WE Are....Penn State!

Okay, it might seem a little strange to be vying for the bragging rights to say, "We're number 66!" but that's exactly what the NIT Basketball Tournament is all about. That having been said, my Nittany Lions are still in it, advancing to the Final 4 to face Notre Dame tonight.

Right now, it looks like they'll hang on to beat the Domers, so it's on to the Finals: Go Lions!

Proofreading...

If you're sending out letters to thousands of people across the country, announcing the launch of your new corporate identity, check the spelling and punctuation. It's not too much to ask, even in this day and age...

Yes, I Live...

...just trapped under a pile of work. In the latest "Don't Be That Guy" I offer you this:

When you go to a dinner to honor outstanding student achievement, and the student of the moment is at your table, don't go on and on about your work. Take a moment to ask said student about themselves. You might learn something interesting. Like that she studied a semester in France. Or that she wants to go back there to teach English. Or that her sorority is not the drink-your-face-off variety, but the we're-holding-a-dance-contest-to-support-Ronald-McDonald-House variety. Or that the thing that keeps her and her parents close is she always felt they always LISTENED to her. If you close the piehole, you'll get that. Just sayin' don't be THAT guy.

Oh yeah. If your phone has a rock anthem for its ringtone, rest assured the only person amused or interested by that is you. The other people listening to the guest speaker are the least amused...unless you count the guest speaker himself. Don't be rock-anthem-ringtone-guy.

And, if you're the guest speaker, at least TRY to be interesting. Please....

Get Your Rear in Gear: Philadelphia

"The art of being sick is not the same as the art of getting well. Some cancer patients recover; some don’t. But the ordeal of facing your mortality and feeling your frailty sharpens your perspective about life. You appreciate little things more ferociously. You grasp the mystical power of love. You feel the gravitational pull of faith. And you realize you have received a unique gift – a field of vision others don’t have about the power of hope and the limits of fear; a firm set of convictions about what really matters and what does not. You also feel obliged to share these insights – the most important of which is this: There are things far worse than illness – for instance, soullessness."
---Tony Snow

The doctor gave me a green light to start working out again last week. FINALLY. So, I spent this week slllllooooowwwwwllllly ramping up. I did't want to push anything or rush anything, so just some nice easy jogs around the block and some time on the bike.


Tomorrow I am going to run in my first race since last year, a 5K in Philadelphia called Get Your Rear in Gear. It's a race to raise awareness of colon cancer and to raise money to fight it. I got a shout from one of the race organizer's Tony Snow's sister, Jennifer. Since colon cancer claimed her brother, she has been seeking ways to beat cancer back, and so she naturally called on her experience as a racer and triathlete. I am so excited to be part of the First Get Your Rear in Gear: PPhiladelphia race. Needless to say, I won't be racing (the time off has made me fat and slow) but I will be finishing....for Tony, for Jennifer, and for those fighting everywhere.

Men's Group

I go to a men's Bible study every first and third Saturday. Some weeks I come away with more than others, but it's always a good opportunity to get together with a bunch of my friends and get ground.

Anyway, this week we tackled Matthew 23, and at some point God put this on my heart: People would like Christians more if we focused on what we are for and spent less time on what we are against.

First Day of Spring

"If you don't like the weather in Central Pennsylvania, wait five minutes."
---Old adage

So, today it was in the 50s, approaching 60 degrees, then dropped off dramatically in the afternoon. At which point it started to snow. Then warmed again. And has now dropped to near freezing.

I think I'd Improve My Swim Time on This One

Lorica: The Morning Prayer of St. Patrick

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.


I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation

---St. Patrick (ca. 377)

Rough One...

"Tell me why
I don't like Mondays..."

---Boomtown Rats

I'm home with my Little Fish who is running a temperature and feeling pretty ill. Fortunately, I have the kind of job where I can work from home at least part of the time and still be (mostly) effective.

