A broken link

No, this isn't mine, but it is a fairly good representation of whats going on with my right knee.

Dr. Gaffney, my new bone consultant, filled me in on today's topic: Arthritic Changes in the Adult Knee.
I stopped in to have a consult after experiencing the pain to end all pains when I went from a sitting to standing position last Saturday and nearly collapsed like the proverbial sack of potatoes.
My right knee shows - like the example above - arthritic changes. Loss of cartilage and bone spurs that introduced me to the concept of excruciating pain. The sharp, sudden, seeing stars kind of pain. Now I have something to look forward to. Titanium knees.
Double sigh.

One more....

Another one.
No long exposition, just an appreciation.

One of these:

missed the boat. Sit at the box, wait a few minutes, watch the service mamils get the order ahead of mine wrong a few times (for some unknown reason I was watching orders ahead of mine appear on the Magic Order Monitor), wait, break down and go inside, listen to the person who was behind me order and bitch about how long I took at the window, wait, listen as she adds "just something else" to her order, wait, get permanently pissed and leave.

sigh

Sleigh bells ring

I'm so glad footbal season is over. Or at least almost over.
Why?
Because this is next:






Why does that interest anyone? In the larger sense it simply won't. But, It means I can come in from the cold and work inside until spring. After the wind, rain, sleet and cold that I worked in last Saturday, I'm ready to stay indoors for a bit.
As an experiment, I'm ready to ask how the writers would cope.

Football Fantasy

November 10 and the high school football season isn't finished yet. For a few local teams anyway. Mars, Moniteau, Karns City.

Heading into week twelve, these three continue, but being reduced by one or two this weekend depending on the breaks. Along with that I'll probably be out of the house for the 5th consecutive Saturday night. Win lose or draw, there will be one more - a Week 13 game. As if one seasonal record isn't enough, I've seen 17 games this season so far, which will increase to another seasonal record of 20

To paraphrase the old song;

The car knows the way,
to carry the sleigh.
Through the white and drifting snow.
Over the river and through the woods.

Ok, so I overstated the sleigh part.

PS - the drawing is from a patent application for an articulated goal post, to make maintenence and TV camera rigging easier.

I want to like things, I really do

But, folks keep dropping the ball.
Here we go again.




Yep, another food complaint.
I just love to rail about bad service, and Sonic has provided the latest opportunity.

When I order fast food, I try to keep it simple. The Sonic folks have made the task a bit difficult.
How?
They avoid face-to-face communication.
How?
Ask the voice in the box for food and hope the order comes up right. Have faith that the folks in the food factory get it right.
A firm message on the door - EMPLOYEES ONLY - makes the point, We don't want to see you, much less talk to you.
When I pull up and spend - by the clock on the dashboard - three minutes waiting for the voice in the box to answer and nothing happens I know there's a problem. With my wife on hand I can't go overboard, so I decide I'll just go inside. That's when I found the message above.
Back to the drive-thru. We order up and pull away. As a member of the Higher Order of Mammil's I've developed a keen sense about blind food ordering and it was triggering all the alarms.
Mentally it's hollering CHECK THE DAMN ORDER DUMMIE!
Sorry to say it was right and the food-dispensing mammils were wrong. Sigh.
As the final letdown, what I did salvage was a greasy meat patty. Sigh again.

Take Sonic off the Places to Revisit List.

Great Prince of the Forest

Ever realize that nobody knows the name of Bambi's parents? Mother dies in a hail of gunfire. Or is it a forest fire? Dad - or Great Prince my @** - seems to abandon the child to a rabbit and a skunk.
Perhaps if the dear child had parents with better skills he wouldn't have been out wandering around late at night in the middle of the road last week.
Now I've got a 3 week old car with a huge scratch in the driver's door and a rumpled door skin on the driver's side passenger portal.
I can't wait to see the estimate for this one.

Scales of Justice

The scales of Justice, or Two Days as a Juror

If you've never had a chance to participate in the American justice system, stop in and have a look some day. I spent two days as a juror and now I'm qualified the comment. A few observations:
Justice is slow, detailed and steady.
Justice isn't Law and Order.
Justice isn't CSI.
Justice isn't perfect.

How and why?

