Friends Told Me I Needed a Blog

Revised Sports Thinking

2011-04-02T20:48:00.005-04:00

So, there was a great post on the Puck Daddy Yahoo Sports blog today about the way NHL fans (and probably most other fans of major league sports in North America) overvalue the end of year tournament (playoffs) instead of the long haul through the ebb and flow of the season. This was the key quote:

There's this illogic in North America that places the importance of a season not on the 82-game, six-month slog of a schedule, but rather on a 28-game-at-most, needlessly drawn out crapshoot of a lottery. One which rewards luck rather than an ability to win, a lot, for more than half a year. I'm not sure what it is that makes people think the playoffs are so much more important than the regular season.

I agree with this. Sure, the Stanley Cup is the ultimate prize in the sport of hockey, but let's not short-change the President's Trophy. It's a significant accomplishment. The best team over the course of six months may not be the best in the six (or more like ten) week tournament in the Spring. Vancouver fans find themselves saying the same thing this year that I did last year: President's Trophy nice...Hoping for Stanley Cup.

What's interesting to me is that this isn't the case in the sport of soccer. Ask a Manchester United fan if they would rather win the Barclay's Premier League or the League Cup (which is somewhat akin to a tournament) and I am pretty sure the Premier League title is the one they want. Maybe the better example in England is the FA Cup, but I think the result - what they prefer to win - is the same. This is the same in Spain's La Liga, or the Dutch Eredivisie, or any other league around the world.

Again, I get that all North American sports crown their champions in a post-season of some kind. But that phrase is telling: post-season. We should put a little more value on the "season." After all, it is where the fans spend more money - 41 home games versus a max of 16 in the post-season.

Dust Bunnies Be Gone! Maybe?

2011-02-10T23:53:00.005-05:00

For most of the last year or so, I have been enjoying the lower profile, simpler interface of my Posterous blog. Once in a while, I think about writing longer form posts and maybe that this blog is the forum for that. I should probably get back in that habit. There are plenty of things to talk about:

Like what does the future at work hold, given the whole transformation thing a happening?

Or

What about the future of Crystal Palace Baltimore which announced in December that they will not be fielding a team during the NASL 2011 season?

Or

Will the Capitals break their season-long funk in time to make the playoffs memorable, or will I be destined to watch, yet again, as another team skates Lord Stanley's Chalice around a rink in June?

Or

Is it really true that some people don't appreciate the all-time, epic, awesomeness of this song?:

We'll see if I can figure it out.

#raco Chicago is underway.

2010-08-24T09:48:00.001-04:00

via twidroid

Posted via email from Briefly Mused Upon

Spain 1 Netherlands 0 aet

2010-07-11T17:20:00.001-04:00

In my mind, BBC Sport's Alan Hansen summed up today's World Cup Final the best.

"I'm all for teams going into matches with a gameplan, but I just don't think there is any place in football for the way the Netherlands approached this match. They kicked the opposition up and down the pitch for 120 minutes - but in the end, Andres Iniesta ensured World Cup glory went the right way, to Spain."

Posted via email from Briefly Mused Upon

2010-2011 Calder Cup Champions

2010-06-14T22:09:00.001-04:00

The Hershey Bears won their second consecutive Calder Cup as champions of the American Hockey League tonight. It's their third tittle in 5 years. One day, this success has to pay off for the Washington Capitals. Right?

Posted via web from Briefly Mused Upon

Robotic Avatar for Meetings

2010-05-19T20:53:00.004-04:00

via neatorama.com

I think I can really kind of use this. You connect to the internet and this guy leaves the charging station and goes to the meeting you aren't able to attend.

Posted via web from Briefly Mused Upon

Caps Clinch President's Trophy

2010-04-04T21:32:00.005-04:00

There is one week left in the 2009-2010 NHL regular season. There is also truth in the whole "we'll see how good we are once the playoffs start" that players, fans, and hockey writers all tend to focus on. Especially towards the end of the season. However, this moment for the 2009-2010 Washington Capitals is too important to pass up. With four games left in their schedule, the Capitals have clinched the NHL President's Trophy, awarded to the team that compiles the best record during the regular season. This trophy is coming to Washington:

So it's not the historic and shiny one that NHL teams and fans really want. That comes later. And yes, I know that NHL seasons are ultimately judged on how the next few weeks play out. However, we should pause for a moment and acknowledge that teams are as good as their record says they are. Since that's the case, nobody has been better than the Washington Capitals this regular season.

Potomac and Anacostia Rivers From Space

2010-03-17T23:10:00.003-04:00

via twitpic.com

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi is currently on the International Space Station and taking photographs and sharing them on Twitter. Here's my hometown, now free of our epic snows from February and three solid days of rain this past weekend. Needless to say, the rivers look a little off-color. (h/t to dcist.com)

Posted via web from Briefly Mused Upon

Double Epic Awesomeness

2010-02-21T17:34:00.002-05:00

via i49.tinypic.com

Washington Capitals past meet Washington Capitals present

Posted via web from Briefly Mused Upon

NARA meet Alex

2010-02-03T19:06:00.002-05:00

via youtube.com

From the NARA YouTube channel, here is last month's appearance of NARA as a category on Jeopardy. Slightly disappointing that contestants were only 3 of 5.

Posted via web from Briefly Mused Upon

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

2009-12-04T13:59:00.003-05:00

via skitch.com

Here's the draw. My reactions:

- USA got a pretty good draw with grudge match against England to open on June 12. Slovenia is decent and could present a significant challenge if the US wants to advance.
- Group G, with Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast, and North Korea looks to be the "Group of Death" this time around. Though, I think Group D can also lay claim to that a bit.
- France is the luckiest team in the whole draw, getting both South Africa and a beatable Mexico side in Group A. And given a Round of 16 match against the second side in Group B (Nigeria?) should easily advance to the quarterfinals.
- Spain's challenge from Group H is that Round of 16 match against the second place side in Group G (Portugal? Brazil?).

Now we just have to wait until June to see how it plays out.

Posted via web from Briefly Mused Upon

1909 San Francisco Trolley Dash Cam Footage (1st Person Perspective)

2009-11-28T18:50:00.002-05:00

via liveleak.com

Found on Twitter (thanks, @EinAtlanta). I could do without the trippy Techno soundtrack, but the video is neat.

Posted via web from Briefly Mused Upon

Harry Truman Night in the Central Hockey League

2009-11-20T18:11:00.003-05:00

via sports.yahoo.com

The Missouri Mavericks will host the Tulsa Oilers tonight in Central Hockey League action. It's Harry Truman night, so the Mavericks will be wearing these jerseys and will auction them off after the game to benefit the Harry S Truman Library and Museum. I think I want one.

Posted via web from Briefly Mused Upon

Droid Review: One Week In

2009-11-15T16:44:00.001-05:00

So, here's my Motorola Droid review. I've had the Droid phone since its launch last Friday and have some initial thoughts.

First -- and let me get this out of way -- I've watched with a fair amount of jealousy the rise of the iPhone. Most of my reluctance to join that crowd was a result of not wanting to leave the Verizon network. So, I'm predisposed to wanting the Droid to be fabulous. That, and I paid for the Droid. (Take that FTC).

Where to begin? Aesthetically, I like the design though I recognize that it might be a little industrial for some. It feels comfortable for me. As a phone, this works as well as every other cellphone that I have owned. So there's that. What wins me over is the whole integration with Google. Since the Droid runs Google's Android operating system, it makes sense that integration with Gmail and Google Calendar (as well as all other Google services) is very smooth. The Droid is always synched with Google's servers. That's a clear winner for someone like me, who uses google for plenty of services (like, hey, this blog since Blogger is owned by Google). There is a community of developers working on writing applications for the Android OS that bring cool things, such as the ability to stream Pandora on my entire 35 mile commute. Yes, I know that the iPhone has about ten times as many applications in their store. But as the Verizon ads say, Apple has full control of that environment and has blocked certain applications from appearing. Since Google has committed to making and keeping Android open, that's not a problem here. Good applications will be available, especially now that there is a compelling piece of hardware on which to run them.

Linking to Google's services also means that the Droid incorporates all of the navigation features that are in Google maps. This is a really awesome feature. Simply speak the name of the destination and the onboard GPS system goes to work to plot the route. As you approach your destination, the Droid switches to Google's Street View. Does it replace a full-blown navigation system, like my Garmin Nuvi? Perhaps it does.

Bottom line. It works great for me. And anyone on the Verizon network should probably think about getting one if they want to enter the smartphone market without leaving Verizon. Is it better than the iPhone? I don't know since I have no real experience with the iPhone. I'll fall back on the very well written and more in-depth than you can possibly need review written by Andy Ihnatko for the Chicago Sun Times: "But the Droid and the iPhone are pretty damned close. If none of the above advantages sway you, you could buy either phone and be equally happy."

Interesting Video: "Trillions" from Maya

2009-11-09T21:24:00.004-05:00

Trillions from MAYAnMAYA on Vimeo.

Obama and Federal Records?

2009-11-03T20:54:00.003-05:00

via flickr.com

According to the caption on this photo from the White House Flickr feed, Obama was jogging past boxes at the SBA's "Metropolitan Archives in Hyattsville, Md." Me, I'm just wondering if the President stopped to ponder the disposition of those records.

Posted via web from Briefly Mused Upon

This Is The Droid I've Been Looking For

2009-10-29T10:08:00.002-04:00

via news.vzw.com

So, I can't resist the easy joke. Next week, I hope to be acquiring said device. Full report later.

