As you may or may not know (and I'm guessing most of you are in the may not category), I'll be away from the blog for a few days as we take our seems-to-be-annual trip to the Wisconsin Dells starting Tuesday morning.
Given that Jack has cheesed on himself about seven times in the last two hours, I ask you all to wish me luck.
Monday, June 28, 2004
Sucks to be this guy
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- This is one passenger no one wants in their rental car. A man found a slithery surprise Sunday when a ball python stuck its head out from between his legs while he was driving a rental car Sunday.
"He was completely in shock," said Officer Laura Walker, who responded to the scene. "I mean he said he was lucky he didn't crash the car."
Read the full account here.
"He was completely in shock," said Officer Laura Walker, who responded to the scene. "I mean he said he was lucky he didn't crash the car."
Read the full account here.
The Two Things
OK, this post will be linkerffic, but it’s worth it.
I found a link to “The Two Things” at Eric Zorn’s Notebook, and he said he ran across it via Mimi Smartypants. The Two Things can best be summarized with this little story:
Some of my favorites from the list, which I skimmed:
The Two Things about Computer Programming:
1. The only way to idiot proof software is to take away their computers.
2. Simple is better.
The Two Things about Software Engineering:
1. Pick two, and only two: Stable, feature-complete, on-time.
2. One great coder is better than two good coders, except when not.
The Two Things about Civil Engineering:
1. Dirt + Water = Mud.
2. You can’t push a rope.
Here’s one from Jonathan Dresner who some of you may remember from his three years teaching history at Coe. I mildly remember him (appearance more than anything) since I never took a class from him, but he taught in Hickok where my English and religion classes were slept through:
The Two Things about Teaching History:
1. A good story is all they'll remember, not the half hour of analysis on either side of it.
2. They think it's about answers, but it's really about questions.
I thought about submitting my own for my profession, but this submission pretty much sums it up:
The Two Things about Being a Reporter:
1. There is no such thing as objectivity.
2. The end of the story is based on your deadline.
Now I think I shall submit one about being a Cubs fan:
1. The Cubs will win the World Series this year.
2. Wait ‘til next year.
I found a link to “The Two Things” at Eric Zorn’s Notebook, and he said he ran across it via Mimi Smartypants. The Two Things can best be summarized with this little story:
A few years ago, I was chatting with a stranger in a bar. When I told him I was an economist, he said, “Ah. So… what are the Two Things about economics?”The page he refers to (and where I copied that information from) can be found by clicking here.
“Huh?” I cleverly replied.
“You know, the Two Things. For every subject, there are really only two things you really need to know. Everything else is the application of those two things, or just not important.”
“Oh,” I said. “Okay, here are the Two Things about economics. One: Incentives matter. Two: There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
Ever since that evening, I’ve been playing the Two Things game. Whenever I meet someone who belongs to a different profession (i.e., a profession I haven’t played this game with), or who knows something about a subject I'm unfamiliar with, I pose the Two Things question. I also posed the Two Things question on my blog, where it elicited many responses in the comments section and on other blogs. This page is a collection of responses to the "Two Things" question, collected from various pages on the web, with credit given when possible.
Some of my favorites from the list, which I skimmed:
The Two Things about Computer Programming:
1. The only way to idiot proof software is to take away their computers.
2. Simple is better.
The Two Things about Software Engineering:
1. Pick two, and only two: Stable, feature-complete, on-time.
2. One great coder is better than two good coders, except when not.
The Two Things about Civil Engineering:
1. Dirt + Water = Mud.
2. You can’t push a rope.
Here’s one from Jonathan Dresner who some of you may remember from his three years teaching history at Coe. I mildly remember him (appearance more than anything) since I never took a class from him, but he taught in Hickok where my English and religion classes were slept through:
The Two Things about Teaching History:
1. A good story is all they'll remember, not the half hour of analysis on either side of it.
2. They think it's about answers, but it's really about questions.
I thought about submitting my own for my profession, but this submission pretty much sums it up:
The Two Things about Being a Reporter:
1. There is no such thing as objectivity.
2. The end of the story is based on your deadline.
Now I think I shall submit one about being a Cubs fan:
1. The Cubs will win the World Series this year.
2. Wait ‘til next year.
Cha-ching
File this under: List of reasons why we don't live in Libertyville. (But remember, it's a very, very short list. In fact this may be the Alpha and Omega):
The new Wercheck subdivision, a potential $50 million investment on Libertyville's east end, will feature homes starting at $800,000. From today's Daily Herald:
The new Wercheck subdivision, a potential $50 million investment on Libertyville's east end, will feature homes starting at $800,000. From today's Daily Herald:
The idea hasn't been Werchek's life's dream but more a cause-and-effect opportunity. It was prompted by his purchase of adjoining vacant land that had been zoned for residential since the 1920s but never developed. Interest in the lots on East Sunnyside Avenue, which will feature homes starting at $800,000, has been brisk.Read the full story, and all long-time Libertyvillians should, here.
"When he (industrial park owner Bob Mungo) sold me those 40 lots, that's when I wanted the factory," says Werchek. The closing on what he says could amount to a $50 million investment is tentatively scheduled for late August.
Werchek wants to keep 85 percent of the buildings but change the landscape to improve and screen them.
One of the three main buildings would become the anchor of a 78,000-square-foot retail center. Werchek also would tear down the former Hough office building, replace it with 25 homes and move Seventh Street west to its original location. About 18 more homes would be built on cleared land at Rockland Road, according to the concept plan.
"I hope when you drive down the street, you don't realize there was a factory here," said Werchek.
Overreactions
Yes, the Cubs lost four of six games to top rivals last week. Yes, they’re now five games out of first place heading into three games against the Astros. Yes, they follow that series up with three more against the White Sox, three with three Brewers and three against the Cardinals just before the All-Star break. Yes, Mike Remlinger just went back on the disabled list, Kerry Wood and Alex Gonzalez probably won’t be back until mid-July and Todd Hollandsworth could be back Tuesday or done for the season.
But is that any reason to worry?
Before we get into the hand-wringing, the doomsday prophecies and the “Wait ‘til Next Year” sign-making, let’s think about a few things.
First of all, last year’s division title wasn’t won until the second to last day of the season. So anyone that says the season is over in June (for a team seven games above .500) is clearly a glue sniffer.
Secondly, the Cubs still sit happily atop the wild card standings, albeit a shared position with Cincinnati. While that may not mean too much in June (realistically, a second-place team in June should be focused only on catching the division rival), it does mean the Cubs still control their own destiny, especially with many games left against teams that might reasonably contend for that Wild Card spot (the only NL East teams the Cubs have played are Atlanta and New York (5-1 so far) and could do much for their own fortunes with strong showings against the Phillies and Marlins in July and September).
It was, by all accounts, a horrible week for the Cubs. Riding a six-game win streak, the team fell apart in Wednesday’s loss to the Cardinals, even blowing a five-run lead. Since then, everything has been awful with the exception of Friday’s 6-3 win over the Sox (a game closer than the score indicated).
However, the Cubs have the third best record in the National League and, going just by winning percentage, are still one of the top 10 teams. I’m going to be 25 in August, and I can count on one hand how many times I could have said that on one of my first 24 June 28ths (and probably still have a finger left over to scratch my ear).
If the Cubs manage to get swept, at home, by the Astros and White Sox, I’ll probably be suicidal. But this is a good team, and good teams bounce back from bad weeks. Starting Glendon Rusch, Matt Clement and Mark Prior against the Astros isn’t horrible. Sosa appears to have somewhat remembered how to hit and Corey Patterson is playing like an All-Star again.
It’s not over yet. Not by a long shot. We still have three full months of exciting baseball to look forward to, and I intend to savor every inning.
But is that any reason to worry?
Before we get into the hand-wringing, the doomsday prophecies and the “Wait ‘til Next Year” sign-making, let’s think about a few things.
First of all, last year’s division title wasn’t won until the second to last day of the season. So anyone that says the season is over in June (for a team seven games above .500) is clearly a glue sniffer.
Secondly, the Cubs still sit happily atop the wild card standings, albeit a shared position with Cincinnati. While that may not mean too much in June (realistically, a second-place team in June should be focused only on catching the division rival), it does mean the Cubs still control their own destiny, especially with many games left against teams that might reasonably contend for that Wild Card spot (the only NL East teams the Cubs have played are Atlanta and New York (5-1 so far) and could do much for their own fortunes with strong showings against the Phillies and Marlins in July and September).
It was, by all accounts, a horrible week for the Cubs. Riding a six-game win streak, the team fell apart in Wednesday’s loss to the Cardinals, even blowing a five-run lead. Since then, everything has been awful with the exception of Friday’s 6-3 win over the Sox (a game closer than the score indicated).
However, the Cubs have the third best record in the National League and, going just by winning percentage, are still one of the top 10 teams. I’m going to be 25 in August, and I can count on one hand how many times I could have said that on one of my first 24 June 28ths (and probably still have a finger left over to scratch my ear).
If the Cubs manage to get swept, at home, by the Astros and White Sox, I’ll probably be suicidal. But this is a good team, and good teams bounce back from bad weeks. Starting Glendon Rusch, Matt Clement and Mark Prior against the Astros isn’t horrible. Sosa appears to have somewhat remembered how to hit and Corey Patterson is playing like an All-Star again.
It’s not over yet. Not by a long shot. We still have three full months of exciting baseball to look forward to, and I intend to savor every inning.
Anything for a buck
From Phil Rogers' national baseball column in Sunday's Trib:
Blue Jays right-hander Justin Miller is baseball's tattooed man. He has so many on his arms that umpires make him wear long sleeves when he pitches. But he also has an interesting one on his rump. It says, "I [heart] Billy Koch."Read the rest here.
Koch, who recently was traded from the White Sox to Florida, says Miller got it on a dare when both were in the Toronto organization. It wound up costing Koch $1,580--$1,000 for Miller, $500 for Miller's wife--"because she has to look at my name tattooed on his [butt] for the rest of her life"--and $80 for the tattoo.
"I like to pay guys to do stupid things," Koch said.
Left v. Right
Here's why I love Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Chapman. Just when you think you understand a situation, he reminds you of how little you're actually hip to. An example from Sunday's column:
On the TV news the other day, Britons waiting in line to buy copies of Clinton's memoirs were mooning about the good old days when the Atlantic alliance was strong and America was regarded with affection in Europe. Compared to George W. Bush, the people interviewed thought Clinton was a fine president.Read the full piece here.
Apparently, Americans are not the only people with short memories. Most of the complaints made about Bush's foreign policy were also made about Clinton's foreign policy. In many ways, Bush represents a dismal continuation of what went before.
He's not the first to antagonize the world community by launching an attack against Iraq without much support abroad. Clinton was criticized for doing that in 1996--even by Bob Dole, his Republican challenger--after he hit Iraqi air defense sites with cruise missiles. Then-Vice President Al Gore responded in words that could have come from Vice President Dick Cheney: "Sometimes the U.S. has to take unilateral action when our interests are at stake."
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Sucks to be this guy
BEIJING (AP) -- A man in south China broke both his legs and an arm when he fell to the ground after a fast-rising kite pulled him 5 meters (16 feet) into the air, the official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday.
The man, identified only by his surname, Zhong, was a spectator Tuesday at a kite-flying festival on the island province of Hainan, Xinhua said.
Read the full account here.
The man, identified only by his surname, Zhong, was a spectator Tuesday at a kite-flying festival on the island province of Hainan, Xinhua said.
Read the full account here.
Friday, June 25, 2004
More Cubs stuff
I tried this earlier and failed, so here we go again, without the useless babble.
Three quick Cubs posts:
Three quick Cubs posts:
- This Tribune story provides an architectural analysis of the proposed Wrigley Field expansion I first wrote about here.
- This is a Red Eye piece comparing the baseball experience at Wrigley vs. Comiskey Ss if there's a reason to bother making a comparison. Whatever.
- Here, Phil Rogers writes a series preview for ESPN.com.
Sucks to be this guy
BERLIN (Reuters) -- Passions surrounding Germany's final match at the Euro 2004 soccer championships turned violent when a woman stabbed her partner in the head because she didn't want to watch the game on television.
"He wanted to watch football, she didn't," said a police spokesman in the western city of Wuppertal on Thursday.
Read the full account here.
"He wanted to watch football, she didn't," said a police spokesman in the western city of Wuppertal on Thursday.
Read the full account here.
Sucks to be this guy
JOHNSON CITY, N.Y. (AP) -- A worker at a sporting goods store tried to kill a spider by burning it and ignited a fire that caused the evacuation of the mall where the store is located.
Police charged Joseph Freer, 23, Binghamton, with fourth-degree arson, a felony, following the fire late Wednesday afternoon at the Champs Sports store in the Oakdale Mall, 80 miles south of Syracuse near Binghamton.
Read the full account here.
Police charged Joseph Freer, 23, Binghamton, with fourth-degree arson, a felony, following the fire late Wednesday afternoon at the Champs Sports store in the Oakdale Mall, 80 miles south of Syracuse near Binghamton.
Read the full account here.
Sucks to be this guy
MILFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A man has been jailed for six months on a contempt charge after dropping his pants and mooning a judge. Richard Brown, 38, as jailed Wednesday after an outburst in front of Superior Court Judge Patrick Carroll.
Smith shouted insults and obscenities after the judge had told him to address the court as "sir."
"Sir? Kiss my (expletive), sir!" Brown shouted, dropping the pants of his two-piece prison jumpsuit and pointing his rear end at the judge.
Read the full account here.
Smith shouted insults and obscenities after the judge had told him to address the court as "sir."
"Sir? Kiss my (expletive), sir!" Brown shouted, dropping the pants of his two-piece prison jumpsuit and pointing his rear end at the judge.
Read the full account here.
Crosstown Classic
Attention non-baseball fans and those living under a box: Here is all you need to get ready for this weekend's Cubs-Sox series at Comiskey.
- Here, Chicago Tribune reporter David Haugh wonders if this is the year we'll see a Cubs-Sox World Series.
- Here the Trib's Cubs and Sox beat writers, Paul Sullivan and Bob Foltman, look at what defines each team.
- Here is the annual "All-City Team" presented by Phil Rogers, the Trib's national baseball columnist who also writes for ESPN.com. Note the lack of reference to the Tribune online poll that obviously was click-bombed my Sox fans. See for yourself here.
- Here, the Trib's Dave van Dyck looks at the all-time greats to play for both Chicago teams.
