Depressing, yet fun

Well UWM lost to UWGB. I still can't believe it. It was a good game, but a tough loss. UWM can't afford any more. They need to be the top seed going into the Conference tournament.

Other than the loss, the night was a lot of fun. The five of us went to dinner, the game, and then to what seemed like and endless string of bars. I hadn't been out until bar time in a while, and my headache this morning reminded me why. It was fun though. As usual, the "top 5 bands of all time" conversation came up. You can tell it's a good night when that topic comes up.

Also, I asked my friend Eric that lives in Green Bay to stand up in my wedding. His wife, Stephanie, will be doing a reading as well. They're both ver excited, as am I. It was also their son Connor's first birthday this weekend so I got to hang out with them for a few hours Saturday afternoon. Four groomsmen down, one left to ask. For some reason, I've been taking my time asking people to stand up, waiting for "the right time" or something. Oh well, I'm going to try to ask the last person this week. Hopefully he'll say "yes" and be excited as well.

Heading Home

Today I am heading home to Green Bay for the weekend. Tomorrow night UWM plays UWGB and so it has become a tradition for a few friends and I to make the road trip up from Milwaukee and meet up with my friend Mike, who lives up there. Mike is one of my friends standing up in my wedding this October. This weekend I also plan to ask another friend who lives in Green Bay if he will stand up as well. I hope he says "yes." Has that happened to any of you? Has someone turned down that invitation? That would feel pretty awful I bet. Great, now I'm psyching myself out. By the way, the question I just posed goes to the 3 or so people that actually read my blog! I would guess that this will be my last post until Monday which is, in fact, my birthday. Be ready for a depressing post that day I'm sure. Until then...

Currently Reading...

I have moved on to The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum. I finished up The Bourne Identity last night and I liked it so much I jumped right into the next one. I am excited to see where this book goes since many items in the movie of the same name showed up in The Bourne Identity book. As always, time to grab a High Life and start reading...


The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum

The Bourne Identity

Tonight I finished reading The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum and it was excellent. I was surprised to learn that pretty much only the character names and the very high level plot of Jason Bourne losing his memory were like the movie. Everything else, was different. Three movies could have been made out of the book. Another surprising thing was that some things that happen in The Bourne Supremacy movie happened in 535-page The Bourne Identity book. If you're into Cold War era, action-mystery type stories, I would highly recommend picking this book up. Enjoy!

Digital Photos

Well since I can't think of much else to write about at the moment except for snow, I thought I would just mention a website I use to get my digital pictures developed because I think it's a great site. It's called WinkFlash. I really like this service a lot. The picture quality I get back from my camera is great and it's really cheap too. It's $.16 a print and a flat $.99 shipping charge no matter how many prints you order. I would highly recommend them. Enjoy!

Neither rain nor sleet nor snow...

Well Milwaukee got pounded with snow this weekend getting something like 10 inches. But did that stop Kirsten and I from going to our 2 meetings with photographers? Noooooo. The wedding plans continued on, blizzard or no blizzard. It was a pain driving but at least we got that done and decided on.

On a more pleasant note, UWM won again avenging their loss to Detroit. This keeps them atop the Horizon. A big (nationally televised) game with Purdue is up next. Hopefully they will play will to give a good showing to the rest of the country.

Milwaukee Info

Just thought I would pass this along from my friend Todd:

Milwaukee is home to the world's largest music festival according to the Guiness Book of World Records, Summerfest. This eleven-day event features a variety of music from national headline acts to up-and-comers on 12 different stages.

The Guiness Book of World Records lists the Allen Bradley Clock as the largest four-faced clock in the world. It is actually four separate clocks. Each of the octagonal clock faces is nearly twice the size of the clocks on London's Big Ben Tower. Each hour hand is 15 feet 9 inches long and weighs 490 pounds. Each minute hand is 20 feet long and weighs 530 pounds. Hour markings on each face are four feet high.

According the the Greater Milw Conventions & Visitors Bureau

Slow Weekend

Well this past weekend was a quiet one. The soon-to-be wife was out of town visiting relatives so left me with a quiet condo. Friday night I went out with some friends for dinner and a few cocktails which was a good time. Saturday I didn't do much of anything since it was still sub-arctic weather. After watching UWM beat UWGB, I watched the third Lord Of The Rings movie, extended version of course. It was over 4 hours long! Ridiculous. It went by fairly quickly but 4 hours is still 4 hours. It was well done, as expected, but I don't know the next time I'll watch it since I would have to dedicate the better part of a day to it! Jeez..a couple people at work are talking about a LOTR extended edition marathon one of these weekends. I don't think I'll be attending....I don't have 48 free hours or however long it would take!

Raar Raar!

Well UWM beat up on UWGB today winning by 30 points 86-56 behind 20 points each from Ed McCants and Joah Tucker. The Panters were looking pretty tough playing some solid defense and even taking the ball inside which they haven't done too much this season so far. With the win, UWM takes over first place from UWGB with a rematch coming in two weeks up in Green Bay. For the third year in a row, I'll be there. My friend Todd and I make the trip annually to Green Bay (where I'm from) and go to the game with another friend. Looking forward to it, especially if UWM plays as well as they did today.

