that they'll be able to make through a world tour?

PC vs. Mac

Are you a PC user tired of being made to feel inferior by those Mac ads? Then you'll enjoy these clips. I stumbled across several, but these were the best two...

Spidey sneak

I spotted this on Ain't It Cool News this morning. Here's another sneal preview of "Spider-Man 3."

There is still no sign of Venom, but we see plenty of his alter ego, Eddie Brock, and we're give a decent sense of the storyline...

A Night at the Museum

Nolan and I spent Friday night camping in at the New York State Museum with his Cub Scout Pack.

The evening started around 6:45 with pizza for dinner. Then the museum staff had activities and guided tours for the kids all night long. We capped the night with a snack and a late night ride on the carousel.

The museum is closed to the public during all this time. We had the run of the place. After the night's activities were done, we were left to find our own corner of the museum and roll out our sleeping bags on the floor.

Sleeping on the floor actually wasn't as bad as you might expect. When we woke up in the morning the museum served us breakfast. Then we had free run of the place to ourselves again until it opened to the public (although we had left by then).

It's a great museum and we've been there many, many times before (the mastodont is Nolan's favorite). But there is something very cool about being there all night long and waking up there in the morning.

Something new I learned: the artificial mastodont and her calf are mostly made out of styrofoam. Their fur is from the Vermont Teddy Bear Facotry.

'Turn on the magical shining light!'

I'm announcing the official "Off the Top of My Head" guerrilla marketing campaign (that's supposed to be me--I had trouble doing the glasses).

I am not responsible for any panic or road closures caused by the distribution of these signs.

Make your own subversive Lite-Brite display here.

Huff & puff in the buff

Remember the "Seinfeld" episode that taught us the difference between "good naked" and "bad naked?"

The owners of a Dutch gym planning to introduce a "Naked Sundays" promotion may want to review that show. Yes, starting next month at Fitworld in the Netherlands you'll be able to get buff in the buff.

I can tell you right now, there are plenty of people I've seen at the gyms I've belonged to that I wouldn't want to see more of. And even the attractive people might not look so good while straining to lift weights (remember Jerry's girlfriend opening the peanut butter jar?).

Terror Level: Brite Blue

Was Turner Broadcasting’s guerilla marketing campaign for “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” ill conceived? Yes.

Was the terror scare that shut down part of Boston for hours a huge over reaction on the part of local, state and federal authorities? Absolutely.

I just can’t get past the point that these things were up for two weeks without anyone noticing or caring or that they didn’t raise any alarms in the other nine major cities where they were placed.

By the way, the best coverage of this oddball story has been on Lost Remote. They were the first to make the “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” connection and were the first place I saw with a link to the video of the two stoners that got arrested placing the signs around town. They’ve been all over this.

(Thanks, Pat, for the picture.)

Phone the neighbors, wake the kids

David Letterman marks 25 years in late night television tonight! It was Feb. 1, 1982 when “Late Night with David Letterman” debuted on NBC.

It all started with this word of caution from Larry “Bud” Melman:

"Good evening. Certain NBC executives feel it would be a little unkind to present this show without just a word of friendly warning. We’re about to unfold a show featuring David Letterman, a man of science who sought to create a show after his own image, without reckoning upon God… I think it will thrill you. It may shock you. It may even horrify you. So if any of you feel that you don’t care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now’s your chance just to, well, we warned you."

I’ve been a fan since the beginning. Well, almost the beginning. I remember watching Dave’s short-lived morning show on NBC back in 1980. I started watching “Late Night” a few years into its run on the rare nights I was allowed to stay up that late.

One of the first “Late Night” shows I remember seeing aired on a night my parents were hosting a holiday party (it might have been New Year’s Eve) that went into the wee early hours. I was up past 12:30 and remember seeing Dave interview Dr. Ruth Westheimer (although I had no idea what she was talking about!). By middle school, “Late Night” had been expanded to Friday nights (pushing back NBC’s “Friday Night Videos”) and I became a regular viewer on those nights.

The first guest back in 1982 was Bill Murray. He returned for Dave’s first “Late Show” on CBS will be on hand again tonight.

