Hello Minivan....

Town & Country

Welcome to the family.

Goodbye Old Friend....

Sunfire

You will be missed.

First Time Ever?....

After reading about the rumor of the Raptors releasing Alonzo Mourning and Pat Riley interested in signing Mourning, the thought occured to me that if that actually happens, an extremely rare occurence will happen. Remember, you read it here first.

The top 3 picks from the 1992 NBA draft will all be on the same team.

I think that will be a first in any professional league; that the top three picks from any draft ever played together at the same time on a team.

Obvioulsy more research is necessary to back up my claim.

Read The Fine Print....

Those of you who are reading this (all 3 of you) know my brother, Adam.

Our parents got him and his girlfriend (Niah) tickets to go see Momma Mia for last night's performance. Niah lives about an hour west of here and met up with Adam and my parents in Teaneck last night after work. Then my parents drove them into the city and dropped them off at the theater while they went out for dinner for their anniversary. Adam and Niah checked their coats and the usher took their ticket stubs and showed them to their seats. That's where the big surprise was waiting for them! There were people already sitting in "their" seats. What my mom, Adam, and the usher all failed to notice was that the tickets were for Wednesday's show - not Monday's!

It Was Just A Matter Of Time....

Warning! Graphic Violence.
http://outdoorsclub.net/pictures/crocbait.wmv

I'm surprised it's taken this long for something like this to be caught on tape.

Pictures From TJ's Party....

There's Thomas chillin' watching some tv while eating his favorite food - pizza.

I finally got around to posting pictures from his party online.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mjdabney/album?.dir=/6684&.view=t

Enjoy

It's Tough To Be.....

....a Philadelphia sports fan these days.

Your super bowl aspirations - down the tubes. Terrell Owens is out until Feb. 9th (at the earliest, in the best of all cases scenario).

Iverson goes for back-to-back 50 points games and the Sixers still lose. The team is 10-14, but the good news is that they play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference where they are in 3rd place in the division and 9th in the conference. There's a good shot that they'll make the playoffs. The Eastern Conference has got to be one of the worst conferences (record-wise) ever.

Their Flyers (a perenial contender) aren't playing because the NHL is in the midst of a lockout.

The Temple Owls men's basketball team is only 4-5, but on the bright side John Chaney just coached his 1000th game.

At least the women's team is winning a few games. They're 5-3 and just beat a top #25 team.

What's A Guy To Do....

Looks like my friend Joe, who lives in Washington D.C. might soon be developing ovaries and producing eggs. He'll be able to reproduce on his own!

Ok, that's not really going to happen, but male fish have been found in the Potomac (source of drinking water for D.C.) that have produced eggs.

Better start hoarding bottled water Joe.

Oh, Puhlease....

I'm sure everyone must have heard about the pregnant woman who was murdered and her baby removed from her body. Now the husband insists he had no idea that the baby his wife showed him wasn't really his. How dumb does he think we are? Or should I give him the benefit of the doubt, which would then lead to this question: How dumb is he? Is he saying that his wife went into labor, gave birth, and recuperated all without his knowledge? That he kissed his wife goodbye in the morning on his way out to work, then came home and his wife presented him with their child? Come on......

If it looks like a rat, smells like a rat.......

Christmas Shopping....

Once again, I've been an idiot and have not gone shopping yet for my wife, Jennie. I've only got 4 more days to shop. The good thing is that I pretty much know what I'm going to get. It's just a matter of making the trip to the store(s) and buying the items. And, no, I will not be revealing what I plan on buying her, since she'll probably be reading this.

First Snow Of The Winter....

Woke up this morning to find it had snowed last night. A dusting was all it was, but it was still snow. Thomas was excited to see it. Nicholas couldn't have cared less. Maybe because I had just woken him up and gotten him dressed and all he wanted to do was go back to sleep. What a cranky kid he is in the morning.

I cleaned out and organized my garage this past summer. I put the bags of salt, windshield wiper fluid and shovels all in the front where they'd be easily accesible. Over the weekend I filled up the snowblower with gas and ran it to make sure it was ready to go. The one thing I forgot to do was to locate the brushes and scrapers for the car. That was no fun brushing off the car this morning with my hands. What a dope!

Birthday Time....

Today is Thomas's 2nd birthday.

Happy birthday little guy!

(not that he can read this).

Yesterday we had his birthday party and all of his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents were there. I'll be posting pictures from the party in a couple of days (as soon as I get my lazy ass down to the computer in the basement and transfer the pictures from the camera to the computer.)

Huh?....

What are the Nets thinking? Didn't they just lock up Richard Jefferson (small forward) to 6 more years at 78 million? Would they move Jefferson over to shooting guard to make room for Carter?

