Derian Hatcher, Chris Chelios, and Kris Draper of the ‘not playing’ Detroit Red Wings have signed to play for the ‘very much playing’ Motor City Mechanics, an AA-Professional Hockey expansion team of the United Hockey League (UHL). They will be playing out of the Great Lakes Sports City, an arena in Frasier, Michigan, that (according to their web site) has a seating capacity of over 4,000. By comparison, Joe Lewis Arena, home of the Red Wings, holds 20,058 per game (not including standing room tickets). Getting a ticket to a Red Wings game was hard… I bet tickets to the Mechanics are going to be next to impossible to get.

Hockey fans in Detroit need their ‘hockey fix’. We love our hockey. On the other hand, some things are getting out of control. For example, according to the Detroit Free Press, instead of saying ‘Welcome to Hockeytown’, they are now saying ‘Welcome to Hockeyburg’. (Kinda lame in my opinion…)

The irony is that they are playing for a league with salary caps. Even with their ‘star’ status, they are NOT going to get NEARLY the amount of money they got from the Red Wings. They claim that it’s more than the salary caps. For some, it might be, but for others, who knows?

Some players in the UHL are upset that the Red Wings players were signed. What’s your thoughts?

Today, Maggie Vote is being confirmed at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church in Redford, Michigan. Maggie has been one of Kiara’s best friends. Maggie has grown into a remarkable teenager, and everyone here at Bilyk’s Pride is very, very proud of her. God Bless!

UPDATE: You can check out the pictures of Margaret Rose Elizabeth Vote’s Confirmation (taken from the Vote family camera) here.

No time to blog…gotta study!

I think that Paul’s Blog hits most of the high points, with other references thrown in. Thanks Paul!

Duffbert ( yes, the phallic java Duffbert ) mentions at this blog entry that he’s feeling crappy. Send him some best wishes to get better. Give him the blogger’s version of chicken noodle soup…tell him to get better soon!

And we hope you do, Tom!

I heard this on the radio last night (on a sports talk show) and thought I’d share it:

Tom Duff ( aka Duffbert ) did something during the Lotusphere 2005 JumpStart entitled “Java for the Domino Developer” that could be taken the wrong way…not that there’s anything wrong with that….

During his presentation (with Joe Litton), Tom normally dumps water on himself. I guess this year, he used a squeeze type water bottle, and “…between squeezing, closing his eyes and his evident… enthusiasm, there were some who felt that the whole thing took on a somewhat, how shall I say it, ‘erotic’ nature.” (Actual quote from a participant)

Duffbert, we love you, and we kid you because we love you! But that being said…

Duffbert phallic Java will never pass the standards committee.
Duffbert phallic Java will be the future…
LONG LIVE DUFFBERT PHALLIC JAVA!

I hear that this year’s backpack looks like last year’s backpack, but with improvements. Can someone find out for me if they are selling the extras at the Lotus Stuff Store (like last year)? If so, e-mail me the cost and if you’d be willing to buy a couple for me. PLEASE…

Well, now you get your chance. For a limited time (February 4th, 2005), you can download and install Version 1, 2 and 3 of Lotus Notes (pre-Domino). This is to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of Lotus Notes and comes to us courtesy of Ed Brill and his colleagues. (Thanks Ed and colleagues!)

Jump into the Wayback Machine and take a look here for download information.

This is my last update on this entry. I apologize if I didn’t reference anyone’s site so far. Please e-mail me so I can check you out!

10:53AM UPDATE: Phigment Said What? with his take on the Opening Session.

10:34AM UPDATE:The Business Controls Caddy is chiming in from Lotusphere with info regarding Sarbanes-Oxley.

10:14AM UPDATE: Info on the Workplace Designer once again from Richard Schwartz and Declan Lynch here and here. Sounds like something I get really get into working with now. Where’s the download?

10:07AM UPDATE: Info on the Activity Explorer here ( Richard Schwartz ) and here ( Declan Lynch ). Why does that sound like the Workplace version of Lotus Discovery Server?

10:00AM UPDATE: A Greyhawk68 photo from the Opening Session here

9:57AM UPDATE: vowe has a picture of Ray Ozzie at the Opening Session here.

9:48AM UPDATE: Richard Schwartz has an update and thoughts on Ray Ozzie’s attendance and how HE’S SPEAKING AT THE OPENING SESSION here

9:34AM UPDATE: I knew that Declan Lynch would blog live. He’s updating an entry here.

9:20AM: I found out from Captain Oblivious first, John Cleese is the opening speaker! No SPAM for us, please! Maybe the dead parrot is being compared to Microsoft…

I can’t believe that IBM/Lotus didn’t have a webcast of the opening session…bummer!

We may try tomorrow, but we got hit with a major snow storm. Maybe we’ll try tomorrow…