- Here is Trib columnist Rick Morrisey's plea for the players to actually care about these games. To wit: These series are more than numbers. They're an ode, at high-decibel levels, to a city's arduous devotion to baseball. They're a collection of Fan Appreciation Days, and woe to the player who doesn't give his all or has an acute attack of knuckleheaded-ness.
- Here we have Daily Herald columnist Burt Constable arguing foolishly that fans of both teams should come together in some sort of "Hands Across America" peace offering, offering a Top 10 list of things fans of both teams have in common. Which reminds me, does anyone remember the "Hands Across the Living Room" episode of "Webster"? Yeah, me neither.
- Here Sun-Times reporter Chris DeLuca previews what he says will be a toned-down series while offering some statistical analysis on how the games tend to affect the outcome of the season.
- Here we have the Herald's Scot Gregor quoting several Sox as saying they are impressed by this year's Cub team. As well they should be.
- Here is a Herald piece looking at the differences in the home clubhouses at Wrigley and Comiskey. And...
- Here is the Sun-Times Mike Kiley (a Score regular) who offers five keys to the Cubs turning around their fortunes in this series.
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Wishful thinking?
Good baseball fans easily recall last year’s classic seven-game ALCS showdown between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees (and non baseball fans may at least have seen the series make a cameo in the Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore epic “50 First Dates”). Chicago Tribune national baseball columnist Phil Rogers argues in today’s column that National League fans could be treated to a similar baseball experience this fall should the Cardinals and Cubs both make the playoffs.
Don’t look now, but the best record in the National League belongs to the Cardinals at 42-29. Second best is the Cubs, just two games back at 40-31. Only three other teams have 40 wins this season, the Giants, Yankees and Red Sox, all playoff squads from last year.
Sure, it’s June and a lot can change. But anyone that watched the first two games of the Cubs-Cardinals series knows neither team looks like it’s going to give up anytime soon. And while neither Central team has a commanding lead over the contenders from the NL East (mostly the Phillies and Marlins, but the Mets haven’t gone away and the Braves always are dangerous), the Cubs still have 18 games left against those four NL East teams, including six each against the Phillies and Marlins.
I still think the Cubs will vault past the Cardinals and control their own post-season destiny. But I’m not foolish enough to believe the Cardinals aren’t going to be competitive all year long. Let’s just say it’s going to be an interesting summer.
---
Side note: As of the morning of July 24, there are seven teams behind the Cubs in the Wild Card race less than five games back. The Reds are just one of the pace, the Phillies and Dodgers each two back, the Brewers at 2.5 games, the Astros and Padres three back and the Mets at 4.5 in arrears. Stay tuned for updates.
Don’t look now, but the best record in the National League belongs to the Cardinals at 42-29. Second best is the Cubs, just two games back at 40-31. Only three other teams have 40 wins this season, the Giants, Yankees and Red Sox, all playoff squads from last year.
Sure, it’s June and a lot can change. But anyone that watched the first two games of the Cubs-Cardinals series knows neither team looks like it’s going to give up anytime soon. And while neither Central team has a commanding lead over the contenders from the NL East (mostly the Phillies and Marlins, but the Mets haven’t gone away and the Braves always are dangerous), the Cubs still have 18 games left against those four NL East teams, including six each against the Phillies and Marlins.
I still think the Cubs will vault past the Cardinals and control their own post-season destiny. But I’m not foolish enough to believe the Cardinals aren’t going to be competitive all year long. Let’s just say it’s going to be an interesting summer.
---
Side note: As of the morning of July 24, there are seven teams behind the Cubs in the Wild Card race less than five games back. The Reds are just one of the pace, the Phillies and Dodgers each two back, the Brewers at 2.5 games, the Astros and Padres three back and the Mets at 4.5 in arrears. Stay tuned for updates.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
We fear change
From an editorial in today’s Chicago Tribune on the passing of former editor Clayton Kirkpatrick:
The “feel” of a paper is something I constantly struggle with professionally. I overhauled the Coe Cosmos about five minutes after I became editor and dealt with the feedback (some good, some not so much). I spearheaded a redesign of the Bulletin-Journal when I was in Independence. While I’m happy with the overall changes, there still are some things I want to do differently.
Since I’ve been at the Clinton Herald, some things have slowly changed. We’ve gotten less boxy, are using more free lines and tinkering with alignments. I’m now in charge of the opinion page every day and have started to make small changes (though not without approval). It’s going well so far, but every little bit is agonizing. One of my next tasks is to find a new way to present faces and names of columnists. I’ll probably come up with at least five options that will be slowly dissected and analyzed. And if we do decide to make a change (our current look is very 1983), I’m sure we’ll hear about it.
The best way to look at the situation is people complain about their newspaper because they care about it. I always say you don’t get angry letters if no one’s reading your product. Sometimes you have to tick people off just to get a pulse.
Of all the things a newspaper must do, change is the most difficult. Readers have a personal relationship with their paper. Even small cosmetic changes can be upsetting. Almost any change--cosmetic or not--brings readers' complaints. A newspaper that values its readers does not make changes lightly. But a paper that doesn't change--"evolution" was one of Kirkpatrick's favorite words--eventually ossifies and dies.Again, I couldn’t agree more. Simple things like changing a headline font can be absolutely jarring to regular readers. Redesigns can have terribly awful side-effects, or they can help totally turn your paper’s image around (see the Daily Herald and its reinvention of a few years ago).
The “feel” of a paper is something I constantly struggle with professionally. I overhauled the Coe Cosmos about five minutes after I became editor and dealt with the feedback (some good, some not so much). I spearheaded a redesign of the Bulletin-Journal when I was in Independence. While I’m happy with the overall changes, there still are some things I want to do differently.
Since I’ve been at the Clinton Herald, some things have slowly changed. We’ve gotten less boxy, are using more free lines and tinkering with alignments. I’m now in charge of the opinion page every day and have started to make small changes (though not without approval). It’s going well so far, but every little bit is agonizing. One of my next tasks is to find a new way to present faces and names of columnists. I’ll probably come up with at least five options that will be slowly dissected and analyzed. And if we do decide to make a change (our current look is very 1983), I’m sure we’ll hear about it.
The best way to look at the situation is people complain about their newspaper because they care about it. I always say you don’t get angry letters if no one’s reading your product. Sometimes you have to tick people off just to get a pulse.
The other side
As you may recall, I’m trying to take some time to visit newspapers that cover Cubs opponents throughout the course of the season. Here’s a sample of what St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz wrote in today’s paper:
It's time for Cardinals fans to drop the arrogant pose and face up to the truth: you don't have the Cubs to kick around anymore. This is not your father's patsy. You'll need to find another chew toy. You'll need a fresh punch line to finish your Cub jokes. You need to come up with some fresh material instead of constantly referencing 1908.Couldn’t have said it better myself. Read the full piece here.
I am not saying that the Cubs will win the NL Central. I am not saying that the Cubs' recent success over the Cardinals comes with a lifetime warranty. I'm not saying that Cardinals fans should like, or even admire, their rivals. I'm not channeling Harry Caray here. My name is Bernie, but I don't own the saloon across from Wrigley Field.
But if nothing else, respect the Cubs.
Life in the 21st Century
You must click on the picture to go to the story in today's Daily Herald concerning new technology in fast food restaurants.
Here’s the gist: Rather than talk to the person behind the counter, you simply use a touch screen to select what you want, including any modifications (hold the mayo, extra cheese, etc.). The technology has debuted at a McDonald’s in St. Charles, Ill., but I can only imagine it will spread quickly. The story said Burger King also is doing testing.
While fast-food places just can’t afford to make burgers the way Subway makes sandwiches, where you get to see everything go on your food, this is the next best thing.
...before an order is sent to the kitchen at the St. Charles' McDonald's, the computer verifies orders and provides a rolling total. So, virtually nothing is lost in translation.Imagine the possibilities. I can see entering a debit/credit card and then having the kiosk remember what I ordered last time. I assume there would be targeted mail campaigns wherein the company would send coupons and product information to regular customers with their address electronically supplied through purchasing information. The machines, like the self-checkout doodads at grocery stores, could easily be programmed to be bilingual (the McDonald’s ones already are in English and Spanish).
Inserting a bill or credit card into the machine completes the process, and in about a minute, a server appears with food and change.
In the kid-friendly Play Place lot in the rear of the St. Charles store there are two additional kiosks. There, the customer places an order, takes a number and soon Happy Meals are delivered directly to the table, eliminating the burden of watching children while standing in line.
I think people concerned about order accuracy would be more likely to eschew the drive-thru window for the chance to go inside the kiosk. It could remove even more human error from the process, while still offering the interaction when the employee drops your food off.
I’d have to see this first-hand before I get really, really excited. But the prospect is very impressive.
Sucks to be this guy
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- Police say a Rapid City man was robbed early Monday after he answered the door in the nude. The man told police he had been sleeping unclothed before he answered a knock at the door. Assailants overpowered him, hit him on the head and ran out with his wallet and blue jeans.
The man chased after the assailants and fell down the stairs.
Read the full account here.
The man chased after the assailants and fell down the stairs.
Read the full account here.
Sucks to be these guys
McMINNVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A motorist's decision to stop a deputy for speeding escalated into a series of incidents than ended with his entire family joining him in jail.
Last week, Lance E. Champion, 23, reportedly pulled in behind Deputy Lt. Stan Hillis across from the local jail and told Hillis he had violated the speed limit. By the end of their conversation, Champion was in custody charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and evading arrest.
Champion called his mother, Janice K. Champion, 48, who arrived with her 17-year-old son. The teen allegedly slapped the hand of a deputy who was gesturing for them to leave the area as Lance Champion's vehicle was about to be towed.
Read the full account here.
I especially like the part about the tasers.
Last week, Lance E. Champion, 23, reportedly pulled in behind Deputy Lt. Stan Hillis across from the local jail and told Hillis he had violated the speed limit. By the end of their conversation, Champion was in custody charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and evading arrest.
Champion called his mother, Janice K. Champion, 48, who arrived with her 17-year-old son. The teen allegedly slapped the hand of a deputy who was gesturing for them to leave the area as Lance Champion's vehicle was about to be towed.
Read the full account here.
I especially like the part about the tasers.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Sucks to be this kid
HELSINKI (Reuters) -- An elk jumped through a townhouse window and crashed into a toddler's bed, scratching the cheek of a sleeping two-year-old and wreaking havoc in a Finnish family's home at the weekend, police said.
The toddler's mother was shocked to find the beast in her bed and ran to a neighbor for help.
"(We) were sitting in the living room and all of a sudden we heard a terrible clamor and clatter, as if an earthquake had begun," Mari Lahti told Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat. "We opened the door and saw an elk in our bed."
Read the full account here.
While I found the story on my own, I also saw it linked to at It's a little bit me…, the blog of fellow ex-Libertyvillian Shannon, who now lives in Pittsburgh. Shannon turned 25 Sunday, which I know because I distinctly remember her 14th birthday party, shortly after eighth-grade graduation, at which we watched the first three quarters of game 6 of the Bulls-Suns NBA Finals (in 1993, also a Father's Day). I then ran home (all of four blocks) to watch the end of the game, complete with John Paxson's dramatic three-pointer to give the Bulls the lead and their first three-peat. Good times.
The toddler's mother was shocked to find the beast in her bed and ran to a neighbor for help.
"(We) were sitting in the living room and all of a sudden we heard a terrible clamor and clatter, as if an earthquake had begun," Mari Lahti told Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat. "We opened the door and saw an elk in our bed."
Read the full account here.
While I found the story on my own, I also saw it linked to at It's a little bit me…, the blog of fellow ex-Libertyvillian Shannon, who now lives in Pittsburgh. Shannon turned 25 Sunday, which I know because I distinctly remember her 14th birthday party, shortly after eighth-grade graduation, at which we watched the first three quarters of game 6 of the Bulls-Suns NBA Finals (in 1993, also a Father's Day). I then ran home (all of four blocks) to watch the end of the game, complete with John Paxson's dramatic three-pointer to give the Bulls the lead and their first three-peat. Good times.
Father's Day
So how was my first Father’s Day as a father?
Everything after about 8 a.m. was just great. The before? Not so much.
The good news is that Jack slept, more or less, until about 5:30 a.m., which is pretty unheard of. He usually refuses to be pacified any more by no later than 4 a.m. But Sunday was different. I got him up, changed his diaper and took him downstairs to start the day (recall, we were in Libertyville staying in Matt’s room because my mom’s dad was in the guest room, so Jack’s food and bed were separated by stairs).
The first problem of the day came with the diaper change. Some of the ladies Kristie teaches with gave her diapers at Jack’s shower, and they were thoughtful enough to buy sizes larger than what he was in at the time so that when we needed the larger diapers (as we now do) we wouldn’t have to run out to pick them up.
The problem is some of the women bought Huggies which, for whatever reason, do not agree with Jack. The first time I put one of these Huggies on him, Jack was showing so much hip it looked like a strong bikini. I promptly re-fastened to the point where his legs were covered and his eyes bugged out a little because it was so tight around the middle. Crisis averted ... for now (or then, I’m not great with my tense agreements).
So Jack and I go downstairs, throw a bottle in the warmer and then head out to get the Sunday papers. This shouldn’t have been a big deal, but the Sunday Tribune weighs about as much as Jack, and the Sunday Herald is about that meaty. Suffice it to say I had a handful on my way back up the driveway.
Feeding went well, despite the fact I had to do it at the kitchen table. I prefer the couch, with the aid of a pillow, or at least a nice armchair. However, Kim crashed on one of the living room couches and I decided she did not want to be woken up by her lovely nephew at 5:45 a.m. By my guess, she’d probably only been asleep a few hours at that point anyway.
The nice part of the table is it’s easier for me to sit Jack up for burping, which he seems to enjoy these days. But not Sunday. So as I read the Tribune Sports, I had jack on my left shoulder working on burps. I was rewarded with a substantial effort that, to my surprise, left nothing on the burp rag.
Or so I thought. When I put Jack in his car seat, I saw how he’d cheesed all over the left side of his sleeper. He can handle a little cheese, but this stain was at least three inches long. So we headed back upstairs to get a new sleeper. Since he’d eaten, he’d peed, so I changed his diaper as well (see earlier note about Huggie complications). I put on his last remaining sleeper, the “Daddy & Me” number so cute Kristie bought it in a bigger size when he grew out of the first one (which he’s wearing in the picture at right).
