One of the funniest baseball plays I've ever seen was Manny Ramirez (Left Fielder) cutting off his centerfielder, Johnny Damon's throw. Manny was literally 50 feet away, and had to dive to cut it off. This allowed for an in the park homer.
Manny almost topped himself the other day...
Note: this video may not work soon, because Major League Baseball has the copyright. Not sure how those laws work, only that I'm not supposed to copy text books for students unless I posses an equal number of copies of said textbook.
For those who can't see the video, ManRam makes a great catch running backward, runs to the wall, high fives a fan, then throws the ball into the infield to complete the double play. Good one.
In Platypi playing really well right now news, the Platypi is playing pretty well. We won our second game against a team that probably shouldn't be in the upper league, 23-4. It would have been worse had we not gotten sloppy by the 4th inning.
Last Tuesday, we beat our nemisis, Salt Lake Blues, 23-16. Yes, we tend to score 23 runs.
13 days of school left until summer break. Summer break is going to be nice, because we'll be able to sit around and do nothing at home because of gas prices. This, of course, is better than sitting around doing nothing at school, which is what would happen if you forced students into the classroom in July.
Ella is now walking. I consider a child able to walk if they can make it 15 feet. This is not good news. Better news would be that she stays in a swing chair until she's 22 or so. Looks like we'll have two kids to chase around now.
The End
Trogdor
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Lincoln the Flopper
So we have these personal leave days that we get each year. There are 3 such days, and if we don't use them, then they go away. If we don't use any, then we get $180 at the end of the year. I was forced to use one the very first week of the year to attend Natalie's wedding. Yes, she was very inconsiderate to plan it during the school year. Now, I am using my final 2.
I wanted to go to Idaho, but that was before I remembered that gas isn't $1.32 a gallon anymore. Idaho will have to wait until early August. So, it looks like I'm going to fill the first half of the day blogging.
Platypi is now 1-0. We won our first game on the strength of two Brett in the park homeruns, and one from John. Our game last Tuesday was cancelled because they told us it was at 7, and the other team it was at 6. Next Tuesday, they told us it was at 7:30. They should find a way to write down all the game times for the entire season, and give it to us at once. When they do, I'll post the schedule here for any interested parties.
Lincoln has taken up the annoying habit of throwing himself on the ground then pretending he's hurt. He is a pretty good flopper, he reminds me of Robert Horry:
Anyway, no sympathy is given by me, which can be uncomfortable if done in public.
In conclusion, the Jazz had better win Friday.
I wanted to go to Idaho, but that was before I remembered that gas isn't $1.32 a gallon anymore. Idaho will have to wait until early August. So, it looks like I'm going to fill the first half of the day blogging.
Platypi is now 1-0. We won our first game on the strength of two Brett in the park homeruns, and one from John. Our game last Tuesday was cancelled because they told us it was at 7, and the other team it was at 6. Next Tuesday, they told us it was at 7:30. They should find a way to write down all the game times for the entire season, and give it to us at once. When they do, I'll post the schedule here for any interested parties.
Lincoln has taken up the annoying habit of throwing himself on the ground then pretending he's hurt. He is a pretty good flopper, he reminds me of Robert Horry:
Anyway, no sympathy is given by me, which can be uncomfortable if done in public.
In conclusion, the Jazz had better win Friday.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Sick Day
So last weekend was one for the books. Lincoln pulled off a 104 degree fever. For those keeping score at home, that is exactly .1 degrees below the panic point according to the doctor we took him to.
There were some pros to him being so hot. Instead of using an electric blanket to warm up the bed, we just took Lincoln and passed him a couple of times over the sheets, and they were nice and warm.
Con-wise, he was pretty much a brute all day long. Plus, I thought sick kids slept longer. Not Lincoln, he slept less. Also, he was constipated like none other, and on top of that had cancors breaking out all over his tougue.
He was much happier on Sunday, but that night was a nightmare -- for me, and probably for him. I slept a grand total of 2 hours. I finally got to bed at midnight, and at 2, I wake up to find Lincoln sleeping next to me, in my sleep deprived state, I assumed he was falling off the bed, and I grabbed him, that woke him up, so then he just kicked me the rest of the night until I finally got up with him.
Monday at school was pretty hard, and I decided that I had to take a sick day just to recover from the weekend. If I have any more weekends like this, I'm going to need that social security check the government just told me about way before I'm 65.
There were some pros to him being so hot. Instead of using an electric blanket to warm up the bed, we just took Lincoln and passed him a couple of times over the sheets, and they were nice and warm.
