ScoresThis Week

Monday:
TAG--Let's just say we had a bad game.

Thursday:
The Blue Team 5 - Blitz 6
The Escapements 7 - Principal 6
We scored the winning goal in the last 20 seconds. ;)

Most Dangerous Cities and the Safest States in the USA

I came across one of those depressing statistics tonight that shows the most dangerous cities. Thankfully there were none in PA, but some of our neighbors have some problems. That includes Philly's cousin across the river, Camden.

Here's the top 15:

1. Detroit MI
2. St. Louis MO
3. Flint MI
4. Oakland CA
5. Camden NJ
6. Birmingham AL
7. North Charleston, SC
8. Memphis, TN
9. Richmond, CA
10. Cleveland, OH
11. Orlando, FL
12. Baltimore, MD
13. Little Rock AR
14. Compton, CA
15. Youngstown, OH

On a brighter note they listed the top 12 Safest States too. I think the key to some of them making the list is that no one lives there...

1. North Dakota
2. Vermont
3. Maine
4. New Hampshire
5. Wyoming
6. South Dakota
7. Montana
8. Iowa
9. Wisconsin
10. West Virginia
11. Connecticut
12. Idaho

Blackbird e-Solutions Teamed Up With Amazon.com for Black Friday Specials

Since we have two associate stores (BbeS German Language Shop, BbeS Network Hardware e-Shop) with Amazon for my company, they give us access to the special deals they have throughout the year. With Black Friday coming up they have a bunch of stuff going on. So, instead of fighting the crowds, sit back, enjoy some left over turkey, maybe have the first glass of eggnog to start the Christmas season and check out the deals below:

Black Friday Deals

On Black Friday Blackbird e-Solutions won’t have a cold, dark parking lot to line up in, but we will have a bunch of great deals to help you get holiday shopping done for less. This year in association with Amazon.com we’ve created a Black Friday page for holiday shoppers at Black Friday. Amazon.com will be offering hourly deals from 6am to 6pm PST along with thousands of products on sale for a limited time. Also, you will get gift wrapping for $.99 per item.

Customers Vote - 6 rounds. 18 ridiculous deals.

Amazon Customers Vote is back for 2007. Each round of Customers Vote lets you vote for the deal you’d most like to have. Voting begins on Thursday, November 15th and continues through Monday, November 26th. There will be six rounds of voting this year with three products in each round. Beginning Thursday, November 22nd, each day the new winning product will be announced, and randomly selected customers will have the opportunity to purchase the item for which they voted at a great discount. Products this year will include:

• 1,000 Nintendo Wii Game Systems (see prices on Customers Vote page)
• 500 Panasonic 7.5MP Digital SLR Cameras, $499 (*normally $1,149.95)
• 1,000 Razor E100 Electric Scooters for $29 (*normally $89.99)
• 500 TiVo HD Digital Video Recorders, $89 (*normally $253.48)
• 500 Magellan Maestro 3140 Portable Auto GPS Systems, $99 (*normally $247.00)
• 200 Samsung 46” 1080p LCD HDTVs, $719 (*normally $1,899.98)

* “Normal” prices quoted above are accurate on release date but are otherwise subject to change at any time.

I hope everybody has a great Turkey Day and has a relaxing Black Friday shopping from home!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE W... well at least of the tri-county Berks/Lanc./York over 30s soccer league! ;)

We (Berks United) the defending champions from '06 had an explosive win yesterday, defeating Evergreen 8-2. The first 10 minutes Evergreen was really pounding us and managed to score the first goal. Which just proved to make us angry and solidify the team. We then went on to score 7 unanswered goals. I even had an assist, although kind of unintentional. I was playing my usual position at sweeper. (Last defender before the goalie, for those that might not know.) Things were getting a bit sloppy and Evergreen crossed the ball into the middle, so I stepped up and cleared the ball so we could reset and get reorganized. Evergreen was pushed up so far that the ball drifted over their last defender and one of our players out ran him to the ball and slotted it passed the keeper for a goal. Wasn't really what I planned, but hey.. a goal is a goal. And in this case an assist is an assist. ;)

After the game both teams went the Evergreen German Club to celebrate and/or wash the memory of the game away. That's one of the great things; being able to go out and play a hard game and then share a pitcher of beer afterwards.

Final is Today!

Hmm.. I've been slacking with my blog lately....

Anyway, today is the final for Lan/Berks/York Counties. We'll be playing at our home field which is also our opponent's (Evergreen) home field too. This is the same scenario as last year. Hopefully the ending will have the same scenario as well. ;) A Berks United win!

