On November 29, 1910, the first US patent for inventing the traffic lights system was issued to Ernest Sirrine.

The photograph below, courtesy of Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections, shows one of the early traffic lights.

With today’s 45-38 loss at the hands of Stanford University, the Notre Dame University fighting Irish finished yet another regular season with an unimpressive 6-6 record.

Most everyone in the media wants to talk about the end of Charlie Weis’ short tenure at Notre Dame, but I want to look beyond the unimpressive record of 35-28 since taking the head coaching position in 2005.  Weis started brilliantly with a 9-4 record in his first season including a trip to the Fiesta Bowl, a loss at the hands of Ohio State University, and a 10-2 record in 2006 which included a trip to a the Sugar Bowl, another loss this time to LSU.  Though the bowl games did not go in the favor of the Fighting Irish, they had made consecutive trips to BCS bowls for the first time since the creation of the Bowl Championship Series.  So the question remains, what happened to that success and who is to blame?

I say look no further than Notre Dame University.  The University has remained separate from an athletic conference in football and because of this choice of neutrality the Fighting Irish football team has been doomed to mediocrity.

It is safe to say that the memory of the National Championship of 1988 is dead and gone in the minds of 21st century sports enthusiasts.  Notre Dame has not been a National title contender since Lou Holtz left in 1996.  Despite winning seasons in the tenures of Bob Davies, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis, the Fighting Irish have perennially faltered in big time bowl games and have never been in the picture for a BCS Title.

The coaches who followed Holtz all experienced success, but all failed to maintain that success and ultimately all met their fate.  Though Weis has not yet been fired, it is speculated that the announcement could come as soon as this next week.  I am here as a prophet of the truth, fighting against the mainstream media notions that the downfall of Notre Dame is the fault of Weis, Willingham and Davies.

It is nearly impossible for Notre Dame to be expected to compete for the BCS National Championship, and here’s why.

Notre Dame’s football program does not benefit from playing a highly competitive conference schedule because the program refuses to be a part of any conference.  The benefits of this decision can be seen in the fact that the Fighting Irish enjoy national televised broadcasts of every season game thanks to contractual agreements with NBC.  This also allows the Notre Dame football program to schedule whatever teams they so well choose to play with the bait of national exposure.  The downside, however, is that Notre Dame lacks access to an automatic BCS bid that comes with a conference championship in a major conference such as the SEC or Big 12.  The Fighting Irish play what, by many measures, is considered a very weak regular season schedule.  This season Notre Dame played only two teams that remain ranked at this point in time, Pittsburgh University and USC.  The fact that the Fighting Irish still managed only a 6-6 record shows that something is wrong in South Bend, and it isn’t the coaching.

Recruiting has become increasingly more competitive, and the top prospects want the opportunity to play a competitive schedule for a competitive program which has the chance to play for a National Championship–none of these things can be said about Notre Dame.  The program lacks the draw of schools such as Florida, LSU, Alabama, Texas, USC or Ohio State because the Fighting Irish do not compete for a BCS bowl bid on a yearly basis, nothing is promised under the golden dome of Notre Dame.  What today’s recruits have realized is that the glory days of the Fighting Irish have passed and not all the glitters is gold.  Notre Dame has lost its high-profile dominance and success but still remains a permanent fixture in the media coverage of collegiate football.  The past has past for the Fighting Irish, and the future does not hold the promise of success.  Tradition only counts for so much, and Notre Dame’s tradition in the 21st century has been that of underachievers and bowl game busts, something no top recruit would willing sign on to be a part of.  Even at Cincinnati, Rutgers, North Carolina and Pittsburgh there is the opportunity to play in a BCS Bowl every year.  Not being a part of a major conference has hurt Notre Dame and will continue to no matter who is the head coach of the Fighting Irish.

