SDS

Just throwing out some commentary for discussion that may or may not reflect my own personal opinion... There are two groups of people contributing in this thread - those that called the man "Paul" and those that knew him only as "Ghost of BiB". It is perfectly reasonable that the two sides may have different ideas on what text is appropriate on a memorial stone. An argument could be made that this particular memorial, if it represents the collective sentiments of the community at large, is a memorial to "Ghost of BiB" as opposed to "Paul", (considering the number of people who, understandably, didn't know his real life name). That is the persona that he created for our consumption and one could argue it is that persona that should be honored by this particular group. Where he finally rests is the memorial to Paul Lewczyk. Just to cut short any argument, twobillsdrive.com will NOT appear on the stone as I will not lend permission to use the URL in that context. However, since it is through the Stadium Wall that we got to know him on various levels, it seems reasonable to open up the discussion to see if there is a respectful and appropriate way to recognize the connection to the community, whether it be an avatar, a catch phrase he used, a handle, or whatever coes to mind, such that when we visit that stone - it reminds of us of him in the way he presented himself to us.

I could possibly see a handle reference or such, but the URL should be eliminated. In fact, I know the larger stones can be made with custom logos. Perhaps his avatar would be a good choice for an image?

A brutal, foriegn occupation would be well received at my neighbor's house... might as well start there.

I dunno... if Gavin moves back there - you may see a dip.

A pretty selfish outlook if you ask me....

I suggest you bookmark this site: Homeowner necessities

naming rights were negotiated in the lease and given to Ralph I believe. He wanted them PRECISELY to not have the stadium named. He hates the idea and resented the name "Rich" stadium since it was built.

Pretty much what JiH said... Walking over to talk to a number of drunk people by yourself where you have to deal with all of them at once, as opposed to speaking with the home owner alone on the phone, didn't seem to be a wise move...

My family and I had token invites to our neighbor's 40th bday party. Despite living 50 ft. from us, we haven't socialized in over a year. When we got the invite, one thing became apparent - someone needed the use of our swing set... (the back of their house is adjacent to the side of our backyard). Well, after the beer funnel made it's debut around 9:30 pm (and certain parents allowing their 7 year olds to do "water funnels") - I went home. Yes, 40 year olds doing funnels in Suburbia... it is quite a sight. The party continued about 50 feet from my bedroom window until 1:00 am. During which Andrew was awakened every 20-30 minutes and Paige was awakened twice. The cause of the loud noise? Smashing bottles and someone yelling at the top of their lungs "OHHHHHHH!!!!!!" every 5 minutes for 3 hours... At 1:00 am I called over to ask if either the person smashing the glass or the person yelling at the top of their lungs could stop if they wished to remain outside or if they could just walk 15ft into their walkout, finished basement and continue inside. They didn't answer the phone, but through the magic of caller ID - they knew I was calling. They disregarded my call and continued to 1:30am. Their backyard is the size of a small postage stamp, which will become readily apparent when the 6 ft privacy fence goes up in a few weeks.... The response around the office, given the neighborhoods we live in, was 10:00pm max... which was my feeling at well.

then please explain the purpose of your advice? It seems to have nothing to do with the situation at hand as described in the original post. 30dive descibed the problem with the loud music that was clearly sanctioned by the hotel and their refusal to address the situation according to the wishes of their guest (change rooms) or by abiding by the hotel policy.

you are in the right. you did everything that could be expected to be accomodating to your family, the hotel, and the other guests. The hotel profited off of everyone involved, yet didn't provide the agreed upon service to you. Get your money back and you SHOULD get every last cent back considering you did your best to make it right, despite being very inconvenient to you.

