Having set myself up for lifetime ridicule (see below: Rays and Cubs in the World Series this year - is he serious?), I had to check on the Cubs last night to see if they could keep up with the Rays. They were behind the Dodgers 1-0 until the bottom of the ninth when they tied it up, and then they won in the tenth inning. Very impressive, guys! That left the win-loss percentage for the Cubs and the Rays tied at the top among all MLB teams. It was good to see Lou Piniella win although it was a tough loss for the Dodgers.
Naturally, the Rays dropped their game with the White Sox tonight. I'll have to check tomorrow's paper to see who's standing where after today's games.
It's a long season. We shall see . . .
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
almost spoke too soon, and a modest prediction
Even as I was saying how good the Rays are this year, they were getting bombed by the Texas Rangers. I got home late, turned the game on, and the score was 7-4 Texas. Then it became 8-5 Texas. Then a Texan hit a grand-slam homer and it was 12-5 Texas. Ouch.
Even with that loss, the Rays were tied with the Cubs for the best winning percentage in major league baseball as of this morning. The Cubs!
But this afternoon the Rays came back and won, 5-3. Their percentage is back up to .604 with 32 wins and 21 losses. The Cubs, with 31 wins and 21 losses, play tonight.
The Rays! The Cubs!
The Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908 (yes, folks, exacly one century ago) and have not appeared in the World Series since 1945. I might have heard that game on the radio but I wasn't old enough to walk.
The Rays have been around for ten seasons plus this one, and for ten seasons they have smelled like really old fish. They've never finished a season with a winning record.
You might remember how, in 2003, there was a brief moment when it looked like the Cubs and the Red Sox could have gone to the World Series. That would have been good for baseball, and good for the country. It never happened. The Red Sox had to wait another year. Cubs fans are still dying from old age while waiting.
Prediction: In 2008, the World Series will be between the Rays and the Cubs. You read it here first. Only the Red Sox have the ability to keep the Rays from going that far.
Even with that loss, the Rays were tied with the Cubs for the best winning percentage in major league baseball as of this morning. The Cubs!
But this afternoon the Rays came back and won, 5-3. Their percentage is back up to .604 with 32 wins and 21 losses. The Cubs, with 31 wins and 21 losses, play tonight.
The Rays! The Cubs!
The Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908 (yes, folks, exacly one century ago) and have not appeared in the World Series since 1945. I might have heard that game on the radio but I wasn't old enough to walk.
The Rays have been around for ten seasons plus this one, and for ten seasons they have smelled like really old fish. They've never finished a season with a winning record.
You might remember how, in 2003, there was a brief moment when it looked like the Cubs and the Red Sox could have gone to the World Series. That would have been good for baseball, and good for the country. It never happened. The Red Sox had to wait another year. Cubs fans are still dying from old age while waiting.
Prediction: In 2008, the World Series will be between the Rays and the Cubs. You read it here first. Only the Red Sox have the ability to keep the Rays from going that far.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
who ARE these guys?
Long-suffering fans of the Tampa Bay Rays - or at least those who haven't been to a game this season - are reading but having trouble understanding this morning's news: The Rays are number one in the American League East. They are also number one in major league baseball, with the highest win-loss ratio of all MLB teams - or, they are as I type this.
I'm still a Red Sox fan but these guys, barely ahead of the Red Sox (but way ahead of the Yankees) have captured my attention. They are fun to watch, too.
Traditionally, the Rays have faded quickly after the All Star break. We'll see how good they look in August.
I'm still a Red Sox fan but these guys, barely ahead of the Red Sox (but way ahead of the Yankees) have captured my attention. They are fun to watch, too.
Traditionally, the Rays have faded quickly after the All Star break. We'll see how good they look in August.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
odds and ends
I haven't done this lately. Here are odds and ends not worth an entry by themselves:
I got a "survey" in the mail from Howard Dean, the Democratic National Party chairman. It's all made up to look official, with "registered" something-or-other in three places on the envelope and a cover letter from Dean asking for money. They were beginning to teach public opinion surveying when I was a government major at FSU, and I remember enough to recognize a bogus survey when I see it. I'm sending it in, though. I'm telling them what I think about the DNC's not seating the Florida delegates and the Democratic candidates ignoring Florida except to come in for fund-raisers. I'm proud to have omitted obscenities and profanities. They won't read it anyway, after seeing no check fall out of the envelope.
