Summer of Dan

OO-RAAAAH!!!

The lack of updates from here in DC have to do with only one thing:

Shitty fucking internet service at our hotel

I have never seen a wireless network as big as this and not work 85% of the time when I click to open a page.

I've taken over 300 pictures so far, I'll upload them when we get back.

The Niff did great in her race, shaving half an hour off her first marathon time! The weather was absolutely gorgeous for the race, which is pretty amazing since it's been raining here with massive windgusts basically before the race and since it's been finished.

Many more stories about our shitty hotel, the constant walking and waiting game, and the trip itself…

once I get back to civilization…

When did Muslim become a swear word?

A former teammate of mine emails me (along with about 50 other people) every day it seems some total BS about how Obama is the devil and sprouts horns when you aren't looking and rapes ponies at night. He is constantly bogging down my inbox with total trash. If any of what he sent out was true or had any basis or being true I might not mind as much because everyone is entitled to their own opinion and views...just don't send me all this shit. Especially when I emailed you 100 fucking times and tell you to stop.

Apparently, being a McCain supporter, he can't fucking read, so I've gone on the offensive. Every time he emails me some stupid email forward, I do some research (almost always end up on Snopes.com) and hit REPLY ALL and give his audience my take. I don't care if his grandparents are on there. If he doesn't want me emailing everyone, he should stop emailing me.

The Niff's mom loves McCain and sent us something today about how Obama wasn't even born in the United States, therefore is ineligible to be the President. The Niff's reply echoes my sentiments exactly:

Just for the record ... (maybe this will keep me from getting any more ridiculous e-mail forwards?)

-I would still vote for Obama even if he were born in Iraq (yes, I know he wouldn't be eligible, I'm just making the point that I don't care where he is from)

-I would still vote for Obama is he came out today and said he was Islamic. WHO CARES? It's just a religion ... it's not a dirty word, and they're not all terrorists!

-I would still vote for Obama even if he fired a rocket launcher into a kindergarten class, pushed an old lady in front of a bus, burned the American flag on his front lawn and dumped his wife for Paris Hilton. SORRY! But the man is a winner, and I like him. :-D

Oh, and it's not as if this same garbage hasn't been spread about McCain, since he was born in the Panama Canal zone...

http://www.snopes.com/politics/mccain/citizen.asp

Word.

D.C. stands for Disfunctional Capital

The Niff and I are preparing for our trip to D.C. tomorrow morning. My dad is nothing short of a saint for willingly waking up at 4am to drive us to Logan to catch our super early flight to the nation's capital. God I can't wait to go to sleep at 5pm tonight...wait...that's an hour from now?!?! Fuck that.

I'll try to update from there, I'll be bringing my laptop, and will be surfing while she's running in the Marine Corps Marathon, tracking her every movement via GPS.

So, farewell for now, and if you get a really early morning wakeup call the morning of the race, don't come looking for me, just smile and silently wish the Niff luck in her conquest.

Born in 1932 and still kickin’ ass

I called my Nana the other day to ask wish her and my Papa a happy anniversary (53 years!!?) and to talk about the Sox and Tampa Series. My grandparents are from Boston, bred 4 lovely kids in the city and migrate south for the winter every year…to St. Petersburg, which is 5 minutes from Tampa. She spends quite a bit time down there in the sun in Florida but her loyalties are still quite clear.

Our conversation went like this:

"Happy Anniversary, Nana! Sucks about the Sox huh? Who do you want to win the World Series?"

"Philly. Tampa is filled with bums. I'm not rooting for them especially after what they did to Coco earlier in the season!"

Rewind to the Brawl Game that the Niff and Jessie and I went to between the Sox and Tampa, where Coco charged the mound after being thrown at. Who was the first person to call me amidst all that commotion?

Nana.

She knew we were at the game and wanted to know what it was like there during the brawl. She was flipping out almost as much as I was and she was at home with my 82 year old grandfather just watching "another Sox game", hoping to catch a glimpse of us on TV.

Nana is spunky and is sharp witted, and to this day, she is obviously has that Red Sox Nation blood running through her veins.

That is why my Nana is so kickass.

Tell me that you’ll open your eyes

Lots of stuff going on as usual.

• Whoever that is working at NBC that thinks a show like Kath and Kim is worthy of any air time should be shot in the face. Especially when you consider they shutdown a show that had some amazing potential like The Black Donnelleys.
  
  
• iTunes 8 with the Genius Bar is amazing. Especially the kickass visualizations. They used to be so boring and these pictures don't do it any justice, but try it out yourself
  
  
  
   
• By this time tomorrow I will be the proud owner of a new Mac Mini. The Niff saw no need/use for it, but I plan on teaching myself all about Macs, as well as getting into web design and whatnot on it and maybe make back the money I am spending on it. My work has a computer purchase program where I buy a PC and they pull it out of my paycheck in increments I want over the course of up to 3 years. Makes you feel the hit less and who wouldn't do that?? I cannot wait.
  
  
• Much to my excitement my MRI revealed I tore nothing: no ligaments nor my meniscus. I've actually felt a lot better physically lately so I'm excited that I may be able to play in our playoff game this Sunday. Keeping my fingers crossed my knee will be fine at practice tonight.
  
   
• Saw the Pinkerton vs. Londonderry Mack Plaque game last weekend with the Niff. We got there early so we could get seats. There was no way I was standing on my gimpy knee for the entire game. James, Megan, Luke, and Gagnon were in the north endzone and we both visited with them before ducking out as the game was ending. Beatdown of Londonderry complete: 31-12. Oh, and thanks for the Plaque, Lancers.
  
