Off Topic - That Was the Week it Was - 02/21/10

Another week gone by, another Sunday morning here. Since I generally don't work on Sundays, the morning is my favorite one for relaxation -- a good breakfast and settling in to watch CBS Sunday Morning. But it's also time for an off TV topic look back on the past week in words and photos I've taken.

I'm tired of winter. It's really bothering the non-replaced knee. All of the snow, while beautiful when it's falling and fresh, creates all kinds of pedestrian obstacles. I've lost shortcuts due to snowbanks higher than my waist. The daytime temperatures have been rising above freezing (a good thing), but then dipping down low again every night. Thus, I have to deal with black ice patches. I've been having to leave earlier for my walk to the train every day. Grr.

I want spring. I want daffodils and crocuses. Yes, I'm getting some really good snow photos. However, I'd just as soon shoot flowers and bugs.

My return to work from vacation was pretty much what I expected -- more work trying to figure out what was done, rearranging my office back to my suiting, catching up on things which weren't done, reading a gazillion emails, and being exhausted by the end of each day. Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful to have a job with sort of decent pay, paid holidays, several weeks of paid vacation, retirement pension, paid sick time, short term disability pay, 401K, and all. But, gosh ... if time could just stand still when I go away on vacation, it would be so much easier when I return!

This week has really been uneventful. Go to work, come home, eat, sleep, rinse, repeat. My "happy night" guy (the one who speaks Spanish but has really been working on his English for more than a few years) on the train had a new language dilemma last night. He got a text message and couldn't understand it. He showed it to me. "I am in Philly." I told him whoever sent it says they're in Philadelphia. "Liar!," he said. Apparently it's a girl who's standing him up and he knew she was at work because someone else told him she was. So I had to teach him how to spell "you are lying." I don't think he's going to see that girl anymore. But he learned how to spell a new sentence in English!

Oh, well ... onto my photos for the week ...

Vincent in B&W

When he's not in color, he has a clown nose! No more mice this week, but that isn't for a lack of him staring at the radiator.

Stalactite/Stalagmite Chainlink Fence

Nope, this isn't regular ice. It's the radioactive (yes, I'm sure) stalactites and stalagmites growing under the New Jersey Transit Bridgewater railroad overpasses. Since part of the wall fell down last winter, they fenced it off. Yes, that's a great fix. Now the fence is growing these on it.

Sunset over the Plainfield (NJ) Train Station

Aw, purty, ain't it?

Roadblock

I edited this one to leave the police car in color while the rest is in black and white with slight "posterizing." The latter is the GIMP (photo editor) term for it. Is a criminal on the loose? Nope. It was "snow removal." All it means is that there were guys with shovels and a payloader doohickey shoveling off the benches and making paths through the snow. East Front and Roosevelt Streets in Plainfield, NJ.

New Jersey Transit - The Way to Go

I used the same effect on this shot, leaving the windows in color reflecting the Plainfield Train Station lamps.

More daylight is a good thing

Same day, no editing. It's nice to see daylight when I'm coming home from work. Will spring be here soon?

Bicycle Parking -- Vacancies!

Although these are unused, there are still plenty of folks on bikes. Unfortunately, so many think the sidewalks are acceptable while the law says STREET. Grown men are the worst offenders. With the sidewalks so narrowed by snow, it's almost impossible for both a pedestrian and an illegal bicycler to pass on them.

Uh-oh

It looks like the birds are having a major gathering in their efforts to overthrow mankind. Taken from inside the train at the Dunellen (NJ) Train Station.

Plainfield Train Station lamp in snow

Because snow is EVERYWHERE!

The Queen City

Railroad underpass on Watchung Avenue in Plainfield, NJ. Elizabeth is the county seat while Raritan is where there's a railroad yard for NJ Transit. Now you know all about New Jersey. ;-)

Okay, it's pretty, but ENOUGH

Looking down East Third Street at the Watchung Avenue intersection after a clinging light snowfall one morning. I edited it to leave the yellow schoolbus and the golden glow from a streetlamp intact while the rest is black and white. I couldn't get to the sidewalk without climbing a snowbank. Traffic was light, so I was walking in the street. That's not my train at the station -- it's a delayed one going the other way.

No, that doesn't mean I'm a streetwalker. Sheesh!

Snow on Supremo

The snow is melting quicker on that side of the street. It gets more sun. Roosevelt and East Front Streets in Plainfield.