Here’s a timeline of Dave's achievments in late night TV. And below is the piece that was put together 10 years ago for Dave’s 15th anniversary…

Watching the paper

Check it out. I knew the Times Union was starting to shoot its own video for their website, but I just discovered they're using YouTube to host that video.

Which means, if you see a story you're interested in, you can go ahead and embed their video on your blog.

It's a win-win. Good for you and your blog. Good publicity for the Times Union.

Below is a video that goes with a recent feature story on the cup stacking craze (which my kids aren't into yet). But they're shooting video for "harder" news stories too...



Mike Sussman points out in comments below that the TU is missing the boat to an extent by not doing a good job of branding their videos, and he's right. At first glance, it's not obvious that's a TU video (unless you click through to its YouTube page where you'll see its creator is "tualbany").

I'm sure eventually they'll more sophisticated with their video editing and figure how to incorporate graphics. If they're smart, all of their videos will carry some sort of Times Union bug in the corner.

But I still think they're on the right track.

RELATED NEWS: Rejoice! Embedded video is now showing up in Blogger feeds. Thank you, Blogger folks, for getting that fixed!

They're grrreat!

I’m proud of our Tiger Cubs who earned their Bobcat Badge last night.

The scouts got their faces painted as part of the ceremony. Their parents put the markings on their faces, with each color symbolizing something different.

Then came the fun part for the kids—they got to put a white mark on their parent’s nose as the final part of the ceremony.

Kris and I are co-den leaders. She does all the behind-the-scenes organization work and then I show in the uniform and take all the credit.

Actually, that's not quite true--she has a more visible role than that. Kris helps run den meetings at our house and today she went with the kids on a Cub Scout outing while I was still at work.

It's a team effort.

Odd man out

In case you were counting heads (I wasn’t), you would have noticed that Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez was absent during the State of the Union Address last week. That’s because he was selected to be the guy left in charge should disaster fall on the Capitol that night.

One member of the cabinet always sits out in order to insure the succession of power in our government. According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, Gonzalez is No. 7 in line for the presidency.

CBS correspondent Mark Knoller has a real interesting post about this subject on the Couric & Co. blog. He talked to former Clinton era Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman about what happened the night in 1997 when he was selected as the go-to guy during the State of the Union.

If you’re curious, here’s the official order of succession:
1) The Vice President
2) The Speaker of the House
3) The President pro tempore of the Senate
4) The Secretary of State
5) The Secretary of the Treasury
6) The Secretary of Defense
7) The Attorney General
8) The Secretary of the Interior
9) The Secretary of Agriculture
10) The Secretary of Commerce
11) The Secretary of Labor
12) The Secretary of Human Services
13) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
14) The Secretary of Transportation
15) The Secretary of Energy
16) The Secretary of Education
17) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
18) The Secretary of Homeland Security

Some interesting notes on this list:

• No. 3 on the list Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia. Scary.
  
• Secretary of Commerce Carlos Guitierrez and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao are ineligible. Guitierrez was born in Cuba and Chao was born Taiwan. So neither of them could be president.

The Dead Zone

If you read this blog with any regularity, then you know we have a fondness for the Adirondacks. We take many of our vacations there. We camp there. And a few times a year we make the drive up the Northway and through the Lake Placid region to visit Kris’ family (and you’ll note Kris uses the screen name “ADKmom”).

With all that said, I believe the time has come for better cell service along the Northway.

Once you get above Lake George, turn off your phone and save the battery because you won’t get a signal again until you get close to Plattsburgh.

That proved deadly last week for a Brooklyn couple. Their car went off the road in the middle of the night near North Hudson (close to Exit 29). Due to their injuries, neither of them could get out of the car. They tried to call 911, but there was no signal.

Their car was obscured by trees. So passing motorists had no idea they were there.

After being trapped for 13 hours in sub-freezing weather, the husband died. He didn’t die from his crash injuries. It was the hypothermia that got him.

Nineteen hours later a state trooper found the car and rescued the wife. She’s expected to make a full recovery, but will have to live with the horrible memory of watching her husband die next to her.

