Oh, 1996. What a banner year in the life of Nicolas. I turned 14 and survived my first year at Preston Junior High School - barely.
I only spent two years at Preston, and actually I have very few good memories of the place. There were a lot of cliques and I was, of course, on the losing side of that situation. One of the few good memories from 7th grade, however, was the end of the school year when the Colorado Avalanche made an amazing playoff run and won the Stanley Cup Finals. It became the topic of conversation every day at lunch. We would either start by asking about the game coming up that night or the one played the night before.
When the Avalanche won the Cup, it marked the first professional sports title for any Colorado team, and it started a love affair between me and hockey that is going strong to this day.
I started playing hockey during the summer of 1996. I would occasionally draft my sister and we would play one-on-one games in the street. Eventually, I saved up some money and bought a hockey net and got my generously proportioned Indian friend Andrew to come over and play. He would put on my catcher's gear and play goalie. And I would shoot away at him all afternoon. Good times, great hockey.
Towards the end of high school, my interest in hockey got a bit more serious. Andrew and I would start venturing to the Colorado State University roller hockey rink and play with the big boys. And, yes, Andrew would still wear my catcher's equipment to those events as well. Isn't it wonderful being young and not feeling inhibited by embarassment?
In college, I took the big step of signing up to play on a roller hockey team at OD's - as a goalie! I had never played in goal before, but since I did not have a team, I signed up as a "free agent." The Blue Dogs called and said they were short a goalie. Sure, I said, why not? That afternoon I went to Play It Again Sports and bought all the necessary equipment - mostly all of it used.
I played with the Blue Dogs for two seasons. We won the league championship in the second one after an undefeated regular season, and a 3-2 victory in the championship game. But by then I had the itch to get back to skating as a forward. The next few years I played on an assortment of teams: Tsunami, Brew Crew, and Proformance Auto.
I won a second OD's championship with Tsunami. The championship game that season against the Untouchables was perhaps the greatest moment of my life, so far anyway. The Tsunami team had a terrible goalie and an amazing offense. We had an undefeated regular season, mostly because we won games by scores of 8-5 or 7-6. You get the idea. We always worried about our goalie, but as long as we scored one more than the other guys, that was all that mattered.
Although we should have blown out our opponents in the championship game, our goalie played worse than usual. It was a high scoring game that went back and forth all day. In the second half, with the game tied 6-6 and just over a minute left in the game, the Untouchables scored on us taking a 7-6 lead.
We pulled the goalie and put out all our ringers for the last minute of the game. I was on the rink as the last man back, trying to prevent an empty net goal. As the time wound down under 15 seconds, the Untouchables recovered the puck behind the net and tried to clear it around the boards. I stepped up and stopped it.
What I am about to tell - I kid you not - is completely, 100 percent true.
After I stopped the puck on the sideboards, I glanced at the scoreboard and saw that time was about to run out. 5...4...
There was no time for a pass so I just wound up and shot. As I was following through on the shot, I could see a defenseman for the Untouchables racing over and diving trying to block the shot. The puck sailed over him and then I lost sight of it behind the crowd in front of the net.
...3...2....
Then, all of a sudden, I saw the back of the net jump. GOAL!!! ...1...0 BUZZER...
I had tied the championship game at 7-all right as the buzzer sounded to end the game. I threw my arms up and celebrated with my teammates. We lined up for overtime. The opening faceoff was won by our center and it came back to me. I saw my defensive partner racing up the right wing all alone. I passed him the puck and he scored, about 20 seconds after I had tied it. In a matter of a few seconds, I had tied the game and assisted on the championship-clinching goal.
I had a short stint as the backup goalie on the Colorado State University Roller Hockey team. I did not get much playing time, but I do have one career victory against the University of Colorado. Woot! I have focused on ice hockey mostly since then. I played ice for a season in Northeast Colorado and had a fairly successful stint, placing second on the team in scoring and posting a 7-4-2 record as a goalie. I have recently started my first league play in Albany and so far my team is 3-0.
Besides the fact that hockey as a game is entertaining for me, I also think that the culture of it is fascinating. I like to think of it as a "blue collar" sport. For starters, the cycle of the game is based on shifts. Every line puts in their 2 minutes or so, and then we substitute out and let the next shift get to work. Then, after every shift, it is customary to spend time on the bench with your linemates going over the events of the previous shift, which is analogous to heading down to the local watering hole and discussing the day at the factory with your co-workers over a nice cold beer. And, before you know it, it's time go get back out on the ice and do it all over again.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
No seat for you!
