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November 30, 2004
Just Because You Can Do Something...
Often online people behave in ways that they wouldn't in real life. After all we are all relatively anonymous, sitting behind our keyboards and don't have to answer to anyone in person. So people have a lot more freedom to do and say things that they couldn't get away with offline. But just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should do it. I'm constantly astonished by how little some people seem to think about the effects their words or actions might have. As if what they do doesn't really matter because they did it online. Well, just because it occurs online doesn't mean that you don't have to act in a responsible manner, that everything is acceptable or that there won't be any consequences.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:40 PM | Comments (0)
Slugger Labbe Leaves DEI for Evernham Motorsports
There's apparently any number of changes in the works at DEI including possible new crew chiefs for both Junior and Michael but since nothing is confirmed as of yet and several scenarios have been presented I won't comment on that until it's official - or at least a little clearer what's going on. However, what is definite is that Slugger Labbe is now director of speedway development for the #9 and #19 teams at Evernham. I wonder how many DEI secrets he's going to be able to share with Evernham to make those cars strong contenders at some of the tracks where DEI cars have traditionally been the ones to beat?
I was pretty sure that Slugger was going to leave DEI eventually but I'm a little surprised that it happened so soon. I was figuring that he might stick around into next season given that they created that new position specifically for him after he parted ways with the #15 team. It was said that he was given that position to try to ensure that he would stick around but apparently that didn't work. Of course I'm somewhat skeptical of some of what's been said publically by all parties in relation to some of what's been going on but that's a whole other story, especially since I have nothing to really support that other than wild speculation.
But I think Slugger will do well over at Evernham. I was very disappointed that he left the #15 team but he seems to be a good guy and I wish him nothing but the best no matter where his career takes him.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:08 PM | Comments (0)
My Favorite Simpsons Quote
The Simpsons is perhaps my favorite TV show ever. It may have lost something the past few years but it is still very funny. But my favorite Simpsons quote ever is this one by Ralph Wiggim: "Me fail English? That's unpossible!" Something about that line just makes me laugh every time.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:04 PM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - Tulips
Tulips, 2004. When all else fails post tulips pictures! I've got tons of flower photos so they will be a frequent Photo of the Day subject. The colors seem off on this pic for some reason though it looks fine in other places than this journal. I have a few longer Photo of the Day entries that I want to do but yet again I find myself having run out of time and needing to get to sleep. Sometime soon...
Posted by silverdsl at 12:07 AM | Comments (0)
November 29, 2004
I Admit It... I'm Addicted... To Cheese!
The President of the Physicians Committee on Responsible Medicine says that cheese can be addictive because it can contain small amounts of morphine from cows livers. Well, I didn't need a doctor to tell me that cheese is addicting. I am completely and utterly addicted to cheese no doubt. I love cheese in all forms - hard cheese, soft cheeses, spreadables, melted cheese, all of it!
Placing a hunk of cheese in front of me, especially if it's one of my favorites, is a very dangerous thing because I can't stop myself from eating large amounts of it. Brie and Boursin cheeses are the most dangerous. In fact at Thanksgiving I had huge amounts of the cheese they had as snacks, maybe even more of that than of the turkey that was served later on. Luckily, I have a very fast metabolism so eating large amounts of cheese doesn't cause me to gain weight but it's still not healthy so I have to be careful.
But it sure is fun to eat all different kinds of cheese! There's a fancy restaurant in the city, whose name escapes me at the moment, which specializes in all sorts of cheese dishes. I went there for brunch once with my friend Aly once and it was so yummy! I would love to go back but it's pretty pricey so it's not the type of place I can afford to go to often. Considering my cheese addiction, I'm surprised I've been able to stop myself from going back! Sigh, heaven for me would probably be having free reign in a cheese store!
Posted by silverdsl at 11:56 PM | Comments (1)
Milton Bradley in Trouble Again
Milton Bradley, is completely unable to control his temper. He's already been traded once due to his inability to stay out of trouble and he's thrown more than one on-the-field temper tantrum as a Dodger. There was also the ugly incident in which he called a reporter an "Uncle Tom." Now he's been arrested for a second time for losing it during a traffic stop in Arkon, Ohio. In the past he served three days in jail and I thought he underwent anger management counseling but he doesn't seem to have learned his lesson.
If not for his tremendous baseball talent and that there are teams that believe that he could develop into a superstar, his behavior wouldn't be tolerated. Some people look at his antics with amusement but if he were anyone else other than a good baseball player acting out like this most would probably think he's crazy. I think if he weren't a baseball player he'd be getting into a lot worse trouble too.
I also tend to think that what has been reported about Bradley publically probably just scratches the surface of the times that he loses it and acts out. Folks like that who seem to have such short tempers lose their minds over the smallest things and that can be very dangerous. I hope I'm wrong but I have the feeling that at some point in the future Bradley will be front-page news but it won't be due to his on-the-field accomplishments.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)
Should Newspapers Print Photos of Illegal Activities?
Photos of Drug Addict Shooting Up Creates Controversy
Rob Finch, an award-winning photographer, took a series of photos of a homeless drug addict going about her day-to-day life for an article in The Oregonian. Some of the photos he took included ones of her shooting heroin which were subsequently printed in the paper after some internal debate by the paper's editorial staff. The controvery over these photos is two-fold. One, what was Finch's responsibility to stop this woman from engaging in illegal activity and whether he was a party to what she was doing by being there taking photos without intervening. And second, should the paper have published the photos?
On the first issue while Finch was with the woman he stressed that he didn't want her to do anything different than she normally would when he was around and using and selling drugs was part of her day-to-day routine. So apparently if he was going to get an honest portrayal of her, this was part of the package. In addition, Finch says he spoke to her more than once, concerned about her safety but he realized that he was there to document, not save her. More than that, even if Finch were to intervene and stop her from shooting up while he was there to take pictures of her more than likely she would have just saved the drugs until when he wasn't around. A photographer who is there for just one day could not possibly say or do anything to prevent this woman from being homeless or a drug addict. Finch had a job to do which was to document this woman's life, which as one might expect from a homeless drug addict often isn't pretty.
As for the second issue one concern that the paper had was that the most common heroin addict in that area is not African-American females but white males so they felt this might not be an accurate portrayal of the average heroin addict and might contribute to racial stereotyping. But as noted in the column this was a woman who wanted her story told and publishing the photos gives light to a problem that exists and effects many people of all different backgrounds. The paper made sure to mention prominantly that the most common heroin addict in the area are white males so they found a way to handle that issue. The other concern was probably that it might be irresponsible to publish photos of illegal activity but as one of the editors points out they shouldn't be covering up problems in their community. The photographer in question did nothing to encourage the illegal activity, he simply documented it. Which is what the paper is doing, reporting on a segment of the population that doesn't get much attention.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:33 PM | Comments (0)
A-Rod's Profits from "Ultimate Experience" to go to Charity After All
In this entry about Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds I talked about how outrageous I thought it was that A-Rod Authenticated and Pro Access were charging $7,500 a person for "The Ultimate Experience," an event in which fans get up-close and personal with A-Rod and Bonds. What bothered me most of all is that these are two of the highest paid players in baseball and here they still felt the need to do a high-priced event to take in even more money. Well, in the case of Alex Rodriguez at least all the proceeds will go to charity according to a column in this week's Sports Illustrated.
Considering that will garner one or multiple charities around $750,000 after expenses, I have to say that I'm looking at this event in a whole new light, at least in terms of A-Rod's participation. That's a major amount of money and that A-Rod is willing to give his time to raise money for charity is a very good thing. It will also make some fans very happy to be able to meet him and chat with him for a few minutes. I am very definitely in favor of celebrities doing whatever they can to help raise money for charity, even if that includes charging a high price for events that they appear at.
On the other hand, as the Pro Access managing director says in the article, "This event is squarely in the for-profit section of Barry's portfolio." I ask as I did back when I first heard of this event - why does Bonds need more money on top of what he already earns? It makes him look even worse that A-Rod is donating his share of the proceeds. It's been said before that Bonds is a selfish and unpleasant person and this sure doesn't make me think any better of him. There is no rule that says that a player has to donate to charity and Bonds may donate to various causes without anyone ever knowing but it just seems like there are a lot better places for $750,000 to go than Bonds' pocket.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - Unusual Bicycle
Cape May, New Jersey, 2002. Here's a close-up of a very unusual bike which I saw on one of my trips to Cape May. It had all sorts of sea glass, shells and other beach found objects embedded in the frame. Definitely perfect for someone who lives by the ocean! It was just so creative how the owner decorated this bike.
I did wonder if they had found all that sea glass or bought it somewhere. Jewelry made out of sea glass is pretty popular these days so a lot of places sell sea glass or more commonly sea glass imitations. It would certainly have been a labor of love to have collected all that sea glass for the bike because with that much of it finding all of it would have taken forever. So I tend to think they bought it in bulk somewhere.
At any rate, it was a great bike and I wish I could have found the owner somewhere to find out how they created it.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:08 AM | Comments (0)
November 28, 2004
Truck Series Banquet
The truck series banquet was last Saturday night and tonight Speed showed the tape of it. I got to say that even though there are a lot more interesting people who were at the Truck Series Banquet than at all the banquets I've been to, just because it's Nascar related doesn't make it any less boring than most other banquets. It was cool to see the drivers dressed up but everything seemed so stiff and rehearsed. It was probably better in person and I'm sure it was super-edited for TV but I guess I was expecting a little more. David Reutimann did give a nice speech but the others... well, maybe they just aren't used to giving speeches but with all the interviews they give you'd think they'd all be pretty good at public speaking.
The one part that did seem spontaneous was when Steve Park was announced as the Most Popular Driver. He won both MPDs, the one the fans vote on and the one that his fellow drivers vote on. I believe it was the second one that was announced at the banquet and the introduction that Steve was given was just so nice. The guy introducing him spoke so highly of him and talked all about how much he's overcome, how highly everyone in the garage area thinks of him and what a fine person he is. Steve seemed genuinely suprised and thrilled that he won the award and that was so awesome to see! That had to mean more than any other award he could possibly get to receive one that was voted on by his peers.
Steve really did seem so happy in his two appearances on stage and that was a good thing to see. I did feel for him at one point though. When the top ten drivers go up on stage they are given a check and the amount is announced. So Steve got a check for 57,000 for his 9th place finish in the points. I noticed a look of surprise cross his face. I'm not sure why that was but I couldn't help but think about how $57,000 for his cumulative finish for the entire season is less than what he used to get for one race last season in Cup. Then after you take out the money that Orleans Racing gets and taxes, that doesn't leave a lot. Granted Steve has earned a boatload of money throughout his racing career, but it has to sting a little to earn so much less now in spite of working just as hard.
Cup banquet up next.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)
Busy, Busy Busy!
So this was an extremely busy past few days for me. I think I need a vacation from my vacation!
Thanksgiving was spent with Jim's family at his father's house which was fun. Aside from eating lots of food, we watched a bunch of football and engaged in a family Thanksgiving tradition which was to play the card game, Hearts. Playing cards seems to make my head hurt, probably because of my learning disability, especially after I've had a bit to drink like on Thursday so I just watched but maybe one of these times I'll join in.
On Friday we were supossed to go up to my parents house in Connecticut which we eventually ended up doing but first we had to rush Jim's dog, Bailey to the vet for emergency surgery. Somehow he developed a kidney/bladder problem that prevented him from peeing so that had to be taken care of asap. Luckily, Bailey is going to be fine as the surgery fixed him up completely and the vet said he's already wagging his tail and snuffling down his food. Unfortunately the cost of doing surgery brings almost as many tears as thinking about what might have happened if we didn't do the surgery. But he's going to be fine thankfully and that's what's most important.
Eventually we made our way up to my parents for our second celebration of Thanksgiving on Friday night which was nice. My Mom loves to cook, especially creative dishes, so she made a great dinner for us. Especially good were her potato pancakes and the homemake candy bars she made for dessert. On Saturday my Mom and I did our annual big shopping trip. Normally we go outlet shopping but that didn't work out so we went to the mall and a bunch of other stores in Connecticut and I ended up getting a couple of shirts.
Then on our way back to New Jersey on Saturday night Jim and I stopped by the Woodbury Common Outlets so I could to go the Betsey Johnson outlet. Betsey Johnson is my favorite designer because she has so many funky clothes. many of which are embroidered, which is something I love. Normally her clothes are way out of my price range so the only time I can get anything is in the outlet store, where a lot of stuff is still pretty pricey. But I found a great little jacket that was pretty inexpensive so I got that.
Today Jim and I went to the christening of his baby twin cousins in the city. It was absolutely pouring all morning and very windy too so that wasn't a fun drive into the city but by the time the service was over and it was time to go to his Uncle's apartment it had started to clear up luckily. His Aunt and Uncle had fancy catered food for everyone and it was very yummy. Being that his Uncle is a bigwig in the fashion industry they led a very different lifestyle from Jim and I that's for sure! It's always interesting to be around Jim's Uncle because of that. For example, he doesn't just to to a football game, he sits in the owner's box. His wife doesn't just have a diamond ring, it's a rock at least five or six carats. But they aren't in-your-face at all about it like some people who have money can be. They are extremely down to earth and nice. Some of the other people there today were also people of importance in the fashion business so that was interesting too.
So here I am now, tired and worn out. Hopefully next week won't be too busy at work so I can recover from the past few days!
Posted by silverdsl at 07:06 PM | Comments (0)
November 24, 2004
Photo of the Day - Bailey
Bailey snout! I took this picture a while ago but strangely Bailey is recreating it right now. Ok, not so strange. He snuffles and sucks on his toys all the time - one of his most favorite things to do that doesn't involve cookies or a walk.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:09 PM | Comments (0)
Thanksgiving
So it's Thanksgiving and Jim and I will be running amuck... I mean around for the next few days. To his father's tomorrow, my parents Friday and Saturday and then to a Christening on Sunday. It's nice to have a few days off but I won't get to relax too much!
New blog entries will probably be sporatic both because I don't know how often I'll be around the computer but also because there probably won't be too much going on for me to comment on.
I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving!
Posted by silverdsl at 08:44 PM | Comments (0)
Curt Schilling and That Which Must Not be Discussed
Curt Schilling, Ace Pitcher of the Boston Red Sox and lover of internet message boards, made some very interesting comments on one such forum last week (not SoSH or NYYFans) in response to some heat he was taking there. One item in particular, Gehrig 38, as he's known on the boards, mentioned would especially be of interest to Yankee fans but G38 specifically mentioned not once but twice that what he was posting was to stay on that particular forum and was only to be discussed there.
Schilling will say what he wants, when he wants, but he does seem to care about whether people have the correct impression of him, particularly as it relates to how often he turns up in the media as well as whether his comments are interpreted correctly. But while I think he could do himself some good by repeating one particular comment from his post publically or at least on NYYfans.com where he was ripped to shreds over that particular issue he discusses, out of respect to him I can't post or repeat what he said on NYYfans myself. Or even here for that matter.
I've always wondered how Schilling can read some of the nonsense that's posted about him on the forums and not respond in kind. Well, on this forum he apparently reached his breaking point because he really got into it with one or two people there (and come to think of it he did lash out at someone on NYYfans once too). I guess because I like Schilling I happen to agree with everything he said, which again unfortunately I can't discuss here. Which is a shame because he touched upon a topic I happen to feel strongly about.
But I am reminded of some of what I said in this entry about Schilling and Michael Waltrip about how one reason I like G38 is for how willing he is to share his opinions honestly even if his opinions might not be popular ones. To often people are hesitant to say what they really think because they are afraid of what others will think of them. While it's always good to consider the impact one's words will have I also think it's important for people be true to themselves and express their opinions openly even if they don't agree with what the majority thinks.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:08 AM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - Flowers
2001. One of the rare photos of white flowers that I've taken that the white actually looks white and not too under or over-exposed. Just a random flower shot that I like. Not the greatest of all photos or anything but there's something about how close up the photo is that I like - the flowers were actually pretty small.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:20 AM | Comments (0)
November 23, 2004
Scientists Find 178 New Species in Oceans
Melissa sent me a link to this article and it's pretty amazing to think that although there are already over 230,000 known life-forms in the ocean, over the past year scientists found another 178. This is a huge project being worked on by the Census of Marine Life, an organization I had no idea even exisited, which will take 10-years and involved 1,000 scientists in 70 counties.
With how vast the oceans are and how tiny many of these creatures are there are probably countless other life-forms that are yet to be discovered in the world's oceans. Many of them are also unique to very specific parts of the world so if no one is doing any research in that particular area, they might never be discovered.
I find the ocean so fascinating. I love waves and the beach most of all but I also love creatures like starfish, jellyfish, seahorses and sea urchins. Not to mention all the colorful fish that swim around coral reefs and the playful dolphins and whales. Thinking about this makes me want to go to an aquarium!
Posted by silverdsl at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)
There is No Nascar Conspiracy Against Junior
As I've noted quite a few times already here there are many people who are unhappy with Kurt Busch as Nascar Champion. But I don't think I've been as stunned by any commentary as I was by Jim Worsley's on teamracin.com. Stunned because he believes there is a Nascar conspiracy against Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Stunned because he feels that Kurt doesn't deserve the Championship because of his personality. Stunned because he believes Junior should be champion because he is Nascar's most popular driver. Stunned because he can't think of a single kind word for Kurt or his team. And most stunning Worsley states "in my mind, and probably in most of his fans minds too, he [Junior] is really the 2004 NEXTEL Cup Champion."
There is no Nascar conspiracy against Junior. None. Junior is exactly who Nascar wants to win the Championship and sooner rather than later. However, there is no way that Nascar can overlook misbehavior by Junior or members of his team without losing major credibility. Punishing a driver for cursing in Victory Lane may be ridiculous but Nascar had rules that they had enforced against drivers earlier in the season so they had no choice but to penalize Junior in the same way. No conspiracy there. As for Steve Hmiel, he behaved in a way that Nascar deemed inappropriate. No conspiracy there either. Junior worked well with his replacement spotter on Sunday so while Worsley believes that it was Hmiel's absence that cost Junior a win on Sunday, the reality is that Junior just didn't have a car good enough to win. That Junior didn't win the Championship rests on his and his team's shoulders, not Nascar's.