Con-wise, he was pretty much a brute all day long. Plus, I thought sick kids slept longer. Not Lincoln, he slept less. Also, he was constipated like none other, and on top of that had cancors breaking out all over his tougue.
He was much happier on Sunday, but that night was a nightmare -- for me, and probably for him. I slept a grand total of 2 hours. I finally got to bed at midnight, and at 2, I wake up to find Lincoln sleeping next to me, in my sleep deprived state, I assumed he was falling off the bed, and I grabbed him, that woke him up, so then he just kicked me the rest of the night until I finally got up with him.
Monday at school was pretty hard, and I decided that I had to take a sick day just to recover from the weekend. If I have any more weekends like this, I'm going to need that social security check the government just told me about way before I'm 65.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
False Start
Today was our first Platypi game, and predictably, it was rained out, or more accurately, snowed out. Seriously, I know taxes are due today, and Lincoln (Abraham, not my boy) got shot today, but that doesn't mean that the day should be all bad, after all, it is Jackie Robinson day.
My favorite part about the video clip above, besides the cheesy anouncer was how the ump signalled safe. Pretty funny.
The net result is that we're still 0-0.
Also, I got May 1st and 2nd off of school, and we're wondering how we should spend our 4 day weekend... here's the catch, we don't want to spend any money. So here is a list of ideas I've come up with, feel free to add any suggestions as you see fit.
13-Spend an entire night voting for David Archeleta and Brooke White on American Idol.
12-Think of a new nickname so Matt doesn't have to use 'Darth'
11-Think up names Brett and Rachel can name thier baby.
10-Watch the sun rise, then travel across the sky, then set, repeat 3 times.
9-Travel to Draper, mooch off Dad for 4 days.
8-Make up a new letter of the alphabet
7-Go to work and look through my classroom window the entire day.
6-Try to figure out the difference between a pig and a hog.
5-Teach Lincoln how to drive a car.
4-Think up cheesy sayings like 'Don't hate the player, hate the game' to use on my classes when I get back.
3-Teach Lincoln a word besides 'go' or 'ball'.
2-Try to figure out why the brand name Philips only has one 'l' in it.
1-Choose a new favorite number since 14 is apparently a white supremisist number.
We play DeMay next week, seems like we always start the year off playing them.
My favorite part about the video clip above, besides the cheesy anouncer was how the ump signalled safe. Pretty funny.
The net result is that we're still 0-0.
Also, I got May 1st and 2nd off of school, and we're wondering how we should spend our 4 day weekend... here's the catch, we don't want to spend any money. So here is a list of ideas I've come up with, feel free to add any suggestions as you see fit.
13-Spend an entire night voting for David Archeleta and Brooke White on American Idol.
12-Think of a new nickname so Matt doesn't have to use 'Darth'
11-Think up names Brett and Rachel can name thier baby.
10-Watch the sun rise, then travel across the sky, then set, repeat 3 times.
9-Travel to Draper, mooch off Dad for 4 days.
8-Make up a new letter of the alphabet
7-Go to work and look through my classroom window the entire day.
6-Try to figure out the difference between a pig and a hog.
5-Teach Lincoln how to drive a car.
4-Think up cheesy sayings like 'Don't hate the player, hate the game' to use on my classes when I get back.
3-Teach Lincoln a word besides 'go' or 'ball'.
2-Try to figure out why the brand name Philips only has one 'l' in it.
1-Choose a new favorite number since 14 is apparently a white supremisist number.
We play DeMay next week, seems like we always start the year off playing them.
Friday, April 11, 2008
That time of year again...
In Platypi Softball news, we are currently 0-0, since we have played no games, but already, two of our better and more reliable players have backed out. This is akin to Tyler going to BYU (Idaho) instead of BYU (regular) so he has an excuse to not play on our team. Also, the only guy on our team who owns a bat broke said bat, so we are now batless. Those who haven't played softball in the last ten years probably don't know how important the bat has become.
Quick example: The Bubs with a $30 bat hits balls just past infielders and in front of outfielders on a solid hit. If The Bubs is swinging hard, then a solid hit will carry to an outfielder provided that (a) he was playing a little shallow, or (b) he took several steps in. Sometimes The Bubs is lucky enough to hit the right field line allowing for 23 year old Bubs to get a triple, but 35 year old Bubs pulls up at 2nd.
The Bubs with a $250 bat on a solid hit can hit the ball over the fence like he did September 21, 2006, in which he hit a grandslam that should have all but won the game for us, except we were pretty bad on defense that day... most likely due to the other teams ownership of $250 bats.
