Last night, Sammy Sosa hit a grand slam in the Polo Grounds, blasting the ball to the center field bleachers, over 500 feet from home plate. In a baseball video game, that is. MVP Baseball 2004, to be exact. That wasn’t Sosa’s only home run to straightaway center. He hit a three-run shot in theContinue reading “On the Polo Grounds”
On the Book Closest to Hand
I’ve been tagged by a meme! Our instructions are: * Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages). * Open the book to page 123. * Find the fifth sentence. * Post the next three sentences. * Tag five people The closest book to hand is Tales from the Captain’s Table, edited byContinue reading “On the Book Closest to Hand”
On Getting to Work
About four miles from my house is the subway terminal. Across the street from my office building is the light rail station. I’d long thought about doing the socially and environmentally responsible thing — take the subway into downtown, and pick up the light rail back out of downtown to the office. I’ve had theContinue reading “On Getting to Work”
On April’s Search Phrases
Rather than play the usual game of rambling about the things people most want to know, on the theory that I know something about them, instead we’ll look at the things people least want to know about. In the month of April, 1900 different search phrases were entered in Google or Yahoo! or MSN toContinue reading “On April’s Search Phrases”
On Quiet Weeks
I admit it. The last week’s worth of posts have been absolutely less than enthralling. Two baseball posts. Random slice of life posts. I couldn’t even muster righteous indignation on the fifth anniversary of “Mission Accomplished.” My mental space has been a bit constrained the past week. I had a lot of writing on myContinue reading “On Quiet Weeks”
On This and That
Things I Hate: Having to uninstall software to install an update. Faulty installers suck. Things I Like: Discovering a blog where what I write in my day job is mentioned. Things I Hate: Traffic backed up, bumper to bumper, moving five miles an hour, because there’s a wreck on the opposite side of the highway.Continue reading “On This and That”
On the Meaning of Sportsmanship
I find myself at a loss for words. A college women’s softball game. A tragic injury. A breathtaking show of sportsmanship. Tissues necessary. Click the link. On a day when I’m feeling cyncial about this country, a story like that will astound you. Read it. I couldn’t have written that article. I’d have melted down.
On “Mission Accomplished” Plus Five
Five years ago today, President George W. Bush stood on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln and declared, against the backdrop of a banner that said “Mission Accomplished” that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended.” We have Senator John McCain saying that the United States will be in Iraq for another hundred years.Continue reading “On “Mission Accomplished” Plus Five”
On Coldplay’s “Violet Hill”
Coldplay’s new single, “Violet Hill,” can be downloaded from Coldplay’s website. But the link to find where to download can be difficult to find, and this link will take you directly to download the page. The song should be available until next Monday. I don’t know what the song sounds like; it’s still downloading. ButContinue reading “On Coldplay’s “Violet Hill””
On More Baseball Excitement
At work random drawings are sometimes held for baseball tickets. Sometimes the Orioles. Sometimes the nearby minor league team, the Aberdeen Ironbirds (though, I should note, they don’t begin play until mid-June). Last year I won tickets to the Ironbirds twice, but never the O’s. Last night, I scored Orioles tickets. My second baseball gameContinue reading “On More Baseball Excitement”