Posted via web from Briefly Mused Upon

Opera in the Outfield

2009-09-15T20:50:00.001-04:00

Saturday evening, I attended the Washington National Opera's simulcast of their season opening performance of The Barber of Seville at Nationals Park. I was a little concerned about how the acoustics would actually sound in the cavernous stadium, but was pleased that the sound quality was very good. The video quality of the simulcast was also very good. Here's an example. I recorded this video from my perch in left field as Placido Domingo, General Director of the Washington National Opera, welcomed almost 20,000 of us to the performance.

I enjoyed the performance and found the whole experience a very pleasant way to spend an evening. The price was certainly right - Free. The weather was nearly perfect - cloudy and cool with slight humidity. And I got a Ben's Half Smoke at intermission. Heck, I'm already ready for next season. I'll leave professional reviews of the performance to others.

One more video - this was recorded immediately after the performance and includes the cast curtain call. With apologies for the poor camera work.

Again, just a wonderful performance and a great evening. Kudos to the Washington National Opera on a job well done.

I've Seen The Future and Where are the Books?

2009-09-05T10:29:00.003-04:00

This article from the Boston Globe is getting plenty of attention in the archival circles and social networks that I follow. The plan is that Cushing Academy will replace its library and collection of books with e-readers and other electronic versions of texts from the Internet. Now, I love my Kindle as much as the next guy but I'm not really sure how I feel about this. It's an interesting decision, given that they are only purchasing 18 e-readers. That strikes me as a pretty low number for a school to be purchasing. Officials at Cushing point to statistics that demonstrate that one day last Spring, only 48 books were checked out and 30 of those were "children's books." What does that mean, Harry Potter?

Someone looking closely at my Library Thing account would notice that while the majority of the 600 titles are actual books, there are a percentage of titles that I possess in audio or Kindle formats. So, I'm not locked into supporting the book format and believe that it is destined to be replaced by something. And that could certainly be the Kindle format, digital rights management issues aside. But are we there yet? Probably not. The students quoted in the article don't seem to be too alarmed by this decision and actually seem to think it points towards the future. I'll defer to them - they are the ones that will feel the impact of this decision most directly. I'm certain there will be follow-up stories about how the school year goes at Cushing.

Though I will say the part of the story where the reference desk in the library is being replaced by a "$50,000 coffee shop that will include a $12,000 cappuccino machine" is most impressive. I think I really need that cappuccino machine.

On to Austin

2009-08-09T21:38:00.004-04:00

Well, I've finally got around to blogging again. This time it is in advance of the 2009 annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists that will be held in Austin later this week. I'm heading down tomorrow. As a member of the program committee, I'm fairly confident that this year's program will have enough for everyone. I also would like to think that the program is sufficiently broad enough to cover the wide range of interests in the archival community. All I know, is that my week will be full of meetings and some fun social outings. Of course, all will be covered by my Twitter account and others using the hashtag #saa09. Heck, I might even get a photo or two up on Flickr.

And here's an update on another thing I have been thinking about. In an effort to keep this blog from becoming purely a collection of interesting and random items that I find on the Internet, I've set up a Posterous account. Hopefully, I'll keep this blog for longer posts and will use Posterous for that random collection of stuff. We'll see how that goes.

Shift Happens

2009-07-18T21:42:00.002-04:00

Another compelling video that I just ran across with data from 2008. There's a discussion about it at the Shift Happens wiki.

Two stats stood out for me in this video. First, for students starting a 4-year technical degree... half of what they learn in their first year will be outdated by their third year. Second, the top ten in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004. How can our students keep up when the pedagogical model is broken. This is theme that Donald Tapscott keeps brining up in his book Grown Up Digital.

Plenty of food for thought there. Enough heavy thought for a Saturday evening.

State Department Town Hall

2009-07-14T20:03:00.004-04:00

So here's a video of a recent State Department Town Hall meeting where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with employees and they could ask a variety of questions. Anyone who follows my twitter feed knows that I have been ranting about IT infrastructure in my agency. Here's a chance for someone to ask the Secretary of State about Firefox. That question is at the 26:30 mark, though there are some other good questions in this video. And let me give high marks to State for making this video a) available and b) very easy to embed.

Didn't I See This Movie?

2009-07-13T23:39:00.003-04:00

Like 25 years ago, or something:

USA-CHINA PR 0:0 a.e.t 5:4 PSO

2009-07-09T21:12:00.007-04:00

Ten years ago, Brandi Chastain became a household name and an iconic moment in American sports history was born. Never was there more hand-wringing from middle aged sportswriters (mostly male) over a sports bra. FIFA's official match report somehow fails to convey the drama of the 32nd match of the 1999 Women's World Cup.

I actually remember having been at a wedding the day of the Final and having to record the match to watch later. 90, 185 packed the Rose Bowl as the US Women's National Team captured their second World Cup title.

Crystal Palace USA 0 - Real Maryland 1

2009-06-29T23:40:00.002-04:00

I spent a beautiful Monday evening (with friend and blog commentator the OC) in Catonsville at UMBC Stadium to watch the USL-2 match between hometown Crystal Palace USA and visiting Real Maryland, making the 30 mile trek up from Montgomery County. Here are the highlights:

That would be none. Oh, maybe the weather. Again, a beautiful evening. Too bad not more than 100 people made it out to the match. And half of them were rooting for Real Maryland. Somehow, I ended up sitting in the "visitor's" section being surrounded by Real fans who took the game rather seriously.

Palace lost despite playing the last 15 minutes with a two-man advantage as Real Maryland had two players sent off. Palace spent the better part of the final stages of the match generating some chances and forcing Real MD into making some good saves, but were not able to level. Players made bad decisions with the ball and the team was woefully inept at finding the open spaces that were there - again Real MD was playing with nine men.

I've reached several conclusions about this franchise that I have been following for three seasons. First, the coaching is just poor. They never get the tactics right. Certainly this season marked a transition as the stars of previous campaigns have moved on. They don't seem to have built any chemistry at all and seem content on playing Route 1 football. The roster doesn't appear to have the talent to string any passes together. Now part of that may be the pitch...

Which brings me to my second point: the game-day experience is most lacking. I think the venue is terrible. First, the pitch is that rubberized artificial turf and is covered with lines: red ones for field hockey, white ones for lacrosse, blue ones for whatever else and yellow ones for the soccer. I find it very distracting to watch. Second, the bleacher seating is hard concrete and very uncomfortable. Third, the music from the PA system is way too loud (Get off my lawn!). The experience as a fan is just not good.

My last conclusion is more of a marketing/business one. After three years, this team still doesn't know what to call themselves. Their website and promotional materials are branded Crystal Palace USA, but the PA system refers to them as Crystal Palace Baltimore. Sure, that might be a minor point, but it's indicative of some fundamental confusion. In two weeks, Palace USA will welcome the parent club, Crystal Palace UK for a friendly. And in the most ridiculous thing I've heard, they are going to be playing this very highly anticipated match about 90 minutes south of their normal venue in Waldorf. It's not as if playing in Waldorf is going to get them more fans - local residents aren't making the reverse 90 minute trip to watch Palace play the Western Massachusetts Pioneers. So what exactly is the point of playing in Waldorf. Alienating current fans? Then job well done.

74 Years of "Nice, Bright Colors"

2009-06-22T19:57:00.002-04:00

Kodak issued a press release this morning announcing that it is retiring its 74-year run of Kodachrome color film. Kodak first released Kodachrome as commercial color film in 1935 and they have put up a tribute on their blog that includes a link to a slideshow of wonderful photographs taken on Kodachrome film. The press release also indicates that the last few rolls of film will be donated to the George Eastman House.

Certainly one of the few commercially mass produced products with a top ten pop hit written about it.

Nerds v. Jocks

2009-06-21T18:52:00.002-04:00

Ana Marie Cox dubbed it "Nerdprom2" via her Twitter page. It was the annual White House Radio & Television Correspondents' Dinnerheld on Friday and John Hodgman was the entertainment headliner. His remarks were the high point of the weekend. Well worth a look, so, enjoy:

Pete Hoekstra is an Idiot!

2009-06-18T20:15:00.002-04:00

Yes, I'm a big fan of Twitter. The tweets from Iranians (#iranelection) and the movement by users of Twitter to go green are examples of how Twitter can be used to advocate for change and to keep people informed. But, like everything, there are people who just don't get it. Today's case in point is a Republican congressman from Michigan. Yeah, he's got his pulse on the whole twitter thing:

In a nanosecond, Hoekstra has gone from politician to viral Internet meme. Daniel Kurtzman's Political Humor Blog explains: To Hoekstra now has its own definition, which is "to whine using grandiose exaggerations and comparisons." And its now got it's own blog. Let's all play: "I watched the Penguins win the Stanley Cup, now I know how the citizens of Atlanta must have felt when General Sherman marched in."

Revolution 2.0

2009-06-16T20:59:00.003-04:00

This week, I'm transfixed by the Iranian protests that are appearing on all types of social networks from Twitter to Facebook to Flickr and YouTube. There is real power here and the Iranian people know how to use the tools. Remember this video I posted a while back. When you read stories about the US State Department urging Twitter to reschedule maintenance, one has to wonder about the Geopolitical ramifications of it all. Here's just one example of the compelling kinds of video that are being distributed.

