Seven, Eight, Nine

Posted on December 9, 2024 by AverageAndy

Realizing I have some sort of phobia about writing to this blog from home. Both Satuday and Sunday, I told myself I would find time to write, and both days, I came up with excuses — Don’t want to write to early, don’t want to write to late, I write befor watching football or basketball, I’ll write after watching TV. There was plenty of time to write, but I just procrastinated. It did make me think of a great TED Talk Video I saw a while back. I am going to re-watch it later this evening (You can quote me on this)

Since I didnt write, here is a quick overview of my weekend, before I get into today

Saturday Morning — Headed out to the bagel shop and Starbucks and finished reading “The Wager”. Solid book and highly recomended

Saturday Evening – Met some friends at a local Brew Pub for beers. Had on my Lehigh Sweatshirt, and there were 2 guys who saw mem and had also gone to Lehigh (A few years older than me).

Saturday Later Evenig — Whatche the BCS Play-Off Game between Lehigh and Idaho. Lehigh hung tough but was simply overmatch by a bigger and better team. Still, it was fun to make it to the 2nd round of the play-offs and the future looks bright for Lehigh Mountain Hawk Football.

Sunday Morning – When for a walk, and listened to a interesting podcast (Against the Rules by Michael Lewis) — This season is on Sports / The Fans / Sports Gamabling. Very interesting and will definatly try to get through it over the next week.

Sunday – Late Morning — Took a drive to a local Big Chicken to grab lunch before the NY Giants game. Its a new store, and they do a great job. Very nice and friendly, and the food (Chicken Wings and Chicken Sandwiches) is really good. I also got a free Bithday Ice Cream Sundae which was a bonus. Highly Recomended #BIGChicken #BIGChickenBridgwater

Sunday Afternoon — Tourchered myself again by watching the NY Giants. This has been one of the toughest seasons for me to watch. I never want them to loose, and am always looking at the bright side of things. But for some reason, Head Coach Brian Daboll really irks me. I think it started with the way he acted on Hard Knocks before the season. Just cane across as an aragent jerk. Add the fact that the team has been terible for the past several years (The play-off run of 2022 is looking more and more like an outlier) and its just hard to care. Plus GM Joe Schoen seems lost, not sure of what direction he and the team want to go. With 4 games left, the posibily of going 0-4 and 2-15 on the year is looking like a pretty good posibility. It is the NFL and they will probably find a way to wind a few games despite the fact that there is no upside. Never a fan of tanking for draft picks (Draft is a crapshoot), but I can see the Giants winning a few games, and then pumping themselves up and saying they didnt quit, and played hard for the coach, and that they are really close, so give us a few more years is frighenting.

Sunday Evening — Watched 60 Minutes (some cool stories) and then the latest episode of the Silo

That brings us to now (Monday)

Sitting at a local coffe shop after running some errands, and thinking what to write about. I think I am one of the few who am not jumping for joy over the NY Mets signing Juan Soto for 765 Million Dollars over 15 years. These long term deals rarly work out, and more often than not, people will be yelling about how bad the deal is, and that we are stuck with him since nobody wants to take on even a portion of his contract. Somebody did ask what would the NY Mets, and the fans consider a good return for there invetmane over the next 15 years. Is it 1, 2, 3, or more World Series Titles. Is it 10 or more playoff apperiences. Does Soto need to hit 40+ home runs each of the next 5 seasons. Call me old fasioned, or call me strange, but I feel it would be so much more satisfying to win as an under-dog then to just buy your way to the top.

This is also shows one of the problmes with MLB and other sports as well. A lot of time, getting big long term contracts is note really based on your value, but of who is considered the best free agent avalible in a given year. Good players like Manny Machado, Xander Bogarts, and Anthony Rodon were able to cash in due to being at the right place at the right time. The book is still out on some of the others (Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Aaron Judge and Garret Cole) have helped their new teams get to the play-offs, but have unable to get over the hump. Others like Mike Trout, Jacob DeGromm, Max Scherzer, and Justin Verlander have been injured so not been able to present there true value.

