Another Delco Guy In South Jersey

Kelly Green Wins!

John's MLAA kelly green team defeated the league leader 5-4. John pitched well in his second game and he and his teammates ended the season on a really good note.

Satellite Dish - TIMBER!!!

Between the Kindergarten Halloween Parade and the 4th grade parade, I continued the neighborhood improvement project by cutting down the eyesore in the side yard.



It was so old that the satellites it used to link up to have long since splashed down. One person has already stopped to thank me for ridding passersby of the sight of it.

Phillies Phever at Fleetwood Elementary

Well we are about 5.5 hours from the first pitch of the 2009 World Series where my beloved Phils will be taking on baseball's most bloated payroll in the Bronx tonight.

To get things started on the right foot this morning, my son John's teacher Carrie Siwiec, organized a pep rally at Fleetwood Elementary School around the corner from our house.  Bill Henley from "The 10 Show" was there and broadcast a few minutes of the fun live.

Check the clip below starting at about the 1 minute mark for a very happy kid on the right named John who has his dream World Series matchup.

Go Phils!

New on South Broad Street

Chew Man Chu is set to open this week at Broad and Pine at Symphony House. The space has been vacant only a month since the closing of DuJour. Chew Man Chu appears to fix the prior outlet's error of not having a bar.

Things look a little harried and hurried today, but I will have a review when they open!

Yes, We Are THOSE Neighbors!

Leaf bags shaped like pumpkins were on Emma's to do list for Daddy this weekend.



I am sure she is going to want a giant blow-up Santa out front sometime next month too!

Friday Fantastic Four

New Pool Cover!
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

As Another Delco Guy emerged from his slumber this morning, he noticed two guys wandering around the back yard. Thankfully I realized that they were the pool guys before I called the police. Tom and Benito from Riverton Pool and Garden were there to install our new Merlin SmartMesh pool cover.

It's a project i have had on my list since we moved into the new house.

We've all got projects on our list and not all of them are house related. So that's this week's question!

What Four Projects Do You Really Want to Get Done?

1. I'd like to finish the flooring and woodwork project at the new house
2. My Flickr account is a mess and I would like to get titles and locations on all the photos.
3. I need to go through my clothes and get rid of the stuff that I don't wear or that has magically shrunk.
4. I need to renovate my personal physical condition!

Have a great weekend and GO PHILS!!!!

So Maybe I Was Wrong

I recently said in this space that I thought that "There has been a subtle chilling effect on personal conduct that I attribute largely to the prevalence of cell phone cameras and social media sites."

Given last night's celebrations of the Phillies winning the National League Championship Series and the subsequent displays of public stupidity, i am forced to reflect that people are basically capable of anything when you add enough alcohol to the mix.

Hat tip to meech.one at The Fightins for the clip.

There is quite a collage of images up at MyFoxPhilly.com.

Baseball Night In America

John and I just got home from his game, where the Kelly Green team came from behind to beat the Red Team 10-7.  John was 1-1 with an RBI, 2 walks and was hit by a pitch.

Just before the game got underway, I got a message from Enrico of The700Level.com offering me an extra ticket.  I had to decline.  There aren't any other places I would rather be than a Phillies potential clincher.  But I made the tough choice and stayed with my boy.

Let's go Phils!!!

Phillies Phever!

Even the DRPA guys are in the act. They have a banner greeting all of us Betsy Ross Bridge commuters rooting the Phils on in the post season.



I can't wait until Wednesday night!

More Thoughts on Social Media and Instant News

As you know from last week's meandering post thoughtful commentary, I have been thinking about the role of the internet on a personal as well as a larger level.  I meant the post to be more general in nature, but it was seen by some as a personal cry for help.

What I was really trying to get across is that the instant nature and omnipresence of connectivity has fundamentally changed damn near everything in today's world.  Everyone uses Facebook at work.  Your boss can email you on your iPhone or Blackberry at 11pm.  A news cycle might only last an hour or two. Malls are empty.  Newspapers get thinner and thinner.  Magazine are disappearing.

Friday Fantastic Four

It's a Phillies Phriday in the cold and rain of October, but we've got bigger things in mind here at Another Delco Guy.

Thirty years ago, my dear brother came into this world.  One might say it's never been quite the same as it was before his birth. 

That's right, Matt is 30!

He's grown up from the little guy pictured above with his glow worm to graduate from college, travel the world, establish himself as a noted sports blogger and become a most favored Uncle. 

