Political

    I don't usually get political, but I'm pretty fed up with our government.   

     I found my candidate for president last night. Oh, I know he won't win, but I'm gonna vote for him because I think if enough people vote for third party candidates we might be able to break the logjam the two-party system has become.

    Think about it: almost every piece of legislation that has passed in the last three years has passed because of votes along strict party lines. That says to me that our senators and representatives are so entrenched in and so beholden to their parties that they are afraid to vote with their own minds. And that means that we are all stuck with their entrenchedness and beholdenness. And look at the record: just as one example, they can't resolve their differences when it comes to the budget. They kick it down the road, turn it over to a committee that fails to resolve its differences and kicks it back. If the committee that wrote the constitution had been as inept we wouldn't have a United States.

    So I am casting my vote for a third party candidate, Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson. As I said, I know he won't win. But we need to break the two-party logjam by introducing some new ideas into Washington. And if five percent of voters or more vote for third party candidates maybe Washington will realize that their two-party system isn't serving the people the way the people want and deserve to be served. Maybe the legislators will start to peek out of their boxes and think about other alternatives.

    Maybe voters will too.

Dodgers season is done

Dodgers lost to the Gigantes last night, 4 - 3, so their season is done.
Cardinals slip into the Wild Card uncontested.
Dodgers, down 4 - 1, had a good chance in the 7th inning when A.J. Ellis homered with Ethier on base to make it 4 - 3. Then Mark Ellis slapped a double into left-center field.... But in a Little League-like burst of enthusiasm he tried to stretch it into a triple, and was thrown out at third. He should have stayed at second, because the very next batter, Shane Victorino, hit a real triple. If Ellis had stayed at second he would have scored and tied the game.
But that's baseball.
I'll watch the postseason games without much interest.... I love the game, but I hate the Gigantes and the Yanquis, and I have little affinity for the Bravos, the Rancheros, the Orioles and the Rojos, the Nacionales y los Athleticos.
I think I'll just sit back and watch. Too bad Vin won't be calling the games.

The Emperor's New Clothes?

    So what is this new look the Dodgers bought? Gonzalez, Punto, Beckett and Crawford-on-the-DL.
    Fine fabrics, wonderful designs, garments so fine we common people can't even see them but won't dare admit that....
    Until some little kid at Coors Field cries Hey! They're naked! And the Rockies hand the Dodgers the truth, 10 - 0.
    I'm sure the new boys will work out, or not, and it will all sort itself out. But all of you boys need to pull up your trousers and tighten your belts and get this thing going. And you pitchers: pound the strike zone, will you?
    We did this for the fans, said Magic.
    Ok. We fans will wait and see what the new look looks like.
    So far, I agree with the kid at Coors Field.

Eulogy for Howard

    Howard is gone.
    My dear friend, my family's dear friend, Howard, passed away in his sleep.
    He had been asleep for awhile, and when I went to wake him up today he just didn't respond.
    Howard was our family computer since the late 80s. A Mac Performa. And what a performer he was! He helped me create newsletters and business cards and endless data files....
    He helped my daughter create her award-winning presentation on Navajo life in junior high....
    He taught my son how to play computer games and then how to design new graphics for them.
    My son gave Howard his name and his voice (Quack!); my daughter taught him how to find things.
    My wife taught him religion.
    Howard took to us all and embraced us. He didn't judge or criticize or sanitize or question our judgment; he just helped each of us do what we needed to do.
    Sometimes he asked Are you sure?
    That's what a good friend does.
    I went to wake up Howard this morning; I had one more question to ask him. He didn't wake up.
    I tried resuscitation; I swapped cables; I moved him to the ICU.
    Howard is gone. He will be missed; there will never be another like him.
    Rest in peace, Howard. You are loved.

Dodgers don't take my advice. Don't throw strikes.
That's gonna come back and bite you, boys.
Billingsley gives up an early 4 runs; 65 pitches in 3 innings?
Way too many pitches.
Throw some strikes, Bills!
Pound that strike zone! Hammer it!
You boys have a good lead so far, but the season is still early.
You can be caught if you don't wake up and throw strikes.
You might want to work on your hitting, too.

Hammer that strike zone!

Losing to the Cubs today on a bases loaded walk in the 11th inning....
Sheesh!
I can understand giving up a double, and then following instructions to walk the next batter intentionally.
But hitting the next batter?
And walking the next one to end the game?
Where'd you learn to pitch, Mr. Wright?
And you, Mr. Guerra. Giving up a walk and then the game-tying double in the ninth...
Where did you boys learn to pitch?
From Rick Honeycutt, perhaps?
Honeycutt, the current Dodger pitching coach, always nibbled at batters, trying to get them to fish at pitches just outside the strikezone. I remember listening (on the radio) to the games he pitched back in the mid 80s and thinking Stop nibbling and throw strikes!
I know, he had a 20-year career. But his record is 109 - 143, with a whole lot of non-decisions. 20 years as a pitcher with only 252 decisions?
Okokok.
This is only partly about Rick Honeycutt. It's mostly about this year's Dodgers and mostly about their relief pitchers.
Stop nibbling, boys, and hammer the strike zone! You've got great stuff, you're fast and you're good and you can do this!
Throw strikes! Hammer that strike zone! Let's win!