It took the ADA and defense attorney two hours to complete their opening statements. The defense seemed to be padding his statement so as to have something to say.
The ADA laid out his case using two witnesses - a former friend of the defendant and a police officer. He didn't do much in either case to connect the dots.
The ADA would have been better served by having the cop testify to the lab results after finishing his narrative. One step at a time....

The result?
Who Knows. Our little troupe of Jurors never had the opportunity to take a vote. It seems the ADA led the cop's testimony down two simultaneous paths and got caught. The defendant was acquitted and we were sent home before lunch the second day.

Pirates of the Allegheny

More on the Pirates from the PG -

"Shortstop Jack Wilson singled in what might have been his final at-bat in Pittsburgh, but the Pirates lost their home finale to the Houston Astros, 6-2, this afternoon at PNC Park ...

As Wilson strode to the batter's box for a pinch-hit appearance in the fifth inning, the 20311 on hand rose in unison and roared in recognition of what might be his final at-bat in Pittsburgh. ...

With the crowd still on its feet and growing louder, Wilson, on his second at-bat since that index finger was fractured Aug. 31, took two balls, then lashed a single into left that advanced Luis Cruz.

Wilson is likely to be traded this offseason." (emphasis added)

Hmmmm, a Pirate player heading for the trading floor... this is news?

More Prose from Pros:

While technically not a pro - as a writer anyway - this quote from Paris Hilton regarding LA paparazzi

"All my cars are completely scratched up from their battery packs and cameras. They jump on your car and dent the windows."

I know all my car windows are flexible...

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Remember him?

Butler HS alumni Nate Hartung has rejoined the football ranks after completing his Mission trip to New Zealand. He's now a freshman walk-on at Brigham Young.

All the best Nate.

Not an original thought

Occasionally an e-mail in its entirety or just a single line is worth passing along:

Politics: From the Greek, Poly - meaning many, and tic - a bloodsucking pest.
,
Ok, so they lied about the Greek part.

A New Feature

Bad Prose from Pros
Check this line from a story regarding school remodeling:

Excluding the summer months, the work was done while students were in the school.

Duh?

Sport vs Sport

Or at least the way it plays out in Pittsburgh. First we present this team:





The Steelers are currently dismantling the Houston Texans in the season opener. The backup QB has just entered the game with a score of 35-3 on the board. The owners, despite trying to resolve the ownership of the team within the family, are committed to one objective. Winning.

Then there's the batch next door:




Who knows what their objective is....

Another This Just In!

Pittsburgh Pirates finish record 16th consecutive losing season. A record unequaled in all of major league sports.

Told You So......

It continues

It - the dumbing down of out musical taste continues.

To wit:

The Golden Tornado Marching Band presents:

Bend Me, Shape Me - The American Breed c.1968. The band evolved into Rufus featuring Chaka Kahn. Who knew?

Another rendition of All Along the Watchtower. c.1968

Linda Ronstadt - It couldn't have been Poor, Poor Pitiful Me, could it?

And as occasionally happens, an update: The Linda Ronstadt song is Hurts So Bad. It just feels right....

The Dumbing Down of Us All

I suspect that this will be one of a long series, but someone has gotta say it. We continue to become a nation of dummies. No, I'm not talking about the Big Stuff - war, religion, taxes and education - but something really trivial.

Marching band programs.

I went to the first of several upcoming Pie Nights today, and encountered another example of an Ongoing Trend. Damnable Music Selections by the Band Director. I don't know when this trend started - or why - but high school bands seem to be a dumping ground for elevator music arrangers. Friday night has become the Outlet Mall for mostly mediocre music from years gone by arranged for horns and drums.

Here's this year's first example

The Seneca Valley Raider Marching Band proudly presents:

Styx's Mr Roboto
Something entirely forgettable
Johnny B Goode - credited to Chuck Berry
All Along the Watchtower - Bob Dylan by way of Jimi Hendrix

What ever happened to Sousa?

Another one of those questions

I've been known to stop here:



For one of these:

That usually costs about $1


Yesterday I asked to add one of these to the sandwich



The new total?

$2.59

That's right folks, McDonalds is charging $19.08 a dozen for scrambled eggs. I don't think the Bellagio could beat that.