As for the personality issue, the last time I checked a Championship is awarded to the driver who performs the best on the track, not the driver with the best personality. In fact if Championships were awarded on the basis of who had the biggest and most dynamic personality Michael Waltrip would win in a landslide. Yes, you want a guy to be able to handle himself in interviews but from what I've seen thus far Kurt has done just fine. He is much more polished than he used to be and while he may still be a raging jerk when the cameras aren't on, it's obvious that he and Rousch Racing have worked hard on making his public persona much more personable. And just look at last year's Champion, Matt Kenseth. While I've heard he's very nice and all, he sometimes comes off as stiff and robot-like.
In a similar vein, Worsley seems to think that Junior deserves the Championship over Kurt because of how popular he is. It's very true that Junior is Nascar's most popular driver but the Championship is not voted on by fans. That's what the Most Popular Driver Award is for. Junior is the face of Nascar and perhaps their most marketable driver but he will have to race his way to a Championship not have one handed to him.
As for not having any kind words for Kurt and his team - well, I certainly understand not liking Kurt. He's done plenty to deserve some boos. But his team? What have they done to deserve anyone's scorn? As far as I know all they've done is their jobs and in fact performed their jobs on a Championship level. I think that means they are deserving of not only some kind words but some very complimentary words. Jimmy Fenning in particular, Kurt's crew chief made so many good calls this season and he is a big reason why the #97 team won the Championship. He should be commended, not put down just because he works with a driver a lot of people hate.
Thinking that Junior is the real Nascar Champion is the most ridiculous statement of all. Junior finished 5th in the points race. Not even runner-up. 5th. Even under the old points system Junior wouldn't be champion, that would be Jeff Gordon. Junior won a number of races and had a good season but he didn't have a Championship season. His team was too inconsistant for that.
Worsley ended this column by discussing his recent heart problems. So I feel a little bad about ripping his column to shreds. But a lot of what is stated in this article is reflective of what makes some people view Junior fans so negatively, the premise that Junior is the best driver ever, who does no wrong and deserves a win every week and the Championship and if that doesn't happen the whole world is against him. That is not a realistic outlook. I think Junior will be a Nascar Champion one day as he is an extremely talented racer. But he and his team will have to work hard to win that Championship. They will have to have a very consistant and almost perfect season like Kurt and the #97 team did this year. It will happen for Junior and it will be very sweet for him and his fans when he races his way to that championship, much sweeter than if it was handed to him.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)
Pit Bulls Cancelled
From Jayski's: # Pit Bull goes poof: 'Pit Bull,' the weekly NASCAR discussion show on Speed featuring a panel of print reporters, will not return for 2005. In an e-mail to the show's participants sent Tuesday, Speed Channel president Rick Miner said "we live by ratings and 'Pit Bull' did not make the cut for 2005."(ThatsRacin.com)(11-23-2004)
Yeah right, low ratings! I think that's just an excuse to cover the fact that Nascar was extremely unhappy with the tone of that show. The reporters on that show could be very critical of the governing body and I think Nascar didn't approve of a whole show to showcase them. It's true that the show could be way too negative at times but I think it's important that there is an outlet for even unpopular opinions. I'm just glad that all these folks also work for other media outlets so they can continue to share their thoughts with their audience that way. I don't care for everyone who participated on Pit Bulls but if not for some of them I think there might be some stories that would never see the light of day.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:34 PM | Comments (0)
"Maybe you can get your brain fixed."
Busch is the Champion, Like It or Not
Those harsh words above, which seem to question some folks intelligence or lack thereof, appeared in Lee Montgomery's most recent column on Nascar.com. I happen to agree with some of the other points he makes in his article about some of what some people are saying in relation to Kurt Busch winning the Cup Championship. But I have a problem with Montgomery insinuating that there is something mentally or intellectually wrong with people who don't view the C4C or Kurt Busch as the winner in the best possible light. Perhaps Montgomery was simply referring to the fictional character he was having a fictional discussion with in the column but given that some of the things that Uncle BB aren't too far off from what many fans are saying I don't think he was limiting his criticism to just good ol' Uncle BB.
While I do think it's ridiculous to think that Nascar engaged in some sort of conspiracy to give Busch the Championship since he's probably the last person in the top ten that they wanted to win, I also think that fans who don't like Busch or the C4C are entitled to their opinions. A lot of people have very valid reasons for not liking Busch due to some incidents he's been involved in, as well as his attitude problems of the past. He's certainly far from my favorite driver that's for sure. There are also very good reasons for not liking the C4C as well, regardless of how exciting it might have been in the final races. It's only natural that fans of drivers who didn't win are going to be disappointed. So I don't understand why Montgomery seems to think that everyone should just hop on the C4C bandwagon and love it or be thrilled that Busch won the Championship. Change is difficult for people to accept and that's especially true of Nascar fans who very much enjoy the traditions of the sport.
The fans who I think Montgomery could legitimately chastise are those who are going out of their way to find every reason under the sun to dislike Busch. The newest thing is that he didn't take off his hat during the National Anthem before Sunday's race. Busch says that he got to his car late and didn't even realize the National Anthem was being played so he meant no disrespect. But some folks feel that Busch deliberately didn't take his hate off.
Well, if you condemn Busch for his inappropriate behavior there are a lot of other drivers to condemn too. While you'd like to see everyone paying attention during the National Anthem and showing the proper respect these folks go through this over and over again and it probably loses some of the luster to them after a while. Steve Park, Robby Gordon and countless other drivers and baseball players have taken heat for wearing a hat or joking around at a seemingly inappropriate time but I'm pretty sure that they all still respect the country. As hard as they try I think it's difficult for these guys to do the perfect thing all the time so I wish that some folks would give them a break once in a while.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
Grilled Cheese Sandwich Auctioned Off for $28,000
Online Casino Buys Sandwich for $28,000
Ten years ago Diana Duyser made herself a grilled cheese sandwich and after taking a bite out of one half looked down and noticed what appeared to be the face of the Virgin Mary looking back at her. So for the past ten years she has kept the sandwich sealed in a plastic bag until deciding to auction it off on Ebay, where it has just been sold to an online casino, GoldenPalace.com, who said they were willing to bid any amount of money to get it and that they would use it to raise money for charity.
Duyser says that by some "miracle" the sandwich never got moldy over the past ten years and seemed to preserve itself. She also says that she feels like she was blessed during the time that she had the sandwich as she won $70,000 from various casinos during the time the sandwich has been in her possession. I have no idea why she might have decided to auction off the sandwich after ten years but it is interesting to note that she enjoys spending time in casinos. Also of interest is that the winner of this auction is also a casino - perhaps trying to get a little business from Duyser? Either way their business will benefit from winning this auction.
Certainly they will garner themselves a nice share of publicity as the Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich has attracted quite a bit of media attention including a link on Yahoo's front page. I would guess the articles they will be mentioned in will probably be worth the $28,000 they spent. Buying ad space, something I'm not sure they could even do, from all of the media outlets who will mention this even in passing, would surely cost them even more than $28,000.
There also appears to be quite a little industry that has sprung up around the Virgin Mary sandwich as others are looking to cash in on the novelty of this item. A quick look on Ebay reflects that there are countless other related items such as replica sandwiches, t-shirts and outsider art that are also being auctioned off. Who knew that a grilled cheese sandwich could be such a money maker? I will have to pay more attention to my grilled cheese sandwiches before I eat them to make sure I'm not about to eat anything that could net me $28,000.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - Kevin Brown
August, 2004. New York Yankees vs. Oakland A's. The Yankees totally rocked Barry Zito to win this game. I got to watch this game from an awesome seat and I got some great, great pictures of the action on the field. I had a lot of fun going to this game, especially since the Yankees won.
A lot of fans are debating about how useful Kevin Brown will be next season to the Yankees and if they can and should trade him. Well, it's going to be very difficult to trade a player with his contract, with chronic health problems, who broke his hand by deliberately punching a wall. So I would say the Yankees are stuck with him unless they are willing to pay a big chunk of the money owed to him. In which case if they have to pay for him anyway they may as well pay him to pitch for them. According to his agent he's taking part in a vigorous off-season conditioning program so hopefully that will work to strengthen his back. When he's healthy he's capable of being an outstanding pitcher and as much as I don't like Brown it would really benefit the Yankees if he could pitch well next season. It's too bad that even if starts the season healthy, he's at risk of going down due to his back at any time.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:26 AM | Comments (0)
November 22, 2004
Have You Seen Bret Michael's Guitar?
Missing: One guitar belonging to 80's glam rocker Bret Michaels. Apparently after a recent show someone stole a guitar with a lot of sentimental value during a recent show Michaels did in Indiana. They are even offering a reward for it's safe return. I wonder if someone stole it to sell it or because they wanted a one-of-a-kind souvenir?
Poison was my favorite band in high school and I still listen to their music all the time. I even go to see them in concert still. They were never the best band musically but their songs are fun and they know how to put on a great show! I've never seen Bret Michaels do a solo show but one of these days maybe I'll go check him out as he seems to play in the New York area fairly often.
My favorite Poison songs:
1. Talk Dirty to Me
2. Life Goes On
3. Fallen Angel
4. Nothin' But a Good Time
5. Every Rose Has Its Thorn
6. I Won't Forget You
7. Ride the Wind
8. Unskinny Bop
Yes, I did have big hair in high school. How did you guess?
Posted by silverdsl at 11:25 PM | Comments (0)
U2 Gives Free Surprise Concerts in New York
Wow, how cool must this have been for all the folks who stumbled upon a free U2 concert in the middle of the city during their lunch break? Apparently this was done as part of the filming of a video for one of the songs off their new album but I'm sure it was a way to also promote the album which will be released tomorrow. I wish I had been in Times Square today!
I listening to the new album via U2's official site and it's really good! I still prefer their early albums over anything they've done recently but this is definitely one of the better albums they've done and it will surely be a big hit for them. Especially considering how hard they're promoting it via the Saturday Night Live appearance and the partnership with Ipod.
U2 is definitely a band I would love to see live so hopefully when they tour in support of this album I'll be able to see them if the tickets don't cost an arm and a leg.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)
No More Baseball or Nascar
Well, it's the Monday after the last race of the 2004 season and baseball is long over and I miss both already. Usually when the baseball and Nascar seasons end in the fall I at least have some hockey games to watch but now with the stalemate between the player's union and the NHL, there isn't even that. So now what? I can watch football, but there's only a Jets game once a week. And the NBA holds no interest to me.
I guess I'm going to have to check out what else is on TV other than sports. I like watching The Simpsons, Arrested Development and Desperate Housewives on Sunday nights but otherwise there doesn't seem to be much else on other than Third Watch on Friday nights and the various Real World related shows on MTV. Of course there's plenty of other stuff for me to do besides watching TV but most times I have the TV on in the background while I'm working on other things.
Well, I hope that there will be plenty happening with both racing and baseball in their respective off-seasons, as well as news elsewhere so I will have things to talk about in this blog!
Posted by silverdsl at 01:39 PM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2004
Third Watch
The Third Watch writers had a decent idea for a plotline with Friday night's show. And there were indeed some well-written and well-acted parts. But boy where there also some parts that were just flat-out bad.
The biggest problem can't be blamed on the writers as it was an editing mistake which was probably the biggest goof-up I've ever seen make it to air on any show. During the car chase scene the car being chased drove down the same road and passed the same two characters standing there twice. It was such bad editing that I would think that it's something that someone might lose their job over. Doesn't anyone care enough about this show that they screen it before it goes on the air?
The other problem to me was Faith arresting the father of the murder victim on suspicion of murder without a shred of evidence. It would be fine to bring him down to the station for questioning but how could she have him arrested with zero evidence to back it up with? Then they realize that he didn't do it and let him go without any consequences.
It was nice to see Bosco and Faith interacting again. Bosco sure does look good and have very few bandages for a guy who got half his face blown off in the first episode of this season.
I just don't know what kind of a future this show has. Half the characters seem like they're getting written into a corner with what's going on with them making it impossible for them to have too much of a future with the police force. Maybe it's for the best. Third Watch used to be an awesome show but I think it's lost something and I would rather remember the show as a good one rather than one that stuck around too long.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:48 PM | Comments (0)
Ron Artest Suspended for the Rest of the Season
Some feel that the punishement handed down today by the NBA Comissioner was too harsh and that it doesn't take into account the role of the fans in this ugly incident. But I say that Comissioner was completely justified in punishing Artest so severely. The suspension will be without pay so Artest will lose around 5.5 million dollars which is a hefty amount of money. If this doesn't make the players take notice and send the message that jumping into the fans isn't acceptable nothing will.
From here the police will decide whether to press charges against anyone and I anticipate that they will press charges against a few folks. I would also hope that once the fans who instigated this incident are identified if any of them are season ticket holders they will have their tickets revoked. I read that there has always been a problem there with fans taunting opposing players and that it's been so bad at times that some teams have asked security to intervene. I would guess from here on out any rowdy fans won't be tolerated any more.
I've seen the tape of this incident a few more times since Friday and it just looks uglier each time. It's truly incredible to me that things got this far out of hand.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)
Scientists Flood Grand Canyon to Restore Beaches
The construction of the Glen Canyon Dam way upstream from the Grand Canyon had a tremendous effect on the canyon and there have been many who have bemoaned the lowered water level as very detrimental. So today scientists flooded the Grand Canyon to restore beaches and save some plant and fish species that have struggled or disappeared all together without the sediment-filled water that once flowed through the Grand Canyon. There will also be some experiments conducted and it will be interesting to see what the results of those are.
What I'm reminded of with this story is that at one time the area behind the Glen Canyon Dam wasn't flooded. A number of months ago I read an article about how the water level has been getting lower in Glen Canyon exposing some extraordinary sections of the canyon area that had been underwater since the canyon area was flooded 40-years ago. I wonder if there are any websites which show some before and after pictures of what this area looked like? It would also be interesting to see some pictures through the years of how various areas of the Grand Canyon has changed.
This article also makes me really look forward to January when Jim and I will make a brief visit to the Grand Canyon as a day trip as part of our trip to Las Vegas. I can't wait to see what the Grand Canyon looks like in person!
Posted by silverdsl at 10:23 PM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - Kurt Busch
In honor of his Championship win here's a photo I took of Kurt Busch at the Dover race during driver introductions. He was one of the few drivers who seemed to smile at me a little when he saw me taking his picture but more likely he was just happy that finally another driver was getting more boos then him since Robby Gordon had just become public enemy #1.
Kurt's past attitude, something which he has appeared to work on at least publically, is definitely one reason why people don't like him. There's of course the incident with Jimmy Spencer as well. But sometimes I wonder if Kurt isn't very well liked because he's not that attractive. He's not a pretty boy like Kasey Kahne or handsome like Jimmie Johnson. Kurt's got big ears, he's goofy looking and until recently he hasn't seemed very polished in interviews. It shouldn't be surprising as appearances play a big role in how people are judged in our day to day lives so why wouldn't it be the case for Kurt as well?
Posted by silverdsl at 09:49 PM | Comments (0)
Kurt Busch Wins Championship - Fans Disgusted
It was only by eight points but Kurt Busch won the Nascar Championship on the basis of a strong finish in today's race. I'm far from a fan of Busch's but I have to admit that the entire #97 team did an outstanding job this season and they really deserved the championship. Today's race in particular was impressive. The team had to overcome a problem with a wheel that caused a tire to come off and later a bad pit stop. Both problems put them at the back of the pack but Kurt and the team never gave up and Kurt raced his way to the front, keeping pace with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson who were chasing him for the Championship.
I would have like to have seen Gordon win the Championship and if not him then Johnson. But I'm not upset like a lot of fans seems to be. If a team races well and puts themselves in position to win the Championship they deserve it. There was some controversy at times with other teams but I can't think of anything questionable that has happened with or to this team so personally I think this is a very clean championship win. I think it's a little disappointing that some folks are so quick to disparage Kurt, this championship and his racing skills because they don't like him as a person. I don't care for a lot of what Kurt has done either but I can recognize that he is a good racer.
My one issue with Kurt from today's race was that when he was racing with Michael Waltrip they tangled a bit and Kurt's spotter told Michael's spotter that Michael should have just given him the position given that Kurt was racing for the Championship and trying to keep up with Jeff and Jimmie. That's a real pet peeve of mine when racers think that other racers should move over and give them spots. Unless the person they're racing is laps down or has a clearly inferior car, then positions should be earned not given as charity. Needless to say Michael didn't sound too happy about that incident over the radio.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:33 PM | Comments (0)
Hmiel Losing His Hard Card Has Nothing to do with Free Speech
As one might expect Nascar fans and Junior fans in particular are hopping mad that Hmiel got his hard card pulled. I've seen it said that this is a violation of his right to free speech because he was sent home because he criticized Nascar officials in very harsh terms over the radio on Friday night. Well, Nascar isn't an agency of the federal, state or local government so the last time I checked the first amendment doesn't apply and Hmiel's free speech rights can be resticted any way that Nascar so chooses.
In addition, in other sports criticizing officials brings fines, sometimes very steep ones. In baseball arguing balls and strikes or arguing an umpire's call too aggressively will result in being tossed from a game. That can be followed up with other punishments. The commissioner's office can also fine team owners who criticize certain things as well. Similar things happen in the NBA and I would guess in the NFL and the NHL as well. So I don't think it's that outrageous that Nascar would also frown upon this sort of behavior.
I do think that teams should be able to talk freely on their radios. When drivers and team members curse or say things in anger I don't think they should be punished for it in most cases. However, I do think that there should be some expectation that these guys should behave as mature adults and have some respect for Nascar and for each other. I can't curse out my boss, my company or insult my co-workers and expect to keep my job so I don't think it's that insane to expect that the teams show some restraint when it comes to bashing Nascar officials who are just trying to do their job. A mistake might have been made but the time for slamming Nascar is after the race in the hauler, not over the radio when anyone can listen in.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:02 AM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2004
"Woman! Where's My Super-Suit?" - The Incredibles
So tonight Jim and I went to see The Incredibles which is an animated Pixar movie about a family with super-powers that's trying to deal with being retired as superheroes. As one might expect the animation is unbelievablely outstanding. There are scenes in which it looks real, not like animation at all! The plotline was very good as well. As Jim pointed out there were little things in the beginning that seemed insignificant that ended up being important in the end which shows how hard they work not just on the animation but the storyline as well.
There were some slow spots in which the movie dragged a little but overall it was pretty good. There were a lot of kids in the audience but I think that it's not really a movie for really young kids as some of the dialogue and issues that the movie tackles probably go right over their heads. I might have enjoyed it a little more than Jim because I used to collect X-Men comics back in the day and one of the central themes to those comics were the struggle for mutants to fit in and survive "in a world that hates and fears them," and this movie features some similar themes.
