Girl Robot update

Merideth and Ricky have been busy (unlike a certain non-blogger I know).

Check it out. There's even a special new treat from the pop culture circle.

Hiatus averted

Back to the blog. How about a medieval festival this weekend?

Breezy Point biking

Oren, Bill, Ned and I just got back from a great ride to Breezy Point. Now that was fun.

We had some burgers and suds at Sugar Bowl. Can't wait to do that again.

City Island biking

Bill, Amy, and I just got back from biking to City Island. 50 miles round trip. I'm worn out. But, it was great. We stopped at Johnny's Reef at the end of the island for a tasty fried lunch. Yum.

Change Of Marathons?

There is a good chance that Vermont will be replaced by Philadelphia. Joel and Dan, two marathon newbies, are pretty adamant that we run in a race with lots of spectators. I can't say that I blame them. It was great in San Diego to have that constant support. Based on pictures of Vermont, we could be isolated for miles. This gives us an extra month to get ready, too. So for now, it's Philly here we come....

Gold Cup Recap

After yesterday, I'm back on the US soccer bandwagon. The second half effort against Mexico deserves great applause, and so does the strategy employed by coach Bradley. The all out attack philosophy put Mexico on their heels after they took the game to the US in the first half. Onyewu looks as if he has regained his confidence, Bocanegra appears to be a solid choice for captain, Tim Howard made a giant save late in the match, and the Beasley/Donovan combo ran their socks off. And what a goal by Benny Feilhaber. Goodness, that's a great strike.

Let's hope this continues. I like the decision by Bradley to rest the star players in the Copa America. The other nations have done the same, so there is no sense in risking injuries. I'm sure the clubs are pleased as well.

But, what about the mess at the end of the semifinal vs. Canada. Here is a decent recap of the match and here is some video of the "non" goal. I've heard that the linesman thought the last touch came off of a Canadian player. If that's the case, why didn't the referee speak to him? Get it sorted out. It was really a shame.

Me In Reverse

I'll start back at the softball debacle from last Wednesday. Quickly. Our office teams haven't fared well over the past 9 months. We suffered a winless season in basketball, and our lone victory in softball came as the result of a forfeit. So, that really doesn't count, does it?

Last Wednesday may have brought us the best weather of the year. Facing the east at the plate was difficult though as the sun was right in the batters' faces. No excuse, as the conditions were the same for both teams. They fared better.

Needless to say, the game was virtually over by the time my own personal nightmare began in left field. My only true attribute in the outfield is speed and it came to haunt me on a short pop fly. I overran it, and the ball jumped past me. Gave up a double and a run. Ouch. On the very next pitch, here comes a towering fly ball back out to left field. With my mind still on the last play, the ball popped off the top of my glove and a humiliating two run homer followed. It was painful. Thankfully, it didn't cost us the game. Let's see if I'm back out in left in our next encounter. Just gotta shake it off.

Catching Up

When you don't want to lug around a laptop during evening plans, blogging becomes difficult. Tuesday was the "I just don't want to bring this thing home" day. Wednesday was softball (more on that later), and last night was the US v Canada match (more on that later, too).

I'm continuing to enjoy the Travis album. It's a very close second to me from 'The Man Who.'

The Planet Earth specials on Discovery HD are absolutely insane (I'm really teeing myself up for some weekend writing).

Off to The Slip show at Bowery tonight. But, first, I'm meeting my friends Shanly and George at Loreley. Ah, sausage and beer. What can possibly be better? An outside table, but I'm not pressing my luck.

Red Hook Riding

Rachel and I spent a large part of yesterday afternoon enjoying the little known streets of Red Hook. After pigging out on delicious Central American cuisine and watching an afternoon football match at the Red Hook Rec Area, we continued on to the waterfront area. For a good idea of what we saw, check this informative pictorial on Red Hook and other 'forgotten' areas of the city. What a great spot to ride a bike on a sunny afternoon. Plus, we may have discovered the best view of the Statue of Liberty the city has to offer.

Travis album

I'm a big fan of the newest Travis album. Titled 'The Boy With No Name,' it's reminding everyone of the '99 release 'The Man Who.' They've gotten back to working with Nigel Godrich, the producer who crafted Radiohead when they really made music.

New Features

So, I spent some time this morning actually learning about HTML code, the functionality of blogger, and what I can include on this site. I found out some cool things. As I've mentioned before, I find Fred Wilson's blog to be fascinating. Not only for his knowledge of new, relevant technology, but for his ability to translate it clearly into his entries and visually on his page. He's a smart cookie.

Anyway, as you'll see on the right hand side, I've added several links, a Last.fm widget, and a new Voki (had a lot of fun creating that). Fred uses these features and many more. So, in essence, I'm ripping him off and have no problem with it. I'm sure there will be more to come for me, too. It's super simple to add these things. Copying code into blogger is a seamless process.

Great Success

I'm happy to report that pseudo official day one of marathon training was a smashing success. My friend Rachel and I took an adventurous route through the park and ended up running about four miles. Feel great, plenty of stretching, and a nice hearty meal to top it all off.

Beautiful day, too. A very comfortable temperature. Tons of kids playing softball, soccer, and other real or made up games. Prospect Park on a weekend summer day is a great place to be. Can't wait to do it again tomorrow.