Could someone explain Baseball to me?

Or to be specific the Pittsburgh Pirates. I'm not an expert, and I barely know enough to have an opinion, but when will the Pirates stop rebuilding and finish construction? My theory for sucess? Simple. Take the pink areas shown above and close them. Add anything in the outfield to the For Rent section.
Then the big move. Fire the Pirate roster, move in the Wild Things and call PNC park what it is: The Best Minor League Ball Park in America.

Do I have a second?

Late breaking news from one of America's Great Newspapers:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08218/901944-100.stm

Southern Exposure

The difference between home and vacation is that I don't see any of these off the back porch....


In any event, tomorrow is off to Dollywoodland. This place is the
quintessential tourist trap.

Photos to follow

A Funny

I love good jokes.

Three beer salesman go our to lunch at a convention.

The Bud salesman orders a Bud.
The Miller salesman orders a Miller Lite.
The Guiness salesman orders a Coke.
He says "As long as you two ordered soft drinks, I figured I should too."

Inerns

The groundbreaking of the Postage Stamp Park? This thing would fit in my living room and I spent 2 hours and 80 or so miles covering it. This is truly what happens when interns rule the world.


Or perhaps that's a bit harsh. On second thought, interns should be required to accompany photogs to the assignmets...

All quiet on the Western Front

Just qulck one. There's nothing much going on. The tunnel boring machine should be breaking thru right about now, the Pirates ae still hapless, and Butler County is quiet- today.

We'll break in with updates as necessary.

Mojo. Fred has it.

After a few days off, here's a pair of photos with French guitar player Fred Chapellier from a show with Billy Price here in Pittsburgh.

If anyone saw this in the five minutes it took me to correct the spelling of Fred's last name, I apologize.





This just in! Billy Price links to this blog! If anyone would like to see more photos of the Syria show, leave a comment and I'll find a spot for them...

Old habits die hard. Really

After receiving several shotgun e-mails from someone I'd loosely describe as a radio-driven Conservative, I'm wondering out loud where shouting starts and discussion ends. I believe that what passes for discussion has over the past generation deteriorated into a shouting contest. I'd also be ignoring the obvious if my own liberal political bias didn't get full credit.
Someone in a discussion I remember but can't place said the reason liberal radio fails is because it's willing to entertain discussion and try for consensus, making boring progamming. The reason conservative media succeeds is because the talent tells the audience how and what to believe and isn't shy about the process. Listeners eat up someone who tells them that if things were only how they used to be, life would be better.
What a crock.
Right now the US - and the world at large - seem to be heading for a series of meltdowns. The obvious indicator - gas prices at retail are hovering at $4 per gallon.
Great. Let's do something.
Drill for more so the vehicles we collectively operate can keep rolling. Pump crude out of the ground into pipelines that connect to refineries that are already running at capacity. Keep ervery car in the US on the road no matter what the mileage or efficiency and smile while doing it. Drill anywhere that has hydrocarbons buried close by. Yippie! Gas for everybody!
But lets slow down for a quick second.
The US is refining everything we can with the facilities in place, the pipes are full, the dollar is sinking against foreign currencies creating more expensive imports, and demand on producers is rising worlwide. Suddenly India and China - the folks that WalMart sources a goodly chunk of their buying from - have cash to bid up the price of commodity imports.
In the end, we've gotta find a way to do more with less. There just isn't any way around it. If we all need to drive tiny cars, and build nuclear power plants, let's get it on. The Third World may not be for much longer.

In case you tuned in late...

Seen - on a wall at the Kennedy Presidemtial Library in Boston

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then ... we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal." [September 14, 1960]

Now go do something useful.

It was forty years ago today

No, Sgt. Pepper didn't teach the band to play.
June 5, 1968 was the day that Bobby Kennedy was shot in Los Angeles after claiming victory in the California Democratic primary. Jack Kennedy was four and a half years gone, Martin was shot in Memphis sixty days earlier and in some corners hope for the future was fading fast.

What came next?

The debacle of the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago with Richard Daly's police trying to restrain the political underclass, the rise of Richard Nixon, descent into the hell of Viet Nam and perhaps the end of polite political discourse.

What could have been?

