Robbo's in splendid form this week with his analysis of the week's football - from Mourinho to Delia, from Ruud van Nistelrooy to Westlife. A great read, and I'm still surprised that the BBC let him get away with some of the comments, particularly the patronising response to Laura Warren.
It's been a busy week at work, with some exciting times in my project and delivering a thoroughly enjoyable Excel training session for my North American colleagues. Hopefully more of that to come. I maintain that Excel 5.0 was the best package ever written, and still love using its successors twelve years after its release and 16 years after my spreadsheet inauguration.
Football (for me) has been cancelled for the last few weeks, as there seems to be a direct correlation of late between snowfall and Tuesdays in New York. Somewhat annoying, but hope to get back into it over the coming weeks, as the weather hopefully gets a bit warmer.
England broke their duck in the rugby this afternoon, while Newcastle continue to perform in Europe. Slightly odd that Newcastle are still in the running for two trophies in March. I'm sure all this will change over the coming months. Hopefully we'll get through tomorrow's game against Spurs, but with Man. Utd. and Arsenal making it to the last four, it reminds me of their back-to-back losses in 1998 and 1999.
Last weekend saw the first proper 'blading of the 'season', with a trip up the pathway that tracks the westside highway. I went from Chambers Street up to the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier at 46th Street and back again (seven mile round-trip). I spotted one of the retired Concordes nestled by the side of the mighty Intrepid - tiny in comparison. Not sure whether it's a permanent feature or just here for a visit. When I turned back for home, I realised that I'd been pushed up to 46th by the wind, and the trip back was much more demanding with the wind in my face. My attempts to keep up with the Norwegian ocean liner that was heading down the Hudson were so in vain.
Although it would be great to see the Jets come to Manhattan, and to have a world class sporting venue on the island, I'm opposed to the westside stadium project for two reasons, both selfish:
- The project is a fundamental part of New York's 2012 Olympic bid. French train staff seem to have scuppered Paris' chances of hosting it. It would be good if New York was also knocked off the list giving London a better chance of winning. I have a feeling it might go to Madrid, though, which would also be cool
- I'm sure that if the stadium project went ahead, the 'blading run down the west side would be affected. One day, hopefully this summer, I aim to go from Chambers Street all the way up to the George Washington Bridge (which is at 178th Street) and back - a 20 mile round-trip.
