This sign is from one of the tunnels behind Niagara’s Horseshoe Falls. Judging by the picture, the sign should really say “cover that pile of shit with your jacket before sitting on it”.

Not the greatest picture in the world, but the best I could do with a 300mm lens out my back window. Just before 10:00pm ET, the moon took on an amazing shade of reddish-brown.

I’m not sure what’s worse… bowling a perfect 300 game in practice (see Mr. 300) or bowling a 299. Yesterday in a city tournament, I threw the first eleven strikes and then a 9. I blame the 9 on nerves and an arm that felt like jell-o. Oh well, maybe next time.

I reached a true milestone earlier today… I completed my restaurant trifecta. You say you’ve never heard of such a thing? Well, it’s when you go to three of your favorite restaurants in a single 24-hour period.

It all began yesterday when we brought in P.F. Changs for lunch during a work meeting. I don’t get to eat there that often, but it is sooooo good. I ate so much I didn’t think I would need to eat for a week.

Then for dinner, we were walking through a shopping area and spotted The Cheesecake Factory. Another favorite both for their food and their drinks. At that point, it was the first time I’d been to these two favorites of mine in the same day.

So back to earlier today and the completion of the trifecta. I was in Raleigh Durham International Airport and stopped by another favorite of mine, an A&W Restaurant. It’s not so much the food as it is the fresh A&W Root Beer and Root Beer Floats. Yummm.

And there you have it… The Restaurant Trifecta.

You can’t handle the truth… but I’ll say it anyway. There are a handful of companies that I’ve come across recently that are worth checking out (at least in my opinion). They are, in no particular order:

• SunRocket - VoIP service for under $10 a month. I signed up with these guys a few months ago and am extremely happy with them. They are actually more reliable than my old Verizon voice line! And if you’re worried about power outages killing your phone (like I was), head on over to Costco or Best Buy and pick up a cheap UPS (it will pay for itself with the money you save by switching to SunRocket). Oh, and yes - you can keep your current phone number. Sign up for their unlimited plan using the link above and get 3 months free. (see comments)
• GrandCentral - Recently acquired by the evil Google empire, GrandCentral allows users to pick a single permanent telephone number from almost any area code in the United States. Use it so you have a single place for all your voice messages (which you can listen to and save right from the web), have it ring your work number when you’re at work and your home number during the evening. You can even block specific numbers, create custom greetings, and much more. Check them out, it’s all free.
• Mozy - Free online backup services, up to 2GB… and under $5 per month for unlimited storage. You can have Mozy automatically backup your most important files (or all your files if you desire) and then access them from the web or via a Windows Explorer interface right from your desktop.
• Crabersen - Very affordable domain names and web hosting is just a click away. Ok, I’m a little biased, but check them out. They offer very competitive web hosting rates in state-of-the-art data centers. Secure. Fast. Reliable. That’s the Crabersen advantage.

This post really serves as a reminder to myself… so I don’t make the manly mistake of forgetting my anniversary. It would be worthy of many nights on the couch if I forgot this one, since it is our first…

For the second year in a row, rivers are overflowing their banks in Lowell. Many roads and businesses were forced to close due to the rising waters or the threat of rising waters. In May 2006, the bowling alley in Lowell was severely damaged by flood waters and was closed for a number of months for cleanup and repairs. Yesterday, the lanes were again shut down due to the threat of the rising Merrimack River.

The above picture was taken yesterday and shows a flooded bowling alley parking lot. You can also see tarps and plastic sheets up against the bottom of the doors. They packed these with dirt and sand in an effort to defend against the threatening water. The interesting thing about this scene is that the river, which is across the main road, had not flooded the road (which was still open to traffic). It appears as if poor drainage in the parking lot caused excess water to collect.

I think I’m coming down with a web-induced illness.  I spend all day managing the business side of one of my company’s web sites, so 90% of my day is spent playing around on web sites.  The last thing I want to do when I come home is do anything online.  My eBay usage has suffered tremendously… as has this blog (can you tell?).  This over-exposure to web radiation is starting to take its toll.

I had assumed that once the wedding and honeymoon were behind us, things would settle down a bit.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Since the wedding (June 24, remember? ), we have attended two more weddings, held a yard sale in Maine, traveled to DC/Maryland,  hosted a neighborhood party, and went to the NASCAR race in Richmond, VA… not to mention the countless projects ongoing at home!  Sheesh!  When do things slow down? 

Last night my friend Carrie and I went to the They Might Be Giants concert at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. We got there surprisingly early, got prime parking, and most importantly - got a foam finger.

The show was pretty good. They played a bunch of new songs that I hadn’t heard before, and judging by the reaction of the crowd, most people hadn’t heard them before. The good news is, they made up for it by playing a bunch of really old songs. It’s amazing how well “Number 3″ sounds with the sampled sax and a full band. Other classics included “We’re the Replacements”, “Everything Right is Wrong Again”, and “Rhythm Section Want Ad”.

Oh, and the opener was Michael Leviton, a eukulele playing singer who takes the stage alone and sings songs about his favorite places to drown (off his CD of the same title).