SnoCone

Heehee. I crack myself up.

Ahem. Never mind.

Chainlink Snow

Are you sensing a theme here? East Front Street, Plainfield.

Go Snow

East Front and Richmond Street in Plainfield.

Religious snow

I'm sure that solar panel in front of the Presbyterian Church on East Front Street is having a grand old time.

Branches and Wires ... and snow

I have no snowy words left to say.

Snow on the bush

This was taken from the driveway to my apartment building. Now, had I gone for rehab for my knee replacement, I was set to go right to the beige-ish building you see on the left (not the brick one -- that would be someone's apartment and they probably wouldn't want to put up with a knee replacement patient).

Eek! Psycho Killer Bunny!

Heh. This was at the Bridgewater Train Station. Apparently the rabbit doesn't like getting his sensitive little paws in the snow. Someone was coming up the path from the other direction and he was darting right along the path directly into ME. I think I stunned him with the flash. He quickly decided to take his chances with snowy paws.

ATTENTION NJ TRANSIT -- THIS IS A SIDEWALK!

What is wrong with them? I have to hang onto the fence to get over this! Bridgewater Train Station.

Plotting in strategic groups

Birds of a feather gathering together -- geese and sparrows (wrens? chickadees?) discussing just how they will take over the world.

Snow kidding

That's it. I'm out of snow humor!

I'll join Vincent for a cat nap.

Look at that Paw of Death! And, he looks so innocent, doesn't he?

How was YOUR week?

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Blog Party Post - 2/18 Episode

The show is about to start here on the East Coast. This entry will be updated with major events as they air. My full review of the episode will be posted late tonight over on TV Squad. But the real fun is to be had hanging out in the comments section of this post! Come one, come all! Share your thoughts on the show as it airs! Just remember that minors can't drink alcohol. ;-)

Rob,. the only one really working on his tribe, has passed out. Medics have arrived, into commercial. He's staying in the game.

Eep. Villains won the combined Immunity/Reward challenge -- tarp, nails. James and Rupert are probably going to push for Stephenie to go. Into commercial.

Stephenie was voted off.
:-(

Lost - "The Substitute"

Oh my. I'm so addicted to the show, yet feel so Lost.

Okay, let's see what's going on. As the whole series has been, we've got entirely separate stories going on simultaneously (just to drive us bonkers, of course). In the past we had flashbacks. Now we're in some sort of sideways-flash ... a "what if" Oceanic 815 had never crashed scenario. But, for a sideways flash, we have tons of discrepancies with what we thought was the real deal from the flashbacks.

For example:

• In previous flashbacks, we accepted Hugo as a lucky unlucky man, winning the lottery but feeling he was bad luck to all who come in contact with him -- sort of a Reverse Midas. Ah, not so. In the sideways flash, he's still the lottery winner, but he's a successful business man, as well. And a generous one, too.
• In flashbacks, Locke got fired for his walk-about mission. Well, that remained true. But in sideways Hugo saved him by getting him a job through one of his (apparently) many companies.
• In flashbacks, Helen left Locke. In sideways, they're making plans to get married and even hint that his relationship with his father is okay. Say what? How? That would have to be after the kidney fraud. If his father didn't shove him out the window, why is he paralyzed from the waist down?
  
• In flashbacks, Ben grew up on the island and never left it. In sideways, he's a teacher of European history on the mainland. Huh?
• We also saw continued relationships betwixt the Oceanic 815 folks in sideways. Rose works for Hugo's temp agency, although she has the cancer cured by the island. The first person interviewing Locke for the job (the "what animal are you" person) in sideways was the "therapist" Hugo's father hired in flashbacks to convince him he wasn't cursed by the winning numbers.

What's been going on at the island is even more confusing for me. Is Jacob a force for good or evil? Could it be that the Man in Black (now Locke or Fake Locke or even FLocke) be actually good? After all, we know Ben can be one evil bad dude ... he was in cahoots with Jacob.

And how about the blond kid? Could that be Aaron in some sort of weird time warp kind of way? And where are Walt and Michael? Shouldn't this include them, too? Don't even get me going on the name and number list on the cave wall. It's obvious that FLocke wants to recruit Sawyer, but that's all that's obvious on the island for me at this point. I think the stones on the scale, white and black, signified good and evil. But I don't know.

My head hurts. What animal are you?

