So last Saturday Rich Henn and I went to the Big Apple Comic-Con (me for just an hour), and then started a long night of boozing it up … with some unexpected consequences.

We started off at Dallas BBQs on 23rd Street and 8th Avenue for some crispy wings … and Texas-sized margaritas. For those of you who haven’t seen what a Texas-sized margaritas looks like … well … it’s big. 20 oz. Then I had a Texas-sized beer. And then another.

And then we went up to Hiddelberg on the UpperSo last Saturday Rich Henn and I went to the Big Apple Comic-Con (me for just an hour), and then started a long night of boozing it up … with some unexpected consequences.

We started off at Dallas BBQs on 23rd Street and 8th Avenue for some crispy wings … and Texas-sized margaritas. For those of you who haven’t seen what a Texas-sized margaritas looks like … well … it’s big. 20 oz. Then I had a Texas-sized beer. And then another.

And then we went up to Hiddelberg on the Upper East Side, and had another jumbo beer. Henn literally drank out of a giant glass in the shape of a boot.

Apparently, I found that perfect level is being completely blasted without quite realizing just how blasted I was. And then I had to go home. And walk the dog. Which is when things got really interesting. (Liz was away for the weekend, so Simon was all mine …)

Now, I’m pretty new to being a dog owner, so my experience walking dogs is limited to just the past few months. But I’ve learned anything, it’s this: drunken dog-walking is [i]waaaaaaaay[/i] different than sober dog walking. Or, more to the point, the dog walked [i]me[/i].

Simon did just fine. I, on the other hand, had quite the adventure, bobbing and weaving, stumbling from one corner to the next, with 21st Century Breakdown (Green Day’s new album) blasting on my iPod.

But some miracle, I made around the neighborhood without causing any damage I’m aware of …

And as much fun as it was, I’m in no hurry to try it again. Especially when Simon got me up at 6 am for his next walk … and I was still blasted. Now that was no fun. My head was spinning, my body ached … not good.

So if there’s a lessen to be learned here, it’s that, if I’m going to go out for beers, make sure Liz is home to walk the dog for me!

Last night … late … maybe around 2 a.m. or so, there was a massive storm. Thunder. Lightning. If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn it was World War III.

[i]KR-KAAM! [/i]

[i]KABOOM![/i]

Crazy stuff. Still, I kinda like storms, think they’re cool.

When Alex was roaming our place, storms didn’t seem to bother him. He usually just slept right through them. He’d look up when some thunder would go off and give a look of … [i]huh? did I hear something?[/i] … and go bLast night … late … maybe around 2 a.m. or so, there was a massive storm. Thunder. Lightning. If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn it was World War III.

[i]KR-KAAM! [/i]

[i]KABOOM![/i]

Crazy stuff. Still, I kinda like storms, think they’re cool.

When Alex was roaming our place, storms didn’t seem to bother him. He usually just slept right through them. He’d look up when some thunder would go off and give a look of … [i]huh? did I hear something?[/i] … and go back to sleep.

But Simon? The poor little guy. He scurried up onto the bed, right in between Liz and me, shaking. He was trembling so hard I would have thought he was literally freezing to death. His teeth were chattering. Simon was utterly terrified. Truly and utterly terrified.

We felt really bad for him at the time, but as Liz reports, he’s back in action today, being the loveable goofball that he is …

It turns out that Simon is a heckuva watchdog.

How do we know this? Well …

My old friend Paul has been visiting this past week, in from London. He’s stayed with me so many times over the years that he knows my friends–and the city–so I’m basically just the in innkeeper. He shows up, I give him a set of keys, and then I see him every know and then, as he’s off on vacation while I’m at work all day. (I’m still trying to figure out how I got suckered into that deal …)

The otherIt turns out that Simon is a heckuva watchdog.

How do we know this? Well …

My old friend Paul has been visiting this past week, in from London. He’s stayed with me so many times over the years that he knows my friends–and the city–so I’m basically just the in innkeeper. He shows up, I give him a set of keys, and then I see him every know and then, as he’s off on vacation while I’m at work all day. (I’m still trying to figure out how I got suckered into that deal …)

The other thing about Paul is that he’s got this extra gear that most people don’t have–I certainly don’t–and he can stay out all night, almost every night, when any normal human being would have collapsed by then from exhaustion. (He is a Brit after all, and they like their pubs …)

So the other night, oh, about 2:30 a.m., I hear a very slight click … and then Simon went into guard dog mode.

RUFF RUFF RUFF RUFF RUFF RUFF RUFF … GROWL SNARL GROWL!

Which is great, I suppose, except that he was sleeping in our bed at time! Scared the crap out of me!

