Crowd View #2

Crowd View #2
Originally uploaded by shersteve.

The Revs are about to make their grand entrance through the soccer ball tunnel with the "Fort" section of the stands shown right behind.

Crowd View #1

Crowd View #1
Originally uploaded by shersteve.

A view of the crowd standing for the National Anthem at the start of the game today at Gillette Stadium.

Not good for the Revs

The NE Revs lost 2-1 today.

Perfect weather.

Nice crowd.

They scored in the 54th minute to up 1-0.

Then the defense fell asleep.

The game ended Fire 2, Revs 1.

 

 

Technorati Tags : Revs, soccer, MLS

 

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NE Revolution vs. Chicago Fire

The home opener for the New England Revolution is today. A glorious weather day for soccer.

 

Go Revs!

 

 

Technorati Tags : MLS, soccer, Revs

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The audience it deserves

Hugh has some good advice.

 

 

Technorati Tags : gapingvoid, blog, blogging, advice

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Gotta Hand it to Stacy

Yes, follow the link to view the pitcure of the cool hand that Stacyfound.

 

I think the pinky is for drinking tea, high society style.

 

 

 

Technorati Tags : virtualosophy, blog, blogging, hand

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Boys and girls, finish your homework

I am finally working my way through The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman. Actually I have only a couple of chapters remaining. Much thought has been percolating in my grey matter while I have been reading this amongst everything else going on.

 

Found this from the beginning of Chapter 6 on "The Untouchables":

So if the flattening of the world is largely (but not entirely) unstoppable, and holds out the potential to be as beneficial to American society as a whole as past market evolutions have been, how does an individual get the best out of it? What do we tell out kids?

 

There is only one message: You have to constantly upgrade your skills. There will be plenty of good jobs out there in the flat world for people with the knowledge and ideas to seize them.

 

I am not suggesting this will be simple. It will not be. There will be a lot of other people out there also trying to get smarter. It was never good to be mediocre in your job, but in a world of walls, mediocrity could still earn you a decent wage. In a flatter world, you really do not want to be mediocre. You don't want to find yourself in the shoes of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, when his son Biff dispels his idea that the Loman family is special by declaring, "Pop! I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you!" An angry Willy retorts, "I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman!"

 

I don't care to have that conversation with my girls, so my advice to them in this flat world is very brief and very blunt: "Girls, when I was growing up, my parents used to say to me, "Tom, finish your dinner --- people in China and India are starving.' My advice to you is: Girls, finish your homework --- people in China and India are starving for your jobs."

Like Tom, I also have two daughters so this strikes fairly close to home.

 

How does this message strike you?

 

 

 

PS - more on this book as the grey matter continues to percolate.

 

 

 

Technorati Tags : advice, Friedman, flat+world, synergy, learning

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That was a day

This was on the corner of a white board in my office. The girls decorated it once upon a time just before Christmas. Hence, the question: "It is Cristmas Eve, do you know where your presents are?"



I managed to use the board and keep this section untouched for the time I was there. Now, I have moved to another space on another floor but have captured the image in digital memory.


I wonder what the new occupant will say when they see this?





Technorati Tags : holiday, presents, blog, children, memory, whiteboard, office

Sign of Spring

Yes, the holly bush in the front yard has this nest with three robins eggs. The mother robin scoots when we open the garage door near the bush. She'll fly to one of the nearby trees and keep careful watch on us if we approach the nest.

Technorati Tags : spring, robin, life, blog

Up close #4

Carolyn insisted that I get in at least one picture so assistant Coach Paul Mariner was a good fit.

We both wear glasses.

We both coach.

I had dark hair... Oh well...

Technorati Tags : New+England+Revolution, Revs, soccer, MLS

Up close #3

The first "must get" picture for Carolyn was with Clint Dempsey. Yea, Clintanio!


Clintanio? Yes, one game during Clint's rookie season there was a conversation in the row behind us about the difference between great American players and great Brazilian players. The drift of it was that some of the American players needed to get single names like most of the Brazilian players (Pele, Ronaldinho, etc.). So they proceeded to try and come up with a good single name for Clint. There were several discussed but this is one that I liked the best and within the family we have continued to use.