So, before everyone looks to blame Charlie Weis or whoever follows him and inevitably leads the Fighting Irish to a 5-7 record at some point of his tenure, I urge us all to examine Notre Dame from a larger and more forgiving perspective.  This is the case of a school that has lost its competitive edge because of its inability to stay competitive in recruiting and in the all important quest for a National Championship.  It may be time for those in charge at Notre Dame to take some time and pray for the future of the University’s football program.  The current predicament in which the Fighting Irish finds itself will not be resolved with a new coach or over time.  It will be fixed when Notre Dame seriously examines its place in the college football hierarchy, or with the help of humanity’s head coach.  Keep your faith, Notre Dame, because these days the luck of the Irish is just not enough.

My sister said something during my visit while we were out on a walk with NE, Little C and D. Something along the lines of ‘Think about the positive. The negative weighs more.’

And I’ve been thinking about it ever since. She’s entirely right. And I hope I never forget it.

So along the same lines, instead of sitting at home tonight, being sad about leaving my family and especially My Little C, I decided to go out and not only be positive, but help to do something positive.

I went to LasVelas, in Market Square, and joined my Yinz Team friends to help raise some money at the kick-off event for this:

Make Room for Kids is an awesome venture brought to us by Ginny (whom I finally met for real tonight – even though we’ve seen one another a few times!) with the help of the Mario Lemieux Foundation.

So what are they doing? From Ginny’s site:

So, our goal? $10,000 for our sick kids.  That will be enough to buy some sweet LCD TVs, awesome gaming systems, awesome mind-numbing, addictive, forget-you’re-sick-for-a-while games, computers, computer games, AND even a bit left over to purchase some hand-held gaming systems for those children too sick to or unable to leave their beds. We’ll bring the games to THEM!

How awesome is that? Totally awesome!

One of my favorite places, IKEA, is even on board! (Personally, the amount of furniture my family and myself own from IKEA is insane, and we all LOVE it… so I think they’ll do an awesome job.)

I’m very glad that I went. Not only did I do the positive thing to help Ginny & the kids, but I had a great time and also got to see a number of my Yinz Team friends, many of whom I haven’t seen since softball time!

This was also approved by The Nana! She thought it was a good thing to do. Thanks, Nana! (I’m still jealous that she gets an extra day with Little C… but I only have 26 days till I see her again.)

PLEASE click on the button above to VOTE for Zip the Cure in the Chase Community Giving on Facebook

(You need to have a facebook account to vote and you need to become a fan of Chase Community Giving.)

On December 15, the top 100 qualified vote-getters will be announced to receive $25,000 each, and will move on to the next round.

In Round Two, the top 100 organizations will have the option to submit a Million Dollar Grant proposal to Facebook users, detailing the difference they would make in their local community with the significant extra resources.

Facebook users will vote starting January 15, and on February 1, the qualified organization receiving the most votes will be announced as the winner of a Million Dollar Grant from Chase. The next five organizations with the most votes will receive $100,000 each.

We need your vote, so please vote for Zip the Cure and tell all of your friends to vote!!  We are doing well, and I think we are in the top 100!

Please email all of your facebook friends and ask them to vote.

Also, please visit www.zipthecure.com to see my project.

Thanks,

Monica

Boston Bruins fans would be well advised to start an Aspirin regimen, as risk of cardiac arrest is high.

On Saturday night vs. Ottawa, the Bruins let another lead slip away in the final minute and were forced all the way to a shootout, where they prevailed on Michael Ryder’s snipe in the fourth round. However, turnabout is fair play – in their first meeting with Ottawa Boston scored two 6 on 5 goals in the last 2:30 of regulation; a game the Bruins would eventually win in a shootout. Thump, Thump.

Tim Thomas, making his first start since embarrassing himself against Pittsburgh on Nov. 14^th — Pittsburgh tied the game with less than a second remaining in regulation; the Thomas lost control of the puck behind the net in OT leading directly to the winning score – did a serviceable job for 59 minutes, but once again allowed a game-tying goal, this time with 19 seconds remaining. THUMP, THUMP.

I’ll give Timmy the benefit and chalk it up to rust (but in reality it looked more like a lack of focus).

Faced with as much adversity as any team in the league, the Bruins have shown a great deal of resilience.  At current, they have won 5 of their last six games, with their only loss coming in yesterday’s shootout loss to New Jersey. It’s clear that the return of Marc Savard has buoyed the powerplay which connected on Boston’s three regulation goals against Ottawa. With Savard manning the half-wall, the other member of the PP seem more relaxed; able to play to their strengths (although I would like to see someone other than Recchi crash the net on a regular basis).

