Friday, April 26, 2019

Friday Video: Don't Call Me Up

You may or may not remember Neneh Cherry's 1989 hit Buffalo Stance. You may or may not also remember her brother, Eagle Eye Cherry's 1997 hit Save Tonight. While both musicians have had long careers, they are both primarily known as one-hit wonders in the United States. Now, Neneh's and Eagle Eye's daughter/niece (not in a Lannister sort of way) has her own music career. Here is Mabel.



I'm really torn here. I want her to have success, but a story about an entire family known for producing one-hit wonders would be an amazing story. (Looking on YouTube, it seems like Mabel has more than one video with millions of views, so the one-hit wonder label doesn't seem to be in her future.)

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Driving From DC To Atlanta And Back*

For Spring Break, we decided to visit family in Georgia. I had the brilliant plan of driving through the night, so we got the kids bathed and ready for bed and then loaded them into the car in their pajamas. The idea was that we would avoid any traffic, particularly in Northern Virginia, and allow the kids to sleep during the drive. Turns out that the plan wasn't so brilliant. Although we left around 8:30 and didn't hit any traffic during the trip, driving through the night is tough. Basically, if life is a highway, I learned that I do not want to drive it all night long. I had to stop twice to take power naps while the kids (ages 8, 5, and 19 months) were all awake for the majority of the drive. At some point, we didn't even fight it and just put on some videos for them to watch. While I'll write about the trip home momentarily, here are some notes from the drive:

We ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Chattanooga, but it was sad and discouraging to pass so many Zaxby's and Waffle House restaurants and not stop.

By the way, major props to whatever marketing person came up with this billboard:


Can I just share that I'm not a big fan of crosses on the sides of highways. Crosses on church property are fine, but it seems out of place and a little intimidating to see a cross or group of three crosses on the side of the road or on a hill adjacent to the highway in seemingly the middle of nowhere.

Although Virginia is only the 35th state in total area, it takes forever to get through it. I'm looking at you, I-81! Yes, I know that you're going to be on I-5 in California or I-10 in Texas for many more miles, but it just felt like I'd never get back home. It's almost exactly 300 miles on 81 from the southern Virginia border to I-66. Then, it's another 50 or so miles on 66. Of course, it didn't help that a tractor trailer overturned on I-81 on the way home adding at least 60-90 minutes to the trip as we just sat on the highway with the oldest (The Moose) regularly asking how long we would be in traffic.

Eventually, we made our way to an exit several miles beyond Natural Bridge (which I would like to check out some day) for dinner. In looking for food options, we saw that The Red Hen, a restaurant somewhat famous for denying service to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. This brings me to an important question. The Red Hen is a good 3 hours from the White House and could be even more with DC traffic. Assuming that you're going somewhere only for the purpose of a meal, how far would you drive? I don’t think I’d go more than an hour away.

Taking some side roads before getting back on to the highway, we passed what turns out to be Hull's Drive-In movie theater in Lexington, VA. It would be fun to go to a drive-in theater again since I don't think I've been to one since the Greater Pittsburgh Drive-In in North Versailles closed at least 20 years ago. There can't be many around anymore.

You’ve seen plenty of movies and television shows featuring heists of armored cars. After passing 4-5 consecutive Little Debbie trucks in Southern Virginia, I think that a robbery of these tasty treats would make a terrific Hollywood plot.


During the drive, we went by Blacksburg, Virginia (home of Virginia Tech) and Knoxville, Tennessee (home of the University of Tennessee), and I wondered why these two schools don't compete against each other in athletics annually. Then, I-81 hit, and I realized that they're not THAT close. It's actually 236 miles. I doubt that there are many Knoxville to Blacksburg (or I guess Roanoke) flights, and you probably don't want to drive that.

There's a several-mile portion of I-81 North where you're also on I-77 South. Conversely, you can be on I-81 South and I-77 North. Yeah, that's not at all confusing.


Despite the tiring first drive and the long second drive, I think I'm ready for another road trip! Just give me some time to recover.

* The drive was actually from Northern Virginia to just north of Atlanta, but DC to Atlanta sounds better.


Interstate photo by jimmywayne on Flickr.

