Take 2: Getting to know the WizFans

[fishercob]

We had a great "Getting to know the Members" thread that was lost in last year's "upgrade." Since we're in the dog days of summer -- and inspired by some great new posters in Hoopalotta and JonathonJoseph -- I though I'd restart this baby.

Allow myself to introduce...myself....

name: fishercob, inspired by Ohio State's Fisher College of Business, where I was getting my MBA when I joined this board some 7+ years ago. Connecting to other WizFans made me feel less far from home.

age: 32

my deal: married, with an 18 month old daughter. They're the primary source of my happiness in life. Awww. I work in commercial real estate (retail) and am lucky enough to have some business right now. It's rough out there, but I'm surviving...

Wiz/hoop-ness: I grew up with baseball as my first love. The Bullets sucked when I was growing up and my dad had little knowledge or interest of/in basketball. I was a towel-waving spiritual leader on some championship winning high school teams that were like a family to me when things were rough in the FishCOB house. During college summers I started coaching at camps and was lucky enough to work with some great local coaches (namely Magruder's Dan Harwood) and learn from some legends (Sam Jones). After college I coached for three years at my HS alma mater, loved it and was damned good. You know, those who can't do, teach....

All that led to me getting very into the Wiz. I'm an aspiring stathead/Moneyballer and love reading WizKev's blog and other hoops metricians. Will finally get to read Basketball on Paper at the beach next month.

I'm not a huge message board guy in general, but of what I have seen this is by far the best. Lots of guys here can either make me laugh, think, or feel smart

Gotta run a to a meeting but may add more later. Introduce yourselves....

[LyricalRico]

Name: LyricalRico - Used to write dirty poems for the girls in high school so I was known as Rico Suave for senior year. Added the "lyrical" on the front a couple years later and it's been my online identity ever since

Age: late-20's

My deal: Not married. Born and raised in the DC are, currently living in Montgomery County where I recently bought my first home. For work I facilitate user testing of software applications, meaning I train end users on how to use new/updated programs and take their feedback for possible enhancements. Besides writing poetry, I'm also into: cooking, wine tasting, ballroom dancing, classic movies, stand-up comedy, and of course sports. Historically I've been the guy that women say they are looking for but never date because he's "too nice". But that's actually getting better now that I'm approaching 30 and meeting more women who are in that age range.

Wiz Fan Creds: Been a Bullets/Wizards fan ever since I can remember (Michael Adams was my first favorite player). My parents were too cheap for cable so for most of my youth I could only watch a handful of games per year. But I would listen to almost every game on the radio and kept up with all the stats. Finally got cable in the first MJ season and I've watched 90% of the games ever since. Most exciting Wiz moments for me (in chronological order): trading for Webber and signing Juwan on the same day, beating Cleveland in the last game of the 1996-97 season to make the playoffs, MJ announcing he would play for the Wizards, signing Gilbert Arenas, trading Kwame Brown, firing Eddie Jordan.

RealGM was actually my first message board experience. I went here because I heard Steve Czaban talking about the Trade Checker one time. I tried it out and it was love at first trade. Once I got to the Wiz forum, I only lurked for about 20 minutes before I joined and I've been a regular ever since. I really can't imagine not having this place to come to for smart dialogue and engaging discussion. Thanks to everyone here for making that possible.

[nate33]

Name: nate33 - Why? My first name is Nate and my favorite all-time basketball player is Larry Bird.

Age: 37

My deal: Married. 3 kids ages 8, 6 and 3. Born and raised in the Maryland suburbs of DC. I went to high school at Eleanor Roosevelt in Greenbelt, MD and went to college and UMCP. I moved to Columbus, Ohio in 2005 (sold that absurdly overpriced townhouse in Crofton at just the right time). I'm a fire protection engineer and I currently specialize in forensic investigations of fires and the failures of fire protection systems. I still play basketball at least once a week and I'm pretty good for a 5'-9" redhead. Other interests include running, swimming, and coaching my daughter's soccer team.

Wiz Fan Cred: I've watched the Wizards for as long as I remember. I vaguely remember the '79 championship with the whole "not over til the fat lady sings" motto and I remember some of the players from that era: Wes, Greg Ballard, Kevin Grevey, etc. One of the most enjoyable years was the 95/96 underdog team with Juwan Howard carrying the load, surrounded by a bunch of misfits and journeymen like Legler, Muresan, Eackles and Brent Price. They damn near made the playoffs that year. I watch about two-thirds of the games now - as many as I can get from free internet feeds.

