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One of my favorite things to do during the winter months here in Cincinnati is head to Cyclones games. A little hockey action goes a long way to hold me over to baseball season. Since the Cyclones play at US Bank Arena, they are just a 10 minute walk away. I've been to four games so far this season, and they are always entertaining. It helps that they've had a great team the past few season, even taking home the ECHL's top prize, The Kelly Cup, in 2008.

Click for a larger look at the panorama.

Labels: Hockey, out and about, panorama

Labels: christmas

G and I had an Ultrasound this morning and found out the little being growing in her belly is a little boy. Girl or boy, it's exciting to find out, but it's a little special to a guy to have a little boy on the way. The brain starts spinning with visions of playing catch, going to baseball games (or football or hockey), teaching the finer points throwing a spiral or skipping rocks. I'm looking forward to raising a fine young gentleman and sending him off into the world to blaze his own path. In the mean time though, G and I will get our little world ready to take him while anxiously awaiting his arrival.

Oh, the arrival? Yes. It's predicted by folks that seem to know what they are doing to be April 11, 2010. We'll see you then, little guy.

Labels: Baby, ultrasound

G and I made it to our annual Pearl Jam concert for 2009. This year, we caught Pearl Jam in Philly on Halloween night. Not only was it Halloween, it was also the last show of any kind at the fabled Spectrum Arena. Plus, across the street, the Phillies were hosting the Yankees for game 3 of the World Series. It was crazy to say the least. Lots of tailgating, lots of folks in Phillies gear and a ton of fans dressed for Halloween.

While we have pretty good seniority in Pearl Jam's 10 Ten Club, we actually won "the lottery" that they have for every show and our seats were upgraded to row 10. Not bad at all.

PJ always brings their best game every night, and this show was no exception. Since they were doing a four night stand at the Spectrum that week, they set out to play nearly everything in their catalog. For a long-time fan, that was a lot of fun because the pulled out a lot of rarities and stuff they've never played live before. While it was somewhat of a chaotic show from that stand-point, it was also a lot of fun since what was coming next was likely out of left-field.

Song-wise, the biggest treat was PJ coming out of a set-break dressed up as Devo, promptly launching into "Whip It". It just made for classic stuff. Check out this fantastic video clip.

So, the PJ show was awesome. Seeing the last show in The Spectrum was pretty special. I've never been there, so it was a little bittersweet. You try to take in the essence of the place on what's really it's last breath. It's a surreal feeling, in a way.

One of the things that The Spectrum is supposedly know for was fantastic sound. Most arenas are not known for great sound. There is just something about they way that old arena was built that lent itself to great acoustics. I couldn't agree more. It sounded great from our seats.

Another thing our seats brought us - We found an Eddie Vedder pick when we sat down before the show. It was lying there in the row in front of us. Of all the shows I've been to, and all the great seats I've had, I've never scored a pick. Those guys throw out a lot of picks during shows, so you always have to be on the lookout. I guess Ed tossed this one out during soundcheck so that a fan like myself would find a little souvenir from the show.

More photos? Check out this little photoset on Flickr.

Labels: pearl jam, trips

A vertical panorama of Cincinnati's newest building. I walk past it every day on my way to and from work and it's amazing to see it's progress of the course of just hours. The pano came out well in the morning sun, but makes the building looks a bit stumpy. It really is much taller than it appears above. Click on the photo for a larger version.

I believe the building used to be called "Queen City Tower" but is slightly different now. "Queen City" is still in the name, I believe.

Labels: architecture, downtown, panorama, photos

I have not been to a football game at the Alma Mater since my last one as a senior. Here's a panoramic from my phone from the 1st quarter of the Kings High School football game on October 9, 2009 against Turpin. My Knights ended up losing to the Spartans 14-7 on a rainy night.

Click the photo for a lager version.

Labels: football, photos

Labels: baseball, photos