One of the funny parts to me was the kid who was an obsessive fan of Mr. Incredible's and how his twisted version of being a fan caused him to turn into a villian. "I'm your #1 fan!" Buddy said more than once. Sadly, more than a few of this character's statements about the things he did as Mr. Incredible's biggest fan that are influenced by what real life obsessive fans do and unfortunately sometimes those fans go bad as well.
One of the funniest lines in the movie to us was delivered by the character Frozone, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. An evil robot is attacking the city and he's looking for his superhero costume that his wife has boxed up now that he's retired and he just busts out with "Woman! Where's my super-suit?" Just the way that he said it and the conversation that followed, as he's throwing stuff out of boxes looking for it was very funny.
While Jim and I rent and buy plenty of movies we don't go to the movies all that often due to the increasing cost and because of how the experience isn't always that enjoyable sometimes due to the behavior of our fellow movie-goers. But this one was worth the trip to watch it in the theater instead of waiting for it to come out on DVD.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:08 PM | Comments (0)
Steve Hmiel's Hard Card Pulled, Will Not be Allowed to Spot for Dale Jr. in Season Finale
The details are a little sketchy but Lee Spencer from the Sporting News is reporting that Nascar pulled the hard card of Steve Hmiel, DEI's technical director and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s spotter. They also sent him home from the track which means that someone else will have to spot for Junior during tomorrow's race, which given how Junior has sometimes struggled with communication with his team over the radio could be huge.
Supossedly Nascar had a problem with some sort of "inappropriate language" used by Hmiel over the radio during the Truck Series race on Friday. Well, it must have been pretty major because I can't remember anyone's hard card ever getting pulled over and them sent over anything said over the radio. Which makes me wonder if there's more to it than just that. Cursing over the team radio usually brings just a monetary fine and that's only if it gets carried on broadcast TV or radio. Even when Junior cursed in Victory Lane earlier in the season he was docked points and fined but didn't have his hard card pulled. So I can only imagine that what ever Hmiel said or did was way more than just dropping a few f-bombs. I'm not even sure what team Hmiel was working with during the truck race but perhaps it was his son's.
A team that is going to win the championship just can't have things like this happen, especially when it involves a top executive with the organization. Junior's chances for winning the Championship aren't great but it's still possible and for it to happen everything has to go his way. Well, his spotter being banned from the track is one strike against him already and it's not even race day yet. I'm very interested to see how this effects Junior tomorrow and what the rest of the story is.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)
100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong
Bon Jovi's new box set, 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong is awesome! It's a four-CD, one DVD set of mostly previously unreleased material totalling 50-songs. Most of them are leftovers from recording sessions from past albums but a few were on movie soundtracks that didn't get much notice.
One might think that leftover means that the songs are subpar. But with a few exceptions, there aren't too many duds here. Jon Bon Jovi explained in the booklet that comes with the set that when the band puts together an album they record way more songs than they can use and choose songs on the basis of which ones will tell a story with a beginning, middle and end. So a lot of these songs just didn't fit in with the feel or story of a particular album.
The interesting thing is that with some of the songs the listener can tell which time period the songs came from as the sound of the band has evolved from the early days. So far my favorite song off this set is "Temptation" but there are so many other great songs as well.
It's hard to believe that Bon Jovi has been around for 20-years. Some would say that their songwriting or musicianship skills aren't all that great because of the genre of music they play but I say that the huge international success that Bon Jovi has enjoyed for years, as well as all the huge hits they've had, says that they can't be all that bad. This is a very hard-working band and they deserve all the success and recognition that they've gotten. I haven't gotten to see them live yet but I hope one day that will happen.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:09 PM | Comments (0)
NBA Brawl a Disgrace
During last night's Pacers-Pistons game a huge brawl broke out in which several Pacers players, most notably Ron Artest, jumped into the stands and started beating on fans because some fans had thrown soda and cups at them in response to an incident on the court. In handing down some indefinite suspensions to the players involved NBA Comissioner David Stern said of what happened `shocking, repulsive and inexcusable -- a humiliation for everyone associated with the NBA.'' I have to agree with him - there's no excuse for the way any of the participants behaved, not the fans and not the players.
I can't understand the attitude of some fans that they seem to think if they pay for the tickets that gives them to right to act any way they want. They feel they have the right to taunt and heckle the players, insult them, or throw things at them if they don't like what's going happening on the court, field or track. Well, just because someone shows up and pays for a ticket, or is given a ticket, doesn't mean that they are guarenteed the finish that they want. Throwing something at a player could not only injure that player but a fellow fan - why do people think this is appropriate behavior?
As for the players they are highly paid professionals and there is no way that they can be jumping into the stands to fight fans no matter what happens. Emotions run high for players no doubt but they've got to be able to control themselves. If one of them were walking down the street they would get arrested if they jumped someone who did something they didn't like so why do they think they can do this at a game? Perhaps they feel that their status as an NBA player will protect them but given the police investigation I anticipate that there will be some charges filed against some of the participants here.
Some will say that this is proof that the NBA is filled with criminals and thugs but there have been shades of this in other sports as well. At Talledaga earlier this season fans threw all sorts of things onto the track because they didn't like a call that Nascar made. At one baseball game there was a brawl between players and fans and at other games there were incidents in which things were thrown on the field. So there are some issues that need to be handled across the board in all sports regarding fan, and player, behavior. Of course the unfortunate result of all of this is that well-behaved fans will suffer as they have to deal with the increased restrictions from security looking to prevent incidents.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:32 PM | Comments (0)
November 19, 2004
Forum Party 2001 - The Visit by Roger Clemens
Some people stopping by my blog probably either came via the link in my sig on NYYFans.com or are at least familiar with the fact that I help Jim run the site. So every year we have a forum party in which a bunch of people from the forum get together, have a little party and then to go a Yankee game. This actually dates back even longer than NYYFans existed back to the days of the old Yankees.com forum when some of the same people had a gathering through that site.
So in 2001 the pitcher Roger Clemens, then with the Yankees, now with the Houston Astros (unless he re-retires), stopped by the forum party to say "hi." As you might imagine this was quite a thrill for everyone in attendance. Most Yankees with the exception of Mike Mussina aren't big on fan appearances so it was pretty unusual for him to show up someplace to visit with fans, let alone in a parking lot outside of Yankee Stadium. But perhaps not so unusual when one knows that one of our users at NYYfans.com at the time, was Roger Clemens' sister who was also in attendance that day. She had arranged for Clemens to give a signed ball to another of our users she was friendly with, CalifYanksFan, who was celebrating his 50th birthday via a trip to New York from California.
The funny thing is that every car going into the parking lot was as one might imagine charged $10 for parking. Well, the parking attendant apparently didn't recognize Clemens because he/she charged him for parking! Or maybe they did recognize him and didn't care.
Now I've detailed previously that I don't care for Clemens too much but this was a cool thing he did that day.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)
Steve Park Finishes 9th in Points for 2004
What a difference a year makes! Last season Steve finished 32nd in the points in the Cup Series but this year in the Truck series, in a quality ride he finished 9th in the points. If not for some bad luck, competely not of his own doing such as being wrecked by other drivers and some pit problems he would be even higher in the points standings. I'm so happy for him! Steve and the whole Orleans team have got to be thrilled! They should be proud of themselves for how hard they worked to overcome some of the challenges they had to deal with.
I know that Steve and the team are very disappointed that they didn't get any wins this season and I'm disappointed about that too. In fact early on it looked like Steve might have the truck to win as he battled for the lead with Matt Crafton at one point. But during one pit stop Steve's jackman fell and that put them laps down. He ended up finishing 23rd. I'm sure that jackman feels terrible. But while the pit crew making mistakes has been a problem for Steve this season, they have been very much improved the past few months. Even the best pit crews will make costly mistakes, look no further than Jeff Gordon's pit crew costing him the win in Darlington, it's just unfortunate for Steve that it happened during a race that he had such a great truck.
In any event, I'm just so thrilled and excited for Steve that he did so good in the points and had so many races where he ran so well. He seems so much happier and in such a better mindset in the truck series than he did in Cup and that is a very good thing. All signs point to Steve being re-signed for 2005 by Orleans and I anticipate they will be even stronger next season having been together all this season. I really think Steve will be in contention for the Championship next year and will win a whole bunch of races. I can't wait!
Posted by silverdsl at 08:54 PM | Comments (0)
Listening to Splender
As I'm sitting here typing I'm listening to the album Halfway Down the Sky by the band Splender. Most people probably don't remember Splender but they had one modest hit with the song "I Think God Can Explain." They put out one more album after Halfway Down the Sky called To Whom it May Concern which went no where and the band broke up. However, Splender will always be near and dear to my heart because they are a band that I knew way back when they were just a struggling band playing gigs in Manhattan.
Way back when they first came to my attention they were known as the Hidden Persauders. Their publicist/manager at the time sent the college radio station I worked at one of their demos and invited us down to a show. We went and were blown away by how amazing they were live so we had them perform live on The Local Band Show. From there there weren't many of their shows that we missed, we had them on the air a few more times and eventually we got to be pretty friendly with the members of the band, some of whom lasted longer than others. A few years after we met them they changed the name of the band to Splender and not too long after that they got signed to a record deal.
We were pretty happy for them but we knew that getting signed would mean changes for the band, not all of them good ones. From our point of view we knew once they started playing bigger venues it would be a lot harder to go see them and talk to them. But we also knew that the sound of the band would get a lot more commercial as the record company would force them to make an album that they thought would be a commercial hit. It's funny that bands get signed because they impress someone with their songs and the way they perform but once they're signed the record company makes them change a lot of the things that got their attention in the first place.
I miss seeing bands live in clubs. Besides Q-South, a band that didn't go anywhere but was one of the best live bands I've ever seen, there was no other band I looked forward to seeing more than the Hidden Persauders/Splender. Smile Orange was another great band we to to know a little and liked to go see a lot too. We discovered them through the Hidden Persauders. I don't think I could manage staying out until the wee hours of the morning and going to class or work like I did back then but it would be fun to go check out a few live bands one weekend or another if I knew which local bands might be some decent ones to check out.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2004
Photo of the Day
Old Westbury Gardens, Long Island, New York, 2002. Since purple is my favorite color of course I love to take photos of purple flowers. Lavender flowers like these are actually a lot easier to photograph well than true purple flowers. Some of the deep purple flowers it seems hard at times to capture the richness of the color accurately. But anything purple always catches my eye.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:13 PM | Comments (0)
Ricky Craven to Roush Truck? Fans Upset?
Jayski's is reporting that Ricky Craven may be named as the driver of one of the soon-to-be vacant Roush trucks in the Craftsman Truck Series. So I went to the fan forum on the Craven site to see what Ricky's fan were saying, thinking that they'd be pretty happy that their driver might have a full-time ride for next season. Much to my surprise most of the reaction was negative.
Now I understand that all fans want their driver to be racing on the Cup level. So some people naturally view the truck series as a step down. However, the racing in the truck series has been outstanding for a while now and increasingly the truck series is getting more and more attention. So while there is no doubt that the money is less, the prestigue less and the races are shorter, it's not a dumping ground for used-up drivers. It is a very competitive series with a good mix of both young and veteran drivers.
As time goes on it is harder and harder for veteran drivers to find and keep quality rides. This is an unfortunate fact of the business. It's possible that Ricky could find a mediocre Cup ride just to stay on the Cup level, but not only would he probably not enjoy that given all his struggles this season with the #32 prior to his release but struggling week after week does no favors for one's career. Just ask Steve Park. Instead Craven, if this rumor is true, is wisely choosing to do what Steve did and opt to race in a lower level but with a team that will give him quality equipment and most likely a chance to run well each week. Maybe Steve, Ricky and some of the other veterans who are racing in the Trucks will eventually get another good opportunity on the Cup level, but if not I suspect that they will still be pretty happy with the way things worked out for them in the Truck Series.
Posted by silverdsl at 06:24 PM | Comments (0)
Stern Hands Out Free Sirius Radios
Today Howard Stern handed out free Sirius boomboxes to the first 500 people who showed up at a rally he had. On hand he had another 20,000 certificates which could be redeemed online for the free radios. This rally was to promote his move to Sirius satellite radio in January 2006. Whoever thought of the idea of handing out free radios is a genius. They will get a lot of new subscribers from everyone who got the radios or the certificates. $12.95 a month, plus whatever it will cost to get the Stern channel if that's extra, isn't much but I suspect some folks balk at the costs they have to pay up-front for the recievers and other equipment they need to get Sirius (or XM).
The article implies that the start date for Stern moving to Sirius could get moved up as Infinity is upset with how often he discusses Sirius and the move on his show. Stern needs to do as much as he can to sell subscriptions so that Sirius remains financially sound but Infinity can't be pleased with him giving them what is essentially commercial time for free when he endorses them. However, given what a cash cow Stern is for them I'm not sure how early they will take him off the air unless they find a very good replacement for him sooner than expected.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:39 PM | Comments (0)
Drivers Prepare Financially for Life After Racing
Many professional athletes don't worry about their financial future after they stop playing. However, in Nascar at least it seems that there are plenty of drivers who have long-term financial plans in place to make sure that they and their families can survive after they retire. This is of course very smart as any number of professional athletes have ended up broke after retirement for a variety of reasons some of which I touched upon in an earlier entry about Cecil Fielder who despite earning many millions of dollars over the course of his career ended up broke.
I imagine it's a little different for Nascar drivers than it is for athletes in other sports because while they earn a lot of money in comparision to the average person, many of them don't earn as much as baseball, basketball or football players. In addition, the costs associated with racing are quite high. For example, since they are all independant contractors they have to pay sometimes as much as $200,000 a year for health insurance. So they probably learn pretty quickly about the importance of saving and investing money to be sure that they will be able to pay for the things that they need for themselves and their families now and in the future. Of course there's also the guys in racing who don't make the big money who will always struggle more than their peers so they know all the ways to make money go as far as possible I'm sure.
Many drivers have investments or businesses besides racing that they surely hope will be a source of income after they are no longer active drivers. Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin are just two of the drivers with car dealerships. Kenny Wallace and Steve Park have real estate investments. Michael Waltrip, Kevin Harvick and Rusty Wallace own teams of their own. So all of these drivers and others are planning for their future. All of these things are pretty standard in Nascar it seems but other than some athletes who get into music often you don't hear about too many players with side businesses while they are still playing.
The only thing that bothers me a little in this article that Jeff Gordon talks about how careful he has to be with his money. Well, it's estimated that Gordon earns at least $18 million a year. Yes, he needs to make sure that he doesn't spend all his money and go broke. But more than likely Gordon will never have to worry about paying the mortgage or how to provide for his family in the future if he keeps earning that much money per year. It just always hits the wrong note with me when a guy who earns millions and millions talks about not wanting to spend money (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) or how careful they have to be. They don't really understand what it means to worry about money like the average person worries about financial matters.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2004
Gordon Admits Probation a Ruse
In the first race of the last ten races in the Chase for the Championship Robby Gordon blatantly retaliated against Greg Biffle for an incident earlier in the race and ended up taking out Jeremy Mayfield and Tony Stewart, both of whom were contending for the championship. There was a media firestorm after the incident, especially since Robby had stated over his radio exactly what his intentions were towards Biffle. Many felt that Nascar should punish Robby more than they did during the race and he would be released immediately. Ultimately he was placed on probation by his car owner, Richard Childress.
As it turns out according to Robby not only did no Nacar official say word one to him about what he did, the probation was just a ruse made up by Robby and Richard to get the media off his back. Well, I've got a problem with that. First of all, Robby straight out admitted that he was going to go after Biffle. It's a fact of racing life that drivers will retaliate against each other but it's definitely not encouraged given how dangerous the sport is and drivers can't be annoucing over their radio what they plan on doing. But more than that it bothers me that Richard and Robby decided to decieve the media, the fans and everyone else like that. Having worked in public relations I'm well aware that often what is said publically isn't quite always the full story. But one thing we always tried to do was be honest.
At the very least admitting to it seems foolish. Why set yourself up to be viewed as a liar? At the time of the incident, Robby also released a statement expressing his regret for what he did - maybe he was deceiving people about that too and didn't really mean any of what he said. Once you admit to lying how can anyone believe anything that you have to say? Unfortunately the same is true for Richard. I was under the impression that he was a stand-up guy whose word meant something, but maybe not.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:40 PM | Comments (0)
Teacher From the High School I Went to Accused of Sexual Harassment and Keeps His Job in Spite of 20-years Worth of Complaints Against Him
Dating Back to the mid-80's William Merritt, a Latin teacher at New Fairfield High School has been the subject of any number of complaints accusing him of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior. Last year a parent filed a complaint with the Connecticut State Department asking that his teaching liscense be revoked. So the State Department investigated and just released a report detailing a settlement agreement which states that Merritt can continue to teach until he retires in 2006 but is barred from ever teaching in Connecticut or any other state after that. Furthermore he will have have to be monitored in the classroom and at extracurricular activities he supervises for the remainder of the time he teaches.
This is appalling. I went to this high school and I know what went on with this man. Everyone knew. That he has been allowed to keep his job in the face of numerous complaints lodged against him for twenty years is a travesty. Think of how many students have passed through his class who have had to put up with his behavior, many of whom were probably too afraid to speak out.
What's incredible is that everyone admits that this man has made inappropriate comments - the State, the school board, current students, parents, everyone! One current student said "Everybody knows they were jokes, I don't pay any attention." Guess what? A great deal of sexual harassment comes in the form of "jokes." Yes, there's nothing wrong with joking around about sex. However, it has to be in the appropriate situation. A teacher making sexual remarks even disguised as jokes, about and to students, many of whom were surely minors, is not appropriate.
It's not surprising in the least that there is so much support for this man. He is "responsible" for leading the Latin Club to victory in many state-wide competitions. But more than that there always was a very disturbing attitude towards women that was pervasive there at least as far as the student population goes and it appears likely that nothing has changed even 13 years later. Female students routinely put up with all sorts of abuse from their male peers and they were expected to, and often did, just laugh it off. Not just taunting of a sexual nature but also incidents of a physical nature. More than once I was myself the victim of some of this behavior, though much less than many of my fellow students both because my Mother taught in the school and many were afraid of her but also because I wasn't as likely to put up with garbage as some of my classmates. It wasn't just the horseplay at that time either - many of the students expressed during classroom discussions the ways they felt that women were inferior. So if not much has changed since then in terms of a shift in attitudes towards women it's no wonder that so many students support Merritt because many of them probably don't see much difference between the way he behaves and the way their fellow students behave.