Then I took Jack back downstairs (so as not to wake his mother... on Father’s Day) and put him back in the carseat, which I planned to use to rock him to sleep. He was in the carseat for maybe ten seconds before he looked to his right and drooled out a nice stream of formula. But that’s OK! I got the burp rag on it immediately and figured Kristie would be none the wiser.
Then we adjourned to the dining room table, Jack in his carseat, I with some newspapers and now my Aunt Beth to keep the both of us company. I read the paper with one eye, looked at Jack with the other and rocked his car seat, hoping to lull him to sleep so I could eat some cereal.
Jack likes to slide down his car seat for some unknown reason, and I routinely grab him under the armpits, support his neck and place him back up at the top. On Sunday, I took the lazy route and tried to boost him up by his butt. This worked fine, until I realized my hand was wet.
Out came the baby with wet spots on his butt cheeks, matched by two wet spots on the car seat. This posed several problems. A) No more sleepers. B) No way the kid is riding three hours in a pee-stained carseat. C) No baby laundry detergent. D) Kristie would think I’m an idiot that doesn’t know how to put diapers on.
Here were my solutions: A) Put him in a yellow ducky gown that doesn’t really fit. B) Wash and airdry the carseat pad. C) Grab a jug of Dreft at Jewel as my dad and I made a doughnut/New York Times run. D) She did think I’m an idiot and someone in my family accused of using it as a way to get out of changing diapers. This theory held until we got back to Clinton when, wearing a diaper Kristie put on, Jack peed through that and gave us a reason to wash our slipcover.
In his new outfit, everything was cool. I did have to negotiate holding Jack while taking my family’s blind dog outside for a morning pee, but that actually put Jack to sleep (while I had an extra bottle warming that, thankfully, did get consumed within the 60-minute window we had before considering it a waste).
The rest of the day was wonderful. Church at First Pres. was great and then several friends came over for “The Visitation,” a chance to enjoy Jack and my parents new sun porch (which is actually more than a year old, but it’s new to me. We hadn’t been to Libertyville since Christmas).
To those at the visitation who mentioned the blog, thanks so much for following along. It was great for you all to get a chance to see Jack, who will be back in Libertyville with us July 16 to July 18 and again in August. And to anyone who is laughing at my plight, I’m laughing along with you. It’s really not all that bad, considering the tradeoff of having such a wonderful baby in my life.
Everything after about 8 a.m. was just great. The before? Not so much.
The good news is that Jack slept, more or less, until about 5:30 a.m., which is pretty unheard of. He usually refuses to be pacified any more by no later than 4 a.m. But Sunday was different. I got him up, changed his diaper and took him downstairs to start the day (recall, we were in Libertyville staying in Matt’s room because my mom’s dad was in the guest room, so Jack’s food and bed were separated by stairs).
The first problem of the day came with the diaper change. Some of the ladies Kristie teaches with gave her diapers at Jack’s shower, and they were thoughtful enough to buy sizes larger than what he was in at the time so that when we needed the larger diapers (as we now do) we wouldn’t have to run out to pick them up.
The problem is some of the women bought Huggies which, for whatever reason, do not agree with Jack. The first time I put one of these Huggies on him, Jack was showing so much hip it looked like a strong bikini. I promptly re-fastened to the point where his legs were covered and his eyes bugged out a little because it was so tight around the middle. Crisis averted ... for now (or then, I’m not great with my tense agreements).
So Jack and I go downstairs, throw a bottle in the warmer and then head out to get the Sunday papers. This shouldn’t have been a big deal, but the Sunday Tribune weighs about as much as Jack, and the Sunday Herald is about that meaty. Suffice it to say I had a handful on my way back up the driveway.
Feeding went well, despite the fact I had to do it at the kitchen table. I prefer the couch, with the aid of a pillow, or at least a nice armchair. However, Kim crashed on one of the living room couches and I decided she did not want to be woken up by her lovely nephew at 5:45 a.m. By my guess, she’d probably only been asleep a few hours at that point anyway.
The nice part of the table is it’s easier for me to sit Jack up for burping, which he seems to enjoy these days. But not Sunday. So as I read the Tribune Sports, I had jack on my left shoulder working on burps. I was rewarded with a substantial effort that, to my surprise, left nothing on the burp rag.
Or so I thought. When I put Jack in his car seat, I saw how he’d cheesed all over the left side of his sleeper. He can handle a little cheese, but this stain was at least three inches long. So we headed back upstairs to get a new sleeper. Since he’d eaten, he’d peed, so I changed his diaper as well (see earlier note about Huggie complications). I put on his last remaining sleeper, the “Daddy & Me” number so cute Kristie bought it in a bigger size when he grew out of the first one (which he’s wearing in the picture at right).
Then I took Jack back downstairs (so as not to wake his mother... on Father’s Day) and put him back in the carseat, which I planned to use to rock him to sleep. He was in the carseat for maybe ten seconds before he looked to his right and drooled out a nice stream of formula. But that’s OK! I got the burp rag on it immediately and figured Kristie would be none the wiser.
Then we adjourned to the dining room table, Jack in his carseat, I with some newspapers and now my Aunt Beth to keep the both of us company. I read the paper with one eye, looked at Jack with the other and rocked his car seat, hoping to lull him to sleep so I could eat some cereal.
Jack likes to slide down his car seat for some unknown reason, and I routinely grab him under the armpits, support his neck and place him back up at the top. On Sunday, I took the lazy route and tried to boost him up by his butt. This worked fine, until I realized my hand was wet.
Out came the baby with wet spots on his butt cheeks, matched by two wet spots on the car seat. This posed several problems. A) No more sleepers. B) No way the kid is riding three hours in a pee-stained carseat. C) No baby laundry detergent. D) Kristie would think I’m an idiot that doesn’t know how to put diapers on.
Here were my solutions: A) Put him in a yellow ducky gown that doesn’t really fit. B) Wash and airdry the carseat pad. C) Grab a jug of Dreft at Jewel as my dad and I made a doughnut/New York Times run. D) She did think I’m an idiot and someone in my family accused of using it as a way to get out of changing diapers. This theory held until we got back to Clinton when, wearing a diaper Kristie put on, Jack peed through that and gave us a reason to wash our slipcover.
In his new outfit, everything was cool. I did have to negotiate holding Jack while taking my family’s blind dog outside for a morning pee, but that actually put Jack to sleep (while I had an extra bottle warming that, thankfully, did get consumed within the 60-minute window we had before considering it a waste).
The rest of the day was wonderful. Church at First Pres. was great and then several friends came over for “The Visitation,” a chance to enjoy Jack and my parents new sun porch (which is actually more than a year old, but it’s new to me. We hadn’t been to Libertyville since Christmas).
To those at the visitation who mentioned the blog, thanks so much for following along. It was great for you all to get a chance to see Jack, who will be back in Libertyville with us July 16 to July 18 and again in August. And to anyone who is laughing at my plight, I’m laughing along with you. It’s really not all that bad, considering the tradeoff of having such a wonderful baby in my life.
More Brainerd news
From today's Daily Herald:
Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 officials are considering moving some of the athletic activities currently staged at the aged Brainerd campus to the Libertyville Sports Complex.Read the full account here.
The District 128 facilities and finance committee agreed Monday that the board should not spend any money improving the 87-year-old Brainerd facility, which has fallen into disrepair and does not meet a variety of safety and accessibility requirements. It also said the full board should investigate moving Libertyville High athletic activities now held at Brainerd to other sites, particularly the sizable village-owned sports compound, which is at Route 45 and Peterson Road.
Rivalry week
When are three games in June more than three games in June? When the Cubs go to St. Louis just two games behind the Cardinals for first place in the NL, and the two teams play just five more games against each other this season after Thursday.
I don’t buy the contention that a sweep by either team would finish off the other (though it would be far more damaging to the Cubs to end up five games back), but it is pretty obvious the next (last) eight games against the Redbirds are going to be crucial, especially as Houston continues to flounder, Monday’s comeback win against the Pirates notwithstanding.
If the Reds continue to hang around in the division, then the Cubs eight games with Cincinnati between Sept. 16 and Sept. 30 will take on added importance and people will stop grumbling about how the Cubs and Cards are done with each other in July (reminder: That schedule quirk is not due to interleague play, but due to Fox wanting a banner match-up to kick off its game of the week series in May) and focus on another division rivalry. On the flip side, the Cubs could tank and the Astros could rebound, meaning the Cards-Astros series at the end of September would be of the utmost importance.
The Cubs come into St. Louis red hot. Yes, the six-game winning streak ended Friday against Oakland, but the Cubs rebounded to take two out of three, pushing the interleague record to 4-2 and the June record to 12-7. Three of those losses came in the first three games of the month, including Prior’s June 4 return against the Pirates, which he pitched well enough to win but got no run support.
Since Prior came back, the Cubs have played 17 straight games going into Monday’s off day. They won 12 and lost 5, scoring 85 runs to their opponents’ 56. Take away the game the Cardinals won 12-4 and the differential is 81-44 over 16 games. That’s a 2.64 team ERA, which is unheard of (and if you’re doing the math at home, remember this — the Cubs played a 15 inning game against Anaheim June 13, and had only five errors over the entire stretch, including no errors between June 9 and June 17, none of which led to any unearned runs).
The bad news is Albert Pujols is back in the lineup for the Cardinals (though he hasn’t played all that well against the Cubs over the past two seasons). The good news is the Cubs will miss Matt Morris and Woody Williams in the pitching rotation. Only Chris Carpenter, who stars Thursday against Matt Clement, poses a real threat (and also sets the Cubs up nicely to bring Prior, Zambrano and Maddux into the weekend set against the White Sox).
I wrote this with several interruptions, so I apologize if its disjointed. But the point is clear: These games are crucial, and should make for excellent baseball.
I don’t buy the contention that a sweep by either team would finish off the other (though it would be far more damaging to the Cubs to end up five games back), but it is pretty obvious the next (last) eight games against the Redbirds are going to be crucial, especially as Houston continues to flounder, Monday’s comeback win against the Pirates notwithstanding.
If the Reds continue to hang around in the division, then the Cubs eight games with Cincinnati between Sept. 16 and Sept. 30 will take on added importance and people will stop grumbling about how the Cubs and Cards are done with each other in July (reminder: That schedule quirk is not due to interleague play, but due to Fox wanting a banner match-up to kick off its game of the week series in May) and focus on another division rivalry. On the flip side, the Cubs could tank and the Astros could rebound, meaning the Cards-Astros series at the end of September would be of the utmost importance.
The Cubs come into St. Louis red hot. Yes, the six-game winning streak ended Friday against Oakland, but the Cubs rebounded to take two out of three, pushing the interleague record to 4-2 and the June record to 12-7. Three of those losses came in the first three games of the month, including Prior’s June 4 return against the Pirates, which he pitched well enough to win but got no run support.
Since Prior came back, the Cubs have played 17 straight games going into Monday’s off day. They won 12 and lost 5, scoring 85 runs to their opponents’ 56. Take away the game the Cardinals won 12-4 and the differential is 81-44 over 16 games. That’s a 2.64 team ERA, which is unheard of (and if you’re doing the math at home, remember this — the Cubs played a 15 inning game against Anaheim June 13, and had only five errors over the entire stretch, including no errors between June 9 and June 17, none of which led to any unearned runs).
The bad news is Albert Pujols is back in the lineup for the Cardinals (though he hasn’t played all that well against the Cubs over the past two seasons). The good news is the Cubs will miss Matt Morris and Woody Williams in the pitching rotation. Only Chris Carpenter, who stars Thursday against Matt Clement, poses a real threat (and also sets the Cubs up nicely to bring Prior, Zambrano and Maddux into the weekend set against the White Sox).
I wrote this with several interruptions, so I apologize if its disjointed. But the point is clear: These games are crucial, and should make for excellent baseball.
Monday, June 21, 2004
Changes at 1060 W. Addison
One thing I noticed over the weekend, but never got around to commenting on, is the Cubs’ proposed expansion of Wrigley Field (click the photo for the Chicago Tribune story on the proposal).
The short version is the team plans to use a triangle of land to the west of the park for a multi-purpose building that would contain parking spaces, shopping, player-use areas (like batting cages, pitching mounds and other training facilities) and be connected to the stadium via an above-ground walkway. The area between the two buildings then would be come some sort of pedestrian mall.
(FYI, the west side of the building is beyond the third base line or, more to the point, where the McDonald’s is.)
I know this probably will be as shocking as my defense of interleague play, but I love the idea. That’s not to say I approve of the bleacher expansion that goes along with it, but looking at the pictures of a brand-new facility outside the stadium just gives me goosebumps. All of that underground players-only stuff, the staple of any new facility, would be close enough to be used during games, even, and therefore a totally viable option and one that would take away the gripe that Wrigley isn’t as player-friendly, behind-the-scenes, than a modern park.
Secondly, having a ped-mall out there, which would be open year round, creates something to do for all those folks who have decided just being in the neighborhood is great fun, tickets be damned. If I were the owner of Murphy’s or the Cubby Bear, I’d be a little scared that the Cubs would run restaurants and bars and steal all my money. But, just like the rooftop owners, those businesses are profitable only because of their proximity to Wrigley. And as much as the guys at Murphy’s and the Cubby Bear would like to think they contributed to eh successful growth of Wrigleyville, they must know that the team is the alpha and omega in this situation.
(Something that just came to me -- why didn’t the White Sox try something like this with all of their U.S. Cellular money? If any team needs to do a Disney-style creation of its own neighborhood, it’s the South Siders).
Most of all, I’m just excited for anything that would help keep Wrigley in place for years to come. And anything that happens outside the park, while still generating revenue, gives me more hope the inside will continue to be pristine (or at least decent — even I can see how much the park has changed since I’ve been alive, which is to say nothing about how different it looked in 1914) and that’s the best true fans can want. We have to accept minor changes to stay current. And you never know how it’ll work out -- those seats on top of the Green Monster at Fenway were the hottest thing in baseball last year.
With all of that said, I still wouldn’t put $5 down on seeing this idea ever come to fruition. It doesn’t seem like that’s the type of thing Daley and his staff would endorse for whatever reason. For now, let’s focus on the on-field product (more on that tomorrow).
I'm back
We got back yesterday afternoon/evening from a great weekend in Libertyville. And then I didn't sleep well (something about that dream where I had to fill in for Dusty Baker for a day, but I was running horribly late and at all the wrong places) and then work was busy thins morning. So I'm a little behind, but I'll come up with some things for the blog at some time this morning.