[Wizardspride]

Name:Wizardspride--Self explanatory.

Age:33

Family: Mom and Dad. (No brothers or sisters)

Places Lived: Silver Spring,MD , San Diego,CA ,Kaneohe,HI, Kailua HI, Honolulu,HI ,Apra Harbor,Guam

Birthplace: Bethesda Naval Hospital, Bethesda, MD

HS: John F. Kennedy, Silver Spring, MD

College: University of Hawaii-Manoa 99'

Location: Silver Spring, MD

Occupation: State Department

Marital Status: Single

Interests: History, The film-making process, politics (very liberal), Guitar playing(Fender Strat) and sports (Skins, Nats, Wiz, Hoyas, Caps etc.), martial arts (Shotokan)

Wiz Stuff: Been a Wiz/Bullets fan since I first got interested in basketball during the late 80s/early 90s.

I'm very much looking forward to taking that next step this season (at least getting past the 2nd rd).
It's a refreshing change to go into a season feeling that you won't be outcoached.

[Soup's Uncle]

Name: Soup's Uncle...No, I don't have a nephew named Soup...it's my bands name. We play Alt Prog.

Age: almost 27

About - > I grew up in Damascus, MD...a suburb of Montgomery County. About 20-30 minutes outside DC. I work at the Gazette...it sucks. I generally look at message boards all day. I was a long time lurker here before I ever signed up just because I love to read what people think. This by far is my favorite message board I'm on (aside from the Les Paul forum but that's apples and oranges).

Not married, no kids. Have a serious girlfriend though. I play guitar (Gibson Les Pauls...huge fan of them)...I love the Wizards and Redskins. They pretty much fill up 85% of my daily activites. I catch a lot of heat from liking the Redskins (moreso than the Wizards), as I imagine the rest of the Redskins fans in here do. I am a diehard Howard Stern fan, and I listen daily to his show on Sirius XM.

Wiz Stuff -> Like I said, I'm a diehard Wizards & Redskins fan. My Dad was a bigtime b-ball player in his youth, and raised me on watching and going to Bullets games at the Cap Center. I was born in 82, so I don't remember much from the 80s. I do remember getting a Chris Webber #2 Jersey...rare sh*t. For a time in ther early to mid nineties, my Dad had season tickets in the first row behind the Bullets bench. There I would witness Rasheed Wallace yelling at the refs, Rod Strickland barfing, and Georghe Muresan towering over everyone. We would go to as many games as possible. I was even there in our first round playoff exit -vs- MJ and the Bulls.

These days, times are tough, and I generally go with my Dad to see between 5 & 10 games per year.
I love Gilbert, and pray that he's healthy. I think that Flip is probably the best coach we've had since I've been a fan, so I'm expecting big things during his coaching tenure here.

RealGM is probably the best board b/c it's not people that are barfing negativity all day (like DCMAN88 from the Insider Blog...that dude is frickin annoying as hell)...Why go on a teams message board and claim to be a fan when all you do is complain? Go on the Cavs board and suck LeBron's balls or something.

Other forums I frequent are thewarpath.net, extremeskins.com and lespaulforum.com

Holla...

Oh, check out my band... http://soupsuncle.com/

[MJG]

Name: MJG. Initials. I never really use pseudonyms online; it's always some combination of my names and/or initials.

Age: 26.

My Deal: Not married and no kids, but honestly, I'm not in a rush for that right now. I'm a computer programmer working for a benefits administration consulting company in Arlington. Living at home with my family at the moment, but in the process of buying a house now, very likely in the Springfield-Burke-Annandale area. Was born in California, but moved to northern Virginia after just a few years, and have been here ever since. I went to JMU for four years, where I studied computer science. In my free time, I play video games, cook, read, and watch TV.

Wizards: Basketball has been my favorite sport to play as long as I have memories for. That naturally lead to me watching some pro ball once I started nearing my teen years in the early-mid 90s, and within a year or two, that focus turned towards the local team, which I've followed closely since then. What originally hooked me on the team was Juwan Howard; the tail end of his second year (aka his absolute peak) was when I started really watching more regularly, and he was incredible to point to where I actually was looking forward to him playing the following season. Howard may have faded over the next few years, but my interest has stayed strong ever since.

