The Danny Strikes Again!

After a season which the Redskins battled through extreme adversity, proved their mettle by making it to the playoffs, and seriously gelled as a team with the possibility of greater things to come, what happens? The Danny sticks his money addled brain into the works and fouls 'em all up.

Dan Snyder, probably the biggest idiot in NFL ownership history, has, after preaching about continuity, patience, and team chemistry will now screw the whole thing up by hiring Jim Fassel as head coach. JIM FASSEL?!? What in God's sake is he thinking.

The Skins have the coach they need: Gregg Williams. Williams has been with the team since Gibbs got there four years ago. He has the support and respect of the coaching staff as well as the players. He is the guy Gbbs picked to take his place as head coach when he left. Williams is as responsible as Gibbs for holding this team together through the trials of the past season. His defenses are always in the top ten in the league, he has previous head coaching experience (granted he wasn't that successful in Buffalo), and most importantly, he knows the team, knows how to continue Gibbs' vision. HIRE WILLIAMS, DAMMIT!! LET'S GET TO THE SUPERBOWL!

All the players who've been with the Skins over the course of the last 5-6 years have, despite some mediocre seasons, been happy that the coaching carousel of the late 90s/early 00s had finally ended. Now what's going to happen? New Head Coach, completely new coaching staff and back to square one.

Of course you know Snyder is going to throw boatloads of money at Fassel. The Danny doesn't know how to do anything else. Here's what we get for the muti-millions: a 58-53-1 coach who was fired by the last two teams he coached for (Ravens and Giants) because he was a lousy coach. He's coming into a close-knit team that has immense respect for its current coaching staff. Good luck, Jim. You're gonna need it.

To The Danny: Go soak your head! You're the king of one step forward, six steps back.

(insert stream of damning, bitter expletives here)

Photos from my New Zealand trip...Finally

I finally found the energy to get my photos up on the blog. I got back to Korea and immediately got whacked by a full load of classes. Anyway, here they are.

Overall, this trip was exactly what I thought it was going to be: a good, relaxing time with a good buddy, drinking beer and bopping around. I met lots of good folks, ate EXTREMELY well (although I may never eat ham again), and got to see a good deal of the country. What will they remember about me? Most likely my uncanny ability to fall asleep almost anywhere at any time, and the extreme decibel level of my snoring. Hee, hee.

One of the only photos I took while I was in Auckland. I was sitting outside the train station at 6am and figured I might as well take a photo.
The Overlander from Auckland to Wellington. I had a great time on this train despite the 12 hour ride. I met a bunch of cool people and chatted and drank beer most of the way to Wellington.
Is this New Zealand or Newark??
There was this cool outdoor platform right behind the engine that you stand on to get a better view and take some unobstructed photos. What follows are a bunch of photos I took on the train ride to Wellington.
That includes YOU!!
One of the better photos taken from inside the train. Because of the cloud cover, many of the photos taken from inside had too much reflection from the windows.
Apparently, somewhere behind those clouds are some very beautiful volcanoes.






Glen's fridge. Portents of things to come.
The view from Glen's house in Wellington. This reminded me a great deal of the hills around Mrin in California.
The Quiet Lady in Wellington where I learned it's not such a good idea to talk shit about cricket, especially when New Zealand is getting trounced by Australia.
Christmas Eve at Glenn's Uncle Mike's house. This was an outstanding party: great food, music, and boatloads of booze. Unfortunately, due to a problem with my camera, this is one of the only photos that came out.
Part of the spectaclar view from Mike's house. I can't remember the name of the town though.
Glenn's family. I certainly can't argue with the hospitality I received.
Glenn and his brothers playing a little footy in his mom's backyard.
Max. This is a great dog and reminded me a great deal of my old dog George.
Drinki' at Pinky's. We ended up here for New Years Eve and watched a pretty cool punk band, Loretta Suede and The Motel 6. Good Cramps style garage punk.
"We ain't catchin' shit, but this is CHOICE!"
I like this shot.
Another shot from the boat.
The beach at Whangamata (pronounced phong-a-ma-TAH)
James and Emily
Where better to spend a Kiwi summer day than at the beach.
Debs, her sister Susan and myself hangin' at the bach (vacation house)
I'm not sure who had more fun in the pool, Glenn or Emily.
Susan and Emily.
Glenn and Deborah. Ain't they cute!
Glenn and Debs livin' la vida loca!
I had grand ideas of getting up at dawn on New Years day and going down to the beach to take some shots of the sunrise. Sadly, I only managed to make it to the deck outside the bach.
Glenn and I hangin' at the beach.
Mock rescue at Whangamata Beach. helicopter peels off after dropping rescue swimmers.
The lifeguards at the beach staged a mock water rescue before the surf boat competition. Here the zodiacs race out to retrieve the "victims" and the lifeguards dropped from the helicopter.
Surf boat competition at the beach in Whangamata.
ROW, YE BASTARDS! ROW!!
The race is on.



Getting out over the breakers is the tough part.
More from the surf boat competition.
Yes. The beach is good!