A Witness to History

I know very little about baseball but enjoy watching it live. While in the great state of Texas I went to watch the Texas Rangers play the Chicago Cubs. I didn't know that the Rangers weren't doing so well. I didn't know that Sammy Sosa was playing, I didn't even know that he played for Texas. Needless to say, I was the only one in our group of 25 or so that didn't know Sammy Sosa had 599 career home runs and that tonight, in Arlington, against his former team, he could do what only four other ball players have ever done: hit 600 home runs. Okay, I was the only one in the ball park that didn't know that.

If you follow baseball you know how this story ends. Sammy, on a 1-2 pitch in the fifth inning, blasted his ceremonious 600th. I, along with some others in our group, left our seats to hang out at the left field wall, hoping for our chance at history. It was a crazy scene with just as many Cubs fans and Rangers fans and police officers everywhere - for protection of anyone that might catch the lucky prize. Just as the ball connected to the bat the place went crazy! Camera flashes exploded everywhere and were barely drowned out by the firework display.

After his standing ovations it was time to get the souvenirs. It was very interesting and very festive seeing the park employees taking the commemorative balls and shirts out of the boxes.

Click here for the pictures.

Is American Airlines Running Vista?

It's 8:30 in the morning in sunny Sacramento. I should be on an airplane approaching the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. All of the passengers boarded before 6:00 am and it seemed as if we would be heading out quickly. Then, the pilot came on the cabin radio and said that the aircraft had been "turned off" the night before and the technicians were now having a hard time re-starting all of the computer systems. After a complete re-boot of the plane (several minutes), they powered everything up and discovered that the computer was not going to work - I wonder if American Airlines is running Vista! So, all of the passengers de-planed (I love this term), retrieved luggage (shouldn't it be de-checked luggage) and got in line at the AA ticket counter to re-book another flight.

An hour of standing / sitting / standing in this line and what can I do? Well, fire up the PowerBook, of course... after all, Sacramento International Airport has free WiFi.

*** 8:32 am update ***

Just as I finished publishing this entry a nice woman working for American Airlines walked down the line asking everyone if Dallas was their final stop. I was the only one left who was not traveling any further than DFW so she plucked me from the line, much to the disgruntlement of the others, and took me right up to the counter and got me checked in for the 11:30 am departure. Coincidence? Perhaps. Or perhaps it was the power of my blog entry that got me plucked out of that line, that line that had at least a few more hours left.

Tired? Yes, but it could have been a lot worse than five and a half hours.

*** 12:30 pm update ***

Well, 11:30 came and went. At 11:50 the agent announced that our replacement plane hadn't yet left San Francisco. The departure time on the gate board now reads 12:50 pm. Yikes!

Weird Al Concert

I am not the only Weird Al fan in our family. Yes, Dawn and the girls were all very supportive when I told them we were going to the fair tonight to see Weird Al Yankovic in concert! The girls actually know a lot of his music and had a blast at the show. The odd thing was that I didn't realize (or remember) that he was playing our local fair this year... a little ironic since I just posted the Weird Al is a Geek entry.

The concert went from a little after 8:30 until just before 11:00 and was filled with a lot our favorites. Here's the set list:

Polkarama Canadian Idiot Drum Solo Close, But No Cigar Why Does This Always Happen To Me Jessica Simpson - Al TV interview It's All About the Pentiums Mariah Carey - Al TV interview Celine Dion - Al TV interview You're Pitiful Madonna - Al TV interview Steven Tyler - Al TV interview Wanna Be Your Lover (he came out and did this one in the audience) Eminem - Al TV interview Medley: Couch Potato / Do I Creep You Out / I'm In Love With The Skipper / Headline News / Confessions, Part 3 / A Complicated Song / EBay / Bedrock Anthem / Ode to a Superhero / Pretty Fly for a Rabbi / Trapped in the Drive Thru / Radio Time / Gump / Eat It Keith Richard - Al TV interview I'll Sue Ya Paul McCartney - Al TV interview The Saga Begins Yoda Cher - Al TV interview Justin Timberlake - Al TV interview Weasel Stomping Day (video) Smells Like Nirvana Avril Lavigne - Al TV interview Homer and Marge video Amish Paradise K-Fed - Al TV interview White and Nerdy Fat

Encore: Cell Phones Albuquerque

His costume changes, as well as the band's) made the show really entertaining. We all had a great time!

Check out the pictures on Flickr, not the greatest of pics, but that's to be expected with me and concerts.

Weird Al is a Geek!

I am Weird Al Yankovic fan! There, I said it, out loud. I really like his music and have nearly everything he's ever released. As I was listening to some Weird Al recently it struck me that, in addition to being a big polka guy, Weird Al is quite the geek, a proud geek I bet. After going through my Weird Al collection I came up with a Top 10 Weird Al Geek Songs.

