Genealogy Humor and Animal Crackers

Yeah, that should catch your eye.

Years ago, I found a great parody piece of The Empire Strikes Back. The Modern Humorist site produced it. Very funny. And not edgy.

Warning ... some of the other humor at the Modern Humorist site is quite edgy (read: rude). I gave you fair warning.

And now to the Animal Crackers. Caroline (and Angie and I) have taken quite a liking to Stauffer's Animal Crackers. My aunt Shirley sent a container of the mini crackers. Caroline will say, "Baby Crackers, Baby Crackers!" We indulge her.

Nostalgia

Last post was a short trip down a very cluttered lane.

This one will be much (c)leaner, I promise.

This morning on the way to work, I heard some babbling radio psycho(therapist) discussing school lunch boxes. So I started to think about the lunch boxes that Steve and I used.

Mine was ...
Steve was much cooler. He had ...


We took them to Beekmantown Elementary School ...

That's all.

Eclectic Music - Part 1

I have some diverse tastes in music. I like classic rock, fusion jazz, Gregorian chant and a lot of stuff in between.

Yesterday I listened to the Yellowjackets self titled CD. I first heard of them at a Glad concert back in about 1986 or so. Their sound guy was playing it before the concert started. I had to go find out what it was. Now I know. Then, after lunch, I put on Asleep at the Wheel's Greatest Hits "Live and Kickin'". I was introduced to them at NAU in the early 1980s. It is funny how one remembers music and how it relates to a specific time or event. Similar to aromas, but with your ears.

Right now I'm listening to Chuck Mangione's Fun and Games. My brother got Feels So Good on cassette when it came out in 1976. He played it on a red cassette player. Steve introduced me to some other music, whether he realized it or not. Yes's Fragile, Frank Zappa's Hot Rats, Santana's Caravanserai, The Carpenters, Wings. Most were played on the Philco monster piece of furniture in the living room.

His first rock concert was Blue Oyster Cult. I think that Angel opened for them.

My first rock concert was Emerson, Lake and Palmer. SUNY Plattsburgh. I recently found a review of that show. Similar to what I remember oh those many years ago.

After moving to Arizona, the local FM station, KTAZ, was on on a tape feed, 4 hours of rotation. You could hear The Knack and then Little River Band and then KC and the Sunshine Band and then Donna Summer. 4 hours later, you'd hear it all over again.

Tim M., introduced me to the James Gang. Joe Walsh. What a guitar playing wizard. He also introduced me to Styx, Kansas, The Tubes and Billy Thorpe.

My senior year in high school I was playing bass for the Show Band. We were a working band, usually 2-3 gigs a months. We'd do shows at the Officer's Club at Ft. Huachuca mostly. We had 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 6 saxes, a rhythm section and about 4 vocalists. We did play the Tombstone Centennial Ball. That was fun. Lots of Chicago, The Association, Earth, Wind & Fire. That sort of stuff. Was introduced to the music of Maynard Ferguson. Not just his disco remix hits, but the older, late 1950s and early 1960s work.

Dan and Jeff M. played some 2nd Chapter of Acts. Mansion Builder, I think. Keith Green started to show up in my album collection as well as some Phil Keaggy.

On to college, it was more of the same, making new friends, and being exposed to their tastes in music. Paul T. liked The Cars and the Eagles. Jeff W. liked anything New Wave (Devo, B-52s) or Punk (Vom). And Jethro Tull. Steve O. (who was my roommate for my sophomore year) opened my ears to Bill Watrous, The Doors, Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Crack the Sky, Starcastle, Brian Eno, Fred Frith, and more.

I saw Doc Holliday and Loverboy open for April Wine at NAU. Yes, I sunk to a low there. But, my wonderful wife, Angie, also admits to having seen Loverboy in concert.

But this post wasn't supposed to be about concerts. That can be another post - who I've seen and who I'd like to see.

As I finish this portion of the post, I'm listening to Little Feat's Waiting for Columbus.

I should get back to work. I'll be back to link in some more of the bands later.

Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football

Updated to include the first of the two 2008 games.

I put this together sometime last year. It came out of a conversation with Ron, one of my vendors. I now post it for Mike and Barry, two Steeler fans.