Jack Kennedy lives and completes two terms?
Bobby elected in 1968?
Martin as Bobby's VP?
Bobby completes pullout from Viet Nam?
Regan retires as Gov. of California
Oliver North stays an obscure Marine Lt. Colonel
Rush Limbaugh stays an obscure DJ in Pittsburgh

and so on....

Hot Dog

Can someone explain the food service mentality to me? I've here to tell ya' that food service window-trons will be the death of me.

Today's Gripe: I've been known to eat a hot dog or two, and in the area of the office a local chain called Brighton Hot Dog has set up a franchise. I suspect that I've eaten there for the last time in a while
Each and every one of the times I've stopped at their New Castle Road store, it seems to take an inordinate length of time to be served at the drive-in. While their shingle says something like "Please be patient, all food cooked to order" I haven't got a clue what takes the wage slaves inside so damn long to wrap a couple of dogs and put them in a bag. If they did indeed cook dogs to order, the line would back up to the next county. One thing though - they seem to have apology own to near-science... as in "sorry it took so long" If they recognize a problem too, why not fix it and quit being sorry.
That could be enough, but after the apology, the order was wrong. Not just ketchup for mustard, but chili, pickles and onions for mustard. If I wanted the things dressed, I'd have ordered 'em that way. The topper becomes a vehicle accident that I'm called to cover. No delays and no going back

Where do they find a whole store full of these idiots? At least one inquiring mind wants to know.

And now for something completely different...

Something different, a mostly photo update. Here are a few recent shots, more interesting that great.
Above, a water squirting elephant that is part of a large hand-carved circus display. This was Jimmy Bashline's legacy.


Logan Renwick, a HS long jumper lands in a cloud of sand.




Some very serious bodybuilders.

How did that happen?

A decent work week. Mostly.
Gas hasn't gone down, but the rest of the week wasn't bad.

Starting Tuesday, parking at the track meets - always the worst part of the day - was rather good. The Mall Guard at the front gate sent me around to the back with instructions to "tell Larry"

Wednesday was a softball game played in the drizzle. Not-quite rain that went on all afternoon. Oh well. The car was just outside the right field fence.

Thursday was more track & Field at Baldwin. I suspect the Parking Deity at was distracted and let me slip in when nobody else was looking. Any closer, and I would have been on the track. No, not really, but I was a lot closer than folks who showed up hours earlier. The key to this one is get there at the exact moment school get out, and park in the spaces the buses have just vacated.

Friday is Brookville. A much smaller meet in a very large district. Parking scattered around the campus, but nothing more that about a 5 minute stroll from the gate.

Now if I can just work out that water-to-gasoline conversion I read about in the back of a Fantastic Four comic book.....

Let's see how the week goes..

Gas has hit $3.75 a gallon and I'm looking at filling the tank three or four times in the next week. I remember being on vacation in Texas five or six years ago and thinking that dumping $100 worth of gas into a 32' RV was the limit of what I'd ever spend on a single fillup.
Wrong.
Today I poured $55 worth of gas into the Tuscon just to get the week started.

But, I digress. This is one of my favorite weeks in the scholastic sports calendar.

Tomorrow - Tuesday - it's off to a place called South Side Beaver HS for Class AA track. 65 miles from the house and another 50 or so back to the office. Part 1 of the ongoing What is the WPIAL Thinking Final Exam. The place is closer to Ohio than anywhere else in the WPIAL Universe.


Thursday is It Can Get Worse Day. The same league has been holding the Class AAA track meet at a school called Baldwin since Christ was a Corporal. Nobody seems to know why. The school has built classroom buildings to the point that parking has disappeared by about half the original allotment. If you arrive early, there's no parking on campus as school hasn't let out yet. Arrive a few minutes later and there's no parking as it's now all full, ringed by a handpicked corps of Mall Guards ready to remind you that They Mean Business. A few years ago one had no idea what to do when I told him I'd be perfectly happy to sit at the entrance to the lot and wait for them to deem the School Day ended and open the spaces. A direct quote "You can't sit here, this is a parking lot!" Last year I had to park about a mile away and take a school bus shuttle in, juggling gear all the way. These folks really need to move the thing to a college track with college parking. Another 100 or so mile drive as well....

