Austria and Hating Bill Maas

This is my favorite picture from Austria.

The trip was pretty cool - my second time snowboarding in the storied Alps. We went with a ski club, which was nice in that we paid a flat fee and in exchange got transportation (via bus), lodging, daily breakfast, and nightly dinner. We stayed a nice quaint European lodge with some friendly Austrian inn-keepers. The meals were good, and the ski club arranged daily transportation to and from the mountain.

The snow quality was pretty good too, especially for November. I spent most of my time off trail ("off-piste") and the snow was divine. Lots of powder. I was exhausted by the end of each day. It was the first time I got to use my new snowboard (purchased last year) on high quality snow and I'm really getting into a groove with said board. Hopefully I can get to the slopes several times this year.

It was really cold, as well. I think it was in the high teens or low twenties the first day. On Saturday (after two days of hitting the mountain), Gwen and I were tired and also feared the crowds (that Saturday was the opening of the German ski season) and so we decided to spend that day in the Alpine town of Innsbruck. Innsbruck has hosted the winter olympics twice in the past. It was a cool little town - Gwen and I cruised around checking out a couple of museums, wandering through the Christmas-Markt, and generally enjoying the scene. Again, it was really, really cold. Overall, a solid trip. More pics below.

As for today, Its NFL Sunday. It's Giants Eagles Sunday. But the cruel football gods are toying with me this evening - in that, because of limited AFN programming, I am unable to watch my boys play the team I love to hate. Instead I just finished watching the Steelers beat the Bears today, despite the fact that Saruman was casting a snowstorm against the stadium.

I've decided for about the 40th time that, with limited exception, I pretty much hate all NFL announcers - especially the color men. Thanks to the fact that time zone issues prevent me from watching Joe Theismann work this year, and because of the hideous commentary during the Panthers/Bucs game today, Bill Maas has officially taken the cake as the color guy I hate the most. The man is retarded. He barely even knows the rules of the game - which I find hilarious. He also delivers every line like he's trying to rock your world, even if he's saying the most mundane thing imaginable. I find myself scowling and shaking my head just about every time he opens his mouth. In the same vane, Tony Siragusa has nothing to offer any game except for high unintentional comedy. He stalks the sidelines and throws out non-sequitirs, probably because he can't even see what's going on. He is absolutely useless - I can't believe a network actually pays this man.

That being said, I have no fantasy football issues today. My good fantasy team has a bye and my shitty fantasy team missed the playoffs.


In other news, Gwen has been gone doing Army training for the last week and a half. And naturally, she's been enjoying every minute. She actually qualified with an M-16 rifle, which is both hilarious and disturbing. I suppose that if the Army ever fully drives her to the nearest bell tower, they will have only themselves to blame, in more ways than one, as she reigns down laser-precise, cold-blooded head shots on the passers by below. She returns home this week.

Last week was busy as hell for me. I was on call all week, and the service was very busy, rarely allowing me to get home before 7-8 pm on just about every night. I went off call on Friday though, and this weekend has been nice and relaxing. It's back to clinic work tomorrow, which is far more mellow.

And here are the promised pics.














I think this one says it all....