1970-2008

Monday Night Football - Pittsburgh Steelers
Winner First, Home team in CAPS

Nov.  2, 1970   PITTSBURGH 21, Cincinnati 10
Oct. 18, 1971   KANSAS CITY 38, Pittsburgh 16
Nov.  5, 1973   PITTSBURGH 21, Washington 16
Dec.  3, 1973   MIAMI 30, Pittsburgh 26
Oct. 28, 1974   PITTSBURGH 24, Atlanta 17
Nov. 25, 1974   Pittsburgh 28, NEW ORLEANS 7
Nov. 24, 1975   Pittsburgh 32, HOUSTON 9
Oct.  4, 1976   MINNESOTA 17, Pittsburgh 6
Sep. 19, 1977   PITTSBURGH 27, San Francisco 0
Oct. 17, 1977   PITTSBURGH 20, Cincinnati 14
Oct. 23, 1978   Houston 24, PITTSBURGH 17
Nov. 27, 1978   Pittsburgh 24, SAN FRANCISCO 7
Sept. 3, 1979   Pittsburgh 16, NEW ENGLAND 13 (OT)
Oct. 22, 1979   PITTSBURGH 42, Denver 7
Dec. 10, 1979   HOUSTON 20, Pittsburgh 17
Oct. 20, 1980   Oakland 45, PITTSBURGH 34
Dec. 22, 1980   SAN DIEGO 26, Pittsburgh 17
Oct. 26, 1981   PITTSBURGH 26, Houston 13
Dec.  7, 1981   OAKLAND 30, Pittsburgh 27
Sep. 13, 1982   Pittsburgh 36, DALLAS 28
Oct. 10, 1983   Pittsburgh 24, CINCINNATI 14
Oct.  1, 1984   PITTSBURGH 38, Cincinnati 17
Nov. 19, 1984   NEW ORLEANS 27, Pittsburgh 24
Sep. 16, 1985   CLEVELAND 17, Pittsburgh 7
Sep. 30, 1985   Cincinnati 37, PITTSBURGH 24
Sep. 15, 1986   Denver 21, PITTSBURGH 10
Oct. 13, 1986   CINCINNATI 24, Pittsburgh 22
Oct. 29, 1990   PITTSBURGH 41, L.A. Rams 10
Oct. 14, 1991   N.Y. Giants 23, PITTSBURGH 20
Oct. 19, 1992   PITTSBURGH 20, Cincinnati 0
Sep. 27, 1993   Pittsburgh 45, ATLANTA 17
Nov. 15, 1993   PITTSBURGH 23, Buffalo 0
Dec. 13, 1993   Pittsburgh 21, MIAMI 20
Oct.  3, 1994   PITTSBURGH 30, Houston 14
Nov. 14, 1994   PITTSBURGH 23, Buffalo 10
Sep. 18, 1995   MIAMI 23, Pittsburgh 10
Nov. 13, 1995   PITTSBURGH 20, Cleveland 3
Sep. 16, 1996   PITTSBURGH 24, Buffalo 6
Oct.  7, 1996   Pittsburgh 17, KANSAS CITY 7
Nov. 25, 1996   Pittsburgh 24, MIAMI 17
Sep. 22, 1997   JACKSONVILLE 30, Pittsburgh 21
Nov.  3, 1997   KANSAS CITY 13, Pittsburgh 10
Oct. 26, 1998   Pittsburgh 20, KANSAS CITY 13
Nov.  9, 1998   Pittsburgh 27, Green Bay 20
Dec. 28, 1998   JACKSONVILLE 21, Pittsburgh 3
Oct. 25, 1999   PITTSBURGH 13, Atlanta 9
Oct. 29, 2001   PITTSBURGH 34, Tennessee 7
Sep.  9, 2002   NEW ENGLAND 30, Pittsburgh 14
Oct. 21, 2002   PITTSBURGH 28, Indianapolis 10
Dec. 23, 2002   Pittsburgh 17, TAMPA BAY 7
Nov. 17, 2003   SAN FRANCISCO 30, Pittsburgh 14
Oct. 10, 2005   Pittsburgh 24, SAN DIEGO 22
Oct. 31, 2005   PITTSBURGH 20, Baltimore 19
Nov. 28, 2005   INDIANAPOLIS 26, Pittsburgh 7
Sep. 18, 2006   JACKSONVILLE 9, Pittsburgh 0
Nov.  5, 2007   PITTSBURGH 38, Baltimore 7
Nov. 26, 2007   PITTSBURGH 3, Miami 0  *
Sep. 29, 2008   PITTSBURGH 23, Baltimore 20
Nov.  3, 2008   Pittsburgh __, WASHINGTON __  **

