Only one game tonight on a rare special Thursday edition of MCHL Ironclad so it's an abbreviated set but we've got a couple of new toys to play with and a mini-theme mourning the passing of Walter Parazaider of Chicago! :)
After the Carolina Hurricanes finally reached the summit of the NHL mountain after years of falling in the Eastern Conference Final, there was no way this week's theme could be anything else but the best of the tracks in Lenovo Centre's playlist! Congratulations to the 2026 Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes! :)
The Carolina Hurricanes are the 2026 Stanley Cup champions claiming their second Cup 20 years after the franchise won their first! Whilst the 2006 Cup was the second best thing to happen to me that year, this 2026 Stanley Cup is pretty much topping the podium for this year! :)
It may be a shorter set than usual but what would have been Brad Delp's 75th birthday was certainly an inspiration to play his favourite tracks he loved to sing as lead vocalist for Boston! :)
Today is the 48th birthday for Matthew Bellamy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards) of Muse who features in tonight's theme which also seemed to work very well with game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final that was in progress in Las Vegas... :)
I knew the themes would be the madness that was Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final and Miss Kristina's favourites. But the actual tracks? Literally picked them as I was starting to spin the tunes before each game! :)
Planned obsolescence that is completely unnecessary is bad enough. Seeing a package take several hours to get delivered isn’t much fun. But customer service that ranged from not so hot to outright disrespectful and appalling at two different company-owned stores makes me wonder if just doing things online from now own is really the right play after all…
There’s nothing quite like running like mad from a Chick Fil-A in Garner to a rink in Wake Forest and coming up with tonight’s playlist on the fly! This ought to be fun… :)
In a shocking U-turn of events, the postman actually did a literal U-turn to actually deliver a parcel after skipping my box the first time. I can honestly say I’ve never had the dodgy carriers working my street do that one but I’m grateful he did in this particular case!
This is probably one of the hardest posts I’ve written in recent times but the ones that come from the heart usually are. This year spent in the scorer’s booth has had quite the profound effect upon my life and for that and everyone in the MCHL Ironclad League, you have my undying thanks! :)
Perhaps if Intuit's marketing department would actually have a clue what is really important to the people who use their software and had management that truly cared, perhaps they could have been spared my original reaction to their latest "innovation" in the form of another cash-grab... :(
There are corporate policies that really make you sit back in awe of the stupidity used to create them. Even though the ultimate outcome is positive, it beggars belief why they couldn't be bothered to do this for safer forms of payment as well!
The week ending 26 May 1990 saw the Billboard singles chart dominated by the ladies occupying the five top spots for the first time since 30 Jun 1979 when Donna Summer had two singles in the top five. So tonight's theme celebrates those two legendary weeks on the charts with some serious girl power! :)
On this day in 1997, Fleetwood Mac would begin recording "The Dance" series of reunion concerts in Burbank on the 20th anniversary of the release of their album "Rumours" which turns 50 years old this year! With all of the drama backstage during the recording of this iconic album, there's no way we're not having some fun with it tonight! :)
It seems that no matter where you look for your news, it's hard to make a persuasive argument that it seems to be pretty much full of every evil released from Pandora's Box (even though it was actually a jar) with no respite in sight unless you're a billionaire. If you're feeling a bit at loose ends in this world of ours, this theme of holding on for the hope that remained in her jar is right up your alley... :)
Mending a bulb on the Traverse isn’t a simple thing such as lifting the bonnet and swapping a bulb in about a minute. Oh no, GM’s engineers ensured it was far harder and would take much longer. Today, I actually managed to swap a bulb in only ten minutes which is fifty fewer minutes than it usually takes… :)
After hearing some harrowing tales of dealing with queues at DMV and experiencing them with my kids in the past, I really wasn't all that keen to be stuck in a queue for hours on end to renew my driving licence. Fortunately, DMV has an online alternative... :)
When the hardest part is taking your own passport photo and the scariest part is actually trusting the less-than-stellar mail carriers to deliver the new documents…that’s actually not too bad an outcome for this process even by the current government!
On today's date in 1982, there was one album nearing the end of it's nine week run at the top of the Billboard album chart and it was Asia's self-titled debut album that ended up being the best selling album that year!
Once again, the House of Commons is proving the old saying from "Yes, Minister" that it's often like a bucket of crabs where the ones on top are constantly being pulled down by the ones on the bottom of the bucket. The past couple of weeks are the clearest proof of how true that is... :)
Another pile of shingles in front of a neighbour's house and that means more roofing scammer solicitors on my doorstep. This one was at least rather unique and memorable which really isn't a good look for him or solicitors in general... :(
Bonus music time and spending the evening celebrating Billy Squier who celebrates his 76th birthday on the same day my grandmother did! That seems a hat-trick of happy memories to me... :)
Loyalty in the UK government lasts about as long as it takes for someone to get the idea of pinching the top job and moving in Number 10 Downing Street. Sir Keir Starmer seems to be trying to fight off a leadership challenge. Only time will tell if he'll be successful but if history is anything to go by, his chance of staying in post are not so hot!
Another year and my oldest child has gotten a wee bit older. But it's the wisdom that has come with those years that has truly taken my breath away this year... :)
Happy Mother's Day to all those who celebrate and may your day also bring you peace and contentment! :)