One phone call could have kept him alive and prevented much of her suffering.

Environmentalists have long been opposed to cell towers in the Adirondacks, saying it would spoil the pristine view.

Look, the Adirondacks are one of my favorite places on Earth, but I say get over it. We’re not talking about putting towers in the heart of the Adirondack Park. We’re talking about placing them along a well-traveled, major highway.

However, the issue might be a lot more complicated than that. Fred LeBrun points out today that it's really the root of all evil—money—that’s keeping the towers out.

I don’t care what the reason is. This is the 21st century. We can transmit pictures back from Mars. We should be able to make a phone call from the side of the road in North Hudson. It’s time for someone to sort this out and get it done.

'Let's call the whole thing off'

Near the beginning of the State of the Union address the other night, President Bush spoke these words:

“Some in this chamber are new to the House and the Senate, and I congratulate the Democrat majority.”

There was extended applause at the time.

But soon after the speech was over, the president was accused of snubbing the Democrats with this remark. It seems there those who think it was disrespectful for him to use the adjective “Democrat” instead of “Democratic.”

Huh? I don’t get it. What’s the difference?

The missing “ic” actually got coverage in the Washington Post. White House spokesman Tony Snow says people are making a mountain out of a molehill. The president himself addressed the "ic-ky" subject in NPR interview over the weekend, saying he meant no slight and didn't even realize he had said it.

Can someone please explain the semantics at work here? Seriously. I’m hoping one of my friends from the left can shed light on why this is a big deal.

A geek's dream come true

What would happen if the starship Enterprise took on Darth Vader and the Empire?

Who Toon

We still have about four months to go until the new series of "Doctor Who" begins on the BBC (about six months until it's on Sci Fi here in the states).

I have a lot of catching up to do in that time. I still haven't watched either of the spin-off shows "Torchwood" or "The Sarah Jane Adventures."

Meanwhile there is this bit of news...the BBC is launching a show geared toward kids called "Totally Doctor Who." It will feature news and the behind the scenes info leading up to Series 3. There will also be a "Doctor Who" cartoon, featuring the voices of David Tennant, new companion Freema Agyeman and a new villain voiced by Anthony Stewart Head.

You can check out the cool title sequence for "Totally Doctor Who" here and read more about the cartoon here.

Beware the barbarians

I enjoy reading Dan Weaver's Upstream blog.

Recently Dan took some time off to contemplate whether or not he wanted to continue the blog. I'm pleased to report he's decided to stick with it.

He announced his decision in an excellent post today that discusses the current state of homeland security. Whether you consider yourself left, right or center you should read it.

The Rookie

Degree deodorant has teamed up with "24" for a clever campaign. They're producing a series of shorts that serve as a "24" spin-off called "The Rookie: CTU."

Here's the premise. There is some sort of terrorist crisis. Everyone at CTU snaps into action and is given a job to do--including the Rookie agent. His job? Go fetch coffee. But while at the coffee shop he observes a bunch armed men entering the bank across the street.

Is this how Jack Bauer got his start?

You may have seen the trailer during "24" (see below). I saw an abbreviated version of the first short aired as a commercial tonight. You can see the full short and future episodes here.

Presidential puppy love

The president's approval rating may be in the basement, but his dog still has his fans...

Ouch!

Mozart, an iguana at a Belgium zoo, is not having a good day. He just found out that he's going to have to go under the knife.

You see, Mozart mated with a female iguana last week. Good for him. The problem? Seven days later his erection still hasn't gone away (you can't make this stuff up).

The vet has decided to amputate due to the risk of infection.

Don't feel too bad for Mozart. Male iguanas, it turns out, have two penises (way to go Mozart!).

If you google this story you'll find several articles about it. My favorite headline?

It's a hard decision for zoo vets

Making tracks

Having a little bit of snow finally on the ground today gave Kris an excuse to strap the kids’ new snowshoes on their feet for the first time.

Her Uncle Rush very generously sent the shoes to the kids for Christmas this year.

Granted, there wasn’t so much snow that they really needed snowshoes, but they had fun wearing them anyway. When I got home from work I could see their tracks all over the yard.