*   Lowest Total Score MNF to date
** (game not yet played at time of update)


    Total    Won     Lost    Percent
    -----    ---     ----    -------
Home    25     22       3      0.880
Away    33     14      19      0.424
All     58     36      22      0.621

Longest Win Streak = 6  (1992-1994)
Longest Lose Streak = 5 (1984-1986)


             times      Pitt.
Opponent       met       W-L    Percent
--------      -----      ---    -------
Cincinnati      7       (5-2)    0.714
Houston         5       (3-2)    0.600
Miami           5       (3-2)    0.600
Kansas City     4       (2-2)    0.500
Atlanta         3       (3-0)    1.000
Baltimore       3       (3-0)    1.000
Buffalo         3       (3-0)    1.000
San Francisco   3       (2-1)    0.667
Jacksonville    3       (0-3)    0.000
Cleveland       2       (1-1)    0.500
Denver          2       (1-1)    0.500
Indianapolis    2       (1-1)    0.500
New England     2       (1-1)    0.500
New Orleans     2       (1-1)    0.500
Oakland         2       (0-2)    0.000
San Diego       2       (1-1)    0.500
Dallas          1       (1-0)    1.000
Green Bay       1       (1-0)    1.000
L.A. Rams       1       (1-0)    1.000
Tampa Bay       1       (1-0)    1.000
Tennessee       1       (1-0)    1.000
Washington      1       (1-0)    1.000
N.Y. Giants     1       (0-1)    0.000
Minnesota       1       (0-1)    0.000

By Decade:
   games     W-L   Percent
   -----     ---   -------
1970s  15     (10-5)  0.667
1980s  12     (4-8)   0.333
1990s  19     (14-5)  0.737
2000s  12     (8-4)   0.667

By Month:
    games    W-L   Percent
    -----    ---   -------
Sep.    13    (6-7)   0.462  +
Oct.    22    (16-6)  0.727  ++
Nov.    16    (12-4)  0.750
Dec.     7    (2-5)   0.286

+ Pittsburgh had a 4 game L streak in the month of Sep.
(1985-1995)
++ Pittsburgh has a 9 game W streak in the month of Oct.
(1992-2005)

Some Food That I've Loved...

I love food. I like the way it tastes, the way it is presented, the way it smells. I don't gorge myself on it, I just like food. I like the food that Angie makes. I like the food that my Mom makes. I like comfort food. I like some restaurant food. So, I'd like to share a few photos of food and perhaps a few comments about them. No fancy alignment for the photos, just some good food.

This is a Michigan and fries from The Homestead Restaurant in Chazy, NY. I was up in Clinton County two years ago with Mom and Dad, Steve and Bettie (brother and sister-in-law). What's a Michigan? Here's the answer. Toot and Tellums, Nitzi's, Clare and Carl's. Those were the places to go to get a Michigan. I remember Toot 'n Tellums having a great selection of pies. The Homestead Restaurant also has some good ones. Mom had the lemon meringue. I think that I had chocolate pie. Someone else had butterscotch. Bettie?

We went to Arnie's Restaurant in Plattsburgh, with Jack and Janet for some pizza. I ordered bacon and onions. Too much onion.

Here's Steve getting a slice.

Then it was to Jack and Janet's for an evening of stories and ice cream.

We also got some apple pie from Rulfs Orchard. I've got photos, but so do they. We shared it with my grandmother. She like it. She also made some great Michigan sauce. Angie's learned from my mom. Three generations of great sauce makers. Can't beat that. My grandmother was a great cook. Actually, both of them were, but we lived closer to Grammy Aubrey, so we ate more of her food.