Also, some of you know that I am a fan of PAVONE, a local advertising agency who does some really cool work. I just found out from a friend of mine, who is a principal there, that four of their people were heading down to Spring training when they had a terrible accident. Three of them were injured; one was injured severely enough to be placed in ICU, but is expected to survive. A fourth member was killed.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the PAVONE family. If you have a moment, and you're in the habit of saying prayers, remember them, if you would...

Word of the Day

Misteak mis⋅take   /mɪˈsteɪk/ verb, -took, -tak⋅en, -tak⋅ing.
–noun
1. an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, or a couple of glasses before dinner.

2. an error in ordering the steak special at a fancy restaurant without first finding out how much it costs, recognizing the ommission on the staff member's part may have been intentional.

See also $50.00 for a New York Strip and French fries.

My Word of the Day

Here's today's word of the day:

Ewconomy ew⋅con⋅o⋅my   /ewˈkɒnəmi/ plural -mies, adjective, adverb
–noun
1. the lack of prosperity or earnings of a place. Related to ickonomy, the lowest state of all things financial.

MRI Reading

So, it turns out that I damaged two of the three major ligaments in the ankle, but nothing is torn, broken or shattered. Also, there is a cyst (11 mm wide) on my heel bone. I should have that looked at again in a year just to make sure it isn't growing but the doc doesn't seem to think it's anything to be concerned about, now.

The good news is everything is healing up and I am okay to begin light jogging. Even better, the doc told me I should focus on cycling more to strengthen the ankle and increase the range of motion. Any ailment that lists MORE CYCLING as the cure is okay with me. Fill up the prescription bottle, baby!

I Get a Little Vertigo Looking at These

HOLY CARP!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm....

"Beef. It's what's for dinner."
---Robert Mitchum

Sometimes, nothing but a big honkin' burger with cheese will do. Can I get an Amen?

Daylight Saving Time

Please. There is one "s" in Daylight Saving Time. It can be found at the beginning of Saving. The last letter in the word is g.

Thank you, in advance, for your participation in this year's event.

MRI...

Finally went for the MRI on the ankle. It's been so long I can't even remember when I bustimicated it, but Doc said if it's not better by February to get it looked at. It's March and it's still not right.

Here's what I want to hear: "It's almost there, just give it another month. In the meantime, let's start on PT."

Here's what I don't want to hear: "You need surgery and 6 months of rehab." Amputation seems like a kind of bad option, too.

While I was at the imaging center, they had a list of music from which I could choose. My first instinct was jazz, but then I started thinking about it. If it's Muzak jazz, a half hour could be measured in dog years, taking 3.5 hours off my life. I thought about the "alternative sampler" but had the same thought in the opposite direction. I finally settled on Al Green, and I have to say it was a great choice for MRI music.

Don't Be That Guy...

Yeah. Um...the guy at the meeting of high-powered finance executives from across the region whose phone goes off in the middle of the meting because he hasn't turned it off or set it to mute? Don't be that guy.

The middle-aged guy who has the rap-song ring-tone talking about how delicious someone's booty is? Don't be THAT guy either.

The guy who comes in late to the meeting, then gets all sloppy at the buffet, spilling his hastily thrown together pancakes onto the floor. Their pancakes. It's not like you're wrestling grunions. Again. Just don't be that guy.

The guy who asks a question that was just answered three minutes ago, and he would have kept it to himself had he been listening? Don't be that guy.

Seriously. It's a business meeting. And, if you're reading this and wondering what's wrong with ANY of those, you already ARE that guy. Maybe we should talk. Seriously. Your coworkers, your family and your career will thank me.

E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!

Sports is a business. I get it. But you have to believe there's a part of Brian Dawkins that will forever be part of the City of Brotherly Love. After 13 years with my beloved Eagles, Weapon X, B-Dawk, is going to wear the orange of the Denver Broncos. I am going to miss his work ethic, his focus, and his belief that the game is never over until the final whistle sounds.

I am soooooooo going to miss this cat on Game Day....