Packers Name New General Manager

The Packers today named (former Ron Wolfe guy) Ted Thompson as their new Exec. VP, General Manager, and Director of Football Operations, stripping Head Coach Mike Sherman of those duties. Good move? Absolutely. I don't know how anyone can handle ALL those duties. Isn't there a conflict of interests there? How can someone decide who should play when and also negotiate contracts for those players? I think it was a good move. Coach Sherman seems to be a pretty good coach, but I think the eye for talent should be left up to someone else. The Packers haven't exactly been tearing it up in the draft in recent years. Time will tell.

Miller Time

Slow moving this Friday morning. That last pitcher of High Life last night at a certain Eastside establishment wasn't necessary. When are the words "oh just one more pitcher, I'm buying" a good idea? OK, so it's always a good idea at the time, but tomorrow guy will be angry and will make you pay the price. Good times though. Ran into some people I hadn't seen in a while. Had the usual discussions: Packers, UWM, women, top 5 bands of all time...the usual when my friends and I head out.

No big plans for the weekend yet. UWM plays UWGB in Milwaukee tomorrow at 1:00 at the US Cellular Arena with first place in the Horizon at stake. My prediction is UWM by 8. GB is undefeated in the conference but hasn't played any of the top teams yet. We'll see! Kirsten is in North Dakota visting her grandparents for the weekend so I'm a bachelor. A bachelor that was given a couple more wedding tasks to accomplish that is. Nothing else planned. If anyone knows of anything else...leave a comment!

Currently Reading...

I am currently reading The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum. I really enjoy the movie series and I am looking forward to the books. From what I recall in an interview, I believe that the books deal with the Cold War, a topic which was updated for the movies since the Cold War is over. So I'm off to get a High Life and then to sit down and get reading...


The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

Sideways

Last night I finished the book Sideways (see January 2, 2005 post). It was a good read. I have to say I liked he movie a little better, but that's probably because I am a Paul Giamatti fan. The book had a quite a few differences from the movie that kept it interesting. My favorite part in the movie wasn't in the book which was when Miles & Maya were out on the porch discussing wine & grapes (as a parallel to life). Great scene! I would highly recommend reading it.

Until next year...

Well the Packers season is over after losing (painfully) at home against the Vikings. Brett Favre had a pretty bad day and his receivers didn't help by running terrible routes on a couple of his 4 interceptions. Not that I expected the Pack to go all the way this year, but losing at home, against the Vikings makes it a tough way to end the season. What was a surprise was how well the defense played given how much they were on the field and how poorly the offense played given how successful they had been this season. I guess here's looking forward to next season and hopefully they can shore up the defense a little better. We have yet to hear if #4 will return for another season. This Packers fan hopes he does.

Milwaukee Sports Talk Radio

Alright sports fans...as of January 3, 1250 AM has officially switched over to WSSP, a 24-hour/day sports talk radio station. This is great news for those of us who like to listen to The Jim Rome Show (11-2pm). Enjoy!

New Website

Well the UWM Panthers pulled it out in overtime tonight. It was a big win, but they have some work to do if they want to take the conference this year.

On another note, I updated my personal site's layout, content, etc. I was pretty bored one night so I was messing around with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and a few hours later, I was pretty much done with the site. Not a lot there, but it was good to brush up on some internet technologies since I work primarily with PeopleSoft at the moment.
http://www.geocities.com/derekdg/

Halftime

Well it's halftime of the UWM/Butler game and the Panther's are losing by 4. They are not looking too sharp. I was exciting coming into this season even after losing the conference player of the year, Dylan Page, because they seem to be a more athletic team but I think I may be wrong. They have absolutely no inside game and they just chuck up 3's all day...terrible. They need to turn it around quick if they want to salvage a decent season. On that note...time for a High Life!

Let it snow...

Well the first major snowfall in Milwaukee this Winter is accumulating. Good time to hibernate with a few cocktails and a movie or 2. UWM tries to bounce back after the loss the other night against Butler tonight. I'll be watching from the comfort and warmth of my condo.

Wedding details are coming together a little. We have the hall, Manchester East, and the church, St. Hedwigs, and have made it through most of the guest list and wedding party. There are still a few people that need to be asked to participate, but there's time.

We have been working on a wedding web page via TheKnot.com

Sister's Blog

My sister Gina has created a blog as well. View it out from the "Blogs I Read" section of my blog.

UWM loses a tough one

Went to the UWM/Detroit basketball game last night with a couple friends, Todd & Charlie (see NYE pictures in post below). Detroit was shooting the lights out and took as much as a 23-point lead before UWM started chipping away at it. They pulled close but seemed to shoot themselves in the foot every time. A career-high 38 points from Ed McCants wasn't enough. Tough to lose the first game back after a long road trip to a conference foe. Hopefully they'll rebound against Butler on Thursday....

Currently Reading...

I am just starting to read the book Sideways. There is currently a movie out in theatres based on the book. The movie was excellent starring Paul Giamatti as the depressed wine lover Miles. It's a must see and I'm looking forward to getting into the book.


Sideways by Rex Pickett

Happy New Year!

Well another year down, many more to go (hopefully). For NYE, some friends and I went to the Hilton in downtown Milwaukee to celebrate. It was a very fun way to ring in the new year. We'll see what 2005 brings. It should be a good, but busy year. Kirsten and I decided on October 29 for a wedding date so that leaves a little over 10 months to plan. Looking forward to it.....

Pictures from NYE: http://www.geocities.com/derekdg/photos/2004nye.html