Winter trods along...

Winter took so long to get here and now that it's here, it already seems long! We are in a lull and everyone is already talking about when baseball starts. We had a funny conversation with Nolan on Saturday what kind of sports he likes. He says he doesn't like soccer anymore and just wants to do baseball. But we explained to him that is just a spring sport and what about the rest of the year. So we were trying to think of all these other sports. He seems mildly interested in tennis, gymnastics and running. So we'll see. I think we are just filling our minds with thoughts until warm weather comes again.
This conversation was on the way to swim classes. Both kids did great, although it is a little bit of a struggle for Nolan. I think he gets frustrated with it because the motions aren't natural yet. After swim lessons, we had Dan the contractor over to our house to give us an estimate on re-tiling our bathroom floor. Sunday was spent in religion class, Lowe's (getting paint for said bathroom) and having dinner with Gaba. So it was a full weekend as they all are. Next weekend we are off to Syracuse to see my sister.

Life is tough

Chester has it rough. I think in my next life I want to come back as a family dog.

Strange bedfellows

If you shared a house with Sen. Chuck Schumer, would you figure him to be the Oscar Madison or the Felix Unger? If you pegged New York’s senior senator as a neat freak, you’d be wrong.

The New York Times had a good article yesterday about Schumer and his housemates. When in Washington he shares a house with Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Rep. Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts and Rep. George Miller or California. That’s four grown men sharing a two-bedroom house in Washington, D.C.

Miller has owned the place since 1977 and rents space to fellow lawmakers (they’re all Democrats—they say that to their knowledge no Republican has ever set foot in the place).

The group has some pet peeves when it comes to Schumer. It seems he has a habit of eating all the cereal without doing his share of the grocery shopping.

Then there’s his bed. Schumer sleeps on a bed in the living room that is often left unmade.

That’s not to say Schumer doesn’t pull his weight in other ways. He told the reporter…

“I once had to pick up a mouse by the tail that Durbin refused to pick up.”

This screams to be a reality show! Or does it? You be the judge…

“Everybody in the world says they’re going to do a television series based on us,” said Mr. Durbin, who was collapsed on the couch on a recent Monday night. Still in a tie, he sipped ice water from a massive Chicago Cubs cup while waiting for the Chinese food to arrive.

“But then they realize that the story of four middle-aged men, with no sex and violence, is not going to last two weeks,” he said. The prevailing topics of their discussions are grandchildren and Metamucil, he added.

“Hey, speak for yourself, Durbin,” Mr. Delahunt said, protesting the claim of no sex and violence.

Google issues

Is anyone else having Google problems today?  My Gmail Notifier isn't working on either of my computers and I keep getting booted out of Google Reader.  What gives?

Lightsaber contest

Lucasfilm is taking a cue from the Stephen Colbert Green Screen Challenge. They're asking fans to make videos using Hasbro's new spring-loaded toy lightsabers and submit them to a special YouTube group.

For any fan who's used Hasbro's new spring-loaded Force Action Lightsaber to flip on a light switch, swat a fly on the ceiling, unclog a drain, or launch a ping pong ball across the room, Hasbro's got the contest for you!

The best video will win a trip to the “Star Wars Celebration IV” in Los Angeles and a fancy chrome-plated toy lightsaber.

People have been making lightsaber videos forever (see classic “The Star Wars Kid” or the impressive “Ryan vs. Dorkman”). Now you can actually win something for it—and sounds like you don’t even need to worry about adding your own digital effects.

Colbert-O'Reilly Smackdown

Tonight's the big night, Colbert Nation. It should be great viewing as Stephen Colbert and his "mentor," Bill O'Reilly, will trade appearances on eac other's shows.

Colbert will appear (in character) on "The O'Reilly Factor" at 8 p.m. and the Fox blowhard will sit down on "The Colbert Report" at 11:30 p.m.

O'Reilly told The Daily News that he thinks the interviews will be fun and a win-win for both shows, pointing out that a lot of people who normally would never watch Fox News Channel might tune in.

He also said he doesn't mind Colbert using him for inspiration.