In addition, as it is in any small town and even in plenty of larger cities and towns, there's a tremendous amount of peer pressure to deal with. No one wants to be the person to rock the boat and do anything to earn them the scorn of their classmates. There was plenty that I didn't put up with but there was also plenty that I had to just accept because the consequences for forcing the issue and trying to get something done about it would probably have been worse than just dealing with what was going on.
It appears that one reason why the State Department worked out this agreement with him was because if they tried to have his liscense revoked and failed, not only could he go on teaching without any supervision, he could also continue to teach for as long as he wanted past the 2006 deadline they imposed. It's truly unbelievable that in spite of 20-years worth of complaints they weren't sure that they would succeed in getting his license revoked.
Unfortunately, it's unlikely that anything else can be done now that there is this settlement in place. But the parents of students in this school system, at least the ones who care, have every reason to be outraged and upset about this.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:42 PM | Comments (0)
TiVo to Feature Ads Even as Viewers Try to Avoid Them
Most TiVo subscribers fast-forward through commercials, myself included. Well, now TiVo has entered into agreements with 30 of the largest advertisers to feature small ads in the form of logo-like "billboards" which will pop-up as viewers are fast-forwarding through the commercials. Viewers can then opt-in to the ad and their contact information will be forwarded to the advertiser for direct marketing purposes.
I don't pay any attention to TV commercials and I will ignore these pop-up ads too but it's still annoying to have one more ad shoved in my face. If these ads aren't that successful I wonder what the next step will be - what other ways will TiVo find to serve ads to their users? Would TiVo find a way to force viewers to watch certain commercials if companies pay them enough?
It's been said that financially TiVo is in some trouble so it makes sense that they are looking for ways to generate some revenue especially as they face increasing competition from cable companies offering similar services, but I would hope that they would take into account their users preferences. TiVo claims that 5-20% of all TiVo users will click on a ad or watch a commercial from their main menu but that still leaves more than 80% of all users who have apparently shown no interest in extra advertising.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:56 AM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2004
Photo of the Day
Cape May, 2001. I think this is a close-up of a lamp if I remember correctly. I was just looking through my photos and it looked kind of neat so I figured I would throw it up here. Most of my photos from Cape May are of the Victorian inns and houses but this is something a little different.
I like taking close-ups and abstract photos. Taking a photo of a piece of something rather than the whole can really create some unusual photos.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:59 PM | Comments (0)
Pedro Martinez Meets With George Steinbrenner
Today George Steinbrenner personally met with free agent pitcher Pedro Martinez in Tampa. There is no doubt if Steinbrenner is bringing Pedro to Tampa to wine and dine him then he has every intention of trying to sign him. And usually Steinbrenner finds a way to get what he wants when it comes to players he takes a personal interest in signing.
The vast majority of Yankee fans hate Pedro. He's known as a head-hunter and he has thrown at any number of Yankees. The 2003 post-season brought the fiasco during which he tangled with former bench coach Don Zimmer. Pedro is also known for being quite the free-spirit. But the other side of the coin is that Pedro over the course of his career is an outstanding and dominant pitcher. He has declined in recent years but he still remains an excellent pitcher.
Personally, I'm not as against the Yankees signing Pedro as most of my fellow fans. Yes, I don't like him too much but there have been other players such as Roger Clemens and Chuck Knoblauch who have worn pinstripes that I haven't liked. If they help the team win then their presence on the team doesn't bother me too much. And I'm pretty confident that a pitcher like Pedro could help the Yankees win.
Some fans feel that there's no way that Pedro would be welcomed into the Yankees clubhouse by the existing players. Well, Roger Clemens was also a head-hunter who threw at Yankees and the very people he threw at made a joke of it during Spring Training when he first joined the team and made it clear that they held no ill-will towards him. Pedro and Jorge Posada particularly have issues but Jorge himself recently said that it wouldn't be a problem for him catching Pedro. These are all grownups and they are professionals. They will put aside their personal feelings in the best interests of the team. My only concern with Pedro in the clubhouse is how he would get used to the stricter rules of the Yankee clubhouse as compared to the looseness of the Red Sox clubhouse.
My biggest issue with Pedro is that he is getting older and doesn't seem to be the same pitcher he once was. However, he will surely want both big money and a longer deal than I would feel comfortable with the Yankees giving him. I would be ok with a two-year deal but I could see Steinbrenner giving him a four-year, big bucks deal to entice him to sign. That would most likely be a mistake.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:31 PM | Comments (0)
This Bodes Unwell
Or it would if I were superstitious. Leaving work I had a black cat cross my path not once but twice. Maybe the bad luck will get cancelled out since it doubled back and ran in front of me again.
Actually there are a ton of cats on campus. There's an urban legend of a sort that the wife of the original family who the university is named after had a provision in her will that any cats on campus should always be taken care of. So everyone in the area dropped off their unwanted cats on campus. It used to be that the cat population was kept under control but the past year or so the cat population has really exploded.
I love cats so I don't mind seeing them out and about. But it just seems like you can't go anywhere on campus these days without tripping over a cat (or a squirrel).
Posted by silverdsl at 09:26 PM | Comments (1)
Reality Show Overload
Not suprisingly viewers are starting to get turned off by how many reality shows there are these days. At first it was a novelty and fun to watch some of these shows but now it seems like they are all carbon copies of each other with people doing silly things in the hope of big money and fame.
I like some reality shows such as "The Real World," "Road Rules," and any reality show that is one of the ones that are filmed somewhat documentary style. "American Idol" can also be entertaining. But I'm not really a fan of most of the "reality" shows other than "Road Rules" or "American Idol" that are more like glorified game shows than anything else.
I guess I don't understand why people allow themselves to be filmed doing crazy, dangerous, foolish and often disgusting things just for the chance to win some money and prizes, which often doesn't amount to all that much. I'd love to have a lot of money myself but I'm not about to humiliate myself on TV to get it. The shows keep pushing the envelope too in terms of having the participants do more and more extreme things to win. There have been people to suffer minor injuries on these shows but I anticipate a day when unfortunately someone is going to get seriously injured or maybe even lose their life through their participation.
At one time the winner of one of these reality shows might enjoy some fame and attention for a while but now there are so many winners due to how many shows there are that it's not that special or interesting that someone was a big-winner on a reality show. I would guess that not that many people remember who won the last "Survivor" or got the guy on the last edition of "The Bachelor." But a lot of people still have visions of becoming famous if they appear on one of these shows and having it lead to even bigger and better things. That might be true for a few reality stars like Jacinda Barrett from "The Real World" who acts in movies now or Clay Aiken from "American Idol" but for the most part people who appear on reality shows just fade away.
And fade away is what the reality genre is probably going to eventually do. Not completely as there will probably always be a few reality shows out there. But as more and more of them flame out when they can't attract an audience the networks will turn their attention to other kinds of shows. Sitcoms aren't doing too well these days either but maybe the networks will sink some money into good writers and breathe a little life into that genre.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:47 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2004
Museum of Modern Art Reopening
The Museum of Modern Art in New York City reopened today after a 2/12 year renovation. From the description it sounds really awesome! Saturday is the official reopening and it's free admission for the public. I'd love to go and check it out but I'm sure it will be crazy busy on Saturday.
I've always loved modern/contemporary art. Especially anything abstract. As a child my parents used to take me to all kinds of museums and I always like the modern works best. Especially the sculpture. Even today I still love photographing modern sculpture. But seeing all that abstract art at an early age definitely had an influence on me because the only art that I do now besides photography is pretty much abstract modern art.
I haven't been to a museum for a while but in addition to the MOMA I'd also like to go to the Guggenheim and the Museum of Natural History. The Guggenheim is another museum with contemporary art but the Museum of Natural History is obviously very different. As some might guess my favorite part of the Museum of Natural History is the gem & mineral collection. I just love checking out all the beautiful gems especially!
Posted by silverdsl at 06:19 PM | Comments (0)
Obsessive Fans Make Clay Consider Quitting
Apparently American Idol star Clay Aiken considered quitting music recently to get away from some of the pressure and attention of being in the spotlight. Now I'm not a fan of Clay's music in any way but I would hate to see him quit because he has trouble dealing with the way some of his more intense fans behave. I have a feeling every celebrity must feel like this from time to time. It seems like Clay was most upset about not being able to go out with his friends without a security guard and that's really a shame that someone always has to be there to protect him when he goes out.
That's an unfortunate problem that comes along with being famous that some people don't see because they focus on the glamourous side of things so much. There is a lot of cool things that celebrities get to do and get access to that the average person can't but on the other hand just doing simple things like trying to go shopping or going out to eat at a restaurant must be such a chore sometimes. I can understand why as much as Clay probably loves being who he is, he sometimes yearns to be a nobody again so that he would get left alone when he doesn't feel like dealing with the masses. It's got to be hard to always be "on," always have a smile on his face, always have the right thing to say. When he's in public he always has to be on his best behavior conscious of who's around rather than just be focused on having a good time with his friends or family.
It's got to be hard to connect with people that he didn't know prior to when he became well-known too. Clay and every other celebrity has no idea whether the people who approach him and try to get to know him want to know him as a person or just want to be close to and get a piece of Clay Aiken, the American Idol star.
Hopefully the joy he gets from performing his music and the other things he enjoys doing makes up for the negative stuff he has to deal with.
Posted by silverdsl at 05:34 PM | Comments (0)
Why I Defend Michael Waltrip and Curt Schilling
It just occured to me today as I finished up defending Curt Schilling on NYYFans and then followed that up with a defense of Michael Waltrip elsewhere that there are some parallels between these two despite them being involved in completely different sports. I think those similarities might be why I stick up for them so often.
Though both Michael and Curt have a lot of fans sometimes it seems like there are far more people who can't stand them. And often it seems like the reasons don't make that much sense to me. The very things that others can't stand about these two are some of the things that I like the most about them.
Both Michael and Curt talk. A lot. To any one who will listen and they are often found in front of a TV camera giving an opinion on one thing or another. This has come to annoy baseball fans in the case of Curt and Nascar fans in the case of Michael, most of whom think that they should both shut the hell up. Well, personally I love the fact that these two are so willing to talk to the media and particularly in the case of Curt, give some really honest opinions. Often fans bemoan the fact that their favorite atheletes are cardboard and emotionless but when you get guys who are out there in front of the camera showing some personality and saying what's on their mind fans don't seem to like that either. Part of what Michael does goes along with the job as he has to get his sponsors as much airtime as possible and he is outstanding at it. I am always impressed by how Michael both entertains during his interviews as he is often very funny but also finds ways to works his sponsors in as well. But it amazes me how often both him being funny and doing what he's supposed to do in terms of being a spokesman for his sponsors annoys people. It's also unfortunate how often some seem to mistake Michael's goofiness at times, Curt's antics and both of their tendency to speak at length for a lack of intelligence, which is very far from reality in both cases.
I also think that both of them have every right to express their opinions as they see fit. I will defend anyone's right to say what they think and it's really a shame that some people find it annoying that these two put themselves out there. I guess it might be due to how much I like discussing things and my tendency to state my opinions as I see them, regardless of whether or not everyone else agrees with me, is why I so strongly feel that there's nothing wrong with what Michael and Curt do.
I think often it's an issue because fans don't agree a lot of times with what either one has to say. Schilling plays for the Red Sox so many non-Red Sox fans therefore think his opinions have no merit. Michael often agrees with what Nascar does and many fans think that a driver's opinion isn't worth bothering with unless they go against Nascar because so many fans hate what Nascar is doing these days. Sorry, but just because a fan thinks something doesn't mean it's right - not only are these guys actually on the inside and privy to things that the fans aren't but they are under no obligation to only share opinions that fans agree with. Not to mention people have a habit of focusing on the the things that Michael says that they feel are kissing Nascar's ass and they often miss the times when he has opinions on the way that Nascar can do things differently. In a similar vein some fans ignore the valid points that Curt makes because they are so focused on disliking him.
Lately both Michael and Curt are also getting critized for their charitable efforts which I think is ridiculous. Some seem to feel that in Curt's case he uses his and his wife's foundations as a way to get more attention for himself. Curt put K-ALS on his shoe during the post-season which refers to his ALS Foundation, which seeks to raise money for the treatment and prevention of Lou Gehrig's Disease. Some feel this was highly inappropriate but I don't see how this is any different from any of the countless other things that players have written on their shoes, gloves or hats though the years. In Michael's case many feel that his Operation Marathon drive, which benefits the Victory Junction Gang Camp for terminally ill children, is a distraction from racing and that he shouldn't be devoting so much time to it. Well, I'm in favor of anything and everything these guys do to support their charities. I also don't think that in either case their efforts are motivated by trying to make themselves look good. In both cases these are causes that are extremely important to them and that's why they spend so much time doing everything they can to draw attention to the charities they each support. I think they should be commended for all that they both do, not condemned for it.
The big difference between Curt and Michael, other than that they are involved with two very different sports is that while Curt has enjoyed a great deal of success throughout his career, to the point where he's widely considered one of the best pitchers in baseball, Michael's success has only come recently and many people try to belittle it because of how much he struggled before he came to DEI. There aren't that many people, if they are looking at things logically, who don't recognize what Schilling does on the mound. But Michael's four wins in Cup are thought to be meaningless by way too many people who think that Nascar shouldn't count plate wins as real wins. Those people generally would like to dismiss his good finishes elsewhere too such as a 2nd place finish at Charlotte and a 4th place finish at the road course at Infineron this season as being because of the good equipment he's gotten from DEI rather than because of his own talent. That's the good thing about baseball - in Schilling's case no one can take away from him the many things he's accomplished because he's out there on the mound for all to see, rather than partially dependant on the equipment his team gives him.
Of course the other difference between Michael and Curt is that Curt goes to internet message boards to set the record straight and share his opinions. Eventually I'm going to post all about "The Schilling Effect" as I refer to the way his presence on fan forums effects the discussions, but Curt's habit of spending time both lurking and posting on fan forums has garnered him an extra amount of scrutiny, that Michael doesn't get. Though I have sometimes wondered if Michael does check out what is said about him on fan forums - in some ways given how he makes himself so visible it is a little surprising that Michael doesn't interact with fans more on the internet. Of course it would have to be done very carefully as that habit of Curt's has had a very definite effect on the way he is viewed both pro and con and in my opinion sometimes in very unfortunate ways. But personally while Curt's presence on NYYFans is a problem for us sometimes, I think it's pretty cool that he enjoys chatting with fans.
Really, I'm not sure why I even bother to defend these two. I will never change anyone's mind about either Curt or Michael. So it sometimes seems pretty pointless. But I still seem to find myself defending them anyway.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:07 PM | Comments (1)
Bonds MVP Yet Again
Barry Bonds has just won his 7th MVP award, his 4th MVP award in a row. He is the only player to have more than three MVP awards and is the oldest at 40 to receive an MVP. There is no question that his stats this season put him head and shoulders above every other candidate in the National League. He is most likely a huge jerk off the field but on the field he is one of, if not the, best player in baseball.
Now some would argue that this award is tainted because of the accusations that Bonds used performance enhancers. And I would agree that using performance enhancers gives him an advantage over other players, if he did in fact use steroids and/or human growth hormone. In fact, the HGH may be what is prolonging his career and making it easier for him to play at this level at age 40. However, performance enhancers can't give some one the ability to hit the ball. A player still has to have talent and I would say that whether he's unnaturally enhanced or not, Bonds is an extremely talented player.
What I don't get is what was going through the mind of the person that gave Bonds a 3rd place vote. Perhaps I can understand what some of those who gave him 2nd place votes were thinking if they were voting for hometown players. But a third place vote? Makes no sense to me unless that person was taking the steroids issue into consideration.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:51 PM | Comments (0)
It's Official: Gaughan Won't be Back in the #77
From Jayski's:Gaughan will NOT return to the #77 in 2005; Kvapil? Brendan Gaughan was told his contract would not be renewed with Penske-Jasper Racing [#77 Kodak Dodge], and apparently Gene Haas has offered Gaughan, 29, the #0 Chevy seat for 2005. Haas-CNC G.M. Joe Custer added that Richard "Bootie" Barker would remain as crew chief on the #0 and has a three-year contract. Putting Travis Kvapil in the #77 next season is coming with a price. Alex Meshkin wanted compensation for letting Kvapil out of his Bang Racing contract, so Kvapil is expected to run 20 Busch events next season in a Dodge.(FoxSports/Sporting News)(11-15-2004)
The writing was definitely on the wall with this one. I have no idea what this means for Brendan as the #0 isn't exactly a top ride either. But it would keep him in Cup and it can't be as bad as the #77 has seemed to be most weeks. I just can't believe that Penske is willing to give up on Brendan so quickly after just one season. Their loss will be someone else's gain as I have confidence that Brendan can get the job done on the Cup level if an organization has enough patience with him. If he doesn't stay in Cup I just hope he doesn't end up taking Steve Park's ride, his old ride, back in the trucks. I don't think that's going to happen but one never knows. It would be cool if they were teammates - they really seem to enjoy hanging out with each other.
As for Travis Kvapil, he was apparently telling people this weekend he would be running full-time in Cup for Penske next season. He didn't mention the #77 specifically but one could definitely read between the lines there. I wonder if Penske will have any more patience with him than they did with Brendan? Even the few races they ran him in at the end of this season in Cup it's seemed like they gave him a much better car than they ever did to Brendan. That really told me how little they think of Brendan which is really unfortunate. I like Travis and I think he's better off getting as far away from Bang as quickly as possible so I hope this works out well for him. But he should be careful that what happened to Brendan doesn't happen to him too.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:04 PM | Comments (0)
November 14, 2004
Kevin Harvick is Hated in the Garage Area?
Someone on the Harvick board claims that not only do most of Kevin's fellow drivers hate him but his crew does too. There's no doubt that Kevin has gotten into trouble with some guys on the track and that has probably made him some enemies. But it's always seemed to me that Kevin has friends among his peers. I guess it could all be for show but it has always seemed like there are guys that he laughs and jokes around with.
As for his crew that would be a pretty big problem if that was really the case. Because I think that his crew has to be able to work well as a team with him to be able to execute everything they need to do. While his entire team hating him would be something that wouldn't be public knowledge I would think that there would be some hint of it somewhere besides what someone who claims to have inside knowledge says.
