Record highs in Raleigh ... ain't no big deal anymore

In an effort to stave off boredom the other day, I looked at some of the climatological data on the RDU NWS site. It had seemed to me that we had record highs quite often in 2007. The data bore that out.

There were 33 days w/ record highs in 2007. This is considering a record period from 1944 through 2007. So in that 64 year period, all things being equal, one would expect to get (366/64, or 5.7)record highs every year. One oddity though, days in which the record high is a tie (temps are measured to nearest integer) are attributed to the most recent year. So, one would expect the more recent years to have more record highs due to this artifact. I've looked at the 2007 records at RDU and most of them are not ties, but actual records. As you can see the 33 record highs for the year is not only 27 more than usual, but 14 more than we've ever seen before. On average, every 11th day was a record high in Raleigh. Wow.

I've also looked at the record lows at RDU. Same as above ... it's a 64 year record and ties go to the most recent year. Over the last 6 years, in a period in which we should have gotten about 34-35 record lows, we've gotten only 6 (just one in 2007, a chilly 27 deg F on 4/8). Record lows have been very uncommon in this area over the last 6 years. Most record lows at RDU are from the time period 1960-1985. It's supposed to get quite cold here over the next few days, but the forecasts are that we won't get w/in 5 deg F of any records.

So, the odds this year of getting a record high on any given day were 1 in ~11; the odds of getting a record low were 1 in 366.

Why is this happening. Some potential reasons:

1) It's possible that the monitor itself changed or was moved at some time over this 64 year period, perhaps to some place warmer. I don't think that happened, but cannot say for sure.

2) Certainly, the landuse patterns around the airport have changed dramatically over the last 20-30 years. Rapid development in the Triangle has appreciably reduced the amount of forested area in this part of Central NC. Most of this former forest has been replaced by urban devices like asphalt or concrete. This may be leading to a bigger heat island effect around the RDU site (& area as a whole).

3) Maybe it's a symptomatic of global warming. According to NCDC, 2007 was on pace (thru November) of being the 8th warmest year (of the last 100 or so) in the U.S. and the 5th warmest (since 1880) globally.

Oh well, it's a complicated issue and the record highs in Raleigh may not mean anything, other than it was an abnormally warm year here. Interestingly, ozone air pollution was quite low in Raleigh this year. Ozone forms on high temperature days, but it appears as if the control programs that EPA, States, industry, and the population at large have agreed to and implemented have had their intended effect. I suspect that if the same cooperation could be applied to the global climate change subject, we would see the same results.

Hope everyone has a great 2008.

Blog de Noel

Merry Christmas everybody! Hope yours was a wonderful one. Ours was great down here.

We put the tree up on Saturday. Cherish was a little concerned.




This is APD & Dolberry goofing around on Christmas Eve. Oddly, the beautiful KMD did not open an Xmas Eve present, but APD & I did.





The requisite shot of waiting on the stairs to open the gifts on Christmas morning.






APD opening gifts. He got a lot of cool stuff. Heroclix, an architecture kit, a Bears hat, some books, a Chisox lunchbox, tix to Friday's Canes game, a new Bible, a Canes shirt, a Silver Surfer poster, & other stuff I'm forgetting.


The beautiful KMD got a stuffed puppy (Jingle Bells) that Cherish had opened a few days earlier. Cherish thinks all stuffed animals are hers. (She did get a new hare for Christmas.)




This is APD building his mom & dad a house to retire in. I suspect it'll come faster than I wish. Maybe that thought will make tomorrow back at work more tolerable. Merry Christmas everyone!

A Hollywood Weekend in the Triangle

Our weekend was spent rubbing shoulders w/ the famous people of the Triangle. On Friday, the beautiful KMD went to Alex's Christmas Program ( ... the one year Dolberry doesn't go ....) and got to sit two rows behind the starting CF for the Cincinnati Reds, Josh Hamilton. KMD reports that he's the sort of dad who stands up & waves to his little one when she's on stage. Normally, Dolberry finds this irritating, but knowing Hamilton's back story, I find it kinda cool.

Then on Saturday, we went to a Christmas cantada w/ one of our friends from church. Her son was singing in the choir at another church in Durham. We get there and the opening soloist is surprisingly enough former Durham District Attorney, Mike Nifong. Our friend said, "I thought he was in jail." Dolberry thought he sang pretty good, but my hearing is still impaired, so don't take my word for it.

Anyway, we're thinking about opening up one of those "Star Tours" for those that want to visit the Raleigh-Durham area and see all the famous people here. Obviously, Dolberry is the primo attraction. I'm thinking of putting shag carpet up on our living room ceiling.

Hope all are doing well.

Random sports and weather thoughts

Hope all are doing well.


Pat Forde on the Disingenuous Drifter (Bobby P) ... one of the most excoriating articles I've read in a long time.