"I think it's fine," O'Reilly said. "I'm a prominent person in the media. I think satire is very, very entertaining for any society to have. I have never had a problem with it as long as it's not mean-spirited, and I don't think he is."

Let the truthiness ring!

Contributing again

I haven't been writing on Chris' blog because I had to get a gmail account to do it. I was opposed to this at first because I already have an email account that I like. This was a point of contention with Chris. He says he has a ton of email accounts and it's no big deal. The internet is limitless and just use what you want to use. Now I take issue with this. Even though it is limitless, does that give us the right to use it frivolously? It's wasteful. It's so American lately to just do more and use whatever you want and who cares how the world is affected. Why not simplify and choose less? Of course, I'm probably taking it a bit too far but to me, it's the principle. At any rate, we compromised. I just have a gmail account now but Chris has fanagled it somehow so I can read my email in the Outlook Express that I'm used to. Everyone is happy and you are now tortured by hearing from me and my principles again.

The politics of Star Trek

I love our country. Rep. David Wu, D-Oregon, takes to the floor of the House of Representatives with the following message:

"Don't let faux Klingons send real Americans to war."

Leonard Nimoy tells Jon Stewart that Wu's Star Trek analogy is weak.

But will anyone let George Takei get a word in edgewise?

Let 'em rip

This is very low-brow humor. It's really immature. Shame on you for laughing...

Mid-Summer Classic returning to the Bronx

Buster Olney is reporting on ESPN.com that the 2008 All-Star Game will be played at Yankee Stadium.

The game is usually played in an American League park during even-numbered years. And 2008 is scheduled to be the final year for the House That Ruth Built. The new Yankee Stadium is planned to open across the street from the old ballpark in 2009.

It would seem the folks at Major League Baseball thought playing the All-Star game in the Bronx would be a fitting way to help usher out the historic stadium that was first built in 1923 and later extensively remodeled in 1976.

No official announcement has been made yet, but it's expected in the days ahead.

The last time Yankee Stadium hosted the All-Star Game was in 1977.

What people will do for their Jack Bauer fix

Al Roney on WGY was discussing the recent ice storm that knocked power out to nearly 80,000 homes and businesses in our area.

He took a call from one guy who said he ran out to a “major discount store” to buy a power inverter, so he could run his TV of his car battery and watch “24.”

Now that’s a loyal fan!

Meanwhile, we were fortunate we didn't lose power. However, I did have to scrape about a quarter-inch of ice of my car yesterday morning. One chunk broke off and hit me in the eye, which I suppose could have been pretty dangerous. Fortunately it just stung.

Fortune cookie

CNN sent a whole bunch of fortune cookies sent to our newsroom today. Here is the one I grabbed...

It is wise to be a master of the web. But a fool makes the web his master.

Point Au Roche

We returned Friday to Point Au Roche Lodge, just outside of Plattsburgh, where we celebrated our 10^th anniversary in 2005. The getaway without the kids was our Christmas gift to each other.

We had such a good time there the last time that we wanted to go back. We thought it would be fun to go in the winter and do some cross country skiing in the Point Au Roche State Park.

That was the original plan, at least. But alas, there was no snow to ski on. So instead we went for a hike. Kris pointed out that this may have been the first time we had ever been hiking in January.

We ate terrific food while we were up there. We had a fantastic dinner at place in downtown Plattsburgh called Irises Café & Wine Bar. And breakfast at the lodge the next morning was great.

We stayed in a nicer room this time than the one we were in before. In fact, I think it may have been the most luxurious room we’ve ever stayed in anywhere.

The lodge is a great place to getaway and recharge your batteries, even if it’s just for one night. As before, I’d highly recommend it to anyone.

Jack is back!

I just got done watching the first four episodes of the new season of “24” (God bless the Internet and Bittorrent). I’m happy to report that this is still my favorite show on television!

Some little highlights:

• The return of Milo (Eric Balfour) who hasn’t been seen since Season 1.
• David Palmer’s kid brother, Wayne (D.B. Woodside), is now the president. And for once the president is where he should be—in the Oval Office, not Los Angeles or some high-tech bunker.
• Look for Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”) to show up in a key role beginning with the second hour.
• The always enjoyable Regina King joins the cast as another Palmer sibling.

