Dan Antion

Maps, Nachos and Go Troy!

It was in the upper 20’s on Sunday, so we bundled up for our walk.

Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday, and I left early for our daughter’s house to watch the big game with her. Saturday night was also consumed by TV as I watched the NFL Honors program for the first time ever. I wanted to see Troy Polamalu on-stage as part of the 2020 Class in the NFL Hall of Fame. We love Troy. We miss Troy. I’ll stop here, lest this lead to commentary on the NFL Honors, which might be the only award show that could learn something from the Golden Globes or your local high school Senior Honors Night.

This was the first time in over a dozen years that I wasn’t packing and charging devices on Saturday night and flying to Florida on Super Bowl Sunday. The company I worked for always started their Annual Meeting with a Super Bowl Party. It was nice, but you couldn’t escape the fact that it was a business affair. Except for the two years that Faith flew to Florida with me, last night’s game was the first Super Bowl since 2005 that I’ve seen with family, the first time when I could say what I felt like saying without worrying about offending someone and the first time I ate the food I want to eat instead of food arranged by a chef – you’d swear it was beneath the guy to serve a bowl of nachos, and trust me, hot dogs should not be served on Ciabatta rolls. We only actually had hot dogs once, when Philadelphia was in the Super Bowl. A Board Member from Philly said we had to serve them – he didn’t like the rolls either.

Normally, the food was a buffet with roast beef, turkey, 400 salads, and a let-some-guy-fry-up-a-bunch-of-pasta-and-stuff bar. All good food, but it never felt like football. This was also the first year I wasn’t the AV guy or the interface to the hotel’s AV service. Faith was on the hook for the broadcast.

My plan for today’s post was to introduce you to The Connecticut Historical Society Museum and Library. I visited this museum on Friday to see a mapmaking exhibit. I am fascinated by maps and by mapmaking in the days before satellites, GPS and computers. Men on the ground, following rivers and ridge lines and taking as precise measurements as they were able with the tools of the era – tools of the era, by the way, included chains for measuring distance. The only surviving use of this technique is in NFL football, but I digress.

I was hoping to find a map from around the time before the Revolutionary War, when the “western territory” of the United States barely extended west of the Great Lakes, and when a large chunk of that territory had been ceded to the Connecticut Colony by King Charles. After the Revolutionary War, Connecticut ceded much of that land to the Federal Government which then established Ohio, but Connecticut retained its claim on the “Western Reserve,” an area just south of Lake Erie, in which my family used to vacation. In fact, Case Western Reserve University takes its name from Connecticut’s Western Reserve. They almost had me as a student. I decided against going there since it was a co-op program and would have required a minimum of five years to get the degree in chemistry I never used. Wow, my train of thought seems easily derailed today. I should have saved this for Linda’s SoCS.

If this had stayed part of Connecticut, I could be a Browns fan…Um, I’m OK with the way it turned out.

Anyway, here we are on Sunday, and all I have to share are these few thoughts, a couple of images from the weekend and a silent wish that last night’s game was worth watching. In this case, I followed my dad’s rule for rooting during the playoffs. He said you have to root for your team first, then your division, then your conference. I’ve broken this rule when certain AFC teams from Ohio, Maryland and Massachusetts have been playing, but I can root for the Chiefs.

43 is Troy. Ryan Clark is one of his longtime buddies.
Daniel Burnap made this compass for map mapping. He also made some of the items featured in the posts on the Connecticut River Museum
This seemed like a hopeful sign.
This map actually shows the Western Reserve, but it’s almost impossible to find.
If this had stayed part of Connecticut, I could be a Brown fan…Um, I’m OK with the way it turned out.
This map contains all the important information about Connecticut.
This looks like the first generation Apple Maps.
We didn’t have a good concept on where the actual northwest territory was.
Not quite Rand McNally, but it was actually used by British forces against the colonists during the Revolutionary War.
Seeing this made me even more hopeful.
“You should turn the light off to get a better photo.”
“OK, this is better. Now, if you go away, I can go back to sleep.”
It was in the upper 20’s on Sunday, so we bundled up for our walk.
I always like this view.
Not much of this stuff hanging around.
Coming home from our walk as the sun started to burn through the clouds.
“Hi. I see you guys are sitting, but, um, did you bring some peanuts out with you?”

73 comments

  1. Yay for the Chiefs! I’m so happy they won and, wow, what an awesome final 10 minutes of the game. I’m also happy that the Troy in your title was not the other one…the announcer guy that makes me cringe.