Regardless of how this uprising(?), revolution(?), movement plays out, new chapters in political science books about protest movements are being written. Information is power. As @jkerrstevens said on Twitter: "If you are a dictator/repressive regime and have a young population that has access to the web... you're in deep sh*t" True. It does make me wonder how the events in Tiananmen Square 20 years ago would have been different if they had access to the same technological tools.

"Tell the World"

2009-06-04T23:36:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that this was 20 years ago:

This is certainly one of the most indelible images of the 20th century. On Twitter, several of my archival colleagues shared this link to the New York Times Lens blog. It shows this historical moment from a street-level perspective.

In this era where the future of the traditional, mainstream media is far from certain, I still think that there will always be a home for good photojournalism. I don't think I've ever really forgotten this image.

Helvetireader

2009-05-30T18:22:00.004-04:00

So, here's something I found this week that makes me appreciate my Google reader a little more. First, everyone should have seen the film Helvetica. It's the best movie about a font ever. Very informative. Now, along comes a Firefox grease monkey script called Helvetireader that transforms your Google reader into clean and simple Helvetica goodness.

Click on the picture to see a full sized screen capture. Pretty nice.

Big Day for American Judiciary

2009-05-26T20:47:00.002-04:00

Today was a big day for watchers of the American judicial system. First, President Barack Obama announced the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter who is stepping down from the Court at the end of the current term. In my opinion, this is a great choice.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of California (SCOCA?) announced their decision on proposition 8, the controversial ballot amendment on same-sex marriage that passed last fall. Reading that 6-1 decision, I find myself recalling the SCOTUS 7-1 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson and the famous dissent from Justice John Marshall Harlan with the great line: "In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law." Today's case brought another sharp dissenter, Justice Carlos R. Moreno:

Requiring discrimination against a minority group on the basis of a suspect classification strikes at the core of the promise of equality that underlies our California Constitution... (The SCOCA decision) not only allows same-sex couples to be stripped of the right to marry that this court recognized . . . it places at risk the state constitutional rights of all disfavored minorities.

Harlan also wrote in his dissent "In my opinion, the judgment this day rendered will, in time, prove to be quite as pernicious as the decision made by this tribunal in the Dred Scott Case." I think Moreno might feel the same way.

Melt the Ice, Turn to the Pitch

2009-05-13T21:55:00.003-04:00

Since the Caps folded, it is now time to lick my wounds and return to my summer pastime - following the third season of the USL-2 Crystal Palace USA. In the five games that Palace has played, they have garnered 7 points and find themselves tied with Wilmington and Harrisburg at the top of the table.

This weekend, Palace plays twice, so I'll make the trek up to UMBC and get back to following them. After all, I have to continue to justify the placement of this blog on their website under "coverage." News today is that former Palace standout Matthew Mbuta (now playing for the NY Red Bulls in the MLS) is being loaned to CPUSA for the two matches this weekend.

Society for Geek Advancement

2009-05-11T17:05:00.002-04:00

I watch/read/follow nearly all of the people in this video.

More here.

Why, Yes, The MPAA Gets Fair Use

2009-05-08T20:16:00.004-04:00

The US Copyright Office has just wrapped up their periodic review of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. One of the organizations that had an interest in testifying was obviously the Motion Picture Association of America. But they still appear to only be interested in limiting the rights of the public. Here's a video that sums up their position:

MPAA shows how to videorecord a TV set from timothy vollmer on Vimeo.

In this video, the MPAA actually argues that educators who want to use copyright protected content from a DVD in the classroom (clearly allowed under Fair Use) should set up a camcorder and record the content by aiming the camera at a TV. This enables the content to be copied without reverse engineering the copy protection on the DVD and getting a digital copy. It's almost too good to be true. I love the earnestness of the narrator. Just unbelievable. More at Ars Technica.

Official White House Flickr Stream

2009-04-29T20:55:00.006-04:00

The White House has just launched their own Flickr Stream with all photos under a Creative Commons attribution generic 2.0 license. It's a nice variety of pictures of the President and his administration. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Though, it really is the wrong sport. President Obama needs to come out to Verizon Center. Maybe wearing some red or something.

So, I guess, somebody still reads newspapers.

They still don't quite grasp the concept of tagging - as the only tags on the account are "dc", "usa", and "washington." But it is a start. And a great way to make these available by putting them into the web 2.0 sites that people (and even archival institutions) are using.

In Error

2009-04-28T21:34:00.006-04:00

Ignore previous post. Something about not realizing the potential and being scarred by history. Unlike my friend and blog commentator, the OC:

the OC said...

Caps in Seven! Go Ovie!

The Past is no more...
let the real series begin tonight.

Full props there. Last year, Sergei Fedorov scored the division title wining goal. I forgave him for past transgressions (see, Stanley Cup Final 1998, Game 3). The grizzled vet came through again tonight.

And Thus, It Repeats. A Post About Hockey.

2009-04-22T22:22:00.002-04:00

When writing about the hockey playoffs, this year was supposed to be different. I would write about success, not abject failure. But, as a Washington Capitals fan, I'm doomed to live with that failure. The team is about to fold in the playoffs. They are down 3-1 in a best of 7 series and hope is fleeting - if she isn't already on the last flight out of Casablanca. It's pretty much the same script as it always has been. Beaten by a lower seeded team with a "hot goalie." Go back twenty years ago and all that changes are the names. It is season, after season, after season of gut-wrenching disappointment. Now, just like that slow-motion car accident you can't stop or turn away from, it's happening again. And it still cuts to the core.

One of the differences now is that there is a wide range of Capitals blogs that are there to share the experience. And the pain. Stephen Pepper eloquently wrote about this on Japer's Rink prior to Monday's game:

We're so close to something better left unknown. The team is on the verge of a shocking and stupendous collapse... This feels all too familiar...
Slowly and methodically, I put to rest the regions of my hockey mind bludgeoned by two decades of disappointment as a Capitals fan. I assured myself that these were not the hard work and hard luck Caps of old, nor were they the supremely talented but incohesive teams of the mercifully brief Jaromir Jagr era...
But all that was the regular season. And several Caps teams before this one have authored a similar, supremely impressive campaign. Only to flame out come April. All the hypothesizing and analysis all season long seems of little consequence today...
When I reflect on my two decade experiences of Caps fandom, the phrase which first comes to mind is "jilted lover." Time and again though, I leap at the promise of change, of redemption, though history suggests nothing but another stomp on the heart.

Truer words have rarely been written. It was really supposed to be different this time. We had better talent and better coaching than the days of yore. But in the days immediately prior to this current series starting, I had very uncomfortable flashbacks to those crushing disappointments of days gone by. So, I'm not really surprised. My problem is that I just can't find the stoic reserve I need to not pay attention. After all, it's only a game.

Years ago, when writing for my college paper, I compared the franchise to the Brooklyn Dodgers what with the whole "wait until next year." Now, I realize the fallacy in that. The Dodgers only had to wait roughly 15 years from when they started being good to when they captured the 1955 World Series. I've been waiting a quarter of a century. And it shows no signs of changing anytime soon.

Meanwhile, I have a ticket to Friday night's game 5. I'll sit there with thousands of other red-clad fans and see what happens. We'll hope against hope. Maybe start purging those bad memories. Or add another layer of scars onto an already scarred psyche.

MARAC Charleston

2009-04-15T18:08:00.002-04:00

I have arrived in Charleston for this Spring's meeting. Updates here (perhaps a live blog or two) and via Twitter. Now, just getting my bearings straight and looking for food options.

NHL Playoffs Round 1 - Caps v. Rangers

2009-04-13T20:24:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again. The NHL playoffs start on Wednesday, when I will be in Charleston, WV for the Spring MARAC meeting. I'll be blogging more about MARAC later in the week. Tonight, it's about the NHL, the Washington Capitals, and their attempt to capture hockey's holy grail. I haven't blogged much about this season (or anything for that matter) but this season was special. The Caps set team records for most points and wins in a season and I have been privileged to watch Alexander Ovechkin defend his Hart Trophy from last season with another MVP worthy season. He simply remains the greatest hockey player in the world today. End of discussion.

So the Caps have been quite successful this season. But championships are not won in the regular season and, as Caps fans know all too well, that success does not necessarily translate into the postseason. Now, round 1 is against the NY Rangers. I'm leery of that matchup. And why might a team that has been so successful struggle when it really matters. Because they are the Caps. Senior writer for the Caps Mike Vogel wrote about it on his blog today. And I have been replaying this 1986 series over in my head for a couple of weeks now. As Vogel describes:

Back in 1985-86, the Caps put together the best season of their history to that point. They piled up 50 wins (50-23-7) and 107 points to set franchise standards in both categories, standards that stood alone until this season. In those days, divisional playoffs preceded the conference finals; a team had to get out of its division to play for the (Prince of Wales) conference championship and the right to meet the Clarence Campbell Conference champion to play for the Stanley Cup. The Caps finished second in the Patrick Division, and they took out the third-place New York Islanders in the first round. The Rangers finished below .500 (36-38-6) during the regular season, but they upset the division champion Flyers (110 points) in the first round, so the Caps and Rangers were lined up to play for the division title...

And then he recounts the six game series. I remember all those games like they happened last week. Brian MacLellan for NYR in OT in game 1. The resounding Capitals wins in games 2 and 3. The game 4 collapse, leading to losses in games 5 and 6. The end. And crushing disappointment in the face of far too many college classmates from New York. Vogel concludes:

Despite icing the best team in franchise history, a team that set club marks, a team that finished second in the league in goals against during the regular season, Washington lost out to a club that finished 29 points behind it during the regular season.

