Interesting Things

I realized that I had been spamming my "Friends List" on Facebook every morning with the news that I found interesting, I also realized that I had this space that I was not using.

So...Interesting Things:

AP Classes Are A Scam: Via The Atlantic, the headline speaks for itself.

That cry you heard last night emanating from the Northeast? Yeah, Derek Jeter, Captain of the New York Yankee, fractured his ankle. (ESPN)

Did that e-book cost too much? According to Mashable, Amazon announced that it will be offering credits to accounts of Kindle users due to price fixing by publishers.

Oh! Shiny! Mal Renyolds in the house! Nathan Fillion made a surprise appearance at NYCC on the Firefly Panel. (io9)

Are pictures of cats on the internet art? On Flavorwire, there is a slideshow of pictures of cats as art.
The staple remover is not cool, right? These Jac Zagorry staple removers are awesome. (Uncrate)

And finally...
Texas lost to Oklahoma by a score of 63-21 yesterday and Deadspin wondered out loud about the future of this storied program under the stewardship of Mack Brown.

The Great American Post

Baseball:
Reggie Jackson believes that A-Rod does not belong in the Hall of Fame because of his use of PEDs in the past. I have said this before, and I will state it again because it matters. If you are going to discount the records and statistics of the previous generation of ball players because of PEDs, you need to asterisk the accomplishments of men with the names of Mantle, Mays, and Aaron because their careers were helped by things like Tylenol.

Beer:
I have a favorite beer this summer, as I generally do. This beer is the Leder Betty by Magic Hat.



Even people who are beer snobs (*cough* @sfisher323 *cough*) like this beer. The elderberry is an underutilized flavor and this is really good.

Beef:
I love curry but I never thought of using curry with beef however, I have fond that over a grill, with a good amount of woodsmoke, a Madras curry lends itself really well to the beef.




See, just a little bit of curry adds so much flavor and it is a good flavor. (well, why would I be writing about it if it wasn't a good flavor?)




With some fresh corn and a slice of red onion (olive oil, salt, black pepper), and the aforementioned Elder Betty, it is quite a meal.

Superb Sunday Morning

At a certain age, the best part of waking up is waking up...
One of the best things about reaching a certain age is that after a great, and busy, day spent with people that you love, it is more than acceptable to fall asleep on your couch, beer slowly transferring heat into your hand, while watching baseball. Now there are other things that I would have preferred to be doing, but it was all-in-all an exceptional evening and the Mets won! Bonus!

This did mean that I was wide awake before the weekend alarm went off (7 am for those that are following along at home) and because I am not feeling one hundred percent, I turned on the news and had tea and toast. (More on the toast later.)

A quick note on the #NerdProm and the coverage of the #NerdProm. The jokes were neither shocking nor were they particularly funny. The coverage this morning was fairly banal too. I mean, what Colbert did a couple of years ago was transgressive but, Jimmy Kimmel? For the record, BHO is not funny. Please, do not try to make him funny. The Sunday Morning shows were more irksome than usual.

And I cook...
I cooked on Thursday! (I also forgot to take a picture.) Flash frozen ahi which was coated in white sesame and pan seared, angel hair pasta with a sauce made from fresh baby portabella mushrooms, baby spinach, roma tomatoes, red onion, and crushed garlic. It was okay. The tuna was overcooked because my dining companion preferred their tuna well done. The pasta was good and because I measured incorrectly, I have had a lot of leftovers. The best part was the bread which was still warm when I grabbed it from the bakery section of my supermarket of choice*. With a butter substitute that I was introduced to by HJ77, it was one of the most delicious things ever. The rest of the loaf has also made wonderful toast in the morning for me. See, I told you that there would be more about the bread later.

I feel like J-LO
My father is in town for the weekend, and has a Fiat 500. It is adorable. Even though I am really not of fan of the internal combustion engine vehicle, this is really cute. So cute that even I look good in it.

Well, maybe not good...

Baseball has been very very good to TEA

TEA pitched yesterday and he did well. He was happy with his performance. Upon seeing one of the pictures that was posted to Facebook, Teacher Dave offered to give TEA some pitching lessons. We are going to take him up on this offer. It does make me happy that my son is really getting into baseball. It is more than a little awesome.

For the game, my brother and father decided to watch TEA play. It was great of them to come out and it made TEA very happy.

And after the game, the four of us headed to the Fountain for pizza!

It was an amazing day. Seriously so... it was the capstone on an awesome couple of days. Remember when I wrote the other day that I was about to spend a series of days seeing my favorite people in the world? Yes, that happened and it was great!

An Odd Movie Question
Do you have a movie that you are embarrassed about not loving even though your friends love it and you are supposed to love it?

I do.

Yeah, I hate The Shawshank Redemption.