Hope everybody is having a great day, and getting into the holiday spirit. Since Thankgiving was so late this year, Christmas will be here before you know it

#AverageAndy

#PEACE

#Marillion – A Better Way of Life

#NeverToOldForSurvivor

#GiveMeA Chance

Posted in Big Chicken, Christian Hubicki, Dalton Ross, David Grann - The Wager, Drew Basile, Everyday, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Lehigh University, NY Giants, NY Mets, Parvati Shallow, Reality Shows, Sports, Ted Talks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Day 6

Posted on December 6, 2024 by AverageAndy

One of the advantages of being unemployed is the free time you finally have to get things done that you kept putting off. On the other hand, one of the disadvantages is the feeling of dread having to start working on things you needed to get done but kept putting off. It’s a similar feeling I had when one of my previous jobs, like many others, started allowing people to work from home. While working from home I felt bad that I wasn’t getting things done. The dishes need cleaning, the lawn needs to be mowed, and I need to put in another load of laundry. But it also didn’t seem fair to the company to be doing non-work-related things while on the clock. So, things would wait until my workday was over, but then I would procrastinate and put things off, causing a giant loop.

I told myself things would be different this time. While unemployed, I have tried to keep some kind of schedule. I get up and do my Transcendental Meditation (TM) most days. I also have been going for walks to keep myself active. I have realized that I have a hard time concentrating on things (including putting time in job hunting) when home, so I have been going out to places like Starbucks and other local coffee shops where I can take some time to read (Really enjoying “The Wager” by David Grann), and I have a bunch more books on my list that I want to get to. Letting myself take some time to read has been a bit stressful, but I am getting past this and starting to feel calm and at peace

I have also met some of my former coworkers just to hang out and catch up with how everybody’s job search is going. It helps to filter out all the noise and focus on things. While the free time is nice, it can get a bit boring. I have applied to a few things and will continue to look for positions and companies tat may be a good fit going forward.

Here are few other things:

Hopeing the Mets do not break the bank and sign Juan Soto. The long term contracts have never worked out, and more often than not, people will be complaing in a few years that they want to get rid of him, but nobody is willing to take on his salary so we are stuck. The team had some gooc chemesty last season that got them into the play-offs. Why mess things up

What a crazy epesodo of Survivor 47 on Wednesday. Its been a really good season, and its interesting how the producers have been editing things. I feel that they use to try and tease you on who might be the one voted off. This season, they seem to be going more direct. Here is a plan the players have come up with, here they are discussing things at camp and at Tribal Council, and here is the vote exaclty like we told you it would be. This week expacially. They could have made you guess which way the plan that Andy, Sam, and Genevieve came up with was going to go, but instead they basicly laid it out, showed the others being fooled, and showed Caroline getting voted out like was planned. It was like we were in on the plan.

Not sure if this way of telling the story is better or worse. By making you feel you were part of the plan, and new what is going to happen, you feel special and incuded. But some of the classic blindsides, where you felt like you were on the side of the player getting voted off, the feeling, the feeling hit you hard when the votes were read. Imaging if they edited things from Carolines point of view. She supposidly felt so safe she told Sue not to use her idol on her. Also would like to see if there was any discussion with Rachael to use her block-a-vote to help keep the four girls safe. The feeling you would have had when the last voste was read would have been devistating.

I know its hindsiget, but when Andy was at the Sanctuary, the four women had to at least discuss the posibilty of Andy flipping. This would have at least had them thinking more about not splitting the votes, and other ways to play things

Only 2 more episodes left and Season 47 will be in the books.

Have a great day

Average Andy

#PEACE
#Survivor47
#ScoutsCoffeBarNJ

#MarillionWeekends2025

Posted in Dalton Ross, David Grann - The Wager, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Mark Burnett, NY Mets, Reality Shows, Survivor | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Thoughts on Day 5

Posted on December 5, 2024 by AverageAndy

The world is crazy — A person gets gunned down in the middle of Manhattan in New York City, and people are celebrating and saying he deserves this because of his job. While I simply ignore all the yahoos on social media who (if they are even real) hide behind their screens and spew these idiotic thoughts, it’s really the big media companies that allow this to be published under the misguided use and belief of Free Speach that is the issue. While the rule of free spreach gives you right to say whatever you want, to whoever you want, whenever you want, it does not mean that there should not be any repercusions. By not imediatly shutting all this noise down, Twitter, FaceBook, Fox News, and all other major news outlests see complicent. Nobody deserves to be publicy assisnated no how horiable a person they are. We have a judicial system that is desigend to punish those that do bad things. When Dopy Idiotic Donald Trump states that the movie “The Purge” sounds like a good idea in reall life, we are setting things up for a disaster.

We live in the real world, where when bad things happen, you cannot simply hit reset and then everything goes back to how it was. We are going down a dangerous path, and while most of America (most liley 346,000,000 out of 346,214,827) people just want to live there lives in peace and harmony, its the small group of arrogent and missguided idiots who are going to destry things for everybody.