[Dat2U]

Name: Dat2U...for the older heads on the board, you know what this was short for...

Age: 34. But I look and act much younger.

Martial Status: Single. No kids. Since I've been on this board I have two relationships I was hopeful might turn into marriage but for one reason or another it didn't work out. I think I'm getting to that age where I'm ready to settle down.

About: I was born in San Francisco, CA, raised in Oakland, CA but spent most of my childhood in SE DC. I grew up across the street from Potomac Gardens in SE so I didn't necessarily have an ideal childhood growing up. I'm of african american & middle eastern decent so it makes for an interesting experience at Airports. Last year I moved from the DC area and purchased a downtown condo in Columbus, OH. Nice city to raise a family, but um, I miss DC.

Job: I'm self employed nowadays and I work from home. Currently I've contracted myself to work for a small meeting planning company. It's not exciting, but it pays the bills. Currently looking for other revenue streams to supplement my desire to travel extensively. I did mortgage lending for a while but I think I got into it two years too late and the money just wasn't there for me.

Wizards: I stumbled across realgm years ago looking for a NBA trade rumors site. I had been on ESPN for a minute before that but found it unsatisfying. I can't believe it's been more than 8 years since I first joined. Before then I even did a little writing for hoopsworld.com . I've been a Wizards fan for as long as I can remember. My favorite player was Jeff Malone. I used to love to imitate his fadeway, leaning jumper.

My favorite Bullets memory was Dudley Bradley's buzzer beater to cap a 17 pt playoff comeback in the final 4 minutes of a playoff game against the 76ers back in the 80s. My 2nd favorite memory was the day we acquired Chris Webber and we finally signed Juwan Howard. I really thought that was the franchise changing moment right there. My least favorite day was when we dealt Webber for a couple of geezers. I kept screaming no we didn't just do that! I almost got in a fight with guy b/c I so pissed and told him he was lying! My 2nd least favorite moment was the Ben Wallace trade. I had a sick feeling in my stomach that we had just done something incredibly stupid.

I'm an absolute homer. I love all the DC teams. Live and breathe for the Skins. Root for Caps. Say a prayer for the Nats and watch all the local basketball I can. Go Terps, Hoyas, Patriots and Colonials.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

It was "That Negro to You" ... only a better mnemonic, as memory serves me to recall.

When Dat2u said "older heads", I felt obliged to chime in. I'll introduce myself later when time permits...

[fishercob]

It was "That Negro to You" ... only a better mnemonic, as memory serves me to recall.

When Dat2u said "older heads", I felt obliged to chime in. I'll introduce myself later when time permits...

Ah yes, DN2U....

That, of course, is one of the things I love about this board and sports in general -- that it brings people together who otherwise might not see how much common ground they have.

To think, I almost went with DatHebrew2U instead of FisherCOB. Good thing I avoided all the confusion.

[dandridge 10]

Name: Dandridge 10 – my favorite all time Bullets/Wizards player (although John Stockton is my favorite all time NBA player)

Age – 42, dang it looks like I’m one of the old heads, but like Dat , people tell me I look a lot younger

My deal: Married (my wife is a Wiz fan too) with 2 ½ year old son. Moved from Detroit to Frederick, Md in 1976, went to Frederick High, college at JMU, and law school at Ohio Northern University. I now live in Haymarket, Va. I’m an attorney practicing food and agricultural law in D.C.. Basically, I give advice to food companies (primarily meat and poultry slaughterers and processors) on how to remain in compliance with USDA and FDA inspection laws and to help them when they run afoul of those laws. Not exactly what I envisioned in law school, but the job is rewarding and pays the bills. My first love is basketball and has been since I was probably 8…still play it twice a week, coach it, and watch it whenever on TV. Kids in school used to tease me that I would marry a basketball given that I always carried one around with me. My wife swears I did marry a basketball given all the time I spend on it. Other interests include golf, fishing (I own a cabin on a lake in Northern Minnesota, which is my favorite place on this earth), and WWII History (got into it after watching Saving Private Ryan, my favorite movie of all time).