I just can't believe that this person is posting this and some of the other stuff that they've said about Kevin recently on the forum on his official site. They've always been a big cheerleader for Kevin but I guess this person wants him to read this stuff and is posting it as a message to him like people post certain things as messages to Schilling on our site or SoSH knowing he will read it. But it seems disrespectful and inappropriate to be spreading rumors about Kevin as a person without anything concrete to back it up.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:56 PM | Comments (0)
Yet Another Round of Bad Luck for Michael Waltrip
Michael was apparently pissed out of his mind after the incident during today's race at Darlington and who could blame him? Yet again he has another run spoiled through no fault of his own. How frustrating it had to be to have Todd Bodine get into him like that and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Michael was so upset that he turned down an interview which is extremely unusual for him but he must have been afraid that he would say something he would later regret. I felt really bad for him seeing that clip at the end of the race from his in-car of him slamming his hands against the wheel of the car. All the frustration, not just from today but everything he's had to deal with this season was really coming out. Poor guy! Then after the repairs were made, I can't imagine what a sucky feeling it must be for Michael and the team to have to go back on the track something like 29 laps down after they finished the repairs and have to ride around knowing that the only way to gain spots is if others experience bad luck too.
Some said that Michael should be penalized for pushing Bodine around on the track instead of getting away from him after they wrecked. Michael was quick to say that his throttle stuck and either his spotter or crew chief said that there was a steering problem. But it did seem like he was acting out of anger and frustration. Bobby Hamilton did the same to Shane Hmiel after Shane wrecked him in a truck race earlier this season and it was so incredibly obvious that I was sure that Nascar would do something. But they didn't so I don't expect anything will be done to Michael either.
This season started off so dreadful for Michael with the huge wreck at Daytona which was completely out of his control, then there were other wrecks and mechancial problems all of which were out of his hands but really put him in a hole in the points. He was running well in most of those races too which only added insult to injury. To his and the team's credit they did an absolutely amazing job of rallying to put together an outstanding mid-season string of great finishes to bring him way up in the points. Michael was just so impressive the way he raced during all those races. Then suddenly they started to struggle again. It seemed like the cars he had weren't all that great or he was experiencing more bad luck. I just hate it for him.
Michael's got to be under so much stress and pressure right now. He's probably really anxious to get some good runs to finish off the year and end on a positive note. But that's not really happening. Hanging over his head is the whole business of his future, he's adjusting to a new crew chief, he's doing Operation Marathon which is a huge undertaking and there are probably other things going on that aren't known publically. All of it adds up to a situation that has to be difficult for everyone to deal with.
Next week is Homestead and hopefully he'll be able to get a great run to close out the season on a positive note.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:51 PM | Comments (0)
Omar Vizquel Signs with the San Francisco Giants
Omar Vizquel, considered to be one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball, who played for the last eleven years for the Cleveland Indians and for five years before that for the Seattle Mariners, has apparently signed a three-year, $12.25 million deal with the San Francisco Giants. I'm not surprised that there was interest in Vizquel once he became a free agent considering how well-regarded he is and that he had a decent year for the Indians but I am a little surprised on the length of the contract. Three-years seems like a long time for a guy who's already 37 since both his hitting and defense will surely trail off, perhaps by a lot by the end of the deal.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:33 PM | Comments (0)
Fears for the Future of the Titanic Wreck
I've always been very intrigued by the story of the sinking of the Titanic (well before a movie was ever made about it) and apparently a lot of other people are too. In spite of the fact that the wreck lies in very deep water, it has become a hot spot for underwater tourists and souvenirs hunters and as such the condition of the wreck has deteriorated greatly or so says Robert Ballard, the man who first found the wreck almost 20 years ago.
I'm not against people diving the wreck and exploring it. I'm also not against people who take artifacts if they end up in musuems or research institutes where all can see them. However, it seems that there are a lot of people who do not respect the wreck as an important piece of history and are just destroying it. Also, obviously many of the items being taken from the wreck are ending up in personal collections and not in museums.
Protecting the wreck will involve having a treaty signed by the United States, Russia and France, joining Britian who has already signed it. Ballard plans to lobby Congress this week to get them to support legislation to protect the wreck but I wonder how much success he's going to have? I would think that protecting a shipwreck far off-shore, regardless of how important it may be, might not be high on the priority list when there are so many other issues to worry about.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:19 PM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Outer Banks, North Carolina, July, 2003. This is an infrared shot of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Jim and I went down to the Outer Banks in the summer of 2003 and one of the things I really enjoyed was seeing the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse since I'm a bit of a lighthouse fanatic. It was pretty cool to see in person. I would have liked to have climb to the top but aside from it being a boiling hot day the wait to get in was several hours long so we opted not to do it.
This morning Jim and I watched a show on one of the high definition channels that had been filmed back in 1998 about the raging debate over whether or not the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse should be moved from it's original location to a location futher back from the ocean. Many were opposed to the move but it ended up happening so that the lighthouse wouldn't fall victim to erosion as the ocean was moving closer and closer. I remember when they were actually moving the lighthouse, a process which took 23 days, because they had a webcam set-up and it was pretty interesting to check it out from time to time. More information about the lighthouse move can be found here: Moving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
It's pretty amazing to think that they were able to move such a huge structure that had been in one spot for so long and get it to a new location where it looks like it's always been there.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2004
Truck Race at Darlington
Steve Park ended up finishing 5th tonight and moved up to 8th in the overall points race. This was really an awesome finish for them tonight and I'm very happy to see Steve now solidly in the top ten in points. Assuming all goes well on Friday in Homestead Steve will finish his first season in the truck series in the top ten in points, which is great. Maybe he can even move up a spot or two if everything goes the team's way. I'm sure it's not quite as good as Steve would have liked to have finished in the points and if he doesn't win in Homestead having no wins this season is definitely a disappointment. But considering how the season started for them, and that there were a few issues with his crew at times, I think things are looking pretty good for them right now.
In some ways they probably are lucky to get a 5th place finish tonight because of the mid-race call to not get tires when everyone else did. Steve wasn't happy about that call and they did take a risk that they would go down a lap like Jon Wood did whose crew chief also wanted to have tires left at the end of the race. Luckily things worked out exactly the way Charlie Wilson was hoping and with fresh tires at the end of the race Steve was able to race his way to a 5th place finish. It's definitely awesome to see Steve finish in the top ten so often as opposed to last year when he was lucky if the car he was in was capable of finishing 15th on a good day.
I had to feel bad for Bobby Hamilton. In the last laps of the race his son, Bobby Hamilton, Jr., was right in front of him and missed a shift or something similar on a restart and Sr. couldn't help but get into him. Which resulted in a very hard wreck for Jr. though he was apparently ok afterwards. It was very clear that Sr. was extremely upset after the race and I felt bad for him that no one from his team stepped in when Wendy Norris wanted to interview him. Wasn't there a PR person to run interferance? Bobby Hamilton Sr. pretty much has the truck championship wrapped up now but I'm sure he would give that back to have not wrecked his son - that had to be the worst feeling in the world but there was nothing he could do to avoid it.
Hard to believe that the season is already just about over. It would be sweet to see Steve win on Friday in Homestead to finish out the season.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:22 PM | Comments (0)
November 12, 2004
Feed Me Face
We went out to eat tonight at this Irish pub that we like the next town over. So one of the regulars comes in and he's this blind man in his 70's at least and he's with his sister and his guide dog, a huge German Shephard. So they sat across from us and the dog laid down next to their table facing us. Immediately the dog spotted us eating our burgers and put his head between his paws and made his cutest, begging "feed me" face. Which was just so hysterical to see. I wish I had a camera with me to take its photo. The dog was really dying to get a piece of our burgers but that wasn't happening.
Michael's Roscommon is a place that Jim's dad first took him to and we've been going ourselves ever since. The burgers there are absolutely delicious. But even better are the perogies, which are home-made by nuns in a nunnery. I love getting them with some fried onions and sour cream. Sometimes I also have them with apple sauce. Yum! Once we went and the nuns were on vacation for two weeks so there were no perogies and I was pretty disappointed since I had been thinking about getting those perogies all day. I've never had any as good anywhere else. Those nuns really know how to make perogies!
Posted by silverdsl at 10:58 PM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day
Andy Pettitte. August 19, 2000. New York Yankees vs. Anaheim Angels. This was a particularly good day for picture taking so a lot of the photos I took that day will probably show up here eventually. I ended up being able to sit pretty close to the field so I got some nice action shots. I took some good shots of Andy pitching the year prior but I especially like this shot because I caught him mid-motion.
It's amazing sometimes how the pitchers contort their bodies. Sometimes it looks like they're made out of elastic. The pitching motion puts a lot of stress on the pitchers bodies because it's not a natural motion. So the day after they've pitched a lot of times pitchers have all sorts of aches and pains especially as they grow older. But it's the nagging injuries and sharp pains that wont go away that finally do them in.
Andy pitched for the Yankees from 1995 through 2003 and was a big contributor to the Yankees success during those years. When he became a free agent at the end of the 2003 season they offered him a new deal but his hometown Houston Astros offered him a much more attractive deal so he signed with them. As it turned out it was a good thing that the Yankees didn't re-sign Pettitte as much as it pained a lot of fans because he had elbow problems more than once during the 2004 season and ended up having to undergo season ending surgery in August.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)
Randy Johnson Wants Out of Arizona
Apparently not pleased with how dreadful the Diamondbacks are and not encouraged that they will improve any time in the near future, Randy Johnson would like to be traded elsewhere. Or so says his agent to The Sporting News. Johnson had a very good season in 2004 and pitched a perfect game but he didn't fare well in the NL Cy Young voting and one reason for that is because he plays for such a bad team. They probably also cost him some wins. So Johnson would probably like to end his career with a contender.
A few years ago I would have loved to have seen the Yankees get Johnson as he's always been one of my favorite pitchers. He can be so dominant and so indimidating on the mound that he's really something to watch. One of the biggest disappointments to me last season is that I missed watching him pitch that perfect game.
But now I'm not sure it would be a wise idea for the Yankees to trade for him even though I think they will do so. His age is the biggest factor. A 41-year old pitcher is a big risk no matter how talented he is. It's an even bigger risk when he has chronic knee and back problems. The price tag for Johnson will be huge so the Yankees or any other team will most likely have to give up a lot of talent to get him. It's been rumored that the Yankees would offer Javy Vazquez in a deal for Johnson and I think that could be a huge mistake. While Vazquez struggled in the second half of the season, he is much younger than Johnson and he was solid the first half of the year. That give me hope that he can turn things around in 2005 and if he does he could be a key part of the Yankees starting rotation for years to come. Whereas Johnson might only be around for a couple of seasons.
If the Yankees got him the fan part of me would be very happy because I could see him pitch on a much more regular basis and hopefully in person a couple of times. But looking at it in terms of what I think is best for the team and their future I hope they pass.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:37 PM | Comments (0)
Clinton Presidential Library Opening
Based on how many people they're expecting at the opening of the Bill Clinton Presidential Library next week, that appears to be the hot ticket in town, at least in Little Rock. 30,000 people were invited and will sit in bleachers and an additional 20,000 are expected to pack the surrounding streets. Bono and The Edge will perform, current President George W. Bush will take part and former Presidents Bush, Ford and Carter will also speak.
The conference director and conference coordinator here in the office got invitations to this but aren't going to go. I bet there's a lot of people who would love to get their hands on their invitations! But it makes sense why they aren't going. With that many people there it will be an absolute mad house. So they will go at some point in the future when they can meet with the folks who run the library face-to-face and discuss borrowing some materials to use for the conference exhibition.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:26 PM | Comments (0)
Tommy Lee's Free Thank-You "Concert"
Tommy Lee, former drummer of Motley Crue, now mostly known as co-star of the infamous video showing him getting it on with his wife at the time, Pamela Anderson, has been filming a reality show at the University of Nebraska. The idea behind the show is to tape Tommy going to college and doing all the things that college students do such as living in the dorms, going to class and in the case of Tommy, being a part of the marching band. Of course one has to wonder how a guy who barely graduated high school got into college but that's besides the point.
Anyway, the show promoted this free concert as a way of saying thank-you to the students. So of course countless students showed up only to discover that it was more about taking various takes of Tommy performing a song with the marching band to film for the show rather than an actual concert. Several times Tommy threw drumsticks into the audience but the audience members had to throw them back so they could do more takes!
The chancellor of the University of Nebraska was in attendance so I guess Tommy couldn't do what he did at the Motley Crue concert I went to a bunch of years ago which was to take a video camera and ask the women near the front of the stage to show their boobs so he could film them. I'm willing to guess that Tommy couldn't do quite a few things he normally would do at a show with both the chancellor and the TV crew there.
I've seen half a Motley Crue show twice. The first time was back in high school with my friend Jana. That show was cut short when Tommy fell, hit his head and gave himself a concussion. It was a great show up until that point and the opening band, Faster Pussycat, was so good that I can still vividly remember their performance even all these years later.
The second time I saw them I had free tickets courtesy of the person I was dating at the time who had gotten them from the radio station he worked for. That show I had to go to by myself because I couldn't find anyone to go with me because I got the tickets so last minute. It was an outstanding performance by the Crue that night and they played all their hits, at least for the first half of the night. The crowd was really into it too. Then they switched to some of their newer material and showed some ultra-violent, ultra-gory films as a backdrop and the audience's enthusiasm and energy for the show just came to a crashing halt. On top of that Nikki Sixx got into a "fight" with an audience member which was probably fake since this scene was apparently played out in other venues during that tour. And then there was the whole boob flashing thing. I've never seen a show go from being so awesome to suddenly looking like a train wreck so quickly but I left and so did some others. Since the tickets were free it was no great loss but I still haven't seen a full Motley Crue concert.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:41 PM | Comments (0)
Frankie Stoddard Released
From Jayski's: UPDATE: Bill Davis Racing named Derrick Finley on Friday as interim chief for rookie Scott Wimmer's #22 Caterpillar Dodge, replacing Frank Stoddard. Finley will serve out the remaining two Cup races. Team owner Bill Davis said he has started a search for a permanent replacement. "Things weren't going like we wanted them to, obviously. We weren't running as well as we wanted to and the chemistry just didn't seem to be there," Davis said. "It's a really, really tough decision. Frankie is a great guy and a smart guy and certainly knows how to win these races than Bill Davis Racing's had but we weren't making it work. We just felt we needed to try a different direction."(ThatsRacin.com)(11-12-2004)
This sets up a potentially awkward situation. Heidi Stoddard, Frankie's wife is the Public Relations person for this team. How does this effect her job? I'm not sure whether she is employed directly by BDR or by the sponsor, CAT but unless his release happened on very good terms I think this would make it tough to work with the people who just fired her husband. I'm sure she's a professional but this still can't be easy. And if she is employed directly by BDR did she have to write the press release on her husband's firing?
Personally, while I don't know the ins and outs of what might have gone on behind the scenes with this team I suspect that Frankie was probably a scapegoat for the overall problems they have. Wimmer is a rookie who usually doesn't have any teammates, driving a car that's probably not all that amazing most weeks, has no factory support from the manufacturer and he's had major off-the-track problems to deal with in the form of the DUI. So it's really not that suprising that the results haven't been too steller for this team this season.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:55 PM | Comments (0)
No One Tried to Help
Security cameras at a mall in California captured what might be a kidnapping of a woman by two men from the mall parking lot. Apparently these two men chased this woman, one of them grabbed her, put her over his shoulder and threw her in the truck of their car as she screamed for someone to call the police and then they drove off. No one did a thing to try and help her in spite of the fact that there were plenty of witnesses.
Now the police say that it's possible that this is a prank so perhaps the witnesses saw something that made them skeptical that the woman actually needed help. But it is very chilling to think that a woman might have been kidnapped and no one tried to help her even though she was calling for help.
Sometimes I really wonder about society in general. Of course it's human nature to think of one's own self first in many situations. And if something doesn't directly effect an individual often people are less likely to be motivated to do something. But people should also want to help each other, especially in what might be an emergency situation. At the very least one of those people could have called 911 which wouldn't have put them in harm's way, yet it seems like none of them did. Just a sad commentary on the state of things.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)
November 11, 2004
Patterns - Simon & Garfunkel
The night sets softly
With the hush of falling leaves,
Casting shivering shadows
On the houses through the trees,
And the light from a street lamp
Paints a pattern on my wall,
Like the pieces of a puzzle
Or a child’s uneven scrawl.
Up a narrow flight of stairs
In a narrow little room,
As I lie upon my bed
In the early evening gloom.
Impaled on my wall
My eyes can dimly see
The pattern of my life
And the puzzle that is me.
From the moment of my birth
To the instant of my death,
There are patterns I must follow
Just as I must breathe each breath.
Like a rat in a maze
The path before me lies,
And the pattern never alters
Until the rat dies.
And the pattern still remains
On the wall where darkness fell,
And it’s fitting that it should,
For in darkness I must dwell.
Like the color of my skin,
Or the day that I grow old,
My life is made of patterns
That can scarcely be controlled
-Simon and Garfunkel
This would be my favorite Simon & Garfunkel song. It's not one of their better known songs and the last few lines probably refer to death but something about this song has always grabbed me. I was listening to it in the car on the way home from yet another evening event thinking about patterns that our lives follow as the song says. I never get sick of hearing this song or of any S&G songs.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)
Michael Waltrip Out of the #15 After 2005
I guess there's no denying it now as much as I was trying to stick my head in the sand and pretend that it wasn't going to happen. After 2005 Michael Waltrip is probably out of the #15 at DEI. Richie Gilmore made some rather pointed remarks to that effect in a radio interview a week or two ago and it's been expanded on in an article in this week's Nascar Scene.
I had hoped to see Michael stay at DEI for the remainder of his career as much of a pipe dream as that might have been. For much of his career Michael has had to struggle with lesser rides and being in a good ride for a top organization has been a huge boost to his career. More than likely, Michael won't be unemployed for long as he'll either drive his own Cup car or hook on with another team so he will be fine but I just had hoped things would be different for Michael and DEI. There's no doubt in my mind that there will be other teams who will want him not only for his great record at plate races but also because he's an outstanding spokesperson for his sponsor and for how wonderful he is with his fans. There's also always the broadcasting to fall back on, something I think he's really well-suited for. But I just want to see his racing career continue for as long as possible and for him to be as successful as possible.