While only 35% of people over the age of 25 have a College Degree, and only 13.4% of people have a Masters Degree, everybody seems to think they are experts in everything. While I have a Bachelor of Science Degree from a highly ranked Institution, I know that there is lots of things that I dont know and will never know. This is true with everybody. But when something happens, do we turn the the people who have high level degrees and years of experience, for there opinions? No, they are elietest and have agendas, andare out of touch with the true americans. Instead we run to social media sites and see what people we dont’t know anything about have to say.

Its crazy that people will beleve anything they see on Facebook. Twitter, Insteagram TickTick, and the internet in general that agrees with them, but will not beleve anything that even slightly differs from there own thoughts. Ther are pleny of resources that will let you know the top people in Econimics, Finance, Politics, Science. and otheres. These are people wh have dedicated their life to there fields. Why do we not go to them for information. Is it because they are to smart for the masses. Most people would’nt know what they were even talking about. So its easier to find somebody at you own level who makes you feel smart regardless if they know what they are saying

I know I am not the best writer, and ramble on a bit to much, and dont always stay on point. Hopefully by writing each day of December, I get better. The goal is to be able to better articulate and focus on what I have to say, and hopefully entertain and enlighten anybody out there who stumbles acress my blog and finds it interesting

More to come

PS — This was written on the fly while at Starbucks. No AI was used to improve or enhance anything. If I do use AI, I will make sure it is clearly noted

AverageAndy

#PEACE

#Survivor
#Survivor47
#JeffProbst

#Marillion – A Better Way of Life
#Iron Maiden – Up the Irons
#Bob Dylan

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31 Days of December

Posted on December 4, 2024 by AverageAndy

Going to try and write something each day during the month of December. Since today is already the 4th, you will get 4 things today.

1. Big win for the Lehigh Mountain Hawks over Richmond last Saturday. This team is having a special year and hopefully things continue as Lehigh takes on the #8 ranked Idaho Vandals Saturday night in the next round of the FCS Playoffs

2. The NY Football Giants are in a tough spot. They are not good and have no identity, and the game against Dallas on Thanksgiving was hard to watch. As a lifelong fan, it’s very frustrating. I never want to root for the Giants to lose, but even I have to admit, winning any more games this year can really hurt the team going forward. They need to get a new quarterback (either through the draft or through a trade). Right now, it looks like they will have a top 3 draft pick, which give them lots of options. But if they win a few games, they could end up dropping out of the top 5. No idea what they would do at that point. They could draft the top QB left; they could trade up (which is going to cost a lot); They could trade for a QB (which would be kind of a bridge, and also would cost a lot), or they could start Tommy DeVito (since he is the only QB they have under contract for next year). What a mess

3. When for a nice walk yesterday, and since it was chilly out, I used my Bose Headphones. Have to admit they sounded great. Started with some Bob Dylan (Really looking forward to the new movie of him staring Timothée Chalamet). I had Apple Music create a station, and here are the songs that were played

You’re a Big Girl Now – Bob Dylan
Yesterday – The Beatles
Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be Alright) – Elton John
You Can’t Always Get What You Want – The Rolling Stones
Over the Hills and Far Away – Led Zeppelin (Thanks for letting it play all the way to the end)
Landslide – Fleetwood Mac
My Hometown – Bruce Springsteen
Leaving On a Jet Plane – Peter, Paul, and Marry
Positively 4th Street – Bob Dylan
Days Like This – The Great Van Morrison
America – Simon & Garfunkel
Farwell, Angelina – Joan Baez
You’re a Big Girl Now – Bob Dylan
In My Life – The Beatles

Really Good stuff. Do yourself a favor, get a good set of headphones, and just listen to the musicians and instruments on these songs.

4. As I currently sit in the waiting room, waiting for service on my car, I am really looking forward to the final 3 episodes of Survivor 47. It’s been a good season and will be interesting to see how things play out. If you’re on “X”, check me out at @AverageAndy2. I have been posting the names of all Survivor Contestants in order of their eviction, starting with Sonja Christopher being the 1st person voted off in Season 1. It’s been a long time, and I am now up to the final 3 contestants left in Survivor Cook Islands.