Simon goes tearing up to the front door, barking and growling and snarling like crazy, because Paul finally managed to drag himself in. Believe me, it’s great that Simon is protecting them home. We like that. A lot. But because Paul tends to come in late … almost every night … it’s given me a regular heart attack!

Simon is a darn good watch doggie. If only I can train Paul to come home at a human hour …

So it’s come to this. Finally.

About six years ago I hurt my back while on the racquetball court, and it’s never totally healed. I’ve been to doctors and massage therapists, I had an MRI, took anti-inflammatory pills and have been seeing a chiropractor regularly since a year after the injury.

Thankfully, the chiropractor I’ve been seeing for the past 6 months or so is really quite good–my back is definitely much, much better overall–but we were talking the other day when I went in foSo it’s come to this. Finally.

About six years ago I hurt my back while on the racquetball court, and it’s never totally healed. I’ve been to doctors and massage therapists, I had an MRI, took anti-inflammatory pills and have been seeing a chiropractor regularly since a year after the injury.

Thankfully, the chiropractor I’ve been seeing for the past 6 months or so is really quite good–my back is definitely much, much better overall–but we were talking the other day when I went in for an adjustment, when I finally came out an asked: [i]what is exactly wrong with my back? What’s the source of the problem[/i]?

I had always focused on [i]how[/i] I hurt my back, and lost track of what’s actually going on there. So he’s sending me for an x-ray, and hopefully they’ll find something that they can actually deal with. It’s not that I want there to be an injury, but there [i]is [/i]a problem. If all goes well, at least the results will give my chiropractor enough information so that he can really treat the injury.

We’ll see …

As a lifelong Yankees fan, I’ve been dying to get to the new stadium. And now that I’ve made it there, here’s my take on the Good, the Bad and the What Were They Thinking?

[b]The Good[/b]:

The new Yankee stadium indeed has a few things going for it. For one, the seats are angled much better than in the old stadium, so you don’t have to be all twisted around to watch the game. Also, the seats themselves are much better ergonomically designed, so even though they’re still plastic, theyAs a lifelong Yankees fan, I’ve been dying to get to the new stadium. And now that I’ve made it there, here’s my take on the Good, the Bad and the What Were They Thinking?

[b]The Good[/b]:

The new Yankee stadium indeed has a few things going for it. For one, the seats are angled much better than in the old stadium, so you don’t have to be all twisted around to watch the game. Also, the seats themselves are much better ergonomically designed, so even though they’re still plastic, they’re pretty comfortable, and there’s much more leg room than in the old stadium. Also, lots of cup holders, that’s good.

The scoreboard in center field is amazing. Talk about instant replay! Awesome quality. Really adds to the experience.

What I also really like is how open the thoroughfares are. There’s plenty of room to walk around between concession stands. Its airy. A big improvement. And walking in on the ground level is pretty darn impressive, with massive banners of the all-time Yankees hanging from the rafters.

And all in all, it’s very big and clean. All thumbs up.

[b]The Bad[/b]:

Yankees stadium is big. Way. Too. Big. The biggest problem is that it’s a stadium, and not a ballpark. You walk in and it’s this giant cathedral with white concrete and massive ceilings, so fine that it’s shouting–Don’t touch! It’s like visiting a museum. Well, I don’t want to visit a museum. I want to see the game!

When it comes to the actual game, in the stands, you’re too far from the field. It’s so … distant. There’s a level of being removed from the field experience that it’s hard to get energized about the action on the field. Why did they do this? It makes no sense.

The prices are outrageous. The seats alone are ridiculously overpriced, but here are a few other examples: A program is $10. Give me a break. And in the Yankees store, the cheapest T-shirt is $30! Who can afford this stuff? Beers are $9 each. The pricing alone is a slap in the face. The new Yankees stadium wasn’t built for the everyday fan; it was built for [i]rich people[/i].

When it comes to concession stands, well … where are they? They couldn’t give you a few more choices? Go to any other new ball park and you’ve got a much bigger selection. Plus, the Nathan’s hot dog stand where we were sitting ran out of hot dogs and french fries! Huh? Dude. Get your act together.

[b]What the Heck Were They Thinking?[/b]

The biggest travesty of the new Yankees Stadium is that is has no heart. It’s a cold, uninviting mausoleum. It’s Yankee Stadium for crying out loud! But you walk around the thoroughfares above the first level and there’s nothing but white concrete walls. What the heck were they thinking?

The Yankees are the greatest sports franchise in American history, and there’s not a single plaque on the walls. Not a banner, no Yankee blue. Nothing. You’re telling me you couldn’t hang some championship banners? Or have time lines along the walls detailing the history of the Yankees? How about some plaques? Some notices announcing Yankee records?

You’ve got a [b]$1.5 BILLION[/b] facility, and it’s essentially blank? Except along the outfield, which is essentially nothing but advertisements.

Good gravy.