So far this is easily the darkest season yet. There is all sorts of bad stuff happening. The good guys have a lot of catching up to do.

And then there’s Jack. How much can this guy take? Each season of “24” pushes this character to the limit. This season starts with him pretty much at his limit already. A couple of times he tells people “I can’t do this anymore,” but he keeps getting sucked in anyway.

They’re really kicking the season off with a bang. Look for a shocking moment near the end of hour number four. And just as you’re done absorbing that, look for an even bigger shocker!

Tick…tock…tick…tock…

Meanwhile, here's the Day 6 prequel. Like the previous prequels, it eventually turns into a blatant car commercial. But it's still fun to watch if you're a fan.

The Donald vs. Dwight

There has been a lot of talk lately about the feud between Donald Trump and Rosie O’Donnell (a big publicity stunt on Trump’s part to hype “The Apprentice” in my opinion).

But now Trump has a real fight on his hands. Head over to the “Apprentice” page on NBC.com to play Bobblehead Bash—where the Donald Trump bobblehead gets to duke it out with the Dwight bobblehead from “The Office.”

I wouldn’t count out Dwight with his karate skills.

Surge

Besides the call for 20,000 more troops, here's what we an look forward to in President Bush's speech tonight according to NBC's Kelly O'Donnell on The Daily Nightly...

Advisors say the president will in effect say "I get it." He will take responsibility and acknowledge that past attempts to secure Baghdad have failed and he will explain how and why he expects different results this time. Advisors referred to the president as being in "education and explanation mode." Advisors say the president will strongly reject any suggestion that this is a so called last ditch effort, as many critics assert.

iFunny

Over at The Daily Nightly, Brian Williams describes the iPhone as...

"...Steve Jobs' latest invention that is supposed to combine and condense all our electronic needs (and presumably all of our food, water and breathable oxygen) into a very expensive Altoids box."

Gadget envy

I want an iPhone...now!

Cooperstown or bust

It’s official: Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn are going to the Hall of Fame this summer—Mark McGwire is not.

I can’t say I’m surprised. But if you told anyone a few years that it would have ended up this way, they would have been shocked. McGwire seemed like such a sure thing at one point. How the mighty have fallen.

Ripken earned 537 out of 545 ballots--that's 98.5 percent of the votes (falling just short of the record percentage of 98.84 set by Tom Seaver when he was selected in 1992). Gwynn was just behind with 532 votes, 97.6 percent.

Big Mac got just 128 votes for 23.5 percent. You need 75 percent to get in.

He may still get in some day—just not this year.

Also, Goose Gossage fell just short with 71.2 percent.

MythBusters rocks!

I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of "MythBusters" on the Discovery Channel. Last night I saw perhaps one of the best episodes I've ever seen.

They were testing an urban legend about two tractor trailers that collided head-on, completely flattening a compact car between them.

It's always fun when they blow stuff up and destroy things on this show. But this time they brought the carnage to a whole new level!

Tell me where the action figures are!

Add this to the must have list...a company called Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles will be coming out with a line of "24" toys!

How cool would it be to have Jack Bauer and Chloe O'Brien action figures sitting on my desk? And maybe a little terrorist guy--he and Jack could take turns torturing each other.

I can only assume each figure will come complete with it's own cell phone.

What other toys could they make besides action figures? A toy PDA? Maybe little make-believe canisters of nerve gas?

Browser issues

I've discovered that although my changes to the blog's layout look great in Firefox, there are some problems in Internet Explorer.

So it's back to the drawing board. Please bear with me.

UPDATE: It looks like everything is working fine in both browsers now.

We can't rewind, we've gone too far

While we're on the subject of music, I recently stumbled across this little gem...

Another sign I'm getting old

Van Halen and R.E.M. will be among this year's inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

For me, Van Halen will always conjur memories of the school bus ride home in the sixth grade when "Jump" played almost continuously out of kids' boom boxes. Cassette tapes were all the rage by the time I started taking interest in music, but "5150" was one of the albums I owned on vinyl. And "Right Now" was probably one of the biggest hits of my college years.

