Housewarming Bash a Huge Success

Lots of shit has gone down since my last post, the most important being my 2007 summer housewarming bash.

Over 60 family, friends and neighbors showed up and got after it. A good time was had by all and I humbly thank each and every person who attended for making me feel great and for their kind gifts.

I was able to buy a new gas grill and some accessories so everyone is invited back for Round II in the winter. (NFL playoff party anyone?) GO STEELERS!

A special thanks to my parents and brother who went above and beyond the call of duty to help decorate, hang pictures and set up for the party.

There are parties, and there are Kraig Koelsch parties. Many know the difference.

If you don't, you should.

Biskit Comes to Work

I brought Biskit to work today at the request of my colleague Cynthia. She recently purchased a new cocker spaniel puppy named Jenny.

These two quickly hit it off and were raising hell within a matter of minutes. It's good for Biskit as she has been very lonely with her best friend Eddie moving to Arizona.

And Jenny was really having fun too.

Gotta love XOS Technologies. I mean dogs come to work? Cool.

The picture above was taken with a camera phone so I apologize for the blurriness. Also, the participants weren't all that eager for posing.

The Onion Rips Dumbass Dave Littlefield

Gotta love The Onion.

Pirates GM Unable To Trade Xavier Nady For Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter

Chocolate Rain

Farewell to a First Class Friend

With extreme sadness I'm writing to let everyone know that the Koelsch family dog, Nutmeg, was put to sleep today.

The old girl (14-15 years old) was just in way too much pain and hasn't been eating or drinking for the past few days.

I'll never forget her and the enjoyment she gave me. I'm so fortunate to have spent 10 days with her last year in Dublin, OH when my folks came to Florida.

We had some great times and I only regret not being able to say goodbye.

So, from the bottom of my heart, goodbye Nutmeg old friend.

You won't ever be far from our hearts.

XOS Is Now JumpTV Sports ... Well Almost

It was announced yesterday that my company was merging with JumpTV to create JumpTV Sports. The particulars should be finalized in August.

I wasn't sure how I felt about it but after hearing the plan moving forward and meeting some of the JumpTV folks, I'm very excited about the new challenges and happy that my immediate future in Florida is secured.

If you care to read more, see below:

Online video service JumpTV Inc. said on Tuesday it would buy a U.S. college sports broadband network for $60.25 million to expand beyond its portfolio of ethnic channels.

JumpTV, which raised about $100 million in February with an eye on acquisitions, will buy the broadband network business division of XOS Technologies Inc. in a deal that also includes the payment of 3 million retention warrants to employees.

Toronto-based JumpTV offers online video channels from countries including Albania, Australia, Egypt and Hong Kong.

The unit of Sanford, Florida-based XOS, which developed and maintains official Web sites for collegiate and professional sports teams, streams over the Internet thousands of U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association football, basketball, volleyball, baseball and track & field games.

It has more than 150 official and exclusive relationships with U.S. colleges.

The unit generated about $2.45 million in revenue in the first five months of this year and logged an operating loss of $3.17 million in the same period.

The sale to JumpTV follows last month's acquisition by Yahoo Inc. of Rivals.com, a site for fans of college and high school teams, for an undisclosed price.

Here is the official release from JumpTV.

Here is the official release from XOS Technologies.

Spider Pig

Are All Car Dealers Like This?

We all know they're filthy rats but wow, watch this shit.

House Is Finished

Now the fun begins. Thank God my Dad is here to assist me with cleaning, etc. Also a big thanks to my good friend Harry for the moving help.

Got it all done, no thanks to the help of my good friend Amy, who consumed many a Michelob Ultra with me and my Dad this past weekend. But as usual, we had a blast. We've known each other since before kindergarten.

Now, it's just unpack and put all the shit away, hang pictures and clean old apartment. I can't believe the difference in my life in just a few days NOT living the apartment lifestyle.

I'll be posting pictures soon as folks have been asking but for now, just wanted to give a generic update.

So, I decided to post a picture of Biskit as she helped move some boxes.

House Countdown Less Than 3 Days!

I had my walk through today and am pleased to report there are no major issues. The window treatments (blinds) and the garage door opener are the only outstanding options that need to be installed.

Then, it's just a bunch of touch up here and there. I was joined by my brother Khris, my realtor Rich Wize, KB Home Project Manager Jerry Muncy and KB Customer Representative Aaron Mayes. Both Aaron and Jerry were very helpful and immediately acted on my requests to get shit done.



They list the progress at 94% completed and guarantee that all work will be done by Friday. My closing walk through/sign off is at 10 a.m. and then final closing at 11 a.m. in Ormond Beach at the title company.

Then, I get my keys! I've already scheduled for my new furniture to be delivered Sat. June 30 at 2 p.m.

Then, it's just pack and move, pack and move and of course, clean my old apartment. Thankfully, I have such great family and friends that it will be a piece of cake.

Khris leaves tomorrow and my Dad arrives. We will have a blast!

One Week and Counting!

Closing is now less than a week away. It's scheduled for Fri. June 29 at 10 a.m.

Here is the latest progress update.

The Pirates are so Damn Bad....

That they have to resort to making bullshit like this to keep people interested at the games in PNC Park.