The obligation to provide a reasonable atmosphere to allow their guests to sleep during typical sleeping hours. The noise did not come from a few inconsiderate guests - it came from a hotel sponsored function. They took the wedding party's money and allowed them to party all night. They took 30dive's money and promised a reasonable sleeping environment. One is in conflict with the other. When approached about changing locations - they either straight out lied to him or were negligent in enforcing their own rules. Regardless, they did not provide the service he paid for and when approached with a enough time to rectify the situation, they refused to act appropriately (by either moving 30dive or ending the reception on time). To me - that is a comp'ed room if they ever expect to see me as a guest again.

That is pure bull sh--. An agreement was made and money was exchanged. One party did not fulfill their obligation, yet took the money in full. His entire room should be comp'ed and an apology extended.

Given the location of a family-oriented suburban neighborhood, houses 50 ft apart, what time do you think it is appropriate to end the outdoor portion of a Sat. night party?

your razr has bluetooth, so just get near a bluetooth capable PC and transfer an MP3. I just did that with Sabre Dance and it works fine.

By definition, that is the rule - one that goes into the stnads without making contact with anything else 1st.

your avatar made me jump... that was creepy.

The Hurricanes and the Colts get together in the offseason for team BBQ's...

Sit Teppo's ass down... You could see this coming from a mile away... He did us no favors today.

A tidbit I left out earlier... It's odd what sticks with you and what you forget. He probably had well over 10k posts with his various handles, but a couple of threads about wine and service stuck in my noggin'. I remember, not to long ago, Paul making the point that he could take someone out to dinner and know what wine to order. He felt that it was important and that fact stuck with me for some reason. Paul was a throw back to another generation. A guy that you could have dinner with, talk world politics, music, etc... He could then tell you the top 25 ways to kill your enemy and then request another bottle of Chteau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac from the restaurant's private reserve. I think it was a part of his southern hospitality to make sure his dinner guests fully enjoyed themselves. He took it upon himself to make sure he had the knowledge to do that. He was both a man's man and gentleman at the same time. Coupled with his love for good food and wine was his appreciation of good service and the need to show that appreciation with a generous tip. He was a gentleman that knew the server was just as important to the evening as what was on his plate, what was in his glass, and who was in the chair next to him. A good tipper doesn't necessarily make you a good person, but I haven't come across a good tipper who wasn't... That's it. Just two more memories that have been running through my head this afternoon.

Here are a few of my imperfect memories of Paul... I remember when he used to post as "BillsinBaltimore" and I was commuting back and forth to his neighborhood from PA (during one of my job changes). I remember asking him if he wanted to watch a game together and he sent me a cryptic message about "not wanting to know him and that we were probably being watched on the board." I thought to myself, "wow, this dude is weird..." Little did I know that Paul was plugged deeply into our Nation's biochemical warfare scene and that I would soon be meeting with him on a professional level (I just started working on a biotrigger at the time. This wasn't but a year after 9/11.) I assume his caution had to do with his clearance and other things behind the scenes. Thankfully for us, he took his work seriously. I won't pretend that I knew what made him tick from 2 face to face meetings and an extended presence on the board over the years. But, I believe he gave us a pretty good idea of who he was. He loved good food, good wine, southern living, and good company. He spent his life trying to protect our country. And as Tom said, he loved his wife. He was generous with his knowledge and tried to educate those of us not "in the know" with regards to his areas of expertise. That is a pretty good resume if you ask me... I presume the ebb and flow of his moods here on TSW coincided with the emotional roller-coaster that was his life after Darlene's passing. I'm saddened that he couldn't find sufficient enough reason to continue with this life before he ventured on to his new one. Although it was clearly not enough for him, the like-minded friends he met here provided him support until he no longer wished to be supported. Paul was a good man and he will be missed. Rest in Peace Paul and may God be at your side...

Ouch.... I could bring myself to do the BBQGalore line, but the Viking line was on a different planet... I made sure mine was removable from teh cart in case a built-in was ever in order.

It is remarkable what he did considering he was fighting obsessive compulsive disorder....

Teppo is out for the year.... (until you see him skate out on to the ice for a shift....)