We gave up watching some TV shows because they were lousy. Bad writing, bad acting, bad language. Didn't need them. Still don't. Don't miss them, either.
So, we went out and upgraded our cable from Basic to Expanded, with a Digital Package. What?
Angie noticed that from early June until sometime in the fall or so, NASCAR would not be on regular broadcast TV. Those moneygrubbing NASCAR guys.
Our local cable system had a deal where you could upgrade to the next tier for a very small monthly fee. Looking at our budget, we decided to 'treat' ourselves to the wonders of Expanded Cable.
We've already locked out a few channels. MTV, Bravo, SoapNetwork. Stuff like that. Also some of the uncensored digital music channels. I'm not crazy about having to listen to garbage rap, even when I'm just surfing by it.
So now we have over a hundred channels. We can still only watch one at a time. I've taken a liking to the SPEED channel (PINKS, FORZA Motorsport Showdown) and the Food channel. I thought that I'd be glued to the History channel and Discovery, but I'm still balancing out time. I don't really need to watch a documentary on the Medici brothers, do I? (I did, though. Fell asleep. Bill Curtis has such a soothing voice.)
I've been getting to bed at a decent hour (I can always use more sleep) and I turned off the TV at about 10:20 last night (mostly because Edison was complaining that it was too loud and he couldn't sleep. I used the same technique when I was his age.)
Maybe More TV equals Less TV. I seem to be reading more (that's another blog entry).
Maybe the real reason we got the Expanded Cable was to watch Mike & Mike in the Mornings on ESPN2.
I really do have a good life.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
Dr. Frank H. O'Connor's baseball statistics
I guess he wasn't a doctor then. Surfing over to baseball-reference.com I find that Frank O'Connor was a good batter and a lousy pitcher. He had a very short career. He debuted on August 3, 1893 and left the league on August 7. Thursday to Monday. He played 3 games for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Picked up a Save. That Save allowed him to be a Team Leader (with John "Brewery Jack" Taylor) in that category. Saves apparently didn't count for much when you had an ERA of 11.25 with just 4 innings of pitching. The team's ERA for the whole year was 4.68. The league's ERA was 4.57. He wasn't very good. The one game that he did start was against the Washington Senators. The Phillies won, 22-7.
But, he could hit. He had 2 At Bats. He got 2 hits. That gives him a perfect 1.000 Batting Average. One of the hits was a Home Run. That gives him a Slugging Percentage of 2.500. Impressive for someone, who I assume, didn't use steroids.
He was a bit of an anomaly. But aren't we all?
Picked up a Save. That Save allowed him to be a Team Leader (with John "Brewery Jack" Taylor) in that category. Saves apparently didn't count for much when you had an ERA of 11.25 with just 4 innings of pitching. The team's ERA for the whole year was 4.68. The league's ERA was 4.57. He wasn't very good. The one game that he did start was against the Washington Senators. The Phillies won, 22-7.
But, he could hit. He had 2 At Bats. He got 2 hits. That gives him a perfect 1.000 Batting Average. One of the hits was a Home Run. That gives him a Slugging Percentage of 2.500. Impressive for someone, who I assume, didn't use steroids.
He was a bit of an anomaly. But aren't we all?
Dr. Frank H. O'Connor obituary
From the Plattsburgh Sentinel, December 30, 1913 ....
Dr. O'Connor Dies Suddenly
---
Well Known Brattleboro Surgeon, a
Native of Keeseville Succumbs to
Heart Failure
---
---
Well Known Brattleboro Surgeon, a
Native of Keeseville Succumbs to
Heart Failure
---
Dr. Frank H. O'Connor, 43 years old, one of the prominent surgeons of southern Vermont, president of the Valley Fair association, member of the Congress of Clinical Surgeons of America and one of the leading citizens of the town, died at his desk in Brattleboro at about 3 o'clock last Friday afternoon.
