Travel day. Light blogging.
Propellers in the dawn.
July 19th, 2010This one’s for Mike.
July 18th, 2010
I promised photos…
July 15th, 2010I took a lot more photos than these, but I want to wait until I get back to the MacBook and iPhoto before I post too many. Some of them will need cleanup, I’m sure, and I would prefer to be able to work with the RAW versions.
Here are two high points of the day, though.
Under the radar we crept on.
July 15th, 2010Bag found and delivered to hotel.
Blogger awake, biological clock mostly reset, soon to shower and go forth in search of bagels and coffee.
More later, including photos, I hope.
(Subject line hattip. Much much thanks to TJIC for the pointer; Abney Park’s “Under the Radar” is the official theme song for this trip.)
Happy Bastille Day, everyone!
July 14th, 2010I generally recommend to folks that they observe the holiday in the traditional way; get drunk and storm a prison.
Apologies for the lack of other content. Today is a travel day. And a certain bag-loving airline has temporarily misplaced my bag.
More later.
Take a look at these fabulous prizes.
July 13th, 2010By way of one of the mailing lists I subscribe to, an Esquire article about Terry Kniess, the first person ever to turn in a perfect Showcase bid on The Price Is Right, and the controversy that followed.
Bonus points for the reference to Michael Larson.
Obit watch.
July 13th, 2010Wow. Steinbrenner’s dead?
Edited to add: NYT quotes reactions from various folks, including Yogi Berra and Don Zimmer. Billy Martin was unavailable for comment.
I have seen reports that SF writer James P. Hogan passed away yesterday; however, I consider those reports unconfirmed at this point, as there is nothing on the Locus web site yet. I’ve been checking periodically; if I get confirmation, I will note it here. (Edited to add 2: Locus is now confirming the reports of Hogan’s death.)
For what it may be worth, here are links to Harvey Pekar obits from the NYT and the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Also among the dead: Tuli Kupferberg, founding member of The Fugs.
The Scales of Justice.
July 12th, 2010Continuing our intermittent series of Crime Stoppers updates, someone has stolen thirteen Japanese koi from a pond at the Zilker Botanical Garden.
This does not appear to be a lark, or a crime of opportunity by a crack head or some equivalent; the koi are pretty large fish which would be tough to handle alone, and each one needs at least 10 gallons of water for transport (that is, if you want living fish at the end of it). From what the Statesman says, I gather that the koi does not make for good sushi.
I don’t have a good explanation for the fact that the theft apparently took place two weeks ago, and we’re only now finding out about it.
Lawrence speculated to me that perhaps the koi were stolen for someone who is (or was) planning a Polynesian dinner for the masses. In other words, he thinks the motive was hoi polloi koi poi. (Yes, I’m aware that poi is not made from fish, but from the taro plant. You try telling Lawrence that.)
Anyway, be on the lookout for people selling koi on street corners. Remember; if it doesn’t look legit, it probably isn’t. Ask for papers.
Historical note.
July 12th, 2010Had it not been for a timely tip from Lawrence, we would have let tonight’s historic anniversary pass unnoticed and unloved.
And we can’t have that, can we?
Ladies and Germans, I give you the 31st anniversary of the greatest event in sports history. I refer, of course, to nothing other than Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park.
I would link to the video on FARK’s “Videos” tab, but it doesn’t seem to want to load. So I’ll leave you with an odd bit of trivia from Wikipedia:
For White Sox outfielder Rusty Torres, Disco Demolition Night was actually the third time in his career he had personally seen a forfeit-inducing riot. He had played for the New York Yankees at the last Senators game in Washington in 1971 and the Cleveland Indians at the infamous Ten Cent Beer Night in Cleveland in 1974.
I was also not aware that the last Senators game ended in a riot and a forfeit. You learn something new every day,
Von Ryan’s Rangers.
July 12th, 2010We previously noted that the Texas Rangers had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, apparently as part of a plan to grease the rails for sale of the team to a group led by former Rangers and Astros pitcher Nolan Ryan.
How’s that working out for them?
That well, huh?
Better coverage from the Dallas Morning News and their RangersBlog here. From reading both articles, it looks like Ryan et al are claiming that the team has continued to negotiate with other bidders, even after the Ryan group was “selected” as the winning bidder.
Obit watch.
July 12th, 2010Edited to add: Reason tribute.
All-Star loser update.
July 12th, 2010At the All-Star break:
Houston still holding on to 5th place, with a .404 winning percentage. At this pace, they’re projected to win 65.448 games.
Baltimore is still at the bottom, 29-59, .330 winning percentage. At this pace, they’re projected to win 53.46 games.
And Pittsburgh is 30-58, only slightly better than Balmer. At a .341 winning percentage, the projection is 55.242 wins.
NYT watch.
July 9th, 2010Two from the NYT that I think are worth noting.
I can’t decide if this is the most stupid or most awesome article they’ve published recently, so I report, you decide: Is Jousting the Next Extreme Sport?
“I want to see another guy get paralyzed,” a boy in front of me squealed, waving a toy sword.
Both Lawrence and I had the same reaction to this quote, which was a flashback to an early Tank McNamara strip during a particularly bloody period in auto racing. The strip featured a child asking his father, “Are we going to see someone get killed?” and the father responding “Only if we’re lucky, son.” (Edited to add: Lawrence says he thinks the strip was referring to hockey. I’m pretty sure it was auto racing, but I’ve edited this post to indicate that our memories differ. If anyone has the strip, or a copy of Another day, another $11,247.63
Interestingly, there seems to be a split between American jousting, which originated more within the Renaissance fair culture, and European jousting, which has a high regard for historical accuracy.
The other article that intrigued me is this piece by Kerry Howley (who’s written some good stuff for Reason) about cryonic suspension and the husband-wife conflicts it causes.
Cryonet, a mailing list on “cryonics-related issues,” takes as one of its issues the opposition of wives. (The ratio of men to women among living cyronicists is roughly three to one.)
I was particularly amused by this article because the centerpiece, Robin Hanson, is also featured prominently (and amusingly) in Tyler Cowen‘s book, Discover Your Inner Economist
A little slow, a little late.
July 9th, 2010I saw this post over at Borepatch’s earlier in the week, but I didn’t get curious until I saw this one over at Crider’s place about the Christie’s auction of the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans art collection.
One Google search later, and I found out that the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Musuem is closed.
Seriously, that’s a shame. Roy, Trigger, and Dale were really more of my father’s time than my own, but I have a certain amount of respect for Roy and his legacy. I’m kind of sad the museum couldn’t stay open; according to Roadside America, they got an estimated 200,000 visitors a year, but that wasn’t enough to keep the lights on.
Of course, you know I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t ask: are they going to sell Trigger? I actually expected that Trigger would stay in the family, since Roy Jr. is still performing in Branson. Then I found this AP article, and after much searching of the auction lots…here’s Trigger. Here’s the link for Buttermilk. If you have an estimated $200-$300 to spare, you can buy horseshit from Christie’s. Here’s Bullet. And here’s Trigger, Jr.
Quotes of the day.
July 9th, 2010It would be possible for me to care less about LeBron James in general, and last night’s fiasco in particular. But I would have to work really, really hard at caring less than I do now.
However, some of the quotes in Richard Deitsch’s SI article made me giggle:
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