Cliff Lee goes 6-0

Freddy Sez is a local celebrity around Yankee Stadium. Bill tells me that Freddy is the unofficial mascot.

Below, Pete is looking for a practice ball for me. He promised, before we left for the game, that he'd get one. Bill and I stood there for a few minutes, but then left to let the kids get in there. While we were there, we saw the guy in the white shirt/blue tie make a barehanded catch, then hand the ball to his daughter. Many of the Yankee fans wanted to sign him up! Pete is wearing the blue/white pinstripe cap. It's the cap that the Yankee's farm team in the Dominican Republic players wear.



Pete delivered on his promise. He caught that one while the Indian's were conducting their batting practice.

The Tribe won tonight, 3-0. It was an excellent game, both offensively, and defensively, with several good catches by the outfield. I never count the Bombers out until the last strike, because we Clevelander's know the damage they have done to us in the past.

I can't account for the goofy look on my face, but at least Bill looks good. It was cool enough out that I got to wear the jacket I brought with me.

A debt retired

As promised, Bill posed in front of Yankee Stadium, wearing a Cleveland Indian's hat, per our bet. I never doubted that he'd keep up his end of the bargain, but it was great to be there and take the picture myself.

Here we are in the Yankee Tavern. I received a somewhat cool reception by some of the patrons there, but the bartenders were friendly (once they knew I was from Cleveland, and not NY). We chatted with a couple of Yankee's fans up from North Carolina, and a sheet metal worker who had been working on the new Yankee's Stadium:

It's a beautiful ballpark, built with limestone, and with a nod to the old stadium, the facade across the top.

Below is a picture of Bill with two of his friends who regularly go to Yankee games, Tom, and Linda. Tom is the master of the "What would you rather have...?" question, such as "Shawn, who would you rather have, Derek Jeter, or Bo Derek?" Of course the answer to that one is Bo Derek. I asked him "Tom, what would you rather have, Derek Jeter, or an oil derrick?" and he chose Jeter. Though Linda kept trying to get me to get on a train to who knows where, she did lead us back to the subway.

Then Tom took a picture of Bill and I at the game.

The Indian's won the first game of the series, five to two. Tonight Cliff Lee (5-0) matches up against Chien-Ming Wang (6-0). It should be a great game of pitching. If our batters can make some offense happen, I feel Cliff can keep the Yanks from scoring.

Jones Beach

It was a warm, sunny day, so Bill and I went out to Jones Beach. We're hoping the rest of the week is as nice as today was. Then we had lunch at a local pub, drank a few beers, and spent the afternoon talking about old Navy times. We didn't get too crazy with the beer, because Bill had to pick up his son from school, then take him to baseball practice.

Bill is a die-hard Yankee's fan. I've never seen so much sports paraphernalia in my life. He's got Yankee floor mats, keychain, pajamas, cell-phone, I mean, the list is endless.

The games start tomorrow! It's going to be fun!

Greetings from New York!

Yesterday, Bill took me to The City, aka Manhattan. I imagined King Kong swinging from the spire at the top of the Empire State Building as we drove by.

That's the Brooklyn Bridge behind me, and deeper in the background is the Manhattan Bridge.



Here is Bill and his family. Pete, who's almost 14, and nearly grown, was gracious enough to wear the Indian's hat I had sent to Bill last year. Well, he wore it until we visited The Yankee's Store. After that, Chief Wahoo got stuffed in a pocket and Pete sported a newer Yankee hat. His wife Beth is a real sweetheart. These were taken at the South Street Seaport, which is on the East River.

We spent some time enjoying the sun and view, then headed to The Village for something to eat, and drink. The Pour House was packed, but we found seats at Around the Clock. We visited St. Marks place, then stopped at Veniero's bakery for some cannoli before going home.

New York bound

I'm packed, checked, and double checked. I've got a few hours until the taxi gets here, Katie has been dropped off at my parents' house, and there's nothing left to do but wait. I'm pretty excited, and a bit antsy. Since I've got some time, I figured I'd post a few more pictures from yesterday.