Also be sure to check out #NeverToOldForSurvivor and #GiveMeAChance as post things related to how as a 58-year-old, I still have the passion and desire to be a contestant on an upcoming season of Survivor, and would love the opportunity to show that its possible for anybody to follow their dream

#Survivor
#JeffProbst
#JesseTannenbaum
#MarkBurnett
#CharlieParsons
#JohnKirhoffer
#DavidDryden
#JesseJensen
#ConradRiggs
#MattVanWagenen
#ClarkBernstein
#RobynLane
#RyanBalthazor
#RileyMunday

More tomorrow

#PEACE
#SugarMice

Average Andy

Posted in Bruce Springsteen, Dalton Ross, Football, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Lehigh University, Mark Burnett, Music, NY Giants, Reality Shows, Rolling Stones, Sports, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Thanksgiving (2024)

Posted on November 25, 2024 by AverageAndy

Turkey day is coming and I am looking forward to meeting up with long time friends as usual on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Been getting together for over 25 years and its always great to catch up with some of my best friends of all time. There will be some sadness this year as we lost our dear friend Kelly O’Connor back in March, an a friends dad passed away in August. Just goes to show that life is short and we should take time to cherish the time and friends we have.

Big win for the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks last Saturday. Lehigh beat rival Lafayette 38 – 14 in the 160th meeting between the 2 schools. The win clinched the Patriot League Title and a bid in the FCS Play-Offs. Lehigh will be playing the Richmond Spiders in Richmond next Saturday. Its there 1st Patriot League Title sine 2017 when they lost to Stony Brook.

As for the New York Football Giants, there is really nothing good to say. The team is a disaster and unless things are changed, this team will continue to be one of the worst teams in the NFL for years to come. Just for reference – here are the total wins / losses of NFL Teams the past 10 years.

I remember back when the Giants hired Tom Coughlin as there head coach and the Giants went 6 – 10 and things were not looking good. They were coming off a 4 -12 record the prior year and the future looked bleak. But then Tom Coughlin changed – Based of feedback from the owner and former players, he took the team bowling for a team bonding session where he let his guard down and showed them a different side of himself. Did it work — The Giants went on to have winning seasons and won 2 Superbowl’s over the next 7 seasons.

I just don’t thing that coach Brian Daboll has this in him. I wasn’t his biggest fan, but after his first 2 years I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and see what he could do going forward. But after watching the way he went about things on Hard Knocks on HBO, I came away thinking this is never going to work. And it looks like I was right as the team is awful, and now the players are turning on him. He is not the future of the team, and I were the owner, I would move on sooner than later and see if the can bring in somebody who can turn things around.

The Giants used to have an identity. They would play great defense, and had a tough QBs who you trusted in big games. Now they are just blah. They have no identity, and seem to be just going through the motions.

I’ll end my rant with a quote from Malik Nabers after yesterdays loss — “The Giants have been playing soft as fuck”

Hope everybody has a safe and happy Thanksgiving Holiday and spend time with family and friends. With Thanksgiving be so late this year, Christmas is just around the corner and will come faster then you think

#PEACE

#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#LetsGoLehigh

#AverageAndy

Posted in Dalton Ross, Football, Holiday Weekend, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Job Searching, Lehigh, Lehigh University, Reality Shows, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Time Marches On

Posted on November 15, 2024 by AverageAndy

Its been about a month since I was let go from my job as a Data Center Administrator. After getting things that needed to be done (Insurance, Unemployment) completed, along with revieing finances, I have been able to take some time to reelect on the next chapter of my life. While I am too young to “retire”, (whatever that means), I feel I have put in enough time in the corporate world where I should now be able to take my time and find a job I enjoy. at a company that I care about, rather than taking anything just to get a pay-check.

It is crazy how when you are working, a lot of time, it feels like the days last for ever, but when you are not working, the days seem to fly bye. I have kept myself active by getting out and taking walks, as well as blowing the endless amount of leaves of my property.

I have also tried to find time to read. The other day I went to Barnes and Nobel to pick up the new book “There’s Treasure Inside” by Jon Collins-Black. I saw some adds for it, and it really caught my interest. The author has hidden 5 treasure boxes in the United States containing a collection of treasures he amassed over the past 5 years. As you read the book, which contains chapters on the history of the treasures, you should be able to find clues that will lead you to the hidden location of the boxes.