The Mitchell Report comes out tomorrow. Early leaks (less than w/ most reports) indicate over 80 names are listed as having used steroids/HGH. I may be wearing rose-colored glasses, but I doubt more than 1-2 Reds are on the list. I figure Freel/Farney has probably ingested almost every substance known to man ... but other than that no Reds seem to fit the mold (at least the mold in my mind ... yes I have a moldy mind).


It looks like it's going to snow in Louisville (& Evansville) this weekend, once you get past your potentially flooding rains of tonight/tomorrow. Looks like Louisville will be right on the rain/snow line. Here's where the NWS thinks the heaviest snow will be laid down.

Ear Infection: A Review

Hey all,

I have an ear infection. I don't recommend it. One star on a scale of 1-5.

If you want to talk to me, talk loud. The doctor said I'd have 70% of my hearing back w/in a month. 90% in 3 mos. Other than not feeling good (first a cold, then the EI) since T-giving, all is fine. KMD is sick as well, but she doesn't complain near as much as I do about it. APD has been unscathed.

It was 80 degrees today here ... which was a record. APD & I tested out our new baseball bags and the curve balls. Both were very fun. Good times to be back on a field again. On the bright side, I should be able to hear by the time softball starts again. I give today's weather 5 stars. We're supposed to have record highs the next 3 days as well. Yay for that.

The Adventures of HeroClix: Episode 2

Starring Rhino, U.S. Agent, Raza, Badoon Guard, Sudsy, and special guest Jason Giambi ...

The Adventures of HeroClix: Episode 1

Enjoy.

Best Louisville game of the year

That's What I'm Talking About!!!!

One quarter of passionate football (all season) is better than none.

Quick Cam installed

Our review of the X-giving celebration will be forthcoming, but a quick heads-up to say we've got out Quick Cam installed. Here are some pictures to prove it. (Also, the link to the left.)

Bonds and the Ol' Lefthander

Maybe one of the biggest offseason baseball news days EVER yesterday. Scott Boras & A-Rod realized they were playing w/ house money but losing and cut the best deal still on the table. They took a shot at getting someone to overpay like the Rangers did last time & it didn't happen. Presumably, he'll be fine w/ his $275 million payout over the next 10 years, though the contract probably allows another opt-out in 2013 or so. Jake Peavy's unanimous selection as NL Cy Young got very little attention which is a shame. He's only 26 & led the league in wins, ERA, and K's. Impressive.

The first & fourth stories mean the most to Dolberry. (You can decide which is 1st and which is 4th.) Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice ... and Joe Nuxhall died at 79. Bonds made a choice somewhere along the way that the ends justified the means, the winner gets the spoils, & apparently that the net measure of a man's worth can be measured in OBP, RBI, and the almighty home run. Nuxhall appears to have made another choice ... that you can maximize the talents you've been blessed with and yet still live a life that is about more than just one person.

"He’s one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever met,” former Reds first baseman Sean Casey said in 2004. “He’s humble. He always thinks of others first. I know he was a great pitcher and he’s done a lot of other things. But I think everything else is second to him being a great human being."

“From the first day I walked on the field at spring training in Tampa, Joe was always there to help with whatever,” Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench said in 2004. “He just oozed Reds baseball.”

"This is a sad day for everyone in the Reds organization. I 'm in shock. I've known Joe my entire life. He did so many great things for so many people. You never heard anyone ever say a bad word about him. We're all going to miss him." - Ken Griffey Jr.

At once, I was at ease. That's what Joe did, be it to a young reporter, a young player or a fan off the street. In his mind, Joe was no better than you are. Me -- in my mind, I would consider myself a success if I were a quarter of the man Joe Nuxhall was. - C. Trent Rosecrans (Cincy Post beat writer)

Can you see any of the above statements ever being said about Barry Bonds? When Bonds gets to his last breaths ... don't you think he'd trade his legacy for Nuxhall's in a heartbeat? This is something I need to be constantly reminded about ... life is not about the stats (dollars earned, size of your TV, amount of turkey eaten) ... it's about what's between the lines of your baseball card.

I'll really miss listening to him.

Why I'm posting more lately ...

One reason ... more T-giving food for me.

I noticed last year during the holidays that many of my conversations w/ assorted family members were shortened because of the advance notice on all-things-Dolberry provided by the blog. As a result, I was able to eat about 15% more than usual because of the less time wasted w/ unfilling small talk. So, w/ T-giving coming up (T minus 10 days), here's some additional Dolberry-related stuff. I will not be repeating these next week. Thank you for your consideration.

Dolberry has been very busy & has not had a chance to follow college football at all this year. I will not be prepared to talk at all about this next week, so there's no sense even bringing individual teams or games up.

I do expect to be able to follow college basketball though. That was really funny that UK lost to Gardiner-Webb. I will gladly entertain any conversations about how a team that lost to UNC by 53 last year could stomp UK at home. That is, as long as we're in line for more food. Not when I'm eating, please.

Work is fine. If you're a Republican, rest assured EPA is doing all that we can to ensure that all those aging hippies and wannabe Socialists don't ruin the American economy through some sort of sensible global climate change action. If you're a Democrat, rest assured EPA is doing all that we can to combat global warming by creating numerous and conflicting groups, divisions, and offices to design and promote sensible climate change action.

Softball is over. We won the championship. Dolberry will talk about this as long as you want. In fact, I'll go ahead and bring our scorebook. We can go at-bat by at-bat through our 15 game regular season and three-game tournament sweep. We can do this while the underlings are doing the dishes.

APD is fine. As far as I know, he will be available for questions. All he eats is bread anyway and he talks w/ his mouth full, so it's not really an issue w/ him.

I'm not on speaking terms w/ our dog, Cherish. I took her out for a run this Saturday over to the Lake. She ran about 0.25 miles than sat down and refused to take another step. Even a step back toward the car. I had to carry the stupid beast all the way back to the car. The beautiful KMD hypothesized that it was her dinner time and that she didn't feel like running as a result. Once home, she was running around like normal. BAD DOG!

The beautiful KMD is more beautiful than ever, but you'll be able to see that yourselves, so there's no sense going on about it.

I like lots of new music and bands, but I do not expect you to be interested in them. Rest assured, Dolberry is NOT interested in any new music, bands, movies, blogs, etc., that you may find interesting.

Dolberry has not followed the NFL much either. Certainly not last week or the first week of the season. No sense discussing.

If you have any other topics you'd like to pre-discuss in advance of the feeding frenzy, go ahead and post a comment. Otherwise, for your own safety, please do not get between me and the turkey. (Not Dad, the edible turkey.)

Another genius idea from Dolberry

There's been a lot of speculation about where A-Rod will end up for the 2008 baseball season, especially since the biggest money teams (NYY and BOS) have said they're uninterested. Given that Scott Boras (A-Rod's agent) has apparently indicated that it'll take $350 million just to get him to the negotiating table, the focus has settled on the next tier of big-spending MLB clubs (2007 salaries shown below):

New York Yankees $ 189,639,045
Boston Red Sox $ 143,026,214
New York Mets $ 115,231,663
Los Angeles Angels $ 109,251,333
Chicago White Sox $ 108,671,833
Los Angeles Dodgers $ 108,454,524
Seattle Mariners $ 106,460,833
Chicago Cubs $ 99,670,332
Detroit Tigers $ 95,180,369
Baltimore Orioles $ 93,554,808

The Mets would have to rearrange their infield w/ Wright & Reyes. The White Sox are probably spending as much as Reinsdorf wants to spend. The Cubs are probably hamstrung while trying to sell the club. Doubt Seattle wants A-Rod, Part II. So, it'll probably be one of the L.A. teams or Detroit/Baltimore (or maybe the Giants).

But ... Dolberry encourages some of the smaller-market and traditionally-hapless clubs to think outside the box. They too, can get in on this sweepstakes w/ a little creativity.

The Reds, Royals, Pirates, Devil Rays, Marlins, and Nationals need to band together to sign an A-Rod timeshare. For only ~$60 mil (over 12 years, just 5 mil per year), they can secure the rights to A-Rod for one of the 6 months of the MLB season. ESPN could televise the drawing whereby each team found out what month they were getting that year.

This is in Michael Scott terms a "win win win". These lower teams secure access to a ballplayer they would normally have no chance of getting & the presumably higher attendance / revenue from "A-Rod" home dates (obviously, would require specialty pricing). A-Rod gets the salary he's looking for. And for fans of the Royals, for example, would you rather have Tony Pena and his .284 OBP in your lineup or a 3-time MVP?

There'd need to be some considerations obviously. With the increased travel this would put on A-Rod, we'd probably need to set aside the 1st & last days of each month as personal days. Who gets him in the playoffs shouldn't be an issue because the odds of two of the above six teams making the playoffs are pretty high even w/ a month of A-Rod.

Maybe even more imporantly ... I think this sets up a more realistic framework for how baseball contracts will work in the future. Everything will be a la carte. Everyone is a free agent until the rosters are announced for that days game (e.g., 4 hrs in advance). Say the Yankees have a big series coming up w/ Seattle. It's Labor Day and their 2 games back. They could get Josh Beckett's agent on the phone and work out a deal for a Beckett start (say maybe 8 mil ... 'cause they need this win). Beckett might only have to work 6-7 games a year & still be able to pull down 15-20 million. Players will be independent contractors like pro golfers. Each team will have to have a stable of "everyday'ers" (rookies, lower-salary guys that need the money & will play a Tuesday night game in PNC Park in mid-April) to be ready to fill in when teams don't feel like coughing up the cash (e.g., out of the race, small market, etc.). But even "everyday'ers" would be eligible for free agency after a year or two.