[b]Final Thoughts:[/b]

It pains me to say this, but as it stands now, the new Yankee Stadium is an unmitigated failure. They blew it. They absolutely blew it. And you know what, I’m probably going to go to a lot more Met games from now on, because they got it way more right. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but that’s how it is.

My call to the Yankees: I’m begging you to fix your mistakes. Because if not, I won’t be coming around too often.

I’ve now been to one game each at the new Yankee Stadium and CitiField. As a matter of full disclosure, I’m a life-long Yankee fan and have always hated Shea Stadium, so keep this mind as you read along.

That said, I have to say that without the slightest hesitation–and as much as it kills me to say it–CitiField is far superior to the New Yankee Stadium. In fact, it’s not even close. It’s actually shocking how much better CitiField is, but that even has more to do with the fact that theI’ve now been to one game each at the new Yankee Stadium and CitiField. As a matter of full disclosure, I’m a life-long Yankee fan and have always hated Shea Stadium, so keep this mind as you read along.

That said, I have to say that without the slightest hesitation–and as much as it kills me to say it–CitiField is far superior to the New Yankee Stadium. In fact, it’s not even close. It’s actually shocking how much better CitiField is, but that even has more to do with the fact that the new Yankee Stadium … well … I’ll get to it in a bit.

There’s a lot to review, so for the full discussion, go to the BASEBALL forum on this site, and see individual reviews for each stadium …

So there I am, setting up my surround sound system … with the wireless router … and I’m placing the rear left speaker on top of the bookshelf. It’s positioned well, has a nice angle to it.

But when I look down, the wire coiled up, so I reached over to untangle it. Simply enough, but when I gave it another tug … [i]WHAMO! [/i]… the speaker came right down on my head.

%$#@!

I can’t really remember the exactly barrage of four-letter words I let fly, but Liz and Simon both So there I am, setting up my surround sound system … with the wireless router … and I’m placing the rear left speaker on top of the bookshelf. It’s positioned well, has a nice angle to it.

But when I look down, the wire coiled up, so I reached over to untangle it. Simply enough, but when I gave it another tug … [i]WHAMO! [/i]… the speaker came right down on my head.

%$#@!

I can’t really remember the exactly barrage of four-letter words I let fly, but Liz and Simon both came running out to see If I’d managed to kill myself putting up the speakers. Fortunately I have a pretty hard head, as I only wound up with a bump. Years ago I was hit in the head with a shovel, which bloodied me up pretty good, so naturally I was expecting the worse.

Luckily I just iced it up … ice pack in one hand … remote control in the other.

I’ll tell you … the surround sound system is fun when it’s working, but I’ve been paying for it in more ways than one.

Sunday night I was sitting back on my couch, enjoying my new surround sound system, when I realized that I was getting any sound from the rear speakers. I understand that those are the ones that give you the ambient noise … the splash in an ocean … a gun shot whizzing by … but I was pretty sure they were giving me nothing.

So I took them down off the bookcase and held the speaker up to my ear like a seashell. Nope. Still nothing.

Sigh. Once again I got on the horn and called thSunday night I was sitting back on my couch, enjoying my new surround sound system, when I realized that I was getting any sound from the rear speakers. I understand that those are the ones that give you the ambient noise … the splash in an ocean … a gun shot whizzing by … but I was pretty sure they were giving me nothing.

So I took them down off the bookcase and held the speaker up to my ear like a seashell. Nope. Still nothing.

Sigh. Once again I got on the horn and called the Samsung customer support hotline, and after 30 minutes of being transferred around, I finally got somebody on the phone who knew what they were doing. Jim was a good guy. I relayed to him my set up, we went through all of my settings … again … and still, no sound. Jim put me on hold to check something out, and while he was away, I figured I would experiment.

The rear speakers were wireless–one of the reasons I bought the system–but I figured I’d hook them up to the wires, just to see if that did anything. I wanted to make sure that he speakers at least worked. And once I hooked them up to the wires, I was in action. Bingo! We have sound. Okay. We know the speakers work, so it must be a settings problem.

I relayed my "discovery" to Jim, and awaited congratulations on my ingenuity. Instead, I was met with awkward silence. And then:

"Uh … yeah … you know … you kinda need the wires to be hooked up, Russ."

I was confused. "But I thought they’re supposed to be wireless?"

Well … not exactly. Turns out that the [i]router[/i] to connect the back speakers is wireless. The [i]speakers[/i] are not. They need wires. The way system is set up, the front three speakers and the subwoofer are all hooked up to the main surround sound system device. The rear speakers need another port. That’s where the router comes in. The [i]wireless[/i] router.

The wireless router which is now on the opposite side of the room. With the rear speakers attached. By wires.

Okay. So maybe I’m not the sharpest bulb in the chandelier … but at least I’ve got sound now.