WotAGuy

either that or his parents were REAAAAAAALY our of the loop!

There's a guy here in Syracuse named Richard Head. A friend of mine knows him and asked him about how his parents could have possibly named their son "Dick"Head. He said it wasn't a slang term back when he was born....wonder what the etymology of "Dick" is?

In September 2011, I took my three daughters (22, 24, 25) on a 12 day cruise out of Venice, Italy on Royal Carribean. We hit Croatia, Greece, Turkey and Montenegro. It was my first cruise; my daughters had done Carribean cruises before. It was great; there's lots of books available about cruising, and the library is a good place to start. Our cruise was all about getting off the ship and seeing the sights, which is exhausting but thrilling. After three days of shore day-trips, we were thankful for a day at sea to just chill out. Some things to consider; You can either use the cruise to get to and see many diverse places, or you can use it to just chill out, and relax on ship the whole time. We got an interior cabin to save $, knowing we wouldn't be in the cabin except to sleep. We did hang by the pool during the day, and the meals were phenomenal. We didn't partake of the other entertainment on board, or the casino, etc. We were focused on sightseeing on shore and were pretty exhausted each night. Time change was a factor too. Getting off the ship early each day is important because there's not really alot of time on shore. I got up and in line very early each morning to get first tickets to the tenders that took us to shore (when we didn't dock). When we docked, you just hope your turn gets called early. We wanted to maximize our time on shore. We did both ship excursions and did our own excursions on the fly. Both were great; the ship excursions are pricey, but there's less stress because you know you are covered if you get back to ship late. When you do your own excursion, you never know if the taxi, tour, etc is legit and are going to get you back on time. We didn't have any problems, but it was nerve-wracking for me at times. We did a guided tour in Turkey, and a private cab in Athens to get around to the sights and I have to say, the private cab was the most fun. Stavros took us EVERYWHERE and took really good care of my girls. It was a crap-shoot but we made out great. On Mikonos, we rented motor scooters to get around the island and that was a blast....it was less than a ship excusion, and we got to see whatever we wanted. In Bodrum, Turkey and Kotor, Montenegro, we just walked around and swam in the ocean; that was very stress-free. We went immediately after Labor Day and the prices for the cruise were pretty good. Flights were expensive, but it was worth seeing Venice. We got there early and stayed an extra day. It was a once in a lifetime trip for me, but my girls think we are doing it again....next time, they are paying their own way! Enjoy!

Stevie barely got on the field his first TWO SEASONS, and he turned out pretty much OK.

Apparently, even God doesn't like Tebow at QB!

I'll be sitting about 8 feet from the television, armed with a pile of golf balls, rocks and bottles at the ready for the inevitable WTF pick by the Bills. It's an old 26" RCA so it won't be much of a financial loss....but I will have safety goggles on.

I recently found comedian Bill Burr's podcasts and they keep me laughing on my 6-hour drives between Syracuse and southern PA. You can check them out at http://billburr.com/podcast He pretty much riffs on his life and current affairs from his home office every Monday morning. The language is NSFW or kids, but if you can get by that, he's pretty funny. Got any suggestions for good podcasts?

I started the Spirtiual Exercises of St Ignatius last September, and it's basically a 30-week retreat intended to improve conscious contact with God. We are supposed to spend an hour in prayer and meditation each day. I had a hard time getting past 20 minutes at first, but now I do an hour a day and enjoy it. I usually don't do transcendental meditation (where you blank out your mind). Rather I try to have a focus on my relationship with God and feel His presence. I usually put on some quiet meditation music, gongs, or a waterfall soundtrack....something without a specific melody that is calming and helps cut out background noise - dogs barking, traffic, etc. The music is in 20-minute tracks, so I can do my hour of meditation in three 20-minute segments. I start a 20-minute track, do a 20-minute meditation segment, and when the music ends, I move on to the next track of music and the next nmeditation segment. I turn off the phones, and get in a cross-leg sitting position and take a few deep breaths. I try to do it the same time every day to create a routine - usually my lunch hour. First 20-minute segment is spent just repeating a mantra to get my mind clear and to keep my mind from wandering and thniking about work, etc. I usually focus on things in my life I am thankful for and thank God for them. I started with my health, job, kids, etc but now I think about things like a helpful conversation I may have had with someone, a sunset I saw, some birds I had watched....literally everything I encounter is something to be thankful for and to thank God for. With the Spiritual Exercises, I then read a bible passage that is given to us, based on a theme for the week. It is usually just a 3-5 verse passage and we are supposed to put ourselves in the scene and take on one of the characters in the scene. I try to experience the sights, sounds, smells, touch that might have come up in that scene. I think about how that passage applies to my life and things I am going through at the present time or in the past. That's the second 20-minute segment. The final 20-minutes is spent conversing with God - about what is going on with me, asking his help, thanking Him - whatever...just talking like I would to a close friend. This hour of meditation and prayer has really helped me calm down, and given me perspective on how good my life is. It has also strengthened my relationship with God and helped me feel less anxiety, because I know that God has and will always take care of me, so I needn't worry. Hopefully there is some useful stuff in there you can try!