I won't go into all the gory details about how he used to keep me up all night rocking in his sleep, or how I taught him to throw that nasty Wiffle Ball curve he still breaks out now and then, but I will say this.  There are few people in the world whose advice and counsel means more to me that my brother's.  

But he's growing old now.  He has left his youth behind and bought the family's ancestral home.  He's begun to worry about things like his grass and new siding and the darn fool kids who blare their music until all hours. I'm sure he's got a bucket list somewhere that he's looking at and wondering how he will ever get to all these things in his waning years.  

Thus we're going to do a Friday Fantastic Four that is focused on growing old and what you have left to do. you might have done them before and need another taste, or they may be things that you just feel like you must do to fulfill your destiny (or density).

What four things do you most want to do before you can't do them anymore?

1. Visit Ireland and Poland.  They are pretty different laces, but they are part of me and I want to get there.  Sooner rather than later if possible.
2. Write that book.  I still feel like it's in there somewhere, but has lost its way.
3. Own a vacation home. Been there once, but it seems to be the quintessential mark of having 'made it' as an American.  I'd like to get back there.
4. See John and Emma become successes on their own.  It's a very fatherly thing, but nothing would please me more.  I'd give up the other three easily to see this one.

Happy 30th Birthday Little Brother!

Let's Get It On!

Wild-Caught Shrimp - Check

Fresh Snow Crab Legs - Check

Hand-Squeezed 1800 Margaritas - Check

Fresh Guacamole - Check

Phils SPank the Dodgers - On Deck

Let's Go Phils!!!

Who's Got The Time Anymore?

Obviously I write a blog.  And I have a Facebook page too.  And a Twitter feed.  I have a disused Tumblr site, an abandoned MySpace page (remember MySpace?), a LinkedIn Profile, about 8,000 images on Flickr and an entire website I manage at work.   I've got a pile of places on the web I try to get to every day and there are more than a few places where I used to post regularly and rarely get to anymore. 

My instant messaging platform aggregates my AOL, Yahoo, Google, and MSN instant messaging identities along with keeping me updated on FB status changes, Tweets and new email.  This was suppose to make my life easier.  Sometimes I just turn it off so the world doesn't seem so overwhelming.

I can post to my blog, Twitter or Flickr from my Blackberry as well as sent IMs, emails from all 4 of my accounts and also send photo and text messages.  I also occasionally use it to make phone calls.

I've got 2 kids, a new house, a significant other (not my laptop), a job, and a pile of other things to do that are not i- or e- or tech- or anything like that.  It's not like time is infinitely available to me.

I freely admit that I often find myself pecking away on my Blackberry posting from a cool restaurant or a kids' birthday party, with the nagging thought of "I HAVE to get the post up!!!!"

Recently though, I have been having that thought and then another right on its heels of "Or what if I don't?"  What would happen if I didn't? Would I become suddenly less relevant to the rest of the world?  Will my already meager posse of followers and readers dwindle to nothingness?

Would it matter?  Do they feel, as I sometimes do, that they "must" visit my site or comment on my latest status change lest they somehow be found guilty of not being an appropriately interested 21st Century Friend?

I am going to spend the next week or so thinking about my online media presence and usage as well as how it has changed in just the 3 years I have been blogging.  If you've your own thoughts on the topic, feel free to chime in!

Living High

Another Delco Guy is hanging out on the couch, the smell of sizzling Italian sausage in the air, kids working on homework and the Phils on TBS.  Shane Vic just ripped a 99 mph fastball over the right field fence and we're on our way to the NLCS! Not a bad way to start the evening!

The grass John and I started 2 weeks ago has come in full and lush and the new seed has begun to sprout.  We've got the Halloween decorations up, the yard under basic control and things are starting to shape up around here!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

We are at Kehler's Gymnasium in Broomall, PA for Andrew's birthday party. The kids all had fun getting tired out and sweaty. This place is a beehive of efficiency, with about 5 parties going on at once. It's a great place for a kids's party in Delaware County.

Friday Fantastic Four

I took this photo a few days ago on one of my nightly trips to some home improvement mega warehouse outlet. It covers one of my points for today very nicely.

What four things don't you get?