The Amazing Race 16 Season Premiere Blog Party

Yes! The show is even starting on time here on the East Coast! I'll be posting the major show updates in this post. However, the real fun and commentary will be in the comments area. Everyone is welcome to join in to cheer on their favorite team, boo their least favorite, comment on the countries, etc. My full review of the show will be posted late tonight on TV Squad.

Teams ready?

The teams are heading to Chile ... or as Jordan from BB says it ... China?

Pit Stop Order
1. Jeff and Jordan won a trip to Vancouver
2. Brent and Caite - penalty for not following directions
2. Monique and Shawn
3. Jet and Cord
Dan and Jordan got 15 minute penalty for losing a paintbrush
4. Steve and Allie
5. Joe and Heidi
6. Carol and Brandy
7. Brent and Caite
8. Dan and Jordan
9. Louie and Michael
10. Jody and Shannon

Adrian and Dana were Philiminated -- Adrian couldn't complete the roadblock

Happy Valentine's Day and The Amazing Race Blog Pool Listing

Aw ... Zoetawny made Vincent into a Valentine's Day sweetie! I hope everyone is having a great Valentine's Day full of love and chocolates. Of course, we'll have the real treat with the new Amazing Race. Margo and her Mom (mostly her Mom) have randomly picked the teams for the blog pool participants. I'm listing them below and I'll be posting a blog party post for the show by 8 PM ET. Let's just hope it's not delayed for sports!

Here's the news from Margo:
Adrian & Dana - Auntie Leigh, Donna in AL
Caitlin & Brent - Terry in CA, Joy N, Tessa
Carol & Brandy - Margo, Chris, Delee
Daniel & Jordan - SueGee, Lisanne, Lynn1
Jet & Cord - Rbennie, Jennasmom, Sally
Jody & Shannon - ML, Merrilee, Dusty
Joe & Heidi - PDXGranny, Txrednkgirl, RMJ
Jordan & Jeff - Rozee, Caela, Monty924
Louis & Michael - Sydney, Brent McKee, Nana in NW
Monique & Shawne - Laurie, MEB, Donna in FL
Steve & Allie - Jackie, Becky, Zoetawny

Thank you so much Zoetawny, Margo, and Margo's Mom!

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - 02/14/10

It's Sunday (or really late Saturday evening) and therefore it's time to take an off-TV topic look back at the past week in words and photographs I've taken. I've been off work for my staycation and I certainly chose a good week to take off. Part of the reason I wanted the week is because my non-replaced knee has been bothering me. I figured, since I have a number of weeks of paid vacation time, one less week of being out and about in the winter weather would be nice.

Be warned -- both the photos and words are going to be rather random. I don't know why. I guess I'm in a random kind of mood! I'm also posting this a bit early as I'm well awake now and plan on sleeping in come morning.

Boy, did we get winter weather! I posted a few updates (and photos) during the week from our big snowstorm Tuesday night through Wednesday. I also mentioned I was expecting a package from Amazon.com on Wednesday. The web tracking listed it as delayed. So, there I was on Wednesday morning, drinking hot chocolate and watching the snow come down while in my robe and fuzzy slippers. My phone rang. Hmmm ... no one there. Then someone knocked on the door. UPS! Apparently someone let him in just after he rang my intercom phone-doohickey thing (which I still don't really know how to work). An hour later, I received an apology email from Amazon telling me that my package delivery will be delayed due to the weather conditions. Um. Okay.

I still have no clue what's going on with the neighbors in the apartment next door. I believe it's supposed to be rented to a single mother with a toddler and a young girl. But there's traffic in and out into all hours of the day and night, people yelling, people partying, kids jumping, adults jumping, bunches of kids running in the hall, thumping, people outside beeping horns and yelling ... riff-raff. I've decided, like in the old Manfred Mann song, "My Name is Jack," that it could be a modern day version of the Greta Garbo Home for Wayward Boys and Girls -- "It's lots of fun and I love to run up and down the stairs. I make as much noise as I want and no one ever cares!" (Video below)



I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to get done this past week. I got lazy. I had wanted to tear my crashed computer apart and see if I could fix it as well as finally fixing the computer before that. I didn't. I had wanted to clean out all my closets and get spring cleaning done. Well, it's winter. So I didn't do that either. What I did do is watch DVDs, read, play with the cat, watch television, download my monthly Rhapsody music allotment, nap, cook, bake ... and goof off!