What's yours?

The App That You Need
You need to download and install justWink. Trust me.

Finally...

It is okay to admit that you do it. I know that I do...for some people. Most aren't worth it with their banality equaling my own.

*Continuing Rant about people and supermarkets and brand affiliation and more asshatedness about this at All Over Albany.

Monday Randomness

• Has anyone else read Reamde? I would love to discuss it with someone. It was the first time that I have finished one of Stephenson's books and not been plagued with questions about the larger meanings but just left enjoying a book.

• Peggy giving someone a handy at the movies must have been a shock to the Bartlett Administration. No wonder that guy Fred from Portlandia broke up with her.

• This weekend, I think we can all agree on this, we were all NY Yankees. Friday filled me with glee and Saturday with awe. The only sour note, the members of Red Sox Nation placing all the blame for the Sox being the Pittsburgh Pirates of the American League on Bobby V.'s head.

• This weather has been terrifying and not in the good way like zombies or thinking of the Santorum Administration but in the bad way like weather emergencies or the idea of a lot of you breeding.

• I do not understand why people who are generally good about food have hang ups about grocery stores. I mean, why aren't you going to farmers' markets, bakeries, and butchers. Maybe I am being an idiot about this but if you really care about your food, why would you go anywhere but someplace that you could have a personal connection with the owner/provider?

• Yesterday was my father's birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad!

• Overheard:
"I have the socks for you."

"The socks."

"The socks!"

"The socks you put on your feet!"

"Okay, I will see you tomorrow when I bathe."

• Once again, the Brown Bag in Troy has proven itself to have the best burger in the 518. Look at that! It was so very good. For those of you who did not know, the hours are now 6 to 6 am daily. Worth every bite, especially at $4.

The Monday after Sunday before Tuesday

Mad Men
Do you watch Mad Men on AMC? Which character is your favorite? Over the past two seasons, my favorite has become...wait for it...Sally Draper.

I love the relationship that Sally has developed with her non-custodial father, Don, as well as the more antagonistic relationship that has been nurtured between Sally and her mother Betty. (Not that I am looking at this as a projection of my personal life. A) I am not nearly the "man of his era" that Don Draper is. B) My ex-wife is a wonderfully attentive and caring mother (and wife) who has a very good relationship with her son.) For me, the scenes that I most look forward to, and have since season 3 when she left the suburbs to travel to midtown, are Sally's interactions with Don. There is a sweetness and a realness to them that I find amazing. I would love to see more relationships like this on television.

Easter
What did you do for Easter? I spent time with my family, which was interesting in and of itself, but one of the best things about it was that I had a picture taken with my mom. It made me happy.

Thanks, Mom, for being wonderful.

Radishes
There were no radishes at the TRFM but there were some at Price Chopper. I did not get them (seasonal is important to me) but they were there, tempting me.

Radishes, coarse salt, black pepper and olive oil with a crusty bread and an ice cold over hopped beer...this is a recipe for a perfect afternoon.

Baseball
The Mets are in first. The Red Sox are winless. All is right in the world, at least after the first weekend of baseball.

Seasons Change With the Scenery

I could not find a decent version of the S&G version
Union Hockey
Yes, Union lost to Ferris State last night. Yes, it was disappointing. Yes, it was our game to win or lose and we lost.

I would like to thank the Union College Skating Dutchmen for a great season.

I am proud of my membership in the Union Community. Many of the people I love were met there and the my strongest relationships were formed there. A large part of the man that I am today (for good and for bad) owes genesis from the Brook the Bounds.

This Union Hockey team, as FAU mentioned last night, made the alumni jealous of those who were still on campus because they were experiencing something that we never were able to.

Way to Go Union!

And now from winners to...The Mets
Yay! Baseball is back! The Mets won, beating the Braves 1-0, and Johan pitched as if he were back to form. I know that it is wrong, and with this team...stupid, to extrapolate an entire season from one game but...I hope that R.A. Dickey will be able to continue the good vibes and great start to the season.

Continuing with Baseball

Remember the New Era commercials from last year with the estimable Alec Baldwin and some goofy looking guy (John Krasinski, or something like that. He was in that whale movie.) talking about their love of their teams.

New Era has a new commercial out, highlighting what it means to be a fan: irrational love of a team and irrational hatred of another.

Chicago vs. Chicago: Round 1 from Nick Offerman

Olbermann
Two things that have popped up. Keith may have been let go because of an onset tantrum/meltdown. Time Warner Cable may drop Current because of low ratings.

The Daily News offers their opinion about where Keith should end up.

The Weekend
It is Passover. It is Easter Weekend. For me, it is another weekend. My hope is that those of you that are choosing to spend time with loved ones on this weekend get the most out of it and that you appreciate the people that you are with.