I have always been intrigued by things like this. Back in 1984, there was a book titled Treasure: In Search of The Golden Horse where you could solve the riddles in the book to find the location of the Golden Horse. Hare to tell if the treasure was ever found (I have read different things), but I remember thinking this was the coolest thing. I still have the book today

Similarly, As Card Collector (both Sport and Non-Sport), I got interest in the TOPPS Allen & Ginter Baseball Card Sets, as occasionally there were clues hidden withing the cards that you needed to solve to win a prize. There websites and social media accounts that were also set up to help you to solve the riddles. I remember reading the solution to one of the hunts, and it was way above my IQ. But I found it fascinating the things that they were able to come up with, and that there were people who were able to solve it.

And now for something completely different in bullet form

  • Picked up my Red Holiday Reusable Cup at Starbucks
  • Sad to see Sol go on Survivor
  • Congratulations to Dave Simms being named next Yankees Play-by-Play man
  • Please bring back Pete Alonso and do not sign Juan Soto
  • Eddie Redmayne is great in Day of the Jackal
  • Lets Go Iron Mike Tyson
  • Never To Old For Survivor
  • Follow Me at @averageandy.bsky.socia

And finally it is getting harder and harder to trust what anybody says on TV, Social Media, or Print. There used to be a least some fact checking, and there were consequences for putting out false or misleading information. Not any more. Now its run with whatever you hear and if its wrong, just quickly put out a disclaimer, and move on. Sad how the vast majority of the population just doesn’t care.

Aaron Rodgers, Pat McAfee Got Hilariously Duped by Fake NFL Stat About Jared Goff

Rarely ever watch or listened to this show (I am a huge sports fan, but this is just not my style), but I now have a reason to never watch it. You can get things wrong, but you at lease have to try to check things before airing them. I guess its to expensive to have a fact checker, or the cost of having one is not worth it, as people continue to watch and listen even though there is no credibility.

Lehigh Football had a big win at Holly Cross last Saturday, and now at 3 – 1 in the conference, they have a shot at winning the Patriot League Championship. They play Colgate on Saturday, and then end the season against Lafayette in the 160th edition of the most-played rivalry in all of college football.

#LehighFootball
#MountainHawks
#Engineers
#Brown&White

Giants are on there bye week after losing to Carolina in Munich Germany last week. As a lifelong fan, its tough to watch as the team is just bad and has no fight. They have no identity and give fans no reason to care. With a home game vs. Tampa Bay (They are 0-5 and cant score at home), and then the Thanksgiving game at Dallas (Who also is terrible at home), the next 2 games will go a long way of dictating where this one proud franchise is headed.

MetLife Stadium History

· New York Giants (2010-2024) · Regular Season: 54-65-1 · Playoffs: 1-0
· New York Jets (2010-2024) · Regular Season: 56-64-0.

Be sure to get outside and enjoy the fall weather. Studies have shown that just being out in nature can be a big help to your heath.

#AverageAndy

#Survivor
#GiveMeAChance
#JeffProbst
#JesseTannnenbaum
#MarkBurnett

#Fish
#Marillion
#IronMaiden

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy, sunshine in my eyes can make me cry.
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely, sunshine almost always makes me high.
If I had a day that I could give you, I’d give to you the day just like today.
If I had a song that I could sing for you, I’d sing a song to make you feel this way.

John Denver

#PEACE
#LOVE

Posted in Books, Card Collecting, Dalton Ross, Everyday, Football, Fun and Games, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Job Searching, John Denver, Jon Collins-Black - There's Treasure Inside, Lehigh University, Mark Burnett, Ponderosa, Reality Shows, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Confused

Posted on November 8, 2024 by AverageAndy

The word I would used after the 2024 Presidential Election to describe my feelings is confused. Its the kind of the same feeling that a felt after the 2020 and 2016 Elections. Not really about why people would decide to vote the way they did, but by how much they seem to dishonor the position of President of the United States. How when people are casting their vote, they don’t think “This is the ultimate position in the world, and it deserves respect. Would be like if you were the leaving your job as CEO of a company, and are interviewing two people for the job. One person showed up late, waring shorts and a tee shirt, looking like they just woke up, acting like a jerk, but very charismatic. He seemed like he was qualified to do the job, but had a few red flags in his past. The second person showed up early, looking and acting very professional, but came across as a bit stiff and uncharismatic. But was very respectful and qualified and could defiantly handle the job. When making your decision, isn’t there something that makes you go “The person I hire is going to be representing my company and all the hard work I put into running it” But then you hire the 1st person because he seemed like a nicer guy even though there was no real proof he could do the job up to your expectations. To me even though the 1st person seems nice and competent, ultimately, the job deserves respect, and I would hire the 2nd guy.