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

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Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Found In My Basement: Desert Storm Cards

When I was in junior high school and early high school, I was really into collecting baseball cards. My dad took my brother and me to various card shows, and we regularly bought packs of cards from different stores. I feel like any allowance or other money I got went right into cards. Baseball and other types of sports trading cards were a booming industry during this time (late 80s to early 90s). I would also look through the Beckett guide to see card values for Topps, Fleer, Donruss, Upper Deck cards and sets. A friend and I even sold cards at the Eastland Mall flea market, and my brother and I had lemonade stands where we also sold (or tried to sell) cards.

I’m not sure when it occurred, but sometime during the time I collected cards, there was definitely a market over-saturation. It may have coincided with the Gulf War. I’m not doing a history of the Gulf War here, but this was arguably the first televised war. Millions of people watched CNN, seeing what appeared to be a video game with rockets and anti-aircraft and artillery light up the sky over Baghdad. To honor (celebrate?) the Gulf War and the patriotism that seemed to be everywhere, both Topps and Pro Set created Desert Storm cards. Naturally, I got them and still have them.



You got to learn about politics, current events, world leaders, and geography! Are these worth anything today?


Please click here to see more Found in my Basement posts.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

News From Home

I haven’t shared many stories about or quotes from my kids lately, so I thought I would do that today. Please note that The Moose is now 8, Pedro Tulo is now 5, and Luigi is 19 months. Some of these quotes are from way back when The Moose was 7 and Pedro Tulo was 4.

* From Pedro Tulo’s preschool teacher:

Reasons why he gets up at nap time
1) he needs a hug
2) to tell me he just really likes pizza
3) to tell me dogs eat dog food and cats eat cat food

Love this kid. Gonna really miss him next year.


It’s such a nice feeling to drop off your kids at a place where you know the teachers truly care about the kids and the kids enjoy going. Luigi starts at the same preschool in the fall, meaning that it will be the start of the seventh consecutive year that one of our kids will attend there, but with no children ever overlapping.

* You may not be familiar with this version of the Bon Jovi song as sung by The Moose, but you are now!

"Oh, we're half way there. Oh, standing on a chair."



You know, standing on a chair really could fit into this song.

* The Moose's Mom: Are you going to take me to the movies tomorrow?
The Moose: I don’t know how to drive.

* Pedro Tulo: The Steelers are playing the Captain Hooks. (Sean's note: This might have been the New Orleans Saints.)

* Me: Have fun. Be good.
Pedro Tulo: I don’t want to be good.

* The soccer season has started, and for the first time, The Moose is in games with a referee. In the game, there was a foul called on his teammate, and The Moose organized himself and his three teammates (it’s a 4 on 4 game) to create a wall (or a fence as he called it). His head coach and I (as an assistant coach) never taught him this, but I guess he picked this up from watching soccer on television. I was really impressed. (Granted, the opponent smartly passed the ball to a teammate on the side of the wall, but the kid missed a wide open net.) I should also mention that The Moose definitely scored a goal and possibly one or two more during the first game, but he insists on telling me and everyone else that he scored 8 goals in the game.

* Meanwhile, Pedro Tulo had his first organized soccer experience over the weekend. The way it works is that the teams have 30-40 minutes of “practice” time followed by 20-30 minutes of 2 on 2 games against an opposing team. The kids are 4 and 5, so it’s quite amusing. The entire goal is to make sure the kids have fun. I’m the assistant coach, and it was quickly clear that the head coach is brand new at this. Before even having the kids go around and say their names, he had them do a toe-tapping activity.



These kids can’t do this! Anyway, I’m trying to figure out a way to delicately suggest different activities without overstepping my role as an assistant. I mean, the parent who was supposed to bring snack wasn’t there, but there was no email correspondence from the coach to ensure that there is a snack schedule. Snack is one of the best parts of soccer for kids this age. It’s too early for a coup attempt, though I may revisit this in a few weeks.

* Luigi is just getting dragged around from field to field, but he seems to enjoy being outside and seeing his brothers and other kids run around. Apparently, he played with orange cones for 20 minutes at The Moose’s game.