This is definitely a trade done purely for financial reasons. You just know he'll outsell Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams and Aaron Williams at the team store. But is he worth it? Will he make the team better? I don't think so, but I guess time will tell.

Could this also be the act of the owner trying to appease Kidd? After giving away Kenyon Martin (Kidd's favorite assist target) in the offseason for a few draft picks, he might be trying to keep Kidd happy. Who knows if this will work out. Carter is years removed for the hi-light reel action. He's a perimeter player now who is oft hurt.

Undecided....

Has anyone seen Bad Santa? I watched it last night. I still don't know what to make of it. I found parts of it funny, but there seemed to be no point to the movie. I know that movies are make believe, but none of the things that happened in that movie were even plausible (IMHO). Was it supposed to be that type of movie?

As The World Turns....

"An unusual apartment building was inaugurated in Brazil, each of whose 11 storeys turns independently, giving lucky residents 360-degree views of the eco-friendly city of Curitiba. "

I can understand the novelty of dining at a revolving restaurant (such as The View), but what about living in an apartment the revolves?

Granted, you can change the rotation direction and speed. And it won't be revolving 24 hours a day, but how long will the novelty of living in a revolving apartment last?

At $300,000.00, it's a steal compared to apartment prices in NYC. It would also make an outstanding bachelor pad. "Hi. My name is Bob. I've got an apartment with a view of the entire city. And it rotates" What a pick-up line.

Trying To Keep Up With The Joneses.....

Why did the Mets sign Pedro for so much money? Are they trying to copy Steinbrenner and overpay gies who will suck? He is obviously in decline and is guaranteed to not stay healthy for 4 years. If you're going to try to emulate the Yankees, you've got to spend more money on more guys. The more guys you pick up, the more likely you are to get someone who will produce.

I'm a Yankees fan, but also a New York fan, so it's sad to see the Mets making such a poor move like this.

Some interested stats on Pedro's performances from http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=1946349

Year---BaseRunner---Hits---Strike Outs---StrikeOut/Walk Ratio (all per 9IP)
2000------7.22-------5.31------------------------8.82
2001------8.19-------6.48-----12.57--------------6.52
2002------8.98-------6.50-----10.79-------------5.98
2003------9.79-------7.09------9.93--------------4.38
2004-----11.20-------8.00------9.41--------------3.72

Granted, his numbers should improve slighty since he won't be facing a DH anymore, but it's blatantly clear that he's declining. So why sign him? Maybe it was a financial tradeoff for the Mets. There's definitely going to be more interest in the team this year. I'm sure a ton of Mets fans will buy jersey's with Martinez's name on it, maybe not to rout for him, but to shove it in the face of all the Yankee's fans. But what about the following year? The honeymoon period will be over and the Mets will still be stinking it up.

Kudos to Martinez for getting the Mets to sign him for 4 years and millions and millions of dollars.

(P.S. I had to make up the chart with all the '-' because i orginally spaced it out using spaces, but all the text just moved back into a jumble after I posted it. Maybe it's time I learned some HTML)

Monday Morning Quarterback....

I'm not sure how to react to the Jets' loss yesterday to the Steelers. On one hand, I feel like we cost ourselves the game with all those stupid penalties in the first half when we could have scored a couple of touchdowns, taken the crowd out of it, taken away their running game, blown it open, etc.. So maybe it was a good loss, in the fact that we know we can beat the Steelers if we don't make so many mental mistakes (e.g. penalties)

On the other hand, I don't feel there's such a thing as a "moral victory". Even with the myriad of penalties, we were still in the game up until the last half of the 4th quarter. A loss is a loss.

Parking....

I've noticed a trend at my kids' daycare, and I just can't figure it out. It happened at their previous daycare as well. Parking lots have lines painted on the ground to designate the parking spots. Blue lines designate that the spot is reserved for a handicapped person's car. So then why is it that so many people ignore the lines and park where ever they want? It's not like all the designated spots are taken. There are rarely more than 3 cars in the lot (with probably 50 or so spots). Granted, I have never seen a person in need of the handicapped spot, but there seems to be a car parked there every time. Is it because the parents are so lazy that they need to save the extra 3 seconds or so of time it would take them to walk from the designated spot? Is it because they just don't care? Is it because they don't want to conform to society and play by the rules?

Mistaken Identity....

