* The Crappys — including my parents — will in the Mon Wharf lot by 8:30. As we’ve done the past two years, we’re going to park on the side closer to the Point, so head down that way when you arrive and look for the red Element.

* Haven’t been to the Wharf before? Best way is to approach from Wood Street at Fort Pitt Boulevard and look for the yellow sign, as seen in the pic below:

* Make an effort to get there early. We lost some swimmers last year when they got stuck in traffic.

* Swimming usually starts after 9. We’ll go around 9:15 or something.

* The weather’s going to suck. Expect rain and temps around 40 when it’s time to swim.

* Bring: Towels, warm clothes, cameras, shoes you can wear in the water and others to change into after.

* Tip: It might sound counter-intuitive, but I’ve found it’s easier to make the plunge in just a bathing suit. You’ll have much less cold, wet clothing to remove once you get out — and trust me, you’ll be in a hurry to get the wet, cold stuff off.

* When we’re done? We’re heading to Piper’s Pub, 1828 E. Carson St., for beer and Irish boxty (or maybe that’s just me).

* Watch Twitter tomorrow morning for any updates. I’ll use the #yinzteamplunge hashtag for easy searching.

See y’all there.

Yes, I’m going to do it again.

Yes, we’ll be in the Mon Wharf parking lot, on the side closer to the Point, by 9 a.m. Sunday.

Yes, I still think this is the best way possible to start the new year.

No, it’s not going to be as warm as it was last Jan. 1.

Yes, I still think you should join me.

Yes?

• There were several football games, the loss of one I acknowledged with the video of my, ahem, old friend Brutus. The final home game, though, was the really odd one — Penn State with no Paterno was easily the weirdest game of the weirdest season I’ve ever experienced.
• And then Ohio State hired a new coach. I’m happy that Urban is already making Michigan fans twitchy, but I’m not totally sold yet.
• We had a lovely Thanksgiving, thank you. Dinner was with Mrs. Crappy’s family in Washington; we then traveled to Columbus to prepare for the Beat Michigan weekend, the results of which you already know. But my favorite part might have been my Thanksgiving night snack of White Castles and Mad Elf at my parents’ kitchen table.
• And if that wasn’t the best part, it would have been listening to my niece on the phone that evening telling me that her hair had been crumpled.
• I hadn’t made the family spaghetti in years; in the last month, I’ve made it twice, once for the annual Beat Michigan dinner in Columbus and once for friends just a couple days ago. The good news: I still remember how.
• Football travel is over. I love going to Columbus for games but the endless driving back and forth gets really old by the end of the season.
• I saw Yonder Mountain String Band at the beginning of November because I was twitchy for a show; we saw the String Cheese Incident last night because that’s what Mrs. Crappy wanted to do for her birthday. Good stuff, too, although SCI can be a little too noodle-y, even for me.
• I got to miracle Boo and Butter for last night’s show, thanks to Pam, who won tickets through WYEP but couldn’t go. Teresa gets bonus points for the assist.
• Remember the nice English lady who helped me through Couch to 5K? We broke up. It wasn’t her; it was me. I finished C25K last weekend, just in time to be ready for my first 5K on Saturday morning. I’ll tell you more about that later today.
• HOW COME IT’S NOT SNOWING YET?
• I totally changed our outdoor Christmas lights, and they’re still not quite right.
• I’m still not really feeling Christmas yet. But that’ll come.
• And I apparently need to add a picture to the banner; if I don’t you can’t really see the snow that WordPress gives us every December.

So. How’ve you guys been?

• Had a beer
• Watched hockey
• Attended a tailgate party
• Cooked for each other
• Jumped in the Mon
• Gotten sloppy over sangria
• Gone out for dinner
• Raved about music
• Choked down a 649
• Traded soup
• Met for lunch
• Sat around a campfire
• Seen a concert
• Talked on Twitter, by text or even on the damn telephone
• Played softball
• Gone running
• Traded blog comments
• Cheered each other’s successes
• Helped each other up when things weren’t so good
• Smiled, laughed or cried
• Been there for each other, even in seemingly insignificant ways

in the last year, I so am thankful to have you in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.

And that’s what happens when I’m left unsupervised in the newsroom for eight hours.

Have a great Fourth of July, y’all.

The air was around 50 degrees, but the water was still more than cold enough to make Yinz Team Polar Bear Plunge III a worthy successor to the first two years.

We didn’t have as many jumpers this year, but we picked up two three first-timers — fellow newspaper curmudgeon Arthur, Mr. PittGirl David and brand-new Yinz Teamer Mel.

And we had a ton of people come out to laugh and point cheer for the swimmers as we all slogged through the mud to get to the muddy river.

And here it is — your annual look at Uncle Crappy in a bathing suit:

Afterwards, we headed to Ruggers, where the World’s Greatest Bartender — also known as AAA here at Uncle Crappy — suffered though illness to make sure we were all fed and, uh, hydrated.

And with yet another year of frigid New Year’s Day swimming under my belt, I still cannot think of a reason why I shouldn’t do this again next year. There is no better way to start a brand new year, and as Sorg says in the video: after the plunge, the rest of the year seems easy.

The pictures from the Mon Wharf all were taken by the fabulous Burgh Baby. Click each picture to go to the Flickr page for that image, or click here to take a look at the entire set. Thanks, Michelle.

The Time: Expect to arrive around 8:45 a.m. and swim — if you’re swimming — around 9:30.

The Place: The Mon Wharf, otherwise known as the parking area underneath the Parkway East that floods anytime someone sneezes. The entrance — a ramp down to the lot — is at Wood Street and Fort Pitt Boulevard:

(Follow that yellow sign to the right, boys and girls…)

The specific place: The Crappy Entourage will try to arrive around 8:30. We’ll tweet our location as soon as we get set up, but I suspect we’ll be close to where we were a year ago (the side of the lot closer to the Point).

The event: As I said before, if you’re swimming, everyone starts jumping in around 9:30. If you’re a newbie, here’s what to expect: Cold. Really cold. Colder than anything you’ve ever experienced. But that lasts just a few minutes once you get out of the water and into warm towels, blankets and clothes. If you’re not swimming, be prepared to help people out of the water, take pictures or shoot video and and yell for the nutjobs who are.

The after part: I am pleased to say that after the plunge, we’ll be returning to our original post-plunge celebration location: Ruggers Pub, on the South Side:

Our after party will be hosted by AAA, generally known here at Uncle Crappy as The World’s Greatest Bartender, and I’m told we’ll also have the kitchen fired up and ready for us by 10 a.m. After we eat and drink, I imagine no one would mind if you stay at Ruggers for the Winter Classic — if they get the game in — or for all 83 bowl games televised on New Year’s Day.

I can’t think of a better way to start 2011 that a dip in 40-degree water, followed by beer and cheeseburgers with some of my best friends anywhere. I hope to see you there.

This is how we do it in Pittsburgh. Merry Christmas, everyone.

With a little assistance from Miles, we’re pretty much ready for Christmas. All that’s left tonight? The eating, the drinking and the watching of the Christmas televsion specials.

EDIT: 2010, via Rob:

2009:

I envision this year to be much the same: Show up at the Mon Wharf around 8:30 or 8:45, get everybody gathered, jump in at 9:30 and then go somewhere for beverages and food (Hard Rock? Ruggers?)

We’re a bit too far out from Jan. 1 to be able to look at this with a ton of confidence, but this, boys and girls, doesn’t sound bad:

So. 2011 Polar Bear Plunge. Are you in?