Friday, December 30, 2005

Hockey Game 1: Sabres 4, Thrashers 1

Tonight I went to the first of 4 hockey games while back home in Buffalo. The good guys came away victorious, and fun was had by all. Enjoy my photo documentary.


The night began with a journey to downtown via Buffalo's antiquated MetroRail Subway. We are descending into the abyss!

On the train we entered crisis mode as Joe's brother John needed to decide how to sneak his huge camera into the Arena. Ultimately he decided to strap it on his waist to make it look like he had some serious junk in the trunk.

The back of Dave's head as we become part of the throng that is attempting to enter the Arena.

People in Buffalo sure do love their hockey. It looks like the Bailey savings and loan after the crash!

Game time! It may not be as nice as the Xcel Center in St. Paul, MN, but the atmosphere can't be beat.

Let's drop the puck! Good guys in Red, bad guys in White.

He Scooooooooooores! Thomas Vanek, Austrian national and University of Minnesota Alumnus (did he even graduate?) Gooooooooooooo Gophers! (Actually no, they dropped the ball in Nashville against Virginia).

Gene Simmons was particularly excited about the goal.

Mr. Larry is explaining to us why there are two zambonies on the ice as opposed to one. He's also a big fan of the pee wee hockey in between periods.

One hard-core hockey fan. He's only happy when he's eating or drinking.

Hmmmmm. . . do I want the Nachos, or a pretzel?

13:20 in the 3rd period. Why is this time significant?

Fans get into the wave during the third. The answer to the previous question is, because that is when Big Ed FINALLY graced us with his appearance. "Well, I had to finish up this job at Walgreens. . ."

WHOOOOOOOOOOO, Sabres! This is Joe's reaction to the hard fought victory. He told me that I make him take his spectatorship to a whole other level. WHOOOOOOOOOOO!

No, this is not the cover to Joe's next gangsta Rap album. He thought the game wasn't physical enough, so he decided to check Dave into the wall afterwards.

On the way in we got tickets with a player's number. If that player scored a goal, we won a free Pizza. I didn't win.

After the game we went to Dennys. Here are two hard core fans. They had quite the conversation during the post game meal.

"So Woobie what did you do today?"

"I went to the barber for a hair cut."

"Oh, yeah, that explains why someone carved a canyon in the side of your head. What did he do, carve his initials in your temple?"

"Huh what are you talking about? I paid $15 for this haircut."

"Wow, you got hosed."

"Don't look at me, I'm hideous. I'm a monster!!!"

"Hmmmmmm, what would happen if I just shaved my head? Can I see the damage?"

"No, closer I want to see how bad it really is."

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

"This is definitely not good. Maybe I can just keep my hand here all the time and no one will be the wiser."

"You look absolutely rediculous. Just shave it off."

"*^&% %$^$&% *^%*^*& $^$$^^ $^$& %&% $^$$^@ %@%# %$#^ $^$$ $&$&&* *%^%$^$%$#%$^%$" Translator's Note. My brother is a compulsive curser, and on the way home continued by repeatedly telling everyone to F-Off. As my dad said, "You are such a moron."

"Is this any better?"

"Ok, then from now on, this head band will not leave my head. I sure hope the Sabres continue to play good." Posted by Picasa

A Three Hour Tour. . .

This morning, my dad asked me to go out with him to help with a quick 2 hour job. However, between him and and a subsequent 2 hr. spontaneous shopping spree with mum, it ended up being over eight hours. Here are some pics of fun time with the big businessman (aka. the Hearty Taskmaster). I left the camera in his van after lunch, so there are no pics of mum's quest for a new coffee pot. Enjoy!


The captain of our three hour tour. "Only 2 hrs." he says!

Getting the lift before proceeding to the job site.

The big business man himself secures his harness before getting in the lift. I got to wear one too!

The view, kind of, from the lift. You can't really see it here, but the sign we worked on was positioned awkwardly between several rusted out poles and randomly strewn wires. The way we were going, I thought for sure it was only a matter of time before we knocked out power to the greater Western New York Metro area.

Of Course once we got up there, the big businessman realized he didn't have the proper stock to complete the job. Therefore, we had to pack up, trek across town, and buy the proper lights.

The inside of command central. You know, I bet the lights could have been in there, and we would have never even known.

Getting ready to phone in the order.

En route to the light warehouse, I finally got the coffee I was promised at the start of the morning. One things for sure, the big businessman runs a tight shift. 1 Coffee from Timmy Ho's for every 2 hours spend up on a lift in below freezing temps.

This man honestly yaks on the phone more than anyone I know. Its a wonder anything ever gets done! I think he's arranging another job here. . .

Here I am, brandishing my blue collar credentials. What did I do today? I held some screws, and propped open the sign while he put the lights in.

After we finished, we got stuck on the Thruway while taking back the lift. I got to listen to Roger Hitchcock (Rush Limbaugh's stand in) go on and on about how poor people should be happy because 86% of them own a Fridge. Yep, how dare those poor people complain. Who cares if they have anything to put in it, they should be happy!  Posted by Picasa

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Kenny Rodgers Gambler is my Gambling Theme, or My Parents: A Photo essay

Tonight I went to the casino in Niagara Falls with my parents to pig out at the buffet and then do some hard core gambling. After stuffing myself on turkey and corn bread, I then tried my hand at the 25 cent slot machines. When all was said and done, I fleeced the Casino for a grand total of $8.75. Ed 1: Casino 5 (hey after 6 trips there, I finally came out ahead!!!). I also downloaded hello on my parents computer, and can now post pictures again! I therefore present to you a photo essay of my parents, the gambling addicts.


Mom and Dad are hard core gamblers. They're just itchin' to get to the slots.

The tag team in action. Look closely and you can see that they went directly to the Playboy slots.

Big Ed played the Playboy "Lucky Wheel," Mum played the "Pamela Anderson" machine.

Big Ed didn't score with Playboy, so he was quickly relegated to the nickle slots. He struck out here too shortly after the picture was taken and called it a night.

The happy couple after they wiped out at the slots. All in all fun was had.  Posted by Picasa