Their play is deserving of the No. 1 spot in the Northeast division, but that’s only because the Northeast division is weak. Boston must have a more consistent effort if they expect to have any chance to duplicate and/or exceed last year’s success.

LeeAnnRubsam.com

I was wrong in yesterday’s post about Pittsburghians not knowing that it is good manners to say “hi” to strangers when passing.  It is not Pittsburghians who are ignorant on this point; it is just the ones on the part of the Montour Trail that runs behind Susan’s house.

Today I took the trail where it continues on the other side of the highway, and almost all the folks walking and biking it said hello to me before I had a chance.  I will not have to try to elevate their culture after all.  They were a different group: not so focused on building their muscles and seeing how much wheezing they could handle before cardiac arrest set in.  They were the mom-and-dad type with little kids, or the I-am-just-out-for-a-stroll-to-enjoy-the-weather-and-I-don’t-care-if-I-elevate-my-heartbeat-to-its-maximum-potential-or-not type.

I simply cannot get used to all these houses built into the sides of the mountains.  We’ve got some of the same in Door County and the east side of Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin, but most of our state is mildly hilly or fairly flat.  I also cannot get used to how some houses’ front doors open almost directly onto the highway — or else have a goodly flight of stairs up to the door.  I would be a lean muscle machine if I lived here permanently.  If the up-and-down-hill walking did not do it for me, running from the copperheads in the summertime would.

I am developing a theory: even driving the hairpin turns and up-and-down slopes burns calories.  It would be possible to be quite athletically fit in Pittsburgh even without consciously exercising — if it weren’t for Chick -fil-A to ruin it all at the end of the day.

Susan has always been mystified by part of the local culture.  Although their home is only fifteen minutes from the heart of Pittsburgh, many people from their area –even very youngish people — have never been to the City.  Even more of them have not ever been to the other side of it.  They just live and die in their own small corner of the suburbs (suburghs?).

If Susan had wanted to know the answer, all she would have had to do is ask.  One of the natives explained it to me.  They all get lost if they travel outside of a certain small radius.  You see, because everything is in the mountains, there is no such thing as square city blocks.  All the roads wind this way and that, without any organization, rhyme, or reason.  Finding your way around — especially around the city to the other side of it — is nigh-on to impossible.  So they all just stay in their township and the couple of townships nearby.  It is completely a safety issue.  There now.  That makes sense to me!

You might ask, “But what about one of those little GPS gizmos?  Wouldn’t that take care of the problem?”  We tried the GPS gadget to get us to Pittsburgh from Wisconsin.  It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.  It tried to tell us Susan’s address did not exist.  After awhile, it decided the existence was a distinct possibility, but the directions given were not sensible.  If we had listened, we would have ended up on the wrong side of the city, lost forever, never to find Susan or Wisconsin again.

So, I understand.  I would behave myself and stay in my suburb too.

Keeping Fit in Pitt (Part 1)

LeeAnnRubsam.com

We haven’t been keeping up with this. A few of us were sick and a few of us were lazy.

- The Pens beat Montreal on Wednesday night, 3-1.

- Jeff Jimmerson was exceptional while singing Oh Canada.

- Sid (1G-1A), Billy G, and Gonch all scored for the Pens.

- Talbot got his first point of the season with an assist on Sid’s goal.

- It was surprising how few penalties there were with how physical the Pens and Canadiens played.

- The Pens fell to the Islanders yesterday, 3-2.

- Brentson was in net for the Pens; Malkin and Cooke had the Pens’ goals; Engelland and Staal both got in fights.

- The Pens could’ve got more shots than 21, for sure.

How are those for recaps?

The Pens are playing the Rangers tonight at Mellon Arena.

