An odd duck....

....that would be ME!

I've always been a bit "not normal".  Okay, a LOT not normal.  The things that most people do, or aspire to do, hold little appeal for me.  I've always been an outlier.  The flow usually goes its merry way without me.

I HATE summer.  I loath heat and humidity.  If I'm sweating, I'm not happy.  (To my Florida friends....what were you thinking? :)  Autumn is my favorite season, followed by spring, and I enjoy winter, and snow, too.  Keep in mind I live in Texas.  I'm not suggesting I want to winter in International Falls, Minnesota, however.  Is it true body parts spontaneously fall off people there in the winter?

I'm only marginally coordinated, which might have been at least partially responsible for my pitiful athletic career.  A golf ball on a tee is safe from me.  

Speaking of....I'm not a sports fan, at least as you normally think of a macho sports guy.  I love (American) football, particularly at the college level.  I know the teams, their standings, star players, etc.  But I wouldn't walk across the street to see a baseball or basketball game.  And golf to me is about as exciting as watching a bear hibernate.  I do enjoy Formula 1 (Grand Prix) racing and English (Union) rugby.  Thanks to me both those sports now have an American audience of one.

I'm an introvert who is intrigued by people.  I can see someone in a park, for example, say "hello", and in five minutes know where they're from, what their day job is, if they have any kids or pets, what kind of car they have, etc.  People somehow seem more than willing to open up to me.  I enjoy people-watching from a distance, too, wondering what each person does by observing them.  However I have very few friends.  Lots of acquaintances, but few close friends.  EDIT:  It's been suggested that I'm more "introvert heavy / extrovert lite".  EDIT #2:  Simon Butler says I'm an extrovert, and I trust Simon Butler on such matters / definitions.  He's very smart.  :)

I have three daughters (and six grandchildren) and I love them dearly.  I hope I was / am a good father.  I sometimes think I wasn't good enough, but then I look at them, see how they turned out, and realize I must have done something right.   (BIG kudos to their mom, too!)

I don't mind apartment living.  To most people an apartment is just a layover on their way to a house of their own.  Been there, done that....too much maintenance.

I like fast airplanes and cars.  I don't have an airplane, and my cars have been rather mundane, but I still appreciate high performance mobile exotica.

I like firearms.  *gasp*  But I'm not a hunter.  I'm too lazy to get up at O-dark-thirty, go out to a cold, damp hunting stand, sit there for hours hoping to see a worthy target, shoot it, field dress it, drag it to a processor and pay him $$$ for his service, when I can just go to my meat market and get a beautiful steak M-Sat, 9-6 for a fraction as much.

I don't understand vanity or narcissism.  If you have to tell someone how cool you are, you aren't.

I'm very organized.  I think three steps ahead.  Odd, huh?

I love dogs.  To hear of a dog being abused really eats at me.  If I were ever to actually see a dog being abused I'm afraid I'd wind up behind bars....but the abuser would wind up in the hospital!  While I'm not a great lover of cats or birds or squirrels, etc, I would never abuse one. 

I'm extremely loyal.  I appreciate loyalty shown towards me and happily return it.  Yes, I've stumbled before, and learned from it.  In my business I have friends (subcontractors and vendors) who I've worked with for 20 or 30 years.  To bring in somebody new means someone else either retired or died.

I'm NOT technologically savvy.  I have a smart phone with probably 100 features, but I only use five or six of them.  In a world where Microsoft Windows dominates, I'm an Apple guy.  I don't play video games.  Hitting a little cartoon monkey over the head with a club when he pops out of a hole in a log just seems dumb to me.  Do game designers really make BILLIONS of dollars designing them?  *I don't get it*

I'm NOT a music aficionado. Back in my "yout" I was, and still know the lyrics to the Beach Boys, Dion, Chuck Berry, and the other REAL rock and roller's songs.  I've heard the names of todays big "musicians" (?), but couldn't for the life of me identify one of their songs.  The music of today just isn't pleasing to my ear.  My few exceptions are barely on anyone else's radar.  Ever hear of Enya, for example?  Didn't think so.  Jazz?  *crickets*

I'm a skeptic.  I can see through most scams and political bullshit.  The Democrats and Republicans, although they like to tout their own piousness and lambast their opponents, are in reality equal partners in crime.  I trust them both about as far as I can spit into a hurricane.  I'm NOT an ideologue, and can't imagine how anyone else could be, either.  Inflexibility is stupid!

