PatrickDiCaprio.com

So where to begin, a lot has happened since the last time that I wrote in this thing.

• The swim season came to an end last month when we went to New England Championships at Harvard. Minus the weather, it was a great weekend. The kids swam well and everyone had a good time. I took a small group for a tour of Fenway Park on that Saturday morning. It was amazing to see how much work was still in progress only a few short weeks before the Sox home opener.
• Since the swim season ended, I spent most of my free time preparing for the banquet that was last weekend. I had over 1500 photos and 6 hours of video that I managed to get down to a 21 minute year in review. Many thanks that I only need to do that scale of a project once a year. My perfectionist self wasn’t happy with the final outcome, but everyone else raved about it.
• While I’m on the topic of swimming, I was approached last week about a position to help prepare some young triathlon competitors for the swimming leg of their event. The idea intrigued me so I signed on to help. It seems like its only going to be for a few weeks, but we’ll see what happens after the program kicks off on Sunday.
• I have a couple web projects nearing completion: A new look and shopping cart system for Injector.com and a total face lift for the Valley YMCA page. Once those 2 are online, I’ll finally feel comfortable putting up my company website as I will have a better portfolio to show on it. Once I tie up all those ends, I am going to more actively pursue some additional sidework.
• Not too much exciting has happened at Fuji other than my normal nightly tasks. Oh wait, they are sending me to Las Vegas for a training session the week of April 28th. I guess that could qualify as exciting. I’m really looking forward to the break that the trip will provide. More to follow on that once I get back.
• Went to Camp Jewell with our group of students for the United Way Youth Leadership Program last week. It was a blast. I’ve got a little video recap I hope to get up sometime in the next week or so.
• Made some pretty good progress on finishing off the weight room in the basement. I’ve got the floor on order, and I should finishing painting this weekend if all goes well. I can’t wait for it the be done as it will be much easier to do my workouts with the whole room at my disposal. I’ve already made a point of eating better and I have also completely eliminated regular soda from my diet. Slowly but surely the pounds are starting to drop.
• Got my taxes done just in time, I would like the thank the government for giving me $4800 back this year. It’s much nicer than having to pay $3300 like last year.
• Slip n’ Slide II is already in the works for the summer. I’m thinking August sometime. More information to follow.
• Oh yeah, Real Ultimate Klee is back! Go forth now and share this news with the world.

So I realized two things as of late:

1. My blog desperately needed a face lift
2. I needed more of a purpose to write about if I actually want to see new content on this blog

Well you can see what I did for #1. I went with a design that was simple and professional looking. The thought with the banner is that every so often I’m going to change it to reflect something that recently happened in my life. What you see now is a cityscape of Boston. I was there last month and I really enjoy they city every time I visit.

Now for content, I have a few ideas that will hopefully become a regular occurrence:

• A piece called Catching Up, where I do just that. I’m thinking it will focus more on the little things that aren’t really worth putting up an entire post about. Look for this monthly if not more often depending on how busy the times are.
• Another monthly post called Hot Links. I can honestly say I love Buster Olney’s daily blog on ESPN.com where at the end of the article he has links to interesting articles from all the major cities where baseball is played. I hope to do something like that focusing on things that I follow and care about.

Everything else will pretty much pertain to my life in general. Things like trips, sports thoughts, personal reflections and anything else that really comes to mind. Who knows maybe I’ll even develop a following from all this at some point down the road…

I will be the first to admit I am pretty much a TV junkie. I have one or two shows that I record any given day of the week that I use as a way to clear my head and relax for a few minutes. Now not only am I experiencing personal dislike for my lack of new episodes, but the strike is bringing about changes in television that I just cannot stand what so ever.

First off, there were several shows that made it through the fall season that have a good chance of being dropped off without new episodes being written. Really now, does FOX really need another reason to cut a show after a partial season. I bet at least 3 new shows that I was following in the fall season will get dropped purely because by the time that the writers come off strike they will have been long forgotten.

Second, horrible TV that requires very little writing at all is starting to surface and air more frequently. My example is the reality or game show. NBC fits the bill here. They must live by the motto “when in doubt, it’s time to air yet another episode of Deal or No Deal”. Who wants to watch morons lose out at thousands of dollars on a Friday night at 8. Games shows should never fill prime time television spots. I have no objections to the nightly traditions of Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune as they are before 8, but I would say at this point there is a 50% chance of turning on NBC between the hours of 8 and 11 PM and finding an episode of Deal or No Deal on the air.

No I also must ask, what is America’s obsession with reality TV. Sure I’ll watch the occasional episode of the Real World, but if I wanted to watch a talent show I wouldn’t be watching TV. Now long ago, I did watch the first season of Survivor like it was my job, but how many little twists can you come up with for the same show and really keep people interested. I saw a commercial for Big Brother 9 the other day. People are cranking out reality TV like rabbits crank out bunnies. I want to see more creativity on TV, not some fool trying to mimic Ricky Martin on live TV.

Finally, the thing that has outraged me the most by this whole strike was done recently by CBS. Starting in 2 weeks they will be airing Showtime’s hit Dexter. So since you couldn’t find someone to write something for you, you are going to try and buy a hit? I have news for CBS, Dexter will never thrive on their network the way it does on Showtime. Sure it may be seen by more viewers since every in the country does not pay for Showtime, but at the same point episodes are going to have to be edited down to fit in the alloted timeframe. A full episode of Dexter runs about 55 minutes. Are they really going to cut that down to 42 minutes so they can get their sponsors some commercial air time. To quote:

“I am very protective of the show and will make sure the small changes are done very seamlessly,” Showtime president Robert Greenblatt told The Hollywood Reporter. “The essence of the show is absolutely there; we haven’t compromised the character and his moral compass.” Instead, the major cuts will focus on language.