- The most important news is that Engelland and Lovejoy have been reassigned to Wilkes-barre to make room for Goligoski and Letang’s return. Goligoski has been out with a lower body injury since 11/14, and Letang has been out with a shoulder contusion since 11/7. McKee is now our only starting defensemen still sidelined with injury (finger infection); he is hopeful to return Monday or Thursday. (Penguins Getting Healthy Heading Into December)

- I’m going to keep my eye on Gaborik (19+14=33) tonight. He’s second in scoring so far this season, trailing Joe Thornton. Coach Dan has talked about using Staal and Cooke to try to settle Gaborik. (Pens Report 11/28/09)

- TK is expected to return in the near future, but still no word on Kunitz’s lower body injury.

- Good article over at Post-Gazette about Brent Johnson.

- Happy Birthday, Fleury.

Let’s Go Pens

This has got to be one of my favorite cards. It comes from the same series as yesterday’s card. The arcing sparks, which are of course completely unrealistic, capture a romantic ideal of the steel industry.

One of the most fun days I had last year was on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, when we played in the first ever Yinz Bowl. This morning’s game — the second iteration of what promises to be our annual flackle football game — promises to be just as good.

A couple things to keep in mind:

It’s going to be chilly. Everyone thought I was kind of nuts for wearing shorts to last year’s game, but the day turned out to be pretty nice. As you can see, the folks at Accuweather think it’ll be in the mid-30s when we’re getting started — so we’re still talking about perfect shorts weather. (I might — might — wear gloves this time, though…)

Also: I’m a year older than I was for the inaugural game. I’m not worried about it, though — a couple extra (handfuls of) Advil, and I’ll be fine.

LeeAnnRubsam.com

As I explained yesterday, we have been visiting in the rural outskirts of Pittsburgh. 

I have been doing quite a bit of walking, partly out of desire to see some scenery, partly to find temporary solitude.  There is a hiking path about one-half mile from Susan’s house.  Getting there is semi-dangerous, as there is only a narrow shoulder along a sharply curving highway to walk on, and traffic is clipping.  I take consolation in not seeing many wildlife corpses on the road, which probably means that if I keep my eyes open, I will not end up as roadkill either.  I instruct the family before leaving that if I am not back in two hours, it is time to mount up a posse and come looking for me.

The hiking trail is an old railroad line, with a long tunnel cut through a hillside for added interest.  Woods adorn both sides, and Susan’s house is up on a bluff overlooking a creek which cuts between the trail and the residential area.

It seems that Pittsburghians do not behave quite like Wisconsinites.  The folks out on the trail are mostly intense types.  They jog, they stride energetically with arms flailing wildly, they are pulled along by unruly pitbulls, but they do not acknowledge each other’s existence as they meet.  My mother taught me as a small child that when we pass someone on the street, we smile pleasantly and say “hi.”  Pittsburghians appear to be very serious about whatever they do, including conscientiously obeying their mothers’ instructions never to speak to strangers.  I perversely insist on accosting them with a ”hi,”  although I quickly discovered this is not kosher. The typical response is a surprised stare, as if they have discovered an intriguing new species of insect and are not quite certain whether to squash it or let it entertain them.  I keep trying, in hopes of improving their standard of civilized behavior, and I sometimes even get a response, but it is difficult to change a culture in a mere week’s time.

The trail is not heavily traveled in November, so I feel a little nervous about encountering lone men when no one else is in sight, especially in the dimly lit tunnel.  I am alert to my surroundings at all times, and listen carefully to assess the danger factor.  If the guy is breathing heavily as he approaches, that is probably good.  Loud snorting, wheezing, asthmatic gasping, and pre-cardiac arrest noises are even better.  All of these mean I can run faster than them, and that predator tactics are the last thing on their mind.

One of Susan’s friends informed me that in the summertime, the men are not the main alarm factor on the trail.  When it is warm, the copperheads enjoy sunning themselves smack dab in the middle of the road.  When they get too warm, they cool off in the tunnel — and no doubt lie in wait for silly Wisconsin women who never once imagined that a ten-foot-wide gravelled road would be a snake resort. 

I passed a pleasant elderly couple along the trail one afternoon.  (They said “hi” back and smiled — probably natives of Wisconsin, not Pittsburgh.)  I suppose they were in their seventies.  She was round and he was very lean — like Jack Sprat and wife.