Friday, June 18, 2004
Oh Black Water, keep on rolling
A few weeks ago I posted a link to an article about the Grand Excursion 2004, which comes to Clinton June 29. Clicking on the photo of Clinton, taken from an old postcard, will take you to a nice article giving a cursory background of the area we now call home. Consider it a brief diversion from your Friday.
Sucks to be these guys
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Reuters) -- A little late night relief proved costly for two drunk Cambodians who were shot and beaten by security guards for urinating against a garage wall.
Police said Sun Sophat, 23, the son of a provincial governor, and Mao Visalvan, 31, incurred the wrath of the guards when they mistook the garage for a public toilet on the way home from a party on Monday night.
Read the full account here.
And when you're in Chicago, don't pee on the third rail!
Police said Sun Sophat, 23, the son of a provincial governor, and Mao Visalvan, 31, incurred the wrath of the guards when they mistook the garage for a public toilet on the way home from a party on Monday night.
Read the full account here.
And when you're in Chicago, don't pee on the third rail!
Life with baby
As you may or may not remember from an earlier post, today mark’s Jack’s first real car trip as we head to Libertyville for Father’s Day weekend activities.
The longest one-way stint for Jack has been about 30 minutes to see family in Savanna, Ill., which he handled quite well. However, the Libertyville trip is about three hours of driving fun on interstates, toll roads and other assorted avenues. I get off work at 10:30 a.m., at which point I have to go pick up some pictures and get an ice cream cone at Culver’s (flavor of the day: S’Mores). We want to be in Libertyville by 5 p.m.
Our basic M.O. is to wait for Jack to get hungry, feed him, then chuck him in the car seat and hit the road. He can usually go three hours without eating (especially if he’s asleep) and the car usually knocks him out, as long as we’re in it more than five minutes. We have a back up plan, including a portable bottle warmer powered by a cigarette lighter, but hopefully we can go wire-to-wire uninterrupted.
This trip will serve as a trial run for our family vacation to the Wisconsin Dells at the end of the month. Both jaunts are about three hours. But it’s not just the matter of keeping the baby happy that has us concerned, it’s getting all his crap from point A to point B.
We’re taking Kristie’s car, a 2000 Nissan Sentra. It has less legroom and a smaller trunk than my 1998 Buick Century (motto: If you’re a century old, you probably own a Buick Century). However, we have the nicer car seat set up for Kristie’s car. Plus, hers has about 30,000 less miles than mine and hasn’t been driven all that much since she stopped working. So we’re trying to balance out the car (mine was used for almost all our trips in the past, except for last year’s Dells excursion). Plus, hers has a CD player and better air conditioning).
We filled the trunk last night with two things — Jack’s stroller base (the car seat attaches) and his pack & play, a playpen that doubles as a bassinet (for living room sleeping) and triples as a changing table. It also has a mobile and a little electronic box with lights, nature sounds and classical music. It is a marvel of modern engineering that collapses into a little carrying case a little shorter than your standard golf bag.
So we got his stuff in the car ... except for the clothes. That’s Kristie’s project for the day, if Jack allows her the chance to work (and if she doesn’t have to clean up cat hurl, which she did all day yesterday because one of the kitties apparently does not like the soft food we’ve been giving them as a means of distributing the preventive bladder infection medicine. The first thing Kristie said to me when I got home yesterday afternoon was “If anything else in this house hocks or poops, you’re dealing with it.”).
Going away for three days also means packing up all of the bottle preparing mechanisms, since we can only make eight or nine bottles at a time (depending on how many are empty) unless we buy more bottles. Since he’s just on the edge of moving from the 5 oz. size to the 8 oz. variety, we’re in no hurry to add to our 5 oz. stash (we actually have about 15 small bottles, but not that many small nipples. See? Nipples is not a bad word!).
I think we can do it, get his stuff packed and in the car while also throwing some clothes in for ourselves. The real challenge will be re-packing it all Sunday in Libertyville before we head back to Clinton.
Some day, I suppose, when we have three kids of varying ages, a dog and the standard-issue minivan, we’ll probably look back at this little problem and see it as a far simpler time when we could just pick up and go anywhere at a moment’s notice. But for today, the whole prospect is a little scary.
Wish us luck.
The longest one-way stint for Jack has been about 30 minutes to see family in Savanna, Ill., which he handled quite well. However, the Libertyville trip is about three hours of driving fun on interstates, toll roads and other assorted avenues. I get off work at 10:30 a.m., at which point I have to go pick up some pictures and get an ice cream cone at Culver’s (flavor of the day: S’Mores). We want to be in Libertyville by 5 p.m.
Our basic M.O. is to wait for Jack to get hungry, feed him, then chuck him in the car seat and hit the road. He can usually go three hours without eating (especially if he’s asleep) and the car usually knocks him out, as long as we’re in it more than five minutes. We have a back up plan, including a portable bottle warmer powered by a cigarette lighter, but hopefully we can go wire-to-wire uninterrupted.
This trip will serve as a trial run for our family vacation to the Wisconsin Dells at the end of the month. Both jaunts are about three hours. But it’s not just the matter of keeping the baby happy that has us concerned, it’s getting all his crap from point A to point B.
We’re taking Kristie’s car, a 2000 Nissan Sentra. It has less legroom and a smaller trunk than my 1998 Buick Century (motto: If you’re a century old, you probably own a Buick Century). However, we have the nicer car seat set up for Kristie’s car. Plus, hers has about 30,000 less miles than mine and hasn’t been driven all that much since she stopped working. So we’re trying to balance out the car (mine was used for almost all our trips in the past, except for last year’s Dells excursion). Plus, hers has a CD player and better air conditioning).
We filled the trunk last night with two things — Jack’s stroller base (the car seat attaches) and his pack & play, a playpen that doubles as a bassinet (for living room sleeping) and triples as a changing table. It also has a mobile and a little electronic box with lights, nature sounds and classical music. It is a marvel of modern engineering that collapses into a little carrying case a little shorter than your standard golf bag.
So we got his stuff in the car ... except for the clothes. That’s Kristie’s project for the day, if Jack allows her the chance to work (and if she doesn’t have to clean up cat hurl, which she did all day yesterday because one of the kitties apparently does not like the soft food we’ve been giving them as a means of distributing the preventive bladder infection medicine. The first thing Kristie said to me when I got home yesterday afternoon was “If anything else in this house hocks or poops, you’re dealing with it.”).
Going away for three days also means packing up all of the bottle preparing mechanisms, since we can only make eight or nine bottles at a time (depending on how many are empty) unless we buy more bottles. Since he’s just on the edge of moving from the 5 oz. size to the 8 oz. variety, we’re in no hurry to add to our 5 oz. stash (we actually have about 15 small bottles, but not that many small nipples. See? Nipples is not a bad word!).
I think we can do it, get his stuff packed and in the car while also throwing some clothes in for ourselves. The real challenge will be re-packing it all Sunday in Libertyville before we head back to Clinton.
Some day, I suppose, when we have three kids of varying ages, a dog and the standard-issue minivan, we’ll probably look back at this little problem and see it as a far simpler time when we could just pick up and go anywhere at a moment’s notice. But for today, the whole prospect is a little scary.
Wish us luck.
We've all got 'em
Nipples.
It’s not a bad word, is it? Certainly not all by itself. I’m sure there are many sources of literature and other media where ‘nipples,’ in context, can contribute to some very impure things. But ‘nipples,’ as a word all by itself, is harmless, right?
Not right.
Clearly visible in the picture of two dudes standing in front of a bridge, which ran in Wednesday’s Clinton Herald is the word ‘nipples’ spray-painted onto a bridge beam. Some editors got together Wednesday morning and decided it would be best to draw a black box over the word and run the picture with the offending word censored.
I had three reactions. One, I don’t think it’s really that ethical to just edit pictures like that and publish them without noting the alterations. Two, since that leap of ethics was acceptable, it would have made much better sense to go into PhotoShop and use a blur or smudge tool to make the edit much less noticeable. Three, the word is ‘nipples’ for goodness sakes.
‘Nipples’ by itself is no more offensive than the word ‘Yurtle’ which also was spray-painted on the bridge. But, I guess we’re being sensitive to our elderly, conservative readers that wouldn’t even say the word ‘nipples,’ let alone want it plastered on the front page of our paper. It still bothers me, but I’m not a decision maker, so I’m trying not to lose too much sleep over this.
Enjoy your nipples.
Three Cubs items
According to today’s Cubs coverage in the Chicago Tribune, we know the following things about this weekend’s series against the A’s:
1. Moises Alou will sit today with Todd Hollandsworth getting the start in left field.
2. Mark Grudzielanek will be in the lineup Saturday, with Todd Walker getting starts at second base today and Sunday.
3. Dusty Baker may not bat Sosa third today in his return from the disabled list.
My thoughts:
1. Great move. Baker must find ways to keep Hollandsworth in the lineup, and Mo could use a day off after a long road trip. If Sosa is will to sit once a week, and Alou and Lee also are willing to sit once a week (provided its all on different days) then Hollandsworth could start at least three games a week. That’s probably a bit too aggressive, but I think five starts a month is reasonable.
Even if he doesn’t start, having him back with the Lemons (the bench players self-imposed nickname) is a tremendous asset. Jason DuBois and David Kelton just aren’t cut out to pinch hit and spot field at the major league level.
2. I could not be happier to see Grudz back in the lineup. As I said earlier, I love Todd Walker as much as Mrs. Todd Walker, but I believe Mark Grudzielanek was the heart and soul of the 2003 team. That guy just has a fire that seems to be contagious. While Walker has performed well in the leadoff spot, Grudzielanek (in the rose-colored glasses of my memory) is just a bit more productive at the top of the order.
3. For the love of God, please don’t bat Sammy third. Since we know Mo is out today, however, that may be the only logical place. I’d actually be tempted to put Corey Patterson back in the three-spot for a day, given his recent success. But maybe he’s only thriving because of his spot in the order.
You can’t take Ramirez out of the cleanup spot right now. He’s been dominating. My lineup card today would look like this:
1. Walker 2B
2. Barrett C
3. Hollandsworth LF
4. Ramirez 3B
5. Patterson CF
6. Lee 1B
7. Sosa RF
8. Martinez SS
9. Clement P
What’s more likely is to see Sosa third, Hollandsworth fifth and Patterson seventh, or maybe Sosa fifth and Patterson seventh. I guess we’ll all know more at 2:20 p.m.
1. Moises Alou will sit today with Todd Hollandsworth getting the start in left field.
2. Mark Grudzielanek will be in the lineup Saturday, with Todd Walker getting starts at second base today and Sunday.
3. Dusty Baker may not bat Sosa third today in his return from the disabled list.
My thoughts:
1. Great move. Baker must find ways to keep Hollandsworth in the lineup, and Mo could use a day off after a long road trip. If Sosa is will to sit once a week, and Alou and Lee also are willing to sit once a week (provided its all on different days) then Hollandsworth could start at least three games a week. That’s probably a bit too aggressive, but I think five starts a month is reasonable.
Even if he doesn’t start, having him back with the Lemons (the bench players self-imposed nickname) is a tremendous asset. Jason DuBois and David Kelton just aren’t cut out to pinch hit and spot field at the major league level.
2. I could not be happier to see Grudz back in the lineup. As I said earlier, I love Todd Walker as much as Mrs. Todd Walker, but I believe Mark Grudzielanek was the heart and soul of the 2003 team. That guy just has a fire that seems to be contagious. While Walker has performed well in the leadoff spot, Grudzielanek (in the rose-colored glasses of my memory) is just a bit more productive at the top of the order.
3. For the love of God, please don’t bat Sammy third. Since we know Mo is out today, however, that may be the only logical place. I’d actually be tempted to put Corey Patterson back in the three-spot for a day, given his recent success. But maybe he’s only thriving because of his spot in the order.
You can’t take Ramirez out of the cleanup spot right now. He’s been dominating. My lineup card today would look like this:
1. Walker 2B
2. Barrett C
3. Hollandsworth LF
4. Ramirez 3B
5. Patterson CF
6. Lee 1B
7. Sosa RF
8. Martinez SS
9. Clement P
What’s more likely is to see Sosa third, Hollandsworth fifth and Patterson seventh, or maybe Sosa fifth and Patterson seventh. I guess we’ll all know more at 2:20 p.m.
These are my Cubs
This is the Cubs team I was waiting for.
This is a team that goes 6-1 on a road trip sandwiched between crucial home stands. This is a team that finds a way to win a 15 inning game, despite giving up two late leads. This is a team that, coming off that 15-inning game, goes straight into a four-game set against a top rival, stares down the best pitcher in the league, blows up a solid bullpen and leaves with a four-game sweep.
This is a team that wins without home runs, with a speedy center fielder that slaps two triples and notches three extra-base hits in one game. This is a team with a starting rotation that threw 25 1/3 innings against Houston, giving up just 23 hits and seven walks to 24 strikeouts while posting a 1.77 ERA.
This is a team with a troubled set-up man who, in a one-run game Tuesday, gives up a leadoff triple, then turns around to get a ground ball out and two wicked strikeouts to preserve the advantage.
This is a team that can get four innings out of the bullpen from some guy no one’s ever heard of to preserve Mark Prior’s first win of the season. A team with so much pitching talent the opposition never gets a break. A team that takes a guy who went 1-12 last year and has turned him into a 4-1 guy that rivals any team’s fifth starter.
This is a team riding a six-game win streak with its best three pitchers taking the hill, at home, in games against a tough interleague opponent. Why shouldn’t there be another sweep? Sure, Oakland has three tough lefties. But do you think their hitters are excited about the prospect of drawing Matt Clement, Mark Prior and Carlos Zambrano?
The season still is quite a long way from over. But no team in the National League has played better over the past 10 days. The Cubs are now 10-6 in the month of June and eight games above .500, only two out of first place. If the team can manage to withstand the return of Sammy Sosa to the lineup, good things will continue to happen, and this could be another magical summer.
This is a team that goes 6-1 on a road trip sandwiched between crucial home stands. This is a team that finds a way to win a 15 inning game, despite giving up two late leads. This is a team that, coming off that 15-inning game, goes straight into a four-game set against a top rival, stares down the best pitcher in the league, blows up a solid bullpen and leaves with a four-game sweep.
This is a team that wins without home runs, with a speedy center fielder that slaps two triples and notches three extra-base hits in one game. This is a team with a starting rotation that threw 25 1/3 innings against Houston, giving up just 23 hits and seven walks to 24 strikeouts while posting a 1.77 ERA.