So now anyone can hit a homerun if they plunk down the 250 to buy a nice bat. This has had a few unintended consequences.
1. Watching 12 homers per inning is now not as fun as it used to be, so most leagues have homerun rules that award the defense an out if the alotted number of homers is exceded.
2. Teams that have more money end up being more competitive than they should be.
3. The pitcher now walks a thin line between life and death, as they are required to slowly lob a ball that could get hit back at them with less reaction time. Leagues have combatted this by allowing pitchers to stand back as many as six feet behind the pitching plate to allow for greater reaction time if desired. The Bubs always combatted this by pitching the ball, and then running backwards.
4. The bats have such thin walls (which is what allows so much more energy to be transferred to the ball, making it go so much further) that they only last a couple of years, meaning that every couple of years, it's necessary to plunk another 250 down.
Now, we are without our sweet bat, so who knows what's going to happen. Personally, I wish they'd force everyone to use the old school dead bats, then a homer would actually mean something. Yes, I wish that because I don't usually hit homers, and I usually am pitching.
If you are still with me, congrats, our first two games are on the 15th and 22nd at 7 and 8 pm respectively.
Yahoo! posted a list of the 10 most anticipated movies this summer. I wish someone could tell me what the facination is with Batman, I mean seriously, has there ever been a more remade series than Batman? And they are all boring. You can bet I won't be seeing this retread. If anyone can give me one good reason why there should be another boring Batman movie, then feel free to comment. Just know that you will be mocked by all those who have the ability to think. On a related note, could we stop talking about Heath Ledger? Let's get back to Brittany Spears and Olsen Twin news.
Of course, the movies that are comming out this summer have very little impact on my life. It is such a production now to go to a movie. As it turns out, I'd much rather spend the money on diapers and formula. On a final note, I will rank last year's movies that I saw from best to worst:
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Out
Quick example: The Bubs with a $30 bat hits balls just past infielders and in front of outfielders on a solid hit. If The Bubs is swinging hard, then a solid hit will carry to an outfielder provided that (a) he was playing a little shallow, or (b) he took several steps in. Sometimes The Bubs is lucky enough to hit the right field line allowing for 23 year old Bubs to get a triple, but 35 year old Bubs pulls up at 2nd.
The Bubs with a $250 bat on a solid hit can hit the ball over the fence like he did September 21, 2006, in which he hit a grandslam that should have all but won the game for us, except we were pretty bad on defense that day... most likely due to the other teams ownership of $250 bats.
So now anyone can hit a homerun if they plunk down the 250 to buy a nice bat. This has had a few unintended consequences.
1. Watching 12 homers per inning is now not as fun as it used to be, so most leagues have homerun rules that award the defense an out if the alotted number of homers is exceded.
2. Teams that have more money end up being more competitive than they should be.
3. The pitcher now walks a thin line between life and death, as they are required to slowly lob a ball that could get hit back at them with less reaction time. Leagues have combatted this by allowing pitchers to stand back as many as six feet behind the pitching plate to allow for greater reaction time if desired. The Bubs always combatted this by pitching the ball, and then running backwards.
4. The bats have such thin walls (which is what allows so much more energy to be transferred to the ball, making it go so much further) that they only last a couple of years, meaning that every couple of years, it's necessary to plunk another 250 down.
Now, we are without our sweet bat, so who knows what's going to happen. Personally, I wish they'd force everyone to use the old school dead bats, then a homer would actually mean something. Yes, I wish that because I don't usually hit homers, and I usually am pitching.
If you are still with me, congrats, our first two games are on the 15th and 22nd at 7 and 8 pm respectively.
Yahoo! posted a list of the 10 most anticipated movies this summer. I wish someone could tell me what the facination is with Batman, I mean seriously, has there ever been a more remade series than Batman? And they are all boring. You can bet I won't be seeing this retread. If anyone can give me one good reason why there should be another boring Batman movie, then feel free to comment. Just know that you will be mocked by all those who have the ability to think. On a related note, could we stop talking about Heath Ledger? Let's get back to Brittany Spears and Olsen Twin news.
Of course, the movies that are comming out this summer have very little impact on my life. It is such a production now to go to a movie. As it turns out, I'd much rather spend the money on diapers and formula. On a final note, I will rank last year's movies that I saw from best to worst:
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Out
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
April Fools
So for the worst April Fools joke ever, somebody got into our minivan and stole our portable DVD player. Those who have children know how valuable this item is. Ours had two screens, one that could be strapped to a head rest, so Lincoln could watch a movie and stay quiet. Now in the car it's one constant "Uh Oh" from him.