Sell the team already Nuttings!

Closing Date June 29

Things are really getting close. KB Home informed me that closing will be June 29 and I'll have a walk through on either Monday June 25 or Tuesday June 26.

They dug out the yard over the weekend and painted the entire inside. Baseboards, banisters, window sills and doors have all been installed.

It should be a busy week but I am very excited. I made my final closing cost payment today so no more $$$ for KB until I get my place.

My brother rolls into town this week and my Dad will be here for closing. Should be lots of fun. Stay tuned.

p.s. Anyone who knows me knows that I know how to throw a party. Well, just wait until August as I'm gonna throw a housewarming party of epic proportions. All are invited.

I'm Happy, I'm Relaxed

I won't even comment suffice to say the video speaks for itself. Some funny ass shit right here.

Can Never See This Too Many Times

Screw fat ass John Madden and the Raiders. This is by far the best video of the Immaculate Reception I've seen on the Web.

House Update: Drywall Done

Wow. The builders continue to make great progress and are still shooting for end of June for completion. Supposedly, June 29 is the target, but anything can happen.

The outside has been painted as you can see and now it's time for touch up and then I'm told they will start painting the inside and doing floors and cabinets.

It's absolutely crazy how fast this is coming together, yet very exciting on the same hand.

I usually do a drive by every night and bring Biskit. She loves climbing the stairs and as you can see, she's found a new spot on the window sill in the guest bedroom.



I'll find out more this week, but it's gonna be a busy couple weeks. That said, my apartment lease runs through July so I don't have to do everything in a weekend.

On a different note, the Yankees swept the Pirates with ease and the Bucs are now 11 games under .500 and only 1.5 games out of the NL central cellar.

This entire organization is a shitful embarassment to the entire city of Pittsburgh.

Relief Is On The Way, But What About The Bats?

To quote a poster from a popular Pittsburgh Pirates message board “The Pirates kicked their entire fan base square in the,” well, you get the picture.

That’s certainly how the masses (except one fan that nobody takes seriously anyway, except himself) feel.

How could a team so desperately starved for hitting pass on a prospect like Georgia Tech standout catcher Matt Wieters?

A power-hitting switch hitter that stands six feet five inches tall…

Well, we do have Ronny Paulino so don’t take a chance right?

The fact that the Bucs not only passed on Wieters but took a reliever, yes a reliever in the first round shocked the fan base yesterday.

But why should it? Anyone who has followed this team consistently should know and know well that this organization is committed to nothing but itself and its profits. This was made ever so clear yesterday by this insanity.

I have nothing against Daniel Moskos and I wish him the best, but this choice really shows that this organization as a whole is out to lunch.

If Dave Littlefield really thinks Moskos was their guy, he should be canned immediately. If he doesn’t he should take many fans suggestions and resign, letting the fans and MLB know that he wasn’t given the opportunity to do his job by ownership.

As for the commitment by ownership, read this: "Clearly, anybody in the organization could say the goal is to win more games and build a championship team," Bob Nutting said.

So you build championship teams by selecting relievers with the no. 4 overall pick?

Sad my friends, quite sad but not the least bit unexpected.

I’m 33 years old and I hope I see the Pirates win before I die. But I’m really starting to wonder.

It’s a good thing though that they’ll have a closer to close the 40 games they win when he’s called up.

Yikes! I Haven't Even Moved in Yet

So I'm driving home from work Tuesday night and I see a massive smoke cloud and a few helicopters flying over top. As I get closer, I realize the fires are very close to my apartment.

But, they're even closer to my new town home. I took a ride to the new place and a road less than 1/4 of a mile away was blocked off. I'd say the raging Florida wildfires were less than 1.5 miles away. Now that is scary.

Good thing though, they were contained. Here's some more info from my good friends at WFTV.com (sister station of my former employer WSOC-TV).

Firefighters in New Smyrna Beach were keeping a close eye, Wednesday, on a fire that crept dangerously close to some homes. The fire burned about 50 acres just southwest of the intersection of Turnbull Bay Road and Martins Dairy Road near the Sugar Mill Country Club, Tuesday night.

Firefighters said they had the fire under control, but they were keeping close watch on the hot spots, because they were burning close to homes and because neighbors know what could happen if the fires reignite.

To read more, click here.

Fantastic Week

I had the best week in a long time this past week. My parents joined me for some fun in the Florida sun. I'm truly blessed to have the best parents in the world.

We did as much as we could and had a blast. Some highlights were the St. John's River Cruise where we saw birds, alligators and all sorts of beautiful plants. We also trekked to St. Augustine (along with my friend Gary Usina) and did the tour with a stop at the Fountain of Youth (pictured, below). That was neat. Of course we went to the beach/pool a bunch of times and just enjoyed each others company. My friend Julie was also here for a few days and enjoyed catching up with my folks.

They also had the privilege of watching the world's worst softball team lose again last Thursday. But, we remain undefeated at the bar.

Thanks again Mom and Dad for a great week. Biskit and I miss you already and send our love. SEE YA SOON!

Happy 30th to John Henry

My pal the piggy celebrated at Hooter's and boy is this vintage. Enjoy!