I really have a problem with the timing of Gilmore's comments. It's pretty amazing that he chastized Dale, Jr. for speaking out of turn about Michael's future in the #15 earlier it the season but I think Gilmore did pretty much the same here. Regardless of what decision might have been made I think it's really shitty for them to say this before 2004 is even over or 2005 started. Talk about a real downer for Michael's crew and team. Now they enter 2005 knowing that they're working with a driver who won't be there in 2006 and also knowing that there could be other changes with the team including themselves. Having met Michael's crew members they seem to be a great bunch of guys and I hate to see them and Michael have to race in 2005 with this hanging over their heads. I just hope DEI bothers to give Michael some decent equipment next season. If not for some early season bad luck this year he would probably have been in the hunt for the Chase for the Championship and I'd like to see him be able to run up front next season too.
Michael's replacement in the #15 is rumored to be Shane Hmiel, son of DEI big-wig Steve Hmiel. There is no doubt that Hmiel has some racing talent. However, just last season he was suspended for drug use. While I'm all for giving a guy a second chance it's been said that Hmiel was under the influence of drugs on the track. Which seems to me if true should be something which should bring a lifetime ban. In fact I suspect this would be the case for most other drivers but because of who his father is and how well-liked he is Shane is back and poised to take over a very high-profile ride.
I'm actually shocked that NAPA is willing to have Hmiel as their driver if this rumor is true, which of course it may not be. Granted, from some of what I've heard Michael might not be 100% a boy scout himself in terms of his private life, but he's never done anything publically to embarrass his sponsors and I highly doubt that he ever would. He certainly wouldn't be caught under the influence of drugs on the track you can be sure of that. Michael seems to be very aware of image and appearances and is probably the most skilled driver out there when it comes to being a spokesperson and representative for his sponsor. I can't think of any other driver who does more in terms of appearances and sponsor plugs. Then you have Hmiel. Sure, he's a young gun but he has a checkered past which can't just be swept under the rug. And given that he was apparently drunk off his ass publically on the Dale, Jr. fan cruise last off-season when he was still under probation from Nascar because of the drug thing I have some doubts about his judgement and sense of appropriate behavior. NAPA may end up regretting agreeing to Hmiel if that's really who takes over the ride.
In some ways Michael might be better off away from DEI because they don't always seem to believe in him anymore. Gilmore made a comment in the Nascar Scene article about what a great cheerleader Michael was for them after Earnhardt, Sr. died. Well, Michael was much more than a cheerleader for them. He won races for DEI, including two Daytona 500s. Michael was a huge asset to DEI in terms of plate racing and it remains to be seen whether whoever else ends up as teammates of Junior's will be able to work with him as well as Michael once was able to. And as already mentioned Michael was outstanding in terms of making his sponsors and DEI for that matter extremely visible in quite a variety of ways.
It remains to be seen how everything will work out but whatever happens I just hope Michael ends up happy and in a good situation.
ETA: What's amazing to me is that in some places Michael is now getting knocked for doing all the fan appearances he does, the TV gigs and for doing Operation Marathon. Some people see this as him not concentrating enough on racing and as a sign that he doesn't care about racing anymore so that this is why he's getting canned by DEI. Every single driver out there does appearances, things for charity and other off-the-track things. Michael should be commended for his committment to Operation Marathon. Every organization should be so lucky to have someone who is so willing to do all these things. Michael is there at practices, on race day and I'm sure he stops by the shop from time to time. I think it's pretty unfair for Michael to be criticized for doing or not doing things that probably aren't too much different than most of the other drivers.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)
Boots
I love boots. I've got a lot of shoes but probably compared to most women I don't have that many at all. I tend to wear the same couple of shoes all the time. Except when it comes to boots. I have all sorts of boots in all sorts of colors. Short boots, high boots, boots with high heels, boots with low heels, purple, red, brown, tan, black, you name it I've got it. I'm particularly fond of high boots but because of how skinny my legs are it's hard to find high boots that fit me right.
I'm always on the lookout for a new cool pair of boots though I try to be careful and not buy too many new pairs as much as I might like to because boots tend to be kind of pricey. So I just try to get ones that are a little unusual or I know go with an outfit that I have.
That was the case tonight. I went to Century 21 to look for a leather jacket and ended up with a new pair of boots. I could never do them justice trying to describe them so I won't even bother but luckily they weren't too expensive. They are very different and very cool looking. I can't wait to wear them! I wish I could wear them to work tomorrow but since they have a very high heel and I have a lot of walking to do back and forth between where we have the lecture and where the office is it wouldn't be practical. Maybe I'll wear them on Friday.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:07 AM | Comments (3)
November 10, 2004
Instant Replay in Baseball
MLB to Consider Instant Replay
One of the topics at the baseball GM meetings this week is going to be whether MLB should impliment Instant Replay. The NFL, NBA and NHL all use instant replay to review calls so some feel that MLB should have it as well. It appears that there are a number of GMs who are in favor of it, including Yankees GM Brian Cashman. So the GMs are going to discuss it.
Well, one has to wonder why they're even bothering to talk about it. This topic came up last year and went no where and the same thing will most likely happen this year as well. Especially when you read Bob Watson's comments about "not seeing it" and about how the Comissioner is also against it. So if MLB's higher-ups don't want it then instant replay isn't going to happen.
Personally, I think it's a good idea. Of course it shouldn't be used for balls and strikes because then the game could get bogged down with challenges to every ball or strike call. But for plays in which there is a question about the call or the closest umpire didn't get a good view of the play it seems like this is a good way to make sure that the right call is made. Tradition is great but sometimes change isn't always a bad thing.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:51 PM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day
2001. I'm not exactly sure where I took this one but probably on campus. Back in the summer of 2001 was the first time I got my hands on a digital camera courtesy of my good friend Melissa who lent me hers. I spent so much time after she lent it to me taking close up photos of the flowers on campus, playing around and just being amazed by how easy it was to use and download pictures onto the computer. Eventually, I bought that camera off of her and it served me well for a while until I decided to upgrade to a brand-new one of my own with more mega-pixels, therefore better picture quality since Melissa's was less than 2MPs.
This photo is kind of grainy but there's something about it that I like. Maybe it's the colors or just the feel of the photo. My photos are never perfect and I often forget to use the proper techniques to take the pictures but somehow I come up with some photos that I'm happy with. Maybe that's why I take so many photos whenever I'm some where - the more pics I have the better the chances that I'll come up with something decent!
Posted by silverdsl at 11:32 PM | Comments (1)
Leffler to Replace Burton in #47 Truck
Turns out Ward Burton won't even be racing the #47 truck this weekend. He was slated to run in all three events this weekend but was released from ride in Cup and since they were also running a Busch car for him he was replaced in that ride as well. Which left just the truck.
The #47 had been run in selected races as an All-Star truck of a sort with a different Cup driver behind the wheel in each race it was entered in. So it seems like it was somewhat of an honor to be selected. Yet Ward decided that he wanted to spend the time with his family and think about his future instead of racing this truck. I understand that he wants to be with his family, especially considering how little personal time the drivers have. But it seems to me that given that the race is only in Darlington Ward could have just run the truck race and then had plenty of time after that to be with his family. After all, he doesn't have a ride anymore so he's going to have all the free time he wants. Perhaps Ward has lost a bit of his enthusiasm for racing.
This had got to be a huge disappointment for fans of Ward and there definitely are a bunch based on how active his message board was when it still existed. I suspect a number of fans were going to go to Darlington this weekend just to see Ward since he was going to run all three races. They've got to be feeling pretty upset right about now.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)
Vanessa Carlton - Harmonium
Because of how much I loved Vanessa Carlton's first album Be Not Nobody I was really looking forward to the release of her second album Harmonium which came out yesterday. Well, I have to say her second album is pretty disappointing. I had read some not-so-glowing reviews of it and I have to agree that there isn't much about the songs that make them stand out. The first single "White Houses" is pretty good but otherwise most of the rest of the album seems to sound the same. There's nothing daring, nothing risky. Pretty much the same formula as the first album. I really liked the first album but I expected some growth on this one and it's just not there. Perhaps I need to listen to the album a few more times and it will grow on me but thus far it doesn't seem like it's going to be something that will go in heavy rotation for me.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:11 PM | Comments (0)
Nascar to Allow Liquor Sponsorships in 2005
After earlier this season denying Rousch Racing the necessary approval to have a liquor company as the primary sponsor of the #99, Nascar has now reversed themselves and will allow liquor sponsorships in 2005. I don't understand why the sudden reversal now and why it couldn't be done when this issue first arose with the #99. Or perhaps it's that Nascar is more willing to accommodate Richard Childress Racing, who is one of the companies rumored to be negotiating with a liquor company, than Roush.
The article indicates that part of the advertising that these companies do in association with Nascar must include a responsible drinking decisions message, something they may be required to do by law anyway. I wonder if the beer companies are required to do this as well? If they aren't they should. Especially since Budweiser sponsors Nascar's most popular driver who has a significant amount of underage fans.
The good thing about this decision by Nascar is that it will allow a whole new array of sponsors into the sport. Given how hard it is to aquire and keep sponsorship teams definitely need more companies they can pitch a sponsorship to, not less. I hope that this will be beneficial to teams not just on the Cup level but in Busch and Trucks as well.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)
Sleepy...
There's so many different topics I want to tackle here, so much I want to say about so many things. But I've been working so much lately that it's hard to find the time. Tonight I got home after 10 p.m. and I'm just exhausted. So yet again I'm going to have to save them all for another time when I'm not so tired.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:13 AM | Comments (0)
Quake Hits Mount Rainer
3.2 Earthquake Shakes Mount Rainer
I might start getting a little nervous if I lived near Mount Rainer. Tuesday an earthquake measuring 3.2 magnitude shook the mountain directly beneath it. Given that Mount Rainer is a volcano and quake activity has suddenly been on the increase in the past few weeks scientists are starting to pay attention to what might be going on there. Unlike Mount St. Helens which is in a pretty remote area, Moutn Rainer is close to some populated areas. Interestingly enough the scientists say that even though the two volcanos are part of the same chain, the activity at the two are not connected. I wonder what the process is by which they determine that?
Posted by silverdsl at 12:02 AM | Comments (0)
November 09, 2004
Arches National Park
Photo by the National Park Service.
Arches National Park is located in Utah and it's known for... you guessed it - Arches. Erosion and various other natural processes have shaped the sandstone in the park for thousands of years and currently the park has the most natural arches of any place in the world.
There are many National Parks that I would like to go visit but this one is definitely near the top of my list. The arches are just so amazing to me. Maybe it's because I collect gems and minerals so finding the arches so fascinating is just one more extention of that. But whatever the reason I love to see photos from this park and I hope that one day I will get the opportunity to take some of my own.
A lot of the cool photos there are taken at the crack of dawn. Jim would just love being dragged along on a hike to an arch that early in the morning! LOL!
Posted by silverdsl at 11:48 PM | Comments (0)
Roger Clemens Wins the National League Cy Young
Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens is the winner of the 2004 National League Cy Young Award. It's his seventh Cy Young award and considering how outstanding he was in 2004, aside from a dreadful performance at the All-Star Game, it was very well-deserved (though a case can certainly be made that my man Randy Johnson deserved it more). Clemens is the oldest pitcher to ever win the Cy Young at age 42.
However, it makes Clemens retiring from the Yankees only to un-retire just a few months later to pitch for the Astros sting all the more. There is no question that the Yankees could have used a pitcher as consistantly awesome as Clemens was in 2004. Of course there's no guarentee that Clemens would have pitched as well as he did for the Astros with the Yankees but we all know that Clemens sure wouldn't have broken his hand by punching a wall, a la Kevin Brown.
I've made my feelings known on Clemens previously but I'll state it again for the record. I've never liked him. Not prior to him donning pinstripes, not when he was a Yankee and not afterwards. I always admired and appreciated what Clemens did throughout his career and especially all his fine pitching performances while he was with the Yankees. But there's always been a lot about him that I've never liked. From some of the things he's said and done to the head-hunting. The incidents with Piazza I've always felt were an embarassment, regardless of what his intent might have been. And the more recent retirement/un-retirement fiasco really rubbed me the wrong way too.
But regardless of how much I don't like Clemens as a person I would have loved to have had him on the team in 2004, winning his seventh Cy Young as a member of the New York Yankees, instead of as a member of the Houston Astros.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:36 PM | Comments (0)
November 08, 2004
Ward Burton out of the #0?
I wonder if this item from Jayski's: Ward out? hearing that Ward Burton and the #0 NetZero team have parted ways? Supposedly Mike Bliss will drive the #0 Chevy at Darlington.(11-8-2004)
if it's true has anything to do with this item, also from Jayski's: BANG Racing close to announcement? Ward and Dodge? hearing that BANG Racing is close to signing their Cup and Busch deal for next year with Ward as the driver for the NetZero Dodge in Cup and Travis Kvapil in the Busch car [Dodge?] with Line-X as the sponsor. The team expects to announce a new General Manager soon also. See past news/ rumors on this team at my BANG Team News and Links page [until they have a car#](11-8-2004)
In some ways it's amazing. Ward complained his way out of his ride with Bill Davis Racing where he had some success into his ride with the #0 car where he talked about how wonderful it was going to be, the implication being especially in comparision to his ride with BDR. Well, he's had zero(ha-ha) success in this ride and sometimes I wonder if he wishes he was still with BDR. So now he may end up with a BANG entry in Cup. Somehow I doubt he's going to fare too much better there. Not because he's a bad driver but because I don't know how great the BANG car is going to be as a new single-car Cup team if that's actually what happens.
I like Jeff Burton much better than his brother. Ward isn't a bad guy or a bad racer but sometimes he rubs me the wrong way. I didn't like some of the things he's said in the past and I don't care for the way he left BDR. But beyond that I also don't like what played out on the message board on his official site when that board still existed. It was said that Ward would read the board. Well, users there used to absolutely rip BDR and Ward's crew chief at the time Frankie Stoddard, in spite of there being rules against bashing. That Ward read the forum and yet the bashing continued unchecked gave me the feeling that Ward was almost approving of what was being said. He probably didn't read half of it but somehow it just didn't give me a good feeling, knowing that he had to have seen at least some of it and apparently had no problem with having the people that made up his team get ripped to shreds on his official site.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day
Walt Disney World. January, 2004. I'm not sure these are still there but for a while visitors to the Magic Kingdom were greeted by lots of Mickeys each one decorated differently. They were very creatively done. One might have a motif of a particular color like purple or silver; another might have a theme like the Red Sox or music. But they all were very vivid and eye-catching.
A few months ago I thought I read that they were removed. If that's the case I wonder where they went. Are they in storage somewhere, standing at attention, waiting until the next time they see the light of day? Or have they been sent to another park to serve their time there until they are boxed up and shipped elsewhere? So much time must have been spent creating each one so I hope they are on display somewhere that they can be seen and appreciated.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:17 PM | Comments (0)
Words to Live by From Dr. Seuss
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
Posted by silverdsl at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)
Release Date of U2's Album Possibly Moved Up Due to Piracy Concerns
No surprise but already copies of U2's new album scheduled to be released on November 22 can be found online to be downloaded illegally. Recently albums by Eminem and Snoop Dogg were released earlier than they were orginally scheduled to be for similar reasons and apparently Island Records is considering doing the same for the U2 album so that consumers are more likely to actually pay for it in a store rather than download it illegally for free. I'm eagerly anticipating the release of this album so I will be very happy if it comes out early!
To combat the problem of albums being made available online prior to the release date, record companies have done things like send out promotional CDs that supossedly can't be copied and also have poor-quality "spoof" copies of the album uploaded to file sharing services in such mass quantities that it's hard to find the clean copies to download. But obviously those measures don't work too well if this continues to be a problem for major releases. Complicating the problem for U2 is that some of the rough tracks from this album were stolen from the studio over the summer. What I'd like to know is how that happens considering the limited amount of people who probably have access to those recordings.
Regardless of how many people download the album illegally, this is sure to be a huge album for U2.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:27 PM | Comments (0)
What the Heck?
"My, what firm buttocks you have..."
"No, Tony not in public!"
Surely there's some logical explanation for what's going on in this photo but from my point of view it sure does look like Tony Stewart is grabbing Casey Mear's ass! Perhaps with some encouragement from Casey himself as Kevin Harvick looks on in amusement. I wonder if Tony's girlfriend is jealous? LOL!
Seriously, of course nothing of the sort is going on I'm quite sure as there is no way even if there are gay drivers that they would ever publically even give a hint that they were involved with each other. Even joking around in that way could probably get some of them in trouble with fans or their sponsors considering how unfortunately conservative and intolerant Nascar is. But photos like this sure do amuse some fans!
Posted by silverdsl at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)
Homeless
I don't usually give money to homeless people. Unfortunately, as sympathetic as I am to the situation those folks are in, I also know that a good portion of them don't use the money for food like they say they want it for but instead for drugs or alcohol. But there is one homeless woman who I see every few months when I'm waiting for the train in Newark who asks for money for food and I sometimes give her a dollar or two if I have anything in my pocket. I have no idea why since she might be using it for drugs too. But I guess there's just something about her though I don't know what that makes me give her the money whereas I never do with any other homeless person.
A lot of people don't even notice the homeless. But I always notice a homeless person and wonder what their story is. How they got to be homeless, who they are, if they have any family, what problems they might have which got them into the situation they're in, etc... No one grows up thinking they will be homeless someday yet somewhere along the line something happens and these people end up sleeping in Penn Station, in the subway or somewhere else. I wonder if anyone has ever chronicled the life and times of some of the homeless people in New York?
Posted by silverdsl at 12:22 AM | Comments (0)
November 07, 2004
Photo of the Day
Dover International Speedway, September, 2004. In honor of Kevin Harvick being a bit of a bad boy after the conclusion of today's race in Phoenix, here's a photo I took of the number on his car at the Dover race. For some reason I think the car numbers look really neat cropped tight like that. Of course to non-Nascar fans the #29 has no meaning but any Nascar fan who looks at that immediately connects it to Kevin.
