From the Archives

I have heard / read a few stories lately that deal with materials from the archives and I want to share them.

The Codex Sinaiticus has been digitized. This is the world's oldest Christian Bible.

An original copy of the Declaration of Independence was recently discovered in the British National Archives. Here's a link to the NPR story.

And finally, the Archives and Special Collections of Wheaton College have a blog, ReCollections. Fascinating tidbits from their holdings.

Now, stop living for today. Go back and live in the past.

Happy Father's Day

My brother said it much better than I ever could have.

I said some stuff. Mine, though important, seems almost superficial. His is much more real.

This is not a "Dad loved you best" Smothers Brothers take off. Steve just hit the nail on the head. With the hammer he stole from dad.

Steve, we're both winners in this game. Except that it isn't a game.

Dad, thank you for your leadership, your faithfulness to mom, to the family and to God. Thank you.

Happy Father's Day.

More New Math

I like Car Talk on NPR. The guys opened yesterday's show with a nod to MoreNewMath.com.

The people behind MNM use mathematical equations to define words. It is easier if you just go and look.

Well, here's one before you go...

Pirate = Thief + Boat + Bandana - Leg

Enjoy.

What I've been up to lately

Last weekend the family and I went to Michigan (via Chicagoland). Here are some of the things we saw...

A pair of very dedicated NASCAR fans. I guess they like Mark Martin. Or something. I would have picked another driver, I think. This is at a cemetery just southwest of Indianapolis.

Another gravestone just down the way. I'm not up on my chemistry. A little help?

We stopped in Homewood, IL, for Aurelio's Pizza with some of Angie's High School classmates. No, I don't remember all of their names.

Later that night we drove to Battle Creek, MI, for a few hours sleep before heading out to Owosso, MI. Our nephew, Daniel, graduated from High School. Daniel is on the right.

Coming back, somewhere in Ohio, we stopped for gas. This American Iron Horse was on the other side of the pump. I talked to the rider and he was kind enough to let me take a few photos.

We arrived home very early on Monday morning. Just enough time to unpack and catch some shuteye before attending Caroline's end of pre-school program. She'll attend a few weeks of summer school and then she'll be attending kindergarten.

Angie and I spent part of Monday crafting a to-do list of around the house projects. I've cleaned the gutters and tonight I put up the new light in the kitchen...

Before

After

We're still catching up on our sleep and a few TV programs that we missed. Okay, one. In Plain Sight. Good writing.

So, I'm off to bed with dreams of another item crossed off of the to-do list.

Overheard

This is a transcript of a meeting that purportedly came from the office of Mr. Bud Selig.  I have not been able to verify any of it, nor do I know who else was present.

 

Okay, boys. The Montreal Expos. Poor attendance. What can we do about them?

Yeah, I know they were the first expansion team in Canada. But they haven’t won anything. And should they get hot again, like they were in 1994, we can’t afford another strike to crush them. It wouldn’t be good for the major market teams.

Besides, they’ve already done their part. The produced Carter, Raines and Dawson. It’s time to shut them down.

(unintelligible) 

What? We can’t just yank their franchise? Why not? I’m commissioner.

Okay, let’s play monopoly. No, not the Parker Bros. game. Real stuff. Let’s buy them. Get Loria on the phone. Have him move their management to Florida. Leave the team in Montreal. That’ll teach ‘em.

(phone rings)

Oh, crud. The Twins are on the other line. Seems that they have to play at the Humpdome. We like symmetry, and that will leave us with an odd number of teams.

We’ve got to keep them around for a while. What to do? What to do?

Let’s put the team in a better park. Hmm… Where to put them? What about Puerto Rico? I know a lot of their fans will visit them there. Not. Even if they don’t get more attendance, the ballpark down there is smaller and it will look like there are more fans because there are less seats. And San Juan is warm all year. In Montreal the fans come to the Parc Jarry in parkas in July.

(unintelligible) 

What? They moved out of Parc Jarry? When? After the Olympics? What Olympics? Why doesn’t anyone let me in on these things? Crud.

Any chance we can sneak a grinder into Cooperstown? That @#$%& Carter was inducted wearing an Expos cap. Spraypaint? Hey, call that punkrockpainter guy. Maybe he can create new postcards with any other logo. We must erase the memory of the Expos from the collective minds and history books of baseball.

Cattle. That’s all the fans are. Cattle. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting some sort of assurance that the baseball card companies will verify any game used material that they put on cards. Distance ourselves from that one, too.