1. Why the October magazines come in September. Similarly, why are Christmas decorations up and all the fall decorations gone in the stores while leaves are still green on the trees?
2. Why President Obama got a Nobel Peace Prize when seemingly nothing has been done to secure worldwide peace.
3. Why the F$@+ the Phils used 3 starters in yesterday's game.  I mean why are the bullpen guys on the roster if Charlie doesn't trust them???
4. Why I can't get Java on my Blackberry.  The Tour is a nice peice of technology, but this is pure silliness!

Have a great weekend!
 

I Guess I Shouldn't Be Surprised

Word out of the big Apple today is that Conde Nast, faced with cliff-like drops in ad revenues for its magazines, has decided to shutter 4 more of its monthly publications, including Gourmet, a behemoth in the publishing industry.  Also on the cut list today are Modern Bride, Elegant Bride and Cookie.

I am sure the internet will be blamed for the closures and the job losses.  But really.  If you are any kind of Modern Bride, aren't you more likely to be on the web on your employer's nickle looking for the latest in wedding trends?  As for Elegant Bride, hasn't this niche headed in the direction of the wedding planner?  You really think brides with 10-figure portfolios are flipping though the pages of a magazine?

Gourmet is a bit of a shocker though.  while you might argue that it competes for space with Bon Appetit, another Conde Nast pub, I'm going to argue that it's simply another publication that had a better web presence than print version and eventually Bon Appetit will be gone too.  Part of this may also be the Food Network's emergence as the place foodies go for their daily hit of food porn.  Who needs a magazine when you can have Bobby Flay and Giada DeLaurentiis chopping and flambeeing right in your bedroom each night?

The real question is whether Conde Nast has cut far enough.  This round of cuts, added to the elimination of Domino earlier this year may look like a lot, but Conde Nast still has a ton of overlap in its titles.  Golf Digest, Golf World and Golf Travel?  How many magazines do old white guys need?

Vogue, Glamour, Allure, Self, W, and Lucky all vie for different points in the woman's fashion market, but there HAS to be some more room for cuts there.  If you can't find some overlap just on the covers, you aren't looking real hard.  While some competition from with your own corporation is good because it can help expand a marketplace and create some ability to differentiate publications, there comes a point in a tight market where it's simply fratricide. 

We've been seeing this problem all across the print industry.  Newspapers were hit first, now magazines, but really all media are being squeezed.  Websites are under increasing pressure to figure out what their market is and sell to it or go dark.  The major movie studios are doing well this year, up 13% in attendance, but they are spending fortunes advertising and promoting.  

While many will say that the Conde Nast closings are about the internet, I will say simply that they are about an old media company that has simply not kept up.   Martha Stewart's empire has rolled with some significant punches, yet remains a major player in the business because it has ample TV, radio, web and print presences.  Conde Nast never made the jump and more of its pubs will go down unless they figure out how to do so.

The Things You Find in Your Back Yard

I just looked out the back door and saw this cluster of mushrooms growing in the back yard. I have never seen anything like this!



While they look a lot like portobellos, I think I will pass!

Saturday Baseball

Kelly Green Guy
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

As the sun sets on another Saturday, my list of things to do is no shorter, but I can say I spent the day with my old friend.

My old friend baseball that is.

First I got the photos from last night's trip to the Phillies game uploaded.

Then I spent much of the day with John at his MLAA Fall ball game and the impromptu practice afterward. Photos of the festivities are here.

Now I am sitting back watching the Phils on Fox and hoping they look better than this next week.

Have a great rest of the weekend.

John Gets A Foul Ball

Thanks to the gentleman in front of us, John has his first Major League foul ball. Jason Werth grounded a foul to Jorge Cantu, who tossed the ball in John's direction. The nice guy one row in front of us secured the ball and handed it to a very happy John!

Section 132, Row 2 at CBP

John and I are seated for the first game of the final series of the Phillies regular season. We are watching the Marlins take BP and enjoying being as close to the action as you can get!

Friday Fantastic Four

Well we all have moments that throw us for a loop.  I’ve had a few in my life, and each time they make me realize just what an unpredictable species we are.  Sometimes that makes life just a bit harder.  At the same time, it’s also one of the things that make the world a funny place.

What four things have surprised you most in your life?

1. That I would see the federalization of the American economy – and that a Republican would have gotten the ball rolling on the project.
2. That it’s so easy to get married and so hard to get divorced.
3. That concrete floats.
4. That we had a parade on Broad Street that did not involve cross-dressing union members and banjos.

Have a great weekend and GO PHILS!