Waking up as a proud papa...

Time with TEA
My right hand is sore this morning. Really sore. A lot more sore than I anticipated it being. TEA and I had a catch yesterday (Okay, going off topic here but this is another reason that the whole having children late in life is a bad idea. Can you see yourself having at catch in your late 40s or early 50s? Would that be fair to your little one? Sorry. I know, I killed that damn horse years ago.) before we went out for pizza. TEA had his glove and we were using a real ball and like last year, I was not using a glove. For the first time, that I can remember, TEA was throwing consistently hard enough that I need to use a glove. He has had pop before and has stung my hand but I think we have moved past the whole "I don't need a glove" stage. This does make me happy.

The Best Anchor in the History of the News
(H/T to Ari)

Batman!

Did you see the picture of Batman being pulled over on the side of the road last week? Did you make a joke about it? Did you wonder what it was about?

The story is a lot more awesome than you could imagine.

Batman is a real hero.

Union Hockey
From USCHO.com:

If an excellent staff is one major value in a recruit’s decision-making process, Union seems to have it. The program’s other primary selling point is a top-notch education. The institution placed in the top 30 nationally in Forbes‘ 2011 rankings, and 40th among liberal arts schools in the vaunted U.S. News & World Report assessment.

Great hockey team, better school. Yeah, we are awesome. Go U!

Finally
Thank you to All Over Albany for linking to me yet again. You guys are awesome!

Notes from a Friday Afternoon

1) Tim Wakefield has retired.



I love this clip, even though it is from the Onion.

But look at him warming up, that movement is...weird.



Yet another reason for me to only pay attention to the Red Sox this year in order to knowledgeably mock their fans.

2) Speaking of baseball, I have been falling asleep to Ken Burns' Baseball. This has created interesting dreams including dreams where a friend is talking as if she were Doris Kearns Goodwin. This is interesting for a couple of reasons. Largely, it is interesting because I love this friend and I loathe DKG. (Allowing for my soft spot for Wait Till Next Year which as a memoir and not a piece of scholarship stands up to scrutiny.)

3) Still on baseball, I realized that I had never read The Bad Guys Won fully. I had read excerpts and did own a paper copy of it but that was given to someone. When Gary Carter passed yesterday after a long battle with cancer, I thought back to '86 and the Mets and when my love of baseball was cemented. One of my brother's childhood friends had an autographed photo of Roger Clemens and Gary Carter standing together from the '86 series and I still covet it. Reading this book, and the often boorish behavior of these players that I looked up to is a compelling read for any baseball fan.

4) I have heard Whitney Houston's rendition of The Star Spangled Banner often over the past week and while I do admit that it was a supremely good performance, the patriotic song that makes me the most...proud to be an American while being stunned by the beauty of the performance, I choose this one.



5) Troy's reputation for crassness and down market lifestyle was fully cemented in my mind last night. If you are an adult female, and you say that you are "madddd angry" after you get bounced from a bar for starting a fight, then complaining about losing the money you spent on your drink, you have an interesting priority set.

Recapping for a Monday Morning

Radiohead was on Saturday Night Live:



Would it be wrong if I admitted that this was one of the highlight of my weekend? (Rhetorical. I think it was awesome. There are a surprising number of you who missed the Radiohead train. I think that is to your determent.) Well, that and Sunday Football with TEA. Yes, TEA and I headed out to watch the Giants beat Michael Vick the Eagles like a dog (too soon? too crass?) while also watching Brady and his Patriots lose to a CFL team. It was, a win-win with pulled pork sliders, boneless wings, and southwestern egg rolls (they were surprisingly okay).

I have, unfortunately, succumb to the great plague of the modern world, or at least those of us who have smart phones that are not...ancient. (If my father has had two phones that are more current than yours, you are using ancient tech. All I see when I see you talking on it is Lee Atwater.) Yes, I am speaking of Angry Birds. Why did I do this to myself? I cannot remember my thought process at the time, but...the download was so easy and the gameplay so distracting and then...three hours later I am wondering where my afternoon went.

Speaking of apps, has anyone used Layar? I like the idea of Augmented Reality in the palm of my hand and this seems like an interesting implementation of this. However I am wondering if there are better implementations or different uses for the technology.

One final thing: I like the new user interface for Facebook. I think that the lists are great and I enjoy seeing more of what my "friends" (because if we are being honest, how many people are we actually friends with on Facebook) are doing and I have set up those lists to see what is showing up in the feed. If you are uncomfortable with the amount of information you are sharing, then maybe you should reconsider being on a social media network. Also, the likelihood that someone actually gives a damn about what you are doing is remarkably low. Just sayin' is all.