Dr. O'Connor sang Thursday evening at St. Michael's Catholic church Christmas exercises where he was choir director and made his morning calls Friday, seeming cheerful to all who met him, although he had complained of slight pain near his heart for several days.
He was born in Keeseville, and was the son of David and Katherine (Taylor) O'Connor. He graduated from St. Joseph's college, Burlington, and spent some time in the School of Philosophy at Montreal before entering the medical department of the University of Vermont, where he became one of the leading baseball pitchers in the college world. He was persuaded to go to Dartmouth for the last two years of his college course. During his college baseball career he played summer ball in the Northern league and was well known in this city.
He joined the Philadelphia National league team but his arm failed him and he gave up professional baseball. He graduated from Long Island college hospital in Brooklyn, in 1898, and did hospital work at St. Mary's hospital in New York before going to Bellows Falls where he practiced until 1904, when he moved to Brattleboro.
He had always taken active interest in the welfare of this town and in January, 1910, was elected president of the Valley Fair association.
He was resident surgeon for the Boston and Maine railroad, surgeon at the Memorial hospital, medical examiner for several life insurance companies and Leo council, Knights of Columbus. He was a member of the Windham County, Connecticut Valley, and Vermont State Medical associations. Dr. O'Connor was a past grand knight of the Leo council and was state deputy in 1908.
He married, December 26, 1899, Miss Bridget Kelly of Burlington who survives him. He also leaves one sister, Mr. R.H. Nichols of Saratoga Springs, and one brother, David O'Connor of this city.
Dr. O'Connor sang Thursday evening at St. Michael's Catholic church Christmas exercises where he was choir director and made his morning calls Friday, seeming cheerful to all who met him, although he had complained of slight pain near his heart for several days.
He was born in Keeseville, and was the son of David and Katherine (Taylor) O'Connor. He graduated from St. Joseph's college, Burlington, and spent some time in the School of Philosophy at Montreal before entering the medical department of the University of Vermont, where he became one of the leading baseball pitchers in the college world. He was persuaded to go to Dartmouth for the last two years of his college course. During his college baseball career he played summer ball in the Northern league and was well known in this city.
He joined the Philadelphia National league team but his arm failed him and he gave up professional baseball. He graduated from Long Island college hospital in Brooklyn, in 1898, and did hospital work at St. Mary's hospital in New York before going to Bellows Falls where he practiced until 1904, when he moved to Brattleboro.
He had always taken active interest in the welfare of this town and in January, 1910, was elected president of the Valley Fair association.
He was resident surgeon for the Boston and Maine railroad, surgeon at the Memorial hospital, medical examiner for several life insurance companies and Leo council, Knights of Columbus. He was a member of the Windham County, Connecticut Valley, and Vermont State Medical associations. Dr. O'Connor was a past grand knight of the Leo council and was state deputy in 1908.
He married, December 26, 1899, Miss Bridget Kelly of Burlington who survives him. He also leaves one sister, Mr. R.H. Nichols of Saratoga Springs, and one brother, David O'Connor of this city.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Global Warming must be true
I grew up in Clinton County, New York. Plattsburgh, Beekmantown, Peru. Winters were cold and snowy, summers were warm and close.
Then I moved to Cochise County, Arizona. Sierra Vista. Winters were warm and sunny, summers were hot and sunny.
Then I attended two years of schooling at Northern Arizona University in Coconino County, Arizona. Flagstaff. Winters were cold and snowy. I spent summers back in Sierra Vista. See above.
The last few weeks it has been snowing wildly in Oswego County, New York. Over 100". That's snow.
But, back to my topic. Talking about global warming is all the rage these days. So I'll hop into the discussion. It must be true. I figured that there has to be evidence to to back the fact of global warming.
So, I looked at some records for Flagstaff. In one month, they had considerable warming. I wasn't there, so I can't comment on what it was like, but an 88 degree swing is huge.
