This past weekend, my wife and I traveled out to Dickenson College in Carlisle, PA for my sister-in-law Marissa's commencement ceremony, and it had to be one of the worst graduation ceremonies I've ever seen:

• The held it outdoors, despite a forecast of heavy rain (which we were told is a Dickenson tradition, which the college's president decided to stick with despite the complaints from the students). It was a lawsuit waiting to happen with all the cables for audio and video running around and the number of grandparents who were there for the "festivities". At least they had TVs with the ceremony on them in most of the buildings, but even that was kinda slapdash as there was nowhere enough room for those seeking refuge from the weather.
• Nobody seemed to know what was going on. There were no proper introductions. People just stepped up to the podium and started talking. Even when they went through the graduates names, they then had them walk down some steps (wet ones) and into a mob of people. Yea...lots of great photo ops.
• They gave away three honorary degrees to people already holding advanced degrees in their fields. This from a college who offers no post-graduate educational opportunities. Brilliant.
• They invited a philosopher to give the commencement address. Nobody knew he was going to talk until he started either. His speech was slow and incoherent, but somehow he drew the conclusion that every time the amount of information humans have surmised doubles, that means all the people alive then become twice as smart. Not that you need to apply knowledge or anything like that...probably because he's never had to apply any.
• When handing out diplomas, all students who had relatives or close friends who were Dickenson alumni in attendance had their degrees given to them "with the help" of that person. I've never seen a school do this before, but I guess it's cool to be part of the clique. I mean, only me, my dad, and my uncle could have helped give my brother his degree when he graduated from Hiram.
  
• Despite braving the weather, all student speeches were cut from the program. Honestly, the whole thing wasn't about them anyway, so that seemed appropriate.
• Finally, for the student's final meal on campus, a family brunch, they served chicken fingers, quiche, and hash browns. Talk about going the extra mile.

Shortly after I posted my thoughts on Sen. Specter earlier, I found the following posted on Mike Reiss' blog at the Boston Globe:

Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said yesterday that he feels there should be an independent investigation of the New England Patriots' videotaping procedures, similar to what took place in baseball with the Mitchell report.

The following are the thoughts of Massachusetts senator Edward Kennedy (D-Ma.) regarding the issue.

"With the war in Iraq raging on, gasoline prices closing in on $4 a gallon, and Americans losing their homes at record rates to foreclosure, the United States Senate should be focusing on the real problems that Americans are struggling with," Kennedy said through a spokesman in response to a question posed by a Globe reporter. "I'm looking forward to another great Patriots season where they can let their play on the field speak for itself."

Kennedy and Specter sit together on the 19-member Senate Judiciary Committee.

Glad there's someone on Capitol Hill with some perspective!

Well, Senator Arlen Specter is at it again folks, beating his dead horse. After all, it's just one big conspiracy for the NFL to save face and protect the Patriots. We all know that either the Steelers or Eagles should have won every one of the previous 42 Super Bowls, and the NFL has just been plotting to keep that from happening year after year. He'll keep on pontificating until he gets just that!

And politicians wonder why people think politicians never get anything useful done?

Ever want to store a value in a database as a decimal value, but then display that value on your ColdFusion website as a fraction.  Well, now you can!

The following function (cut out of a more general CFC) does just that for fractions as precise as 1/100, and will handle the whole number parts as well (i.e. displaying "1.25" as "1 1/4"). 

<cffunction name="displayFraction" output="false" access="public" returntype="string" hint="Generates a fraction from a decimal.">

    <cfargument name="formatThis" type="Numeric" required="true">

    <cfset wholePart = int(formatThis)>

    <cfset fractionPart = (numberFormat(formatThis,".999") - int(formatThis)) * 100>

    <cfif fractionPart NEQ 0>

        <cfloop from="2" to="100" index="d">

            <cfif (round(fractionPart * d) MOD 100) EQ 0>

                <cfset denominator = d>

                <cfset numerator = round(fractionPart * d) / 100>

                <cfbreak>

            </cfif>

        </cfloop>

    </cfif>

    <cfif wholePart GT 0>

        <cfset fraction = "#wholePart#">

    <cfelse>

        <cfset fraction = "">

    </cfif>

    <cfif fractionPart NEQ 0>

        <cfset fraction = fraction &amp; " #numerator#/#denominator#">

    </cfif>

    <cfreturn fraction>

</cffunction>

I wrote it for a recipe storage application for personal use, and thought others might find it useful as well.  If you do find a good way to use it, feel free to drop me a line!

Last week at my job, we had one of our clients in town.  Looking for a nice place in town to take them, we decided on the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, a beautiful seafood restaurant that sits up on the top of Mount Washington overlooking downtown Pittsburgh.

First of all, the view is simply amazing.  From our table, we had a direct view of all of downtown, the two stadiums (Heinz Field and PNC Park), and could see for miles in the distance.