"This year we worked extra hard to get here," said Laughlin. "and our goal at the start of the season was the Stanley Cup. I think in years past it was the Stanley Cup but it was a sight a little far to be expected.

"This time the Stanley Cup was in our grasp, and we actually had a chance. Everybody in the organization believed, every player believed we had a chance to win the Cup, so that's going to make the summer a lot longer, knowing we had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and didn't take advantage of it."

This series may turn out differently. But there are eerie parallels to that one. Starting Wednesday, we'll see if the script turns out differently.

Congrats To Boston University

2009-04-11T23:53:00.001-04:00

NCAA Men's Hockey Champions. BU defeated Miami of Ohio 4-3 in what some are already calling a game for the ages. BU scored twice in the final minute of play to force overtime. Once in OT, BU got a break off of a deflection and scored the game winner.

It was great to be in Verizon Center for the both Thursday's semifinals and tonight's final, even if it was in Section 405 Row Q. And by the way, Row Q is the top row of the section. So yes, I was in the very last row. But had a pretty good view nonetheless. The photo above is a screen capture from my flip video camera. I had my flip video camera running during the big moments at the end of the game. Now, to edit that video and post it somewhere.

Why Am I Not Surprised?

2009-04-02T21:19:00.002-04:00

Today's big news on the internet is that a University of Melbourne study has found that employees who were allowed to spend 20 percent or less of their time at work surfing the Internet for personal use are more productive than those that don't. One of the conclusions is that "short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days work, and as a result, increased productivity."

So there you have it. Proof that organizations that spend millions of dollars a year on web blocking software just don't have a clue. Improper use of technology is always a management/employee supervision issue, not a technological one.

Maryland, My Maryland

2009-03-26T17:35:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was Maryland Day, so this post may be a day late. Here's the famous state song, famous for two things. One, being set to the tune of O Tannenbaum. The second for being actually a pretty bloody song. The lyrics are a poem written in 1861 by James Ryder Randall in response to the Union occupation of Baltimore. It's famous for the opening line: "The despot's heel is on thy shore..." and for the later cry to "avenge the patriotic gore that flecked the streets of Baltimore."

Maryland House Bill 1241 (link to PDF of bill text) proposes to change the lyrics to far different version that adopts a poem written by a retired school teacher in 1894. I guess we don't want to spurn the Northern scum anymore.

Mission Madness!

2009-03-25T20:28:00.002-04:00

So, this might belong on Brave Astronaut's blog, but since it's web 2.0ish, I'm taking it. NASA (again, the Federal Agency that consistently is doing neat things on the web) has put up a NCAA style bracket to identify the winner of Mission Madness 2009.

Who you got? I think Apollo 11 has to be a serious contender, but it didn't have a movie with Tom Hanks like Apollo 13 did. And how about our plucky little Mars Pathfinder that twittered from the red planet until, well it's only in hibernation for the Martian Winter right? Or how about Freedom 7. Maybe Voyager I and II. You decide.

Road Trip Idea

2009-03-17T21:29:00.002-04:00

The next time I'm heading to upstate New York (too bad MARAC Chautauqua was last spring) I'm going to have to stop by the Strong National Museum of Play. Not necessarily for the National Toy Hall of Fame, though that is probably worth a visit. Instead, I really, really want to stop in on the part of the museum that is launching tomorrow, the National Center for the History of Electronic Games.

Their collecting policy:

The Center is actively seeking additional examples of games, game platforms, handheld-game systems, toys that combine digital and traditional play, and supporting material of all types, including other game-inspired consumer products, packaging, advertising, historical records, and business and personal papers related to the design and production of electronic games and their use.

The Center encourages inquiries from individuals and organizations that have important electronic-games-related material that merits a permanent home where it can help inform future generations.

The neatest thing is that some of the collection will be playable by "researchers." So, I guess I can test myself on things I spent a great deal of time playing, like this:

And this:

Oh, and the Center is not going to forgot other things that I spent way too many 9 volt batteries on:

My thumbs hurt from just looking at those buttons again.

This is an interesting archival story because of the preservation challenges inherent in maintaing these electronic games. The Center's website notes that the preservation work is being carried out LC's NDIIPP and "the collaborative Preserving Virtual Worlds Project funded by NDIIPP at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Stanford University, the University of Maryland, and Rochester Institute of Technology." In addition, the Center has received IMLS grants to fully catalog their collection and place the catalog online. Now, if only they could make the games playable online...

Compact Disc Turns 30

2009-03-09T23:04:00.000-04:00

Here's a technology anniversary worth nothing. The CD turned 30 years old yesterday. It was introduced by Philips Electronics on March 8, 1979. To date, an estimated 240 billion discs have been sold. That's plenty of CDs filing up home entertainment media centers and perhaps, archives. Of course, the bigger question is how many of those CDs contain formats that are inaccessible to modern computers.

The BBC has a story (and the above image) about the early development of the CD, written for the 25th anniversary, relating the story about how the size of a CD was standardized at 12cm to ensure that a complete recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony could fit on one CD. The first production CD player hit the market in 1982 and that was the beginning of the end for the standard LP turntable.

Now, it appears that the CD as a format is starting to show its age. I'm not sure if the format has another 30 years left in it.

Season 3: Crystal Palace FC USA

2009-03-08T11:25:00.000-04:00

Before I picked up a bunch of followers from the information management community, this blog also covered the exploits of local USL-2 soccer team, Crystal Palace FC USA. In fact, I'm still listed on their website as a "blog" covering the team. For the uninitiated, USL-2 is the third level of soccer in this country - which equates it with Double AA baseball. So, it's filled with some prospects looking to move up in the soccer world, some players that simply get the most out of their ability and local favorites. All of which you will find on the Palace roster.

Anyway, I've renewed my season ticket plan for this upcoming season. This marks the third season and I'll be covering most of their matches with exceptions for obvious conflicts. Like, the April 17 home opener conflicting with MARAC's Spring meeting in Charleston, West Virginia. I'm kind of committed to that event in lieu of watching Palace.

Crystal Palace (and note that all of my past Palace coverage can be accessed through the label Crystal Palace USA), embarks on their third season with some serious roster questions as both leading scorer Gary Brooks and flashy winger Matthew Mbuta have left the squad to pursue opportunities. Mbuta is on the roster of the New York Red Bull, who Palace unceremoniously dumped out of the US Open Cup in the most memorable Palace match to date. So there is a fair question of where the goals will come from. Palace has filled in some of the gaps with signings of local players and some from a connection to Bermuda, bringing in a couple of players from the Bermuda Hogges club.

Last season was notorious for a lack of discipline, as Palace earned 37 yellow cards and 5 red cards in 20 matches. The four match run in the US Open Cup saw 14 yellows and 4 red cards (including one ejection for Coach Medd). From my seat, it struck me that the team was on the wrong side of the line between aggressive and dirty. Also, the tactics were off as the team consistently took hurried free kicks and played route one, long ball right up the pitch. Teams with solid defenders with height could easily shut down Palace. But Palace kept trying and failing. Very frustrating to watch.

This week Palace returns to the pitch with the first exhibition friendly scheduled for Thursday night in Annapolis against New York Red Bull. We'll see what this season brings and if they can improve upon last season 4th place finish.

Amazon Kindle 2 Review

2009-02-28T14:02:00.002-05:00

Anyone following my Twitter feed knows that I did my part to stimulate the economy by purchasing the Amazon Kindle 2 earlier this month. It arrived on Wednesday and I have now spent a little bit of time reading on the Kindle and have a few thoughts.

There you have it. Complete with my first purchase, Don Tapscott's Grown Up Digital. The first thing that struck me was that this device is very easy to use. Simple navigation through a book is accomplished by using the "next page" and "prev page" buttons on both the left and right edges of the device. The screen resolution is sharp and really does a great job of replicating a traditional printed book. The Kindle is also a comfortable device to use.

Part of the reason for the high cost of the device is that you are purchasing a lifetime 3G (via Sprint) connection to the web and the Amazon Kindle store for books. Buying books is a simple matter of clicking and waiting mere seconds for the download to complete. You can also preview any title by downloading a small portion and "trying before you buy." Titles in the store generally cost $9.95, even for newly published books. For ten cents, you can have Amazon convert a MS .doc or a .pdf and wirelessly download it to the Kindle. As a test, I emailed a book-length .pdf (320 pages) to Amazon and it was back on my Kindle in under 5 minutes. If you don't want to spend the dime, you can email them the file and they will send it back to you in the Kindle format. You can then upload the file through a micro-USB connection. I should also point out that you can transfer content downloaded from Project Gutenburg and similar collections.

The Kindle also offers what Amazon terms an experimental feature, "text to speech" which uses a computerized voice to read the text. This is the feature that has generated the most controversy as the Authors Guild has been vocal in protesting this feature, essentially claiming that the computerized voice is a performance and violates copyright. It's a ridiculous claim that demonstrates yet another overly broad interpretation of copyright protection. The sad part of this story is that Amazon released a statement on Friday that caved into the demands of the Authors Guild. Here's a link to Larry Lessig's blog on this very subject.

Bottom line: I think this is a great device and I can imagine using it for a long time. The ability to preview any book before committing to purchase is a great little added benefit. As an archivist, I'm concerned about the proprietary nature of the Amazon format. Though, like another ubiquitous device founded on a proprietary format (Apple's containerization of the open .aac specification via FairPlay for their iPod line), I think that widespread adoption will lead to both opening of the device and an ecosystem of secondary solutions that support users.