Here is a transcript of an AOL Instant Messenger conversation I had tonight:

"uscgirl012eve: i got your e-mail
MattDabney: who is this?
uscgirl012eve: guess
MattDabney: i honestly have no idea
uscgirl012eve: u know her she lives near u
uscgirl012eve: i have somethng to telly
uscgirl012eve: tell u
MattDabney: what is it?
MattDabney: and who is this?
uscgirl012eve: u know a girl name brittany from E.L. wright
MattDabney: nope
MattDabney: could be a different Matt Dabney
uscgirl012eve: well she knows u
uscgirl012eve: she knows u
uscgirl012eve: ok
MattDabney: from where?
uscgirl012eve: e.l. wright from 8th grade
MattDabney: from what year?
uscgirl012eve: last year
MattDabney: I'm 28
MattDabney: must be a different Matt Dabney - sorry
uscgirl012eve: this is what she said her screen name is LilRedneckBrit17
uscgirl012eve: thisi what she said because he dresses like a wiggerand acts like oneghettowhiteboy420
uscgirl012eve: and u know me i live near u
uscgirl012eve: on baynard
uscgirl012eve: amp is on is aways
uscgirl012eve: hello Matt Corey Dabney
"

I have since added uscgirl012eve to my "Blocked" list.

Nicky's Surgery....

Nicholas has been afflicted by ear infections since he was an infant. His problem (just like a lot of kids) is that his ear canals don't drain properly, so the fluid builds up and causes an infection. (more info can be found here http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical/ears/ear_infections.html) So about a year ago, Nicholas had surgery to put tubes in his ear. They helped tremendously. But as he grew, they fell out (as expected). We were hoping that his ear infections would not re-occur, but alas, they did. So yesterday Nicholas had surgery to insert more tubes and to remove his tonsils and adenoids. Another common procedure. The procedure went quickly with no problems. He recovered pretty well and we left the hospital after the required 4 hours in the recovery room. He's got a pretty high tolerance for pain, so he was in a decent mood. But after the pain meds wore off he got cranky (but who can blame him, surgery sucks). Overall he's a really good patient and doesn't complain a lot. I just wish he didn't have to go thru all the pain.

That Stinks....

Here's a re-cap of Sunday's activities that lead up to a funny conversation with my oldest son, Nicholas:

Sunday morning is opening day of the winter basketball league at the Teaneck Jewish Center. I took Nicky with me and he sat and watched the whole game. He was really good. The game was exciting. Our team won by 1 point on the basket I scored as time expired. Immediately after game, I threw on my sweatpants and sweatshirt and headed over to my in-laws in Teaneck to help patch up the siding from where the old wall-unit air conditioners used to be. After that we went back home and waited for my sister to arrive with a truck load of boxes. My parents have been on a major house cleaning kick for the past month and have been pestering me about taking all of the junk I still had in their house. So my sister and I unloaded about 25-30 boxes of comics, books, videos, misc. items and carried them up into my attic. About a half hour after we finished my parents came over with the second truckload of boxes. By that time, my legs felt like they weighed a ton each. After playing basketball (first time running in 4 months) and carrying those boxes up the stairs, the bane of being out of shape took it's toll. After all the boxes were finally up in the attic, it was time to relax. Nicholas and Thomas were in their playroom doing puzzles on the floor. I kicked off my shoes and sat down next to Nicky. (Keep in mind, that I'm still wearing the clothes from the morning) Here's the conversation that transpired:

Me: "Hi guys. You having fun doing puzzles?"
Nicholas: "Daddy, I smell poopy. You need to change TJ's diaper."
Me: "No Nicky, that's my feet"

At which point, I picked myself up and went up stairs to shower.

My Kids....

Well, there they are.
My Kids

Finger Update....

Unfortunately I haven't been able to get a good picture of my finger sans stiches yet. But I'm sure everyone will be happy to know that the healing process is going very well. I had the stitches taken out this past Thursday.

You've Heard Of Crack Babies....

Yes, that's a can of Diet Coke that Thomas is drinking.
Start them out young

A New Perspective....

Having kids has definitely altered my perspective on various things. One in particular is the situation with Vince Carter and his iPod. Vince had been listening to his iPod during warmups to pysche himself up to play. The commish, David Stern, ordered him to stop wearing it. Here's where my altered perspective comes in. As an adult, who is not infatuated with sports idols anymore (at least not like when I was a kid), I could care less what Vince does during warmups. If were a fan of the Raptors (or had Vince on my fantasy team) all I care about is how well he plays and if the team wins. But what about the kids? If you've ever been to an NBA game in person, you see dozens (if not hundreds) of kids all go down to the lower level and try to get as close as possible to the players. They line both sides of the entrances to the lockers rooms, go down to the bottom of the aisle near the baskets, all in hopes of possibly having an nba player (their idols) say hi, give them a hi-five, or better yet, take a picture with them. By wearing his headphones, Vince is portraying an image of himself that says (to me) that he doesn't want to hear any of his fans calling out to him to tell him how much they adore him. Those kids are having the time of their lives being at an NBA game in person. Vince should try to enhance that experience by being "fan-friendly".