Friday is the PIAA D-9 meet in Brookville, Pa. No hassle, park right at the gate and pray for no rain. Yet another 100+ mile drive.

Anyone see a theme developing?

Get on the Good Foot

Now that I've got the photo thing going, here's another. If you dont't know singer Billy Price, get on the good foot. Old school soul from a man who lives and loves the music.

If y'all aren't familiar with the Good Foot reference, your could stand to raise your Soul Quotient

Here's a photo

Congratulations is right. Here's my buddy and Genuine Hilbilly Drummer Mark Stutso at the release party for his CD "Rock My Soul" at Moondogs in Blawnox, Pa.

Three weeks later

And I my posting is slowing down. As with lots of good intentions, this one started strong and has slipped a bit in intensity. I'm gonna' try to get the energy level back to a respectable level and keep it there - and in reference to an actual comment made by an actual visitor - add a photo or three.

It does get better

Somehow this got stuck in draft mode, so if the date or sequence seem off that's the answer.

Some things run in families - like always running late. Today's example involves former President Bill Clinton. As I suggested in an earlier post, political event schedules are null and void upon exiting the printer. Wednesday was no exception. The former Prez arrived at his 6.00PM event promptly at 7.00PM with a large but in the process. The campaign folks were courteious and compitent and security was absolutely transparent. The guys talking into their lapels were in evidence, but being a former President stumping for your wife seems to lower the alert level. I love access and fairly unfettered wandering about. Go Clinton Campaign!

I've gotta learn how

To add photos to my posts here. Somehow I'd suspect that anyone who ever wanders in here will wonder why a photographer doesn't have any photos posted.

Easy.

I don't know how. Yet.

But I'll work on it.

When interns take over the world...

I had the dubious pleasure of waiting for a date with Chelsea Clinton yesterday.
It wasn't my idea, and the folks who thought is up didn't consider the reality of Campaign Time.
Let me digress for a moment - Anyone in the news biz who has covered a campaign event knows as Gospel Truth that any schedule is invalid immediately upon exiting the printer.
Campaign managers simply don't have the ability to read a timepiece, a road map, or the weather forecast. MapQuest and the like are seemingly reserved for mortals without the Gift of Political Forgiveness - the property that allows handlers to schedule an events 200 miles distant 2 hours after the start of the first and know that there will be a forgiving audience waiting.

Then there are the interns. The lowest level, highest maintenance force of nature in the political universe. They've been told to do something, take no prisoners, and not ask questions. Including "Keep the press back from the Buffer Zone" Whatever in the hell that is.
It's Good that Folks with Cameras and Phones crowd the front hustling autographs from the Former First Daughter and now Shill for Mom.
It's Bad that Press Photographers Doing Their Job want photos of Folks with Cameras and Phones.

Perhaps I'm temporarily trapped in an alternate universe.

By the way....

Regardless of your faith, happy April Fools Day.

If you've never seen this, watch now. It may be the best celebration of the day. Ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyUvNnmFtgI

Success!

For a week or so I've thought I was going mad. Now I know the Truth.
Somehow I managed to change a preference and the layout and composition wizard was trying in vain to transliterate my ramblings into Hindi - with no success, I might add.

Dog here? Doggone cool.

It's been about two weeks and lots has changed here at the ranch.

We've become Dog People.
We acquired a pound hound Wire Haired Terrier who we've designated as Riley. An 18lb dog who seems to be liking us - and is being liked in turn by us. He's the standard coloring for the breed, off white base, brown face and grey saddle across his back.

Now if we can just get his "personal habits" on schedule everything will be perfect.

A Class Act. Really. No Kidding

After railing about a few things I don't like, how about a positive note?

Send your kid to hockey school. Or at least let them associate with the PIHL. Even if they don't play hockey, they could sharpen skates or something.
As I'm one to complain about little things at the sporting events I am assigned to cover - parking, access, concession prices and workspace come to mind - I'm here to tell you that the PIHL does things right. I covered a playoff semifinal game last night, and the league did their absolute best to make things happen.

To wit:
Rosters at the front gate - without asking
Workspace - without asking
Game stats soon after the conclusion of a contest - without asking
A cordial welcome to the hospitality room - without asking, where the food was GOOD.

