Man, this is a sad little blog these days

Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. I've promised several times to update this damned thing more often. But then it falls through the cracks.

So what have I been doing besides updating my blog?

Riding my bike again - Originally, the plan was to commute to the radio show. Like updating the blog, that hasn't happened yet. But I have been going on regular rides. According to MapMyRide.com, I've put in more than 100 miles in the past month. This past Sunday, I did 16.4 miles at Ben Geren. I'm riding my old Diamondback mountain bike, which I bought probably 15 years ago. It's heavy and doesn't have a front suspension. I'd like to get a road bike, but those things are ex-freakin-pensive. Thanks to the bike and watching what I eat, I've lost 18.5 pounds in the past two months or so. I'd like to drop another 20. I just have to figure out what to do when the days get shorter and I can't go for a ride at 7 p.m. after work.

Tweeting - Yeah, I know. Some of you Luddites still aren't even on Facebook (Hi Craig!). But I'm enjoying Twitter much more than I thought I would. I use it basically as an RSS feed. Right now, I'm getting bombarded with Steelers info thanks to following five different Pittsburgh area reporters. Plus, I figure it's a good thing to be promoting my brand online given the current nature of journalism.

Bransoning - We met Jen's family up there for a mini-reunion. I was dreading it. Visions of the Baldknobbers and Shoji Tabuchi danced in my head. But Branson has grown so much in the years since I last went. Branson Landing is incredible. It's a pedestrian mall alongside Lake Tanneycomo. High-end shopping, restaurants and bars on the street level, with condos above that. Combined with Table Rock Lake for boating, Tanneycomo for cold-water trout fishing and the outlet mall, I could see the Party Squad having a grand old time in Branson.

Being Mr. Mom - It was only three days, but good gosh I liked it. I've always enjoyed my mornings with Paige. But I was a little nervous about having her all day. But that was a silly worry. I just wish the Martins lived here, so Craig could have brought Trevor to the mall one day to meet us. There were plenty of moms pushing strollers that day I went, but I was the only dad pushing one. As I walked around the mall, I got tickled at the idea of Craig and I pushing our kids through the mall arguing about some sports topic while we got odd looks from the moms who were there.

Not getting a haircut -



(No, I don't leave the house like that. Yes, I use hair product to make it look somewhat better.)

Running of the Bulls

Today in Pamplona, Spain, a bull gored to death one of the people participating in the annual Fesitval of San Fermin's "Running of the Bulls." The young Spainerd's death was the 15th since 1910.

Hemingway (who may or may not have been a KGB agent) wrote about it in "The Sun Also Rises." He helped turn what had been a local festival of bullfighting into a one of the biggest parties on the planet. More than 1,000,000 people crowd into a city of 200,000 for the fiesta. It's sheer madness.

As a Hemingway wonk, I've always been intrigued by the encierro (the run) and the corrida de toros (the actual bullfights). Most people don't realize the entire purpose of the run is to move the bulls from corrals to the bullfighting arena for that evening's bullfights.

Anyway, I've come to realize I'll probably never run in Pamplona. But I now know somebody who has attended the festival! Karen's dad is there right now. No word on whether he ran the encierro or attended the bullfights. I hope Karen gets a full report about what it's like over there for me.

Trendsetters

I don't care what anybody says, Sean, Sean and I started this trend with our Boston adventure ...

Mancations: Guys get away to make memories, sustain friendships

Road trip!

The surviving members of the Grateful Dead and the Allmans will be playing a benefit for Obama at Penn State.

If nothing else, Obama's musical tastes are better than McCain's.

DMB

Very likely won't get back to the blog for a week or so.

Jen and I are heading out of town to see the Dave Matthews Band in St. Louis. Naturally, we'll be crashing with the Martins.

After a few days there, we're heading down to Walnut Ridge to hang out with the in-laws for a couple of days.

When we get back, we've got some major home remodeling to start. And a complete replacement of our central heat and air units.

2008 Steelers schedule

(All times Eastern)

Sunday, Sept. 7 vs. Texans 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Sept 14 @ Browns 8:15 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Sept. 21 @ Eagles 4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Monday, Sept. 29 vs. Ravens 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, Oct. 5 @ Jaguars 8:15 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Oct. 12 Bye Week
Sunday, Oct. 19 @ Bengals 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Oct. 26 vs. Giants 4:15 p.m. (FOX)
Monday, Nov. 3 @ Redskins 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, Nov. 9 vs. Colts 4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Nov. 16 vs. Chargers * 4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Thursday, Nov. 20 vs. Bengals 8:15 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, Nov. 30 @ Patriots * 4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Dec. 7 vs. Cowboys * 4:15 p.m. (FOX)
Sunday, Dec. 14 @ Ravens * 1 p.m .(CBS)
Sunday, Dec. 21 @ Titans * 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Dec. 28 vs. Browns * 1 p.m. (CBS)

(* Times and TV network may change due to flexible scheduling)