Wiz Fan Cred: Instantly became a fan when I moved to this area in 1976 and was lucky that I had the opportunity to watch our only Championship. Followed the Bullets through college and law school through newspaper clippings, but bought season tickets after I got out of law school. Until my son was born, I went to every home game. Now I go to half the home games and watch the rest of the games on TV. It is rare that I miss a game at least on TV. Favorite moments include: 1978 Championship, the overachieving Brent Price period, the Wizards v. MJ Bulls playoff games, the 2005 Wizards-Bulls playoff games. Least favorite moments: 1979 Championship Defeat (cried like a baby) and when we traded Ben Wallace…it’s the only time I even considered finding another team to root for and wrote a letter to Abe Pollin stating so.

RealGm: Started out on ESPN forums but they were horrible. Can’t recall how I found realgm, but instantly got hooked. I normally don’t post much during the offseason (its nice to have a break and most of the discussion is “pie in the sky” stuff), but I lurk here everyday. Most informative forum out there IMHO.

[wizfan81]

working for the organization, it's good to see there are true fans out there. not just people who are either a) from out of town that route for their hometown teams or b) people that just show up to see kobe, lebron, dwade, etc.

little update from us. schedule should be released first week of august. partial plan schedules (for wiz planholders) will be released at the same time the nba schedule is dropped to the public.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

Mmm...

Zonker the Brainless. To distinguish me from the zillions of other Zonkers on the intertubes.

I'm 38 going on 12. Love video games, electronic dance music, hanging out with my two kids. Marital situation is in the tubes. Moving to a condo in downtown dc in August *knock wood*.

I'm always a fan of the local NBA team. Lived in Portland for the two years they made it to the finals, was a Pacers fan when I was in Bloomington, now I'm in DC and I'm a zards fan.

[REDardWIZskin]

Whats Good I'm REDardWIZskin and Im 21 yrs old. and as you can see this is my first post. I been a fan of realgm for a couple yrs but i never actually found the time to join. Im just getting ready to finish skool and am blessed to have a job. So sitting at a computer all day i have time now to be apart of this online wizards community, which is in my opinion the best. I Always like to look at post by wiz fans about things like "LeTravel and the Crabbeliers" (dont know who came up with that but it was damn funny).

Wizards: I been a fan of basketball for as long as i can remember I played all through grade school but didnt even attempt in college when it seemed more like a job. like i said Im only 21 and so my Wiz greatest moments don't go back as far as some of the ones that i have read so far but i think i still have some decent ones. My earliest would have to be Chris Webber and Rod Strickland and the early departure from the playoffs by the 72-10 bulls i believe. May not be so great to you all but it was my first time seeing them make the playoffs. The Block MJ got when he grabbed the ball off of the backboard as a 40 yr old wizard. Gilbert's 60 pt game against the Lakers. And Gil's game winner against the Bulls in the 05 playoffs. just to name a few...
ps dont know why three of my greatest moments involve the Bulls, purely by chance. Im a WIZ fan all day

[WizBiz]

Name: floydfan29 - I'm a fan of Pink Floyd, and my favorite number is 29.

Age: 20

My deal: I was born in Long Island NY, and moved to Chesterfield, VA when I was 6 months old. Lived there for 10 years then moved to Hanover County, where my family still lives. I'm about to start my junior year at VCU and am majoring in mechanical engineering.

Wiz/hoop-ness: I played rec-league basketball and such when I was younger and had always sort of followed basketball, but never had a favorite team. One day, I was flipping through the channels and landed on a Wizards game. I must have been intrigued by what I saw that game, because I continued to watch them. I soon after got attached to them, and the rest is history. That was the 04-05 season, the first of 4 consecutive playoff seasons. This past year was the first during my Wizards fandom that we didn't make the postseason, so I haven't endured nearly any of the hardships that a lot of you longtime fans have.

[dandridge 10]

Name: floydfan29 - I'm a fan of Pink Floyd, and my favorite number is 29.

Age: 20

My deal: I was born in Long Island NY, and moved to Chesterfield, VA when I was 6 months old. Lived there for 10 years then moved to Hanover County, where my family still lives. I'm about to start my junior year at VCU and am majoring in mechanical engineering.