    Since I am unable to eat cheesy nachos at this point, your work meeting buffet sounds good. Except for the weird rolls they chose for hot dogs. But I am glad you were able to stay home, watch the game with Faith and eat whatever the heck you want.

    Happy Monday, Dan!

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  2. Go Chiefs! We cheered them on at a party with pizza, nachos, sausage, and dessert – the all American sports food menu. :-) Then we retreated to the condo so we could use the ‘mute’ on some of the commentary and the commercials. Good game and a great ending, at least for these former Midwesterners whose hubby had Chiefs season tickets for many years. :-) Happy Monday, Dan.

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    • Ha ha, no, GP, I font miss it. There were a few years where the combination of people and teams playing worked, but mostly it was hard to relax. I was surprised to see the KC defense step up when needed. All in all, it was a good evening.

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  5. Yay for the end of NFL season. It makes no difference to me who won, but most of my commenters wanted the Chiefs to win, so I’ll be glad about it. I had an uncle who graduated from Case Western Reserve University and was fond of talking about its history. That part of Ohio is so different from the rest of the state because of the reserve.

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    • Enjoy the lull until August, Ally. I didn’t know about the western reserve until a few years ago. The Connecticut colony had so much land. Now we’re the third smallest state. Oh well. It still works.

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  9. Hi Dan – what fun to see the museum and maps … sort of thing I love. So glad you could enjoy the Game in the way you’d rather – with your daughter and the ‘proper snacks’ around to enjoy. I enjoyed learning about the early settlers when I was up in Canada, and reading about the Reservations – though definitely not usually kind or fair … and I have a map above my desk of the Pevensey Levels with islands and flooded land – pre 1066 … in fact more like 400s … amazing how much changes. I enjoyed your eclectic take on Maps, Nachos and go Troy – cheers Hilary

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    • Thanks Hilary. It’s so interesting to see how maps changed early on. When you consider the limited information they had to work with, cartography in the early days had to be challenging.

      We had a good time watching the game, and the team we were rooting for won.

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  10. Maps are fascinating. Football, not so much for me anymore. After raising a son who could watch ESPN 24×7, the love wore off. Your description of the corporate football celebration did make me happy that you were home with family this year.

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    • Thanks Maggie. Maps, cartography and exploration in general are all fascinating to me. Today, everything is so precise, and automatic. These guys were pioneers and really had to think about what they were doing.

      I’m not a huge sports fan. I follow my teams, which has become easier in recent years. When I first moved to New England, I had to call home to get an update. For a while, my two college alma maters were in the Big East conference with UConn, so I could read about them.

      This is the big lull period for me, although it’s now much easier to follow hockey. Watching the game with Faith and my brother via Facetime was perfect.

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  11. Glad you enjoyed the food and the game. A certain team has turned me into a football agnostic. Now food is a different matter. As for the maps good ones are important. Nothing quite like following a trail and seeing up front and in person how the energy and determination of beavers can change the landscape. Or using a good topo map to hike out when you really need to get out. And hey those are different stories for another time. Happy Monday…

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    • You’re so right about the way the landscape changes, John. In the days that they drew these maps, rivers were changing course almost every spring. The book I have of of the CT River as seen from the air, shows so many areas where “the river used to run through there” it’s amazing.

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  12. Wow, you are charged up this morning. Must have been the ending to that game or maybe all those carbs. I started watching around 3rd quarter, did the same thing with the Australian Open Men’s final (it started at 3:30 a.m. and I tuned in around 7:00). Call me late to the party on both occasions, but I didn’t feel like I missed anything. Hair tingling endings to both match ups.

    Probably not the best weekend to have a business meeting in Miami. The company my daughter works for (her office is downtown) sent everyone home on Thursday and Friday to work remotely. Streets were blocked off and traffic was snarled everywhere. Sunday was awesome though – clear skies and cool temps, Perfect Chamber of Commerce Day!

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    • The game was good Suzanne, but I wasn’t a heavy fan. I was glad to see the Chiefs win. When the Super Bowl was in Miami the last time, we moved to the Gulf coast. I wouldn’t want to be near the city in which the game was being played.

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  14. It was a great game and the Chiefs did not disappoint. Worried a little but all in all, had fun. Glad you finally got the day off. When a company throws a Super Bowl party who goes? Customers? Company employees? I never understood the dynamics. Good photos too. I liked the maps and stuff. You have to wonder how they ever got the place laid out.

