What I'm Reading 4.14; Stealers, Rec Services, Bishop Blogs, Hot Dogs and Speeding Tickets

I'm looking into training more consistently. And now that I'm in Muncie more, I thought, why not just use the facilities offered by the university, of which I should be granted access considering my completion of degree and several-thousand dollar debt to the school I pay, on time.

Wrong.

For the second time in as many days my Ball State ID was denied as I swam at Lewellen. The lifeguard pulled me aside and I did what I always do in intense pressure situations; improvise.

"Yeah, I thought it might," I told her. "But it's okay I'll just talk to them about it."

Who is them? I guess I was talking about the imaginary people who will wave a magic wand over my now-1.5-year-past-worthy ID.

But anyway, I called recreation services and asked how much it would cost for an alumni to use the 'facilities'. She said for alumni with alumni ID's (issued at the alumni center; last time I'm going to use the word alumni for a while) for $155 per year. Not bad I thought and what a great break for all those people, who spent years of their life studying and passing on the good word of Ball State.

Then I asked, after assessing how great of a deal alumni got, how much do people who aren't alumni have to pay?

"One-hundred-fifty-five dollars," she said.

So much for appreciation.

After all's said and done, as my Econ247 teacher always said right before I passed out unconscious from talks about the stock market and liquidity, I'm thinking about getting that alumni card and pass, if for nothing else, the satisfaction that they university still cares about me and wants me to be fit.

Well, maybe.

Anyway; what I'm reading:

Big Ben isn't so big anymore. I don't want to say I-told-you so, but I believe it's in order.

Pittsburgh is rooted in class; DUI's, marijuana and two sexual assault charges. Not bad for the team the league likes to root for and who, on numerous occasions added to their 'winning' tradition through the misfortune of others.

REDS WIN! 5-3 and it looks like they're just getting started!

Another 'terrible' earthquake. This time in China. As of this hour, 400 are dead.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan's blog. Good stuff.

(Sorry this post is so sporadic; it's reflective of my mind, today)

Driving cars all the time it's easy to see that American-made cars are junk compared to anything, any other country makes. Perhaps the market does figure out what is best; American made cars top list of worst-built.

A beautifully-written story on a terrible, terrible occurrence these days. I mean, I can't understand how people forget their kids in their cars but, I just keep in mind that caring for your children is your first priority - always. Sad.

Speeding tickets are up. My experiences are evidence of that.

So, Conan is going to TBS. Good news for them.

Record Store Day is this saturday. I'm sure a store deserves my patronage after years of piracy. Here's one great record store, I've been to.

Hot dogs at all the stadiums.

And, lastly I went to Dallas last weekend but missed this.

24th annual A Taste of Muncie is here! Read the preview and profile of one of the participating restaurants!

What I'm Reading 3.31; Easter, Kidney(s) and Steeler stupidity

Quickly approaching is Easter, a holiday once known for Jesus' resurrection but now known for plastic-imitation-chicken eggs and over-sized rabbits.

Funny how Easter - like Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. - is celebrated in varying ways by different families. For instance, I don't hunt eggs anymore, some older people do.

And on fasting; how did it go for you? I gave up meat and I stuck to it. And, I even liked giving up beef, chicken, lamb, weasel, etc. so much, I might not go back.

In Easter news: The Easter bunny may save your life, critics say avoid giving rabbits, chicks as gifts and a list of the largest egg hunts in the U.S.

Away from Easter, a new study finds that many people (including me) would give a kidney for a quick buck.

Airbags on airplanes?

Before you eat from McDonald's again AND more importantly before you buy another 'happy meal' for your kids, take a look at this. This guy is celebrating the one-year anniversary of a happy meal he bought, set out and watched NOT decompose over the course of the past year.

A history maker in our midst, despite what you or I think of him.

Another attack in Russia.

The Obama overhaul of the student loan system could come at a huge benefit to interested parties.

A new version could mean the end of a iPhone-less Verizon wireless network. Good news for me!

Remember all the talk of earmarks? Here is a state-by-state map of earmark allotment.

SPORTS

Things are looking good for the Steelers; first Big Ben, now smokin' Santonio, again.

The University of Conn. women's basketball team has won 76 games in-a-row and are headed to another Final Four.

Aroldis Chapman set to begin season in minors for the Reds. No big surprise.

If you haven't heard about Pat Venditte, check him out. Venditte is an ambidextrous pitcher in the NY Yankees farm system. He got his first spring action yesterday.

Reaching into the vault, Sports Illustrated has the story that proceeded the 1975 World Series.

Pittsburgh, Beaver and Inclines

For all the blog-manics out there, forgive me.

Anyway I took a trip to Pittsburgh this weekend and I just realized that Pittsburgh does have an 'h' on the end and despite the spelling I saw on some other Web site, I have been right all along.

Andi and I traveled to Pittsburgh by way of I-70 then US-22 then PA-60 then, well, you get the idea.

We traveled to Beaver, PA on a whim to see her cousin, cousin-inlaw and baby 2nd cousin. I thought of the idea earlier in the week, when I was dying for some time to get away and do something spontaneous.

We arrived about 5 p.m. EST on Friday night, just in time to have dinner and see Junior. We talked for what was about 2 hours prior to Angela's sister arriving and blowing the breaker not once but twice while attempting to cook a potato in the microwave.

The movie for the night was Vantage Point and I enjoyed it. It wasn't great but it made me nervous, a reaction. I like reactions from movies.

In the morning we lounged prior to going to Raccoon Creek State Park and taking a walk where I took some wonderful pictures and took in even-more wonderful scenery.

The Marino's, Andi's cousins, have a dog and let me tell you she was incredible. Jumping through puddles, running through the woods, Canavarro, the dog enjoyed herself and I enjoyed watching her enjoy herself.

That night we went into Pittsburgh and had a wonderful dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse. I had lasagna and plenty of bread. And along with a balloon hat, a balloon artist made me we left just shy of 8 p.m.

We made our way to the Duquesne incline.

The incline is an incline cable car that has served commuters and enthusiast since 1877. It takes passengers from the bank of the river (Monongahela, Allegheny, one of them) up Mount Washington, giving you a wonderful view of downtown Pittsburgh.

After we took pictures and read about the history we headed back down and back to their house in Beaver.

We watch I Am Legend that night and it was just OK.

The next morning we went to church with the Marino's and had lunch at Primanti Bros. in Moon, Penn.

Primanti Bros. are famous for their enormous sandwiches and have been featured on Food Network and the Travel Channel a number of times.

We drove home from there and arrived in 4 hours 45 minutes.