This is a team with a troubled set-up man who, in a one-run game Tuesday, gives up a leadoff triple, then turns around to get a ground ball out and two wicked strikeouts to preserve the advantage.
This is a team that can get four innings out of the bullpen from some guy no one’s ever heard of to preserve Mark Prior’s first win of the season. A team with so much pitching talent the opposition never gets a break. A team that takes a guy who went 1-12 last year and has turned him into a 4-1 guy that rivals any team’s fifth starter.
This is a team riding a six-game win streak with its best three pitchers taking the hill, at home, in games against a tough interleague opponent. Why shouldn’t there be another sweep? Sure, Oakland has three tough lefties. But do you think their hitters are excited about the prospect of drawing Matt Clement, Mark Prior and Carlos Zambrano?
The season still is quite a long way from over. But no team in the National League has played better over the past 10 days. The Cubs are now 10-6 in the month of June and eight games above .500, only two out of first place. If the team can manage to withstand the return of Sammy Sosa to the lineup, good things will continue to happen, and this could be another magical summer.
Sucks to be this chick
OREM, Utah (AP) -- It's not easy being a giant ice cream cone - just ask Andrea Wilcox. Wilcox was trying to lure customers to a suburban Salt Lake City Dairy Queen restaurant last weekend by wearing an inflatable "Curly Top" suit when she was suddenly tackled for no apparent reason.
"I heard a truck drive up behind me, so I turned around and was waving at them when a kid jumped out and ran toward me," said Wilcox, who didn't get a good view of the person. "I thought, 'What is he doing?' and he just tackled me like a football player."
Read the full account here.
"I heard a truck drive up behind me, so I turned around and was waving at them when a kid jumped out and ran toward me," said Wilcox, who didn't get a good view of the person. "I thought, 'What is he doing?' and he just tackled me like a football player."
Read the full account here.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Picture this
That's a picture of my family's house in Libertyville (If you don't know, it's the fourth one from the left). Click on the picture to take yourself to a website that lets you search for aerial photographs by address. I found a picture of my place in Clinton, but alas, no color and I couldn't zoom in close enough to give you anything worthwile.
I will keep playing with this thing all day, or until my boss tells me to cut it out. Since my old Libertyville hom eis close enough to Libertyville High School to see the campus, my next trip is to Cedar Rapids to look for Coe, and then to Independence.
These pictures are dated, and some are several years old. So good luck staying current.
Another defense of interleague play
I don’t really care for Joe Morgan, the Hall of Fame second basemen that starred with the Cincinnati Reds. There’s a number of reasons (for example: He thinks he’s the best second baseman of all time, which is simply not true; he sees himself as protector of the Hall of Fame, keeping out the unworthy; and he wears bad suits each week on Sunday Night Baseball), but the reason I don’t like him today is his ESPN.com column opposing interleague play. I know this will be the second time I’ve defended interleague play recently, but this has more to do with Morgan’s buffoonery than anything else.
I’ll insert some of Joe’s arguments and then give my rebuttals, just so we’re all clear on the format:
Look, Joe clearly wasn’t paying attention to anything when he put this column together. But that’s fine, he gets paid to give his opinions, and I’m doing it to kill time. No skin off my back. But, seriously, Joe, look before you leap.
I’ll insert some of Joe’s arguments and then give my rebuttals, just so we’re all clear on the format:
...the marquee matchups aren't as big a deal as they used to be. This is evident in the Bay Area, where I live -- the Oakland Athletics-San Francisco Giants series isn't as exciting as it once was. And the same is true for the New York Yankees-New York Mets series on the East Coast. This is the eighth year of interleague play, and the novelty has worn off.Joe, I’d suggest spending some time over the next month in Chicago. The six Cubs-White Sox games are about as big as it gets on the South Side, and second only to a Cubs-Cardinals series on the North Side. And while the TV announcers like to say there’s always a buzz in the air with the Cardinals in town, that’s only true if both teams are competitive. No matter what the records, a Cubs-Sox game is always intense. I’ve seen it firsthand once and multiple times on TV. There are other games throughout the year that are as exciting, but no one series delivers so constantly 27 amazing innings of baseball.
I'd like to see MLB take a hiatus from interleague play for three years. Stop playing interleague games for three years, and then three years from now resume interleague play for three years. Such a three-year cycle would bring back the excitement of interleague competition.Well, that’s just plain stupid. All this would do is confuse fans, and that’s the last thing baseball (or any sport) needs. See exhibit A: The National Hockey League’s Wins-Losses-Ties-Overtime Losses points system, or anything NASCAR.
I'm in favor of only a few interleague series each year, so every team wouldn't be involved. The marquee matchups should stay, but too many other matchups aren't fun for the fans.Are these the same marquee matchups you just said have lost their luster? And don’t get me started on the craziness of only having a few teams play interleague each year.
My solution would be to forget the city and area rivalries for a while. I believe that many fans are tired of seeing Mets-Yankees.But, Joe, you just said the marquee matchups should stay. I don’t understand.
Instead, send marquee teams like the Yankees to places where they're not normally seen. For instance, this weekend the Yankees play a three-game series at the Los Angeles Dodgers. That's a perfect matchup. Send the Giants and Barry Bonds to an area and a venue where they normally wouldn't play (maybe to Boston to face the Red Sox).What you’re really getting at, Joe, is having the big market teams play each other while having the small money teams stay home. It sounds like what you’re really advocating is a total realignment where teams from New York, Chicago, L.A., Boston and Philadelphia would compete against each other all summer while teams from Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay just filled time on ESPN2.
How much interest was there in the Montreal Expos-Kansas City Royals series this year?I’d say about as much interest as there will be for the six Expos-Rockies games, or the Royals-Devil Rays clashes. Some teams just aren’t exciting draws no matter what league they represent.
The inequity of playing those different opponents could easily influence the outcome of the NL West race. For example, the Giants don't have to face the Yankees this year, but they do play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. If you're trying to win a division race, who would you rather play -- the Devil Rays or the Yankees?The NFL tries to gerrymander its schedule in the goal of parity. And every year, some team gets the breaks of a semi-weak schedule (though only two opponents are selected on this premise) and makes a playoff run. The NFL then markets the pants off of the team as an underdog and the fans eat it up. Exhibit B: The 2003-2204 Carolina Panthers. The moral of the story is they play the games between the white lines. And it works both ways. If the Yankees are trying to win a division, don’t you think they’d rather play the Devil Rays, too?
Interleague play also means there are fewer games between key division rivals. Two NL Central rivals, the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals, don't play each other in August or September this year.This is true. However, it’s not the fault of interleague play. What happened was Fox wanted a marquee series to open up its Game of the Week in May. So, presto-changeo, the Cubs/Cards series got moved up in the schedule for TV purposes, not because those 12 interleague games rob us of rivalries in the Dog Days.
Look, Joe clearly wasn’t paying attention to anything when he put this column together. But that’s fine, he gets paid to give his opinions, and I’m doing it to kill time. No skin off my back. But, seriously, Joe, look before you leap.
He said, and I quote...
When is a quote not a quote?
Two of my favorite Chicago Tribune writers tackled that issue this week, both with a different slant but both informative in their won way. The first out of the box was Metro columnist Eric Zorn, who raised the issue in his blog, Eric Zorn’s Notebook (you will have to scroll down to Tuesday’s posting). He used the following example, among others:
This poses a problem for the report, because our stories always look better with quotes. Editors love quotes. Hell, reporters love quotes. We know when we have a good one, marking it with a big star in the notebook just to make sure it fits in the story at all costs. I love ending articles with the perfect quote, sometimes just to let a person get the proverbial “last word,” or just to end a debate with finality.
Many people expect to be quoted. I know people on my beat that are very conversational in nature, but when they know I’m writing, they begin to speak in words they think will look good in print. Some people must practice what they say, because they’ll give separate interviews to me and reporters from other newspapers, and their words will seem very much the same.
The Tribune’s Public Editor Don Wycliff also mentioned quotes in his column in today’s paper. Among his points was this:
Though people may doubt ethics remains in journalism, I certainly feel it is prevalent (despite my lack of formal education on the topic). When I’ve done a one-on-one interview behind closed doors, I can tweak quotes however I want to “clean up” what my subject said. In most cases, business spotlights, candidate profiles, etc., the subject wouldn’t mind if they noticed at all. Some people on my beat go so far as to say “just make me look good.”
But I never do, because I fell it’s wrong. They said it the way they said it. If I can’t get a quote, but I know what they meant, I paraphrase. It may weaken the story a bit, but it leaves my ethics intact.
Honestly, I don’t have near the problem with this that reporters in larger cities do. I compete with one other daily paper (for my Iowa stories, we actually compete with more in Illinois) and my beat is often covered by two radio stations. City council meetings are carried on live TV (and recorded by the city for posterity).
This set-up is nothing like all of the local, national and international print, broadcast and electronic reporters who will standing around Sammy Sosa following his return to the Cubs Friday. You’ll be able to see what Sammy has to say on ESPN, Fox Sports Net, WGN and maybe CNN, all 12 hours before you read it in the next day’s paper or online. The words should match up in every source, but it says here that’s a fool’s bet.
This rambling mess of goo doesn’t even begin to go into the ethic of quoting from press releases which I do freely, but always with an explanation of the source so as not to mislead readers into thinking I conducted an interview. See this story for an example.
OK, that’s all I can muster at this point. I’m sorry if I didn’t bring any conclusion to the subject. If you have anything to add, please do so. How do you treat quotes when you read them in the paper? Do you take them as verbatim, regarded with more accuracy than Scripture? Or have you soured on the media so much that you don’t trust anything you see in print? Or do you not even remember the last time you read a newspaper?
Two of my favorite Chicago Tribune writers tackled that issue this week, both with a different slant but both informative in their won way. The first out of the box was Metro columnist Eric Zorn, who raised the issue in his blog, Eric Zorn’s Notebook (you will have to scroll down to Tuesday’s posting). He used the following example, among others:
You know... we face back-to-back best closer in baseball with Wagner and Smolzey, you know, we score four and, ah, we got the--when they bring in Smolzey it's a 6-0 game and a lot of people think it's, the game's over. We battle back.Zorn went on to add his own opinions to the debate:A transcript taken from a TV news report of White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's comments after Friday night's game in which the team faced Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz.A lot of people thought the game was over and we battled back.Guillen's remarks as quoted in the Tribune.
Ideally, all the words inside quote marks would be verbatim transcripts of what the person said.He’s exactly right. Speaking from personal professional experience, there are many times a reporter encounters a speaking subject that, for any number of reasons, is not quotable. This isn’t a minority thing at all, because I have met plenty of white Americans that garble the language so strongly it is impossible to get their words into print.
The quotation marks imply a promise that what is between them is exact, not a paraphrase.
But working journalists frequently run into situations in which very bright people, such as Ozzie Guillen, for whom English is a second language, speak in ways that make them sound stupid, inarticulate or cartoony when their words are rendered precisely on paper.
This poses a problem for the report, because our stories always look better with quotes. Editors love quotes. Hell, reporters love quotes. We know when we have a good one, marking it with a big star in the notebook just to make sure it fits in the story at all costs. I love ending articles with the perfect quote, sometimes just to let a person get the proverbial “last word,” or just to end a debate with finality.
Many people expect to be quoted. I know people on my beat that are very conversational in nature, but when they know I’m writing, they begin to speak in words they think will look good in print. Some people must practice what they say, because they’ll give separate interviews to me and reporters from other newspapers, and their words will seem very much the same.
The Tribune’s Public Editor Don Wycliff also mentioned quotes in his column in today’s paper. Among his points was this:
If something appears between quotation marks, these people say, it ought to be the literal words of the person identified as the speaker, no more and no less.He also included this entry from the Tribune’s stylebook:
And that's true--except when it isn't. When, for example, was the last time you read a quotation in a newspaper that contained an "um," or an "uh," or any of the vocal jetsam that characterizes the informal speech of even the most articulate people?
Well, OK, the literalists will say. We didn't mean all of that stuff. We meant all the real words.
Fair enough. But open the door to throw out the obvious trash and there's no telling what else will go out--or come in.
"In quotations," reads the relevant portion of the stylebook entry on the subject, "do not routinely use abnormal spellings such as gonna, Ah (for I), runnin', etc., in attempts to convey dialects or mispronunciations. The fact that a person speaks with a drawl, twang or ethnic accent has no bearing on most stories. Just as we honestly eliminate the `er's,' uh's' and `um's' in quoting everyday conversation, so we can honestly put most accented speech and even some minor grammatical errors into standard English."That’s typically how I approach the subject, although I do get into the “gonnas” and other such things to give accurate flavor. But we’re always taking out “ums,” “ers” and false starts to sentences. Sometimes people will use the wrong word, then correct themselves immediately. In some cases, that problem is solved by adding a “...” while other times the misspoken part of the quote is quietly dropped.
Though people may doubt ethics remains in journalism, I certainly feel it is prevalent (despite my lack of formal education on the topic). When I’ve done a one-on-one interview behind closed doors, I can tweak quotes however I want to “clean up” what my subject said. In most cases, business spotlights, candidate profiles, etc., the subject wouldn’t mind if they noticed at all. Some people on my beat go so far as to say “just make me look good.”
But I never do, because I fell it’s wrong. They said it the way they said it. If I can’t get a quote, but I know what they meant, I paraphrase. It may weaken the story a bit, but it leaves my ethics intact.
Honestly, I don’t have near the problem with this that reporters in larger cities do. I compete with one other daily paper (for my Iowa stories, we actually compete with more in Illinois) and my beat is often covered by two radio stations. City council meetings are carried on live TV (and recorded by the city for posterity).
This set-up is nothing like all of the local, national and international print, broadcast and electronic reporters who will standing around Sammy Sosa following his return to the Cubs Friday. You’ll be able to see what Sammy has to say on ESPN, Fox Sports Net, WGN and maybe CNN, all 12 hours before you read it in the next day’s paper or online. The words should match up in every source, but it says here that’s a fool’s bet.
This rambling mess of goo doesn’t even begin to go into the ethic of quoting from press releases which I do freely, but always with an explanation of the source so as not to mislead readers into thinking I conducted an interview. See this story for an example.
OK, that’s all I can muster at this point. I’m sorry if I didn’t bring any conclusion to the subject. If you have anything to add, please do so. How do you treat quotes when you read them in the paper? Do you take them as verbatim, regarded with more accuracy than Scripture? Or have you soured on the media so much that you don’t trust anything you see in print? Or do you not even remember the last time you read a newspaper?