More NASA Crowdsourcing

2009-02-21T17:48:00.003-05:00

If there is one Federal agency that has embraced social media in a wide variety of ways, it would have to be NASA. From a great powerpoint presentation that explains why the agency should embrace Web 2.0 (available on Slideshare) to the way they utilized Twitter to build a community around the Mars Phoenix, they have been at the forefront in exploring different ways to use Web 2.0 kinds of applications.

Part of this might be a perception within NASA headquarters that Web 2.0 kinds of activities will help to the Agency relevant to the next generation. The most recent example is opening up the research being conducted by the Hubble Space Telescope. Until March 1, anyone will have the opportunity to determine what the Hubble should look at next. Here's a snapshot of the website with the voting options:

Currently, Interacting Galaxies Arp 274 is in the lead. Though I've voted for Star-Forming Region NGC 6334. Either way, this is another great way that NASA is reaching out to a new generation using Web 2.0. Good for them.

Traffic Jam - in Space

2009-02-12T20:51:00.001-05:00

This was interesting. Apparently, a US Iridium satellite has crashed into a defunct Russian satellite in orbit, about 491 miles over the surface of the earth. I found this story on Engadget (and they produced the nifty "tale of the tape" image at the end of the post) and they included this pithy quote from a NASA official: "They ran into each other. Nothing has the right of way up there. We don't have an air traffic controller in space. There is no universal way of knowing what's coming in your direction." As a result, NASA is now tracking over 600 pieces of debris to see if any of that threatens other satellites or the International Space Station.

Now that the Iranians have also launched a satellite, I imagine it might be getting crowded up there and we may have more of these in the future.

Zappo's Core Values

2009-02-09T20:38:00.001-05:00

Zappo's is an on-line retailer that has managed to fully leverage Web 2.0 kinds of technologies and opportunities to grow their business. They have been very successful and certainly seemed poised to continue to move forward, regardless of the current economic climate. They are one of the highest rated companies in terms of customer service metrics.

So, why I am writing about them? I caught this post on their corporate blog where their founder outlined their core values. These are certainly insightful:

1) Deliver WOW Through Service
2) Embrace and Drive Change
3) Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4) Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5) Pursue Growth and Learning
6) Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7) Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8) Do More With Less
9) Be Passionate and Determined
10) Be Humble

As someone who is thinking a little about core values of late, this is certainly a great list and one that I think can be adopted by many. I believe that there is plenty here that is useful, regardless of your job or career. Great words to live by.

AP Still an Enemy of Fair Use

2009-02-08T20:24:00.001-05:00

Last summer, I wrote about how the Associated Press went on the offensive against bloggers that quoted more than 5 words out of AP news stories on the grounds that these blogs were infringing upon AP's copyright. The remedy from AP's perspective was to force bloggers to pay $12.50 when they wished to use quotes from the AP in posts. As I said then, they appear to not have a clue that the doctrine of Fair Use even exists. This past week, they were back in the news for demonstrating that six months haven't changed their misunderstanding of fair use and copyright.

Last week, news came out that the AP is now claiming that the iconic poster of Barack Obama was loosely based on one of their photographs. The claim is that Shepard Fairey used the AP news photograph by Mannie Garcia as the basis for his efforts. In their story, Tech Crunch placed the photograph next to the poster in this image below:

Of course, now the AP wants to be compensated for his use of their photograph. This despite the fact that the poster is significantly transformative of the original (even if we are willing to concede the point that the poster may be based on the photograph. Which I'm not willing to concede.) and clearly meets the test for Fair Use.

I'll also pass on the link to Larry Lessig's post on this subject. Since Fairey is being represented by The Stanford Center's Fair Use project, Lessig feels "constrained" at this point. I really want to hear what he has to say on this topic.

Archival Calendars

2009-02-03T22:14:00.007-05:00

Here's something that popped up recently in my Google Reader that I had never really given much thought. Under the Gregorian calendar, there are only 14 possible configuration of days, weeks, and months. 2009 is a year with 365 days that started on a Thursday. Just like:

That means for this year, a calendar from 1998, 1987, or even 1891 can be tacked up in your cube and still be accurate, with the exceptions of some holidays and phases of the moon. If you are planning ahead for 2010, years that would work include: 1999, 1993, 1982, 1971, 1943 and 1897.

Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot

2009-01-25T13:34:00.005-05:00

Today is the 250th anniversary of the birth of national poet of Scotland, Robert Burns. According to the BBC, up to 10,000 people are expected to participate in a lantern procession in Dumfries. Those going to a Burns supper tonight get to partake in haggis. If haggis is not your thing, at least partake in a toast to Burns with Scotch whisky.

That sounds like a neat little party. But the interesting thing from a web 2.0/archival perspective is the all-out push that the National Trust of Scotland is making to raise awareness of Burns and their funding efforts.

First, they are posting letters written by Burns on the anniversary of the days he wrote them at http://burnsletters.wordpress.com/. They have also established a portal to solicit contributions for the conservation and care of Burns artifacts that will be displayed in the Robert Burns birthplace museum. In a rather interesting approach to leveraging the social network Twitter, they have set up an account and promise to tweet a line of Burns poetry for every $2 donation received. Fundraising 2.0, anyone?

Here are links to the Burns page in both Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia Britannica. In somewhat related news this week, the editors of Britannica have announced that they will soon be allowing user edits to their pages. The difference with Wikipedia is that the editorial staff at Britannica will be reviewing the edits before they "go live" on the site. The claim is that this process will be completed in "under 20 minutes," though I imagine that has to be subject to the amount of edits they start to receive.

Hulu Inauguration Plugin

2009-01-19T08:53:00.002-05:00

If you happen to be on my blog instead of in front of a TV. Complete with neat countdown clock.

YouTube Current Events

2009-01-18T22:52:00.000-05:00

I have read plenty of stories about YouTube during the past week and can't really decide what to make of them. On the one hand, we've got stories that demonstrate the positive side of Web 2.0 and how more and more institutions are embracing this as a platform. These positive developments are overshadowed by a continuing heavy-handed approach to copyright that, in my opinion, stifles the progress being made.

YouTube is in the process of renegotiating deals with the major music labels. Once in place, these deals allow the music labels to share revenue with YouTube for videos they (the labels) post AND cover the licensing rights for videos that individuals users upload that may contain music that belongs to the labels. I'd conservatively estimate that oh, 80% of the videos on Youtube (heck even on my blog) contain music that I may/may not have the rights to reproduce. Late last year, talks between YouTube and Warner Music hit a snag. This has resulted in Warner Music (or YouTube, there are conflicting stories) pulling their videos from YouTube and starting to go after individuals who post videos with Warner Music, in accordance with the DMCA. Now, instead of just pulling the video down, YouTube allows the individual who uploaded the video to mute the audio track and replace it with some dreck that YouTube has already cleared.

The biggest problem here is that music labels and the RIAA, as well as other major copyright holders, continue to not understand what constitutes Fair Use. I've talked about this before and I don't see the situation getting any better.

So, you may ask, who's embracing YouTube by getting their own channels. The announcements came pretty rapidly last week with news that the US Congress and Pope Benedict were both establishing a presence on YouTube. Also, some videos from YouTube are now available for download. This has always been one of the problems with YouTube as video in the Flash format does not comply with any preservation standard.

Good week for YouTube or bad? In my quick analysis, probably a good week. As more and more users embrace the site and use the tool, the copyright problems might be easier to resolve. Let's hope so.

Official Obama Portrait

2009-01-14T20:22:00.009-05:00

Coming soon to a Federal Building near you. The Obama Transition Team released the official Obama Presidential portrait. It marks the first time that the official Presidential photo was taken with a digital camera - and they pulled out all the stops by using the state of the art Cannon EOS 5D-Mark II. Since the camera natively shoots at 21.1 megapixels, it's probably safe to assume that the record copy of the digital images meet the NARA transfer standards for digital photography.

45 Years Later

2009-01-10T20:55:00.004-05:00

Today's Baltimore Sun included a story about William Zantzinger. Zantzinger passed away last week and was buried yesterday. He was a figure made infamous by the Bob Dylan song, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll.

I can't begin to describe this any better that Dylan. So, I won't try. It just seems to me that justice was over 45 years in coming in this case.

History of the Internet Video

2009-01-07T19:54:00.006-05:00

Here's an interesting video about the early history of the Internet. What makes it even more interesting for a font/graphics geek like me (If you haven't seen Helvetica, stop reading this blog and go watch it now) is that the video uses a new graphic style called PICOL, or pictorial communications language. The video is 8 minutes or so long and worth your time. Enjoy:

History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.

Worthless NHL All-Star Game

2009-01-06T20:26:00.005-05:00

As I sit here watching the Caps and Flyers renew their rivalry, one of the stories around the league is the upcoming NHL All-star game. Fan voting has closed and the NHL has announced the starting lineups for the game. The obvious omission from the starting lineup is the greatest player on the planet, Alexander Ovechkin. So, that's one thing wrong with the game already.

Perhaps all-star games from every sport are relic of an era when we did not have 24-7 sports updates via the internet and highlights of super players in any sport were hard to come by. Now nearly every game from every sport is televised somewhere and the great plays are uploaded to YouTube.