Oh, and a mea culpa: FAU, yes, it is my fault that the Yankees lost on Sunday night to the Red Sox. I know that I should not mention the score of any game to you on the phone on a Sunday or Monday evening because that will lead to the team that you are rooting for to lose. I take full blame for that pitch.

Sorry Boston Folks

TEA is a Champion

AOH won their championship game yesterday and TEA played well.













Congratulations TEA, and remember to savor this. This is a rarity.

Get Well, Gary.

Last week, I put up my own get well card up for Gary Carter.

There is an official one on MLB's Website.

Get Well, Gary.

And I am proud of TEA

TEA did not have a good game on Saturday.

Maybe it was the heat. Maybe the meal at Bros. Tacos wasn't what he was looking for as a pre-game meal. Maybe it was just not his day, but he looked off at the plate, even while he played well in the field...

But this is why I am proud of him...

The umpire screwed up during TEA's last at bat, and called strike three on the second strike. TEA knew it, I knew it, the coaches knew it, and the opposing players knew it. The ump did not.

Now, I know that arguing with twelve year olds is a bad idea...but...TEA handled it like a champ. He knew that he was screwed. He also realized that this happens, especially with arbitrary powers being enforced arbitrarily.

I am very proud of him for handling it like a man.

Thank you, Kid, and keep fighting!

I know that the baseball fans among my readers are familiar with Gary Carter, and that some of you are aware that he had been experiencing medical issues.

The Palm Beach Post reported last night that his tumors are inoperable.

When I was young, there was one thing that I really coveted and that belonged to my brother's best friend. It was an autographed picture of Kid Carter and Rocket Clemens from the '86 World Series. The two of them standing together. I wanted that picture. I was (and remain) a Mets fan. Gary Carter was never my favorite but he was always the one I wanted to see bat. (For those of you wondering, it was Dwight "Doc" Gooden.)

Gary Carter was a ball player. He is also, reportedly, a very good man.

I wish you the best of luck, Kid, and I hope that you will be ready for Spring Training.

Opening Day!

TEA after the parade!




Happy Baseball!

Edit: TEA went two for two with a RBI and a run scored. The run was scored because he was able to advance from first to third on a dribbler up the middle.

He does still have issues throwing, catching, and paying attention. ;-)

Edit #2: I captured TEA getting his first hit!

Oh, being a Mets fan #2

It feels good, Mets fans, doesn't it?

I mean, you know that something is going to happen, and they are going to break your heart, but you still have some hope now, and look at this.

We are in first place. It may change tonight, but for now, we are leading the Division, and that does not suck.

Lets! Go! Mets!

Oh, being a Mets fan

I thought I posted it when it popped up last fall (but apparently I did not)



Anyway...it gets better.

In fact, the only thing that might be worse is if that baby's take was aired on the team's official broadcast after an opening day loss.
Because it's the Mets, both things actually happened.
Of course they did.

Apparently the folks in Mets Country are pissed.

You can read it at Yahoo!Sports.

H/T to John M for this!

Hall of Game: Dave Kingman

How can you not love a guy nicknamed Kong?

Unlike "The Thrill", who you can make an argument for being a member of the HoF, with Kingman, you just cannot. It was not that he was not awesome, because 442 career home runs is awesome. The man in 1979 hit 48 dingers. 1979. When no one was hitting home runs at that pace. A couple of years later he hit 37 in a year where he only batted .204. That year, of his 109, 37 of them were home runs. All Kong did was hit home runs.

Some of the longest home runs in the history of the game (the oral history at least) came off his bat and they are still shots that are talked about during broadcasts.

He was also part of one of the weirder plays in history.



So, Dave Kingman, welcome to the Hall of Game! Thanks!

Baseball Reference
The Dave Kingman Website
Baseball Almanac

The Baseball Flow Chart

It is simple...

If you are a Yankees fan...you have no soul.

If you are a Mets fan...you use sports to escape the drudgery of normal life.

And if you are a Sox fan...well, that requires reading, and Sox fans can't, right?

Image from from here, H/T to FAU

Hall of Game - Will Clark

"The Thrill is gone"

How ballsy would you have to be to use your nickname (and a blues classic popularized by B.B. King) as your answering machine message?

Will "The Thrill" Clark ballsy.

In his fifteen year career, Clark put up great numbers; .303 batting average, just under 300 home runs, more than 2100 hits and over 1200 RBI. Before Derek Jeter became the definition of it, Will Clark was clutch.

More to the point, he was fun to watch.

Unlike other players from his era, The Thrill has never been mentioned as someone who used/abused PEDs, yet that allowed him to be a six time All-Star.

Just look at some of the years he had, and remember, while he will never be a member of the Hall of Fame, Will Clark was The Thrill for an entire generation of baseball fans in San Francisco as well as the entire country.