As a former "top-heavy" (read: overweight) person, I am sympathetic to the plight of our generously proportioned fellow humans. However, at certain point, I believe personal responsibility needs to kick in for people who weigh, say, 450 lbs.
Apparently, our friendly neighbors to the north disagree. Starting January 10th, Canadian airlines will be forced to comply with a new court ruling that mandates that disabled persons who must travel with an attendant can only be charged for one seat on domestic flights.
Okay, that makes sense. But this ruling also applies to persons who are considered disabled due to morbid obesity. Not so fast, people (no pun intended).
It is not like an obese person goes from a pleasantly-plump 250 lbs. to a blimp-like 500 lbs. overnight. You have to literally make an effort to become that large. And I would argue that people become obese with a certain awareness of what they are doing. I mean, wouldn't you notice that perhaps things are getting out of hand at around 300 lbs. or so and you cannot sit in the chairs at the movie theatre? Or get into your car?
On the other hand, people with developmental or physical disabilities are forced to live with debilitating conditions through no fault of their own. They are often born with their conditions or acquire them, usually through no fault of their own.
I fear that this ruling is another instance of rewarding bad behaviour. In this case, the specific bad behaviour I am speaking of is the inability to take personal responsibility for the consequences of your actions on your body. And if somebody out there would like to make the argument that obesity is a disease, I would respectfully challenge you to a duel. Or a debate, whatever.
I could very well be obese myself. Eating is my second favorite thing to do in life. And I used to do it like it was my job. But when it came to the point that I could not fit into any of my clothes anymore, I realized that I had to start to take it easy at meals.
And I am not against this ruling because I'm a fattist or a jerk. I happen to think that if you choose to engage in reckless behaviour by choice, then you also implicitly have made a choice to accept the consequences of your reckless choices. For example, sometimes I drive over the speed limit. Is it reckless? Yes. When I get tickets, do I argue with the policeman? No. Why? Because a ticket is the consequence of speeding.
My reckless eating led me to look like this (below on the right - weighing in at over 200 lbs.)...
...and then I (below on the left) took personal responsibility for my eating choices...Voila! Success after decisive action. By the way, please ignore the fact that this picture is demonstrative of a specific night when I made other reckless choices completely unrelated to food consumption. Don't ask.
Maybe the responsible party for an obese person's attendant's plane ticket should be the parents of the obese person who may have stood idly by while their beloved child was pushing maximum density. I don't know about your mother, but mine was always more than willing to remind me of the reason why she was always having to buy me new pants. I did not always appreciate it back then, especially when it occured in front of my sister, but I see why it was important.
Here's another interesting situation that could come up with this new policy. Airlines are required to provide wheelchairs for travelers who require them. Question: will airlines now also be required to provide free peanuts to obese passengers who get hungry? It would, after all, be considered accomodating to their "disease."
Three final points:
(1) How widespread of a problem is this? Most of the morbidly obese people I know are either bed-ridden or afraid to fly.
(2) This rule applies only to domestic flights. What happens when a domestic flight is scheduled on an E190 or CRJ? No obese person could even walk in the door of one of those planes. Would the airline have to completely renew it's fleet to accomodate this ruling?
(3) Shouldn't obese people pay more for air travel, as some argue?
Oh Canada...(not the anthem, that was more of a sigh).
Apparently, our friendly neighbors to the north disagree. Starting January 10th, Canadian airlines will be forced to comply with a new court ruling that mandates that disabled persons who must travel with an attendant can only be charged for one seat on domestic flights.
Okay, that makes sense. But this ruling also applies to persons who are considered disabled due to morbid obesity. Not so fast, people (no pun intended).
It is not like an obese person goes from a pleasantly-plump 250 lbs. to a blimp-like 500 lbs. overnight. You have to literally make an effort to become that large. And I would argue that people become obese with a certain awareness of what they are doing. I mean, wouldn't you notice that perhaps things are getting out of hand at around 300 lbs. or so and you cannot sit in the chairs at the movie theatre? Or get into your car?
