Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Someone stole my Groceries
Left a bag of groceries behind at the register at Pick N' Save, and of course someone stole it. The store employees were rude as hell about it, who knows why - it's not like I expected them to replace them. Ugh. That's why I get for not shopping at Aldi or Piggly Wiggly this morning. F- Roundy's.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Relaxin'
On the way home from dance a few weeks ago
What my kids look like after a pizza buffet - Lisa
What my kids look like after a pizza buffet - Lisa
Friday, October 11, 2013
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Junie and The Sound of Music
Junie came home from school singing songs from "The Sound of Music", which they'd watched in class today. I'm super happy; I'd been trying to get them to fall in love with it, but good luck getting the kids to watch anything more than 10 years old at home. Now it's all she can talk about :)
Monday, October 7, 2013
Three Thoughts
Ack. FB is rife with goofy political stuff as of late.
a) Whether the Redskins change their name or not is not a political issue, it's a social and economic one - if the public and their $ demands it, it'll happen. Repeat, it is not a partisan issue and I don't blame Obama. Geesh.
b) the gov't 'shutdown' is not the apocalypse, and the people involved are not traitors. Disagreeing on how/if to fund this bloated corpse of a gov't is a legit issue for both sides. Calm down.
c) I think Obama is a barely adequate executive who, to his favor, has continued many of the Bush-era policies and done a world of good re: student lunches. I didn't vote for him, I don't want him, I'll be glad when he's gone - BUT he's the POTUS and he will be for three more years, so I'm not going to waste my breath on pointless attacks or impeachment motions. Save your energy for 2016 when it'll do some good.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Vo Nguyen Giap
Vo Nguyen Giap, the history teacher turned General who helped drive both the French and US out of Vietnam, has died at the age of 102. He fought for the wrong side, but he was an opponent worthy of respect and so RIP sir, RIP.
Another Thumb Update
Around one or two in the morning my damaged thumbnail fell off, which is good, because as of late it had started to smell like rotting zombie flesh, and lets not forget the occasional pus that leaked out at odd times. In the words of my wife, the whole thing is "Soooooooo unsexy." She is wrong of course; there's someone for everyone, and somewhere on Craigslist some nutty chick would pay good money for a swollen, pus-filled zombie thumb. If you know her, shoot me a message; maybe she can help me pay down that van repair.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Grumbles
Lisa, over my objections, vetoed a planned night out of town for our anniversary because it conflicts with Trick or Treat for the kids, and she feels its important we are there for the offspring that day. The weekend before is YaYas bday, so that's out, and the weekend after is just plain lame. It would have been our first night away alone since Job Prior, 5 yrs ago, and I can't say I'm not irked. When these buggers grow up and say we never did anything for them/cared for them/sacrificed for them, I have to remember to bring this up (along with a million different points).
The Van is Back
My van is back. The serpentine belt, tensioner, and something vitally important and impressive (but illegible on the receipt) were replaced. All things being relative, it wasn't that awful in overall price, coming in at just about 2x the cost of LuLu's teeth - and those things were just useless chunks of calcium. All kidding aside, I could use a nice bandage to stop the financial bleeding, but the important thing is we're back on the road and I've helped our moribund economy.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
More Car Repairs
Very bummed. Van went down with what sounded/acted like a broken belt early this afternoon, but upon inspection the belt is intact and all the pulleys are working . . . it's now at the shop and it'll certainly cost me more than I want to spend. Damn. And I just filled up the tank too, which part of me always views as a jinx. D'oh!
More Leaks
More alleged leaks from the supposedly confidential arbitration hearing for Alex Rodriguez. Former union head Marvin Miller was dead on; maintaining any semblance of confidentiality when dealing with the jokers at MLB is wishful thinking. WTH is wrong with the current leadership of the MLBPA??????
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
3-1
It's official, the Sad Sack Slapjacks are now 3-1 in my fantasy league after knocking off the league leader, and by morning I'll know if I share the top of the board.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Our Fishtank!
Our new aquarium (before we added 3 Danio's, a white Molly, a catfish, and a red Beta). Note the nifty skull AND the Gary the Snail (from Spongebob) subtly placed in the left forefront. Thanks Dale!