The final thing wrong with the game is that it is just terrible. It's not hockey, as any element of physical play or defense is just absent from the game. It a figure skating exhibition by some extremely talented athletes. With some scoring thrown in. So, the final score will be something like 14-10. That's not really hockey. It's a waste of time. Therefore, I will be skipping the game on January 25. Probably a good opportunity to catch up on my Netflix queue.

Oh, and this is the mandatory archival content. Yahoo's Puck Daddy blog is reporting that the NHL is going to make classic games available via their website and is also in the process of digitizing original game sheets from as far back as the 1930s. Perhaps, they need an archivist to assist.

Happy New Year: 2009

2008-12-31T16:45:00.000-05:00

To my growing number of readers, wishing you and yours a happy, safe, and productive 2009.

In my opinion, the most important thing that happened in 2008 in the archives/libraries space was the Library of Congress Flickr project. They proved that archival and library institutions can embrace social media/web 2.0 technologies and that users will respond in a positive manner. On that note, I'll leave with an image from their Flickr collection.

Looks like a great party. Happy New Year.

Middle East Conflict Goes 2.0

2008-12-30T17:20:00.005-05:00

I learned a long time, a very long time ago, not to take sides when it comes to the Middle East. I do feel that any nuanced opinion on this issue tends to be shouted down by advocates for either side. The only interesting thing about the current heightened violence in Gaza is the confluence of social media technologies and the growth of citizen journalists. Now, people directly affected by the story have the resources to get their stories out. The mainstream media is no longer the sole vehicle for getting the story out.

In addition, the Israeli consulate in New York held a citizens press conference on Twitter this afternoon. They answered questions submitted to @israelconsulate by Twitter users. You can also follow @gazanews on Twitter to get the other side of the story.

Here is a mashup widget that displays photos from Flickr (tagged: Israel) and tweets from Twitter users that use the hashtag #askisrael:

I can only hope that these tools to allow citizens to see beyond their entrenched positions and gain a deeper understanding of each other. That's the first step on the road to peace.

A Sports Update

2008-12-27T23:02:00.006-05:00

So, I have not written about sports that much and if you'll note my introductory text on the right, I say that this blog is about "technology, sports, politics, and other stuff." Certainly I write about technology and politics, but not so much lately on the sports. Time for a long-awaited (well, at least by some) update.

First, I did purchase season tickets for Crystal Palace USA for the upcoming 2009 season. This means that I'll have my third season of blogging the fortunes of that franchise. After all, I have to still be worthy of the link to this blog from the Crystal Palace USA "media coverage" page. About the only source for information on the team in this close season has been forum postings on BigSoccer and a few emails from the organization. This means I don't know what is going on. Palace seems to be going through some kind of transition, but who knows. I'm sure that there will be some news in the spring.

Second, I should continue reporting on the greatest club tournament in the world: the UEFA Champions League. Last Friday, they held the draw for the quarterfinals. The ties are: Chelsea-Juventus, Villarreal-Panathinaikos, Sporting Lisbon-Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid-Porto, Lyon-Barcelona, Real Madrid-Liverpool, Arsenal-Roma, and Inter Milan-Manchester United. Ties will be played February 24/25 and March 10/11. This season, Barcelona is dominating La Liga in Spain and is really playing some attractive football. I'd have to say that they are the slight favorites in the competition. I think there are two ties that stand out in the quarterfinals. First, Real Madrid-Liverpool. Madrid has struggled in Spain this season and find themselves in the unfamiliar depths of 4th place in the La Liga table. Meanwhile, Liverpool is on top of the English Premiership at the half-way point. On the other hand, Inter Milan-Manchester United is the other tie that is sure to be compelling as Jose Mourinho and his expensive Armani overcoat return to the English game to meet Manchester and Sir Alex Ferguson.

Meanwhile, I continue to own a stake of English Conference side Ebbsfleet United through the MyFootball Club project. The team is struggling a bit this season and are mired in 13th place of the 24 team league. So, things haven't been going as well as we would like. Partially, I think this is because there have been some growing pains as the actual day-to-day operations of this team by a group of 30,000 people over the Internet have to be worked through. Now that renewals are coming up, there is concern that most may not renew and that will have a negative impact on the finances.

On the NHL front, I am on record here as saying that the Capitals will win the Stanley Cup in the near future. And I haven't seen anything yet this season that would dissuade me from that notion. In fact, this season has only made me believe that even more. Alex Ovechkin continues his one-man domination of the league. Scoring goals like this:

"And that's why a lot of folks call him the best player in the game today." Uh, no, that's why he is the greatest player in the game today. Every night I sit down to watch the Capitals, I feel so grateful that this man is playing here. And he will lead us to the promised land. If only someone would tell the Bruins that they are not supposed to be leading the conference.

The Coming Net Generation: Grown Up Digital

2008-12-21T20:58:00.000-05:00

"Rather than embracing this culture and trying to learn from it, they do stupid things like ban the tools. Banning Facebook is popular sport these days. Social networks are the new operating system of business and what do companies do? They ban them."

Truer words have never been spoken. Don Tapscott said those words on the most recent net@night, hosted by Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte. Now, I've been listening to net@night for a long time and always find it entertaining and informative. This episode is a keeper about the book Grown Up Digital, written by Don Tapscott. The premise of the book is that the "kids" of the coming net generation are going to enter the workforce and change things - for the better. The discussion between Leo, Amber and Don just scratches the surface of the topic, but I found myself wanting them to continue for another hour or two. I urge everyone to spend the hour to listen to this episode. It's just a fascinating discussion about the most important topic of the day.

I should also note that Tapscott co-authored the book Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, that I reviewed last year. Additionally, the New York Times also wrote about the new book today.

Annapolis Symphony Holiday Concert

2008-12-20T10:56:00.002-05:00

Last night was the Annapolis Symphony Home for the Holidays pop concert. The orchestra played holiday favorites and managed to also play well-known selections from operas like Hansel and Gretel and Babes in Toyland. Everyone, from the concert-goers to the musicians seemed to have a good time on what was a rainy (unfortunately, not snowy) Annapolis evening.

The ASO returns to their classical series in late Feburary with Young Geniuses, a program featuring pieces by Prokofiev, Mendelsshon, Bizet, and Barber. Featured soloist for the evening will be violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. I'm already looking forward to that concert.

Library of Congress Reports on Flickr

2008-12-17T19:23:00.003-05:00

Several posts (one here from hangingtogether.org) that turned up in my RSS reader have pointed me to the Library of Congress' post from last week that announced the release of a report on the Library's Flickr project. The report was based on the first nine months (from January 16, 2008 - October 23, 2008) of the Library uploading images in the Flickr Commons project.

Key statistics from the full report: (available as a PDF here)

10.4 million photo views
4,615 photos uploaded, 79% have been tagged by Flickr users as a "favorite"
Over 15,000 Flickr users call LC a "contact" (including me!)
7,166 comments on 2,873 photos
2,518 user accounts have added 67,176 tags on 4,548 photos
Over 500 of LC's own on-line photo catalog entries have incorporated new information from the Flickr community.

By any measure, this project has been a clear success. In the words of the report:

As the Library considers new strategies to make its resources available, discoverable, and useful, pilots of this type are essential for learning how best to engage audiences with library collections in ways that benefit the public at large. The Flickr team recommends that this experiment in Web 2.0 become an ongoing program with expanded involvement in Flickr Commons and other appropriate social networking opportunities for non-photographic collections. The benefits appear to far outweigh the costs and risks (emphasis added).

I believe that it is only a matter of time until the question asked by organizations gets turned around. Right now, that question is "Why do you want to do (insert Web 2.0 tech)?" Soon, the question will be "Why are we not doing (insert Web 2.0 tech)." That's progress.

Finally, I found the Outcomes section of the report really interesting and worth reading, especially if you are one who is not quite convinced about the utility of this approach. There is an anecdote in the report about a Google search for "Germany Schaefer Washington Baseball" that returns the Flickr LC photo at the top of the list. Meanwhile, the database entry from the LC Prints and Photographs online catalog is much further down the list. The Flickr photo is much easier for the crawlers and robots that generated Google's search functionality to work with. What's clear from that is that people interested in getting their content out in front of their users might need to rethink the traditional models for more Web 2.0 kinds of approaches.

Congrats to the LC and their Flickr Team on a successful pilot. I'll keep watching the images.

Inspiration for the Upcoming Work

2008-12-14T20:59:00.002-05:00

Now go out and conquer your foes:

Thanks to Overthinkingit.com

Ellington on DC Quarter

2008-12-11T23:06:00.006-05:00

While I live and work in Maryland, I am proud of the fact that I was born in the Nation's Capital and consider myself a native Washingtonian. Over the last 10 years, the US mint has issued quarters with designs submitted by the states. Now that all 50 state quarters have been issued, the Mint is going to issue quarters representing the District of Columbia and 5 other US Territories. The Washington Post reported this evening that jazz great Duke Ellington will grace the DC quarter:

This is a great choice. And a great excuse to post a Duke Ellington classic.

Algonquin Round Table - on Kindles?

2008-12-09T22:02:00.002-05:00

The Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan was made famous in the 1920s by Dorothy Parker and her "Vicious Circle." Nearly every day, the Circle held court during lunch in the Hotel.

Now, guests who stay at the Hotel can request the use of an Amazon Kindle during their stay. The Kindle comes "loaded with a variety of best-sellers, modern classics, and, of course, books penned by the hotel’s Round Table members."

