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Lots to catch up on, not sure where to start. 

A week or so ago, Kelly ran in her first competitive road race (with a few other people on our street), the Hollis Fast 5K.  She’s been in training with a few of her friends to try out a mini-triathlon but this came up first.  She did fantastic finishing in under 29 minutes (that means sub 10 minute miles).  I was very proud of her when she came down the final stretch and crossed the finish line.  It was the first time I watched her compete in a sporting event and it was tons of fun.  Check out the pics in flickr.  She even got to wear number 88 so we knew it would be a successful run.  I am looking forward to more of these and maybe someday I’ll even give it a shot.

Next up for the week was a quick trip for me out to Syracuse for the annual Bville Football Alumni golf event.  I played with bro Mike, half-step bro Joe, and Mike’s neighbor Jeff.  we stunk the place up (finished last) but had a good time.  It was nice to see the new Mike  (weighs less than me but the head is still big) and Mom, Grandma, & Derek.  Hopefully we’ll do better next year.  BTW, Mike set a new event record with lost balls – at least 15.

Meanwhile, back in NH, our own Jack Byrne got promoted to the starting midfield line on his lax team.  To celebrate this, he scored the first goal of the game (and for him, the season).  Kell called me at 11:07 to let me know.  If it wasn’t bad enough that I missed that, he got another one later in the game.  GO JACK!  He has really been working hard @ practice and even at home, and deserved getting the start and the two goals.  I  don’t think he realizes the potential he has in sports.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t foresee a pro contract, but he definitely has a shot at being a decent athlete and a solid contributor on any team he plays with.  Sort of like his Dad except straight As in school to boot. 

Nothing new that I know of on the Beatles Rock Band front.  I’m sure you are all eagerly awaiting the next update there.  There is a new Zombie map out for Call of Duty WAW.  We got up early this morning to play and for a brief moment we were in the top 50 in the world!

Gotta get back to work.

I’m not sure why we started getting it, but I’ve been killing time in the throne room with Newsweek lately.  They recently changed the format/layout and it seems more like real news.  Anyhow, the recent My Turn article by Peter Peterson (whom I had never heard of - founder of the Blackstone Grou) titled Why I’m Giving Away $1 Billion is a worth 10 minutes of your time.  I can only hope that I can be like Joseph Heller (author Catch-22) and know the meaning of enough.  It’s a quick read and very thoughtful.  Please have a look.

Why I’m Giving Away $1 Billion -The moment is overdue for us to become moral and worthy ancestors.
By Peter G. Peterson - NEWSWEEK - Published May 30, 2009 - From the magazine issue dated Jun 8, 2009

How cool is all this?  This is a must watch video if you are even remotely interested in The Beatles or plastic guitars.  The imagery is awesome.

More info coming in courtesy of Microsoft’s E3 press conference.  Looks like the  3 part harmony is officially confirmed as well as DLC for every song on every album.  OMG!  Forigve my giddyness but that is fantastic!  Apparently the Harmonix guys played through Day Tripper live on the stage.  For more details:

The Beatles: Rock Band Music And DLC Detailed

Special thanks to Microsoft’s own Frank Mulcahy for bringing this to my attention.  Who needs the summer - September can’t get here fast enough!

was named Citizen of the Month for his class in May. As silly as it may sound, we’re very proud of him as this is not his specialty.  It isn’t even like it was just his turn (with school being almost over) as kids can win it more than once.  He’s always had the grades part down but was never known for his social skills.  I guess that’s what happens when you mix Kelly and Lee.

Great work Jack - you just raised the bar again!

So, here’s a shot of the guitar that will come with the Limited Premium Edition of Beatles Rock Band.

Looks pretty good to me but people on twitter are already complaining about the fact that’s it right handed (unlike Paul’s).  Well guess what people – most of you aren’t left handed and just because you may be able to “play” bass to She Loves You, you aren’t Paul McCartney.

I’d rather the set came with one of the 6 string guitars but I can see why Harmonix is doing it this way.  More people are likely to pay another $100 for a guitar than a bass.  I’m pretty sure I would have bought them all anyway.  I bet you’re shocked!

Yeah, I know – enough already.  Pretty cool though.  There goes another $100.  I’m glad I didn’t get a new one a couple of months ago when our wireless Les Paul started acting up.  I’ve always wanted a Gretsch and a Hofner.  Of course, I didn’t expect them to be plastic video game guitars.

No one else if really following this, right?  C’mon!

Spring break is over and the kids are going back to school today.  Hopefully the swine flu doesn’t pick up momentum here as the kids already have lost a couple days off due to the power outage we had during the ice storm back in December.

We spent a few days over the break in Washington DC at Kelly’s sister’s house.  Candace was kind enough to have us and the Olson’s stay with her.  We did all the usual stuff - zoo, monuments, museums, Arlington National Cemetery, etc.  The highlight (and lowlight) for me was a semi-private tour of the Capital which included access to the Senate chambers during a session.  It was cool except for the fact that there was only one Senator there (Dodd).  Our guide told us that, unless there’s a vote, most Senators watch CSPAN to keep up with what’s happening on the Senate floor.  That doesn’t seem right to me.

Soooo, here are some pictures from the trip.  There are also some new pictures in the lacrosse section.  We’ve won a couple games lately and the kids are starting to play decent defense.

Looks like you can use up to three mics in the new game.  Retailer listing descriptions have been leaked:

Very cool – anyone for some Sun King?  Or maybe Revolution 1?

I just realized we never introduced Jack’s hamster to you guys.  Here he is, Frodo the fuzzball (click on image for full size).