Technorati Tags : New+England+Revolution, Revs, soccer, MLS

Up Close #2

Carolyn with the New England Revolution 2005 Most Valuable Player, Shalrie Joseph. A real nice guy in person, one I would definitely want on my soccer team!

Technorati Tags : New+England+Revolution, Revs, soccer, MLS

Up close #1

Got a special chance to meet with the New England Revolution today. Needless to say, this pose with Andy Dorman, Pat Noonan, and Jay Heaps made one girl smile.

Yes, the inside story was that Jay made Carolyn laugh by whispering that he needed to stand on tip-toes for this picture.


Technorati Tags : New+England+Revolution, Revs, soccer, MLS

Awareness

Wonderful story and comment intermixed with Ronni Bennett's posting on Municipal Callousness

 

This is just a piece of jored's comment:

There is a very real need for continued increased awareness in all professions, all walks of life. Seems always some need for increased awareness and sensitivity.

Amen, amen.

 

I encourage to you to read the full posting and all the comments, being sure not to miss jored's.

 

 

Technorati Tags : awareness, sensitivity, life, compassion, blog, TGB

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Andrea Learned - an interview

I had the distinct pleasure to interview Andrea Learned who writes at Learned on Women and is the co-author with Lisa Johnson of Don't Think Pink.

 

Andrea provides some advice for the blog Synergy Team.

 

Read all about it here.

 

 

Technorati Tags : leadership, power+of+we, synergy, blog, blogging, women

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Ronni Bennett on Leadership

Yes, I got to spend some time talking with Ronni Bennett on women and leadership (amongst others things, of course) but the results of the conversation focusing on the women and leadership part have been posted to the blog Synergy.

 

Click on over and read it.

 

You have my permission!

 

 

Technorati Tags : leadership, TGB, synergy, blog

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The 23rd Qualm

Via Ronni Bennett who found it at the Sacred Ordinary but which was really written by Annette Gross comes the 23rd Qualm. Yes, it is a parody and riotously funny.

George Bush is my shepherd; I dwell in want.

He maketh logs to be cut in national forests.

He leadeth trucks into the still wilderness.

He restoreth my fears.

He leadeth me in the paths of international disgrace for his ego's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of pollution and war,

I will find no exit, for thou art in office.

Thy tax cuts for the rich and thy media control, they discomfort me.

Thou preparest an agenda of deception in the presence of thy religion.

Thou anointest my head with foreign oil.

My health insurance runneth out.

Surely megalomania and false patriotism shall follow me all the days of thy term,

And my jobless child shall dwell in my basement forever.

Technorati Tags : parody, politics, humor, blog, TGB

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Love is .... Part 3

Love is ...

 

A gathering of the family, both sides, together, for food and conversation.

 

A glorious day weather-wise.

 

A relaxing time, not punching a clock, not wearing a watch.

 

 

I hope your Sunday is family filled and fun.

 

 

Technorati Tags : family, gathering, food, blog, blogging

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Love is .... Part 2

Love Poem

 

When we are in love, we love the grass,

And the barns, and the lightpoles,

And the small mainstreets abandoned all night.

 

 

 

from Silence in the Snowy Fields, by Robert Bly

 

 

Technorati Tags : Bly, love, poetry, blog, blogging

 

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Love is .... Part 1

What is love?

 

Love is .... here for part 1

 

 

Technorati Tags : Creeley, love, blog, blogging, poetry

 

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Blogidarity

Yes, there is a new button over there on the left side where "I also write at"

Blogidarity kicks off this week.
Blogidarity is not just any old blog.
This blog is the result of a brain storm by Felix Gerena with the assistance of Team Synergy

Blogidarity will enable you to do more than post a comment.
It will enable you to take some action.
You can contribute to the cause.

Not just any cause.
The cause this month is Clear Path International.
Read the story of Ha and her success after multiple surgeries to regain the use of her legs.

With the assistance of PayPal, Blogidarity is set up to accept your contribution.

Subscribe to Blogidarity via RSS
Subscribe to Blogidarity with your wallet.

Cause 1 $ can save a life.

Technorati Tags : Blogidarity, contribute, blog, cause

Sign of Spring - part 2

Yes, another sign of spring. The picture is interesting in that it looks like it was taken at night. There was still plenty of daylight around but the flash triggered. I kept it as it helps to make the contrast of the colors.


Technorati Tags : spring, flowers, color

Who owns Culture?