Looking at how things play out, I guess there are a lot of people who really don’t care and respect the position of President of the United States. They are not bad people, just ones with a different perspective. Whether this is due lower education, low self confidence, or all the propaganda and false information that was put out there as a way to scare people, they just ended up valuing things differently than what I find to be straight forward, and this is what confused me. How people can be manipulated and not seem to care of notice reality.

I will admit that the Democratic Party miscalculated this election, and did things that probably hurt their cause more than it helped. They needed to acknowledge that there is a strong resentment against the Democratic elite and celebrities, and getting people like Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé to endorse their candidate just made them look more elite and less connected to the less fortunate. Also, by failing to explain that they were open for open discussion and change about anything, and will not just be a continuation of the previous administration, they alienated a lot of there own voters, who it seems decided not to vote at all. The Republicans got about the same number of votes as the last election, while Democrats received a whopping 12 Million less votes.

Enough for now — Maybe I will circle back to this in a while when things settle down a bit and we get back to normal for a while

As promised, here are some pictures of promo cards I picked up at the 81st Philly Non-Sport Show a few weeks back.

Philly Non-Sport Show Promos – Fall 2024
Philly Non-Sport Show Promos – Fall 2024
Philly Non-Sport Show Promos – Fall 2024
Philly Non-Sport Show Promos – Fall 2024

Survivor is getting interesting. Lots of people playing a good game. Like the hidden advantage at the auction (although it may be a bit too random). And not a big fan of losing a vote. Would rather there be a different penalty like having a disadvantage, or havening to sit out the next immunity challenge.

I also feel that people need to share more information. For some advantages, you may be better off bringing in one or two others so that you gain trust as well as have more options on how to use it

#PEACE

#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#Marillion (A better way of life)


Average Andy — Survivor 2025

Posted in Adam Klein, Card Collecting, Christian Hubicki, Christine Hofbeck, Dalton Ross, Drew Basile, Fun and Games, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, John Cochran, Kellyn Bechtold, Marillion, Mark Burnett, Mike Gabler, Music, Non-Sports Cards, Parvati Shallow, Philly Non Sports Card Show, Reality Shows, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Keep on Moving

Posted on November 1, 2024 by AverageAndy

Been a strange few weeks as I am between jobs and dealing with things associated with being unemployed like getting my insurance straightened out (COBRA is expensive), Figuring out what to do with my 401K, Filling for unemployment, updating my resume, … Also want to try and keep active and take some time for my self to reevaluate what I really want to do going forward. Its crazy how time seems to go by quicky when you want it to slow down so you can get things done

I did make it to Chiller Theater on Saturday, and the Philly Non-Sport Card Show on Sunday. Chiller Theater was fun, but the prices for autographs and selfies are a bit out of control. Most of the guests were charging $80.00 per autograph and more for a selfie. I did break down and get a selfie with the great Corey Feldman (Was over an hour wait). As I am on a self monitored budget, I decided that this would be my only expenditure for the day. I did stand in line and got to talk to and fist bump John Cusack (Star of many great movies of my youth), and was able to get a peak at Molly Ringwald (No self pictures were allowed.

Corey Feldman Table
Me and Corey Feldman
Brian Tochi Table
Jaws Poster signed by Susan Backlinie
Tommy Chong

I had a fun time talking to Brian Tochi, who has been in a bunch of movies an TV shows over the years, and is one of a few living people to have stared in both Star Trek: The Original Series, as well as in some of the spin off shows. Was really cool when he signed a photo to a fan with the words to the chant in the episode he was in

Brian Tochi in Star Trek: TOS

Also talked to Eddie Deezen, who I will always remember from War Games talking about computers and back doors.

War Games — Eddie Deezen, Matthew Broderick and Maury Chaykin

On Sunday, I headed to the Philadelphia Expo Center for the 81st annual Philly Non-Sport Card show. I have been attending the twice a year event for around 20 years. Over this time the show has been held at numerous locations and has show cased some of the top Non Sport companies and dealers. One of the highlights is the free promo packs given out at each show, along with the free promos given out by the card companies and dealers. Didn’t have much money to spend, so only picked up a few insert cards I needed. Will post pictures of the promos and inserts when I get home later today