Sucks to be this guy
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A little too much passion, perhaps. A St. Paul woman who became frightened Wednesday morning when her boyfriend squeezed her too tightly while they kissed bit off part of his tongue, police said. "I guess I bit down too hard," the woman told officers, explaining that she has been victimized by men.
The woman, who is 43, was arrested for assault and could be charged Thursday in Ramsey County, investigators said.
Read the full account here.
The woman, who is 43, was arrested for assault and could be charged Thursday in Ramsey County, investigators said.
Read the full account here.
Sucks to be this chick
LAPORTE, Ind. (AP) -- A 78-year-old woman tired of squirrels raiding her bird feeder got out her shotgun to kill the critter, but instead accidentally shot and injured herself. Alberta Jones loaded her 16-gauge shotgun Sunday and carried it with the barrel pointed down to the back door to take aim, police said. The gun accidentally discharged, police said, and shotgun pellets ricocheted off the floor.
Both of her legs were struck by the pellets, and one in her knee required surgery Tuesday to remove.
Her hospital condition was not available Tuesday evening.
"I've tried everything to shag them away, and they keep coming back," Jones said of the squirrels after the incident.
Read the full account here.
Both of her legs were struck by the pellets, and one in her knee required surgery Tuesday to remove.
Her hospital condition was not available Tuesday evening.
"I've tried everything to shag them away, and they keep coming back," Jones said of the squirrels after the incident.
Read the full account here.
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
We question, you click
Here's today's column. As promised, it's a little Clinton-centric. The topic is interesting, though, if newspaper stuff interests you. That's a horrible introduction. Sorry.
CLINTON — As I sat down to write this column Tuesday afternoon, more than 350 people had participated in this week’s online reader poll.
This is, in a word, remarkable. This current poll, which asks which chain restaurant readers would like to see open in the Clinton area, is our 11th regular poll since we began the weekly exercise March 31. It also has, by far, generated the most interest of any question we’ve asked.
The March 31 question — asking for a yes or no take on if the words ‘under God’ should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance — garnered 275 responses. The next busiest question was the May 5 entry asking the clicker to decide which Clinton intersection is most dangerous. That drew some 255 voters.
In the other eight weeks, some questions have drawn much interest (224 responses to a question about renaming U.S. 30 “Korean War Memorial Highway”) while others have been flat-out stinkers (24 responses on the emergency plan poll). In all, the average has been a little more than 148 votes per week.
I bring all of this up not because I couldn’t think of anything better to write about, but as a way to work together to help improve our poll offerings (and maybe a little bit because I couldn’t think of anything else. But this is important, so pay attention!).
First, a means of explanation. The poll question is hatched each Monday at the Clinton Herald Editorial Board meeting. Some questions are logical, given the events of the day. Some take a while to craft. Others may lead to a future story or aim to provide highly unscientific public opinion for elected officials.
When the editorial board first started kicking the idea around, it was thought that ‘Yes-No’ questions were the only way to go. And when the Pledge poll was unveiled, with 85.8 percentof the voters clicking no, the words ‘Under God’ should not be removed, we figured Yes-No was a good rule to follow.
In two weeks, we went to our first multiple choice offering regarding downtown parking rules. Participation dropped to 120 voters. I have two theories as to why — one, voters did not want to take the time to think about the complex answers; and two, our Web site draws readers from far, far away who couldn’t care less about our downtown parking rules.
The next week, we tried a 10-response poll about your favorite summer event. That bumped responses up to 184. We really hit the clicking jackpot on the next 10-question poll about dangerous intersections, drawing 255 responses.
I think the intersection poll plays into the same dynamic that made our restaurant poll (see results in the bottom left-hand corner of this page) such a success — people believe clicking an option they feel strongly about might bring about some change.
“If I vote for the Fareway intersection,” they reason, “perhaps a city councilman will see it and bring it up at the next meeting;” or “If I click on Olive Garden, maybe someone will see how serious I am about my never-ending breadstick supply.”
In truth, that’s what I like best about the poll questions. If people strongly voice an opinion on one side of an issue, such as opposing the highway renaming, it’s bound to get noticed. We can write editorials until we run out of ink, but it often times take the voices of the people to get things changed.
In the future, I hope more people will see an interesting poll question and write a Reader’s Letter on the topic. And if anyone out there has some suggestions for future poll questions, let me know and I’ll bring it up to the editorial board. By combing the Internet and print editions, I’d like to think the paper could become more interactive and our readers could get more out of the whole Clinton Herald experience.
I’d also like to think I can get a flat stomach just by stressing out over Cubs games all summer long, but I can’t live in dream world forever.
CLINTON — As I sat down to write this column Tuesday afternoon, more than 350 people had participated in this week’s online reader poll.
This is, in a word, remarkable. This current poll, which asks which chain restaurant readers would like to see open in the Clinton area, is our 11th regular poll since we began the weekly exercise March 31. It also has, by far, generated the most interest of any question we’ve asked.
The March 31 question — asking for a yes or no take on if the words ‘under God’ should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance — garnered 275 responses. The next busiest question was the May 5 entry asking the clicker to decide which Clinton intersection is most dangerous. That drew some 255 voters.
In the other eight weeks, some questions have drawn much interest (224 responses to a question about renaming U.S. 30 “Korean War Memorial Highway”) while others have been flat-out stinkers (24 responses on the emergency plan poll). In all, the average has been a little more than 148 votes per week.
I bring all of this up not because I couldn’t think of anything better to write about, but as a way to work together to help improve our poll offerings (and maybe a little bit because I couldn’t think of anything else. But this is important, so pay attention!).
First, a means of explanation. The poll question is hatched each Monday at the Clinton Herald Editorial Board meeting. Some questions are logical, given the events of the day. Some take a while to craft. Others may lead to a future story or aim to provide highly unscientific public opinion for elected officials.
When the editorial board first started kicking the idea around, it was thought that ‘Yes-No’ questions were the only way to go. And when the Pledge poll was unveiled, with 85.8 percentof the voters clicking no, the words ‘Under God’ should not be removed, we figured Yes-No was a good rule to follow.
In two weeks, we went to our first multiple choice offering regarding downtown parking rules. Participation dropped to 120 voters. I have two theories as to why — one, voters did not want to take the time to think about the complex answers; and two, our Web site draws readers from far, far away who couldn’t care less about our downtown parking rules.
The next week, we tried a 10-response poll about your favorite summer event. That bumped responses up to 184. We really hit the clicking jackpot on the next 10-question poll about dangerous intersections, drawing 255 responses.
I think the intersection poll plays into the same dynamic that made our restaurant poll (see results in the bottom left-hand corner of this page) such a success — people believe clicking an option they feel strongly about might bring about some change.
“If I vote for the Fareway intersection,” they reason, “perhaps a city councilman will see it and bring it up at the next meeting;” or “If I click on Olive Garden, maybe someone will see how serious I am about my never-ending breadstick supply.”
In truth, that’s what I like best about the poll questions. If people strongly voice an opinion on one side of an issue, such as opposing the highway renaming, it’s bound to get noticed. We can write editorials until we run out of ink, but it often times take the voices of the people to get things changed.
In the future, I hope more people will see an interesting poll question and write a Reader’s Letter on the topic. And if anyone out there has some suggestions for future poll questions, let me know and I’ll bring it up to the editorial board. By combing the Internet and print editions, I’d like to think the paper could become more interactive and our readers could get more out of the whole Clinton Herald experience.
I’d also like to think I can get a flat stomach just by stressing out over Cubs games all summer long, but I can’t live in dream world forever.
Mrs. Gleason retires
OK, I know I may be speaking to the smallest or core audiences here, but I read in the Daily Herald that Mrs. Gleason retired this year from Rockland Elementary. I’m not aware of any person on my e-mail list that went to Rockland with me (though many are from junior high and high school), so I’m fairly sure no one reading this (except my mom) even knows who Mrs. Gleason is. But I thought she was a pretty good teacher when I had her for the fifth grade.
Check out this story to see what her students did for her during her last week. There seems to be a line missing, but I think you get the idea.
Also, if you know any old Rockland folks, let me know and pass along an e-mail. I’ll check the Classmates.com site and see if I can track anyone down.
Check out this story to see what her students did for her during her last week. There seems to be a line missing, but I think you get the idea.
Also, if you know any old Rockland folks, let me know and pass along an e-mail. I’ll check the Classmates.com site and see if I can track anyone down.
Sucks to be these guys
TEHRAN (Reuters) -- A toxic batch of homebrew alcohol has killed 22 people in southern Iran and put scores more in hospital, local officials said Tuesday.
Alcohol is officially banned in the Islamic state. But those determined to break the enforced sobriety can purchase smuggled imports on the black market or buy locally made spirits.
"Some of them died after days of suffering in hospital," Hossein Ali Amiri, a judiciary official in the southern Fars province, told state television.
Read the full account here.
Alcohol is officially banned in the Islamic state. But those determined to break the enforced sobriety can purchase smuggled imports on the black market or buy locally made spirits.
"Some of them died after days of suffering in hospital," Hossein Ali Amiri, a judiciary official in the southern Fars province, told state television.
Read the full account here.
Dark side of the moon
I maintain only one team is really out of the NL Central race at this point (the mightily struggling Pittsburgh Pirates, now 0-7 in interleague play, 12 games below .500 and 11 out of first place), though I know the Reds and Brewers will eventually drop to fourth and fifth place, respectively.
But apparently, there’s a firestorm of Houston hatred for the hometown nine, with at least one local columnist prepared to write off the season if things don’t change for the Astros. Losing two big games to a division rival will do that two you. The writer is Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Here’s a sampling of what he had to say in today’s column:
Just as I was optimistic about the Cubs when they were in fifth place but only a few games back, I’m still not sold the Astros are done for the season at this point. If the Cubs lose today and tomorrow, the two teams will basically revert back to their positions in the standings heading into Monday’s game, at least in respect to each other. The only danger to either is if the Cardinals somehow rip off a 10-game streak.
I plan to try to check out other newspapers accounts of Cubs games in the future as time permits. A fresh perspective is quite interesting.
But apparently, there’s a firestorm of Houston hatred for the hometown nine, with at least one local columnist prepared to write off the season if things don’t change for the Astros. Losing two big games to a division rival will do that two you. The writer is Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Here’s a sampling of what he had to say in today’s column:
They can no longer hope that Andy Pettitte's return to the rotation will save the season.Aside from the guy’s affinity for writing one or two sentence paragraphs, he makes some good points, I guess. After hearing all the doom-and-gloom predictions dumped on the Cubs last week, it’s nice to see another team’s media outlet lashing out for perceived failures.
Too much else is wrong.
They shouldn't even begin with Dotel. Sure, they made a monumentally stupid move in trading closer Billy Wagner after last season. Problem is, that trade can't be undone.
What they must now focus on is everything else.
They are old and slow. They lack athleticism. They are in fifth place.
They must not think small. They must admit that they can't win with this current mix of players. They must start making changes.
Just as I was optimistic about the Cubs when they were in fifth place but only a few games back, I’m still not sold the Astros are done for the season at this point. If the Cubs lose today and tomorrow, the two teams will basically revert back to their positions in the standings heading into Monday’s game, at least in respect to each other. The only danger to either is if the Cardinals somehow rip off a 10-game streak.
I plan to try to check out other newspapers accounts of Cubs games in the future as time permits. A fresh perspective is quite interesting.
I love monkeys
Today’s Chicago Tribune has an excellent story on the new $25.7 million primate house at Lincoln Park zoo. You may click the picture (or small red box, if the picture doesn't load) for the full account, but here’s some tidbits to get you interested:In what may be a first for any zoo display, a device will allow the chimps to play practical jokes on human visitors.And another:
Two nozzles hidden in the ceiling over the indoor public viewing area are the muzzles of an "air cannon." Once they learn how it works, the chimps, who enjoy interacting with human visitors, can blast unwary viewers staring at them by punching a button on the wall.
"It's just a sudden whoosh of air from above designed to surprise people," Barbiers said. "But we expect the chimps to get plenty of fun out of making people jump a little bit."
Kwan's three females are still reluctant to go outdoors, Ross said. But Kwan keeps an eye on the chimps and often wanders outside when they go outside.Kwan is the zoo’s silverback male leader of one gorilla family. JoJo (pictured above) is the silverback leader of another family. The two families are seeing each other for the first time.
"Once he's outside, he can get distracted by a lot of interesting things to look at," Ross said. "If he climbs up to the highest part of the yard, he can see Lake Michigan and the Lake Shore Drive traffic. He can turn around and look south and see the zebras in their yard.
"He really seems relaxed out here, lying around, enjoying the browse, and it won't be long before his females will become curious about his being here, and they'll be out, too."
The center opens to the public July 1, and I really would like to get out and see it, though babies and zoos don’t always mesh.
Busy morning
A quick update on what to expect from me today:
• Upcoming thoughts on Tuesday’s excellent Cubs game. After knocking of Roger Clemens Monday and decimating the Astros bullpen Tuesday, the Cubs are setting a tone for how they’re going to play the rest of the year. I hope.
• No recap of the “Joe Schmo 2” premiere yet. We’ve got it on tape (the only way to watch reality shows, even if they’re fake) and will get to it later today. We didn’t get home from municipal band practice until 9:30 last night because after going to Wal-Mart (to get new pictures of Jack, to be posted later), we went to Burger King to get Cherry Icee. Except the BK by Wal-Mart doesn’t sell them, so they sent us to the north end of town … where the machine was defrosting for cleaning. We went home just a little pissed, but that all went away when the Cubs won (for me, anyway).
• Jack slept six straight hours again yesterday, except he picked 6 p.m. to midnight, which means I got my first late-night feeding since the weekend. Much joy. Actually, it was a royal pain because he woke up absolutely starving and refused to burp until he first cheesed on the outfit I had just changed him into.
• My column runs today, so I'll post that after the paper hits the street. But don't get too excited, it's failry Clinton-specific.
• More posts with the little bullets. Man, I love those things.
• Upcoming thoughts on Tuesday’s excellent Cubs game. After knocking of Roger Clemens Monday and decimating the Astros bullpen Tuesday, the Cubs are setting a tone for how they’re going to play the rest of the year. I hope.
• No recap of the “Joe Schmo 2” premiere yet. We’ve got it on tape (the only way to watch reality shows, even if they’re fake) and will get to it later today. We didn’t get home from municipal band practice until 9:30 last night because after going to Wal-Mart (to get new pictures of Jack, to be posted later), we went to Burger King to get Cherry Icee. Except the BK by Wal-Mart doesn’t sell them, so they sent us to the north end of town … where the machine was defrosting for cleaning. We went home just a little pissed, but that all went away when the Cubs won (for me, anyway).