Then it was time to fly home from Burlington, VT. The folks took us over and we ate at the Parkway Diner. A real diner.

We had lunch and breakfast for the noontime meal. The Blueberry pancakes and bacon are mine. Mom had soup and a sandwich. Dad had pancakes and a malt or a shake. He always gets a malt or a shake (if they don't have a malt). If the spoon can't stand up, then it doesn't get full points on the George-ometer.

They were having a jazz festival while we were there. I found a hole in the wall place that served gyros. Very good. I don't have photos of the food handy, but it was very good. Another diner the next morning because storms on the east coast shut down airports, so we had to stay for the night.

All that, and more, two years ago. I still remember the sights, sounds, tastes and conversations.

But it was good to get home.

Unidentified Baseball Player

I was perusing ebay and came across this auction. It is described as a cabinet photo of a 1900's baseball player. The photo mount is labeled "Blair and Webber Plattsburg". Don't know if it is Plattsburgh, NY or Plattsburg, MO. Here are the photos. It is not my intent to 'steal' these from the seller, I just didn't want them to get lost to the ether when the auction goes away.



Edit - for those of you who don't like to read the comments, I've been informed that the location is NY. Blair and Webber still has a studio on Peru Street in Plattsburgh.

Bookmark this

I like to read books. Sometimes magazines or newspapers, but mostly books. I try to read some every day. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Currently I'm reading (among other titles) Elliott Roosevelt's The President's Man and Elfrida Lang's The History of Trinity Evangelical and Reformed Church. Gripping stuff. To keep my place, I use bookmarks. Sometimes they are the dust jacket slipped over the cover between the pages. Sometimes, I'll grab a baseball card, or a business card. Sometimes I'll just remember what page I'm on. Apparently, other people use stranger things.

I've run across an interesting essay about bookmarks from The Believer website. Simon Quicke has a blog about books and such. Some of his posts are about bookmarks. Although not bookmarks specifically, there is a wonderful blog called Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie. Lots of images. Let them load.

Enjoy books, not only for the words that they contain, but also for the family and friends that gave them to you or suggested that you read them. Remember that teacher you had in school, how he or she encouraged you to read. Delight when your children pick up a book. Delight even more when they carry it to you and say, "Daddy read." Read for knowledge. Read for pleasure. Read to take your mind off the pressing issues of the day. Escape into a different world for an hour. You'll be the better for it.

Noshville

NOTE: original text has been edited and photos added.

So, since this is now an edited version, I can get it to look better and tell you what we ate and why we like Noshville.

Angie and I are in the greater Nashville area for the Tennessee State Down syndrome Conference. We are representing the Down Syndrome Awareness Group of East Tennessee. For dinner we went to one of our favorite Nashville restaurants, Noshville. Since pictures are worth a thousand words and I'm tired, here are some photos. And no, we didn't eat any desert.

In 2004, Caroline had to go to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital for heart surgery. It was a very long three weeks. Angie spent most of her time with Caroline. I, being the lover of all things medical, spent much of my time away from the hospital, but did come up to see them every few hours or so. That's a story for another time. When you're in Nashville for three weeks, and you want to stay close to your daughter, you eat at the Subway in the hospital food court. While staying at the Ronald McDonald House, you eat spaghetti for the third time that week. Then you find a pizza joint down the street. Then KFC looks good at 11pm. Then you venture out and find a Turkish restaurant with rose jelly. Then you find Noshville.

I think, in reality, that Angie had found this place before I went out in search of food. She took me to it. Actually, I think that the night that I drove over with my folks and Edison, there were many people that took me to it. During our stay, we went to it with Debbie and Nancy, two women from our church small group that came over to visit. What I remember from when they came over was the fluorescent green garlic dill pickles that they serve up, like bread sticks, almost. I think that I tried one that day. Just to say that I did it. I don't remember. Dill and I don't go together. They gather the pickles from a big tub and what you don't eat, goes back in. Yum.
This night, Angie had the Reuben and I had a BLT. My sandwich must have had a 1/2 pound of bacon. I couldn't finish it. I had the chocolate malt (see above). That I did finish.


