http://simcentral.net/forums/blog.php/910-Roadman-s-Blog en Tue, 21 May 2013 07:47:16 GMT vBulletin 60 http://simcentral.net/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://simcentral.net/forums/blog.php/910-Roadman-s-Blog http://simcentral.net/forums/entry.php/394-New-Edition-to-the-Family Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:39:51 GMT We've brought along a new addition to our family; a English Springer Spaniel puppy. Her name is Puzzle and she is 13 weeks old.

We can't wait for her to get over the teething era as we have become human chew toys. She doesn't bit or nip me as much as the rest. Probably because she knows what will happen if she does.

That's really the only issue I have with her so far. The potty training is going ok, she's in the crate, she goes out. She just needs more experience telling us when she needs to go, but that will come with time.

This breed has a lot of energy, so, we talk up and down a street close by without much traffic. It's interesting the neighbors you didn't know all of a sudden become neighbors because they have dogs as well. ]]> roadman http://simcentral.net/forums/entry.php/394-New-Edition-to-the-Family http://simcentral.net/forums/entry.php/368-Driving-Mom-and-Dad-Insane Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:30:53 GMT Our oldest daughter will be taking her driving test in November. Yikes, sweet sixteen already. I've had a few close calls with her sitting in the passenger seat.:bawl:

She has already asked me how often can she drive to school and on what days.:rant::rant:

I never asked my parents how often I could drive to school. I asked the night before, but not before I had a drivers license. This must be the give me society or the I want, I want, I want.

Wait till she sees the rules of the road I will hand to her.:happydance: ]]> roadman http://simcentral.net/forums/entry.php/368-Driving-Mom-and-Dad-Insane http://simcentral.net/forums/entry.php/214-Ducks-on-a-Pond Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:14:08 GMT I know it’s becoming springtime around our neck of the woods, but the title doesn’t refer to baseball at all. It refers to the large pond/small lake that our family has acquired because of this area is only second behind in history for the most snowfall ever. We have had the pond build up before... I know it’s becoming springtime around our neck of the woods, but the title doesn’t refer to baseball at all. It refers to the large pond/small lake that our family has acquired because of this area is only second behind in history for the most snowfall ever. We have had the pond build up before with heavy rains, but it’s the second week of April and I can’t go out in the backyard to prune our fruit trees. Also, I’m sure three to four feet of standing water for the past few weeks is not good for the fruit trees and their roots.

Sure, we could run a pump, but the only option would be to pump the water out into the street. We live on a busy street and there is an ordinance against pumping water onto the road. We have neighbors all around us.

The only bright spot about the small lake/large pond is that it will never ever enter our house. Our house sits up on a small hill and the water a few weeks ago was close to five to seven feet away. We have also endured male and female ducks who think it’s a good time for a swim or bath. I’m trying to constantly chase them away. Let’s face it, they are cute to look at, but I don’t appreciate what they leave behind. We have nothing for them to eat and they obviously can’t nest without large lake water type weeds.

Finally, we’ve had a few days of sunshine and the pond is starting to recede a bit. We need about a week of consistent sunshine and wind to dry up our land and proceed to work in our backyard. ]]> roadman http://simcentral.net/forums/entry.php/214-Ducks-on-a-Pond http://simcentral.net/forums/entry.php/193-A-Father-Son-Outing-That-Will-Last-Forever Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:02:43 GMT We share season tickets with three other couples for Milwaukee Bucks games. The Bucks ticket office called my cell phone and said they were having 1/2 tickets on the second level. I told her we had season tickets and she asked if we had tickets for the Knicks game. I told her no, but we... We share season tickets with three other couples for Milwaukee Bucks games.

The Bucks ticket office called my cell phone and said they were having 1/2 tickets on the second level. I told her we had season tickets and she asked if we had tickets for the Knicks game. I told her no, but we wouldn't be interested in the Knicks. She then asked about the Cleveland Cavaliers. mmmm Lebron James, why not.