It was also the worst April Fools joke ever, because it happened on March 31st. Apparently, the crooks forgot to honor leap year this year. The only other thing stolen was a CD of Spanish songs that I had. Our English CD's were left alone. This would lead me to believe that the crook speaks Spanish. I don't want to jump to conclusions here, but there is a possibility that if Bush had taken care of the border, then we'd still have our DVD player. Of course, the crook could just as easily have been a return missionary that happens to speak Spanish. Either way, as John has said, I'd rather someone come up and punch me in the face than steal from me.
In second to worst April Fools day joke news, someone set off not one, but two stink bombs in my hallway today. The first one was set off around 9, the next around 11. Yes, I still have a taste in my mouth.
For those interested in Platypi, our opponents were announced today. Among other notable foes, we will be playing DeMay Plumming and the Salt Lake Blues.
Also, today is H1-B day. It is the first day that highly skilled workers can apply for a visa to work in the United States. Read here for more info. A good first step to immigration policy would be to allow more highly skilled workers into the US, but don't just believe me, a majority of Americans (63 to 29) believes this also.
Sorry for waxing political, maybe I should start another blog... of course, I haven't been able to nurture the one blog I do have...
Rollie Fingers
For Matt only... let me know if this got emailed to you, I'm not sure if I did the email setting thing right, and if you don't want my blog emailed to you, let me know that too.
It was also the worst April Fools joke ever, because it happened on March 31st. Apparently, the crooks forgot to honor leap year this year. The only other thing stolen was a CD of Spanish songs that I had. Our English CD's were left alone. This would lead me to believe that the crook speaks Spanish. I don't want to jump to conclusions here, but there is a possibility that if Bush had taken care of the border, then we'd still have our DVD player. Of course, the crook could just as easily have been a return missionary that happens to speak Spanish. Either way, as John has said, I'd rather someone come up and punch me in the face than steal from me.
In second to worst April Fools day joke news, someone set off not one, but two stink bombs in my hallway today. The first one was set off around 9, the next around 11. Yes, I still have a taste in my mouth.
For those interested in Platypi, our opponents were announced today. Among other notable foes, we will be playing DeMay Plumming and the Salt Lake Blues.
Also, today is H1-B day. It is the first day that highly skilled workers can apply for a visa to work in the United States. Read here for more info. A good first step to immigration policy would be to allow more highly skilled workers into the US, but don't just believe me, a majority of Americans (63 to 29) believes this also.
Sorry for waxing political, maybe I should start another blog... of course, I haven't been able to nurture the one blog I do have...
Rollie Fingers
For Matt only... let me know if this got emailed to you, I'm not sure if I did the email setting thing right, and if you don't want my blog emailed to you, let me know that too.
Monday, March 24, 2008
hace mucho tiempo...
So we are back from our extended vacation. I'm sure I've lost all my subscribers by now, but it was more a test of the faithfulness of my readers. We shall see.
Anyway, it seems that a little baby, a 2 year old, and a job have pushed blogging down to a lower priority... If I could only access my blog from school, then there would be not stop pontificating on my part, and that wouldn't be good for anyone.
In the news section of this blog, my work is going to make me an AVID instructor, which pretty much means that they are going to send me to San Diego over the summer. Earlier in the summer, I am getting sent by my work to Atlanta. As you can imagine, Ange is thrilled about that. Hopefully, much fun and zero learning will be had on these trips.
Ange is in school, and is very busy herself. I know that she's way busy, when I watch the kids for 20+ hours per week. Personally, I'll be glad when school is over, and if anyone says that you never stop learning, they are wrong. I stopped learning a long time ago, which explains why I just gave Lincoln apple sauce without a bib
Anyway, it seems that a little baby, a 2 year old, and a job have pushed blogging down to a lower priority... If I could only access my blog from school, then there would be not stop pontificating on my part, and that wouldn't be good for anyone.
In the news section of this blog, my work is going to make me an AVID instructor, which pretty much means that they are going to send me to San Diego over the summer. Earlier in the summer, I am getting sent by my work to Atlanta. As you can imagine, Ange is thrilled about that. Hopefully, much fun and zero learning will be had on these trips.
Ange is in school, and is very busy herself. I know that she's way busy, when I watch the kids for 20+ hours per week. Personally, I'll be glad when school is over, and if anyone says that you never stop learning, they are wrong. I stopped learning a long time ago, which explains why I just gave Lincoln apple sauce without a bib
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