I only watched half the race so I can't really comment on all that much until I see it. But I will say that it's a shame that Kevin apparently challenged Kasey Kahne to a fight after Kahne bumped him on pit road because he wasn't too happy with the hard racing between the two at the end of the race. Back in the day drivers might have been able to fight but these days cooler heads have to prevail otherwise the drivers will find themselves sitting out races. Luckily Harvick was pulled away from Kahne's car so nothing much came out of it.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)
Drivers Not Happy With Garage Security
From Jayski's: Drivers not happy with garage security: NASCAR's garage security has been terrible this season on the Nextel Cup tour, forcing drivers back into hiding in their motor coaches, to avoid being mobbed by the hundreds of fans swarming through the working areas. Yesterday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally had enough, and to make a point with lackadaisical NASCAR officials, Earnhardt took a page from his late father's book. He sat down on the rear deck of the NASCAR trailer and signed autographs for the crowd that quickly packed the area, making it impossible for officials to enter or leave.(Winston Salem Journal)(11-7-2004)
Good for Junior for trying to make a point to Nascar. I can't blame him and the other drivers for being upset with the security or lack thereof in the garage area. I was amazed by what I saw in the garage and pit areas at the race at Dover in terms of inappropriate fan behavior. There are plenty of fans who are polite and stay out of the crews and driver's way but there are a lot of fans who seem to lose their minds when they are near the drivers and do anything it takes to get close to them or get an autograph.
Walking the gauntlet of fans with Michael Waltrip to get to the driver's meeting was something else. He tried to have a conversation with us but it quickly became impossible due to all the people pulling at him. I just can't imagine having to deal with that constantly. Some fans criticize certain drivers for not doing a lot of appearances or not seeming to always enjoy interacting with the fans. Well, I can't blame them having seen first-hand what goes on. It has to wear on all the drivers to constantly have to be "on," and constantly have to accomodate the fans, even when they have things to take care of for the race.
What shocked me was that even during "hot" times in the garage it was still jam-packed. I don't know if there was even anyone walking around checking to make sure that all the fans that were there had the right kind of pass. I'm all for fans having close access to the drivers and the crews but it seems like there really needs to be even more limits on how many passes are handed each weekend and perhaps some extra security, at least in Dover, walking around ensuring that fans don't bother the crews and drivers.
It amazes me the amount of times I hear fans joke about "stalking" drivers to get an autograph. Or how many times fans will boast about sneaking into areas where they don't belong. I loved my experience in the garage and pit areas and it was awesome seeing all the drivers up-close. But it would never cross my mind to do some of the things these fans do. My experience in Dover was one of the most amazing things I've ever done in my life and I would hate to never have that opportunity again because some fans who don't know how to behave cause Nascar to ban all fans from the garage and pit areas.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:36 PM | Comments (0)
Busy Weekend!
Actually not just a busy weekend but a busy week overall. I had a major conference that I coordinated Wednesday night through Saturday. So it was late nights and very early (7:30 a.m.) mornings. Then last night after the conference ended Jim, his sister and her husband went out to eat at a yummy Mexican restaurant in Manhattan. Today I slept in a little and then Jim and I went to Macy's to get him a jacket. So even though I slept late today I'm still pretty tired from all the running around I've been doing!
The Mexican restaurant we went to, Rosa Mexicano, was so good! I was practically falling asleep in my food so it was hard to fully enjoy it but it wasn't the standard stereotypical Mexican dishes like tacos, fajitas or nachos that most people think of when they think of Mexican food. They had some really creative things there and everything we tried was really great! It was super-crowded and it certainly wasn't cheap. But it was definitely worth it.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:30 PM | Comments (0)
November 06, 2004
Nascar Wants Slower Pit-Stops?
From Jayski's: Slower Pit Stops in 2005? NASCAR wants to slow pit stops next season on the Nextel Cup and Busch tours, and officials are considering a drastic change in the fuel-dump cans. Now a gas man can dump two 11-gallon cans in a car in about 11 seconds, and that has put a remarkable premium on car owners putting together a pit crew fast enough to change four tires in that brief time span. By ordering teams to use fuel cans with smaller spouts, NASCAR officials hope to slow the dump time to 19 seconds. In turn, that would lessen the need for lightning-fast pit crews. But some top pit-crew men are upset with NASCAR's plans, saying NASCAR is playing to car owners, who have been complaining about the rising cost of hiring fast pit-crew men.(Winston Salem Journal)(11-6-2004)
This makes no sense to me. If there was a safety issue I fully understand and support the need to make changes. But discussions about wanting to make equipment changes to slow down pit-stops to please car owners who aren't happy about paying for top-quality pit crew members who are fast in the pits is ridiculous. Yes, the costs are rising for fielding teams and yes, Nascar should be looking at ways of decreasing the costs but in my opinion this is not where the changes need to be made. Especially since regardless of how you try to slow the stops down the salaries for pit crew members are still going to be the same. You can't go back and drop salaries because the pit stops are going to be slower. Good pit crews cost money as they should considering how important they are to the teams.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:18 AM | Comments (0)
November 05, 2004
Photo of the Day
Kearney, New Jersey. 2002. Jim and I went to the park with Bailey (the earlier photo I posted of Bailey comes from this trip) and we encountered some baby squirrels. Well, actually they seemed to mistake me for "Mommy" which either says something scary about me or something about the eyesight of baby squirrels!
Soon after getting to the park we saw these two baby squirrels. Or more like were accosted by these squirrels who kept trying to get closer and closer and closer to me. I kept backing away because I didn't want to either get bitten or get too close and get my scent on them which would make their Mommy squirrel not want to be around them. Well, the more I backed away the more they tried to follow. Luckily, they eventually got distracted by some acorns or something similar because I thought they were going to end up trying to get in the car with us!
Unfortunately, when we had first got the park we smelled something dead and given that I never saw an adult squirrel around these two I think their Mommy might have met an unfortunate end. I don't know if they sensed my sympathetic nature and thought I could help them or they were just curious but I've never encountered any squirrels who have behaved quite like this and given how many squirrels there are on the Hofstra campus I've come across a lot of squirrels!
Posted by silverdsl at 11:28 PM | Comments (0)
Third Watch
So that's it? The Faith/Cruz IAB corruption storyline is all neatly handled nice and neat without anyone losing their jobs (so far) in spite of the fact that one of them murdered a suspect and the other covered it up. Unbelievable!
Then Bosco who gruesomely got shot in the face is shown in the hospital waking up, practically none worse for the wear other than a big bandage near his jaw. Give me a break! After all the blood and gore they showed when he first got shot and how they talked about what a big-time injury he supossedly had no way should he look that good especially since in TV time it hadn't been long at all since he was shot. But I guess given Jason Wiles' heart-throb status they couldn't make him too disfigured given how many women think he's a hottie.
Next week's episode looks like a real winner too. :(
Sigh. It seemed like the writing and plotlines were so much better in the past.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:53 PM | Comments (0)
Truck Race at Phoenix
Steve Park started 4th in this race and finished 6th. Considering at one point they were fighting an overheating condition, a 6th place finish is very, very good! He was actually 5th at the end of the race but on the last lap Johnny Benson passed him to take the position. It's really awesome to see Steve have so many good finishes - actually it's great to see Johnny get some great finishes too!
Maybe it's because I'm really not feeling good tonight, in fact I was feeling so icky that I had to leave work to come home and lie in bed, but I had a hard time getting into this truck race. It just didn't feel that exciting to me. There were a bunch of cut tires for some reason but otherwise there didn't seem to be a huge amount going on. I hope the other races this weekend will have a little more action.
Back to Steve, the fewer and fewer races in the season the fewer chances there are for him to win a race. I really want to see him back in Victory Lane - for himself, for his team and to show all his doubters that he can still race. I'm just getting a bad feeling it's not going to happen for him this season. I hope I'm wrong though! Should he be back in the #62 next season and unofficially it appears that he is, I'm hopeful they will be able to win a bunch of races having become used to working together. I'm just glad that Steve is happy this season!
ETA: Oh dear, I didn't realize until I just looked that Steve slipped to 10th in points. 10th! In spite of finishing 6th! I hope they finish strong the last two races so he can stay in the top ten!
Posted by silverdsl at 08:42 PM | Comments (0)
If Only...
NTSB: Hendrick Plane Failed to Climb
Experts: NTSB Report Suggests Pilot Error
The NTSB released a preliminary report on the Hendrick Motorsports plane crash and like with so many accidents there are so many things that you think if only this or that was different. If only the weather was better. If only the plane had different equipment. If only the airport had more modern technology. So many if onlys. Just makes me feel sad for them again. I just hope that people don't start blaming the pilots when there were to many factors that went into why this plane wrecked and the final report isn't done yet.
The first link has the bare bones details but the second article has some analysis.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:29 PM | Comments (0)
Drought Uncovers Memories of Nebraska Town
Lemoyne, Nebraska was once a bustling town in Nebraska until the 1940's when that state forced everyone out from there and a few other neighboring towns so that the area could be flooded behind a dam as part of a state water project. Every so often a bad drought will drain the level of the lake so low that the towns beneath are uncovered and such is the case now when the lake is only at 75% capacity.
In the article a former resident talks about returning to give tours of the usually submerged town where he once used to live. It must be pretty surreal to see the way it is now and picture the way it once was. Apparently people find artifacts left behind by the people who used to live there which is pretty interesting considering they date back to the 1940's. I guess it's considered junk by most people but once they were in someone's house or business before they were forced out.
Candlewood Lake in Connecticut, near where I grew up has a similar story. There were roads and houses and many other things on the land that the state wanted to flood for their water project and those people were also forced out. The level of Candlewood Lake will surely never drop enough to uncover what's beneath but scuba drivers sometimes try to seek out the remaining structures down below the murky water. Every time I'm out on Gail and Steve's boat or drive by Candlewood Lake I always think of what's down there and what the area looked like before it was flooded.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:34 PM | Comments (0)
Tino Martinez to Return to the Yankees?
Yes, just like the undead, all former Yankees are sure to return to the Yankees organization one day. So now that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays opted not to pick up their option for first baseman Tino Martinez he is a free agent. The word is that the Devil Rays would like him to return at a much reduced salary but there is increasing speculation that the Yankees would like to have him return to back-up first base, a la Tony Clark or John Olerud this past season.
Tino was my favorite Yankee when he was with the team from 1996-2001. So on one level I'd be thrilled if he came back. But on another level I'm not sure this is a wise move. Especially since Tino's numbers since leaving the Yankees just aren't that great. Better in 2004 but far from outstanding. If the Yankees are more interested in his good defense that any offense he might provide it could work out but if their expectations are in line with what he produced years ago with the Yankees he will probably be a disappointment.
Is Tino really going to want to be a bench player? He had two terrible years with the Cardinals but his numbers in 2004 weren't that dreadful. He may feel that he can still start which won't happen with the Yankees with Giambi there, barring injury. Adjusting to a bench role after starting every day can be difficult. Tino is prone to some slumps and it would be interesting to see how he keeps his bat fresh.
In addition, if the Yankees and the fans are counting on him to be the guy who brings back some of their post-season magic, then they will probably be expecting too much. Tino was an awesome player in his prime and he's great in the clubhouse but that was then and this is now. This is a very different team and it will take more than the addition of Tino Martinez in a part-time role to get the Yankees some more World Series rings, despite what some fans may think.
Posted by silverdsl at 07:22 AM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2004
Photo of the Day
Camden, Maine. August, 2002. In 2002 I was lucky enough to get to go to Maine twice, once with Jim to Ogunquit and once with my parents to the Camden/Lincolnville area. Camden is known for it's harbor and there are lots of gorgeous boats docked there. So while we were there we took a ride on a big sail boat up the coast a little bit. I like taking close-ups of things and the way this rope was coiled on the boat caught my eye.
I actually had another Maine photo that I wanted to use tonight but I decided to add it to my list of photos that I want to use as "Photo of the Day" in the near future when I'm not so tired and I have more time since they're all ones that I want to write more than a paragraph or two about. I have a huge event at work going on right now that we've been working like dogs for the past few weeks and now that it's here I'm working 15-16 hour days until it's over. I'm very happy it will be over after Saturday!
Posted by silverdsl at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)
Reminder...
At times like this I try to remind myself of one of my favorite sayings: "You can argue with a donkey all you want but in the end it's still only going to say hee-haw, hee-haw."
Sometimes people just want to believe in something so much that they are willing to disregard facts and statements that flat-out prove that they're wrong. And it's just not worth arguing about it because it serves no purpose. Some folks just don't want to live in reality.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)
$7,500 to meet Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds?
The sports memorablia market is a huge one and it's been proven time and time again that some fans/collectors will pay any price to be near their favorite athletes and get their autograph. AROD Authenticated, the company that sells Alex Rodriguez's memorabilia has put together an event at which attendees who pay $7,500 can go to a cockail party with A-Rod and Barry Bonds, pose for photos with them and participate in a question and answer session. Attendees will get gift bags valued at $3,500. Then for an additional $1,025 fans can attend an autograph session with Bonds and A-Rod.
These prices are ridiculous. If the proceeds were going to charity I could understand it as most celebrity fundraisers come with a steep price tag. But over $8,500 for an opportunity to meet A-Rod and Bonds and get their autographs? No thanks! For some fans this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and if they have the money I can understand why some people might want to spend it. But there aren't that many people who have this kind of money laying around so it really shuts out a lot of fans from getting these player's autographs or interacting with them since these two don't often do signings or appearances. It seems outrageous to charge this amount of money especially since most of it will be lining the pockets of these two hugely paid players. In fact A-Rod is the highest paid player in all of baseball so he sure doesn't need the money.
It's incredible that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. a superstar in his own right, does some limited appearances with photo opportunities and question and answer sessions and I don't remember ever hearing about a price tag higher than $50-$100 for a non-charity event. I can't even recall Derek Jeter or Mark McGwire at the height of his popularity charging such prices.
The sad thing is that if this event is a success more than likely more like it will follow. And for the average fan without a huge amount of money getting access to their favorite athletes will get even harder.
Posted by silverdsl at 06:46 PM | Comments (1)
Willie Randolph Hired as Mets Manager
Last night Willie Randolph was hired as the manager of the New York Mets. It's about time a team gave Randolph a chance to manage! I'm sorry that he will no longer be a part of the Yankees coaching staff but Randolph is an outstanding and intelligent person with a tremendous amount of baseball knowledge. The Yankees loss is the Met's gain and I'm very happy for him.
Randolph had interviewed for some other managerial vacancies over the years but always had the feeling that they were only interviewing him because MLB required teams to interview minority candidates. I'm glad that someone finally took him seriously. The Mets have some issues they need to work on but I think Randolph will help get them turned in the right direction if the Mets management gets him some decent players to work with.
I hope this will pave the way for Joe Girardi to be hired as Joe Torre's bench coach. As much as I love Girardi working games for YES, he would be a huge asset to the team as a coach. He's another highly intelligent guy who I think would work very well with the players and the rest of the coaching staff.
Posted by silverdsl at 07:21 AM | Comments (0)
November 03, 2004
More Surfers Ditch Internet Explorer
IE Loses Ground to Mozilla Firefox
Most people still use Internet Explorer to cruise the internet but a growing segment of people are switching to alternatives, Mozilla Firefox being one of the most popular "other" browsers. A lot of people are sick of all the security vulnerabilities that IE has which aren't a problem thus far with Firefox and some of the other browsers. Considering how much adware, viruses and spyware are floating around that takes advantage of those security issues in IE, it's not surprising that so many people are switching.
At home I switched to Firefox for exactly the reason I noted above and most of the time it's no different from using IE. There are a few sites that load slower with Firefox so I just switch to IE for those but usually that's not a problem. They make it real easy to customize a bunch of things and of course it's also easy to import favorites from IE. I like how bugmenot.com, the site which has a database of user names and passwords for anyone's use for sites which require you to register before you read the articles, can be integrated in so it can be accessed through right click. It makes it really easy when I find a newspaper's site to just see if bugmenot has something for it rather than having to take the time to register.
Posted by silverdsl at 05:34 PM | Comments (0)
Curses!
My all-time favorite baseball player, David Cone and another player I like a lot Joe Girardi, both retired and both ex-Yankees are doing a signing together very close to where I am right now on Saturday. Only problem is that I have to work all day Saturday at the big event we're doing so there's no way I can go. :(
Girardi was Cone's catcher when he threw the Perfect Game in 1999. Unfortunately it was mostly downhill for Cone with the Yankees after the Perfect Game but he was very solid for them for several years prior. Once he signed with the Red Sox in 2001, he became public enemy #1 for most Yankee fans which is unfortunate because a lot of them forgot a lot of the times he pitched big games while he was in pinstripes.
I've gotten Cone's autograph twice but I've never gotten Girardi's. Cone is just outstanding with fans. I don't think I've ever seen anyone else who is so good with his fans. Yes, better than Steve Park. Cone has a way of connecting with people, of making them feel important and of making them feel like he's really listening even though he's probably heard the same thing a hundred times. I would have loved to have gone to this.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:46 PM | Comments (0)
Gaughan Frustrated
From Jayski's: Gaughan Speaks: Brendan Gaughan says he “doesn’t really care anymore” about behind-the-scenes maneuvering at Penske-Jasper Motorsports, and is concentrating on the next three races. Asked about Penske Racing’s decision to field a fourth car at Martinsville and Atlanta for former Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil, Gaughan told MRN Radio/Sirius Speedway's Dave Moody that the situation is frustrating. “Stuff we’ve been asking for all season and not getting, all of a sudden they’ve got it,” he said. “I can’t do anything about it, and I really don’t care anymore. All I can do is take what they give me and do my best with it, and the last couple of weeks, it’s been pretty good.” Gaughan declined to comment on rumors that he has spoken with Haas CNC Racing about replacing Ward Burton next season, saying, “If other people are looking at me and liking what they see, I’m flattered. But right now, I’m focused on the last three races of the season. After that, we’ll worry about what comes next.”(MRN Radio/Sirius Speedway)(11-3-2004)
The whole situation with Brendan Gaughan is absolutely perplexing to me. Here we have a young driver with some obvious racing talent who has been a great success in the truck series. He has an extremely outgoing personality and he's wonderful with the fans. So one would think that Penske would be giving him every opportunity to succeed because he is a driver who could become a real star in Nascar. Yet the #77 has rarely seemed to be competitive and half the time when Brendan is able to get it up front something mechanically seems to go wrong. He's got a couple of top tens but with better equipment I would think he could have a lot more good results.
But one of the biggest rumors is that Gaughan will be replaced by Travis Kvapil next season. Kvapil testing the #77 was an especially bad sign. Considering the quality of the cars they've been giving Kvapil it sure does seem like they are eyeing him for something. I can fully understand Brendan's frustration. He is trying to do everything right yet he must feel like his own organization doesn't rully support or believe in him if the new guy gets the stuff he's been asking for all season. Which is a real shame because a rookie driver needs all the help that they can get.