And in general, nightly faxes with results of that day,
A web site with accurate stats, contacts and rosters.

An operation to use as an example of Well Run.

So there. I do like something.

The Right end of the dial

As I drive around, I frequently spin the radio up to the top of the dial. Here in Western Pa that's where the best comedy lives.

Jim Quinn and his trusty sidekick Rose the Indignant Warrior, shilling guns, gold and real estate schemes.

Glenn Beck - Who knows if he makes any sense, but at least he's not as loud as the rest.

Rush - The Grand Poobhah holding court. I think I liked him better when he was Jeff Christy, before he started shilling gold and real estate

Sean Hannity - A Really Popular American, and has an sudience that likes to remind him

Michael "My Real Name Isn't" Savage - What is this guy's story? He just doesn't seem to be FOR anything. Hours of railing about how he knows best, but no real content. Kind of like Wonder Bread - shot full of air to look like something in the bag.

Jerry Davis - seems like a bookend, taking up space till

George Noory comes on. An actual Space Case. UFO's, ghosts, anything paranormal or just weird goes here...


THIS JUST IN: THE STATION AT THE TOP OF THE DIAL IS NOW SHILLING A "WELLNESS WAVE" - SOMEONE COLLECTING CASH TO BEAM POSIIVE VIBRATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. IS THER NO SHAME?

I hear the Clarion call

I have no idea where the pharase clarion call comes from, but today the clarion called and I followed. To Clarion of course. Another brilliant example of form triumphing over function.
Someone in the PIAA - the Even Bigger Cheese of Pennsylvania athletic organizations - decided that in anticipation of Bad Weather, two of their districts should take the night off from basketball playoffs. That would be D2 and D4, essentially the Northeast corner of the Commonwealth. All well and good - let's keep the kiddies out of harm's way by denying Mother nature access.

But, as the man said, what about us?

Nobody in Camp Hill seemed willing to look over the mountains and take notice of the weather arriving in the left end of the state. Let the games begin! Or at least let them go on.

The away team from the game I covered tonight took 7.5 hours on a charter coach to transverse 80 miles from home to the game site. Apparently the only reason they finally got there was one of the team dads pushed the bus uphill with his Suburban.

My Big Question - Shouldn't someone have the authority to say no?

As a sidebar, another team from closer to home chose to take a forefeit rather than put their kids ar risk. Go Catholics!

Digging out of the pit, or see below

A few thoughts about the swimming championship rant below

• The WPIAL has no options regarding venue. Nobody knows of another pool with anywhere near the seating capacity of Trees Pool at Pitt, so Oakland it is.
• Parking is limited, no matter when the event happens. You're in the big city, so deal with it.

What then?

• Hold the event on Saturday. A single day, race until it's over meet. Abandon the 2-day schedule. Alternate morning and afternoon sessions annually so the AAA and AA boosters, coaches, schools and families have one less thing to complain about. Every other sport seems to have playoffs on weekends, so why is swimming excempt?

• By holding a one day meet, on a weekend, parking MAY get beter. The Pitt students aren't going away, but the hospitals should see less demand for employee parking on Saturday. Perhaps an optimistic viewpoint, but this is a rant isn't it?

• Can anyone do anything about the concession prices? Probably not. Someone has decided that $3.50 for a Pepsi, $3.00 for a hot dog, and $3.00 for a candy bar are normal enough. Prices at the airport are lower, by far....

• The WiFi complaint only deals with digital workflow. If I have to drive back, I'm losing time that I could be spending doing other work.

• As matter of common courtesy, if you offer your committee free food, let them eat in a private room. If I've gotta pay a small fortune for food, I consider it bad form to flaunt the freebies. And by the way, give the offficials acccess to the food. A hungry ref is a grumpy ref...

Pitt. or The Pits

Some aspects of a person's life just can't be altered.
As we grow old our joints will stiffen, and we'll sit on the porch waiting for the end like a potted plant. But before that, we work. In my case that frequently involves attending sporting events at high schools and some of the colleges in Western Pa. It can be a decent day, or it can be a drag depending on the time of day the event starts, day of the week, season of the year, of most tellingly the organization in charge. The WPIAL - the Big Cheese of sanctioning bodies in Western Pa - has got to be a typical organization, but consistently produces events in the in what seems to be a lowest bidder mode.