I often don't understand our legal system.  How can something be so wrong (as God and my mama taught me) and unethical, yet still be "legal"? "Loopholes" are evil.

I have more, but I'm tired of typing.  :)

S  

The true essence of baseball

What do you get when you cross an Aston Martin with a Premiership Champion (rugby) Northampton Saints fan?  This:

I'm impressed!

Here's a question for you baseball fans....when you go to a game do you actually go to watch the game, or to just eat hot dogs and nachos and drink beer?

Last night about 8:30 I took Luke the Wonder Dog out and noticed they were playing a Frisco Rough Riders game at our minor league ballpark a couple blocks away.  It was a delightful evening, about 72 degrees, no humidity, slight breeze, and I was suddenly overcome by the desire to go to a game there tonight.

All I really wanted was some ballpark food, which is always better than the same thing if it were served at home.  Sorta like eating some canned crap food sitting around a camp fire.

But, hey, sometimes you gotta take the bitter with the sweet.  I would willingly sit there and dodge foul balls for some gooey junk food.  I aaaaalmost had K convinced we should go, but then she had a momentary flash of sanity and laughed in my face.  

When negotiations concluded she'd promised me some fake cheese (the staple of world-class ballpark nachos) over some fresh chips /w plenty of jalapenos, served to me in my chair high up on our balcony if I would let her off the hook.

Cold beer is a given.  SOLD!  Congress should take note.....THIS is how you compromise.  :)

S

"Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet"

No?  OK then, how 'bout "rugby, barbecue, peach ice cream, and Ferrari"?

 WE WON!

I'm kinda liking these long holiday weekends.  Friday night we watched the Amlin Cup championship game (rugby), and my team, the Northampton Saints, won it all in a hard fought game.  WooHoo!

Then yesterday we watched the Heineken Cup European rugby championship game where Toulon (France) beat Saracens (UK).  This was good for me as next weekend Northampton plays Saracens for the Aviva Premiership championship, which is the Super Bowl of English rugby.  A beat up Saracens won't hurt my feelings.  ;)

Today....in just a few minutes actually, I'm watching the Monaco F1 Grand Prix.  Do I dare hope Ferrari might sneak up on Mercedes and win one?

Later we're thinking about going downtown to Klyde Warren Park (no relation, DAMMIT!) to chill the afternoon away and maybe graze off one of the food trucks.  It all depends on the rain in the forecast.  It'll be one of those snap decisions if we go.

I missed grandson Parker's baseball game yesterday because it was at O-dark-thirty.  Next week it's at a more reasonable 11am.  He's a hoot to watch.  

At age 4 (almost 5) he plants his feet, taps home plate, takes a couple of practice swings, then steps into the pitch and clobbers it!  He must be batting something like .999.  And he's a fine first baseman, too.

Don't forget to think of all our service men and women who are and have served and sacrificed so much for us, especially on this Memorial Day weekend. 

Have fun, be safe everyone.  :)

S

So maybe I was a bit hasty with my opinion of baseball

My friend Dana over at Bug's Eye View has sent me THIS SHORT VIDEO of a recent Red Sox / Yankees opening day game as narrated by a British sportscaster / comedian.  You've convinced me, Dana, that my earlier unkind remarks about America's Pastime were way off base.  (See...baseball  metaphor  :)

I can relate to this guy.  Watch it and see if you don't agree he really livens up the game.  ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two more just today:

This one from Arizona....

....and this one from Indiana.

Last Friday there was a BIG 18-wheeler moving van from Pennsylvania parked out front.  Its become a daily event.  Where are we gonna put all these people?  This is just insane.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last week K's employer brought in a high-powered psychologist from California (Lord knows he gets plenty of practice out there!) to give a personality test to their Ivory Tower guys.  The goal is for everyone to learn what makes them tick and how they're wired, and to learn how to interact better with those who are wired (short-circuited?) differently.

After slapping the 3rd Floor guys around he moved downstairs to the huddled masses and gave them the test, too.  His assessment (of K at least) was surprisingly accurate.  I asked K to see if he could do an assessment of me, too, and he agreed.  I should get the results in a few days.