* Finally, The Moose also excitedly points to and says "Gee" (pronounced with a hard "G" like former Ohio State President Gordon Gee or hockey player Guy Lafleur) whenever he sees Ziggy. He absolutely loves Ziggy and is doing a decent job of being "gentle" when he tries to pet him.

Thursday, April 04, 2019

2019 Loudoun United Roster

As the (still pending) official blogger of Loudoun United, Loudoun County's first professional soccer team, I’ve been remiss in not sharing the roster for the team’s inaugural season. Therefore, I’m proud to present your 2019 Loudoun United, um, Uniteders! (Yes, I know the team is simply called Loudoun United. I just thought it might be fun imagining the introduction of these players like they do before basketball games.)


The team's first ever signings were goalie Calle Brown and midfielder Omar Milton Campos. Brown is a Loudoun County native from Leesburg who played at UVA and on the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. (More on the Riverhounds momentarily.) Brown also has some MLS experience being with the Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders organizations. If you’re going for a 50/50 ball against Brown, you’re going to lose. He is basically a linebacker at 6'4" and 235 pounds. Along with defenders Peabo Doue from Takoma Park, MD who attended West Virginia University (born December 28, 1991) and Harri Hawkins from Cambridge, England (not Massachusetts) who attended Hofstra University (February 28, 1993) and forward Kyle Murphy (December 11, 1992) from Red Hook, NY and Clemson, Brown (July 1, 1992) is one of the old guys, I mean veterans on the team.

The team's other goalkeeper is Colin Miller from Belair, Maryland. I'll let The Fresh Prince take this one.



Want to feel old? Midfielder Omar Milton Campos from El Salvador was born on August 28, 2000 and is only 18 years old! Fellow midfielders Jack Jean Baptiste (December 20, 1999), Sandor Bustamante (September 30, 1999) and Ariel Fantoni (January 25, 1999) are only 19, 19, and 20. However, these guys are ancient compared to 16 year-old Griffin Yow, who is technically a member of DC United after recently signing with the team but plays for Loudoun United. Yow also has the distinction of scoring the first goal in Loudoun United history.



I'm sure that Yow will tell his kids that his first goal was a rocket into the top right corner from 30 yards out!

Being from Pittsburgh, I'm always going to be partial to anyone with ties to Western Pennsylvania. Midfielder Andrew Lubahn from Erie played for the Riverhounds last season. I wonder if he has the October 1st game against the Riverhounds (also known as the Sean's Ramblings Derby) circled on his calendar.

Fun fact: Jon Batiste is a musician who also works as the bandleader and musical director of CBS' The Colbert Show. Jack Jean Baptiste is a midfielder for Loudoun United from Honduras.


Midfielder Connor Presley from Austin, Texas, born on July 4, 1998, was the inspiration behind the Tom Cruise movie, Born on the Fourth of July. You know. Because of his birthday. (Checks internet to learn that the movie was made in 1989. This entire blog post is just showing that I'm old.)

Midfielder Noah Pilato, who is from Oak Hill, VA and attended Penn State, received the first yellow card in Loudoun United history. Congrats Noah!

Collin Verfurth is another local product from Ashburn and Virginia Tech. Well, Virginia Tech isn't local, but Ashburn is. Anyway, Collin is 6'4" but weighs only 185 pounds. He might have the height, but he's no match for Calle Brown!

While forward Shinya Kadono was DC United's 3rd round pick in the 2019 MLS draft, I'm more amazed by his college stats. At the University of California, Kadono scored 20 goals with only had 3 assists in 66 games during his college career. He could be the Alex Ovechkin of Loudoun United!



Finally, forward Orlando Sinclair hails from San Jose, Costa Rica meaning that Central America is well represented on Loudoun United. (Except for Belize. And Guatemala. And Panama. Okay, this just turned into a geography quiz on naming all of the Central American countries.)

Through the first three games of the season, Loudoun United is holding its own. After losing the first game against Nashville, the team tied Memphis and Tampa Bay.

For more information on the roster and team, check out the Loudoun United website. I'm really looking forward to seeing the team play live. Go Uniteders!

(Photos by Loudoun United and Late Show with Stephen Colbert.)

Tuesday, April 02, 2019

Dog Poop Problem

I'm so glad that I'm on my community's email list. I mean, usually the posts have no relevance to me, but every once in a while, something entertaining comes out. Enter Rob (not his real name).