Brendan might be better off if Penske doesn't pick up his option for next season. I think it would be a mistake on their part because I think with better equipment and more experience Brendan would do a lot better but their loss could be another team's gain. I just don't know if that #0 car is going to be all that much better than the #77. They definitely struggle a lot too with mechanical problems and with trying to make that a competitive ride.
I just hope that Brendan isn't going to want his ride back in the truck series. If that's the case Steve Park is out of a job and he's the happiest he's been in a long time racing with Orleans in the truck series. They seem like a great organization and unless he's going to be racing in the Busch series or in Cup with another good organization I'd like to see Steve stay in the #62. A paper in Las Vegas reported that Steve was re-signed for 2005 but there's been no official annoucement which makes me wonder if they are waiting to see what Brendan's situation is before they make if official that Steve is returning.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)
Mel Stottlemyre Won't Be Back as Yankees Pitching Coach
More and more it's looking like the Yankees coaching staff is going to look very different next season as Mel Stottlemyre becomes the latest to leave. There's a good chance that Willie Randolph will be the Mets manager, Don Mattingly hasn't said whether he will return as hitting coach and there was some talk of replacing the bullpen coach as well.
Stottlemyre is a terrific person. He has a great outlook on life and he is well-loved by just about everyone who has come into contact with him. He was a very good pitcher for the Yankees in his younger years and won 20-games in a season three times. As a pitching coach many pitchers have loved working with him and have credited him for their success.
However, as time has gone on with the Yankees it seemed like Stottlemyre wasn't getting the results from the pitching staff that he once did. While Stottlemyre can't fully be blamed for what a pitcher does on the mound because ultimately that person is responsible for the way they pitch, it seemed like issues that were obvious to most about the way certain pitchers were performing he seemed unable to fix. Jeff Weaver and Ted Lilly were two pitchers who struggled under Stottlemyre's watch who improved elsewhere and perhaps the Yankees feared that Javy Vazquez would be the same story.
Stottlemyre's replacement will most likely be Mel Allen who I don't know much about. Hopefully he will be able to work with Vazquez who is unquestionably a pitcher with a huge amount of talent. Prior to the all-star break he was excellent for the Yankees but in the second half of the season he was much worse. The Yankees have denied that Vazquez had an injury so he apparently had something wrong with his pitching motion or had lost confidence in himself and Stottlemyre was apparently unable to do much to help him. The Yankees will need Vazquez next season and in the future so hopefully he can straighten himself out with Allen's help.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:41 AM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2004
Photo of the Day
The Mainstay Inn. Cape May, New Jersey. May, 2004. As some people reading this might know, I love Cape May on the Jersey shore. It's a beautiful Victorian town full of lots of bed and breakfasts and yummy restaurants.
Every time I go to Cape May I walk around town checking out some of my favorite spots. There are a few streets I love to walk down because every house whether it's a private residence or bed & breakfast is absolutely gorgeous. Though I've never stayed there The Mainstay Inn looks like one of the nicest to me. There is so much attention to detail outside and from what I've seen of the photos inside as well. I'm hoping that one day I can stay there though it is on the pricey side.
The main building of the Mainstay dates back to 1872 and was built as a private gambling club. In the 1890's gambling was outlawed and the Mainstay was a private house from then until 1949 when it was opened as a summer guest house. In 1976 it was purchased by new owners who renovated it and opened it as a bed & breakfast. In April of this year ownership changed hands once again but the Mainstay continues on as a b&b.
Even though I've been to Cape May a bunch of times and seen a lot of the same places over and over I never get tired of taking photos in Cape May. I'm always trying to get shots that capture the Victorian character of the town. I don't know if it's that so many of the structures are so old or that they are so pretty but I'm just so fascinated by the town.
As I mentioned above, another great thing about Cape May are all the delicious restaurants. The Washington Inn, considered by many to be one of the best restaurants in New Jersey is a good one with an expansive wine list. Tisha's and Freda's, both featuring creative menus, are also excellent. Aleathea's in the Inn of Cape May is one I like to go to for lunch. At lunchtime it's pretty casual and I enjoy eating out on the porch, right across the street from the beach.
Just a really fun place to go.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:19 PM | Comments (0)
Rusty Wallace Fined
From Jayski's: UPDATE: Driver Rusty Wallace was fined $10,000 for his role in an incident at the conclusion of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race held Oct. 24 at Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR officials announced today. Wallace, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing South, was penalized for violating Section 12-4-A (Actions detrimental to stock car racing) of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Rule Book when he made deliberate contact with the #12 Alltel car of Ryan Newman as the field returned to pit lane following the conclusion of the race.(NASCAR PR)(11-2-2004)
I think just about everyone expected that this would happen. Nascar has fined people in the past for doing things like this so it's not surprising that they would fine Rusty too.
I wonder if Rusty and Ryan have worked out the issues they have with one another? Often after an incident like this that involves teammates the drivers involved will release statements or give interviews that indicate there isn't any bad blood between the two or that it was just a misunderstanding and everything has been smoothed over. I don't recall hearing anything about the two of them having worked things out but in light of the focus on the tragedy last week it's possible that the two talked and we never heard about it. It will be interesting to see if there are any future incidents between these two.
ETA: I just heard part of an interview Rusty did with XM's Claire B. Lang and it doesn't sound like things have been patched up between Rusty and Ryan. I wasn't able to listen to all of what was being said but it sounded like Rusty had no intention of approaching Ryan to discuss things with him now and that he didn't think that Ryan would be approaching him either. Rusty said that he did want to work things out down the road... way down the road as in after he retired. Because at that point in time he would be in a management position and would be working with all the teams so they would have to all get along.
So what happens in the future in situations when teammates should be working together such as at restrictor plate races? And surely there will be at events from time to time together. I'm beginning to wonder if there's more to this situation than just the on-track incident. I understand why Rusty's upset but still teammates usually find a way to at least have a professional relationship even if they aren't friends.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)
I Said I Wouldn't Do This But...
I said earlier that I wouldn't be talking politics here but I'm going to make one vaguely politically-related statement here:
I don't think someone's political beliefs is a reflection of their intelligence or lack thereof. I can't tell you how many times I've seen today, being that it's election day, a reference online to someone saying that if a person votes one way or another they must be someone who isn't very smart. Some people seem to feel that there are large groups of people who are voting a particular way not because they feel strongly about a candidate and the issues they support but because they are ignorant.
Just like with religion, politics is often a deeply personal issue and people have the right to believe anything they want. It does not make one person smarter than another because they voted Democrat or because they voted Republican or because they're conservative or because they're a liberal or share in any of the other various political viewpoints. But there seems to be a disturbingly large amount of people who think that everyone who doesn't agree with them on politics or other subjects for that matter are dumber than a box of rocks. That's unfortunate because I like being exposed to diverse opinions and I don't think if someone thinks differently from me that it means that they aren't as smart as I am - they just see things in a different way. I think the world would be a pretty boring place if we all shared the same opinions.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:51 PM | Comments (0)
Maybe I'm Taking this too Seriously...
http://www.frontstretch.com/walker/041102.htm (Not hot-linked for a reason.)
So the (female) author of the above article has written a series of articles such as "Twelve drivers that should be included in a ‘NASCAR Hottie’ calendar," "The Stats about the Top-10 contenders that really matter, at least to the ladies," among others which focus on the hotness factor of the various drivers. So in her most recent article, she says that she has gotten lots of positive feedback from female race fans and that they have encouraged her to write more on this topic. One fan said that they had a burning need to know whether each driver wore boxers or briefs. So the writer has decided that not only will she contact various driver's public relations people to ask this burning question but she will ask other "spicy" questions based on what is submitted by her readers.
I'd be a raging hypocrite if I claimed that I never noticed which drivers were attractive. And I've made my share of jokes about the various drivers and personal subjects. I've admired photos, read stories, written some stuff myself - all in good fun.
But there is something that really bothers me about someone seriously contacting a bunch of driver's PR people to ask these questions. Maybe I'm missing some sort of punchline to this article and the author doesn't intend on seriously doing this but personally, I think the drivers and their PR people have way more serious matters to worry about than answering a bunch of questions which are really no one's business anyway. Sure, it can be funny when a driver is put on the spot in a fan question and answer session with a question like "boxers or briefs" to hear what funny answer they might come up with. But I guess I don't see the humor in seriously submitting "spicy" questions to these PR people. Maybe that comes from having previously worked in public relations myself and there were times when I didn't enjoy having my time wasted when I had a huge amount of things to do.
A lot of people would probably tell me to lighten up, what's the harm? And really there isn't any harm. But I just feel like these articles and going as far as to ask these questions of the PR people re-enforces some stereotypes that a lot of people have about female race fans.
If someone is a race fan because they enjoy checking out the hot drivers and that makes watching racing more fun to them - great! Nothing wrong with admiring attractive men. However, a lot of people assume that the majority of female race fans (and female sports fans) make their selections of their favorite drivers on who they think is the cutest. People who believe that often then think that because some female fans make decisions based on how attractive a driver is that they don't actually know anything about racing, therefore their opinions aren't valid. That's an attitude that bothers me to no end. In a perfect world women's opinions would be taken seriously regardless of what they said about a driver's physical features or personal lives - but the reality is that when women make those things the focus of a lot of their comments, they often aren't taken seriously anymore.
In addition, shouldn't there be some level of respect for the drivers as human beings? I wouldn't go up to a stranger on the street to ask if he wears "boxers or briefs" so why do some fans have a pressing need to know this of the drivers, who in most cases are also strangers? That doesn't mean that no one should ever talk about how hot the drivers are or wonder about their personal lives. I'm all for having fun and joking around. I don't think there's anything wrong with writing articles once in a while that relates to off-the-track issues.
But I get the feeling sometimes that some people, and I'm not saying this is true of the author above as I don't know her, forget what it is that these guys do - they race. Racing is in their blood, it's their passion, it's the whole reason we watch them in the first place. Instead of asking for submissions of "spicy" questions how about submissions of racing related questions that fans have always wanted to know the answers to? I could be wrong but I suspect that most PR people might be a lot more willing to take up a few minutes of their driver's very busy schedule to answer some really great or unusual racing related questions rather than some potentially embarassing "spicy" questions. But I guess to a lot of people that just wouldn't be as interesting or entertaining.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:17 PM | Comments (0)
Released Outright
On NYYFans.com being released outright means that someone has been banned from the site for violating our community standards or other rules on the site. Our community standards are meant to make everyone's posting experience on the forum a good one. We prohibit player bashing and name-calling (Jeter sucks! Torre is an asshole! as opposed to legitimate criticism which we allow like "Torre made a bad decision to bring Heredia into the game."), users insulting each other, racist, sexist and homophobic comments, spamming, trolling and the rest of the usual misbehavior that can get someone kicked off a forum or site.
What's amazing is in spite of the fact that every single user agrees to follow the rules and community standards when they register for the site, when we warn, suspend or ban them it's incredible how many times they scream about how unfair we're being, curse us out and tell us how much our site sucks anyway. We've had to ban some users who make good contributions to the discussions and it's also also amazing how some very intelligent users feel that good posts on baseball mean that they can be as insulting or as inappropriate as they want to their fellow users.
Usually there's a whole bunch of excuses too. It's our fault for doing such a horrible job of running the site and moderating. We have terrible community standards. They were provoked by another user. Everyone on the site is a bunch of idiots and they had to prove how dumb we all are. The list goes on and on. Well, I've got news for all our banned users - the only person who is responsible for the termination of your account is you. No one holds you hostage to the site and forces you to post. The words you post are yours and yours alone. If you can't follow the community standards and respect your fellow users, that isn't our problem - that's yours.
It's amazing how much those banned users try to belittle the site and everyone on it after they're gone. We're all stupid, have the wrong opinions and the site itself sucks. Well, if the site sucks so much why did you come there in the first place? Other than the trolls who are simply out to cause chaos, there was something that made a user sign up. Some claim that they are only there to laugh at what Yankee fans have to say. Well, if it's just about mocking Yankee fans they could go to Yankees.com or other forums. And it's amazing how many banned users try to re-register. If the site is so bad why do they keep trying to come back?
The argument which is most hysterical is when a banned user says that we banned them because we didn't agree with their opinions or that we don't want differing opinions on the site. Hello! If that were the case we would have a closed community like Sons of Sam Horn. If those folks had any idea about Jim or I or about the history of the site for that matter they would know how ridiculous that belief is. Both Jim and I have never been shy about expressing unpopular or minority-held opinions, myself especially. We have also both strongly supported the right of non-Yankee fans to post on the site, even though it bothers some of our users. In fact we like that non-Yankee fans post on the site because we like having the different perspectives that they bring to the discussions. We will never ban someone because we disagree with something they said about the Yankees or because of their political viewpoints. If we did that we would have banned quite a few more people! In fact, we have plenty of non-Yankee fans who post daily and all sorts of users with very diverse backgrounds and opinions.
I guess it makes the banned users feel better when they complain about us on other forums or when they send us email to tell us to @#&#^&@%#^@ off. The funny thing is that the more people complain about us in the worst terms the more they justify why we banned them in the first place. And while these folks usually find others who agree with them about what horrible meanies we are, usually others who have also violated our community standards and gotten banned, I think that often they make it obvious to everyone else around them why they got banned, without us ever having to defend ourselves. Actually, they do us a favor because when they post a link to our site on another forum they drive up the traffic and visitors to the site and it's not unusual for some of the people who come over to register and stick around.
Online forums can bring out the best and the worst in people. Unfortunately often people don't behave the same way online as they would in real life in that they don't really see a problem with saying or doing anything they want on a message board or forum. Personally, while I don't hesitate from posting my opinions, I do keep in mind where I'm posting as every forum has a different feel, what effect what I'm saying will have on the other users, and the community standards and other rules of that particular forum. Most of all I try to keep in mind that just because I can say something doesn't mean that I should say it. Actions have consequences in real life and the same is true online. Too bad there's a segment of people who don't seem to realize that.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)
November 01, 2004
Photo of the Day
Walt Disney World, 1998. I've been to Walt Disney World in Florida twice now. I loved going there each time! There are lots of cool rides, I loved a lot of the places we went to eat at and this most recent time I had a great time with my cousin. But I also love going to Walt Disney World to take pictures.
The above photo was taken when I went in 1998 and it's of a small bronze statue of one of the characters that is outside of Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom. There are a whole bunch of these little statues there and for statues they seem to have a lot of personality! Both times I went I was able to take some cool shots of the statues and they were especially interesting in black and white.
I'll probably end up posting plenty of photos from Walt Disney World as Photo of the Day, especially since I took so many when I went with my cousin this past January. The first day and a half that I was down there Liz was at her conference so that left me with plenty of time to wander on my own. And I definitely made good use of my time!
Posted by silverdsl at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)
Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch has a handful of fans but otherwise he's one of the most hated drivers in Nascar. Personally, I don't like him too much myself. However, I do think he has some racing talent and his team has clearly worked hard to get him to the point where he's first in the Chase for the Championship. If he were to win the Championship he may be one of the least popular Champions ever. I'd rather see Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin... well, anyone else get the Championship. But on the other hand it might be pretty funny to see the reaction of the fans if he were to be Champion.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:43 PM | Comments (0)
More on Balco
IRS Investigative Reports Courtesy of The Smoking Gun
The Smoking Gun obtained copies of the IRS investigative reports of interviews with Balco Vice President James Valente and personal trainer Greg Anderson. Some damning stuff in there for some of the athletes previously mentioned in connection with Balco as they are all listed as people who Balco provided with "The Clear" and/or "The Cream" both of which contained performance enhancing steriods.
The ESPN article on these reports mentioned in passing that the Giambi brothers had tested positive for steroids in urine tests given by Balco and I wondered why Balco would be testing them for steroids since they knew what they were giving them. It turns out that the Giambi brothers had taken some steroids at some time in the past from a different source and wanted to know if they would turn up in a urine test, which it did. Apparently steriods can be detected in the system up to 18 months after they are last taken. However, "The Clear" and "The Cream" were supossedly undetectable because they were made with some sort of masking agents.
Which may explain why several of the Balco clients are so willing to take tests for steroids if they know that whatever they've taken will never show up on urine tests. Of course Sheffield has since admitted that he used "The Cream" and maybe "The Clear" too, though he claims he didn't know what was in it. Human growth hormone doesn't show up on tests either so any of these players can keep on using that stuff as long as no one rate them out.
Of course even if there is even more damaging evidence presented to show that these players used steroids on a regular basis they will never be punished by MLB. Bud Selig has already said that MLB is only concerned with what is going on now and what will go on in the future, not what illegal substances players might have used in the past.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)
A Visit to the Used CD Store
CD stores are dangerous places, used CD stores even more. I am completely incapable of leaving without purchasing a CD, usually more than one and tonight was no different. There's a great used CD place next to the dry cleaners I use so every time I drop off clothes to get dry cleaned I stop in to check out the used CDs too. There's always lots a great stuff there and often the CDs are at used prices but they are still brand-new and in their shrink rap. I guess a lot of people get CDs they don't like as gifts and bring them into the used CD place for either money or other CDs.
Tonight I picked up Outkast's Speakerboxx, with "Hey Ya" and "The Way You Move" on it; The Essential Bruce Springsteen, his two-CD greatest hits collection; Alice in Chains, Nothing Safe, which is their best of; The Byrds, Greatest Hits; and Robert Plant's two-CD Best of. Obviously I love greatest hits and best of albums!
The Robert Plant I got because there's an awesome song of his that I really love "Ship of Fools." Since there were a couple of other songs in the collection that I like besides that one I figured I may as well get the greatest hits. I don't know most of the songs but I listened to some of it in the car on the way home and so far I really like what I did hear of it.
The other three greatest hits albums are ones that I've thought of getting for a while but never got around to it until now. That should be some good listening for sure! I'll have to bring a couple of them to work with me to play there. I'm especially looking forward to listening to the Springsteen double CD.
There were actually other albums I was hoping that they might have but the only bad thing about used CD store as compared to a store that sells new CDs is that at a used place one never knows what CDs will be there whereas in a new place it's almost assured they will have everything or at least everything recent and popular.
The only part of my visit to the used CD store that I didn't enjoy was the death metal they were playing rather loudly the whole time I was there. I enjoy just about every kind of music but death metal is one of the few styles of music that I can't stand. It just sounds horrible to me and it was giving me a headache to listen to it. Luckily, they aren't usually playing death metal when I stop in otherwise I might not be as willing to go in.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:01 PM | Comments (0)