Kev

A breathtaking self-portrait. Stunning.

I like the way Seth Godin thinks, and holy crap did he ever nail this one right on the head. How many times have you set your hopes on something that was possible, but not necessarily likely? Of those times where your hopes were answered, would you give them up for anything? Probably not.

Here’s Seth’s take on why you won’t. Excellent food for thought, especially when working with groups that have expected outcomes firmly set.

I’m sorry, Rafael is full of shit. His story changes from “I’ve never done steroids, period” to “I never knowingly took steroids”.

Give me a break.

Remember a certain sprinter who claimed someone put steroids in his water? Palmeiro is alluding to the same kind of thing now, although I’m sure the story will be refined over the next few days to the belief that he was taking some kind of vitamin complex.

In this day and age, how can you possibly just blindly in(jec/ges)t what someone gives you? Plameiro is now stating that no one should take things from someone who’s not a licensed physician. So who was he taking stuff from? What, exactly, was he nailed on? Does anyone other than me think “don’t ask questions, and plead ignorance later” isn’t an excuse?

Everyone’s cutting him slack because he sounded so earnest about not taking steroids during the congressional hearings. Whaaaaaaat? Politicians sound ernest, too, when they’re campaigning. Makes you kinda wonder if Canseco really was lying, don’t it?

He’s currently tainted, and the holier-than-thou facade has crumbled, because it sure didn’t sound like denial or a plea of innocence coming out of his mouth. It could be that he tested positive for a by-product or banned substance that are produced by over-the-counter medicines, but you’d think if that was the case he’d be outlining what happened. The fact that he’s not saying anything other than it being unintentional makes me think “suuure you didn’t take no stereos”.

Two months to go. Lookin’ good!!!

My flight from New York (well, Newark) didn’t leave until 8:35 on Friday, so I took the opportunity to visit with Walt, Lee, Zoe, their new arrival, and Lee’s dad as an extra bonus. Jake is a hoss, and you can already see that he and Zoe are going to look an awful lot alike. I am betting on him having the same body type as Walt’s brother, but it’s awfully early to make that call (that won’t stop me, though).

You know you’ve reached a good point of familiarity with kids when you arrive and they don’t run for mom or dad’s legs. Zoe was having a great time playing with her Pepé, so I got a quick “Hi Kev!” and a huge smile – what more could you want? She’s incredibly cute, and I was very much a bad influence this visit. I take pride in the fact that I had Walt wondering aloud when my flight was within thirty minutes of arrival.

We had a couple beers, we had some marvy pizza, I got to hold Jake for a little bit, and Zoe and I clowned around a little. Lee looks great, if a little tired, and seems to be an awful lot more comfortable than the last time I saw her. The three hours shot by incredibly quickly, and I really enjoyed hanging with the family and extended family; it’s always a treat.

The drive to the airport was aww-inspiring, as Zoe decided she wanted to come to my house then and their. A trip in the near future was promised by me and her daddy, so hopefully we’ll get everyone out for a visit once Jake’s schedule evens out a little.

The flight back was a little late because of thunderboomers, but was a nice quiet ride. I even got to meet John Muckler, who was returning from the NHL’s announcement that hockey was back. He’s a guy who’s passionate about the game, and he seems genuinely interested in making it fun for people. I stand by what I said earlier, but I hope he and his management staff can pull it off.

A nice way to end a busy few days through three states.

I was back in New York for some client meetings, and had some down time across the Hudson while waiting for a ride. I was sitting at the ferry terminal (well, let’s be serious, it was a dock), and had an angle on Manhattan which struck a chord. I’ll leave the interpretation up to you, but I thought the imagery of this faded, weathered and slightly tattered flag was interesting.

And in this corner, wearing the black trunks and weighing in at nine pounds, seven ounces, please welcome, the new arrival, the wonder of wonders, Zoe’s new champeeen… Jacob… Fry… Trotta!!!

Jacob entered the world on Bastille Day at 16:50 eastern, and joins his big sister Zoe in one of the coolest families on the face of the planet. Congrats to papa Walt, and even bigger congrats to Lee, who was sick and #%^*&%#* tired of Jacob’s daily calisthenics. Here’s hoping the next three months of sleepless nights go by right quick.

I’ve travelled a lot over the past decade, but I can’t recall ever being in a situation like this before. I had a later flight from Toronto to Ottawa, and we arrived at around 23:30 to thunderstorms. The airport uses a lightning sensor (which measures localised static electricity) and, when it hits a certain point, shuts down the airport ground operations. They did that around 22:45, from what we’re told.

We’re 50 feet from the gate, and ave been so since we landed. There are 9 other planes in the same boat. Wireless actually extends out to the plane, so that’s been providing entertainment for a while 🙂

In any event, I’ve sat on the tarmac for more than an hour several times waiting to take off. I’ve never sat on it waiting to park. It’s mildly entertaining to be 200 yds from my car and not be able to get to it.

Oop – and as I type this, the engines spool, and away we go…

I think Fark sums it up best – “Tentative NHL labor deal reached. Tens of fans overjoyed”.

Good luck players and owners, you’ll need it after a year of showing everyone just how much you really cared about the game. I know I won’t spend a dime on tickets, parking, satellite packages, concession stands, or anything with an NHL logo on it this season. I suspect there are others—mostly in the U.S.— who will probably feel the same way. Maybe you can get a deal with NBC, the same folks who bring us Arena Football, to help spearhead the new-look that’s been promised every year for as long as I can remember.

Woo… umm… hoo.