The fries are wonderful. Just enough crisp to bite into and just enough mush to feel good. Very tasty.

One other time that we went there, we saw Jackie Mason. Yeah, Harry Hartounian from "The Jerk." He was in town doing his act. If it's good enough for Jackie...

Their deserts are wonderful. Normally they have cheesecake from some deli in New York City. They didn't have them while we were there. Very good, though. We had some when we went back for Caroline's post surgery visit. I walked over to Noshville. Angie got a Reuben. I got a tuna salad sandwich. And cheesecake.

So, enough about the food, already. When you visit Nashville, you must go to Noshville.

The funniest people I know

We all like to laugh. Some of the people that make me laugh are Bob Newhart, David Letterman, Joel Hodgson, among others. But I don't know them. I like to watch or listen to them, but I don't know them.

So, who are the people that I do know that make me laugh? In no particular order ...

1. Don White - accordionist / entertainer
2. Doug White - Don's youngest son / piano tuning school friend / musician / tech geek
   
3. Tim Berry - marketing bigwig for major theme park in the south
   
4. Tim Mize - high school friend / dialysis technician
5. Karl Allen - former co-worker / programmer
6. Dan Marchant - high school friend and college roommate / programmer
   

These are all guys that have made me laugh. And still do. I think back on experiences that I've had with them, jokes they've told, things we've done together. Even though it has been almost thirty years since I met some of them, I still laugh.

Thanks for the fun.

can copy oem win95 Disk to DR:F (usb)???

Some spam is just too tasty to toss. This showed up at my work today. Read it slowly and softly. Let the gentle rhythm take you away to tranquil places. Then delete it.

Over the chilly dale.
Seen. What you know is only manifest
When I am heard, and what I say is solely
And off the white smoke swims
shortcake, waffles, berries and cream
Wheezing ravens, when
Dismal, endless plain?
No name, no meaning. Oh my friends,
Writhing their stunted limbs,
When Arctic winds crack down from Canada
By trees?or might see as the masonry
At these masses the snow hides from me.
Shadows keep piling up as surfaces
To run, as in the time of the bee, seeking
They move against, or through, or by, or toward.
This third day of our January thaw,
The form sought for centuries by
Stars, the last day, endless and centerless,
The winged winds, captives of that age-old foe

He is risen.

He is risen indeed!

Clicking to Give

How many hours are used clicking around on the Web? Think about it. How often do I start to Google something, then that leads me to another thought, and another site? And another. And another. It truly is amazing the hours that one can spend on the Web. I do family and history research. I don't think that the clicks are wasted. My wife does digital scrapbooking. Those clicks aren't wasted. But many are. I know that I waste clicks.

So, to offset those wasted clicks, I'm going to challenge both of my faithful readers to Click to Give. Here are some sites that provide an opportunity to Give by Clicking:

• The Hunger Site
• The Breast Cancer Site
• The Child Health Site
• The Literacy Site
• The Rain Forest Site
• The Animal Rescue Site
• What Kind of World Do You Want? - Watch a video, raise some money
• The NonProfits - A big list of many click to give charities

I'm sure that there are many others out there and I might not have listed your favorite. Well, you blog about it. Click already.

Baseball News

The following was lifted from the Clinton County Historical Association's monthly newsletter: North Country Notes, September 1965 edition.

    In an old notebook, probably of 1890 vintage, was found the score-sheet of a game between two Champlain teams. The "Shop" team included George Lambert, Fred Harmon, Amos Lambert, Eddie Roberts and Israel Monnette; among the "School" players were Ralph Douglass, Chalres Doolittle, Walter and Moss Graves. There were only two strike outs by the Schoolers, to six by the Shoppers. Although there were but but nineteen hits in the game, the final score was: Shop 22; School 29. The 58 errors in the game might account for many of the runs.
    In sharp contrast, the Champlain-Rouses Point game of Aug. 20, 1913, was very much of a pitchers' battle. On the Point team were Mero, Landry, Strong, Seguin, Tyndall, Brothers, Lattourelle, Hoag and Ryan. The Champlainers were Spelman, Dunn, Miller, Barber, Garand, Lafountain, Mellen, Coonan and Malcolm. Only four hits were allowed by each side. Ryan and Malcolm, the pitchers, went all the way; Ryan struck out 17 men and Malcolm fanned 23! The final score was 3 to 2 in favor of Rouses Point.