How they ever actually watched the show at CBS. The sister character on the show is made by her crude use of language and dropping for the F bomb every 10 seconds. How are you not changing the essence of the show by editing things like that out? Also how are small changes going to happen when you dump 10+ minutes of airtime on the show?

Moral of the story, can we please give the writers the small bit of money they are asking for so we can bring a return to good TV?

Everyone seems to set some kind of New Year’s Goals these days, so I figured why not join the club. I tried to keep everything realistic and obtainable on the list, but at the same point not something I’m already planning on doing next week with ease. So here goes…

1.) Write in this blog more - I’ve been so busy lately that I’ve been ignoring the blog. I think of it as a good way to clear my head and relax for a few minutes. I’m going to dedicate myself to updating it more often with recent events, general thoughts, reviews and some randomness. Hopefully I do better this time around. If not, I guess I really wasn’t meant to be a blogger.

2.) Pay off the balance on my credit cards - I went on a spending run the second half the year and now I’ve accumulated a little bit a balance to get rid of. I’ve got a plan set up to do this and I’m going to stick to it. At least I’ll be getting money back on my taxes this year instead of having to pay the government $3K. With luck by the summer I can be free and clear.

3.) Establish a retirement fund - As I become smarter in my young age, I realize that this might very well be the most important thing I can do for myself this year. The earlier I start, the easier my life will be in the long term.

4.) Build 10 new websites - This will help me expand my newly started business, accomplish my financial goals, and build up my skills as a designer all at the same time.

5.) Find a new ice hockey team - I haven’t skated since June when my team dissolved and boy am I having withdrawals. Hopefully I can find a new group to skate every week, even if it means finding a new rink to skate at.

6.) Get myself back into a regular workout routine - I could have said lose 20 pounds or something along those lines, but I figured this was a more beneficial way to put it. I’ve already been in the pool swimming laps 3 times this year, which is 3 more than last year. Between that and the near completion of my new home gym (thanks to some very expensive equipment I got for free), I’m confident that I can get into a rhythm. Once I do, just watch the pounds wash away.

7.) Make it to Fenway Park at least twice - I love Boston, hopefully the Sox ticket sale is good to me this year.

8.) Visit a ballpark I have never been to before - Well this eliminates Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, Camden Yard, Citizens Bank Park and RFK Stadium. I really want to see every ballpark in the country over the next 10 years or so and since I didn’t make it anywhere new last year, I figure I best get moving this year. Anyone up for a long weekend in Denver or Seattle?

9.) Build a patio in my back yard - I’ve got big hopes for my backyard. Hopefully this is the summer I find the cash and time to make them a reality.

10.) See more local bands play - Good friends + good music = good times.

11.) Finish remodeling the basement - My office is all set and my workout area should get finished off over the next month or so. All that really leaves is the bathroom and workshop areas and the seemingly never ending project will finally be finished.

12.) Kayak at least 100 miles this summer - It’s not really as far as it sounds and it’s really relaxing. I plan on keeping my eye out for any sales and possibly picking up a low cost second kayak so people could join me if they chose to do so.

That’s it for now, I’m sure I’ll post some kind of progress report on these down the road at some point.

So last night, I didn’t wake up til around 9 (yes PM). I wasn’t feeling like cooking a meal, mainly because that would have required going food shopping first for just about anything I was willing to make. I decided to hit up the good old BK Lounge drive through for a quick bite.

I pulled in and there was a car in front of me. He placed his order and drove up and I followed to place mine. Shortly after I pulled up behind the person waiting at the window, the girl at the window had him pull around to the front of the building to wait for his food. So much for fast huh? I payed for my meal and was handed my beverage. The girl then asked me to do the same. I simply replied, “No, I’m good waiting right here.” The girl was dumb founded and did not know what to say, so she retreated to her inner sanctum near the food counter and the french fry bin.

About 30 seconds later, the night manager came to the window and asked me politely to do the same. Once again I protested. I feel I was justified to protest at this point for several reasons:

1.) All I ordered was a Whopper. For those of you that didn’t know, that is menu item number 1 at Burger King. You would think item number 1 would be their top seller. That would leave me to believe that the employees that make them would have lots of practice doing so. How long could it really take?

2.) I looked in my rearview mirror and THERE WAS NO ONE IN LINE BEHIND ME. If I was in line and there were 3 cars behind me with my overly complicated order (see point 1 to get an idea of the sarcasm you would have heard if I spoke these words) was holding up the line, I would gladly move around to the front. But of course this was more so I could not sit there and watch them do nothing when they should be making my burger. I hope they realize that by making their incompetent employee bring out my food to my car, they are both wasting time and risking that she may get lost while searching for my car in the empty parking lot.

I finally agreed to move around after the manager insisted it was going to take a few minutes, a few being 7 apparently. I was so frustrated I actually timed their response time. What added to my rage was the counter girl waited until both orders were ready to bring them out to save herself a walk. I would not have really protested this but the other guys order looked like he was eating for 8 based on how big the 2 bags were. I can only assume that my Whopper was done quicker than that and was sitting there getting cold when it could be doing so already in my stomach.

When the girl handed me my food, she apologized for the wait claiming that the reason was it was close to closing time. How would this in any way, shape or form effect your ability to put a piece of meat, cheese and some vegetables between 2 slices of bread? Does time magically slow down in the kitchen after 9 PM? Is that the point after which you have to kill a cow out back for each burger ordered?

I decided to leave well enough alone at this point as I feared my logic might kill the remaining brain cells that she had acquired up to this point of her life. I simply drove home to eat my unsatisfying meal more dumbfounded than when I left the house.