Wiz/hoop-ness: I played rec-league basketball and such when I was younger and had always sort of followed basketball, but never had a favorite team. One day, I was flipping through the channels and landed on a Wizards game. I must have been intrigued by what I saw that game, because I continued to watch them. I soon after got attached to them, and the rest is history. That was the 04-05 season, the first of 4 consecutive playoff seasons. This past year was the first during my Wizards fandom that we didn't make the postseason, so I haven't endured nearly any of the hardships that a lot of you longtime fans have.

Floyd...you truly became a Wizards fan at the best possible time. I can't even begin to tell you how much misery you missed.

[dobrojim]

dobrojim (also my name on FB for those who live over there too) because I love
dobros ever since I heard one. I was a long time fan of Duane Allman and if I
had a time machine, I'd go back and see him live.

I'm an old fart, 52, married (2nd wife) just shy of 19 years, 2 kids, one or more
of which have met some of you guys at games. No kids via the first wife (thank you).
But I'm still a kid at heart. I refuse to grow up!

I'm a biologist at the NIH in Bethesda where I've been for 19 years.
I provide DNA sequence analysis to researchers working mainly in
neuroscience.

Been a Wiz/Bullets fan since I was little, as in Earl Monroe's rookie year.
I remember watching the classic Earl-Clyde, Willis-Wes, DeBusch-Gus
games. So I've seen the franchise go from being consistently one of the
best (4 finals appearances in the 70s) to just awful. I'm REALLY looking fwd
to this year. I think we could be VERY good.

Have been into motorcycles since I was 13-14, raced MX off and on for about 15 year
making A class (that's expert folks) in the 125 class (very competitive) before switching
to open class bikes. Now I street ride a Beemer R1200ST.

I've played guitar since I was 10 with a little time off during teenage years for
bad behavior. I have a bunch of guitars now including a 72 Gibson SG (cherry)
but mostly play acoustic for the last 10 years. I started playing dobro about
10 years ago after listening to Jerry Douglas for close to 20 years.

I got into triathlon in 1994 through a friend. Discovered that I was a pretty
good runner and got into marathoning (personal best of 3:08). Qualified for
and ran in Boston 10 straight years missing last year when I procrastinated
on signing up and the race closed before I signed up. I've run 10 fifty milers
and one 100. I've done ONE triathlon (Reston, where I live) every year beginning
in 1994. I've also done the occasional open water swim of 1-2 miles.

Growing up I lived in NJ (outside Philly), Severna Park, Oxon Hill and from
the age of 12, Herndon or Reston except for college (FIT'79, Melbourne FL).

[JWizmentality]

Yay! Whatever happened to that old thread? Did it get lost in RealGM's socialist website change?

Handle: JWizmentality...J was my nickname growing up. Wiz...I love the wiz. Mentality...everyone who knows me will say he's a smart ass with a smart ass mouth. My old science professor was the one who first said I'm too logical to debate with and coined my new nickname "The Mentalist."

Real name: Tony
Age: 23
Height: 5'9 w/o shoes

Birthplace: Kingston, Jamaica
College: Fordham University

The 411: Grew up on the island and managed to stay out of trouble. Had two stern, no nonsense parents who would put a new split down my ass if I was out of line. Played HS basketball, but you'd most likely find me on the track (shocker). Watched the Bulls as a youngster, but started watching the Wizards after Jordan retired. Moved to the US permanently in 2002. Graduated in 2007.

Social: No kids (no way in hell, I'm waaaay too young for that). Engaged to my Japanese sweetheart and was supposed to be married this year...but we're holding off for now due to annoying family interference.

[miller31time]

First of all, a big middle finger to RealGM's "upgrade"...the original "Get to know the members" thread was a great (not just good) read.

About myself...

Name: Alex

Age: 20

Birthplace: Baltimore, MD

Current Residence: Towson, MD

Work: Currently doing nothing except enjoying my summer vacation

College: Towson University (going to be a senior this upcoming semester)

Major: Mass Communication with a focus on Broadcasting

I used to be very disinterested in basketball (well, sports in general) until one day when my (late) dad flipped on the TV and an NBA game was on. It was a match-up between the Pacers and (IIRC) the Knicks. I still didn't care too much about it until I saw this one player who really peaked my interest. His name, unsurprisingly, was Reggie Miller. The guy played with a passion, a determination, but most importantly, a flair to the game. He wasn't on the court to play a game or to cash a check. He was there to revel in every possible moment and to make sure his opposition was as miserable as possible. He was there to entertain and, quite simply, put on a show. I really respected this and immediately wanted to emulate his on-court play. Fast-forward a few months and I was completely and totally hooked onto the NBA. So naturally, I found the team closest to my hometown (Baltimore) and latched on. That team happened to be the Wizards who, at the time, were abysmal, but it didn't matter. I just enjoyed watching the game and knowing I had a team to root for that I could actually go and see from time to time.