Via Andrew Taylor at The Artful Manager comes this (well worth it) 20 minutes of Lawrence Lessig on "Who owns Culture?"  Yes, it is from a talk one year ago but very relevant today.

 

Trust me!

 

Spend the 20 minutes to view this. Well worth it!

 

 

Technorati Tags : Lessig, rights, digital, technology, creativity

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Survey says!

When Richard Dawson said those famous words, "Survey Says" all of us in the audience and on the set, looked to the board to find out what the answer was.

Visit Mary's Blog and provide your answers to her questions looking for five things and we'll see what the "survey says!"

Technorati Tags : Family+Feud, five+things, TV, priority, survey+says

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Poem: Triolet on a line Apocryphally Attributed to Martin Luther

By A E Stallings


Why should the Devil get all the good tunes,
The booze and the neon and Saturday night,
The swaying in darkness, the lovers like spoons?
Why should the Devil get all the good tunes?
Does he hum them to while away sad afternoons
And the long, lonesome Sundays? Or sing them for spite?
Why should the Devil get all the good tunes,
The booze and the neon and Saturday night?



Technorati Tags : Stallings, poem, poetry

Bubbles

From Patti Digh writing at 37Days comes this gem:

And yet, having two girls at such different ages reminds me that watchfulness changes as we move through time, that what is watchful for a two-year-old is smothering to a 13-year-old, that the kind of freedom a teenager needs to make their own decisions and mistakes can be deadly for a toddler, that our watchfulness over ourselves and others must change and grow.

It turns out that bubbles are the perfect metaphor for this, aren’t they? They make their own way in the world, blowing in the wind. We must let them go if they are to move into the sky, they are fragile yet resilient, they are beautiful only in flight. There is a paradox with bubbles—and with people—as my mother cross-stitched for Emma when she was born: we must give them roots and we must also give them wings.

Read the full posting here.

 

Technorati Tags : bubbles, life, growing+up, kids, parents, 37Days

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Lost on the trail?

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Blogosphere was quiet for a whole week.

Maybe you thought we were lost on the trail...

Maybe we had run out of trail mix...

Maybe you didn't notice...

Anyway, we're back!


Technorati Tags : hitchhikers, blog

You know you've made it when

you walk in to the study and your daughter and her boy friend are collaborating on their psychology project and she says:

"Your timing is impeccable Dad. As usual, you picked the worst part of this to walk into."

And then, sure enough, right on queue, the talking (actually a DVD) of a current comedian playing in the background starts spouting such language as is not normally heard in our house.

I developed this habit a bit ago. I would come home from work and both daughters would be queued in front of the TV filling in some time before dinner by watching re-runs of "Buffy - The Vampire Slayer". Of course, as I was standing there taking my coat off the big fight scene would erupt.

I did eventually watch a show or two with them. There is a build up to the one big fight scene. And it is usually a doozy. Totally unrealistic!


Disclaimer: Less someone think such shows were normal TV fair in the household, they actually were not. The girls had to complete their homework before watching any TV. The one exception being some "break" time between track/cross country and dinner. Realistically, there were usually not a lot of time to make it worth while getting into something. Although, there were times when the homework load was sufficient, and I give them credit, they did by-pass Buffy or whatever and hit the books anyway foregoing the break. They also had a curfew. No TV on school nights after 9:00 PM. This eventually got waived once a week for a show that all three of my ladies were into. Yes, Dolores too! This varied as the show moved amongst the nights, one season on Sunday night, then to Wednesday, then to Thursday... I don't keep track of it except that if it is on that night, I know where my ladies are.

The waiver came into place with the girls continually getting onto the honor roll and working for the privilege. They held their side of the bargain so it was an easy Win/Win situation.


Technorati Tags : language, father, family, life

Attracting attention

The women are starting to find blog Synergy and join the discussion.

 

Check it out here!

 

And stay tuned for more developments as the month of April progresses.

 

 

Technorati Tags : women, power+of+we, synergy, blog, blogging

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Chalkboard shivers

You go along your way and some lines catch you.
You do a double take to check what you hear or read.
Shiver maybe, and then go on.

I find I can go on only so far before I need to respond.
The scratch on the chalkboard needs to stop.
(My apologies for the image and shiver that may have just gone down your spine too!).