On the other hand, people with developmental or physical disabilities are forced to live with debilitating conditions through no fault of their own. They are often born with their conditions or acquire them, usually through no fault of their own.I fear that this ruling is another instance of rewarding bad behaviour. In this case, the specific bad behaviour I am speaking of is the inability to take personal responsibility for the consequences of your actions on your body. And if somebody out there would like to make the argument that obesity is a disease, I would respectfully challenge you to a duel. Or a debate, whatever.
I could very well be obese myself. Eating is my second favorite thing to do in life. And I used to do it like it was my job. But when it came to the point that I could not fit into any of my clothes anymore, I realized that I had to start to take it easy at meals.
And I am not against this ruling because I'm a fattist or a jerk. I happen to think that if you choose to engage in reckless behaviour by choice, then you also implicitly have made a choice to accept the consequences of your reckless choices. For example, sometimes I drive over the speed limit. Is it reckless? Yes. When I get tickets, do I argue with the policeman? No. Why? Because a ticket is the consequence of speeding.
My reckless eating led me to look like this (below on the right - weighing in at over 200 lbs.)...
...and then I (below on the left) took personal responsibility for my eating choices...Voila! Success after decisive action. By the way, please ignore the fact that this picture is demonstrative of a specific night when I made other reckless choices completely unrelated to food consumption. Don't ask.Maybe the responsible party for an obese person's attendant's plane ticket should be the parents of the obese person who may have stood idly by while their beloved child was pushing maximum density. I don't know about your mother, but mine was always more than willing to remind me of the reason why she was always having to buy me new pants. I did not always appreciate it back then, especially when it occured in front of my sister, but I see why it was important.Here's another interesting situation that could come up with this new policy. Airlines are required to provide wheelchairs for travelers who require them. Question: will airlines now also be required to provide free peanuts to obese passengers who get hungry? It would, after all, be considered accomodating to their "disease."
Three final points:
(1) How widespread of a problem is this? Most of the morbidly obese people I know are either bed-ridden or afraid to fly.
(2) This rule applies only to domestic flights. What happens when a domestic flight is scheduled on an E190 or CRJ? No obese person could even walk in the door of one of those planes. Would the airline have to completely renew it's fleet to accomodate this ruling?
(3) Shouldn't obese people pay more for air travel, as some argue?
Oh Canada...(not the anthem, that was more of a sigh).
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Disappointing
Making this very glamorous list of the "Lamest Blogs" was a goal I set when I started this forum. 
Apparently, I was not lame enough. But, fear not, I am working on being lamer than ever in the coming year.
Apparently, I was not lame enough. But, fear not, I am working on being lamer than ever in the coming year.Me for NY
Once the nomination of Senator Clinton for Secretary of State became official, the big name pols no doubt started working the phones to jockey for position to be appointed to the open seat. And whoever ends up appointed will have the dubious distinction of being the unelected Senator appointed by the unelected Governor. In the increasingly dark blue New York, however, an open Senate seat is as close to the holy grail as you can come for a Democrat.
While the speculation has focused on, you know, elected officials, I would like to highlight here today a dark-horse candidate for the position: me.
The selection of myself, whose electoral history includes an unsuccessful run for the Washington Park Condo Board of Managers, would throw the entire system into shock. But in an already historic election season, why not continue making history by appointing the most unprepared Senator ever.
It is clear that there is some sort of constituency for people like myself serving in office. How else can one explain the continued/annoying media fascination with morons like Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber? But in addition to shoring up the average idiot vote, I would also draw in the coveted Latino, birdwatcher, hockey player, and Seinfeld enthusiast voting blocs.
And consider the lack of Hispanic diversity in the Senate. With the already announced retirement of Senator Mel Martinez from Florida, the Senate Spanish Speaking and Soccer Watching Caucus will lose a third of its membership in 2010. Who will laugh at Ken Salazar Mexican jokes when Mel is gone? Nobody, that's who. Okay, maybe Bob Menendez will, but you get the point.
I bet state Senator Carl Kruger agrees with me on this point. Nobody is a bigger advocate of Hispanic and Latino issues that Carl Kruger. Yup, that's Carl Kruger, whose family name was originally Krugeriguez or Krugercia (can't remember which), but was shortened when they immigrated from El Salvador. 