As I approached  the tunnel on my return leg of the hike, I encountered Mrs. Sprat peering intently around the edge of it.  Jack was on the other end, poking around in some weeds.  Shortly after I entered, what I thought was a teenager tore past me in the fastest sprint I’d ever seen outside of the Olympics.  But it wasn’t a teenager.  As he got nearer, I realized it was Jack.  Seventy … spry as a youngster … faster than a speeding bullet … no red cape  or other super hero props though.

“How’d I do?”  Jack asked, lightly puffing.

“Thirty-one seconds,”  Mrs. Sprat replied.

But the light puffing didn’t subside or even continue evenly.  “EEH-HUH! EEH-HUH! EEH-HUH! EEH-HUH!” Jack commenced gasping in high-pitched apparent distress.  I wished I had remembered to bring the cell phone.  Obviously Jack was going to need an ambulance, and no telling how long it would take one to get there and whether the driver would know that he could disregard the hiking trail rule, “no motorized vehicles allowed.”

I turned to gaze in horror.  Mrs Sprat giggled.  Jack didn’t giggle.  He just kept on with the “EEH-HUH! EEH-HUH! EEH-HUH! EEH-HUH!”  At that point I figured that either she was rather looking forward to an early widowhood, or else Jack and the Mrs. just hang out at the tunnel on a regular basis, waiting to show off their stuff for whatever unsuspecting Wisconsinite comes along, hoping to scare the daylights out of their victim.

I headed on down the trail, and I noticed when I got to the end that the Sprats, with no “EEH-HUH! EEH-HUH! EEH-HUH! EEH-HUHs” in earshot, were not far behind. 

Keeping Fit in Pitt (Part 2)

LeeAnnRubsam.com

56%

Crosby’s pretty lethal against his Dad’s team. I’m not dropping the Habs-o-meter on this game as it was at the tail end of a strong sprint, the second of back-to-back games, and the injury story for the Habs is getting so ridiculous I think the 3-1 loss is fine. Especially when Fleury *robbed* O’Byrne of a goal that would have changed the story somewhat.

Nice to see Pacioretty getting a little more comfortable on the ice. Also read (dreamt?) that Markov is back on skates and suggesting he could possibly be back before the New Year. If this line-up gets healthy and keeps building on the second half of October, we could be in good shape down the stretch. Plus, I think it’s time to trade Halak plus change for a top-six. There. I said it.

I didn’t realize there were early college football games on today otherwise I would have done this earlier and made some bets.  Unfortunately I was stuck at work.

I was going to play Rutgers -3 and Cincinnati -20.5, but the games started before I had a chance.  Other games that were playable include: Colorado State -3, Kent State +4, Tulsa -14.5, and Bowling Green -7. I got my Nebraska -10 pick in, but didn’t get to post here in time

 Here are my other picks:

Pittsburgh 0 (vs WVU)

Boise State -9.5 (buy 4pts) (vs Nevada)

The Boise spread opened at -10 which would may have been fine but now it’s up to -13.5 which is too close for comfort. Nevada is a good team with a strong offense. They are on an 8-0 run after losing their first 3 and have score more than 50 points in 5 of those 8 and more than 30 in all of them. Last year Nevada only lost by 7. I may just steer clear of this game, especially since my NCAAF system is so new and untested.

NBA:

DEN -12.5 (vs NY)

PHI +12.5 (buy 7) (vs ATL)

DAL +2.5 (buy 4) (vs IND)

I’ll play Denver straight, but the other two games I’ll have to work into a teaser if I want anything out of them.  I’d do PHI, DAL, and any other team I mentioned in the last post in a 7pt teaser if I were to play them.

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Since our 27 year old Volvo has been in the shop a bit longer than anticipated, we did not go up to be with Tomás’s family yesterday.  In fact, the day before, I realized we had precious little food in the house, and all of our neighbors were out.  I decided to walk to the nearest Giant Eagle Market, which is 2 and a half miles away.  I made it a personal goal, and you know the old story Grandpa would tell you when you were complaining about something, that he had to walk five miles to school uphill every day?  In the snow? (even if he was a southern California Native….)