10. Spam - not really about junk e-mail but still a classic 9. Virus Alert - the craziest virus ever written 8. The Saga Begins - "My, my, this here Anakin guy, maybe Vader someday later now he's just a small fry...." 7. Bob - C'mon, a song written entirely of palindromes... that's cool! 6. Ebay - "...Tell me why, I bid on Shatner's old toupee..." 5. Ode To A Superhero - All about Spidey 4. Jurassic Park - this should have been the theme song! 3. Slime Creatures From Outer Space - what a great title 2. White & Nerdy - can you count the nerd / geek references? 1. It's All About The Pentiums - even though it's not really "all about the Pentiums" anymore, he really showed his geek side in this one

Click here to view the the iMix I created in iTunes.

Enjoy!

Wii Finally Got One

Even though we have never owned a video game console we have wanted a Nintendo Wii from the first time we saw our young nephew play with his. Well, wii finally got one; Dawn and the girls surprised me with an early Father's Day gift. We only have Wii Sports and have played Tennis, Bowling and Boxing. The Wii was so easy to set up and connect to our home network. We all had a lot of fun creating our Mii's (even though Mak was a little perturbed that Nintendo didn't really offer her shade of red hair). Here's a picture of us - if anyone knows how to transfer high quality Mii's from our Wii to a computer please let me know.

iPod Meme

Although I don't usually participate these types of blog-tags but when I read Karen's post, The Music of my Life Meme, onPediaScribe yesterday it looked too fun to resist. So, here's my iPod meme. No surprises here, from Kiss to George Jones with some jazz and bluegrass. The rules:

1. Put your music player on shuffle. 2. Press forward for each question. 3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn't make sense. NO CHEATING!

Some of my answers are pretty funny.

How do you feel today? Coming Home - Kiss

What’s your outlook on life? All Around The World - Boyz II Men

What does your family think of you? Uncle Tom's Cabin - Warrant

What do your friends think of you? Today I Started Loving You Again - Willie Nelson

What do your exes think of you? King of the Road - Randy Travis

How’s your love life? Love Ain't Nothing But A Four Letter Word - Bon Jovi

How will your love life be in the future? The Fox - Nickel Creek

Will you get married? Dod Eat Dog - Weird Al Yankovic

Are you good at school? I Love It Loud - Kiss

Will you be successful? Alone - Heart

What song should they play on your birthday? Angels We Have Heard On High - Various Jazz Artists

What song should they play at your graduation? Lost In Love - Air Supply

The Soundtrack of your life? God Bless The USA - American Idol

You and your best friends are? You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC

Happy times: I Wouldn't Wanna Be You - Reba

Sad times: My Best Friend - Tim McGraw

Every day: Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy - Brad Paisley

For tomorrow: Wildflower - Bon Jovi

For you: It Don't Get Any Better Than This - George Jones

What does next year have in store for me? Since You Came Into My Life - Charley Pride

What do I say when life gets too hard? Ronnie - Metallica

What song will I dance to at my wedding? Chanson Francaise - James Taylor

What do you want as your career? My Baby - Leann Rimes

Your favorite saying? Going To Church - Rodney Carrington

How will I die? Lonely Too Long - Patty Loveless

If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged. Post comments below or add to your website or blog.

Bring on Summer!

Emily and Makenzy enjoyed their last day of school today. While Mak will be attending the same school next year, Emily and her friends said goodbye to junior high school and began the countdown to high school. Dawn and I officially feel old!

Check out pics here.

Family Dinner

Looks like we're back on the Family Dinner routine. We all met in Sacramento for dinner last Saturday and had a great time. Thanks Teri for getting us back on track. Mimi & Aunt Gloria

Check out the rest of the pics here.

Grand Opening of Pizza Go Here

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1:16 a.m. PDT, May 13, 2007

STOCKTON, California (AP) - The Beckwith Family - Matt, Dawn, Emily and Makenzy, have announced the grand opening of their newest website, Pizza Go Here - a family podcast.  Nearly 10 years after they started sharing family news and pictures on the world wide web they have jumped on the podcast bandwagon.

"We are so excited to be podcasters" said 8 year old Makenzy.  A sentiment that was echoed by her older sister Emily.

Matt said, "The name, Pizza Go Here, came from a famous slip-up my Mom uttered years ago so we thought it fitting to make our announcement on Mother's Day."

Pizza Go Here has already received praise from the handful of select friends, family and other podcasters that were given a recent sneak preview.

The show will feature Emily's joke and video of the week, Mak's Mac tip as well as other random thoughts.  The podcast will also feature their "Would You Rather" question.

"We hope that all our friends and family subscribe to the podcast and we hope to get some new listeners as well" said Dawn.

For years you've had MattBeckwith.com and BeckwithWeb.com.  Pizza Go Here is a new way to experience this whacky family from California's heartland.  "It's like pizza for your ears!" proclaimed Matt.

Visit Pizza Go Here online at pizzagohere.com.  If you have no idea what a podcast is or need help subscribing, send an e-mail to help@pizzagohere.com or call the Pizza Go Here listener line at 206-309-1631.

Download the show promo here.

Asparagus Festival 2007

Nothing says late April in Stockton like the long green spears of asparagus everywhere! Well, not everyone in our family likes asparagus but still enjoy going to the festival. Just the girls and I went this time and only stayed a few hours. Watching the competitive eating event was pretty cool... even though they were eating deep fried asparagus!

We even got to see Tyson, the skateboarding bulldog do what he does best.

Check out the pics here.