On a sad note, we lost a few more Hollywood legends. Teri Garr (December 11, 1944 – October 29, 2024) passed away last Tuesday from multiple sclerosis. She was a major star of the 70’s and 80’s starring in some of my favorite movies like “Oh God”, “Young Frankenstein”, Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Tootsie” to name a few. I also remember her from the Star Trek Episode Assignment: Earth where she played Roberta Lincoln next to Robert Lansing as Gary Seven (Who I always thought had the coolest name for a character. One of the all time greats and will be missed

We also lost David Harris (June 18, 1949 – October 25, 2024) He was best know for playing Cochise, a young gang member, in the 1979 film The Warriors. A cult classic and one of my all time favorites. He later stared in several TV shows in the 80s and 90s. Funny how somebody who played a supporting character in a 45 year old movie left a mark on me and many others and I am grateful for that. He will be missed

Baseball Season has come to an end in 2024 — The L.A. Dodgers defeated the N.Y. Yankees 4 -1 to will the fall classic. Have to admit is did make me feel a bit better about the N.Y. Mets and their performance in the play-offs against the Dodgers. The Dodgers are a great team and the Mets played them tough. Time to take a break from baseball and will see you all if February 2025 for spring training

The NY Giants continue to be irrelevant and play uninspired football. As a life long Giants fan, I have to admit, they are getting tough to watch even for me. Just no juice, no urgency, no passion. Just a big Blah. They need to do something. They do have a game in Berlin, Germany coming up against the equally inept Caroline Panthers, and then they play on Thanksgiving Day against the Cowboys. If they continue playing the way they are, this could get very ugly

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are playing solid football and play at Georgetown on Saturday. A win would be a big step in the right direction as they try to bounce back after some down years. Lets Go Lehigh.

While blowing leaves the past few days (One of the major down sides of living in a rural are with lot of trees, I listened to an Apply Music station based on the great “Fish”, ex singer from my favorite bands Marillion. Besides playing Fish and Marillion songs, they played lot of great prog music, including many bands and songs I have not heard before.

Here is a list of some bands that will defiantly need to check out

Fleesh
Mostly Autum
Magnum
I.Q
Mystery

Next Tuesday is election day, and I cant wait for this whole thing to be over with. Just think, no more TV Adds, no more Phone Calls, and especially no more Texts asking me for money. Hopefully everything goes smoothly, a new United States President is elected and we can all move forward. Hopefully, no matter which side you are on, we can all get back to some kind of normalcy and hope things get better rather than worse.

Going to try and dictate notes and thoughts on my iphone as they come to me, so that I can more easaly remember things I want to write about. Also if anybody reading this has any topics they want e to discuss, or any thing else they wany to know about me, feel free to leave me a comment and I will do my best to respond

#PEACE
#CHEERS
#GetOutAndVote

#AverageAndy
#SrvivorFan
#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#WeAreAllJustSugarMiceInTheRain

P.S. — #JeffProbst, #JesseTannenbaum #MarkBurnett #Survivor — In the words of the Who’s down in Whoville; “I am here, I am here, I am here”

Posted in Baseball, Card Collecting, Chiller Theater, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Dalton Ross, Fish, Football, Fun and Games, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Job Searching, John Cochran, Lehigh, Lehigh University, Marillion, Mark Burnett, Mike Gabler, Music, NY Giants, NY Mets, Oh God, Prog Rock, Reality Shows, Sports, Star Trek, Survivor, The Warriors, Tootsie, Young Frankenstein, YouTube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thoughts on Survivor 47 so far

Posted on October 25, 2024 by AverageAndy

I have been enjoying this season of Survivor (Survivor 47). Not as many idols / advantages seem to be in play, which to me is a good thing. While I am not a big fan of the Beware Advantages (Seems losing a vote until you complete all the tasks is not worth the chance of getting an idol), I do like the twists on the regular hidden immunity idols (Loved the red paint twist). It kind of penalize you, but you still have the idol and it’s up to you to figure out what you want to do.

Will be interesting to see how things start to play out after the merge. Not sure who the next person on the bottom of the list is, now that Rome is gone. Nobody stands out as being annoying around camp, or overly confident. There isn’t somebody who stands out to be as a front runner as well. Nobody who seems to be sitting in the wings waiting for their moment. I’m L\looking forward to seeing who teams up with who to form alliances and voting blocs Unlike last season where Idols were found but not played, it appears that people this season are more apt to play their idols just to get rid of them and not be seen as a threat. Not sure if either way is better. I do remember when Yul found an Idol and showed to everybody and basically said “If I thinks there will be votes for me, I will play the idol” and the players decided to not vote for him and make him play it. He rode this to the final 5 and eventually the win on Survivor Cook Islands

