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The Hopper header pic has been up there for a few days now, what do you guys think? Edogg didn't like it so much (she called it "creepy"). How about the rest of you? Leave a comment, dammit!

We're just a little over two weeks from the start of the Red Sox World Championship Season. Since Cox cable doesn't carry the New England Sports Network (NESN) here in New Orleans, I bought the MLB Gameday Audio package, which allows me to listen to every game on the internet. What's more, it gives you access to archived games from last year. As soon as I got my account settled, I queued up last October's ALCS Game 4, the one Em and I saw in Boston. I remember last year, after you-know-what happened, I couldn't imagine making the same all out emotional investment in the 2004 team. That awful pain subsided, and the off-season was just crazy, but still I haven't been looking forward to this year as much as last. We're more than halfway through Spring Training and I've barely mentioned the Sox, for god's sake! Then my RealPlayer started up and I heard the intro to the WEEI games; Jerry Trupiano yelled "way back!" and every hair on my body stood up. I swear, my eyes watered up. Anyone who's ever listened to the games on WEEI should know exactly what I'm talking about: It goes on. All the best moments in Red Sox history. What amazing moments from this year will be added to that opening montage? Last year was hands down the most exciting summer of baseball I have ever seen. Will 2004 top it? We'll begin to answer that in 16 days. Anyway, for me, it's now officially "on." Opening Day can't come soon enough.

Matt Graves let's it slip that he reads A Cry for Help sometimes, and emails me thusly: New England, you've been warned. ALSO: James is gettin' springy over at Aces.

- The fact that this girl is 8 years old. "Honey, time for bed." "Oh mom, can't I stay up a little longer to work on my sodomy poster?" The associated article is angering too. From Rep. Victor G. Moffitt, R-Coventry, "I do not hate gays and lesbians...We got threatening phone calls. People want to destroy my business. This is the kind of thing gays and lesbians do." - The fact that I could walk only along the paths that the shovelers decided to clear, causing lots of extra walking. - How a Pawtucket police officer is defending his decision to shoot a curious 13 year old dog in the head twice, the second shot blowing the dog's teeth all over the floor of the owner's house. They can't get the blood stains out of the carpet or the furniture. - It's still snowing.

Since a sizable amount of US (generally right-wing) commentators have peered into the souls of the Spanish people and deemed them "terrorist appeasers," who among those dirty Europeans shall we hate more: the objectively pro-Osama Spaniards or the good old Surrender Monkey French? Doesn't it seem like the losers in Spain's election got the whole "how to deal with a terrorist attack" thing backwards? George W. Bush must be smacking his head, saying "no no no, after an attack you have to go after the actual perpetrators for a little while before you use it as a justification to go after the guys you wanted to get in the first place. That's how you exploit tragedy for political ends!"

I very rarely remember my dreams when I wake up in the morning, so I always appreciate it when one is still fresh to my waking mind. Last night I dreamt of having a long conversation with a friend of a friend who I haven't seen in a while. I went on and on about certain problems I have been having in the past few years, being fully honest in a way I don't think I have ever enunciated. It was pretty bizarre, like a therapy session I've never been to. Unfortunately, she didn't provide me with any insights, which I guess means even deep down I don't know how to meaningfully address my shortcomings. Weird dream, though.

A comment on one of my favorite subjects by a new commenter deserves a new post. Garris asks if there's an imaginary bridge looming over my imaginary aquarium. Well, the bridge is real and on its way: This will be the view from Collier Park, where the Russian Submarine now resides:
source: RIDOT The relocation should be done and open to traffic by 2008/09. The demolition and new development on the recovered land (in red in the picture below) will of course take a lot longer. I don't think that should hold up the construction of the aquarium, though...

I have in my mind a vision of what Providence will be like in the future. I have a good idea of what will replace the relocated I-195, what Capital Center will look like when finished, and driving down the Allens Ave industrial corridor I see parks and marinas. This is all in my head, of course, and sadly these sort of things take a long time to come into being. Every once in a while I add something to my Providence of the future, and a trip to the New Orleans Aquarium this week inspired me to dream up a similar attraction for the Providence waterfront. Tentatively called the Bil Herron (featuring Emily) Providence Aquarium™®, Rhode Island's capital would have a state of the art facility to showcase the amazing aquatic ecosystem that is Narragansett Bay. I even know where she'll go up, as you can see from this graphic (oh, there's an upper bay ferry system in my future Providence, too): From this magnificent vantage point at the top of Narragansett Bay (and below the signature arch of the new I-195 bridge), visitors will experience first-hand the beauty and diversity of the bay, from eel grass sanctuaries to coral covered coves to the artificial reefs created by the (finally) destroyed Old Jamestown Bridge. The ties to RI's fishing industry will be featured prominently, as will Save the Bay's efforts. Can't you see it? Now all we need is a little financial backing... (no, Alan Shawn Feinstein, you can't put your name on this one!)