For example; from John Gorka's newest album; Old Futures Gone, he sings in "Always":

I will always be lonely, nothing's ever going to change that
It's the way I'm wired, it's the way that I'm set back

From Stowe Boyd's blog, /Message he wrote on continuous partial attention:

The results? Changes in how we perceive the world and our place in it. And this is not just small, subtle changes. They are big, and active. We are actively opting to do things differently. The manner of our adaptations are socially intrusive and disruptive: we IM in meetings, read books while others are lecturing, or look out the windows when we are supposed to be focused on the One Big Thing For Today, Or Else.

Technorati Tags : song, blog, shiver, community, attention

Quotes & Links

From Ronni Bennett writing at Time Goes By

It’s two years since I dipped my toe into the blogosphere with Time Goes By. We didn’t know one another then and now we do. That is the magic of blogging. Let’s give a big hand to the unnamed people who invented blogging software and services that make it so easy for us to form such extraordinary communities among ourselves.

We sit at our screens tapping our keyboards, some half a world away, and we matter to each other. We listen and tell our stories, share our pleasures and concerns, teach and learn, laugh and love and cry - the last sometimes in sorrow and others, as I did yesterday, in joy.

Read the full posting here.

 

From Stowe Boyd writing at /Message

Some of what Linda says seems like a request for better ettiquette surrounding social interaction in the always on world. Fine. But maybe the reason it sounds oldtimey to me is that I don't spend my time in large corporations, in staff meetings, or the like. I am a soloist, spending most of my time connected to people remotely, and that sense of connection, however tenuous, is all that I have. I have to remain in touch with my posse, or I have nothing but myself. There is no organization backing me up.

Read the full posting here.

 

From Shelley Powers writing at Burningbird

I don’t mind marketing at all, but I want to see it coming. I want to know that when people respond to me, it’s really what they believe. I don’t want to spend time reading and writing and at the end the day, wonder how much of the interaction was real. I don’t want to be a part of the buzz. I’m too old to be part of the buzz. I was too old to be part of the buzz at least half a century ago. That’s a long time to be out of the buzz.

Conversely, I want people to know when I respond to them, positively or negatively, they know I mean it–that I’m not playing a game. I won’t say anything in an email that I’m not willing to say in my weblog; I won’t say anything in a comment I won’t say in my weblog. I’ve seen it happen too often–someone is sweetness and light in their weblogs, and then a complete asshole in email or comments. What they publish publicly rates right up there with creating agile software–its all words that don’t mean a damn thing.

Since, I’m wishing, I wish you all would stop blowing bubbles all the time; and speaking your lime green, yellow, and pink thoughts–but then I might as well wish for more angular corners; what you do on your own dime is your business. But when you step on my time, it’s mine.

Read her full post here.

 

From Susan Senator writing at Susan's Blog

When I was a little girl, we had "extras." An Extra was something that was kind of a bonus, that didn't count, but that someone wanted to give to you anyway. It could have been an extra birthday present but one that they were not quite sure of for some reason; perhaps it was something they had found, rather than bought, or something that they knew might not be exactly right but the impulse to give it was stronger than its potential to displease. They are little splurges that you could not help getting, but they are not the main attraction. Yet they might end up being the most memorable gift of the day.

Read the full post here.

 

 

From Mary Schmidt wrtiting at Mary's Blog

Tired of trying to be a somebody? Despair of ever being on the blogger “A” list? Never got to sit at the cool kid’s table in high school? Manolos hurt your feet? Don’t see how a Torture (Um, Miracle) bra can help your career?

Well, now you too can join the ever-so-exclusive Nobody Club! You can even get a button for your site! (And, as soon as I can figure out how to get the dang thing to show up on this site, I’ll have one right here…some days technology and I just do not get along.)

Read the full post here.

 

Technorati Tags : TGB, blog, blogging, attention, selfconfidence, extras

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End = Beginning

Ronni Bennett closes her birthday posting with this quote today.

“For age is opportunity no less

Than youth itself, though in another dress,

And as the evening twilight fades away,

The sky is filled with stars invisible by day.”

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Morituri Salutamus [1875]

Drop by to read the full posting.

Wish her a Happy Birthday, one of many more!

She is one of the best writers I have found in my travels on the internet.