Rob: I live at [address] and would like to report some serious misbehavior by unknown pet owner(s). On Tuesdays and Fridays mornings I have to leave the big blue trash can outside my house for the trash to be collected. By the time I arrive from work in the evenings of those days, some unknown pet owner(s) have dropped huge bags of pet feces (poop)* inside my trash can. The material is highly toxic and carries lots of diseases. I cannot even move the blue trash can back inside my garage because the smell is unbearable and the material can contaminate my whole family.

I would be grateful to hear your suggestions on how to handle this situation.

In advance, many thanks.


* Sean's note: Was it really necessary to add poop in parentheses? I think we understand.


Now the replies:

P: Wow that is very disgusting. I will start talking to other neighbors and see if it happened to any of them as well? Have they seem who might be doing this? I will also tape a note in your trash can with big RED letters saying "Do NOT dump your dog poop on my trash can. Thank you!!"

C: Get a lock for your can.

Sean's note: Um, if you lock your trash can, how can the trash people take your trash? Think this through, C!

Rob: Many thanks for the advice. The lock would not work in my case as the people throw these things inside my trash can exactly during the time I am away from home—i.e. between the time I place the can outside for the trash collection and the time I arrive home from work. So if I lock the can the trash collector would not be able to open in.

Sean's note: We're on the wavelength here, Rob.

S: I would check to see if this is illegal in Fairfax County. I think it might be.

Sean's note: Are we really going to get the police involved here?



The only thing you can really do is install cameras, and catch the person(s) in the act. If it is illegal in Fairfax, then you can file a complaint. However, you have to do some thinking if this is a major issue for you because it will take time, money, and energy to do all of this.

Other things you might consider is contacting whoever writes the [community] newsletter and seeing if he/she can write a quick article on not throwing your poop bags in neighbors' trash cans. It might be the person(s) think he/she is oblivious that this is an issue. Or post it on NextDoor.

Sorry this is happening.


P: I will keep knocking doors, interviewing your next door neighbors, anyone you see around your house surroundings. I'm sure someone must have seen something or know who the pet owners on your street are. Also definitely post it on Nextdoor, there are way more people who read messages there than here on email.

Hmmm. I'm starting to think this is just a big advertisement to get people to use Nextdoor!

K: We have a ring doorbell which has a camera and it has been great for seeing what is going on. It videoed a guy going around trying to get into peoples cars at 2 AM. You may want to invest in one and then put your trashcan in view of the doorbell.

This email was sponsored by Ring doorbell. WHAT?



P2: You might want to ask a neighbor to pull the cans in off the street and place them by your garage door. I am pretty sure that the dog walker will not take the time to walk up your driveway, but will instead find another can. We are a friendly sort of people here in the [neighborhood] and we like to take care of each other. I am sure if you explain the problem to one of your neighbors who is home during the day, they would be willing to pull your can in at the same time they pull theirs in.

C: I like the newsletter idea. :)

The smiley face will solve everything. Actually, I really want to see this portion of the newsletter.
Item #1: The pool opens on Memorial Day weekend. Here are the hours.
Item #2: Community sidewalk repair update.
Item #3: Don't put dog waste in other people's garbage cans.

Rob: Many thanks. We are indeed friendly neighbors—I have lived [here] for almost 7 years and only now I am experiencing this. My guess is that probably someone hired to be a pet walker is doing this. The question is how to deliver the message to that person or to the pet owner as I am not sure whether they live in our community or not. If there is a newsgroup for pet owners, would you mind to kindly forward my message to that group?

For now I will go with P’s suggestion—I will place a sign in the can with big red letters asking pet walkers not to do it. I hope this will work.

Many thanks to all for your courtesy and attention!


At this point, I think Rob is done. He aired his grievance and feels like people are aware of the situation. But someone can't leave it at that. We need one more reply.

B: Why not try the sandwich signs when not in use.
Just write that the neighborhood watch is looking for the person who is putting the dog poop in private trash cans!


B isn't going far enough. We need neon signs like they have outside Vegas casinos. Get on this, B!

If there are more posts on this topic, I'm happy to share them with you.