1. When we got the new ride earlier last month it came with a 3 month free trial of XM Radio. At first I really didn't know how I was going to like it, but after the trying it for a while I do think it has some merits. Especially on those trips to places where we don't know the radio stations and want a break from the iPod. I will say that it's great for listing to the Red Sox or Celtics [playoff run] while we were on some of our trips down to NJ. In fact, just yesterday I listened to the entire Sox/Astros game on our way home. No way I could have done that with regular radio. So...the free gig is up at the end of August...we'll see if we keep it, but as of right now I think we're leaning towards it.
The one thing that does annoy me about the XM is that every time you go underneath of an overpass the signal gets fuzzy and you hear static for a half second. This really sucks when trying to pay close attention to a ballgame! Anyone else experience this with their XM or could this be an issue with my antenna?
2. A couple weeks ago I was told about a new site/blog affiliated with Boston.com called The Big Picture. You've got to check it out. It's a collection of some amazing photo journalistic shots that a group has started posted and linking too. It's a great way to see what's happening in the world and will often time put a face with many of the stories you hear about on the news. Hopefully I'll be able to take photos similar to what you see up there!
3. As I mentioned a while back...I signed up and ran in the 3.5 mile JP Morgan Corporate Challenge. Me and 12,000 of my closest friends. No joke! I finished with a time of 30:53 which is respectable. And you can probably shave a minute off of that time if you knock out the parts where I had to walk around some of the turns or under the Mass Ave underpass because there were just too many people to run! I ran with a crew from the office down the street, most of whom I have worked with in the past.[hence why the t-shirt I'm wearing doesn't jive with the office name at which I am currently employed. I know all you detectives out there would be curious as to that issue] Here are a few shots from the night. Of course the best part of the evening is after the race when all 12,000 people cram into every bar in the city and get the party started!
4. Not sure if any of you have heard the new Coldplay album Viva la Vida as of yet, because if you haven't you definitely should. Whether you like it or not doesn't really matter I guess, but if you want to read an amazing review of it, including a song by song breakdown on par with Chris Berman breaking down the Sunday afternoon games on ESPN, check out the post that MWP did last week by clicking here. He really did a great job.
5. A good friend of Kel's family, TJ, just got hitched a few months back and bought a house in the greater Ft. Lauderdale area. The place is a bit of a fixer-upper, okay...it needs a lot of work, and TJ decided to start a blog to share the process with everyone. I've linked to it in my sidebar and you can also get to it by clicking here. Check out it...he's called it It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere. Lot's of good stories up there already and a slew of photos you can check out.
6. This past Friday we made a rare early morning departure for NJ in order to arrive before Tommy and Heather's engagement party extraordinare. They rented out a hall, blew up more balloons than you can shake a stick at, and everyone had a great time. There must have been 100+ people there as the two families came together. I'll create an album for the photos later tonight once I sift through and edit. Lot's of good "keepers" on the memory card, that's for sure! Too bad I don't have any of Papple when he tossed his cookies, not once, but twice in the same night. Made for a difficult time out on the bike the following day, ha buddy? Check back for the link to the photos later [Most likely on Tueday]. UPDATE: Photos are up and ready for your viewing pleasure. Follow this link or click on the Tommy and Heather folder to the right. And be sure you don't miss the second page!
7. On this coming Saturday the 95th riding of the Tour de France kicks off. Yet again there is no clear favorite in the field and it really will be any mans race at this point. There are a lot of issues going on in cycling now, many of which you could probably care less about, [ Contador not being allowed to race, race organizers squabbling, Landis being officially stripped of the 2006 titltle] but one thing is clear; never before has the Tour needed a squeaky clean race more than this year. I hope that the riders step up to the challenge and police one another to make sure that no one is getting an unfair advantage. For these 3 weeks in July the eyes of the cycling world, and even people who aren't huge cycling fans, focus on the Tour. Hopefully they'll get to see its pagentry, teamwork and skill instead of its blood-dopping and pill popping side. I know that watching the race every night on the Tivo really gets me fired up to be out on the bike the next day so be sure to tune into OLN [now called Versus] and watch a stage or two!
8. Our good friend Louie at Tuck-a-Buck has informed me that he'll be trying to ressurect his defunct blog over the next few weeks. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but I won't hold my breath! Follow that link and you can see for yourself.
9. Lastly, at Tommy's party on Friday night I spoke to a whole slew of people who told me they were regular readers here at KN.com, just that they never leave comments. Either they don't understand how or are just too nervous. So...comment away people. You know who you are. The comments make this place a heck of a lot more lively!