Much like two movies I watched this week -- my ol' Alfred Hitchcock favorite Rear Window and its new age counterpart Disturbia -- I spent a lot of time looking out my window. Instead of killers living in the house next door, I have the women in business suits who drive luxury cars. I don't see much action there. The real action is in the trees. Yep, I peep in on the lives of squirrels, hawks, bluejays, crows, sparrows of some sort, and the latest ... woodpeckers. I enjoy nature. That doesn't mean I like it in my living room. But outside, it's pure entertainment!

I also went through some of my CDs of older photos I've taken since I first went digital (camera-wise) in 2003. I had some other things scanned and it was like a blast from the past. Thankfully I put the images on CD as they're captive in my two sick 'puters otherwise. I'm sharing a few of those in addition to this week's photos. Speaking of which, let's get it on (clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window). OH! And don't forget to come back later tonight for The Amazing Race season premiere blog party!

"I must rest. My work here is done."

Huh? Why is Vincent sleepy? What was he working on?

No (fire) escape from the snow.

I went out as the snow was still coming down heavy on Wednesday evening. Using the flash electrified the flakes falling and, many decades ago, it would make a hippie say, "Groovy, man." While the flash makes flakes look like bubbles in the photos, in person they're more like thousands of little lightning dots.

Da hood in da snow in New Jersey

Looking at the Richmond Towers buildings on East Front Street while under a blizzard warning. The snow was sticking to everything, including power lines. I heard of many cable, phone, and a few electrical wires coming down. But my power stayed on. My Internet itself went a bit kerflooey for a few hours on Wednesday, but cable television and power remained. Two out of three ain't bad.

I'm a voyeur

Yep, I'm watching both the squirrels nest and the red-bellied woodpecker above it. I had to look up the woodpecker. One would think it's a red-headed woodpecker, but it's really a red-bellied woodpecker. But that's very red head anyway! A pair of them have been around for the latter part of the week since most of the snow has blown off the branches.

I also watched a hawk earlier this week, but the photos didn't turn out so well. He remained motionless for a good twenty minutes, then dove to the ground out of sight.

Say it ain't snow!

How come Berckman Street (Plainfield, NJ) had these up and was thoroughly plowed while the more main East Front Street still has snowbirds? East Front tends to be one of the first plowed as it's a county road. But right now it's worse than most of the city-plowed side streets. Supposedly when we get over six inches of snow, all the cars must be removed. It's still a mess.

STOP in the name of snow

Looking up East Second Street from the corner of Berckman Street in Plainfield. Those crosswalks are a killer.

The day after

Walking up East Front Steet in Plainfield. Like several of these photos, I made the background black and white, "posterized" it a bit, and left something (or someone) in color and as photographed.

Live Maryland Crabs

I used the same photo editing effects on this shot taken the day before the snowstorm. Downtown Plainfield, East Second Street outside of Pete's Fish Market.

Christian's Snowman

As featured in an entry earlier this week, this is upstairs neighbor Christian's snowman. Alas, someone (probably from the Plainfield Greta Garbo Home for Wayward Boys and Girls) killed it by the next day. It was a great snowman, almost four feet tall.

In the early morning snow

That light is often on at all hours in the house of women in business suits who drive luxury cars. But I can't watch for a murder because if I can see them, they can see me. I usually stick to watching the action on the trees.

East Front Street is snowed in

I'm jumping about a bit time-wise here. This is back to Wednesday evening when I ventured out -- no flash used. You can tell how windy it was by the snow on the sides of trees and poles. But it never did actually reach real blizzard conditions.

Backlighted snow

Looking out to the street from my driveway/parking lot.

Third bird from left: "But I don't WANT to be a soldier!"
Second bird: "Just march!"

I tell you ... they're plotting. We need to be ready!

The Strand Theater marquee

This is one of my older shots I took off the CDs this week. I took this in 2004 before the city took down the marquee as it was "dangerous." East Front Street, Plainfield.

Frear's newspaper advertisement

Okay, you might wonder why I'm posting this. This was one of my scans on the CDs. Frear's Troy Cash Bazaar, otherwise known as Frear's Department Store, was a granddaddy of the modern department stores, carrying several departments under one roof. Located in Troy, New York, the store dated back to the 1800s. But why do I have a Frear's ad from the early 1950s scanned and now posted here? Well, I was born in Troy. My mother was a commercial artist for Frear's. She drew the images in the ad.