Obama and Hillarious are in Florida today. I wish them well but where have they been all during this campaign? I'm a Democrat the same way Will Rogers was a Democrat ("I don't belong to an organized political party. . ."). I'll hold my nose and vote Democratic in November because nobody can afford to pay me enough to vote for John McBush II.
Speaking of Bush, the man Garrison Keillor calls the "Current Occupant" now has 243 days left in office, or a little less than 35 weeks. Most babies conceived in the past two to seven weeks will be born with a Democrat in the White House.
On a somewhat brighter note, they've autopsied a man whose body was being guarded by a gator and concluded that he drowned with no assistance from the gator. This came too late to save the gator, however. You can read about it here:
http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2008/5/18/349430.html
This news came a couple of weeks after a professional golfball retriever was attacked by a gator at a golf course but fended him off, after gouging him (the gator) in the eye and telling him Bobby Bowden was on the next green with a couple of FSU football players carrying gigs and a big rope. Just kidding about Bowden and the FSU players. The golfball retriever wears a wet suit and a Scuba tank, which makes the job somewhat harder for the gator.
Sometime this summer I will be undergoing eye surgery -- cataract surgery. I've worn glasses since the first grade and contact lenses since tenth grade, but my vision in one eye is getting cloudy and the acuity in both eyes is not good. At some point I will have to take the contacts out and wear glasses for several weeks. I haven't worn glasses since I went to ROTC summer camp 40-plus years ago. My new glasses resemble the bottom of the glass I'm drinking out of as I type this. Wearing them is going to require a lot of time to get used to them, because everything looks a mile away. I'll keep you posted.
I got a "survey" in the mail from Howard Dean, the Democratic National Party chairman. It's all made up to look official, with "registered" something-or-other in three places on the envelope and a cover letter from Dean asking for money. They were beginning to teach public opinion surveying when I was a government major at FSU, and I remember enough to recognize a bogus survey when I see it. I'm sending it in, though. I'm telling them what I think about the DNC's not seating the Florida delegates and the Democratic candidates ignoring Florida except to come in for fund-raisers. I'm proud to have omitted obscenities and profanities. They won't read it anyway, after seeing no check fall out of the envelope.
Obama and Hillarious are in Florida today. I wish them well but where have they been all during this campaign? I'm a Democrat the same way Will Rogers was a Democrat ("I don't belong to an organized political party. . ."). I'll hold my nose and vote Democratic in November because nobody can afford to pay me enough to vote for John McBush II.
Speaking of Bush, the man Garrison Keillor calls the "Current Occupant" now has 243 days left in office, or a little less than 35 weeks. Most babies conceived in the past two to seven weeks will be born with a Democrat in the White House.
On a somewhat brighter note, they've autopsied a man whose body was being guarded by a gator and concluded that he drowned with no assistance from the gator. This came too late to save the gator, however. You can read about it here:
http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2008/5/18/349430.html
This news came a couple of weeks after a professional golfball retriever was attacked by a gator at a golf course but fended him off, after gouging him (the gator) in the eye and telling him Bobby Bowden was on the next green with a couple of FSU football players carrying gigs and a big rope. Just kidding about Bowden and the FSU players. The golfball retriever wears a wet suit and a Scuba tank, which makes the job somewhat harder for the gator.
Sometime this summer I will be undergoing eye surgery -- cataract surgery. I've worn glasses since the first grade and contact lenses since tenth grade, but my vision in one eye is getting cloudy and the acuity in both eyes is not good. At some point I will have to take the contacts out and wear glasses for several weeks. I haven't worn glasses since I went to ROTC summer camp 40-plus years ago. My new glasses resemble the bottom of the glass I'm drinking out of as I type this. Wearing them is going to require a lot of time to get used to them, because everything looks a mile away. I'll keep you posted.
Monday, May 05, 2008
gas tax pandering
The politicians who advocate a federal gas tax holiday can't be serious - can they? Does Hillary really believe the gas companies won't turn around and raise the price of gas if they have to pay another tax? How do you spell "pandering?"
The federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. If you are paying $3.50/gallon, that's 5.25% of the total, and as prices go up, the percentage drops. That would short-change the federal government by some $9 billion, which wouldn't normally break my heart except this money is supposed to go to road and bridge maintenance and replacement. Did you know that the U.S. national debt is already 9.35 TRILLION dollars? Check this out: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
5.25 percent is chump change. How'd you like to save about 15 percent without crippling the federal budget, and without worrying about the "holiday" coming to an end?
Saving 15 percent (or 52.5 cents/gallon if you are paying $3.50/gallon) is easy.
S. L. O. W. -- D. O. W. N.
I don't mean become a slowpoke, and I don't mean become the guy who crawls along while traffic backs up and road rage mounts. I do mean, don't speed. No jack-rabbit starts. Take it easy. Keep the passing lane open, but stick to the speed limit or a little less. Let all those SUV's and pick-up trucks go by.
If you drive 10 mph faster, your fuel consumption drops 4 mpg. Or, slow down by 10 mpg and your mileage will get 4 mpg better. If you are getting 24 mpg driving fast, getting 28 mpg is a 16.7 percent improvement.
Those are test results and "results may vary," but you get the point. My car was getting 33 or 34 mpg until the last fill-up, and then it was only 31.94 mpg. I think I've spent too much time driving with the hammer down, and I'm going to be more conscientious about my speed. Better mileage means stopping for gas less often and spending less on fuel over the long term. That would beat this silly gas tax holiday idea.
The federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. If you are paying $3.50/gallon, that's 5.25% of the total, and as prices go up, the percentage drops. That would short-change the federal government by some $9 billion, which wouldn't normally break my heart except this money is supposed to go to road and bridge maintenance and replacement. Did you know that the U.S. national debt is already 9.35 TRILLION dollars? Check this out: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
5.25 percent is chump change. How'd you like to save about 15 percent without crippling the federal budget, and without worrying about the "holiday" coming to an end?
Saving 15 percent (or 52.5 cents/gallon if you are paying $3.50/gallon) is easy.
S. L. O. W. -- D. O. W. N.
I don't mean become a slowpoke, and I don't mean become the guy who crawls along while traffic backs up and road rage mounts. I do mean, don't speed. No jack-rabbit starts. Take it easy. Keep the passing lane open, but stick to the speed limit or a little less. Let all those SUV's and pick-up trucks go by.
If you drive 10 mph faster, your fuel consumption drops 4 mpg. Or, slow down by 10 mpg and your mileage will get 4 mpg better. If you are getting 24 mpg driving fast, getting 28 mpg is a 16.7 percent improvement.
Those are test results and "results may vary," but you get the point. My car was getting 33 or 34 mpg until the last fill-up, and then it was only 31.94 mpg. I think I've spent too much time driving with the hammer down, and I'm going to be more conscientious about my speed. Better mileage means stopping for gas less often and spending less on fuel over the long term. That would beat this silly gas tax holiday idea.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Dioner Navarro tags one
A week ago, the Rays looked great against the Red Sox. They aren't looking so hot this weekend at Fenway. C'est la guerre. I took this from the upper deck.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
catching up
A few notes to catch up on some odd topics:
OK, so Hillary won in Pennsylvania, despite my prognostication to the contrary. She was ten points ahead going in and ten points ahead at the end, and all that sound and fury didn't signify much. She's still treading water. If Obama can shake loose from that lunatic minister who appears devoted to sinking Obama's candidacy, he will win.
I think it would be only fair for a lunatic NOW leader to resurrect the Equal Rights Amendment over the next few weeks. By lunatic I mean strident and obnoxious, the kind who would love Hillary to death by conjuring up all the old Uppity Women fears that some people still have. My wife was a NOW member and we were disappointed the Florida Legislature wouldn't ratify the ERA, but that was 30+ years ago. It is time to trot out those ERA demons again, like the fear of unisex bathrooms. Believe it or not, that was an actual "talking point" by ERA opponents. If that were to happen now, Hillary would hate it.
I'm glad she's still a contender. I think the party ought to make its decision at the convention, not months ahead of time. This infuriates the former "news" media, which should now be called the entertainment media, because they want their talking-head pontificators to preside over the selection process. I don't smoke but I'm not a delegate either, so I say, let 'em decide in smoke-filled rooms like they have for two hundred years.