We had a heck of a time finding a parking spot. The play, the Lion King, was also playing nearby. Finally, found a parking spot and we get to our seats with 2 minutes remaining in the 1st quarter. Our son received a voucher for a Yi-T-Shirt, so, we immediately went to the giveaway area.


We were about 14 rows up from the floor where the players enter and exit. Our regular seats are usually in section 400. Everything looked bigger in section 207. My son had one Cav high five him. Michael Redd hit the game winning three point shot. It's the loudest the Bradley Center has been in a long time. The tickets were half-price, plus throw in a free Yi T-Shirt and one shot apiece near the foul line after the game. The old man sunk his, and our son rimmed his, it went in and out.

Just one of those father and son outings we both will never forget. ]]> roadman http://simcentral.net/forums/entry.php/193-A-Father-Son-Outing-That-Will-Last-Forever http://simcentral.net/forums/entry.php/188-Roadman-s-Take-on-the-NBA-Trades-at-Deadline Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:13:15 GMT The NBA’s Winners and Wannabe’s at Trade Deadline This year was one of the busiest years in recent memory in moving all-stars and wannabe all-stars around the league. It started with Pau Gasol going to the Lakers and ended with big Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak heading the LBJ”s Cav’s. Here... The NBA’s Winners and Wannabe’s at Trade Deadline

This year was one of the busiest years in recent memory in moving all-stars and wannabe all-stars around the league. It started with Pau Gasol going to the Lakers and ended with big Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak heading the LBJ”s Cav’s. Here is my look at the trade deadline Winners and Wannabe’s.

Winners

1. LA Lakers- When I first heard this trade, I thought Jerry West was still the GM of the Grizzlies because it appeared he was giving LA preferential treatment for trading Gasol. There is a lot of upside of trading Gasol for Kwame Brown, Javarias Crittenton, Aaron Mckie, the draft rights to Gasol’s brother, Marc, and 1st round picks in 2008 and 2010. Gasol should help free up Kobe to roam and not be dependent to score over 40 pts per game with Odom, Gasol and Brynam (when he returns) spreading the triangle offense. I really believe this catapulted the Lakers to near the top of the western conference.


2. Cleveland Cavaliers- Lebron James certainly received his wish when the Cav’s pulled off a three team trade with the Bulls and the Supersonic’s. The Cav’s received Ben Wallace, Joe Smith and a second round draft choice in 2009 from the Bulls and Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West from the Supersonic’s. The Bulls received Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown from the Cav’s. The Seattle Supersonic’s received Donyell Marshall and Ira Newbie along with Bulls forward Adrain Griffin. The Cav’s have strengthened their positioning in the Eastern Conference playoffs by receiving some quality talent surrounding LBJ and unloading, at times, inconsistent talent to the Bulls and Supersonic’s. The knock on Hughes and Gooden is that they don’t show up to play every night. I don’t see how this improves the Bulls unless they dumped Wallace’s contract. Wallace is still a great presence in the middle and Smith is a solid mid-range shooter and a good rebounder. Szczerbiak can shoot it from everywhere and West is a good point guard who will distribute the ball. It appears the Cavs have closed the gap between the Pistons and the Celtics, but still have a ways to go to catch the front runners.


3. The New Orleans Hornets received from the Houston Rockets Bonzi Wells and Mike James for Bobby Jackson, Adam Huluska a 2008 second round draft choice. and the draft rights to Sergi Lishouk. The Memphis Grizzles received from the Hornets Marcus Vinicius, the draft rights to Malik Badiane and cash considerations. Wells and James solidify the Hornets bench offensively as they both can light it up. Jackson also helps the Rockets bench as Jackson plays good defensive and can hit the three. Huluska appears to be a project in the making.