Now I'm having second thoughts about where this might lead. 

S

I went to a fireworks show but a baseball game broke out instead

I live just 2 blocks north of Dr Pepper Ballpark, home of the Texas Rangers AA Frisco Roughriders farm team.  I'll go to one or two games there a year willingly, that due to the fact my hosts agree in advance to ply me liberally with brats, nachos, and beer.

After every Friday night home game the ballpark treats fans (and the neighborhood) to a first class fireworks show.  I love fireworks, but I don't want to see them from blocks away.  I want to be right underneath them....I want to FEEL them when they explode.

Last night it was reasonably cool....well..."not hot", so I thought I'd walk a block down to the park that separates my complex from the ballpark and get a ringside seat to the fireworks show.  To time it just right I found the radio broadcast of the game on some obscure AM station.  

Honestly, and I know this will offend some so I'll just apologize now, I can't stand baseball.  It just bores me to tears.  I mean, 1 guy on offense, 9 guys on defense.  How fair is that?  And talk about over-paid Prima Donna's? Jeez!  (I heard on the sports that some player....I didn't get his name....is on injured reserve after hurting his pinkie finger high-fiving a team mate.  Way to go, Stud!)

So I was very painfully listening to the ball game on the radio.  With one out in the bottom of the 9th I leashed up 'Lil Fucker (aka Luke, the dog) and we headed out.  A couple of minutes later I was at the park settled in on a comfy bench.  

Five minutes later....10 minutes later....15 minutes later....turns out it wasn't as "not hot' as I thought....nothing.  COME ON ALREADY!

Finally I called home and asked K to listen in to the game again and see if it was in extra innings.  Well DUH!  Yes, of course it was.  I'm sure some guy in the press box looked waaaaay out past the left field fence and saw me sitting there, sweating, and gave the signal to hit a late home run and tie the game.

I came home and was just getting into bed an hour+ later when I heard the first KABOOM!  

Murphy's Law / Scott's Corollary  ;)

S

The Park Clan, Gangnam style

"Park" is a very common Korean name.  All I can figure is that centuries ago when most of my ancestors took the traditional route from Scotland westward via sailing ship to the New World, a cousin or two peeled off eastward instead and hiked their way across Russia and China before settling in for a while in Korea.  Hence all those little "Park's" running around the Korean peninsula today.

For some reason Korean Air thinks I'm from that Asian twig of the family tree and keeps wanting me to sign up for one of their credit cards.  At least that's what I think it says.  Or maybe it's a demand for child support, I'm not sure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's all in the presentation....

The idea that airline ticket prices should be based on the passenger's weight seems to be gaining some traction.  The topic comes up often when airlines industry groups talk about reforms needed to insure their long-term financial stability.

If you stop and think about it, it does make sense.  Whether you're moving letters or packages or passengers, whether it's via truck, train or plane, the more the freight weighs, the more it costs to move it.  It's simple "fizzicks".

The problem is when airlines suggest that "large" people pay more all the equal rights people get their panties in a wad.

"You're discriminating against the 'girth challenged'.  This is 21st Century America.  We're better than that!"  Then they all run down to the Hungry Heifer who has generously donated poster board and sign paint (and refreshments) for the protest march. 

OK, so it's politically incorrect to charge large people more.  So why not set ticket prices based based on what it costs (fuel, space, in-flight refreshments, etc) to accommodate large people, then give a discount on a sliding scale for thinner people?

Would that be any more palatable?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Talk about the perfect segue!)

EVERYTHING IS BIGGER IN TEXAS....

The Ballpark at Arlington, the home of the Texas Rangers, has announced the overhaul of their food concessions for the upcoming season.  The featured offerings this year will be from their signature "24" menu....

....dishes that are 24" long like this "Murph-a-dilla" quesadilla....

....or this 24" long "Boom Stick" hot dog...

....or containing 24 ounces of meat like this GIANT "Rio Grande" steak sandwich....

....or the 24 ounce "Beltre-Burger".

Like cheese?  The "Bases Loaded" has 24 ounces of the gooey stuff.

So far patron feedback has been very....

....umm....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And on a happier note....here's wishing you all a very Happy Easter.  :)

S

Things are looking up!