What a neat little add-on for a stay in a historic hotel in the heart of Manhattan. Sounds like a weekend trip. Maybe even meet Matilda, the resident cat.

Snow Miser - Heat Miser

2008-12-04T20:23:00.003-05:00

Too many "heavy lifting" topics on the blog lately. Time for some fun. Snow Miser v. Heat Miser. Take your pick.

Call for Open Government

2008-12-02T22:21:00.000-05:00

Much has been written about how President-elect Obama might use the full spectrum of web 2.0 tools when he takes office. So far, it appears that the incoming administration will continue to embrace web 2.0 ideas. Yet another positive example occurred this week when the transition team's change.gov website was opened up through the use of a Creative Commons license. One has to see that as a sign that there are individuals around the Obama administration that believe in copyright reform.

Now, Professor Lessig and others have articulated three "transition principles" that the Obama transition team can embrace to further the cause of open government.

The three principles are: No Legal Barrier to Sharing, No Technological Barrier to Sharing, and Free Competition. From my perspective, I don't really see any issue on the first point. As the video clearly articulates, copyright law is clear on the point that the government gets no copyright protection for the information it chooses to make publicly available. The second and third principles are where I sense that the administration might have to change the way government has traditionally operated. While YouTube might be a good choice for broad access, it's not the most open way to get a message out. You can visit open-government.us to read more and sign the petition.

I know that I have left out the entire records management discussion around these issues. Though I have to believe that if the starting position for the incoming administration is going to be one of broader access, it might get easier to resolve some of the records management problems.

Hulu and History

2008-11-30T18:54:00.003-05:00

I've written about Hulu before. Essentially a creation of copyright holders and big media networks, most who go there are looking to watch the latest episode of whatever. Older shows have also migrated onto Hulu. And that's what I usually find most interesting.

This weekend, I spent almost an hour watching this September 1961 David Susskind interview with President Harry S. Truman:

I would wager that I was the only one streaming that video on Saturday evening. Now, the most jarring thing of the whole experience was the JC Penny's commercials that Hulu threw in there. At about the 20 minute mark, Truman starts talking about his Presidential records and the Truman Library, laying out a vision for the educational role of the library and what was to become the White House Decision Center. Other points in the interview are simply fascinating from a historical point of view. Truman talks about media consolidation and the need to keep one corporate entity from owning the media outlets in any given city or town. He also talks about the need for televised press conferences and speaks about television in an "emerging" media kind of way. It's a very interesting slice of history.

Which obviously brings up the next question: Who's archiving Hulu? Sure the distribution mechanics for content on Hulu is video in the Flash format, but what about the underlying digital video file? The same questions can be asked of Hulu's main rival, YouTube. I know that some archives have started to leverage YouTube for video - is Hulu next?

Finally, I should note that the David Susskind papers are located at the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Iran: A Nation of Bloggers

2008-11-25T17:10:00.003-05:00

Well-done short presentation from the Vancouver Film School and posted by Mr.Aaron on Vimeo. There is some thought-provoking imagery here and, at 2:19 is much shorter than the Lessig video I posted on Sunday.

Larry Lessig On a Bunch of Stuff

2008-11-23T19:01:00.006-05:00

Stanford Professor and someone on my short list of "celebrities" that I'd love to invite to a dinner party, Larry Lessig stopped by the most spartan show on TV on Friday. He discussed his current work on money and Congress, his previous work on copyright and free culture, and offered some interesting observations about his former colleague and now President-elect, Barack Obama.

Professor Lessig's current book is available here. Here is the clip from the Rose show. It's thirty-eight minutes long and worth it. I just love the idea that intellectualism seems to be making a comeback.

Texas Trip

2008-11-19T21:27:00.002-05:00

I'll be heading to Austin in the morning for the SAA 2009 Program Committee meeting. We've got a fully packed schedule to work through a bounty of wonderful proposals. All I can say is that it looks like it's going to be a great conference next August.

Kevin Rudd is on Twitter and Other Web 2.0 News

2008-11-18T19:19:00.007-05:00

Who's Kevin Rudd? He's the Australian Prime Minister.

So, even if President-elect Obama's legal team can figure out how to parse the differences between the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act and everything else to embrace a web 2.0 way of communicating, then he'll only be the second world leader in Twitter. Though, to be fair, Rudd only started on Twitter on Nov. 11. Obama (or more accurately, his team) has not updated his Twitter account since the day after the election. Probably worrying about those Records Acts.

In other Web 2.0 news, I will also note that the National Archives UK is now on Flickr. Good for them, especially getting the user name "national archives." I think that's all I will say about that.

Finally, this article from Mashable announces that classic images from Life magazine have now been added into Google Image Search. This is pretty neat, but the images are not in the public domain or licensed under Creative Commons, so that's not so good. Here's an image anyway:

The great Terry Sawchuck, in goal for the Detroit Red Wings.

Administration 2.0

2008-11-15T09:03:00.002-05:00

One of the things that I observed about the successful Obama campaign was their embrace of web 2.0 technologies. This took the form of everything from a hugely popular Twitter account with over 130,000 followers to a social network within the campaign's own website at my.barackobama.com. Now, the fair question to raise is whether or not this open embrace of technology will continue after January 20, when they get to move into a historic home. I think the new administration will, but there are challenges that I'm willing to bet they have not considered.

Now, I'm not going to parse the differences between the requirements of the Federal Records Act and the Presidential Records Act. But one thing that team Obama will have to consider as well as are the records implications of creating content in a 2.0 world, when perhaps, the guidance is still sort of stuck in a 1.0 (Ok - thanks to some effort a 1.65 world). A recent posting at the Washington Post's 44 blog indicated that Obama will join Queen Elizabeth II in setting up his own YouTube channel.

Here's the most recent YouTube clip they have posted. I hope they followed NARA's Digital Audio and Video requirements before they uploaded it to YouTube. Flash is not a sustainable format for the long-term preservation of video content. And right now, that's the only format available for this record:

Finally, here another bit of news. The "Plum Book" detailing Presidential appointees has been posted by GPO. For interested archivists, the NARA section is available as a PDF here.

11th Day of the 11th Month

2008-11-11T08:00:00.001-05:00

In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunsets glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The Torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- Lieutenant Colonial John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

The Saddest Thing On Twitter Today

2008-11-10T21:28:00.005-05:00

Was this message:

@MarsPhoenix is finally frozen on the Martian arctic plain. Veni, vidi, fodi. RIP

I'll give NASA full credit for being a Federal agency that gets some of the whole web 2.0 thing. Using Twitter was just brilliant. And while we all knew the end would come, it was still sad to read that little tweet this afternoon. Phoenix also wrote a final blog post for Gizmodo.

Celebrating Three Centuries in Music

2008-11-09T11:42:00.003-05:00

Last night, I attended the second performance of the Annapolis Symphony's 2008-2009 season. The program spanned three centuries of music and was being recorded to produce the first professional recoding by the ASO. That added a nice element to the evening.

Back to the music. This evening marked the final ASO celebration of the 300th anniversary of the granting of the Charter to Annapolis. So the program included works that are associated with 1708, 1808, 1908, and 2008. An interesting theme to build a program around.

First up, from 1708 was Arcangelo Corelli's Concerto Grosso, in F Major, op. 6, No. 9. A scaled-down version of the ASO performed this classic of baroque music in a very entertaining fashion. Next, representing 2008, was the winner of the ASO's young composer's competition, Narong Prangcharoen's Tri Sattawat, which translates as "three centuries." I discussed this piece when it premiered back in February. I still find the connection to Annapolis in this Asian-influenced composition tenuous at best. That minor quibble aside, the piece is certainly unique and was well played by the ASO.

Representing 1908 was Maurice Ravel's Rapsodie espagnole. The final piece of the evening was Ludwig von Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, in C Minor, Op. 67, which just happens to have been premiered on December 22, 1808. Even I, complete classical music novice, am familiar with this work. The ASO delivered a rousing performance to end the evening.

Now, we just have to wait until the CD comes out to relive the complete concert.

MARAC Final Session

2008-11-08T11:33:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is a liveblog.

Silver Spring Morning

2008-11-07T09:13:00.001-05:00

First things first. The free and widely available wireless connectivity at the MARAC fall meeting in Silver Spring makes this one of the best MARAC meetings ever. I could actually live blog sessions if I wanted to. I might later in the day. As others have noted, this conference included the first ever MARAC outing to a hockey game. I'm very pleased with the results and now that election (what politics?) is behind us, I'll return to more mundane issues about the Washington Capitals.

MARAC promises to be a day and half full of interesting ideas and topics. I'm sitting in the plenary session by Mary Beth Corrigan about local history. Also a very good crowd in attendance. Good for MARAC.

I'm Still Overwhelmed

2008-11-05T00:35:00.002-05:00

By this result and the six-hour live blog below. May we enter a new era of American history.

Election Live Blog

2008-11-03T20:00:00.000-05:00

Join the party...

Yes, We Can

2008-11-02T18:49:00.001-05:00

In about 48 hours, we'll see if we actually could. Until then,

Lifehacker Asks THE Archival Question

2008-11-01T18:21:00.004-04:00

Lifehacker is a website that always has fascinating tips and interesting stuff. Today, they cross-posted and commented on an article from physorg.com, in which the fundamental archival issue about electronic records is asked: are we facing a digital dark age? This leads the editors at Lifehacker to ask their community for advice on how they "future-proof" their data? I must admit that "future-proof" is a phrase that I've never heard in the context of the archival discussions, but it makes some sense. At least for a way to convey the issue to a mainstream audience.