Got a busy rest of the day and weekend so going to cut this short. Will be back next week with more

#GetOutAndVote
#PEACE

AverageAndy

andyrupprecht@gmail.com

Posted in Dalton Ross, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Mark Burnett, Reality Shows | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lets Go Mets

Posted on October 23, 2024 by AverageAndy

The NY Mets had a great year and made it to Game 6 of the NLDS against the LA Dodgers. Although they didn’t make it to the World Series, it was a fun ride and one that I will remember for a long time. I didn’t realize how much fun post season baseball was, and it reminded me a lot of 2015 when the Mets made it to the World Series before falling the Kansas City Royals. Looking forward to the future as the Mets do have a decent number of good players and should be able to compete for the play-offs again in 2025. If it were me, I would focus on signing Pete Alonso. There is something about rooting for home grown players that makes it more meaningful than players who come and go from one year to the next.

Here are some memories from the 2024 season and Play-Offs

LGM in 2025

Here are a few TV shows, Movies, and books that I have seen and read recently and would recommend

TV

FROM (MGM+) — Scarry and Intense, but very enjoyable. (Currently on Season 3)

Nobody Wants This (Netflix) — Watched all 8 episodes and though it was well done

Shrinking (Apple+) — Great cast, including Jason Segal and Harrison Ford — Started watching Season 2

The Accused (FOX) — Underrated series with some great new actors each week – Season 2 is airing now

Movies

Woman of the Hour (Netflix) – Starring Anna Kendrick, t is based on the life of serial killer Rodney Alcala, who in 1978 appeared on the television show The Dating Game in the midst of his murder spree.

Alone Together (Prime Video) – Katie Holms and Jim Sturgess end up in the same upstate NY Air B&B

Books

Within the Woods by #TonyUrban — Excellent horror / humor book that is a mix of #StevenKing and #StrangeThings. Really enjoyed it

Clive Cussler’s The Corsican Shadow (Dirk Pitt #27) – Can’t go wrong with a Dirk Pitt Novel. Another great adventure and a really fun read

False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet — Decided to mix things up a bit and read some non-fiction. Saw Bjørn Lomborg talking about this book on Bill Maher and wanted to see his perspective on this issue

Since I was let go from work last week, I have been driving around a bunch to go walking / running, grab food, and head to Starbucks (Where I am now writing this blog post). I need to get out of my house to clear my mind and focus on things. I had been listening to a lot of Sports Talk Radio, with the NY Mets in the Play-Offs, and the NY Giants playing awful football but decided it was time for a break. So, I have changed the station and have been listening to a lot of music. There are a lot of good bands that I have listened to in the past with a lot of good songs. On my recent drive and walks I listened to #Survivor, #TheFixx, #IronMaiden (RIP Paul Di’Anno), #HotHouseFlowers, and others and realized how good these based are. I know I’m older, and don’t want to come across as a Get Off My Lawn person, but when I can put on bands like #Boston, #Styx, #Kansas and hear sone after song that I know and are really good, I realize that these bands have a lot of talent. I know it based on individual taste, but a lot of these artists have survived the test of time to become part of today’s culture.

Will be heading the Chiller Theater and The Philly Non-Sports Show this weekend. Will try and get some pictures of celebrities and cards and post them next week.

Might write some more this week, as the more I write, the easier it becomes to get some of my thoughts down. I feel like I am missing some things from the past few weeks, and if they come to me I will be sure to jot them down

Hope everybody in the Norh East is enjoying the incredible weather (sunny and warm) and is able to find some time to get out-side. Go for a walk, a run, or hike, ride a bike, play a sport. Keep yourself moving.

New episode of Survivor is tonight, and with no Mets Play-Off Game, I should be able to watch it pretty much on real time, instead of taping it and watching after the games would end

Take Care

Andy

#PEACE
#Survivor47
#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#WeAreAllJustSugerMiceInTheRain




Posted in Baseball, Boston, Cheap Trick, Clive Cussler - Dirk Pitt, Culture Club, Debbie Gibson, Europe, Fish, Foreigner, From, Iron Maiden, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Kansas, Marillion, Movies, Music, Non-Sports Cards, NY Giants, NY Mets, Philly Non Sports Card Show, Reality Shows, Scorpions, Shrinking, Sports, Styx, Survivor, Television, The Accused, Tony Urban - Within The Woods, TOPPS, Toto, Triumph, Twisted Sister | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment