He came up with some classic lines, none better than "this anemometer tells you about something real, something that matters: the weather. It's not like math or something that you just read about in books." Yeah kids, so don't be a sucker and learn all that stupid math when you could get on TV by reading anemometer gauges. There were some good if not great audience questions, my favorite coming from Donnie Downer: 'What is the biggest natural disaster in U.S. history?'
4/25/08
Weather station comes to Greenfield
The penny drive at Owen's school paid for the new weather station that was unveiled at a ceremony today. They had the device on the jungle gym outside so that Glenn 'Hurricane' Schwartz could christen it while chosen classes (including Owen's) congregated to celebrate the moment. Mr. Schwartz is a local meteorologist, minor celebrity and, as the picture below suggests, known for his bow-ties and non-threatening smile.
He came up with some classic lines, none better than "this anemometer tells you about something real, something that matters: the weather. It's not like math or something that you just read about in books." Yeah kids, so don't be a sucker and learn all that stupid math when you could get on TV by reading anemometer gauges. There were some good if not great audience questions, my favorite coming from Donnie Downer: 'What is the biggest natural disaster in U.S. history?'
He came up with some classic lines, none better than "this anemometer tells you about something real, something that matters: the weather. It's not like math or something that you just read about in books." Yeah kids, so don't be a sucker and learn all that stupid math when you could get on TV by reading anemometer gauges. There were some good if not great audience questions, my favorite coming from Donnie Downer: 'What is the biggest natural disaster in U.S. history?'
The beat goes on...
Another night, another hero, another come-from-behind win.
I don't know how this season will turn out but I will make one comparison to the 1988 Orioles, the team that the 2008 version was predicted to emulate. That '88 team didn't get its 13th win til June 6th. JUNE 6TH!
4/24/08
The Great Greek Hope
How do you turn a franchise around? Young, home-grown talent with good work ethic and leadership skills. Nick Markakis ladies and gentlemen:
Plus, the ladies swoon so that makes the marketing dept happy. Anyway, he hit another clutch HR last night, propelling the O's to a nice come-from-behind road win over the Mariners who much preferred the 2007 O's (O's were 2-7 vs. Mariners last year; so far 5-1 in 2008).
If Adam Jones stops swinging at pitches at his eyeballs and Luke Scott is for real, the outfield of the future could be this season.
4/23/08
After the big day
Well...Clinton got her double digits, barely. After all this hoopla in PA, I wish this were now over but I realize the only way that was going to happen is if Obama had won. I hope if this goes all the way to the convention, there will be one shred of collegiality between these two to get them both on the ticket.
It seems like with the new kid on the block momentum, tons of spending and tireless campaigning in a very diverse state, for Obama to come up 10 points short makes me worry about his competitiveness vs. McCain. It seems like a lot of Obama's primary wins are in states that McCain would likely carry (ND, UT, CO, ID, WA, NE etc.).
It seems like with the new kid on the block momentum, tons of spending and tireless campaigning in a very diverse state, for Obama to come up 10 points short makes me worry about his competitiveness vs. McCain. It seems like a lot of Obama's primary wins are in states that McCain would likely carry (ND, UT, CO, ID, WA, NE etc.).
4/21/08
On the eve of the big day...
It appears Clinton has focussed her efforts elsewhere. I have seen about 10:1 Obama to Clinton ads on TV and find my mailbox stuffed with Obama fliers daily. A question for Sen. Obama: if you are the only one speaking in the ad, do you really have to say "I approve this message" at the end? I also noticed he's got one ad with many people complaining about the price of gas in testimonial after testimonial saying Obama will fight big oil. All these dozen people have PA accents of one kind or another and none is black. I'm sad that for this crucial time I'm being directly targeted for my demographic, I rarely buy gas. And I have no gun/religion to cling to for solace and my mortgage isn't adjustable/exploding.
Owen gets the day off for polling (geez, and I've got to drag my sorry ass in to vote at 7:15 so I can go over and see patients at 8?) He said this morning -- unprompted -- that he's sad he can't vote because he might be able to help Clinton win. He probably said the same thing tonight to Julie about Obama...O's future may be in politics it seems.
Owen gets the day off for polling (geez, and I've got to drag my sorry ass in to vote at 7:15 so I can go over and see patients at 8?) He said this morning -- unprompted -- that he's sad he can't vote because he might be able to help Clinton win. He probably said the same thing tonight to Julie about Obama...O's future may be in politics it seems.
4/16/08
Fightin' Phils' Rally...
It felt like 2007 all over again as the Phils pulled off a 4-run ninth inning rally last night at the Bank.
The unpredictable Shawn Chacon dominated the Phils for 8 but he was removed for Valverde the closer for bottom 9. (I don't know Chacon's pitch count at that time but he induced a couple double plays and was not laboring in the least; you pay big money for a closer so I guess you're obligated to use him?)
Anyway, Pat 'The Bat' Burrell tied it 3-3 with a two-run homer that sent the crowd into hysterics. Announced at 33K, there were probably not more than 25 at any point but by bottom nine it was REALLY thin. ( I guess having the best offense in the NL, the heart of the order coming up and 58 come-from-behind wins last year was not enough to risk braving the 48 degree chill and the 9:30 hour for the Phillies' 'faithful'). Geoff Jenkins ran through a stop sign to score the winning run on a close play at the plate.
I'm counting on Steve to find us some data on performance during so-called 'contract years' among MLB players. Pat the Bat, in his own contract year, is on a tear to start out the season.
Game notes:
Special shout out to Harsha who got the tickets at the Greenfield Elementary (Owen's school!) silent auction last Thursday. And to Melissa and Abhi for not asking to leave the game. And to Dollar Dog night (I had three). And to Julie for being on the silent auction committee.
The unpredictable Shawn Chacon dominated the Phils for 8 but he was removed for Valverde the closer for bottom 9. (I don't know Chacon's pitch count at that time but he induced a couple double plays and was not laboring in the least; you pay big money for a closer so I guess you're obligated to use him?)
Anyway, Pat 'The Bat' Burrell tied it 3-3 with a two-run homer that sent the crowd into hysterics. Announced at 33K, there were probably not more than 25 at any point but by bottom nine it was REALLY thin. ( I guess having the best offense in the NL, the heart of the order coming up and 58 come-from-behind wins last year was not enough to risk braving the 48 degree chill and the 9:30 hour for the Phillies' 'faithful'). Geoff Jenkins ran through a stop sign to score the winning run on a close play at the plate.
I'm counting on Steve to find us some data on performance during so-called 'contract years' among MLB players. Pat the Bat, in his own contract year, is on a tear to start out the season.
Game notes:
Special shout out to Harsha who got the tickets at the Greenfield Elementary (Owen's school!) silent auction last Thursday. And to Melissa and Abhi for not asking to leave the game. And to Dollar Dog night (I had three). And to Julie for being on the silent auction committee.
4/13/08
Training wheels are gone
I got back to Julie's after my ultimate double header (hence the mud on the legs) and I could just sense that O was ready. The other 12 times I had that sense I was way off. But not this time. He got it right on the first try which I guess isn't a surprise considering he's been balancing without really using the training wheels for a year.
Being outside on the bike is a good thing because it means less chance for this:
O created a chart showing how many bad marks Mommy and Daddy each got for various transgressions (not allowing him to lay in bed until school starts, for example). Scholars will long debate whether the eighth mark next to 'DAD' is actually an 'x', perhaps making Mommy's tally one worse. By the way 'f' is for friend -- apparently Eva got two x's for making fun of O that day at school.
Being outside on the bike is a good thing because it means less chance for this:
O created a chart showing how many bad marks Mommy and Daddy each got for various transgressions (not allowing him to lay in bed until school starts, for example). Scholars will long debate whether the eighth mark next to 'DAD' is actually an 'x', perhaps making Mommy's tally one worse. By the way 'f' is for friend -- apparently Eva got two x's for making fun of O that day at school.
4/7/08
O's podcast and baseball
Did you wake up this morning wondering how the moon was formed? Well, this might not clear it up entirely, but it will come closer than staring at the back of your wheaties box:
http://web.mac.com/julie.parr/Site/Podcast/Entries/2008/3/23_How_the_moon_was_formed%2C_by_Owen.html
Speaking of wondrous creations, the O's are 4-1 and first in the AL East. No one in BirdLand is making any rash extrapolations at this point; it's just fun when every win seems like defying the odds. The Tigers starting 0-6 gave John Miller a chance to reflect on ESPN last night about the O's starting the 1988 season 0-21. That team had two future hall of famers in/near the primes of their careers, a solid #2 starter and some other solid pros. They finished with 107 losses, last in runs scored (550!) and ERA in the AL but, notably, 10th out of 14 in attendance. They won their first game APRIL 29th! on the road. The next home game was Monday 5/2 at the old Memorial Stadium... attendance: 50,402 (next day's attendance was 11,507).
But just imagine, the 2008 Tigers are 0-6 and you can already see the strain on the players' faces. The media is talking about the odds of making the postseason after starting 0-6 (slim). Sure, these Tigers had higher expectations but the 1988 O's still had 15 straight losses to go!! Talk about records that will never be broken....
http://web.mac.com/julie.parr/Site/Podcast/Entries/2008/3/23_How_the_moon_was_formed%2C_by_Owen.html
Speaking of wondrous creations, the O's are 4-1 and first in the AL East. No one in BirdLand is making any rash extrapolations at this point; it's just fun when every win seems like defying the odds. The Tigers starting 0-6 gave John Miller a chance to reflect on ESPN last night about the O's starting the 1988 season 0-21. That team had two future hall of famers in/near the primes of their careers, a solid #2 starter and some other solid pros. They finished with 107 losses, last in runs scored (550!) and ERA in the AL but, notably, 10th out of 14 in attendance. They won their first game APRIL 29th! on the road. The next home game was Monday 5/2 at the old Memorial Stadium... attendance: 50,402 (next day's attendance was 11,507).
But just imagine, the 2008 Tigers are 0-6 and you can already see the strain on the players' faces. The media is talking about the odds of making the postseason after starting 0-6 (slim). Sure, these Tigers had higher expectations but the 1988 O's still had 15 straight losses to go!! Talk about records that will never be broken....
4/2/08
Obama bowling
Thirty-seven?!?! C'mon. I don't care how long it's been. If you're an adult with working legs/arms/eyes, you gotta crack 50. Owen bowled a 64 last time.
4/1/08
Inevitable...
I farted in the room with a patient today. Those of you in the know probably figured statistically this had happened perhaps several hundred times already. Not so. It seems that just like in grade school when so much social pressure prevented it, the exam room was the same way. Anyway, it just slipped out. I was so taken off guard that I did something now that I feel pretty bad about. I blamed it on the patient's power of attorney who had accompanied him to the visit. This woman was perhaps in her 80s and somewhat hard of hearing (though not nearly as bad as the patient himself) but neither she nor the patient had anything wrong with their sense of smell apparently. Anyway, when the smell became apparent, I asked them both to please step out if they had to pass gas. This caused them to look at one another in an accusing fashion, each probably assuming a young doctor would not have done this. The patient said, "Well it wasn't me," to which his escort replied the same. I, now feeling bad but needing to complete the lie said, "In my experience, it's usually the third person in the room since they're not concentrating." I don't know whether I convinced this woman that she actually had farted but they both dropped it.
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