I understand that you may be uncommitted to my candidacy at this point, given the fact that my historic selection as the most unprepared Senator is not convincing to you. Allow me a few moments to clarify some of my agenda should I have the extreme pleasure of serving the Empire State in the greatest deliberative body in the world.
1. Enact a National Bigger Better Bottle Bill.
2. Require all airports to provide insulated and heated viewing facilities for plane enthusiasts.
3. Deport Dean Skelos.
4. Sponsor renewable public transportation by strapping rickshaws to the homeless in NYC.
5. Mandate Green Bags for every student and professional in the US who takes their lunch to work, and impose $250,000 fines for violations.
If you are convinced, write a letter to the Governor encouraging my candidacy. New York will be better for it - or worse, can't really tell at this point.
While the speculation has focused on, you know, elected officials, I would like to highlight here today a dark-horse candidate for the position: me.
The selection of myself, whose electoral history includes an unsuccessful run for the Washington Park Condo Board of Managers, would throw the entire system into shock. But in an already historic election season, why not continue making history by appointing the most unprepared Senator ever.
It is clear that there is some sort of constituency for people like myself serving in office. How else can one explain the continued/annoying media fascination with morons like Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber? But in addition to shoring up the average idiot vote, I would also draw in the coveted Latino, birdwatcher, hockey player, and Seinfeld enthusiast voting blocs.
And consider the lack of Hispanic diversity in the Senate. With the already announced retirement of Senator Mel Martinez from Florida, the Senate Spanish Speaking and Soccer Watching Caucus will lose a third of its membership in 2010. Who will laugh at Ken Salazar Mexican jokes when Mel is gone? Nobody, that's who. Okay, maybe Bob Menendez will, but you get the point.
I bet state Senator Carl Kruger agrees with me on this point. Nobody is a bigger advocate of Hispanic and Latino issues that Carl Kruger. Yup, that's Carl Kruger, whose family name was originally Krugeriguez or Krugercia (can't remember which), but was shortened when they immigrated from El Salvador. I understand that you may be uncommitted to my candidacy at this point, given the fact that my historic selection as the most unprepared Senator is not convincing to you. Allow me a few moments to clarify some of my agenda should I have the extreme pleasure of serving the Empire State in the greatest deliberative body in the world.1. Enact a National Bigger Better Bottle Bill.
2. Require all airports to provide insulated and heated viewing facilities for plane enthusiasts.
3. Deport Dean Skelos.
4. Sponsor renewable public transportation by strapping rickshaws to the homeless in NYC.
5. Mandate Green Bags for every student and professional in the US who takes their lunch to work, and impose $250,000 fines for violations.
If you are convinced, write a letter to the Governor encouraging my candidacy. New York will be better for it - or worse, can't really tell at this point.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Leave Snarlin' Arlen alone
Chris Matthews, host of Hardball, is believed to be eyeing a US Senate run from Pennsylvania in 2010 against "Snarlin' Arlen" Specter, a moderate Republican. If the hype turns into an actual run by Matthews, whom I consider to be a decent TV host, but a flaming partisan at best, then you will no doubt find my name among Mr. Specter's donors. And I will probably be back in Scranton knocking on doors.
It would not be because I am a Republican - I am not, far from it, actually. But Arlen Specter represents everything that is right with the GOP. And these days, it is not very easy to point to much that is right with the Republicans.
A loss by Specter, who, by all accounts, has been an effective and respectable Senator, would be one more nail in the coffin of the mainstream Republican Party. And even your typical San Francisco liberal would suffer as a result because such a loss would embolden the extreme right wing of the GOP even more.
I will let you in on a secret. Whenever I see a Republican in the Specter mold have to fend of repeated challenges to his right, as Arlen has every six years since 1980, it tells me that he must be doing something right. Look, Republicans are going to be elected in this country - that will never change. If that is going to be the case, then I would want to know that the Republicans we get will be more like Snarlin' Arlen and less like Billo the Clown.
Monday, December 1, 2008
St. Maarten who?
Last night was another glorious installment of Hockey Night in Colonie. The Black Team was once again victorious, this time by a 4-1 margin. Yours truly once again found his way into the scoresheet, with 1 goal and 1 assist, and an impressive +3 on the night. I should add that I think the +/- statistic is bogus. The White Team scored right as I was coming off the ice on a line change. For those of you interested, I was also +3 on the number of falls last night.