4. The San Antonio Spurs acquired Kurt Thomas from the Seattle SuperSonics for Brent Barry, Fransisco Elson and a future first round draft choice. The Spurs really helped themselves for the stretch run acquiring Thomas to defend their title. Thomas is a terrific rebounder and can score as well.

5. The Seattle Supersonics for dumping lousy contracts and receiving a good amount of first round draft choices. The SuperSonics look loaded for bear in the future.

6. The New Jersey Nets traded veteran guard Jason Kidd, Malik Allen and Antoine Wright to the Dallas Mavericks for the younger Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Tenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, Keith Van Horn and two future first round draft choices with cash considerations. The key to this trade was Devin Harris; he’s quicker than Kidd and still has a learning curve that will only go up. Diop wasn’t a bad pick-up either, plus two first round draft choices in the future.

7. The Atlanta Hawks acquired veteran point guard Mike Bibby from the Sacramento Kings for Anthony Johnson, Tyron Lue, Sheldon Williams, Lorenzen Wright and a second round draft choice in 2008. The Hawks didn’t give up too much for Bibby, but if Williams ever blossoms, this trade could get better for the Kings.



Losers

1. The Dallas Mavericks main centerpiece in the trade above was Jason Kidd. Kidd is the type of impact player that could make the other players like Nowitski and Howard better players. However; Kidd is older and his shooting percentage is much lower than it has been in the past. I just don’t feel the acquisition of Kidd the Mavs over the hump with the Lakers and the Spurs.

2. The Phoenix Suns acquired Shaq for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. Will Shaq be able to run the up temp offense the Suns run? I just don’t see this as a good fit to the style the Suns play. Shaq is on the tail end of his career and has had many injuries in the latter part of his career. Also, I don’t feel the Heat came out ahead in trade. Marion has the option of free agency once the season is over and I don’t think the Heat will pay him $17 million/year to stay. ]]> roadman http://simcentral.net/forums/entry.php/188-Roadman-s-Take-on-the-NBA-Trades-at-Deadline http://simcentral.net/forums/entry.php/175-Post-Mortem-Thoughts-After-the-Super-Bowl Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:40:26 GMT The recent Super Bowl between the Giants and the Patriots was one of the most entertaining Super Bowls I've witnessed in awhile.

Hats off to the Giants and their fans. They were the Cinderella story of the playoffs. They had to play three games on the road and were underdogs in all three games. I didn't have a chance to see the Tampa game, but based on the Cowboys, Packers and the Patriots game, they played with a whole lot more heart and determination than their opponents did. It was almost as if the Giants were a team of destiny.

The play that was seen all around the world was the escape of a heavy rush from Eli Manning and the leaping helmet catch by Tyree. That play will rank as one of the best all time plays in Super Bowl plays. It's all subjective as I've seen Lynn Swan make a truly remarkable catch during the Steel Curtain rein in the 70's.

We also need to tip our hats to the Patriots almost perfect season. They really took it to their opponents this season and beat some formidable opponents during their plight to the Super Bowl. Spygate may have tainted their season a bit, but they already paid the price for their crime. The Patriots just ran into a team that was on a roll and wanted it more.

I don't understand all the hoopla around the only perfect team in history, the 1972 Miami Dolphins. If you don't like what Mercury Morris has to say, change the channel. The Dolphins played without their starting HOF QB Bob Griese for a great part of the season. Sure , they had Czonka, Kiick and Morris running the ball, but they still played with a 38 year old back-up QB by the name of Earol Moral. Could the Patriots played without Brady for 3/4 of the season and still been undefeated? I don't think so. The Dolphins paved the way for the Brady's and Moss's to play in todays game, just like the way the Packers, Bears and Browns paved the way for the Miami Dolphins to play in 1972.

Stay tuned in the future for a look at the off-season and what it has in store for the upcoming 2008 season. ]]> roadman http://simcentral.net/forums/entry.php/175-Post-Mortem-Thoughts-After-the-Super-Bowl