A team picture from after last years final.

Uprgades...

To The Finals We Go!

Yesterday, we (Berks United) played Lancaster United in the semis. We won 5-0. Lancaster ended up with 2 red cards and a bunch of yellows. We had a red and a yellow. Playing Lancaster is always like that. They hack all the time and complain even more. One of our guys made a really stupid slide tackle (he has a habit of it) and got a red towards the end of the game. We were already up 3 or 4 to 0. Well, he won't get to play in the finals now.

There was a second game yesterday, Manheim Township (the old Ephrata team), Played Evergreen. Surprisingly Evergreen pulled the upset! I think the final score was 4-1. It's a bit of a shock. We all expected to see Manheim in the final. But, it looks like we'll have a repeat of last year. A Berks United/Evergreen final!

The finals are next week at 2pm against Evergreen We use their field as our home field so the game will be at the Evergreen German country club fields.

Netzwerk Philadelphia's Weihnachtsparty/Christmasfest III: Naughty vs. Nice --- Dec. 1

Looking to get into the Christmas spirit a bit early this year? Come join us at the Netzwerk Philadelphia's Weihnachtsparty/Christmasfest.

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The fun begins at 8:00pm on Saturday, December 1 and takes place on the 25th floor of the Residence Inn by Marriott, with a dramatic view of Philadelphia's historic City Hall.

These will include Gluehwein, beer, wine, soft drinks, light German and American foods and seasonal desserts served in a festively decorated room overlooking Philadelphia's City Hall Tower.

Last year we had over 100 participants, good music, great dancing later in the evening and into the early hours of the morning. There were also reindeer antlers in great number and a good time was had by just about everyone. Pictures from 2006

Tickets are $25/person, $20/students, au pairs, and college-aged Freiwilliger. Food and drink are included in the ticket price. An RSVP and pre-payment are strongly encouraged: tickets at the door will cost an additional $5.

TO RSVP
An on-line RSVP is required for this event if you plan to attend. Fortunately, it's very easy to do! If you are registered member of Netzwerk Central PA, go to Netzwerk Philadelphia's Weihnachtsparty/Christmasfest III: Naughty vs. Nice log in under your profile, select "yes" in the RSVP box, and click "submit". If you are a registered member of Netzwerk Central PA, but have problems logging in, contact me by e-mail at meetup@blackbirdesolutions.com. If you are not a member of Netzwerk Central PA or Philadelphia, you can RSVP by contacting me as well.

PAYMENT
Payment ahead of time is strongly encouraged! Tickets at the door will cost an additional $5.

To purchase you ticket(s) online with a credit or debit card, click on the PayPal link on the RSVP page and follow the instructions. You can pay Mark McGuigan in person with cash or check at any Stammtisch or Kaffeetreff event prior to the 1. December, or you can send a check (no cash through the mail please!) to Mark at (contact me for the address). Checks should be made payable to Mark McGuigan. You can also RSVP and pay at the door (cash and checks only). See below.

PAYING AT THE DOOR
Naturally, we don't want to turn anyone away, and so we will also sell tickets at the door - but they will cost $5 above the pre-party sale price. We will honor the pre-party ticket price at the door for members who have RSVP'd on-line (or for non-members, by e-mail) no later than Thursday November 29.

REFUNDS
Paid reservations can be cancelled and refunded in full, if a refund request is received by November 29. We won't be able to refund cancellations after that date.

I know you all appreciate the reasons for this - several members will be purchasing food, drink, and decorations, a day or two prior to the party, and there is a rental fee for the room. We need to know ahead of time how much food and drink to buy and feel certain that no one will get stuck covering party costs from his own pocket. So, many thanks ahead of time for your cooperation. Those who don't cooperate will be turned over to Santa's elves for questioning.

What will we be wearing in space???

At a recent conference in California called "Transforming Space", designers showed their take on space attire. This is an annual conference hosted by the California Space Authority (CSA) and the California Space Education and Workforce Institute (CSEWI). The fashion show was interesting and well... ...watch the video, you'll see what I mean.

How's that go? When it rains it poors...

Wow, It's a really exciting time right now. I have hardly had time to blog. Shame on me. ;) I've certainly hit the ground running and things are really starting to role. I already have a number of projects in the working.

Living the Dream

You know some days I just have to stop and marvel. I really am doing what I want to with my life. How many people can really say that??