The original sketch for the ad

This is from my mother's scrapbook, her initial concept for the newspaper advertisement you saw in the previous image. The sketches are holding up much better than the newspaper page.

If I could talk to the animals

I think I might have posted this one before. But I saw it on CD and fell in love with Lil Mama the raccoon all over again. She was a buddy of mine pre-digital camera. This shot was taken holding my right hand as far away as I could. She was standing on her hind feet. She was a wild raccoon, but we had a relationship built over a few years. She would come when I called and even bring her babies around. This was in Connecticut some years before raccoon rabies hit the state.

Bats in my belfry

Sigh. I miss the bats in Bridgewater. The white-nose syndrome has so decimated the population that it's sad. No, I don't want these little guys flying around my apartment. But bats are really beneficial animals and, in their own way, they're kind of cute. This one is sleeping away, having chosen a spot he probably thought was dark. I was able to get pretty close with the camera and didn't even wake him up. Another photo taken a while ago and re-discovered while looking at my photo CDs.

Under Penn

I hoped, weather permitting, to take a photo stomp in the city this week. As you know, the weather was more forbidding than permitting. But when I found this older photo I took on CD, I couldn't resist "posterizing" it a bit, black and whiting it a bit and having fun with it.

The owl right-side up

D'oh. I didn't realize when I posted the photo of the upside-down owl on Watchung Avenue in Plainfield last week that I took a photo of the same owl right-side up back in 2004! And, I researched. The purpose of the owl is to deter pigeons. Well, that works really well, doesn't it?

What's that, Vincent? You hear a mouse?

I have to confess. I've been teasing my cat. I know he caught a mouse in my apartment back in December. But I've been telling him he reminds me of Murray the dog in Mad About You -- "Murray, go get that mouse!" -- when there was no mouse to get and Murray only thought there was a mouse.

I have baseboard heat in each room. Vincent spends at least an hour a day staring at the one in the kitchen. Now, it sometimes makes little ticking noises (when the landlord pays the bill, anyway). But I don't think it's where the other mouse (nor the one Teaser got three years ago) came from. Why would a mouse be in the radiator? Isn't it too hot? I have no traces of mice anywhere in the apartment, no droppings, no sightings, no food tampering.

But Vincent obviously knows better than I. (Beware, the following images are a bit graphic.)

I TOLD you there was a mouse!

On Tuesday afternoon, I was in the living room. Vincent was out in the kitchen staring at the radiator. All of a sudden ... CRASH! I hear Vincent crash into the metal of the baseboard heat. He comes running into the living room with ... a MOUSE. Eek. He'd throw it in the air, it would run. He'd catch it and throw it again. I would duck. But I did grab my camera. The action was a bit too fast and furious and most of the photos were just blurs.

"Stop playing with him and just kill it, please!" I don't want a live mouse in here, nor do I want to have to kill a mouse. But it really can't be in here. Mice can only be in here in a cage. While I like animals (and mice can be cute), there's just no place for one in my apartment.

You are NOT taking away my play toy!

Yes, I feel a bit sad for the mouse. But he really chose the wrong apartment. Apparently they're in the walls and there must be an opening big enough behind the baseboard heat. I really haven't heard any noises in the walls, but Vincent did. No mouse will ever make it a foot in here. Vincent sits there in wait ... a lot. I feel sorry for anyone in my building who doesn't have a cat. However, I'm so thankful for Vincent and he seems to really have fun (even though a mouse has to die). He's staring at the radiator as I type this.

He's dead, Jim.

A moment of silence, please.

And let's not have Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom inside my apartment again, please.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Season Premiere Blog Party Post

Yes, it's time for a new season of one of our favorite shows -- SURVIVOR! The talented Zoetawny has made us yet another blog logo for the show. You realize she rocks, right? Margo is running the blog pool again, rocking also. Me? I'm just rolling along.

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll post major events in updates in this post. However, it's the comments area which is where the real fun and well ... commentary is. Everyone is invited to join in! Later tonight, my full review of the show will be posted over on TV Squad and, of course, you're invited there, too.

The show will be starting in about ten minutes here. Survivors ready?

The first reward challenge has started. In the first round, Stephenie has dislocated her shoulder. Into commercial. Rupert broke a toe. But the heroes won fire! Both Rupert and Stephenie continue to play -- neither shed a tear.