Secondly, they have some of the best seafood in town.  To make a point of it, I say that and I don't even like seafood.  However, everything I've tried there has been excellent.  That includes tuna, swordfish, Maryland crab cakes, shrimp and calamari.  Seeing as I avoid seafood almost everywhere else, that is quite the ringing endorsement.

And yes, while it is definitely among the more expensive restaurants I've had the pleasure of dining in, it is well worth the price.  Whether you're out to enjoy a special evening, impress a client, or simply indulge yourself, the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto is one of the premier places in Pittsburgh to consider.

Yea, I wish I could say "Hardly Workin'". Instead, it's been a crazy week with lots of time critical projects, meetings, and face-to-face time with clients. Between Monday and Wednesday, I put in over 32 hours of work!

Thankfully things are calming back down now, but I really don't have many urges to go near my computer this weekend.

I normally love NFL Draft Weekend, but this year's draft has just been odd.  While I love the idea of cutting the first round picks down from 15 to 10 minutes (cuts the first round down from around 8 hours to 5 1/2), starting the draft at 3 P.M. ET (instead of Noon ET) and only completing two rounds on the first day just seem awkward.  This means they have five more rounds to complete tomorrow, which I usually find more interesting because that's where teams are built for the long-haul of the NFL season.

As for my take on the first day of the 2008 draft:

• Atlanta got a good deal getting QB Matt Ryan at #3 overall.  The guy accomplished a whole lot with almost nothing around him at the skill positions while playing at BC, and he definitely should have more to work with at the pro level.
• Jacksonville clearly seemed to reach for Florida DE Derrick Harvey.  I really don't think he's going to be worth the two third rounders and the fifth rounder he cost them.
• I was surprised to see Carolina pick Oregon RB Jonathan Stewart at #13.  I know they needed a RB after losing Foster, but they also had other needs that could have been addressed at this spot.
• Baltimore played the yo-yo team this year, moving down 18 spots in their trade with Jacksonville, and them back up 8 spots to #18 to pick QB Joe Flacco of Deleware (and formerly Pitt).  Looking at how things played out, he probably would have been there for them at #26.  However, they have a record of moving up for mediocre QBs (say hello to Kyle Boller, Joe).
• The Steelers selected a solid RB in Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois with their first round pick, and then followed that up with big WR Limas Sweed of Texas in the second round.  They're good picks, but seem out of character for the team, especially when their most pressing need appears to be the offensive line.
• Five teams (Cleveland, Green Bay, Philadelphia, Washington and Indianapolis) traded out of the first round altogether.  I'm not sure if that's indicative of the quality of the draft class, the depth of the draft class, or the needs of each team.  We won't know that answer for a few more years, but I'm pretty sure that number has to be some kind of record.
• The "experts" and the teams didn't seem to see eye-to-eye much beyond the first ten picks in the draft this year.  There's a lot of predicted first rounders who fell into the second round or are still on the board.  For example, Limas Sweed was predicted to be the first or second wide reciever picked on the day, when he ended up being the ninth wideout picked at #53 overall.

There's still a lot of draft to go, and the remaining five rounds will likely have as much or more impact on their teams as the picks of these first two rounds.

The Sesame Inn has the best Chinese food in Pittsburgh, hands down.  And that's not just one man's opinion, as they have a series of awards to prove it.  Their General Tso's Chicken is simply amazing, and I've enjoyed everything else I've tried there.  The boiled dumpling appetizers are also extremely good, and a favorite of my wife.  That's no small task as we regularly frequent the restaurant because one of their four locations is within walking distance of my home.  And the quality is consistent, as I've eaten at three of the four locations.

It may not be the cheapest Chinese food in the area, but the prices are still reasonable with most of the meals coming in under $15.

The Sesame Inn also has some sentimental value for my wife and I as well, as it's the place that we had our first date a little over 5 years ago.

So if you're in Pittsburgh and enjoy good Chinese food, definitely stop by the Sesame Inn.  You won't be disappointed.

I've now been living in Pittsburgh for nearly 6 years, and I'm constantly amazed by what can be found in this city.  While there are plenty of chain stores and restaurants, they are not nearly as abundant as I've seen in most other cities I've visited, and it's one of my favorite things about the city.  There's always new secrets to come across.

From time to time, I'll be highlighting some of my favorite restaurants and locations in and around the city.  With so much to discover, it's hard to find all the good stuff on your own.

So keep your eyes peeled for the occasional update about some the Pittsburgh's best features.

Nope, not because they've been playing games for over three weeks now.

It's because I finally found the time to watch Major League last night! Ah, how that makes me pine to have more announcers like Bob Uecker (as opposed to the likes of Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver, who announce the game with all the grace of Lennie from Of Mice And Men).

But one of the best lines came from the DVD extras, when Chelcie Ross (who played aging pitcher Eddie Harris), spoke to Uecker at one point during the filming, who asked "Was that you down there hurling? Absolutely inspirational! It made me want to hurl myself."

Play ball!