Then, after retreating to the countryside to recuperate, we headed back to the city by way of Albany-Shaker Road, which at one point winds beneath the short finals zone for Runway 1 at Albany International.
And wouldn't you know it, right as we were driving by the end of the runway, a US Airways 737, which I later learned was arriving from Reagan, was on short finals and passed directly overhead of my Subaru. I suspected something was up when I saw another US Airways airplane (this one an E190) holding short of the runway.
I do not have pictoral evidence of this event, but would I make something like that up? I think not.
The most glorious part of all this was the fog trail left behind by the wings which was being illuminated by the runway lights. This all led me to ponder that if the end of Runway 1 was about 70 degrees warmer and more plane-watcher friendly (i.e. not transversed by a four-lane road and instead led into the Caribbean), it wouldn't be all that different from the famous Runway 10 in St. Maarten.
Did I just really propose Albany = St. Maarten? Oh, New England late fall, your eternal cloudiness has already gotten to me.
Then, after retreating to the countryside to recuperate, we headed back to the city by way of Albany-Shaker Road, which at one point winds beneath the short finals zone for Runway 1 at Albany International.
And wouldn't you know it, right as we were driving by the end of the runway, a US Airways 737, which I later learned was arriving from Reagan, was on short finals and passed directly overhead of my Subaru. I suspected something was up when I saw another US Airways airplane (this one an E190) holding short of the runway.
I do not have pictoral evidence of this event, but would I make something like that up? I think not.
The most glorious part of all this was the fog trail left behind by the wings which was being illuminated by the runway lights. This all led me to ponder that if the end of Runway 1 was about 70 degrees warmer and more plane-watcher friendly (i.e. not transversed by a four-lane road and instead led into the Caribbean), it wouldn't be all that different from the famous Runway 10 in St. Maarten.
Did I just really propose Albany = St. Maarten? Oh, New England late fall, your eternal cloudiness has already gotten to me.
A sign of fees to come?
Seriously, The Onion is hilarious.
I was on there today, doing work-related web-based research, and their front page story was headlined: "American Airlines now charging fees to non-passengers." Which, incidentally, is an issue that was briefly covered earlier on this prestigious blog.
Check it out if you have the time (i.e. are at work), otherwise, here are my favorite excerpts:
Cash-strapped American Airlines announced a new series of fees this week that will apply to all customers not currently flying, scheduled to fly, or even thinking about flying aboard the commercial carrier.
According to company officials, these charges will include a $25 tax on citizens traveling with any other airline.
Some additional charges would also apply, including a $15 fee for every piece of luggage customers have inside their bedroom closet, and a one-time payment of $40 for any American whose name is Greg.
"American Airlines charged me for cleaning out my attic," said 74-year-old Samantha Pratt, a New Jersey resident who has not left the state since 2005.
Some have even expressed doubt about whether they'll be able to afford to see family members they currently live with during Christmas. "It's just not worth it anymore," said Caroline Huza, an Ohio native and mother of two. "Plus, every time I stay at home, I always get trapped next to some kid who won't stop crying."
I was on there today, doing work-related web-based research, and their front page story was headlined: "American Airlines now charging fees to non-passengers." Which, incidentally, is an issue that was briefly covered earlier on this prestigious blog.
Check it out if you have the time (i.e. are at work), otherwise, here are my favorite excerpts:Cash-strapped American Airlines announced a new series of fees this week that will apply to all customers not currently flying, scheduled to fly, or even thinking about flying aboard the commercial carrier.
According to company officials, these charges will include a $25 tax on citizens traveling with any other airline.
Some additional charges would also apply, including a $15 fee for every piece of luggage customers have inside their bedroom closet, and a one-time payment of $40 for any American whose name is Greg.
"American Airlines charged me for cleaning out my attic," said 74-year-old Samantha Pratt, a New Jersey resident who has not left the state since 2005.Some have even expressed doubt about whether they'll be able to afford to see family members they currently live with during Christmas. "It's just not worth it anymore," said Caroline Huza, an Ohio native and mother of two. "Plus, every time I stay at home, I always get trapped next to some kid who won't stop crying."
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