Now, about 10 years later, I am a true "fan"-atic and it's past the point of bordering on obsessive...it's full-blown obsessive.

I've been on RealGM for about 4 years now and I've really learned a lot from reading this board which is by far the most intelligent on the site (and twice as much if you're coming off of a visit to the Knicks board.....I kid, I kid). You don't get the in-depth discussion of Wizards basketball anywhere else, nor do you get the comradery between posters.

[keynote]

Handle: Keynote. My rap name in high school, now my nom de plume as a part-time hip hop producer. Also, the word "keynote" contains my first name, spelled backwards.

Age: 34.9 (I turn 35 fairly soon)
Hometown: born in NYC; raised in Columbia, MD; currently live in Harlem.
Alma Maters: MIT, U. Michigan
Status: Committed relationship; currently a bar exam widow (my girlfriend takes the NY State Bar in a week).

Wizards Fan History: Growing up in MD, I've been supporting the Home Team for as long as I've been able. My dad used to take me to the Wizards' open practices at Ft. Meade, MD; I saw Bernard King, John "pre-Hot Plate" Williams, Terry Catledge and Manute Bol during those practices. In college, my dad would mail me copies of the WaPo sports section, so that I could keep up with the Webber/Howard era.

I also am a "graduate" of the Phil Chenier/Dave DuPree Basketball Camp, (then) held on Howard Community College's campus in Columbia, MD. I remember Muggsy and Wes Unseld came to the camp to give us some pointers; I still remember Wes demonstrating his pinpoint accuracy with those long-distance outlet passes, even in his older, retired state.

Suffice it to say that I love the Wizards, and I can't see that changing, despite the many frustrations that come with the territory.

[Joe_Wiz]

Joe_Wiz: My name is Joe, the "Wiz" is obvious -- combined for a lame attempt at wordplay on the expression "gee wiz".

Age: 41

General: Married with offspring. Happy about all that but don't care to share details online (though I will note that I was a stay-at-home dad for a few years). Work from home doing accounting/bookeeping for small businesses.

Non-Wizards hobbies: sci-fi, fantasy, role-playing, boardgaming geek. Increasingly getting sucked into more local pro sports over the years: Redskins, Caps, Nats.

Wizards/Hoops: I actually have a pretty good story here. Up until March of 1995 I was not into sports at all. Sure, I shot a few hoops with my brothers in the driveway growing up, played organized ball for a year or two in elementary school, even played a few intramural games in college (i.e., ran up and down the court with my friends who did all the ballhandling and shooting). But I had not watched a single college or pro basketball game as an adult. I didn't even watch the Superbowl most years, much less the World Series.

So back to March 1995. I'm in graduate school in Chicago; I'm sitting in the lounge waiting to talk to my advisor while other students talk about baseball or something. When I go in to talk to my advisor, I say something like, "I don't get it, what do they find so interesting about sports?" He says, "yeah, me neither . . . except when Michael Jordan was playing -- he was in his own category, he was amazing." I had this sinking feeling. Man, maybe there was something to all of that hype about Jordan . . . and I missed his whole career, never watched a game.

A week or two later -- Jordan comes out of retirement. I proclaim "Michael Jordan came back for me!" I start watching, get totally sucked in -- I guess you can imagine what it was like being a Bulls fan in Chicago at that time. I watch just about every game of the second threepeat on TV. I move back to the DC area in the summer of '96 and become a fan of the team Jordan declared "The Team of the Future", even if he made that declaration a bit prematurely . . . I've watched nearly every Bullets/Wizards game since.

One last thing: I can't prove it and you guys don't know me so I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe me, but in Ben Wallace's 1st or 2nd season (when he was VERY raw) I predicted that he was going to lead the league in rebounding at least once in his career and said I wouldn't be surprised if he won DPOY too. When he was later traded as part of the package for Ike Austin, I was disappointed, but foolishly assumed that management knew what they were doing . . .