To further tout the superiorities of New England as compared to the Deep South (see previous post), I note that Providence (I assume the metro area) has the fourth largest percentage of high speed internet users in the US. Sheila Lennon has the list. And sadly, despite my best efforts for the past 2 weeks, I am still contributing to New Orleans's dial-up statistics.

Don't get me wrong, I love New Orleans, but life in Louisiana can definitely be disconcerting for northerners at times. Walking into a coffee shop and seeing this was one of those times: Draw your own conclusions.

There's the idea out there that the Spanish election, which defied pre-3/11 polling, was a victory for terrorists since the party which supported W's Iraqi Adventure™ was voted out. This could very well be possible. News reports make it seem more likely to me that there was a major backlash against the Popular Party trying to use the bombings, though horrific, for political advantage (could there be hope for us?). Obviously we can't know the hearts and minds of the Spanish electorate. However, one thing I did want to bring up was that it doesn't matter why the election went as it did. If al Qaeda, or a similarly inclined group, was behind this attack then they see this as a victory. Osama bin Laden truly believes that he and the Afghanis he fought beside during the failed Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 brought down the Soviet Union. What's more, he figured that taking down the US would be an easier job, since we were less brutal and totalitarian than the USSR. So if you didn't know before, Osama is quite delusional. He's also pretty dangerous. We should really do something about that guy, like capture him, dead or alive. I said yesterday that radical Islamists have a centuries old bone to pick with Spain, so it's not like pulling 1300 troops out of Iraq is "appeasing" the terrorists. Nothing short of establishing Muslim law in Madrid would make the Osamas of the world happy. And as Steve mentions, there's no talk of halting Spain's assistance on prosecuting the War on Terror®, just less idiotic middle east sleight-of-hand. Anywho, when I talk about George Bush not being serious about the war on terror, this is what I mean. Imagine what we, with the eager help of our European allies, could have accomplished in the last year and a half with the full focus of our military and intelligence on crushing al Qaeda and other active terrorist groups. Want to talk about aid and comfort to the enemy? How about letting the 3/11 plotters rest easy with the knowledge that those who would thwart them were embroiled in the messy and labor intensive (both logistically and politically) war in Iraq. What heinous plots, being cooked up right now, are benefitting from all the attention on deposing a dictator with imaginary weapons? Are we safer with Saddam gone? It's debatable. Will we be safer with George W Bush gone? Undoubtedly.

As Bil was driving me to the airport yesterday afternoon, I clicked through the displays in the Saab to get to the outside tempertature reading. 82°F. I gave Bil a dirty look, and he apologized for having to send me back to New England. Then I walked out of TF Green airport at 11:41pm that night and shook my fists at the sky. The same sky containing 31° air. Before I could even get to the car, my sandal-ed feet were numb. WHY?! I never really had a problem with winter until I started traveling to warm locations. My parents never brought my brother and I to Disney World as kids (it was a crime that my first visit there was at age 17), or on vacation anywhere, really. I ignorantly had no opposition to Rhode Island winters. Then in 10th grade I went to Hawaii during April vacation with my high school marching band (yes! being in band was cool because you got to go to Hawaii). I remember on the plane, landing at the Honolulu airport, the pilot came on and said "Welcome to Honolulu! The local time is 4:13pm, and the temperature is 84 degrees!". The entire cabin, full of my high school peers, let out screams of excitement. Remember, it was April back home. Probably the same year we had a giant snow storm on April Fools Day. Ever since then, I've taken at least one trip during the winter months to a warmer destination. And thus, I have seen the greener grass on the other side of the fence. Its always warm somewhere, and I would rather be there. So yesterday, my flight from New Orleans connected through Reagan International in D.C. There were tons of other college kids coming from numerous spring break locations, the most popular being Florida. As we took off, the pilot said "Our destination tonight is Providence, RI, landing a little early at about 10:20pm...and it will be 33°F". Every passenger simultaneously let out a loud groan of disgust. A bunch of us were still wearing flip flops and warm-weather clothes, talking about the Red Sox. WHY?! Therefore, I am refusing to acknowledge winter's presence. No more winter coat. No scarf. I successfully weaned myself off knee-socks 2 weeks ago. Luckily it will only be one week until the official start of spring (not that that means much), but baby steps. Baby steps! (What About Bob? Anyone?)