• Jack slept six straight hours again yesterday, except he picked 6 p.m. to midnight, which means I got my first late-night feeding since the weekend. Much joy. Actually, it was a royal pain because he woke up absolutely starving and refused to burp until he first cheesed on the outfit I had just changed him into.
• My column runs today, so I'll post that after the paper hits the street. But don't get too excited, it's failry Clinton-specific.
• More posts with the little bullets. Man, I love those things.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Window to my world
Sorry I don’t have too much else to write about, but I worked a long day yesterday, followed pretty much immediately by quality time with Jack so Kristie could go play bingo. But here’s some small snippets, which on slower days probably would merit their own posts.
• Jack slept from about 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. this morning, with no real disturbances during the night. This is a wonderful development. We take our first long car trip with him this weekend to head back to Libertyville for father’s day with my mom’s dad and sister and assorted family members. Should be an interesting experience.
• Kristie went to the doctor yesterday for her post-delivery check-up. Apparently everything’s cool, which is good, but she’s still in the tail end of the recovery stage.
• Joe Schmo 2 starts tonight at 9 p.m. Central on Spike TV. I cannot stress this point strongly enough — I URGE you to watch this show. In fact, watch it live, tape it and watch it again. I could not get enough of the first Joe Schmo. The premise is a dumbed down version of “The Truman Show,” wherein everyone but the main character knows the show is fake. However, the main character does know he’s on a reality TV show (so the cameras aren’t hidden or anything).
Even if the show wasn’t based on this ruse, it would be stellar for its adept parody of the reality TV genre (in the new season, all of the minority characters get voted off in the first episode). But the fact they were able to snow the dude for an entire season, despite how ridiculous every episode was, just made it more amusing.
It also is interesting to see the behind the scenes stuff from the production trailer as they watch the show unfold (with the unpredictable non-actor) and also the “confessional” segments from the actors commenting on watching the Schmo develop and go through the process.
The new season involves two schmos — a male and female. The “show within a show,” like last year’s “Lap of Luxury,” is a dating show that also involves the premise of winning $100,000. In a promo I saw last night, the women advancing to the next round are not given a rose (a la “The Bachelor”) but a pearl necklace. Quality.
Anyhow, watch the show. You won’t be disappointed. And if you don’t watch, I’ll be disappointed. And who wants that?
• Jack slept from about 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. this morning, with no real disturbances during the night. This is a wonderful development. We take our first long car trip with him this weekend to head back to Libertyville for father’s day with my mom’s dad and sister and assorted family members. Should be an interesting experience.
• Kristie went to the doctor yesterday for her post-delivery check-up. Apparently everything’s cool, which is good, but she’s still in the tail end of the recovery stage.
• Joe Schmo 2 starts tonight at 9 p.m. Central on Spike TV. I cannot stress this point strongly enough — I URGE you to watch this show. In fact, watch it live, tape it and watch it again. I could not get enough of the first Joe Schmo. The premise is a dumbed down version of “The Truman Show,” wherein everyone but the main character knows the show is fake. However, the main character does know he’s on a reality TV show (so the cameras aren’t hidden or anything).
Even if the show wasn’t based on this ruse, it would be stellar for its adept parody of the reality TV genre (in the new season, all of the minority characters get voted off in the first episode). But the fact they were able to snow the dude for an entire season, despite how ridiculous every episode was, just made it more amusing.
It also is interesting to see the behind the scenes stuff from the production trailer as they watch the show unfold (with the unpredictable non-actor) and also the “confessional” segments from the actors commenting on watching the Schmo develop and go through the process.
The new season involves two schmos — a male and female. The “show within a show,” like last year’s “Lap of Luxury,” is a dating show that also involves the premise of winning $100,000. In a promo I saw last night, the women advancing to the next round are not given a rose (a la “The Bachelor”) but a pearl necklace. Quality.
Anyhow, watch the show. You won’t be disappointed. And if you don’t watch, I’ll be disappointed. And who wants that?
Go Cubs Go
Thought’s from Monday’s 7-2 win over the Houston Clemenses... er, Astros:
• Mark Prior: As good as advertised. Steve Stone predicted Prior will need five starts to be off his pitch count. That leaves just two, including Saturday’s match-up against Oakland stud Mark Mulder.
• Jimmy who? Since when does a AAA goob like Jimmy Anderson come on in relief of Mark Prior and throw three scoreless, harmless innings before giving up two meaningless runs in the ninth? His performance last night will be (actually, is already being) overlooked in the grand scheme of the Prior-Clemens match-up. But had Anderson come in and thrown like, well, Jimmy Anderson, and the ’Stros pulled out a 7-5 win, you can bet things would be a lot more gloom and doom in the Cubs clubhouse the rest of the week.
• The Cubs are in second place. Just in case you weren’t paying attention, the Cubs are now tied with Cincinnati at two games back of the Cardinals. The Cubs have gone 7-3 in their last 10 games (including two winnable losses) while the Reds have plummeted back to earth due to their average-at-best pitching. Meanwhile, the Cubs took the Astros best shot in the form of Clemens and ate him alive, this despite being so worn out from Sunday’s 15-inning marathon. I’m not predicting a four-game sweep, but when you knock down a team’s ace in game one of a series, it has a way of setting a tone.
• Mark Grudzielanek is on his way back. Now that Todd Walker’s bat has reawakened, this may not seem like that much of a good thing for Cubs fans. But Grudz is more consistent offensively and more reliable defensively (though Walker has proved to be beyond solid at second). I strongly believe Grudz and Karros were at the heart of last year’s title run as both play the game with emotion and passion. I love Todd Walker as much as Mrs. Todd Walker, but Grudz is a Cub for life now (you get that with winning a division title) and the importance of his return cannot be overstated, except by the Cub Dope calling into the Score to say it would be more important than Mark Prior coming back.
• Ramon Martinez batting second actually worked out not too bad, but Michael Barrett better be back in the lineup tonight. He deserved a break after catching 15 innings in Anaheim Sunday, and he’ll get another day off when Maddux throws Wednesday. This guy deserves to hit in the two-spot the rest of the season.
• Speaking of Ramon Martinez, and I suppose the all-glove, no-stick Rey Ordoñez, I’d like all of the Alex Gonzalez “but he can’t hit” critics to bite me. I think 20 HRs from your eighth hitter is pretty damn good. Gonzo will be healthy before his stint on the 60 day DL is over, and he should be welcomed back with open arms. I know Sosa will be back by then, and while I’d rather have Hollandsworth hitting fifth and playing right, here’s what the line-up ought to look like by the time the Cubs start playing the Brewers July 5:
• Mark Prior: As good as advertised. Steve Stone predicted Prior will need five starts to be off his pitch count. That leaves just two, including Saturday’s match-up against Oakland stud Mark Mulder.
• Jimmy who? Since when does a AAA goob like Jimmy Anderson come on in relief of Mark Prior and throw three scoreless, harmless innings before giving up two meaningless runs in the ninth? His performance last night will be (actually, is already being) overlooked in the grand scheme of the Prior-Clemens match-up. But had Anderson come in and thrown like, well, Jimmy Anderson, and the ’Stros pulled out a 7-5 win, you can bet things would be a lot more gloom and doom in the Cubs clubhouse the rest of the week.
• The Cubs are in second place. Just in case you weren’t paying attention, the Cubs are now tied with Cincinnati at two games back of the Cardinals. The Cubs have gone 7-3 in their last 10 games (including two winnable losses) while the Reds have plummeted back to earth due to their average-at-best pitching. Meanwhile, the Cubs took the Astros best shot in the form of Clemens and ate him alive, this despite being so worn out from Sunday’s 15-inning marathon. I’m not predicting a four-game sweep, but when you knock down a team’s ace in game one of a series, it has a way of setting a tone.
• Mark Grudzielanek is on his way back. Now that Todd Walker’s bat has reawakened, this may not seem like that much of a good thing for Cubs fans. But Grudz is more consistent offensively and more reliable defensively (though Walker has proved to be beyond solid at second). I strongly believe Grudz and Karros were at the heart of last year’s title run as both play the game with emotion and passion. I love Todd Walker as much as Mrs. Todd Walker, but Grudz is a Cub for life now (you get that with winning a division title) and the importance of his return cannot be overstated, except by the Cub Dope calling into the Score to say it would be more important than Mark Prior coming back.
• Ramon Martinez batting second actually worked out not too bad, but Michael Barrett better be back in the lineup tonight. He deserved a break after catching 15 innings in Anaheim Sunday, and he’ll get another day off when Maddux throws Wednesday. This guy deserves to hit in the two-spot the rest of the season.
• Speaking of Ramon Martinez, and I suppose the all-glove, no-stick Rey Ordoñez, I’d like all of the Alex Gonzalez “but he can’t hit” critics to bite me. I think 20 HRs from your eighth hitter is pretty damn good. Gonzo will be healthy before his stint on the 60 day DL is over, and he should be welcomed back with open arms. I know Sosa will be back by then, and while I’d rather have Hollandsworth hitting fifth and playing right, here’s what the line-up ought to look like by the time the Cubs start playing the Brewers July 5:
1. Grudzielanek, 2BI’ve said it before and I’ll say it right now. I will take that lineup, plus a healthy Wood, Maddux, Prior, Clement and Zambrano, over anything else the National League can put out there. And if you don’t buy that, you at least have to concede that this is the best Cubs team in the 24-plus years I’ve been alive. How many fans of any team can say that about their current product?
2. Barrett, C
3. Sosa, RF
4. Alou, LF
5. Ramirez, 3B
6. Lee, 1B
7. Patterson, CF
8. Gonzalez, SS
9. Wood, P
Monday, June 14, 2004
Shocking
Just logged onto ESPN.com and found out Ralph Wiley died unexpectedly of heart failure sometime Sunday.
"For the past three and a half years, Ralph has produced a body of work that was both exceptional and insightful and arguably the best sports commentary on the web," said John Walsh, executive vice president and executive editor, ESPN.
I didn't read everything Wiley wrote (some of it was just too long to get away with at work, and I haven't always had the net at home), but I'd say I got about 95 percent of it. The guy was just a flat out sportswriting giant, and it is horrible that he's gone.
If you have time, check out his archive of some 240 columns written for ESPN.com.
"For the past three and a half years, Ralph has produced a body of work that was both exceptional and insightful and arguably the best sports commentary on the web," said John Walsh, executive vice president and executive editor, ESPN.
I didn't read everything Wiley wrote (some of it was just too long to get away with at work, and I haven't always had the net at home), but I'd say I got about 95 percent of it. The guy was just a flat out sportswriting giant, and it is horrible that he's gone.
If you have time, check out his archive of some 240 columns written for ESPN.com.
Prior v. Clemens, round one
I only wrote a few sentences about tonight's Mark Prior-Roger Clemens duel, but, as I predicted, I can't think about too much else today. While tooling around the net looking for the definitive Cubs blog (no luck yet), I decided to head over to the Chicago Sun-Times Web site, where I came upon this Mike Kiley story on tonight's game. A sample:
Prior will have to match Clemens in mental intensity tonight as well as pure physical stuff. As the Cubs' trip continues in Houston for a four-game set, there is no doubt that Prior could set the tone for the series by making sure his team hangs the first loss this season on Clemens (9-0).We've already seen Clemens v. Wood (Cubs win) and Clemens v. Clement (Cubs lose). Hopefully before the year is out Zambrano will get his chance. And let's just say I'm not holding my breath for the much-anticipated Clemens v. Glendon Rusch match-up.
Cubs hitters will have to be smart in facing Clemens. After a season of spotty offense, they have to think and bull their way past him. Already an icon, his unbeaten performance has made him larger than life again.
"He doesn't give in,'' Prior said. "It's wrong to say tough-guy mentality, but it's the truth. In this day and age, where everything is so offensive-oriented, he doesn't give in to hitters. He takes charge from the beginning of the game and that's what separates him from everybody else.''
This day in baseball
There’s a few points I'd like to make before this week's slate of (very important) Cubs games. Actually, at this point, they're all important until one team in the division pulls away.
• Anyone ragging on Dusty Baker for leaving Carlos Zambrano in for so many pitches in Thursday's blowout of the Cardinals may kindly shut their pieholes after Sunday's 15-inning win over the Angels. Now the bullpen is shot for the first end of the Houston series (Prior is still on a pitch limit), but at least there were enough arms back there to secure taking two of three in Anaheim, a good start to a seven-game road trip.
• If you were watching the Sunday game, as I was, you may have missed something I picked up on in the top of the eighth inning. As the Cubs had Scot Shields reeling (killing not one, but two of my fantasy teams), Angels pitching coach Bud Black had left-hander Dusty Bergman warming up in the bullpen. This may be pretty inconsequential for a guy with two Major League innings pitched (with four hits and three earned runs), but it's a big deal for me.
Dusty is one of just a few guys from the 2000 Cedar Rapids Kernels still playing pro ball. For those that don't know, I spent three months that summer with the Kernels, going to all but three or four home games, doing interviews and making observations for my senior thesis project. Dusty was the one guy I made sure to talk to every day, though there was a handful of players I felt I knew pretty well by the end of August.
Only one other guy, catcher Tom Gregorio, has made it to The Show (as Dusty called it) so far, with Tomo getting called up last September, and actually getting into 12 games because one of the Molina brothers was hurt. Now both have made the big club (with Gregorio back at AAA Salt Lake to start this season) though neither figures to have incredibly long big league tenures. Still, when you consider how many guys start off playing A ball each April (50 guys per big league squad, not counting injured players), a small fraction ever get an inning or an at bat at the Major League level. They can always tell their kids they played big league baseball.
The only other guys I know from that 2000 Kernels team still hanging on are Scott Bikowski (traded to the White Sox after the 2001 campaign and now bouncing between AAA Charlotte and AA Birmingham), Phil Wilson (a stud 6'9" left-hander that has dealt with injuries and is now playing for the Angels' high-A affiliate, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes) and Mike O'Keefe (a mostly first baseman cut by the Angels at the end of spring training this year who seems to have signed with the Red Sox and now is playing with their AA Portland Sea Dogs, unless there's a similar looking guy of the same name that just happens to be in the Red Sox organization).