Base Ball Phrases - 1875

This item came from an August, 1875 edition of the Ticonderoga Sentinel published in Ticonderoga, NY. Some of them are still relevant some 131 years later.

Base Ball Phrases

People who are puzzled at the technical phrases used in base ball reports are commended to the perusal of the following definitions.

Field - The cow pasture where the leather-hunting is performed.

Base - Salt bags scattered around in the grass for the players to jump on.

Nine - A number of roosters in knee breeches that constitute a base ball deck.

Umpire - The chief baller--he bawls out "strikes." His other duty is to sit on the top of the bat and smell the ball as it goes by.

Judgment - The umpire's opinion after taking a smell.

One ball - What the umpire says when the smell proves unsatisfactory.

Strike - A miscue by the batter.

Put out - The fellow who tries to get it without pay five cents.

Dead ball - One which comes to life again after being buried--in the hands of the pitcher.

Foul - A ball which bounds just the way one is positive it will not.

Fair foul - A little one for a cent.

Balk - "A breach of promise" indulged in by the pitcher.

Stealing a base - Stuffing a bag in the car and walking off to the next, when the catcher isn't looking.

Beauty - A ball so hot that the second baseman lies on his stomach to avoid it.

Hot balls - One that singes the short stop's head as it goes by.

Fly - A ball which scorns the earth, and, like the gentle horse fly buzzes around in the elevated atmosphere.

Wild throw - Slingin at the third baseman, and killing a small boy in right field.

Beware The Robot Brains

I had to go out and get the oil changed in the Dodge van. The local Dodge dealer had a great deal for the change. $17.95. Can't beat that. On the way to the dealer, I passed a new (to me) thrift store. I hit it up on the way back. They had lots of interesting stuff at very reasonable prices. And it was clean. It looked clean and smelled clean. I picked up a few books, a magazine and CD. All for 2 dollars and some change. Two of the books are Lord Peter Wimsey novels. Dorothy L. Sayers' wonderful British crime solver and man about town. Strong Poison and Have His Carcasse are the books. I've read quite a few of the other books (and turned my mom on to them) but haven't read these. The last one I read was Busman's Honeymoon. It took me a long time to get through that one. I was reading it while Caroline had her heart surgery at Vanderbilt. I don't know if when I tried to continue on reading, I was associating memories of the surgery and stay with it or what, but it took me over a year to finish it. I'd recommend Lord Peter (a collection of short stories) if you want to start reading DLS's wonderful series.

I also picked up a copy of The Robot Brains by Sydney J. Bounds. The upper left cover is very similar to the one that I picked up. I found this image on ebay.com. The cover to the right is one from the independent bookseller's network. I don't think that I'll actually read it. Probably pass it on to my brother, who introduced me to the joys of reading Science Fiction. I'm interested into the evolution of covers for different printings of books. What first caught my eye was the different covers for Louis L'Amour's The Tall Stranger. I had four different covers, from the late '50's/early '60's through the early '80's. They went from a Clint Eastwood look, to a bare chested hunk firing a rifle from a wagon that is speeding out of control. I guess twenty five years later they were trying to market to a different audience. I made a color photocopy of the four different covers. It hangs in my office. I should scan them in and post them. A little look at the way booksellers perceive their market.

I also picked up the CD, Such A Pleasure, by Myron Cohen, comedian. The audio is a bit scratchy. My guess is that the producer just transferred the LP to digital format. I'd never heard of Myron Cohen. On first listen there are some very funny bits. I need to listen to it again. He slips into a New York Jewish accent and I haven't read any Leo Rosten in many a year, so I've lost my ear for it.

The magazine is the May/June 2005 issue of The History Channel Magazine. Civil War Snipers, 5 Motorcycle Marvels, Khrushchev Comes to Iowa and other gripping articles.

Adding to My Good Life, a bit a time.

Less TV equals More TV

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.

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?

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
---

    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.

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.

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.