These were taken at NS1 bridge. This boat was coming in while I was at the top of the bridge, checking on the tower lights.


Here I'm on the "dolphins" working on the lights that light up the towers. The dolphins are there to protect the bridge from being damaged by freighters. I don't know if Peeps is lucky, or good, but he's taken several excellent pictures.


The American Courage is returning from unloading iron ore at the blast furnaces. I've got several pictures posted of this ship making her way up or down the river.


As she steams by, I just keep working. I still get a kick out of working downtown on the bridges, but after a short while, the newness wears off and it becomes business as usual.

I've been busy!

I've been moving around alot lately at work, which is pretty fun. Several weeks ago, I was back down at the Cleveland Zoo working on their high voltage cables again. Here, Jose is beginning a trench to connect the newly installed HV box with an existing HV box. I posted this picture just for my nephew, David, who likes trucks!

Here's a shot of the trench, with the conduit in it. We still have to go back and set the conduits on spacers, which, oddly enough, keep the conduits evenly spaced in the trench, and slightly raised up from the trench floor. Then we cover the pipes with loose gravel, lay a marker tape down the length of the trench, and backfill the trench. The marker tape is metallic, so it can be found with a metal detector next time someone needs to dig a trench near our buried conduits.


Dan da Man is testing the HV cables. The 2"x4" studs were covered with a tarp to make a tent, so I could complete the HV terminations regardless of the weather.

After this job, I went to the crane job in the previous post. Then I went to the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center. That was a fun job to visit! I got to see many electricians I hadn't seen in awhile, including two guys I went to trade school with. I got to meet some new wiremen, and I got to work for a young man who used to be my apprentice. It made me feel good to see him doing well in the trade. I didn't bring my camera to that job because I wasn't sure I'd be able to take pictures since it's nearing the end of the job and the big push is on to "get 'er done". Sometimes I can sneak a few minutes in to take some pictures, and sometimes not. I did see some fine workmanship on that job. Huge banks of pipe running in all directions. Kicked 90's. Paralleled offsets. Matched couplings! Yeah, I know. I'm a geek.

Then, last Monday, I got a real nice treat. I was sent back downtown to work with my old friend, Peeps, on the bridge lighting. This was taken on the roof of Shooters. That's Bascule No. 1 bridge directly behind him, which is lit up at night by the lighting system we maintain. In the background, one can see the Willow avenue bridge.

Right across from Shooters is my favorite bridge. NS1. It's also called the Iron Curtain, or the Conrail Bridge. I'm guessing boaters call it the Iron Curtain the most.


I just checked out the Shooter's gallery. Lots of babes hang out there! Roger Loecy, the owner, bought us lunch one day. We both got the Shooter's Burger with fries. That was one fat, juicy, delicious chunk of Black Angus, I'm telling you.


The boss is checking his blueprints to see what circuit he needs to turn off so we can change a couple of ballasts in the light fixtures. I thought it made a cool picture.


See, I don't spend all my time taking pictures! I actually do work too. I've changed the lamp, and now I'm cleaning the lens. Mostly, we find dead bugs clouding up the lens. Often we'll find the beginnings of a bird nest, but once those lamps are energized, they get hot fast. I've never found a complete bird's nest.



If you're wondering, I bought an extra chin to work, you know, in case I lost one. It was a sunny day, but a bit cool still, and breezy near the river. Hence the extra layers of clothes.


I think steel and rivets make for extremely cool photographs. Peeps took some excellent pictures, despite the fact that I'm in them. I often wonder if I'll ever find a dead body down in one of these holes we work in.


I got to climb to the top of the Willow bridge today. Here's a view of Cleveland's skyline. The sun poked out just long enough for me to snap this picture.

I've got one more day working on the bridges, then I'm headed for New York! My boy Grady Sizemore is back in action, but Bill tells me that A-rod is on the DL. I would have liked to see him play. You know, strike out a few times. Bill calculated that, last year, A-rod was paid $33,000 each at bat. I'm quite looking forward to this trip. If I can, I'll post updates from Bill's house. If not, I'll post something when I get home.