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  15. PIcked up a book the other day about the Ohio Territory, The Pioneers by David McCullough. The subtitle is The Heroic Story of the settlers who Brought the American Ideal West. West being the Ohio territory in this case. Continually find it a source of amazement how perspectives can change.

    Glad you go to enjoy the game. I thought it was a great first half, though Shanahan’s use of his timeouts at the end of the half was very Andy Reid-esque. A meh 3rd quarter as the Chiefs D reverted into the Chiefs D and then a great 4th quarter where Shanahan once again placed the game in the hands of a QB who melts under pressure and Mahomes did Mahomes things. He might be a better QB than Brees by the end of his career – maybe.

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  16. So you’d have to go to a company-run Super Bowl party? What if you hated football? No excuse, I suppose… I hate company things like that. I’d probably make an appearance and head for the hotel…

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    • It was, as they say, a command performance. It was at the hotel, so there was no where to hide. It was always a good time, but I don’t like traveling during the winter, and I don’t like it when travel takes me away from something I’d be doing with family. I could take family, but my wife doesn’t like those types of events. I took our daughter twice when she was in graduate school, just to give her a break.

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  17. I love old maps! Those look pretty cool. Wyoming Valley way over there…wow!

    I didn’t watch the game, but He-Man did. We had snacky food, and salad yesterday.

    It started out a very chilly 18 degrees this morning and we had a good dusting of snow yesterday. I’ll be bundled up like Maddie when I go on my walk to the mailbox this afternoon. It’s supposed to be 33 degrees for our high today and 12 sometime in the wee hours tomorrow morning. BRRRR!

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  18. I personally would much rather listened to Tony than Joe Buck (who we sometimes insert a different first letter in place of that B…and I know way too many people who do the same.) Joe is NOt and never will be like his father. Glad you got to enjoy the game the old fashioned way!

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  20. I’m going to say something brave ….. I don’t like football and I don’t watch it either. I have no idea who was even in the Super Bowl game. All I knew I thought the gym would be quiet so I went on over and to my horror it was packed. Here I’m thinking the game was in the afternoon. See? I really was in the dark. Anyways ….. loved your gallery. It really looks like Spring is coming your way as well. Sounds like you had a great weekend, Dan.

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  21. I’m surprised Maddie even wanted to talk a walk with it being so cold up your way. She isn’t a puppy anymore, after all.

    The team I was routing for won the Super Bowl! I don’t know why I like the Chiefs. I just do. :P

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    • Maddie doesn’t seem to know when it’s too cold to walk. She’d walk any day. We bundle her up, and adjust the length of the walk. It makes her so happy, I guess it’s worth it.

      Of the two teams, I like the Chiefs more.

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  22. Loved the game…we were at a party of about 50 people…..two rooms with large TV’s…was fun and a good game. My wife has a Chiefs sweatshirt circa 60’s (she recalls getting it on her 10th birthday), so she was thrilled and she is as much fun to watch das the football game with all of her hooting and hollering for her team. The 49er’s fan at the party love her so gave her space to revel…. Great pics and love looking at older maps of this country….so interesting.

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  23. Boy, did I enjoy this post! Your train of thought was logical, from the Super Bowl, to chains that measure distance in football, to chains that measured distance in map making, to old maps… it was excellent. I can hardly imagine how different and wonderful it was for you watching this year’s Super Bowl. You could eat anything and yell anything you wanted. I loved the Jeep commercial with Bill Murray and the groundhog.

    When you think about measuring with chains, from the football field to mapping, it is fascinating. How did Lewis and Clark do that? Mapping is art and engineering. Thank you, Dan.

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  24. I’m pretty sure my husband just watched the score on his phone, as there was no Superbowl at our house. He watched movies and I read. Still, I’m glad you enjoyed the game at home with what I’m sure was football food :)
    Squirrel so cute! I miss our squirrels. Much as I enjoy Sadie’s roaming boyfriend Cooper, he may be too good a hunter.
    It’s really quite exciting to consider what it was like to arrive at such an expanse of land, not even knowing how expansive it was. Imagine what it was like for the explorers — well you probably have as I have. To go from the dense forests and rocky coasts of New England through the plains and then to the canyons and desert to be met again by dry coasts and mountains. That’s really amazing and we missed it.

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    • We did enjoy the game, with no business pressure of any kind. We were rooting for KC, but we didn’t care enough to stress.

      It is kind of amazing to think of those guys heading off, literally, for parts unknown. Today, nothing is unknown.

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