Say What?

Did you know the Gooch has a website?

Alas, it's all in Japanese, and I didn't learn enough to translate the kanji on his site. So I let Babelfish do it for me. From this: 田口選手のセントルイスカージナルスがワールドシリーズを制しました。それに伴い、今夜は帰宅がおそくなるため、試合後の電話取材によるコメントをお伝えします。

「まずは何よりも、ここまで僕らを盛り立ててくださったファンの皆さんに感謝します。今夜はまだ家に帰れず、メールを書ける状態ではないので、明日改めて、ご報告させていただきます。応援本当にありがとうございました」 ,

we get this:

セントルイスカージナルス of Taguchi player controlled the world series. Attendant upon that, tonight because returning home becomes slow, conveys the comment with the telephone collection of data after the playing. "You pile up me first what compared to, to here and you appreciate in everyone of the fan raising. Tonight because it is not in a state where the mail can be written not be able to return to the house yet, tomorrow again, you report. Support thank you truly


That's right, folks. So Taguchi controlled the World Series. And I can't come up with anything else very witty on this. But it's darn funny trying to make sense of all that.


Tomorrow again, I report.
dave

Ah. Title! Subject!

I went to the batting cages last week to get in some swings before the Perfectos' first practice (for me, at least) this weekend. I've been swinging a whiffle bat for so long that a real bat, with actual weight to it, was quite a change of pace. So I went, and learned, that while I may be able to do a lot of stuff, hitting a baseball consistently is not one of them. Granted I was out of practice, but it was still pretty bad. I did, I should add, work on "keeping an eye on the ball," and it did help some. I think I just need more time to work on it. I even bought my own bat a couple days ago to take to the cages (and games, maybe), just so I'd have something I could consistently use and get a feel for.

On a somewhat less exciting note: yesterday's NYT puzzle featured a good theme that just happened to be the exact same style of theme (anagrams) that I used in the puzzle I made a few weeks ago. So I'll hold that one for a little while and keep working on my other two ideas, which are a bit less generic in their theme, and are less likely to be used by someone else. Hopefully. Still waiting for my ACPT puzzles to arrive. They were supposed to arrive this week, so anytime now would be good. The tourney is in NYC next year, so that oughta be fun. Start saving now, I guess.

Other thoughts:

-home opener is Sunday. Yay baseball!
-spring is here, which means the Bradford Pears are blooming, and that means my least favorite scent ever.
-Rush and the Moody Blues are coming to town this summer: yes, 2007 is the Old Guys of Rock Summer Tour
-PointFest features Wolfmother and the Killers this year. Sweet. The line-up also features 14 other national acts, and about as many local acts. Out of all those groups, I've heard of one of them. Is it worth sitting through a ton of people I don't know or, at this point, even care about, for two good bands? Hmm.
-getting ready to buy my fourth point/shoot digital camera. Wild, man.
-it was warm enough last weekend/this week to have the windows open, which I did. But I didn't want to turn on the AC, so the house got kinda warm for a period. The heat works as some kind of sedative, I think, because Sunday and Monday nights featured nothing but laying around by myself and the cats. Just.....sheer nothingness.

And now, work.


Dave

Communication

As of 10:00 p.m. tonight, my laptop has renewed internet connectivity AND it sees my desktop via the network.

So, um, thanks, Vista.

U2 DVDs to burn, finally!


And, culled from the archives, a comment I made after going to the dentist back in March '05:

"You know, "Ladies With the Iron Hook" would be a good name for a rock band."


Brady

Money? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Money!

How true, how true. This is a fairly accurate representation of things.

I'll be 51, assuming I don't move and what-not and what have you when all is said and done.


And did I mention I got a collect call from someone in a correction facility Friday night? No? Oh. Well I did.

No, I didn't accept. Lord only knows what the guy wanted. I do feel bad, though, especially if he only gets so many calls a month or something like that.

So to whoever made that call Friday night, I apologize.


Tin Type

What's an Irish Boy From a Good Family Doing in the Gutter?

So with today being, apparently, the Day of Patrick the Saint, I did the only thing I could think of that was in keeping with the intended spirit of the day: I sat outside in the cold and occasional snow to watch a baseball game, as one tends to do.

And I had a Guinness. Guiness? Too lazy to go look it up. You know what I mean.

The team in question is the St. Louis Perfectos, of which friend Karl is a member. It's a throwback-type league, playing by 1860s-era rules. It's not vastly different, though there are a few interesting twists.

-If a fielder catched a fly ball/line drive off one hop, an out is still recorded/
-Foul balls don't count as strikes.
-Foul tips, though, are subject to the first rule.
-The secondbaseman has to stay within two strides of the bag when runners are on.
-No overrunning first base. If you do, you can get tagged out.
-No gloves!

And others, I'm sure, but I can't remember them. It's all a lot of fun, though. Everyone has a nickname, and are referred to as such. There's only one umpire, and he hangs out around the plate. Close plays out on the bases are on the honor system.

This was the first game of the season, traditionally played on St. Patty's Day. Or thereabouts. Because you know how the Irish loved their baseball.

It was also a doubleheader, and since the team was going to be a little short, I volunteered my services. So I stepped onto a baseball field as a player for the first time since.....well, it's been a long time. I even got to play second base, which is where I always wanted to play in grade school.

I didn't hit for beans, but I did alright in the field, turning a couple plays, and generally not looking like an idiot. My nickname was either Picard/Shutterbug/Brady, depending on who was talking to me. Someone also suggested Tin Type, which I really like.

And even better?

I'll be joining up as full-time member. Suh-weet. The season doesn't pick up again until mid-April, so I can get some practice in and maybe head over to a batting cage to get some swings in.

So now I'll be playing three sports.

Kick-ass. I can't wait.


yours,
(Matthew) Brady

Free

No, this isn't the new/cool feature I was talking about earlier, but it is a darn cool picture, and far be it from me to keep it from all y'alls.


Dave

chordchordchordchordchordchordotherchord

Whoops.

Been a bit longer since my last post than I've planned. I've attempted a couple posts lately, but got bored and decided against it. So there you go.

For those interested, I did finish the RPM challenge. I did one more song Sunday night, and another on Monday, capping off far more recording than one should undertake in a four-day span. The nice thing, though, is that I actually have an album, as opposed to 10-12 songs recorded over a long time. So it sounds really cohesive. And yay for that.

The website is finally redone. I need to add a couple things, but all the images are up, and it's made in a way I can easily add/remove content. Sweet.

Picked up a wedding to shoot in July, I think, assuming someone not the dad gets back to me. And I get to travel to Paducah! Oooooo.

Portrait shoot for Lindenwood this Friday, which means I've got a medium format camera at my disposal. Kick. Ass.

Working on my second crossword puzzle right now, with a theme even stupider than my last one. But I think it's a good stupid, if such a thing exists.

My upgrade to Vista arrived today. We'll see what all the hoo-ha (good and bad) is about as soon as I get it installed.

I saw a guy wearing a blazer/dress shirt combo with red shorts and loafers with no socks at the store today. A very large part of my soul died with it. Just......no. Ick. Bleah. Etc etc.

I think it bugs me when people say "eck cetera." Nonono. It's just "et," folks. Thanks.

If I can get around to it, I might try something interesting (to me, at least), 'round these parts in the next day or so. We shall see.


Fin.
Dave