  
  
  
  
• The Niff and I were watching the Pats game against the 49ers last Sunday when this graphic popped up as they tried to explain a play:
  
  
  
  Ummmm…wtf is that?!?!? Do they really need some 1996 WordArt giant fucking green/yellowish arrows to explain what happened in that play?? I couldn't even see half the offensive line!!! Time to revisit who is doing your graphics CBS.
  
  
• The Niff secured tickets for us to see the Pats against the Cardinals. Going to Foxboro in December – freezing. Watching the Pats and eating tons of tailgate food – priceless.
  
  
• People that walk insanely slow in front of you shouldn't look at your in disgust when you get a chance to pass them and you speed off. Seriously, unless you have brain damage, try to walk at normal speeds when you are in the supermarket, don't block a whole entire aisle while you ponder buying 28 cases of Ramen. Move the fuck out of the way.
  
  
• I still love my phone but Verizon is dragging its feet with applications for it, which is disheartening. Very. They have about a dozen apps at best for it while something like the iPhone has thousands. WTF Verizon?
  
  
• Celtics preseason in full swing now. Time to see all the fair weather fans gobble up all the tickets. Fucking bastards. The price of winning sometimes sucks.
  

Time to eat. Always is though. I guess.

Uhhltimately what this doooes is...

This is nothing short of amazing

I'm at a loss for words.

Seriously, go and register to vote. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, Independent or member of the Green Party, register. You can always register right at your voting ward, but why not register now beforehand? It saves you time and ensures your ability to vote.

Tearin it up

My playoff season in football is over before it began. I went to the doctor the other day and even before an MRI he said he is pretty sure I tore my meniscus in my right knee. Talk about a major downer. I've been playing since 2000 and have never missed a game to injury. Quite remarkable actually. Playoffs start next week in Vermont and I'll be there helping the team out in anyway possible but it feels very wrong to not be padding it up. It's still swollen, I can barely bend it and I am not sleeping well. Doing research about it, I found this little nugget:

Just like the old bad joke about the patient that told the doctor: "Doc, everytime I do this, my knee hurts" and the doctor replies: "Well, don't do that!" Although this may seem humorous, there is some truth to the joke. Your body has developed a very complex mechanism to inform you that something is wrong. Humans that ignored these warning signs are no longer living with us today. When our great, great ancestors did not listen to this mechanism, they were killed off by disease or by predators.

Holy shit. Predators?? Damn, I better listen to the doctor. I don't want to be wiped out of the history books because I want to get better faster…

Love the Madness

One of the best places to buy clothes online is Moosejaw. The Niff and I have been buying stuff from there (including 2 North Face jackets that keep her warm during the winter and prevent "her bones from freezing") for the better part of 2 years now. I found them looking for a way to get her to stop crying when winter came around. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

   

From time to time they send me coupons and whatnot, and they had a promo running where they would send you a Mystery Gift Card if you spent more than a certain amount. We had stuff we were buying anyway and I figured what the hell. They don't even tell you on the card how much it is, you need to flip it over , call the number on the back and put in the PIN. We get a couple shirts for her and wouldn't you know we got a $50 gift card.

Don't worry, it gets better (or temporarily, worse…).

I tell her about the card, she is stoked, and I put it in one of the bags with her shirt. She didn't know it was in there. Oops.

See where I am going with this?

I find out a few weeks later that she threw the bag out. Didn't see the card in there and essentially she chucked away $50. Needless to say I was unhappy.

A couple weeks pass and almost at the same time when we were talking about ordering from them again we both figured we should email their customer service, just to see if there was anything they could do. This is what I wrote:

"Message: Hi,

First off - love the company. Been turning my friends and family onto it,
and I love the mailers and your entire line.

I'm writing because a couple months ago I put in an order (Order # 733166)
and got the "mystery gift card". I called up, and found out I hit the
lottery, it was a $50 card. I was stoked. I put it in with the hoodie and
the shirt into one bag for my fiancée. She didn't see it and tossed the bag,
along with the card. I didn't find this out until about a week ago.

So my question is: is there anything I can do about this, besides breaking
up with her? I'm sure you guys just throw giftcards in there without knowing
how much is on and pull from a big batch, I just didn't know if they were
scanned or whatnot to verify (like some bigwig up in his office can pull
numbers to see what he is giving away in GCs).

Just curious.

Either way, I really do love the madness. And if I have to break off the
engagement, I will.

-Dan"

About 6 hours later I get an email back from them:

Hey Dan,

Thanks for the e-mail and sorry about the hassle. We don't normally give out
gift cards on word alone but you sound legit so your new gift card number is
60362xxxxxxxxx and the pin is xxxxxx. It's for $50, enjoy spending
it.

Please ask any other questions you might have.

Thanks
Love the Madness.
Dr. Archibald Meriwether Jackson
Moosejaw
www.moosejaw.com
www.thejaw.com

Now, there is no reason in the world they needed to do that, but they did. That is customer service. That is a company I was going to do business regardless the outcome. That is just another reason why I am spreading the word. They are kickass. Signup for their e-coupons and whatnot, and odds are you can get good stuff cheaper than anywhere else. You'd just be doing yourself a favor, especially since they have an amazing return policy and free shipping on most orders. Check them out. Trust me.