Linky Links

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

- Job market under Biden administration was much worse than previously known.

- Treasury Secretary Bessent says Fed must must change course. The Fed is out of excuses for not lowering interest rates.

- Longing to read about Ancient Rome? Big fan of books on Ancient Rome.

- The late, great Vin Scully on the importance of remembering 9/11. Amen!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope May Resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

More 9/11 Reminders

Some more 9/11 links that are worth remembering,

- The late Vin Scully on 9/11's meaning.

- The Patriots Joe Andruzzi the first game back after 9/11

- The world did hear from us.

- Reminder of the cost some paid

- Donald Trump on 9/11

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope you may enjoy.

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but who conquers that fear." - Nelson Mandela

"He's listed as day to day, but then again, aren't we all?" - Vin Scully

"A good book can make almost impossible existence livable." - Charles Bukowski

"Practice of compassion is ultimately a benefit to you. So I usually describe: we are selfish, but be wise selfish rather than foolish selfish." - Dalai Lama

Vin Scully

Broadcasting legend Vin Scully has passed away aged 94. 

In my opinion Scully was the GOAT when it came to sports broadcasting. Al Michaels is a close second but still second. John Madden was great but he was pro football only. Scully was the GOAT.

The above picture occurred in 2016 during David Ortiz's last trip to the Dodgers. 2016 was also Scully's last year as broadcaster for the Dodgers. Even at aged 88 you can see the obvious joy Scully had at being part of the game. A joy he shared with any and all who listened to him announce a game.

We've lost a legend.

Linky Links

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

- Matt Taibbi looks back at 2020

- The Bill is Coming Due for China's "Capitalist" Experiment. China only recognizes enemies or underlings. There are no friends. The West must realize this.

- On a probably related note - Chinese billionaires and CEO's keep disappearing in "state sanctioned kidnappings"

- And on an absolutely related note - Alibaba founder Jack Ma, China's richest man, is missing

- Big rock fan but the best album on this list is probably Carole King's Tapestry (HT Steve Landry)

- Very sad news - my heart goes out to Vin Scully

Linky Links

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

- How to clear the data off your old phone before you sell it

- Nice shot

- Where the top American-made cars are manufactured

- Is Roger Goodell deliberately pushing the NFL leftward? By Jason Whitlock?

- And in a related story - Vin Scully says he will no longer watch another NFL game because of the Anthem protests. 

- I love these stories.

- Agreed - still the greatest tourism poster ever made.

Linky Links

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

- Great Vin Scully interview from a couple of years ago.

- This made me smile

- Heh heh

- Oh the irony!

- The Economist on junk science

- Interesting - is being too busy a sign of an unhappy person? Good advice to slow down and concentrate on one thing at a time.

A-Rod vs Big Papi

On Sunday David Ortiz went to the Dodgers' broadcast  booth to visit legend Vin Scully. The result was the above picture. With the news of Alex Rodriguez's "retirement" - I couldn't help but wonder if A-Rod had likewise visited Scully - would Vin have had the same look of joy on his face?

The Dodgers honored Ortiz with an on-the-field pre-game ceremony Friday. The Red Sox plan no similar sendoff for A-Rod in his last visit to Fenway starting tonight.

A-Rod and Big Papi are both first-ballot Hall of Fame players. It just struck me the difference of how the two are regarded personally around baseball.

Linky Links

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

- Wish I saw this when it was time to do my high school yearbook quote.

- Who knew? Prince was a Republican

- The Simpsons were going to do a Prince episode but the Purple One turned it down

- Charlie Murphy with a great story about playing Prince in basketball

- Great Vin Scully Prince story

- The science of why we sleep badly the first night in a new place

- Boo! The UK will not name their new ship Boaty McBoatface. Makes no difference because this is how most people will forever view the new ship.

- The 2016 Audubon Photography Award winners

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Tom Brady is 33-4 (89% winning percentage) when the temperature is below 40 degrees. Aaron Rogers is 16-5 (76% winning percentage). These guys just win in cold weather... Hail Flutie... Yesterday was both Vin Scully's (87) and Mariano Rivera's (45) birthdays. MLB should acknowledge the importance of the birthdays of two of the greatest ambassadors the game has by making their birthday the day when the new Hall of Fame class is announced... Heh heh... So will Colt McCoy replace RGIII in those Subway commercials too?... Matt Damon vs Ben Affleck. I was amused by this more than I should have been... Just a reminder about all those MLB trade rumors columns you read - not one writer had the Josh Donaldson trade from Oakland to Toronto. Take all you read with a grain of salt...

Leaving Las Vegas Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations from my trip to Las Vegas.

I'm sitting in the McCarran Airport having a beer and doing some email. Finally I have a chance to jot down some of my observations from nearly a week in Sin City... One of the pleasures of being in a West Coast time zone is the ability to catch Vin Scully calling a Dodgers game. He's simply the best of all-time and a treasure which I greatly appreciate every time I hear his dulcet tones imparting baseball wisdom... Almost every day here I passed a billboard that exclaimed, "Music is our Currency - Club Rain at the Palms". Every time I passed the sign I wondered if I went there with a song in my heart whether I'd be able to drink for free. Somehow I doubt it... One night I ended up playing poker at Excalibur (mostly because I wanted to catch the end of a couple of games in the sports book and Excalibur was the closest casino). Anyway - Excalibur has this reputation as a very family friendly hotel but I couldn't help but be struck by the fact that almost as soon as you enter - you are visually assaulted by two huge posters for "The Thunder Down Under". I could just imagine a family walking in and little snowflake asking, "Daddy - what's the thunder down under? Why are those men not wearing shirts? Do you have the thunder down under? Daddy? Do you? Mommy - why are you laughing?"... I had to use the facilities on the Venetian casino floor and something in the stall struck me as amusing. There were sanitary toilet seat covers whose box bared the message "Provided by management for your protection." Two things struck me as funny by that statement. First - its not really for protection but more for peace of mind. Second - I was mostly amused by the spelling out that the paper toilet seat covers were provided by management. Shouldn't that be just assumed? I mean who else would be supplying them in a hotel? The Gideons? Maybe they are branching out from just bibles? And yes - I had nothing else to read... The Red Sox won every game they played since I came out here on Sunday. Every game that is except the one game I bet on them. Sometimes that's the way it goes...