• Everyone that refused to listen when baseball fans said Cincinnati could not play first-place baseball over the course of the summer needs only to look at their six-game losing streak as proof. I know the Reds are in second place right now, but the Central remains a three team race.
• That said, the Cubs are just 2.5 games back of St. Louis after going 6-4 over the last 10 games. Only the Cardinals have done that well among division teams over the same period. Don't look now, but the Pirates are officially out of contention now that they're on an eight-game losing streak and are 11 games under .500.
• With a .532 winning percentage, the Cubs would be tied for first, with the Dodgers and Padres, in the West and tied for second, with the Phillies, in the East. Amazingly, five teams in the Central are above .500 at this point (even the freakin' Brewers), leading some (me) to suspect the Wild Card will indeed come out of the Central. However, I think the Phillies will have something to say about that.
Recall last year's wild card was the Marlins, who streaked past the Phils in the last weeks of the season to take the berth and eventually the World Series. But in early September 2003, it looked as if the Cubs would back into the playoffs by securing the wild card while Houston won the Central.
The damning part about unbalanced scheduling, which I love, is that you have to play 90 games against divisional opponents. The downside is obviously the ease with which good teams can beat up on each other, leaving a mediocre team from a weaker division to grab the wild card spot. What I'd really like to see in the Central is the same thing that happened in the AL East last year, where the Yankees had the best record in the league while the Red Sox were just one game off of the second best mark.
Of course, the flip side there is the Mariners, who finished with 93 wins and nothing to show for it, although the 90-win Twins went to the playoffs because they play in the weaker AL Central. Still, the possibilities are seemingly endless.
• Tonight's game pits Mark Prior against Roger Clemens. I will not be able to concentrate on anything all day until the game starts. In no other sport does a one-on-one matchup jump out from a team game and somehow makes both aspects absolutely riveting. I love this game.
• Anyone ragging on Dusty Baker for leaving Carlos Zambrano in for so many pitches in Thursday's blowout of the Cardinals may kindly shut their pieholes after Sunday's 15-inning win over the Angels. Now the bullpen is shot for the first end of the Houston series (Prior is still on a pitch limit), but at least there were enough arms back there to secure taking two of three in Anaheim, a good start to a seven-game road trip.
• If you were watching the Sunday game, as I was, you may have missed something I picked up on in the top of the eighth inning. As the Cubs had Scot Shields reeling (killing not one, but two of my fantasy teams), Angels pitching coach Bud Black had left-hander Dusty Bergman warming up in the bullpen. This may be pretty inconsequential for a guy with two Major League innings pitched (with four hits and three earned runs), but it's a big deal for me.
Dusty is one of just a few guys from the 2000 Cedar Rapids Kernels still playing pro ball. For those that don't know, I spent three months that summer with the Kernels, going to all but three or four home games, doing interviews and making observations for my senior thesis project. Dusty was the one guy I made sure to talk to every day, though there was a handful of players I felt I knew pretty well by the end of August.
Only one other guy, catcher Tom Gregorio, has made it to The Show (as Dusty called it) so far, with Tomo getting called up last September, and actually getting into 12 games because one of the Molina brothers was hurt. Now both have made the big club (with Gregorio back at AAA Salt Lake to start this season) though neither figures to have incredibly long big league tenures. Still, when you consider how many guys start off playing A ball each April (50 guys per big league squad, not counting injured players), a small fraction ever get an inning or an at bat at the Major League level. They can always tell their kids they played big league baseball.
The only other guys I know from that 2000 Kernels team still hanging on are Scott Bikowski (traded to the White Sox after the 2001 campaign and now bouncing between AAA Charlotte and AA Birmingham), Phil Wilson (a stud 6'9" left-hander that has dealt with injuries and is now playing for the Angels' high-A affiliate, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes) and Mike O'Keefe (a mostly first baseman cut by the Angels at the end of spring training this year who seems to have signed with the Red Sox and now is playing with their AA Portland Sea Dogs, unless there's a similar looking guy of the same name that just happens to be in the Red Sox organization).
• Everyone that refused to listen when baseball fans said Cincinnati could not play first-place baseball over the course of the summer needs only to look at their six-game losing streak as proof. I know the Reds are in second place right now, but the Central remains a three team race.
• That said, the Cubs are just 2.5 games back of St. Louis after going 6-4 over the last 10 games. Only the Cardinals have done that well among division teams over the same period. Don't look now, but the Pirates are officially out of contention now that they're on an eight-game losing streak and are 11 games under .500.
• With a .532 winning percentage, the Cubs would be tied for first, with the Dodgers and Padres, in the West and tied for second, with the Phillies, in the East. Amazingly, five teams in the Central are above .500 at this point (even the freakin' Brewers), leading some (me) to suspect the Wild Card will indeed come out of the Central. However, I think the Phillies will have something to say about that.
Recall last year's wild card was the Marlins, who streaked past the Phils in the last weeks of the season to take the berth and eventually the World Series. But in early September 2003, it looked as if the Cubs would back into the playoffs by securing the wild card while Houston won the Central.
The damning part about unbalanced scheduling, which I love, is that you have to play 90 games against divisional opponents. The downside is obviously the ease with which good teams can beat up on each other, leaving a mediocre team from a weaker division to grab the wild card spot. What I'd really like to see in the Central is the same thing that happened in the AL East last year, where the Yankees had the best record in the league while the Red Sox were just one game off of the second best mark.
Of course, the flip side there is the Mariners, who finished with 93 wins and nothing to show for it, although the 90-win Twins went to the playoffs because they play in the weaker AL Central. Still, the possibilities are seemingly endless.
• Tonight's game pits Mark Prior against Roger Clemens. I will not be able to concentrate on anything all day until the game starts. In no other sport does a one-on-one matchup jump out from a team game and somehow makes both aspects absolutely riveting. I love this game.
I see London, I see France...
I didn’t get around to posting this on Friday, when it was more relevant, but it’s not too far removed at this point.
We were discussing the death of Ray Charles in the newsroom Friday when the inevitable Stevie Wonder reference popped up. That allowed me to tell the story about the time my dad and I were in the Denver airport on a four-hour layover when we saw Stevie Wonder walk down the concourse.
He didn’t see us, though.
We were discussing the death of Ray Charles in the newsroom Friday when the inevitable Stevie Wonder reference popped up. That allowed me to tell the story about the time my dad and I were in the Denver airport on a four-hour layover when we saw Stevie Wonder walk down the concourse.
He didn’t see us, though.
Sunday, June 13, 2004
Sucks to be this guy
Sometimes it's best not to ask.
Jeromy R. Wilson, 18, was arrested after he approached a Council Bluffs police officer Thursday morning and asked him what the computer in the officer's patrol car could tell about him.
He gave the officer his name and date of birth and the officer entered the information into the computer, police said.
The computer showed that Wilson, who police said was a transient, was wanted on a Palo Alto County warrant for indecent exposure. He was arrested and taken to the Pottawattamie County Jail.
Read other Iowa news from the Des Moines Register here.
Jeromy R. Wilson, 18, was arrested after he approached a Council Bluffs police officer Thursday morning and asked him what the computer in the officer's patrol car could tell about him.
He gave the officer his name and date of birth and the officer entered the information into the computer, police said.
The computer showed that Wilson, who police said was a transient, was wanted on a Palo Alto County warrant for indecent exposure. He was arrested and taken to the Pottawattamie County Jail.
Read other Iowa news from the Des Moines Register here.
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Sucks to be this guy
TOKYO (Reuters) -- The pajama-clad skeleton of a Japanese man has been found in a vacant apartment building -- 20 years after his lonely death.
The skeleton was discovered lying atop musty "futon" bedding earlier this month when workers getting ready to raze the derelict building entered the second floor unit where the man had lived, domestic media reports said on Thursday.
A newspaper dated February 20, 1984, was on the kitchen table.
Read the full account here.
The skeleton was discovered lying atop musty "futon" bedding earlier this month when workers getting ready to raze the derelict building entered the second floor unit where the man had lived, domestic media reports said on Thursday.
A newspaper dated February 20, 1984, was on the kitchen table.
Read the full account here.
True patriot love
So here's the deal:
Ronald Reagan's parents were both born, married and buried in Fulton, Ill., the town Kristie grew up in. She and I lived there for nine months when we moved back to the area. In fact, we lived across the street from the Catholic church the Reagans got hitched at, and just a block away from the location of their first home (no longer standing, though our house would have been there at the time).
That said, there was a Mass at the church in question Friday morning, which I had to cover for the Herald. This was not a pleasant assignment. Not that I didn't enjoy the service, but our photographer and I stuck out like the Delta house guys at the Otis Day and the Knights concert in "Animal House."
Not only are neither of us Catholic, but including us, the priest, two altar boys and the organist, there may have been 30 whole people in the church. And only two had a huge camera and notebook. And only three didn't go up for communion.
(Side note: You know that rag on Mass being a long, painful experience? It's all tied to how many people are there. With a full church, communion takes 20 minutes. With 25 people, it takes about two. The priest spent more time preparing the elements than he did distributing them).
Anyhow, before the service (in what we later learned was supposed to be a moment of silence), the organist was happily tooling away on "America the Beautiful." When that finished, she played a song that started to sound like "O, Canada!" but clearly was not. Then she went into "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," which she played well into the first part of the service, despite the priest's request to get things moving.
I was totally distracted by the "O, Canada!" conundrum. Catholic hymnals are not like Protestant hymnals, which means I had no clue how to flip through and find the tune I was looking for, as I usually can at a Protestant church. I managed to put the distraction aside a bit and put together a pretty good story, I think, but these kinds of musical questions can drive me nuts if I don't get an answer, the same way I go nuts if I hear just a few lines from a song, then get just those lines stuck in my head until I hear the entire tune (ex.: the Chorus from "Uncle John's Band" by the Grateful Dead). This is especially wicked if your only means of hearing the song is the radio.
Anyhow, when I got back to the office, I e-mailed my mom, the Queen of Hymns. All I gave her was this:
That led me to this incredibly helpful page. It gave me words to four verses of the hymn and two audio tracks that loaded instantly on my ghetto dial-up connection.
Of course, my mom was right. I confirmed this by clicking on the "four voice" MIDI file, which prompted Kristie to say, "Hey, isn't that 'God of Our Fathers'"? Yeah, it is. Where were you with that information when I asked for it six hours ago?
Anyhow, that site has all sorts of hymns on it. Very, very helpful, especially for those of you that, like me and my dad, are especially adept at mixing up tunes and words and thinking nothing of it.
(Example: Our church bell choir played "God Of Grace and God Of Glory" this year, which is the same tune as "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah." I'm back there whacking away at the low bells, singing in my head, "God of Grace, and God of glory pilgrim in a foreign land...")
And, just in case any of you are wondering, I had the time to post all this up here because I take care of the 3:30 a.m. feeding on the weekends, and Mr. Jack is just awake enough to keep out of his cradle, but just sleepy enough to let me type.
And did you know "Tiny Toon Adventures" is on Nickelodeon at 5 a.m. Central? Me neither.
Ronald Reagan's parents were both born, married and buried in Fulton, Ill., the town Kristie grew up in. She and I lived there for nine months when we moved back to the area. In fact, we lived across the street from the Catholic church the Reagans got hitched at, and just a block away from the location of their first home (no longer standing, though our house would have been there at the time).
That said, there was a Mass at the church in question Friday morning, which I had to cover for the Herald. This was not a pleasant assignment. Not that I didn't enjoy the service, but our photographer and I stuck out like the Delta house guys at the Otis Day and the Knights concert in "Animal House."
Not only are neither of us Catholic, but including us, the priest, two altar boys and the organist, there may have been 30 whole people in the church. And only two had a huge camera and notebook. And only three didn't go up for communion.
(Side note: You know that rag on Mass being a long, painful experience? It's all tied to how many people are there. With a full church, communion takes 20 minutes. With 25 people, it takes about two. The priest spent more time preparing the elements than he did distributing them).
Anyhow, before the service (in what we later learned was supposed to be a moment of silence), the organist was happily tooling away on "America the Beautiful." When that finished, she played a song that started to sound like "O, Canada!" but clearly was not. Then she went into "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," which she played well into the first part of the service, despite the priest's request to get things moving.
I was totally distracted by the "O, Canada!" conundrum. Catholic hymnals are not like Protestant hymnals, which means I had no clue how to flip through and find the tune I was looking for, as I usually can at a Protestant church. I managed to put the distraction aside a bit and put together a pretty good story, I think, but these kinds of musical questions can drive me nuts if I don't get an answer, the same way I go nuts if I hear just a few lines from a song, then get just those lines stuck in my head until I hear the entire tune (ex.: the Chorus from "Uncle John's Band" by the Grateful Dead). This is especially wicked if your only means of hearing the song is the radio.
Anyhow, when I got back to the office, I e-mailed my mom, the Queen of Hymns. All I gave her was this:
What's that hymn with a few lines that sound just like "O, Canada"?My mom, who when the choir processes to the chancel area at the start of worship usually carries her hymnal at her side (not only does she know the words, but she usually sings the melody on the first verse, then the alto line, then the tenor line, then the melody for the fourth verse)hits me with this:
I dunno--I don't know the tune to O Canada well enough. So, I looked up the sheet music on the internet to see if that would jog my brain. The only thing I can think of that you might be thinking would be "God of Our Fathers".Since we have no hymnal at our place (or a piano, which would render the hymnal useless to me at this point, since I can't always process notes to my ear without plunking them out), I Googled "God Of Our Fathers."
That led me to this incredibly helpful page. It gave me words to four verses of the hymn and two audio tracks that loaded instantly on my ghetto dial-up connection.
Of course, my mom was right. I confirmed this by clicking on the "four voice" MIDI file, which prompted Kristie to say, "Hey, isn't that 'God of Our Fathers'"? Yeah, it is. Where were you with that information when I asked for it six hours ago?
Anyhow, that site has all sorts of hymns on it. Very, very helpful, especially for those of you that, like me and my dad, are especially adept at mixing up tunes and words and thinking nothing of it.
(Example: Our church bell choir played "God Of Grace and God Of Glory" this year, which is the same tune as "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah." I'm back there whacking away at the low bells, singing in my head, "God of Grace, and God of glory pilgrim in a foreign land...")
And, just in case any of you are wondering, I had the time to post all this up here because I take care of the 3:30 a.m. feeding on the weekends, and Mr. Jack is just awake enough to keep out of his cradle, but just sleepy enough to let me type.
And did you know "Tiny Toon Adventures" is on Nickelodeon at 5 a.m. Central? Me neither.
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