Low
-22.0°F
(01/04/1971)
High
66.0°F
(01/30/1971)
Back to the present, in Knoxvegas. We had snow/ice storms over the weekend. And now, on Wednesday, it is approaching 65°F. Again, more proof that global warming must be true.
So, what have I been doing to combat the evils of the current political administration's efforts to turn us all into Miami Beach? Hmm. Well, the first thing that I can do is realize that the current political administration didn't bring warming to the globe. I figure that it is all cyclical. Actually, I'm glad for global warming. If it didn't happen, we'd all still be in the Ice Age. I haven't taken any jet flights to Europe or Asia. That has to cut down on some pollution. I recycle aluminum cans. And I started to use Compact Fluorescent Lights. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a six pack of GE energy smart CFLs. They say that a 13 watt CFL equals a 60 watt incandescent bulb. My initial thought is, "No, not quite." I put two bulbs in the kitchen, over the sink area. Everything looks grayish. But they also say that each bulb will save $38 in energy. That is based on a lot of different criteria. Each bulb cost me about $1.75. So, if I can save energy and money, great.
I'm not a tree hugger, but I try to do my part. And phffft to Global Warming.
Then I moved to Cochise County, Arizona. Sierra Vista. Winters were warm and sunny, summers were hot and sunny.
Then I attended two years of schooling at Northern Arizona University in Coconino County, Arizona. Flagstaff. Winters were cold and snowy. I spent summers back in Sierra Vista. See above.
The last few weeks it has been snowing wildly in Oswego County, New York. Over 100". That's snow.
But, back to my topic. Talking about global warming is all the rage these days. So I'll hop into the discussion. It must be true. I figured that there has to be evidence to to back the fact of global warming.
So, I looked at some records for Flagstaff. In one month, they had considerable warming. I wasn't there, so I can't comment on what it was like, but an 88 degree swing is huge.
Low
-22.0°F
(01/04/1971)
High
66.0°F
(01/30/1971)
Back to the present, in Knoxvegas. We had snow/ice storms over the weekend. And now, on Wednesday, it is approaching 65°F. Again, more proof that global warming must be true.
So, what have I been doing to combat the evils of the current political administration's efforts to turn us all into Miami Beach? Hmm. Well, the first thing that I can do is realize that the current political administration didn't bring warming to the globe. I figure that it is all cyclical. Actually, I'm glad for global warming. If it didn't happen, we'd all still be in the Ice Age. I haven't taken any jet flights to Europe or Asia. That has to cut down on some pollution. I recycle aluminum cans. And I started to use Compact Fluorescent Lights. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a six pack of GE energy smart CFLs. They say that a 13 watt CFL equals a 60 watt incandescent bulb. My initial thought is, "No, not quite." I put two bulbs in the kitchen, over the sink area. Everything looks grayish. But they also say that each bulb will save $38 in energy. That is based on a lot of different criteria. Each bulb cost me about $1.75. So, if I can save energy and money, great.
I'm not a tree hugger, but I try to do my part. And phffft to Global Warming.
A letter to ESPN radio
This is an email that I just sent to ESPN Radio about one of their on air personalities...
I'm a casual listener of sports radio. I enjoy the personalities on ESPN Radio, but today Doug Gottleib said something that was offensive to me.
He was a guest on The Herd (at about 12:30pm EST) and they were discussing that the public was stupid if they thought that Steve Nash was over-rated. A very entertaining bit with circus music underneath the callers.
Then Doug said that people with that opinion were "stupid. Short bus stupid."
My daughter has Down syndrome and in a few months will begin riding a special needs vehicle to take her to public school.
I find Doug's remarks, although not directed at me or my daughter, to be lacking respect and compassion and totally void of any level of professionalism.
I found it very ironic that in less than an hour, Doug (discussing the Amaechi self-outing book) said, "Is it so hard to say the right thing?"
Apparently for Doug Gottlieb it is.
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