Important Stuff

Can you see?

I remember the evening my father told me about pollution. I don’t remember how old I was, but I know it was sometime after we moved to Florida (I must have been at least eight). I remember being out in the back yard with the telescope, my dad explaining why it wasn’t the best place for stargazing. That night, I remember learning about leaded gasoline, catalytic converters, and smog. I…
Read more
Sports

The house that Al Lang built

If you don’t know who Al Lang is, that’s o.k. For most of my life I didn’t know who he was either. It turns out he was a mayor of St Petersburg, FL about 90 years ago. As it turns out there are a lot of people who know Al’s name, and have no idea who he was. The reason? His name was loaned to a little baseball field that was home to more spring training games than any…
Read more
PoliticsThe Sunshine State

Let's try this numbers thing again

Here’s a few numbers I saw in the Times recently. These concern the (FL) House budget proposal that was released last week. $2.5 Billion – what you get when you subtract state revenues from state expenses (ideally that number equal to, or less than $0). $1 Billion – proposed cuts to human services. 8,000 – terminally ill Medicaid patients who’d have their hospice care…
Read more
Politics

More proof that I am full of crap

In a post this weekend, I linked to a McClatchy article which indicated Obama’s lead over Clinton was 1858 – 1270 – per the AP. Today, I read an AP article stating the delegate count was 1631 – 1501. That’s a pretty big difference, especially considering both figures are supposed to come from the same source: the AP. After reading a little more closely, it seems the…
Read more
Sports

.00617284

The Rays won their opener this afternoon. I didn’t see much of the game due to the early start, but what I saw looked pretty good. Shields picked up right where he left off last season, the bullpen didn’t collapse (even after a terrible error by Wheeler), Aki turned a couple double plays at his new position, and Dioner Navarro went three for four and was complimented on his base…
Read more
Politics

Completing the metaphor

The Game’s Not Over, Clinton Backers Agree – New York Times: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York stood in center court, with basketball hoops on all sides, as she offered up a sporting metaphor. “You know, we are in the fourth quarter and it is a close contest. We are running up and down. We are taking shots,” Mrs. Clinton said, speaking over a crescendo of applause. In this…
Read more
Politics

Intolerance and politics

I’ve been quiet on the Obama/Rev. White subject, but not because I’ve been ducking it. Well, not exactly. I’ve started, stopped, and discarded this post at least a half-dozen times in the last week. I’ve started and deleted almost as many comments on other blogs. The reason is simple (if not predictable): I’m torn. Believe it or not, this post is the product of a week…
Read more
Family and Friends

The good stuff

And no, I’m not talking about the headache meds. Sometimes it’s a lot of fun being a dad. I say that like I’m revealing some tightly guarded secret. Hey, cut me some slack. I’m still feeling guilty about ignoring Adam’s unusual warmth the last couple mornings. Yeah, I haven’t mentioned that yet, have I? Our morning routine involves me sitting down on his bed…
Read more