To me this time of the year is just a huge sports "black hole".  I'll say right up front I'm not a sports (plural) fan.  I'm a FOOTBALL fan.  (And I'd best clarify that and say American football.)  I start to perk up when spring training begins, am on top of the world from September through the January bowl games, kinda coast through the pro football playoffs, then go into hibernation after the Super Bowl.  I really enjoy the Winter Olympic Games because to a Texan winter sports is the epitome of "exotic", but they're still a full year away so there's no sense getting excited about them yet.

I'm definitely a product of my upbringing.  Here in Texas football is King.  Twenty thousand will turn out for a high school football game, maybe a few hundred for a high school basketball game, and less than that for a high school baseball game.  The same ratio probably holds for college sports, too.  Hockey is a northern sport imported here when all the Yanks began heading south 30 years ago, and soccer is here because....well, I have no idea why soccer is here.  Golf for me is a near-death experience.

K has taken the lead on solving our off-season sports dilemma by introducing a new one for us to latch on to:  Rugby.  She chose rugby because last weekend she was channel surfing and there they were...the Northampton Saints VS Gloucester Rugby.  She decided Northampton would be her team because she liked the color of their shorts and T-shirts, and one of their guys flashed his tooth during a post-game interview.  Apparently there's nothing sexier than a guy wearing short shorts and showing off his last remaining tooth.

I must admit I found it to be rather entertaining, too.  They get in a big huddle, throw a f__ked up looking football in the middle, and have at it.  It's like tackle football, only without pads.  Or helmets.  It's not a game for wusses, for sure!

She was all heartbroken when she found out her team wouldn't be on the "telly" today.  But being the avid Northhampton fan that she has become she's following them via streaming live internet (audio only).  Now I've listened to many a football game on the radio, but at least I understood the terminology.  When the announcer said "the quarterback took the snap and ran left on a naked bootleg", I could "see" that in my mind.  

The only thing that made (sorta) sense to me on the streaming live audio rugby game K is listening to was when the announcer said the game was "simmering nicely".  Ohhh....now they're talking about "attacking".  I can almost see the bloody slobber and protruding bones.  I think I might like rugby!  

It's halftime.  Gotta go make nachos.  ;)

S

Making reservations for the 2024 Olympic Games

I hope they hold the 2024 Games somewhere cool* as I'll be there cheering on my grandson.  And by cool I mean "cool" as in "not hot".  By then I'll be older than dirt and I don't want to pay big bucks to travel half way around the world to sit there and sweat.  I can stay in Dallas and sweat for free!


Today my daughter sent me pictures of her son intently mimicking every Olympic event he sees on TV:

Volleyball...

tennis...

even fencing.

And yes, he does live in the back of Toys R Us, thank you for asking.

Maybe by then they'll bring back baseball as an Olympic event.  Right now at 3-years-old the little Slugger can hit a (plastic) baseball over the house.  And with a trampoline in his back yard, that's a possibility, too.

Move over Shaun White.  Make room for the new Olympic cereal stud.  ;)

S

*A quick check with the Weather Channel shows that today in Stockholm, Sweden (which coincidentally is the home of the Swedish Bikini Team) it will reach a high of 72 degrees.  72 in August....I could handle that.  Just sayin'.  ;)

America's pastime

I don't understand baseball.  The TV just showed a SF Giants pitcher who threw a perfect game.  The stadium was going wild, the dugout emptied as they rushed the mound to congratulate the pitcher for his great accomplishment, etc.  Not one of the opponents even made it to first base.  That would be like the defense in a football game holding the other team to no first downs.  *Yawn*  If you had a football game where the final score was 3-0, the stands would have been emptied by the start of the fourth quarter.  That would be one B O R I N G game.


The baseball games I've been to were very relaxed events.  People just wander around, visiting at length with familiar faces who regularly sit nearby, they take forever to go get a hot dog and a beer....just a very slow moving, relaxed affair.  It's almost as if the game itself is a side note.  I guess to hard core fans that's the beauty of it.  Good for 'em I suppose.  I just prefer a little more adrenaline in my sports.  :)


S

Do as I say, not as I do

Nope, that won't work with grandson Parker.  He watches and mimics everything.  He's huge into baseball....he has his own batting helmet, bat and ball (plastic, oversized), glove, and even an official Texas Rangers jersey (XXXXS).  The scary part is he can step into a pitch and hit it a mile, well into the yard next door.  And he isn't even 3 years old yet.