As for R.E.M., they were one of the signature sounds of the late 1980s/early 1990s. They were still considered alternative and very cutting edge back in high school. There was a garage band of high school kids that used to play at some school functions called Standing on the Ceiling. The only thing I remember them playing was a cover of "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." By the time I started my college radio show, I knew next to nothing about alternative music. R.E.M. was one of the few alternative bands I was familiar with, so they got a lot of airplay.

Joining Van Halen and R.E.M. this year in the Hall of Fame are the Ronettes, Patti Smith and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

Silent Star Wars

Here's what "Star Wars" may have looked like if it had been made in the 1920s...

New & improved

Well, I’m finished tinkering with the layout of the blog. Essentially, I’ve switched to a “fluid” format and split the sidebar into two sidebars with another area known as a “widebar” above it.

The idea was to find away to keep more of that sidebar content “above the fold,” or at least close to it.

You’ll notice the widebar space is being used as a “featured video clip” section. Once again, the idea was that often I’ll post a good clip and it will be near the top of the blog for a day or two, but then inevitably moves down the page as I post more stuff. This way, good videos can have a longer life at the top of the page.

I also threw in a trendy label cloud and picked up the feed of the comic strip “Blaugh.”

Huge thanks go out to Annie over at BlogU who helped me with numerous coding issues. I couldn’t have done it without her!

Indy IV in 2008?

I’ve grown tired of commenting on the proposed fourth Indiana Jones film. For how many years has George Lucas been saying, “We’re going to begin filming soon?”

He said it again last week as he prepared to serve as grand marshal of the Rose Bowl parade. This time people seemed to take him a little more seriously and sure enough, an official news release was issued on Tuesday.

So it looks like they finally have the script everyone is happy with and that they plan to start filming in June 2007 for a May 2008 release.

I still find it very hard to get excited about this project. I think they just waited too long. I’m not sure I want to see a movie about Indiana Jones in his 60s.

My tune will probably change once filming begins (if it actually does—I’m still not convinced) and we start seeing set photos and learning more about the storyline.

But for the time being, I can’t get over how unenthused I am about a new movie featuring a character I love so much.

In the middle of things with Ed

Sorry I’m a little delayed on this one. If you’re hip to the local blog scene, then this is already old news.

Former NewsChannel 13 anchor Ed Dague finally started blogging a few weeks ago (what took him so logn?). It’s been all the buzz several corners as people came down from the holidays and discovered it this week.

His blog lacks the humor of the late Albany Eye, but it is still worth the read.

Finally Ed has a presence on the Internets besides that creepy floating head.

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.”

Happy New Year

I've been tinkering with a new layout for the blog. I had hoped to have it ready for New Year's Day, but that didn't happen. Anyway, look forward to a new and hopefully improved "Off the Top of My Head" coming soon in 2007.

Holiday week highlights

Christmas Eve: For starters, Nolan was a wise man in the Christmas pageant at church. That was adorable, even though the crown was a little to big for his head. Later on we enjoyed the warm & fuzzy feeling that always comes from knowing the kids are all tucked in and the presents placed under the tree.

Christmas morning: The only thing better than seeing how excited the kids are when they go to bed on Christmas Eve is seeing the look on their faces on Christmas morning. It’s not just one of the best moments of the week—it’s one of the best moments of the year.

“Doctor Who:” The BBC’s hit show is quickly becoming a holiday tradition. The first post-Billie Piper episode, “The Runaway Bride,” was fantastic.

Brooker: I went out for a couple of beers with my old buddy Andy “Brooker” Miller and his fiancée Dori while they were in town for the holiday. It’s always good to catch up with old friends.

The Chicago Rooneys: My brother Tim and his family came to visit. It’s been a few years since they were all here.

Moira: We had a nice holiday visit with Kris’ parents. While there, Kris got to meet up with some of her old high school friends.

That’s pretty much where the fun ends. We’ve all been in various degrees of sickness for the last few days—getting 2007 off to a “great” start.