The obligitory Updated WordPress post

As I warned last week – I updated the software that makes this blog thingy thing work. You may notice weird stuff happening. If so, please let me know. Chances are if you are reading this you have the 411 on how to reach me.  You can also drop a comment.

Thanks.

PS. I no longer rank for U2 Mullet in Google Image Search and I’m just a little sad about it.

Looking like a little slugger

Joyce and I were looking at old movies on our computer and came across this. Here we see John emulating his favorite Indian at the time, Coco Crisp. John still LOVES baseball. He might be a little embarrassed if his current teammates see this. But what good is having old video if you can’t use it to embarrass the people in it? Note to my family  members – this rule does not apply to Super 8 movies from the 70s.

Grade School Quiz

I recently posted a picture from third grade. Darn I was a dashing young man in that school monogrammed tie. But that’s not the purpose of this post. I realized looking back on those days that I can’t actually recall with 100% certainty the names of all of my grade school teachers. I even have a head start with some, because several had the same first name…Sister Mary (Saint’s Name Here). So the research department at MatthewK.com commissioned the following poll. If you would like to brag, use the comments below to name them all.  In other words, show me your work.


Captains Manager Kicking (Expletive) and Taking Names

It is no secret that I’m a big Lake County Captains fan. We’ve had great times at Classic Park this year. Apparently we’ve had much more fun than manager Ted Kubiak has had recently. He must be feeling a lot like Lou Brown in Major League. Check out this article in the News-Herald and feel the white hot seething frustration.

After Casey Frawley lallygagged twice in the season finale Kubiak yanked him:

“Casey wondered why he was out of the game. That’s how much he doesn’t understand,” Kubiak said, his words carrying an unmistakable bite. “I don’t give a (expletive) if you’re tired. You can give an (expletive) effort out there.”

I’m also proposing a fun party game. Print out copies of this article and have your friends fill in the (expletives) in this and other quotes with the words they assume were deleted. The team with the most matches or most creative profanity can be declared winners.

I really like how Kubiak yanked Frawley and how Frawley seems to have “seen the light”.

Lets Go Caps!

The Count is full – or is it (he) even?

Back when I was a kid, the scoreboard at Cleveland Municipal stadium had a cartoon of a vampire feasting at a dinner table. It played when there was a 3-2 count. Get it? The Count is Full. I like puns, so I liked that one.

The phrase “the count is full” means that there are the maximum number if balls and strikes in an at bat. The following pitch is called the “pay-off” pitch. But that is not exactly true as a foul ball will extend the batter’s at bat.

But there is another phrase in baseball describing the pitch count that is a pet peeve of mine. I’ll often hear an announcer say “That brings the count even at two and two.” But let’s take a step back. The  batter is retired at three strikes and the batter advances at four balls. Therefore, the next pitch may retire the batter or extend the at bat. How is that even? Seems to me that a 2-2 count actually favors the pitcher.

Which brings me to the idea that a 3-2 pitch is actually “even”, as the batter may either retire or advance on the basis of the next pitch. But that doesn’t make for a fun animation, so a  little joy of my childhood would be missing. I guess I just have to let this go.

Looking Like an All-Star

Our eldest is crazy about baseball. From morning until night everyday the topic will usually turn to who the Indians should try and get or when he will play next. If he can’t play, he makes up imaginary line score on imaginary line-ups. And then there is always Wii MLB 2K10 – something to get us through the winter.

He is seven years old now. But here is a link to a  clip from when he was two. Coco Crisp played for the Indians then. I think that is one of the reasons he is a lefty at the plate.

Slugger Jack 2005

 

The Foibles of Unfriending

I’d not be at all surprised to find that there are armies if doctoral students studying the dynamics of relationships that are primarily based in cyberspace. These anthropologists of digital societies have a lot to work with, no doubt. Today I’ve been sorely tempted to unfriend (or is it de-friend?) an individual on Facebook. This person’s only offense is a strong habit of posting pleas to help a certain social cause. It is not even a cause that I am particularly at odds with, but the sheer volume of material shared is just off-putting.

Matt Keough | Create Your Badge

The problem with unfriending someone is the friend suggest feature. In the real world friends drift apart and there is rarely a formal declaration. You might perceive that an individual has changed or have become more distant. That person can just hush up, slink away and that is that.

But Facebook will “out” you. there have been several occasions when I’ll see a suggestion to friend someone  I am ABSOLUTELY certain I’ve already friended. This happens when that person has unfriended you without your knowledge.

I can understand why someone would unfriend me. Political views, religious professions and other wedge issues can alienate folks. Personally, unless someone is particularly condescending to opposing viewpoints, I think it is interesting to read other opinions. If for no other reason than to hone a counter-argument if one is ever needed.

In any respect, I’m curious. What would it take for you to “unfriend’ someone on Facebook?

(I’ve decided not to unfreind the individual mentioned. Really, how hard is it to just scroll past something that does not interest you.)

Master of Sock Puppets

I recently found a cache of pictures from my childhood. That can be fun. It is made even more fun these days because today’s technology allows a much larger audience to reminisce with you. I scanned several and shared them on Facebook.

Here is a cropped version for the latest “Looking Like..” entry. I look like a kid who realizes he’s got a pretty crummy sock puppet, but also sees that his classmates are not really doing much better.  I really don’t have a great memory for details of grade school. This day day I do remember, however. That was a wool sock and by the time our little story-time play was over my hand and forearm were blazing, itching mess. I also vaguely remember that there was some drama with my mother that morning surrounding my last minute demand for a fully-formed billy goat sock puppet. Poor woman. I suspect that my brother Joe was mysteriously missing one of his socks soon before school started.

Where does the time go?

I decided to log in and start bloggin’ again. I’ve been tweeting and active on Facebook. That has satisfied my hunger to sound off on whatever is crossing my mind.

But those outlets are not mine, all mine. So I’m going to attempt the discipline of blogging daily here. Of course that will likely ‘go south” as I try to upgrade to the latest version of WordPress.

By the way – The Browns won a game that means nothing today. But it is still better than losing a game that means absolutely nothing. I think.