Technorati Tags : TGB, Bennett, Happy+Birthday

Happy Birthday Ronni

Happy

Birthday

Ronni!

Technorati Tags : TGB, Bennett, Happy+Birthday

Starts & Stops Blog Active

The Starts & Stops Blog announced in the Globe on Sunday is fully active.

 

Boston commuters should check it out here.

 

Add it to your RSS reader!

 

 

Technorati Tags : Boston+Globe, commuting, blog

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Another singularity event coming

With the recent passing of 1:02:03 on 4/5/06, I got to thinking hey, another one is coming in June!

06:06:06 on 06/06/06


Technorati Tags : singularity, time, unique

Healing Iraq - Zayad

From Zayad writing at Healing Iraq comes this:

Please don’t ask me whether I believe Iraq is on the verge of civil war yet or not. I have never experienced a civil war before, only regular ones. All I see is that both sides are engaged in tit-for-tat lynchings and summary executions. I see governmental forces openly taking sides or stepping aside. I see an occupation force that is clueless about what is going on in the country. I see politicians that distrust each other and continue to flame the situation for their own personal interests. I see Islamic clerics delivering fiery sermons against each other, then smile and hug each other at the end of the day in staged PR stunts. I see the country breaking into pieces. The frontlines between different districts of Baghdad are already clearly demarked and ready for the battle. I was stopped in my own neighbourhood yesterday by a watch team and questioned where I live and what I was doing in that area. I see other people curiously staring in each other’s faces on the street. I see hundreds of people disappearing in the middle of the night and their corpses surfacing next day with electric drill holes in them. I see people blown up to smithereens because a brainwashed virgin seeker targeted a crowded market or café. I see all that and more.

Don’t you dare chastise me for writing about what I see in my country.

Technorati Tags : iraq, war, religion, politics

Where are the women interested

APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering	5
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee
With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade,
And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten,	10
And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.

 

So begins TS Eliots' The Waste Land.

 

I am not much of a coffee drinker but I have been known to talk for an extended time and I am looking forward to some conversations on this month's topic over on the blog Synergy. So click on over there and join the conversation!

 

 

Technorati Tags : women, power+of+we, synergy, eliot

 

 

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Family Recipe: London Broil

 

One of our family favorite meals centers around a London Broil. The marinade is one of three key steps to the successful delivery of this to the table.

 

We start with a couple of pieces of beef about 3-4 pounds total. Ideally they should be about an inch and a quarter or an inch and a half thick. Most times the meat department only has them available in one inch thickness. The thicker the piece, the wider the slice when you carve it during the cooking step.

 

The marinade:

 

1/4 cup wine vinegar

2 Tbl oil

2 Tbl soy sauce

2 Tbl ketchup

onion salt to taste

garlic powder to taste

black pepper to taste

 

For the 3-4 pounds, we usually triple the quantity of marinade. The original amount is good for a half or three quarter pound of meat but does not leave enough juice for the second cooking step for a piece larger than that, hence tripling the quantity above for 3-4 pounds. Yes, if you had a 2 pound piece doubling would be good.

 

Step 1 - Prepare the marinade. Put together with the beef and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours. Turn once or twice during this period.

 

Step 2 - Warm the grill. When sufficiently hot, place the meat on the grill and sear each side.

 

Step 3 - After searing each side, remove from grill to slice thinly on a diagonal and return to marinade before returning to the grill. This step works well if you have a partner. I learned from my father-in-law. I stood by his side as he sliced and I used tongs to move the slices to the marinade for another dunking before returning the strips to the grill. When the family gets together, the teamwork is good. When I do it alone, the outcome is still good but the process is a little slower. I slice it all before moving it to the second dunk in the juice before moving it to the grill. The thin slices cook quickly when put them back on the grill so you need to pay attention to not over cook them. If your grill has an upper rack, as the slices get cooked, I move them to the top deck to keep them warm but out of the direct heat. Once all is complete, move the slices to the serving plate and enjoy.

 

We usually surround the London Broil with onion soup potatoes, a salad and a vegetable or two. This is wide open for your local favorites.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Technorati Tags : food, family, grill, recipe

 

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Sign of Spring

Sign of Spring
Originally uploaded by shersteve.

a good sign of spring... let's hope that April will not fool us with some snow later...

Technorati Tags : theme, variation, spring, blog, blogging