Today and tomorrow are the local swimming championships. Hooray - the WPIAL holds these at Trees pool on the Pitt campus. The biggest problem with this event is this: there just isn't anywhere else to hold it, and nobody in a position of authority seems to care.

This thing is just wrong in every way.

•Parking is expensive - if you can find a space - as you're competing with a 30k student population, half a dozen busy hospitals, and an urban campus.
•Everything is uphill. Not just a hill but a 5 story climb to the pool from anywhere in the neighborhood.
•The media work area is a pair of folding tables and two rather decent chairs.
•WiFi in the pool is password protected. God forbid anyone in the area know the password or know who would.
•Hungry? Bend over and spread 'em. $3.50 for a Pepsi in a bottle. $3 for a dog. I was ready to use my "Usually when I get screwed, I get a kiss" line, but the counter help looked as if they were only Minimum Wage Slaves with less control than anyone.
•Agoraphobic? Contemplate this. At the afternoon session there were 54 swim teams participating. if they AVERAGE 10 members, that's 540 kids plus coaches all crowded around the pool. Loads of room to work.

sheesh

Which came first?

Off to HS wrestling today and tomorrow. The question pertains to the site and it's nickname. Canon-McMillan HS, home of the Big Macs. Why would anyone want a school ID that reflects the name of a bad hamburger?

So, which came first?

One little thing that drives me up a wall

"Cute" e-mails You know - the Men are Pond Scum, pray for me and pass it on, collect holiday cards for Bobby, and the like. BUT particularly the men are scum sort. I'd really like to know what motivates writers to pass along email that doesn't even rise to the level of stereotype.If I write something along the lines of "Why are women always comparing their shortcomings to Men" would I be a pig?

Random Pets

So every entry isn't a big deal. Just thoughts, without a significant purpose. After all, I'm not asking $3 million for my collection of music.. Trying to add a decent title to the entry gets interesting. As a result the combo-title for today.

Housekeeping

Nothing exciting. Just a few random thoughts. Sam'sClub gas isn't any less expensive than the brand name product - today - but the rest of the store can be - if you look carefuly. Food is up, gas is up, ad rates are up, and I'm not making any more $$. Oh well, should have paid more attention in Rocket Science class

Pet Peeves and such

TV news bother me on several levels. Leaving the near complete lack of content alone, the seemingly universal mispronunciation of the word that describes the amount of heat in the atmosphere drive me up a bloody wall. It's a four sylable word folks. Temp-er-a-ture. Not temp-a-ture. Let's all pronounce it at home.... Temp-er-a-ture.

They really are a couple of freaks....

Catching a good line on TV sometimes inspires a thought. Now all I need to do is compile a list of freaks. They are out there, waiting to be selected.

Tax time, or Oh joy

Why , when tax time rolls around do I feel like hummng. It alternates - sometimes it's Follow the Yellow Brick Road, others Hi Ho, Hi Ho. In either instance, it's time to visit Accountant Joe and deliver the raw data.

Or perhaps the Average Outdoor Store

Just back from the trip to REI. Before you spend the time, they don't stock the Cozy Creek line in their stores. At least not in their 25,000 or so sq foot emporium in Pittsburgh. Not one example of the brand.
So I brought home a knockoff. It looks decent - better than the WallyMart version that I had - and has an extendo-bottom that essentially provides double butt padding.
Oh well. I'm resigned to live with it and the smiling cashier who reminded me that:
a. In Seattle they stock everything.
b. I could order and have the item shipped to the store here at no charge for said shipping.
The I reminded her that:
c. I'd still not have seen an example of the product.
d. Spending another 2 hours of my time and paying for parking again wasn't such a good deal.
Then add this in:
Looking for sales help in the Post Christmas letdown was about impossible, and I imagine the market for ice axes is Pittsburgh is so large that keeping lesser items like camp chairs makes sense to someone.
Next time i'm in the Pacific Northwest I'll stop.

