Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

There should be a remake of the TV show Knight Rider but starring Elon Musk. I mean the guy already has fleets of self-driving cars and frigging spaceships. Think of the possibilities!... Scott Peterson was sentenced to death in 2004 for killing his wife Laci. He's still on death row. Get it over with already!... The Mesopotamian god of the moon was called Sin which is appropriate since most "sins" occur at night... "'No' is often a decision, frequently temporary, to maintain the status quo." - Chris Voss... I imagine that casino chips for poker and table games must be a nightmare for trying to utilize proper sanitation methods in the face of the Wuhan and other viruses. Players wearing mandatory surgical gloves maybe?... Knowing that Neil Diamond wrote Sweet Caroline about prepubescent Caroline Kennedy - his song Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon is even more creepy... Guessing that right about now getting back those rights to Australian Rules Football is looking pretty good to ESPN... An old joke said that microbiologists were easy to spot. They were the ones who washed their hands before and after they went to the bathroom. Now we're all microbiologists...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - China announces it seeks "calm" end to trade war. Are we entering the endgame?

- This is great! They should do this in any ballpark where Sweet Caroline may be sung!

- Two common sense changes that could reduce healthcare costs by up to 75%. I see no reason why these changes shouldn't be adopted.

- What the hell!!

- A Thorium powered car? Looks cool but is so impractical. But a thorium powered flying car - now you're talking!

- Very cool!

- This is some excellent writing. The identity of the "ugly wizard" amuses me to no end.

Fenway at 100

Yesterday the Red Sox had the celebration to end all celebrations. Fenway Park turned 100 and the Boston owners pulled out all the stops. I may be in the minority but a building turning 100 isn't that big a deal in my book.

It was really cool having those 213 players return to Fenway. We don't see enough of Pedro, it was good to see Bill Buckner get a big hand, Nomar - Nooomaaahhhh, Jim Lonborg and others. It was especially pleasing to see Terry Francona get the loudest applause of all. But a building turning 100? Meh!

I travel a lot and I get it that a 100-year beloved facility in other parts of the country would be a big deal. In New England it's not that big a deal. Half of the college campuses and town centers have dozens of buildings as old as Fenway. I lived for years in a house that was as old as Fenway. Don't get me wrong - we understand and value the history. What we don't understand or value is what is becoming of our team.

Fenway Park is now a tourist attraction more than a park for fans to root on their team. I'm glad the toast by Kevin Millar blew up in their faces as farce. Millar is a joke. Screw him. Sweet Caroline? The song is about a pedophile in love with an 11-year old girl. Time to get rid of that stupid song. Very telling that the two biggest boos of the day were reserved for Bobby Valentine - a self-promoter who replaced a winner and Barack Obama - a pure self-promoter.

The backlash on the self-promotion is growing and as the team falters on the field the wave of discontent will only grow. When people look back at 2012 - it won't be remembered as the year Fenway turned 100. It will be remembered as the season of the fans discontent. Fans want pennants - not promotions.