Any archivist would be familiar with the issue - in a rapidly involving digital world, how do we ensure the preservation of content? In both stories that I linked to, there are a wide variety of commentators. Some have rather interesting solutions to the problem. Perhaps archivists (which honestly are 95% of my readership) could weigh in and contribute to the discussion.

Oh, and mandatory political comment. Since I can't write a post without some. Seen on Twitter: "You can call him a Muslim today, but next Wednesday you'll be calling him Mr. President..." Let's hope so.

Yes, Where's That Support Group...

2008-10-30T20:00:00.002-04:00

From Talking Points Memo:

World Worst Goaltender Mask Painting

2008-10-28T23:47:00.007-04:00

There really are some painted goalie masks that could be works of art. This isn't one of them:

ARRGGHH!!! Can we just stop this hockey mom stuff now. Please. Think of the children.

Election Night Scenarios

2008-10-27T20:18:00.007-04:00

Here are three maps, from the calculator at CNN. I've based these on my armchair analysis and the various "paths to victory" that would lead to the various scenarios.

Scenario #1: Obama Squeaker (Obama 278 - McCain 260)

Scenario #2: Obama Landslide. Best case scenario and would make for a fun night next week (Obama 382 - McCain 156). Got to love North Carolina, North Dakota, Virginia, and Indiana going one way, along with Omaha, Nebraska for that split in NE.

Scenario #3: DOOM! DOOM! McCain wins. (McCain 278 - Obama 260) flipping New Hampshire, Nevada, and Colorado from the first scenario.

So, what do you think?

SNL Rebirth

2008-10-25T21:06:00.002-04:00

The GOP appointment of Sarah Palin as their party's vice-presidential candidate has revitalized Saturday Night Live in the American consciousness.

This clip, showing the endorsement of John McCain by the current occupant of the White House had me laughing for hours. "McCain's" body language in this is just priceless.

St. Louis, You're Next...

2008-10-22T23:53:00.001-04:00

Here we go again. Get the boo birds ready. I never had strong opinions about the Blues, until now.

Nationaal Archief on Flickr

2008-10-21T21:28:00.005-04:00

Anyone know Dutch? Today is another post about photographs, archives, and Web 2.0. Flickr announced today that the National Archives of the Netherlands has joined their Commons program and have uploaded about 400 images. Here's one:

This photograph was taken on May 19, 1928 at the Amsterdam Summer Olympics, probably before the first round field hockey match between France and Spain. France wins this match 2-1 for their only win of the tournament.

It's great to see more and more institutions placing their images in easy reach of their audiences, and, by extension, expanding their audiences.

Geograph British Isles

2008-10-20T21:03:00.003-04:00

Here's a story that a ran across on BoingBoing last week and found interesting. It's also a good break from all of the political turmoil.

Geograph British Isles is a project that aspires to collect representative photographs of every square kilometer in Great Britain and Ireland. Each photograph is submitted by the photographers under a creative commons license for use and reuse. Last week, they received their one millionth submission. Good for them.

Here's a neat photograph taken by Dave Croker showing architectural details from the Bodleian Library at Oxford:

Wingnuts Can Be Stupid

2008-10-17T23:53:00.003-04:00

I worry about our country. Plenty. Here's the latest. Look at this picture:

What do you see? Well, I see a Presidential candidate giving a speech in Ohio. Flags on the stage are always a symbol of American politicians, right? Anyway, Bob Grant is a radio host that I've never heard of. Here's what he said about this:

But really folks, did you notice Obama is not content with just having several American flags, plain old American flags with the 50 states represented by 50 stars? He has the "O" flag. And that's what that "O" is. That's what that "O" is. Just like he did with the plane he was using. He had the flag painted over, and the "O" for Obama. Now, these are symptom -- these things are symptomatic of a person who would like to be a potentate -- a dictator. And I really see this in this man.

I guess the first question to ask is "he's joking, right?" Well, not so much. Apparently, there are those out there that have confused the Ohio State Flag with the flag of the coming Obama "potentate." Here's a comment from a reader at a conservative blog:
Take it way, Keith Olbermann

Leaving No Stone Unturned

2008-10-16T20:42:00.004-04:00

I have an audio clip of the late Paul Wellstone in which he talks about "mountains of ice" that I have referenced earlier on this blog. It's probably my favorite contemporary political speech. Earlier in the clip, Wellstone talks about what it will take to win elections. This includes recruiting the right candidates and surrounding them with people who know how to organize and win elections. I'm begining to feel that we might witnessing that sort of campaign.

It's striking when I see things like this article from CrunchGear about the Obama's campaign foray into placing advertising in video games. Here's the ad from the racing game, Burnout Paradise:

According to the article, they have also placed ads on several other titles from Electronic Arts. This is the first Presidential campaign where the technology exists to place these kinds of ads in front of voters. Young voters. Two points to the Obama camp.

Presidential Debate #3

2008-10-15T19:44:00.000-04:00

Canada Votes

2008-10-14T22:30:00.001-04:00

I've been watching the Canadian voting returns on the CBC thanks to CSPAN. It looks like Canada is returning the Conservative government of Steven Harper to power, though still in minority status. So, not really much of a change from where our northern neighbors were before they started. I wonder if people are looking to purchase these shirts, in either conservative or liberal styles.

We'll see what happens in three weeks.

Op-Eds On the Mark

2008-10-14T19:36:00.005-04:00

Three weeks until the election. Maybe. Anyway, at one time, I had dreams of becoming a journalist. I still read columnists. And some have been brilliant over the last few days. Here's my reactions to a few items. Instead of crafting a whole post, I thought I would just fire these off at random.

First up, George Will. As much as I really can't stand his politics, I really do like the way he writes. Here's the lede to his column from last Thursday:

Time was, the Baltimore Orioles manager was Earl Weaver, a short, irascible, Napoleonic figure who, when cranky, as he frequently was, would shout at an umpire, "Are you going to get any better or is this it?" With, mercifully, only one debate to go, that is the question about John McCain's campaign.

That, is how you write a lede. And it got even better in the third paragraph when Will referred to "McCain and his female Sancho Panza." As a liberal arts student, that was the funniest line I have read in weeks. Of course this whole discussion shows my intellectual bias. Guilty as charged. Well done, Mr. Will, well done.

Gail Collins, in the New York Times on Friday.

I miss August. August was neat. The Dow was over 10,000 and nobody had ever heard of Sarah Palin. Remember how we used to joke about John McCain looking like an old guy yelling at kids to get off his lawn? It’s only in retrospect that we can see that the keep-off-the-grass period was the McCain campaign’s golden era. Now, he’s beginning to act like one of those movie characters who steals the wrong ring and turns into a troll. During that last debate, while he was wandering around the stage, you almost expected to hear him start muttering: “We wants it. We needs it. Must have the precious.”

I don't think I could have written that any better.

Finally, Eugene Robinson writing in today's WaPo:

Politically, though, there is at least some justice in the fact that a Republican president has to deal with this Republican-made crisis. That little piece of irony isn't worth $700 billion, but so far it's all we're getting. After eight years of the Bush administration, the Republican Party -- to put it bluntly -- is a mess and a fraud. There is an intellectual case to be made for the economic philosophy that the party purports to represent. I disagree with it strongly, but I respect its integrity -- in a way that this administration and the Republican leadership in Congress clearly did not. The Republican Party said it believed in free and unfettered competition, but it picked winners and losers through a system of crony capitalism. All it takes to make my point is a name: Jack Abramoff. The Bush tax cuts, which heavily favored the wealthy, showed that the president and his allies in Congress didn't believe in progressive taxation. I think that's outrageous, but the administration goes further and actually seems to prefer a regressive tax scheme. That's the only explanation I can think of for why hedge fund managers making hundreds of millions of dollars a year pay taxes at a lower rate than their chauffeurs. Now that it's election time, the party -- as usual -- is trying to convince Americans that it stands on the side of the little guy. Sarah Palin has been trotted out to convince everyone that the party cares deeply about the eternal roster of cultural issues -- God, guns, gays, abortion, etc.

Sometimes, it's best to leave the writing to professionals.

Due to popular demand we'll have the return of the live blog for tomorrow night's debate. I'll set it up in the evening and hope to see you there.

Why You Should Never Invite a Rock Band

2008-10-10T17:45:00.003-04:00

to play on opening night when the Stanley Cup is in the house. Here's Def Leppard at the Joe Louis Arena last night:

Best line has to be at the end: "oh well, we're soccer boys, what do we know?"

Who's Dropping the Puck?

2008-10-08T23:39:00.003-04:00

The NHL season starts in earnest this week. Glad to have the world's fastest team sport back. Well except for this, which might be reason #439204 to hate Philadelphia. From the Flyers, via the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the nation's most popular hockey mom, will join the winner of the Philadelphia Flyers regional search for the "Ultimate Hockey Mom" contest and drop the puck at the ceremonial opening face-off as the home team Flyers host the New York Rangers at the Wachovia Center on Saturday, October 11 at 7 p.m.

"Because of the tremendous amount of publicity she has brought to our sport, we invited the most popular hockey mom in North America to our home opener to help us get our season started," said Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider who founded the Flyers in 1967. "We are very excited she has accepted our offer and we are very proud of the publicity she is generating for hockey moms and the sport of hockey.

Yeah, the Flyers really do suck.