Then as you grew up you made the joke “uphill both ways, right Grandpa?” (Or Dad, or whomever is trying to use this particular way of telling you to quit whining).

Well, I just found out that in Pittsburgh, it really is uphill both ways, lol.  I LOVE this city!!

Anyway, I purchased a few basics to make a dinner that would last a few days, and Tomas and I worked the rest of the day.  We woke up on Thanksgiving, and after a relaxing cup of coffee and fresh juice drink for breakfast, we went to work, and worked all day – it was blissfully quiet, and once we got over not having any fresh pumpkin pie, and wishing we could have enjoyed a legitimate day off, we made some good headway into rebuilding a few music emulator banks for Reel 2, plus I got some work done on my novel.

If anyone is a “Dexter” fan, the real Thanksgiving for us was Sunday’s episode – Dexter’s Thanksgiving – “Hungry Man”.  It just does not get any better than that.

Happy Black Friday, Everyone.  We are in, watching the first sleet turn to snow, and yes, still working.

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Charles will once again be offering collectors and fans of his illustration work a Christmas holiday special.  This year, the special will include a free print of your choice.  In addition, the artist will include a free limited edition pastel print of the Joseph Horne Co. Christmas tree.  The lighting of the Horne’s Christmas tree has been a long-standing family tradition in the city of Pittsburgh.

The Joseph Horne Co., often referred to simply as Horne’s by Pittsburghers was an iconic regional department store located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.   It was one of the oldest department stores in the country after being founded by Joseph Horne (1826-1891) in 1849.   The department store chain operated for nearly 145 years until it ceased operation in 1994 after it merged with Lazarus, a division of the Federated Dept. Stores, Inc.

Joseph Horne was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania.  He moved to Pittsburgh where landed his first job in the retail trade with Christian Yeager.   At age of 23, he bought F.H. Eaton store and eventually renamed it the Joseph Horne Co.   It became the leading department store in Pittsburgh, along with Kaufmann’s lasting for generations.   In 1879, a new central location was built at the corner of Penn Avenue and Stanwix Street.   The building was a 7-story landmark and the first department store in the city’s downtown district.   The annual lighting of the Horne’s Christmas Tree at their flagship store was a long held family Christmas tradition.   The Christmas tree display was six stories high and erected on the building’s corner.  Although the store ceased operation, it remains a tradition with Pittsburgh’s annual Light-Up Night festivities.   Crowds would also gather during the Christmas season to view the Christmas display windows, which often were very elaborate and included animated moving characters.

Charles thanks the many people from around the world who have visited his website at http://www.steelcityartist.com  and continue to be wondered by the artist’s incredible artwork.   Charles would like to wish you and your family the blessings for a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday.

thanksgiving was fucking great. i was initially bummed because i thought nobody was coming, but then amanda said she would come & i realized that she is all i need at thanksgiving, because she’s really inspirational & important to me. & then etta revealed that she wanted to come too and the three of us made this perfect thanksgiving trifecta and it was just great. really magical in this way i can hardly describe.
& then i went to ali & colleen’s afterwards and that was fun too. i read everyone an amazing text that my sister sent me: “”i didn’t know what this song on my itunes was so i named it the dirty song by the pottymouths”-mom re: sublime’s what i got”. all the americans laughed heartily at that one but there were two rad israeli fags who didn’t catch the reference. so we all tried to sing that song for them & it was really funny listening to dignified gay people singing sublime for some very confused israeli dudes. but maybe you had to be there.

also there was a hideous hot-pink sparks-esque beverage being passed around. i drank some out of a crystal teacup because it was too hilarious not to. and now i am feeling it. blah! i could hardly sleep at all last night & today i feel really sick.

anyway, i read everyone some poems by the amazing lesbian native american poet chrystos that ali had picked out and i don’t know, it was a really fucking good thanksgiving. oh, and amanda & i saw a rainbow walking home from the mert through the graveyard. and i met a guy at the bus stop who told me all these stories about how he failed mechanic school: “i was always fallin’ asleep. the guy would be talkin’ about the crescent wrench for a whole hour! who could sit through that?”

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