Shopping in the Great Outdoor Store

I need one of those folding camp chairs. Perhaps need isn't entirely accurate, but want isn't emphatic enough. In the next month or so, I'll spend a lot - perhaps a majority - of my days at work covering HS basketball playoffs. That means many hours sitting on gym floors watching the action close up. As the family will attest that Dad was born without a butt, I really appreciate having the padding that one of these chairs provides. So it will be off to REI to look for the Cozy Creek - or perhps as an homage to The Band - Cripple Creek line of chairware.

Learning to program a Lincon

Sooo,
The inlaws have a new car, named after the 16th President. What an amazing amount of technology Ford crammed into the dashboard, in addition to whatever is under the hood. I've now located and identified the mechanism to use 18 Sirius channels plus 12 FM and 6 AM frequencies, 6 CD's, a USB plugin for an iPod, Bluetooth for a phone, plus a combination of tone control features that digital technology adds. Sheesh, the sound is great. Now all I need to do is go for a ride and get to know Sirius.

DO NOT MAIL MATCHES!

So if that hed doesn't get you attention, nothing will. Except perhaps Free Beer Tomorrow! If you've read this far, please ignore the self esteem reference below. I have all the self esteem I can rationally use. Really. This does, however illustrate the inability of the written word to effectively convey tone of voice. In this case, slight sarcasm. I assure you all I am mentally healthy.

Greetings Sportsshooters

If anyone wanders over from SportsShooter would you consider leaving a comment? It would significantly help my low self esteem issues...

Time to be daywalker

After three weeks in the dark, it's time to work daylight again. Time to see how most of the world works and reconnect with civilization.

I'm tired of basketball already.

Three weeks or so left in the regular basketball season and I'm going to go see teams from the same school for the 4th time in 5 working days. Whoopee. The challenge for the teams is to win. The challenge for me is to try and find a new look every day. If I start pulling my hair out now, I should be done by Christmas.

Shopping Bag, Pt2

What will I buy? Nothing today as it turned out. The Mini-Sears at the mall didn't have any plier combos on sale, to I'll look at a bigger store. Oh well...

Shopping Bag or Bag of Shopping

Time to head to the Toys for Boys store. Sears. Or specificaly the tool department. I've got a paper bag sitting on the chair ready to go with a large 15% off message. Even on sale items. Other than a few replacement pliers - dykes and chain nose - what will i fill the sack with? Stay tuned

Did you know about this?

Some really good blogs - folks with a lot more to say and who are beter at saying it.
strobist.blogspot.com - David Hobby demonstrates that photographic quality is an ongoing thought process.
photousinessforum.blogspot.com - John Harrington demonsrates that even though you may think about your work on an ongoing basis, you should think about the business practices as well.

Fancy Words

One goal of this series of musings is to improve my use of language. You know - grammar, spelling and particularly word choice. First up is to scope paradigm. Then on to didactic memory.

Ice Jam, squared

It happens that the bluegrass folks love the process. Between Jeff and his wife who do the coffee and photos and Herbie - an 86 yr old who follows his muse - having speedlights on stands was as simple as asking. Although I'm more a fan of the blues part of bluegrass, it was an enjoyable enough assignment. Inside, Warm. Dry. The complete opposite of the house fire that followed a few hours later

Ice Jam

Something interesting tonite - live music. We'll see if the bluegrass folks are good with photo flashes in their space. Not much light in the hotel rooms where they usually jam, so I'll try main stage stuff with little lights on stands. The photo will be good, but who knows what they'll think of the process.

Circular logic pt. I

SO how did a Ground Hog Day discussion turn into an unsettling dig at someone I really don't give a rat's ass about? Swensen. I'll take the cash instead. You know why.

Form or substance?

If one is "better" which is it? More posts or substantative posts.

That was it

Ok
I got up, drove out to the inlaws, set up their new phones and showed them how to to tape a Dish broadcast, took the last of the Christmas tree to the dump, and cleaned out the car a bit. Amazing how many small parts accumulate in my lighting cases.

That's it!

I'm gonna go do something! The LazyBoy is just getting too comfortable. I think I'll go lay down on the sofa....

Back in the saddle

The December thru January sports lull is coming to a close, so I'll have to find my basketball timing. I saw it for a few days in December, but it wandered off looking for an eggnog and a date.