If you're on a modem, this update is going to kill you. Sorry.

This one is a little different than the others - it's a double feature. You see, I went to visit my mom, and she had a whole bunch of photos of me when I was a kid. For Christmas she got a scanner that allows her to restore old photos automagically. So the result is what you see below. Hold your mouse over the faded looking photo, and watch it be replaced with a restored/improved version. Not all of them are perfect, but a few of them came out great. Pretty cool.

My mom posing while pregnant with me. I think at this point they had found out it was a boy, and were excited to have a boy playing lots of sports. Interestingly, when i was older, I used that golf club, that football, and that tennis racket.

Right now, my sister, looks almost EXACTLY like my mom did in this photo. It's amazing.

Mom and Dad hoisting me for the camera.

Here my Mom's mother takes me for a swim.

My dad took me out on the tarmac at the Pittsburgh airport. Pre 9/11 of course.

This is view out our window, obviously after a light snow. Yes, I think that is a silver Vega across the street!

Evidence that I was once cool - me riding my Green Machine. Note the tracks through the snow, as I took it off-road. Also note the Steelers hat. (that's a theme.)

Ever the ladies' man, here I am caught macking it up on the beach, before anyone even knew that macking was macking.

My Dad's father - my Pap-pap - had a habit of doing weird things with us kids. Here, for some reason no one knows, I am in the trunk of a car.

Chilling at the beach.

Here I am with my Pap. As I got older I spent less time in the trunk...

Here I am checking out babes, errr, I mean dolphins, with my Mom's Dad, my Grandpa.

I was put to work at an early age driving trucks. That's my Dad there next to me. He was the navigator.

It was hard to reach the pedals.

I have no clue where this is, but I would guess somewhere in Pittsburgh, and my Pap got me to stand next to this thing.

So the story goes that my Dad put me up on this thing, and I looked at him and said, "Put a quarter in!"

Check out all the Tonka trucks. If I ever start talking about having a crappy childhood, slap me. I just wish I had saved all my toys!

Here my Dad does what all good Dads do - he plays with my Tonka trucks while I watch. :-D

Here I am looking really suave, out by the swing set. I've got my gay little white sweater on, but don't let that fool you - I'm on the prowl for girls.

Never mind! A girl showed up, so I had to high-tail it out of there! Cooties!

Riding my first two-wheel bike, still with the training wheels. Note the jacket and hat. I can remember going to school and thinking, "Now where the hell did these kids get non-Steelers clothing? Do they make it themselves at home?"

The Fonz!

With my Dad's parents and my sister. This was the beginning of the end. Her arrival (along with my cousin Chris and my cousin Betsy) marked the end of my four-year reign as Only Child and Only Grandchild. It was good while it lasted. I think I had to sneak into this photo. My grandmother is ready to shove me out of the frame as if to say, "You're the old grandchild. You're used up. Get lost, go play in the trunk of the car!" Jeez, do you think people carry these scars with them for life? ;-)

Here I am sporting my Rocky Blier jersey. In the background is my sister's playpen.

Out for a walk with Grandpa, sporting my new boots.

Here I am beating the crap out of my Uncle Kurt. Note that we are wearing *golf* pants to box.

Look at his head snap back! If I tried this today, he'd lay me out flat.

Fishing with Dad.

Here I am after putting my hand through a storm door window. (The beginning of my realization that I was not Steve Austin.)

Who's cool? That's right, Lee's cool!

A typical Christmas morning in our house - happy kids and a bleary-eyed Dad.

What an all-american family! The girl with the Barbie, the boy with the telescope.

Note the faded Steelers helmet on my PJs...

One year my sister got this toy - some doll that does gymnastics. I'm as baffled by it now as I was back then.

Look, another toy that had I saved it, I could sell it for $500 on Ebay.

Woo! Nerf soccer ball! Woo! Another Christmas, another bleary-eyed Dad photo. He probably went to bed about an hour before this photo was taken, after staying up all night putting together my...

Hot-wheels Spaghetti Speed-burner Twist! Wooooo!

Christmas offered rare moments of tenderness and harmony. Here I help my sister - who appears to be dressed as a banana - ride her new tricycle.

For Easter we used to have to dress up like lunatics and go to church. Here I try to look tough or something, who knows, and my sister laughs at me.

Here we are working with the Legos.

I think I should take this opportunity to point out that my sister is sporting a mullet.

Here I roll her down a hill in an inner tube. For those keeping score at home, those are Pittsburgh Pirates shorts.

Another Easter, another shot of my sister looking cute and me looking like a juvenile delinquent who is trying to look cleaned-up for the judge.

that's it.