They're spending more time than they ever have just visiting the camps. No immunity challenge yet (9:15 PM ET). The heroes found and captured some chickens with a net. The villains, thanks to Rob, made fire without a flint.

Villains win the first immunity challenge. Sugar is crying (as she should be).

Sugar is the first person voted out.

Looking at The Amazing Race Teams - Part 2

Yesterday I took a look at six of the teams we'll see on the upcoming season of The Amazing Race. Today it's time for the remaining five teams. The show premieres this coming Sunday at 8 PM ET/PT. The deadline for signing up to be in the blog pool is tomorrow. Margo is gathering names and will be posting who gets to cheer on whom after tomorrow.

Dan and Jordan - I guess this is our alpha male team for the season. Dan (24) and Jordan (22) Pious are brothers hailing from Barrington, Rhode Island. Dan is a financial advisor while Jordan is a strategic consultant. Um. Okay. When I was 24, no one would want me advising them on their finances. And, what exactly does a strategic consultant DO? Gotta love these listed careers.

Pros for them: They're young, they're healthy-looking, and probably more athletic on the whole than most of the other teams. They seem to be relatively intelligent. I bet they could even answer a question about geography.

Cons for them: They don't seem that well traveled. One of them, Dan, actually admits hating traveling. That could be interesting. They also are competitive and intense. I hope that doesn't equal fussing and fighting with each other like the last set of brothers on the show.

Jordan and Jeff - Well, these two look familiar! Where have we seen them before? Heh. The sweethearts from last season's Big Brother are listed as "newly dating" for TAR. Jordon Lloyd is 22, a receptionist (and BB11 half-million first place winner) from Charlotte, North Carolina. Jeff Schroeder is 31, a salesman and BB11 runner-up, from Norridge, Illinois.

Pros for them: They have the reality show experience and are used to being cooped-up with each other. Jeff, in particular, is pretty smart while Jordan definitely has her moments despite her reputation on BB11 and her phraseology. A pro for me is that I enjoy watching these two.

Cons for them: Jordan, in particular, hasn't traveled much at all and is very naive. In many online articles they've mentioned they bickered a lot on the race. I don't like that. Jordan doesn't always think quickly and Jeff tends to be impatient with her. We'll see. I'm still glad they got the chance to do the show.

Louie and Michael - These two are listed as friends and police detectives. Louie Stravato is 47, an undercover detective from Providence, Rhode Island. Michael Naylor is 45, also a detective from Providence.

Pros for them: I can only hope they're as entertaining as the clown team a few seasons back. Not that cops are clowns, but most cops I've known definitely have a great sense of humor, or at least one I can appreciate. Louie is also a cool name for a cop. Heh. They're both into weight-lifting and are athletic-ish. They're probably used to reasoning and following instructions, too.

Cons for them: Michael complains that Louie loves everyone while Louie claims Michael is a control freak. But I bet we're going to see these two get along very well as a team. I'm not seeing any real cons about the team. Perhaps they're not real well-traveled, I guess. I hope they live up to my entertainment expectations!

Monique and Shawne - Well, we had the cops, now we're to the attorneys. These women are listed as attorneys/moms. They're friends, too. Monique Pryor is 39 from West Orange, New Jersey. Shawne is 39 from Bowie, Maryland.

Pros for them: I have to say that since West Orange is near me, I need to root for Monique! That aside, they seem to be a strong female team. Both enjoy traveling and have indeed traveled outside of the country before. They're intelligent. They're both in good physical condition and younger than some of the other teams.

Cons for them: I'm not seeing too many cons at all. Perhaps an over-confidence in their own abilities might translate as cocky to other teams? I don't know. I think these two are going to be strong competitors.

Steve and Allison - This father/daughter team hails from Encinitas, California. Steve Smith is 47 and a professional baseball coach (Cleveland Indians). Allie Smith is 23 and in marketing.

Pros for them: They're probably fairly well-traveled (at least more than Jordan!). Unlike some father/daughter teams we've seen, they're not mending fences or working on their relationship. They're out to have a good time, create great memories, and maybe win a million dollars.

Pros for them: I think they're going to be a solid team, but perhaps not the best on an athletic angle. I also think the fact that he's a pro ball coach (he also coached the Phillies for their World Series win) might work against them. I'm always of the mind that if people really need the money, they should be working and not on reality television shows. However, lots of folks (including some others on shows) go by "need."

Racers ready?