NY Times Magazine
While I'm thinking of it the best magazine in America is the NY Times Magazine (their Sunday supplement). It features intriguing and well written features, quick but insightful interviews, the "Ethicist" column by Chuck Klosterman, style and food coverage, and more. It also comes with a ~$20/month price tag, since you have to buy a Sunday Times to get it. I get my copies from my father, since I'm too cheap to buy a subscription, but it's well worth waiting a week or two to get my hands on an issue. If you've got the moolah, subscribe.
This product WORKS
For the record: Side Socket - the 'as seen on TV' compact power strip that swivels the cords to the side - works as advertised. VERY satisfied with the product.
Some history on TV
Studying while the Military Channel plays in the background . . . just watched a documentary on the great battle of Cowpens and Tadeusz Kościuszko's role in getting the American army out of harm's way in the aftermath of the victory . . .
My Thoughts - Spoilers
If a TV show has already aired, a sports event has ended, or a movie is more than a year old, then it's not a "SPOILER", it's common knowledge.
Your failure to pay for cable, check your DVR, rent a film, or just get home in time to watch something does not force upon me the necessity to edit the common water cooler conversations of our time.
180 Minutes at the Dentist
Lisa and I spent three hours of our day at the Marquette Dental Emergency Clinic while Lu had two teeth removed, the result of an infection that had spread to her jaw. Olivia's fine and literally dancing around, so please don't mollycoddle her by saying how awful it must have been. You know what was awful? Spending 3 hours of your day off reading six month old issue of Time and then paying for the whole shebang out of pocket. Cry for *me* Argentina, cry for *me*!
Baseball Trivia
A bit of baseball trivia: with the retirement of Darren Oliver today, there is only one player left in MLB whose career started prior to the strike of '94. That player? A-Rod.
Junie Lost a Tooth
Last night Laurenzerz lost her first ever tooth, an event somewhat diminished both by her knowledge that we're the Tooth Fairy and the fact I didn't realize it was her first and so gave it only a brief to-do. We'll make up for that tonight :)
Friday, September 27, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
A Dinner with a Friend
Team Slap enjoyed a nice evening with Dale C who originally came over to set up our aquarium but stayed for dinner and took not one but two trips to the pet store with the crew. Thanks Dale!
Monday, September 23, 2013
A Day of TV
Watching "Dogfights" on the DVR, this time "The Last Gunfighter", an episode about Crusader dogfights over North Vietnam. Great show, superb graphics!
UPDATE: I'm now typing up class notes and watching Ali-Frazier ("The Thrilla in Manilla") on U-Verse on Demand
Done with classwork, and the Ali-Frazier fight. Great bout, shame about the TKO; I kept hoping the ending would be different LOL
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Emmy Ire
It *IS* a crying shame that the late Cory Monteith. a drug addict known only for his part on an ensemble show, gets a special in memoriam honor at the Emmy's while Jack Klugman and Larry Hagman - REAL STARS who passed away recently - don't get the same treatment. What crap. Absolute-utterly fantastic CRAP. Here's hoping that the Emmy's scrambled to change their program once word of this hit the wire.
My Thoughts
Some people are only happy if they can complain about something that doesn't affect them.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
24 Grand Slams!
It took me a full day to wipe the tears of joy from my eyes: Alex Rodriguez ripped a 92 mph fastball into the seats yesterday for a Grand Slam against the Giants. That's his *24TH* Grand Slam, passing Lou Gehrig for sole possession of the all-time record. Twenty four career grand slams. Wow. I hope you enjoyed watching such a cherished record fall Mr. Selig - I hope you see it over and over again in your dreams. Say it with me folks - A-Rod, I bow to thee!
Thursday, September 19, 2013
The Law
Back from class. In a belated answer to a ? about it, I like it a lot. It's a ton of work, with the reading alone almost overwhelming me (which is saying something) but I'm getting the hang of managing the homework around the obligations of work and family.
While I thought I would like criminal law best, so far I find it very boring. The professor is great, the subject just doesn't seem to inspire me. Moreover, it's the one room in the world where I appear as a bleeding heart liberal, and that takes some doing. It's typically me and two other students vs the other 15, with the 15 taking the stand that any action by the police is kosher, any charge correct (no matter if it truly fits the crime) and all crimes worthy of time behind bars. Hopefully a few years of law school knocks some of the fervor out of their system.
Contract law, which I thought would be a horrific bore, is for the moment hitting all the right buttons. There's a lot of thinking, a lot of hands on work, and it's suddenly dawned on me that it's an area of law that affects everyone, no matter their age or income. I like it. I may not like it a few semesters down the road, but I do now.
What do I like best about law school? The private parking in an underground garage, and all the classes confined to one gorgeous building. If only I'd had that at UWM! LOL
LOL
Lisa's FB post in response to a Mom who publicly 'shamed' her daughter for twerking: "I'm going to publicly shame my kids if they waltz. The sign is gonna say, I humiliated my Mom by not shaking what she gave me and being a big dork!
Another Thumb Update
This morning I dug a little metal sliver out of the pad of my injured thumb. That wasn't so comfortable, but as soon as I pulled it out 50% of the numbness that's been bothering me vanished. Hot dog!
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
A Big Day!
Big week for Team Slap. On Monday we got a new washer, ending three months of trudging over to the laundromat. Today we picked up a free 40 gallon aquarium with all the fixings from a friend who was getting rid of it Hot dog!
Ken Norton
Boxer Ken Norton, a heavyweight champion that beat Ali and has a connection to my father-in-law (Dennis was a sparring partner), died today. He was 70. RIP
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Just. Too. Cute
On Tuesday Smiley's homework included writing a synonym for each of his spelling words. One word was 'cone'; his synonym? "Mommy".
[In case you don't know Lisa's maiden name was "Kohn" and I often call her "Kohn" or "Kohnie" as a pet name, a practice that really only seems odd when you read it in print.]
Dancing with the Stars
Just watched the Dancing with the Stars premiere for the 2nd time (I missed some of the acts yesterday). It's good to have it back on the air. It was a long off-season :)
Elite Eight
Books, history, movies, reality TV, pop music, dining out, God and family . . . my Elite Eight
Disrespect
A summary of the media's disrespect for Alex Rodriguez (courtesy of BTF)
1996: 9.31 WAR, just behind Griffey (crazy credit for defense to Griffey that year) but 2nd in MVP to Juan Gonzalez despite a higher OPS, scoring 52 more runs, and playing SS instead of a poor RF.
1997: despite a 846 OPS and 5.6 WAR he didn't get even a 10th place vote while Tino Martinez came in 2nd with a 948 OPS at 1B and 5.08 WAR. Even a guy with negative WAR got 2 votes (Deivi Cruz for Detroit)
1998: 919 OPS, 8.50 WAR but Gonzalez gets his 2nd MVP while A-Rod comes in 9th. Yes, ninth! He even had a 40 HR, 40 SB season that year. He led in WAR for hitters by nearly a full win over Jeter (3rd place).
1999: 943 OPS, 4.76 WAR (injured) and 15th place, about right for that season
2000: 1.026 OPS, 10.29 WAR and 3rd place behind 2 1B who cannot field (Giambi and Thomas)
2001: 1.021 OPS, 8.36 WAR and 6th place, Ichiro's year.
2002: 1.015 OPS, 8.81 WAR 2nd place to another SS who had a 861 OPS and 5.6 WAR (Tejada) who got it due to his team having that amazing 20 game winning streak
2003: Voters give in and let him win at last - He is 2.2 WAR ahead of all other hitters (Pedro had a great year again, Loaiza also had more WAR than non-ARod hitters) but he gets just 6 first place votes while a guy with 3.12 WAR (Shannon Stewart) gets 3 first place votes (yes, voters can be pretty dumb).
2004: In NY now, 4th in WAR but 14th in voting
2005: Wins again, led in WAR by over 2 wins so hard to ignore but 16 first place votes while Ortiz who hit worse than A-Rod by almost any measure (Avg/OBP/Slg/HR/SB) gets 11 first place votes
2006: poor year ('just' 4.46 WAR)
2007: Wins again, led in WAR by nearly 2 wins again, gets all but 2 first place votes
2008: 6.8 WAR, 2nd among hitters but 8th in MVP voting
2009 to now: 4.2 is his best WAR since and hasn't finished higher than 10th in MVP voting.
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