I'm going out on a limb and saying the best flavor wing is "chicken".

2013: Ground up and in the Freezer! We're Talkin Proud, Loud and Lousy! The Bills: Finding New Ways to Lose since 1999 We Don't Water Board Our Fans....But It's Close!

I'd rather the Old Testament stories be left to my imagination, rather than seeing them played out.

We were just messing around and always looking for good photo ops. The pic with her is pretty funny - she has a sequin-lined Wilfork jersey and a big smile hugging my nephew in his Bills gear.

Ok - the "super wide angle lens" was uncalled for.......because I took the photo from the opposite side of the field.

Honestly, he could not say enough good things about Brees....the quality of person he is, his dedication, smarts and leadership were lauded over and over again. He must be quite a guy in person,the way Joe talked about him. And I could really understand how Chan stayed with Fitz. Joe talked about discussions with other coaches that complained they can't do things with their protections that the Saints do because their QB can't handle it mentally. Joe ran through an example play using actual terminology and how various defensive looks will modify the play. It had the audience laughing because it was so convoluted and difficult to follow - and the QB has to process it instantaneously. I got a great appreciation for what they have to absorb so quickly during the week. They develop a portion of the game plan on Tuesday (1st and 2nd down plays) and e-mail it at night and expect the QB to have mastered it by practice the next morning. Wednesday they do 3rd downs and expect QB to get it down before practice Thursday morning. Thursday they develop red zone plan and expect QB to have it cold by Friday morning.....amazing. He said everyone is burned out come Friday.

Just picked up tix for their show at 930 Club in DC in June. Passed on a chance to see them open for Dylan closer to home in Ithaca and Buffalo. Great set during SXSW last week.

So...what was behind Uranus???

Today I heard Joe Lombardi, grandson of Vince, speak in Syracuse at IGNITE - a Catholic men's conference. Joe spoke about his Catholic faith and did so in the context of the qualities that a quarterback has....because that is what he can relate to, being a QB coach for the Saints. So, he compared a good QB's qualities with those of a good Catholic. A few tidbits: Joe is an engaging, honest and authentic speaker; I enjoyed his talk. He didn't play up the Vince Lombardi connection, which seemed very humble but also accurate, since he never met the man (Joe was born about 10 years after Vince passed). Joe LOVES Drew Brees - total mentions of Drew Brees = 37 (est). Total mentions of Jesus Christ = 0. Joe said he has been studying Ryan Nassib and said "he reminds me of Drew Brees". Unfortunately, you have to qualify that comparison because he pronounced his name "nass-EEB". Joe never mentioned a QB's physical skills, but instead completely focused on intelligence, consistency, dedication, work ethic and leadership (not surprising given the topic of his talk, but it made me appreciate a little better why Chan was so stuck on Fitz....the mental part seems much more critical - and hard to find - from this coach's perspective). Told a funny story about when his 5th kid was born - two of his young daughters wanted to name him Sarge or Chief (because they also had just gotten a puppy). When told that they needed to name their brother after a saint, they said "like Reggie Bush?"

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder- but I will say Mrs. Wilfork is a pretty cool lady. My nephew and I were walking up the stairs to our seats at the Ralph a few years ago and she was walking in front of us. We asked if we could get a photo with her and she was very sweet and allowed us to do so. It's almost as good as the pic I took of my nephew with Ralph!

yea!

Amen brother! Well said. 12-step recovery works the same way - and beautiful things happen out of a lot of misery and despair.

GENIUS! Even if it's not proven to you, you might want to say "I believe" as your dying words...just to be safe! (EDIT: and BELIEVE it!)

My thought is there would not be a major outcry at all, and the limited response would likely be from those that link anyone praising Allah to terrorism - sad to say.

So you are basing your supposition of my dishonesty on your observations of other people? Given your reasoning, because I have seen other people act like "douche nozzles" on this board (thanks jboyst!)...... then you, sir, are a douche nozzle.

What do you know about me to suggest I'm not being honest?

I am really enjoying your contributions to this discussion. You express your point of view with my kind of humor, and without attacks. You're cracking me up. And thanks for your response to Chimp early on!