Changing subjects: My daughter in California is now paying $3.999999 cents a gallon for gasoline. It's no mere coincidence that the gas prices are going up just as the federal tax rebate checks are going out in the mail. How clever that the U.S. oil cabal, who have friends in high places in Washington, jacked up the prices in time to siphon off the tax rebate checks. This is clumsier than a direct subsidy from Washington but just as effective, and it is better than having those federal rebate checks going to the Chinese suppliers of goods at Wal-Mart. (My check will go back to the bank account from which I paid my income tax this year. You can't get more patriotic than that.) Prediction: Gas prices will stabilize and come down after the rebate checks have been spent to pay off gasoline credit cards.
Changing subjects again: I just dropped a bundle on a new Nikon digital single-lens reflex camera, and a telephoto lens. The telephoto has an image stabilization feature that works nicely. From the upper deck at the Tropicana Dome, I shot some pictures of various Rays and Red Sox pitchers and batters . . . available light, hand-held telephoto . . . and stopped not only the batters but the ball in mid-flight. In one shot, I got the ball as it made contact with the bat, or vice versa. I'll post that photo here, later.
Speaking of the Rays: They now have a winning season going for them, which they've never had so "late" in the season during their miserable franchise history. They swept the Red Sox 3-0 here, then took the Orioles 2-1 in Baltimore. Now they face the Red Sox again, in Bahston, and we'll see what kind of team they really are. I think they are a VERY good team this year. Their infield is near-perfect, their batters score when they need to, and the pitching staff finally has the talent to win.
I'm happy to see the Rays beat the Red Sox because it happens so seldom. Just as long as the Red Sox stay ahead of the Yankees.
OK, so Hillary won in Pennsylvania, despite my prognostication to the contrary. She was ten points ahead going in and ten points ahead at the end, and all that sound and fury didn't signify much. She's still treading water. If Obama can shake loose from that lunatic minister who appears devoted to sinking Obama's candidacy, he will win.
I think it would be only fair for a lunatic NOW leader to resurrect the Equal Rights Amendment over the next few weeks. By lunatic I mean strident and obnoxious, the kind who would love Hillary to death by conjuring up all the old Uppity Women fears that some people still have. My wife was a NOW member and we were disappointed the Florida Legislature wouldn't ratify the ERA, but that was 30+ years ago. It is time to trot out those ERA demons again, like the fear of unisex bathrooms. Believe it or not, that was an actual "talking point" by ERA opponents. If that were to happen now, Hillary would hate it.
I'm glad she's still a contender. I think the party ought to make its decision at the convention, not months ahead of time. This infuriates the former "news" media, which should now be called the entertainment media, because they want their talking-head pontificators to preside over the selection process. I don't smoke but I'm not a delegate either, so I say, let 'em decide in smoke-filled rooms like they have for two hundred years.
Changing subjects: My daughter in California is now paying $3.999999 cents a gallon for gasoline. It's no mere coincidence that the gas prices are going up just as the federal tax rebate checks are going out in the mail. How clever that the U.S. oil cabal, who have friends in high places in Washington, jacked up the prices in time to siphon off the tax rebate checks. This is clumsier than a direct subsidy from Washington but just as effective, and it is better than having those federal rebate checks going to the Chinese suppliers of goods at Wal-Mart. (My check will go back to the bank account from which I paid my income tax this year. You can't get more patriotic than that.) Prediction: Gas prices will stabilize and come down after the rebate checks have been spent to pay off gasoline credit cards.
Changing subjects again: I just dropped a bundle on a new Nikon digital single-lens reflex camera, and a telephoto lens. The telephoto has an image stabilization feature that works nicely. From the upper deck at the Tropicana Dome, I shot some pictures of various Rays and Red Sox pitchers and batters . . . available light, hand-held telephoto . . . and stopped not only the batters but the ball in mid-flight. In one shot, I got the ball as it made contact with the bat, or vice versa. I'll post that photo here, later.
Speaking of the Rays: They now have a winning season going for them, which they've never had so "late" in the season during their miserable franchise history. They swept the Red Sox 3-0 here, then took the Orioles 2-1 in Baltimore. Now they face the Red Sox again, in Bahston, and we'll see what kind of team they really are. I think they are a VERY good team this year. Their infield is near-perfect, their batters score when they need to, and the pitching staff finally has the talent to win.
I'm happy to see the Rays beat the Red Sox because it happens so seldom. Just as long as the Red Sox stay ahead of the Yankees.
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