He watches every Rangers game on TV and tries to bat like the Big Guys do.  He gets his stance just right, taps the plate, takes a couple of check-swings, then holds up his hand, steps back, puts the bat under his arm and "adjusts" his batting gloves, and then he's ready.  Except he doesn't have any batting gloves.  Until today:

I found some Youth XS batting gloves for him.  They're still way too big for him, but probably not more so than his batting helmet.  We're going over to see his new 'lil sister later today and convention dictates he be included in the gift receiving, too.   Now I wish I'd bought some super-vitamins for ME.  He's gonna wear me out playing baseball!

Good Saturday everyone.

S

I tried...I really did try

My hometown team is in the World Series, and (nearly) everyone here is excited about it.  I tried to be excited, too, but I just can't work up any enthusiasm.  I dutifully turned on the TV at 7 last night to watch the game.  After just a couple of innings K started yawning and wandered off to iron a couple of shirts while I sat there watching intently.  After another couple of innings I was reading a magazine between pitches, hoping somebody would do something soon as I was rapidly losing interest.  By the 7th inning I threw in the towel and turned it off.


I'm sorry, but I've failed as a baseball fan.  It must be an acquired taste.  I know many of you are avid baseball fans, and I'm happy for you.  It is, after all, advertised to be America's Pastime...."baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, Chevrolet" and all that, but Jeez...it is SO boring.  It's like watching grass grow.  This is a sport where a "no hitter" is considered to be an amazing feat.  If no one hits the ball, what's the point?  Do they eventually just agree to turn off the lights and go home?  (Kidding....I know the rules.  It just seems like the last thing MLB should want is a game with no hits.)


I'm thinking I might need to learn something about hockey.  It looks like a tough sport, one where you can get your nose broken playing it, which everyone knows is the deciding factor between whether something is a "sport" or a "game".  Then I could have two sports to keep up with.  (I know they call it a football game, but let's face it, you can get all kinds of body parts broken playing football.  It's a sport.  Checkers, chess, curling, croquet, golf, Monopoly....those are games.)


One thing I will say about baseball....they generally have excellent hot dogs there.  :)


S

Fireworks? We don't need no stinkin' fireworks...

...I'll be the entertainment this 4th of July.


Here's something I'm expecting to see any time now:  I'll be walking around outside and just explode...BOOM!!...like a kernel of corn explodes suddenly to make popcorn.  I wonder at what temperature that might happen?  We're probably pretty close right now.


Seems momentum is building to cancel several large fireworks shows around here due to the drought and extreme fire danger.  Most of Texas' 254 counties have fireworks bans already in place, with exceptions for controlled municipal shows.   Now those are in jeopardy, too.


I was offered tickets to a Sunday baseball game with fireworks afterwards, but turned them down because of the heat.  I love fireworks, but I hate to sweat.  In this case fireworks lost.


I really need a summer home elsewhere.  Maybe back in Colorado, or Chile.  I've seen pics of Chile in July.  It looks refreshing.


Stay cool...


S

An afternoon with Sluggo

Today I stopped by to visit with my daughter Erica and my grandson Parker....aka Sluggo.  This kid LOVES baseball...and football, and soccer, and basketball, and just being outside.  Today he wanted to play baseball, so we went out into the yard and he blew me away!  The little guy can actually hit the ball.  I can pitch 'em high, low, fast, slow, it doesn't matter.  He can judge them and connect.   The kid's amazing.  And he only 2! 

At what age do you think it's appropriate to get a sports agent for him?  Haha!

Otherwise today was spent playing referee between dueling subcontractors, trying to make sense of what the new building inspector wants (he contradicts himself), and dropping off/picking up the dog from the groomer.  I still managed to get home before K, so I'm doing a few household chores so she (and I) will have a completely free weekend.  

This weekend we'll be doing our homework researching things to see and do in/around Aspen so we can make the most of our limited time there next week. Can any of you who've been there make any suggestions? I'm sure a lot has changed since I was last there 20+ years ago.

Have a great weekend everyone.  Stay cool.  :)

S