Traditionalists will howl. Dolberry himself will miss the old days, but what-the-hey, it'll still be better than soccer.

No more Sarasota (after 2008)

Sarasota residents voted down a $16 mil bond referendum yesterday that would have kept the Reds in Sarasota for another 30 years. W/o the renovation of Ed Smith Stadium the Reds have said they will host their Spring Training games elsewhere.

There's the usual heated internet argument on the Sarasota Herald Leader page between "snowbirds" bemoaning the loss of their traditional visits to SRQ and those locals who are pleased that there'll be less traffic and "brain-dead" baseball fans. Dolberry agrees w/ both camps, Yes, one does have to be somewhat impaired in the brain dept. to pay $109 /night for rooms in those shabby Tamiami Trail hotels (Knights Inn, Sleep Inn, etc.). And yes, I will also miss greatly going to SRQ in future springs.

People always imply that voters are not smart enough to figure things out, but in this case I think one Sarasotan had the topic nailed.

"Let the Chicago Cubs or whoever they are pay for it themselves," retired Ohio school teacher Susan Slovensky said after voting no.

Dolberry agrees. If the Cubs can pay middle-reliever Scott Eyre $4 mil a year, they can pony up for repairs to Ed Smith Stadium. Even if they do play in AZ ...

And as usual, it is the politicians that have it all wrong. One local city councilman was on TV saying it could be a good thing. That they could raze Ed Smith and build needed youth soccer fields.

Soccer? Soccer?!? Councilman. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency? Soccer! Give me a break! Soccer.

Weekend Update

We had a great time in Winston-Salem last Friday. We wandered around the Wake Forest campus (small, but neat) a little bit ... telling APD it was his first official college visit. He was most impressed that Arnold Palmer went there. After that we got pizza at a Mellow Mushroom (cool pizza chain). Then we went to the show. Ruth, Relient K, & Switchfoot all rocked. Highlights were (obviously) "Meant to Live" from the Foot & (surprisingly) "Sleigh Ride" by RK. Then we went home.

Saturday & Sunday were less eventful. But fine.

The Canes are up 5-0 vs. the Caps right now. They're looking good for another long trip into the NHL playoffs ... some 6 months from now.

The glorious Billikens won their first exhibition game vs. UMSL. I have to go to a conference in St. Louis next week. (Hey, I just clicked on that link ... they have me listed as an "invited speaker" ... what a hoot.) Anyway, the glorious Billikens play the day before I get there & the day after I leave. Bummer.

The Browns have two marginally tough games next, then 6 really easy ones. They could go 10-6 w/o really trying, which would be pretty funny.

Am excited the Reds signed Dunn. Will be interesting to see if Sarasota voters pass the bond referendum tomorrow to share costs w/ the Reds in fixing up Ed Smith Stadium.

APD's report card

He got all A's & made the "A" honor roll, which is hard to do in the 1st quarter according to his teacher. She said so many nice things about APD. (All true. All things we know. But nice to hear nonetheless.) I was telling the beautiful KMD, that parent/teacher conference day is one of my favorite of the year.

Friday we're going to see Switchfoot / Relient K in Winston-Salem. Very excited for that.

What else ... still 120+ days 'til softball again.

Work is fine. Busy, but good busy for now.

Kristy sprained her ankle really badly about 10 days ago. It just quit being purple. She's itchin' to run, but it's still too painful. I think she'll need 3-4 weeks off. I actually ran 1.5 miles today which is pretty good for a fat guy.

Halloween snuck up on us this year. APD wanted to be the Silver Surfer or nothing. The nothing option was easier to pull off at the last second. About 12 kids came by our house which is pretty much the usual. We'll be better prepared for Veteran's Day!

Hope all readers are doing GREAT!!!! We'll see family readers in 3 weeks!!! Can't wait.

CHAMPIONS!!!

Our fall softball team won our first ever title tonight 12-11. It was back & forth all game. We went up 11-8 in the bottom of the 6th w/ three runs (all w/ two outs).

Then, the 7th inning was one of the strangest of the season. After being w/in one strike of the title in the top of the frame only to have a 3-run HR tie it up at 11, the LO had 2 out & nobody on in the bottom of the frame ... before our 7 hitter lined a single up the middle ... then JK smacked a single between short & third ... and as Mark K pulled up at 2nd base ... the left fielder ... unbelieveably .... let it roll right through his legs in a perfect Bill Buckner imitation. BIG Mark scored easily & the title was ours. Strange way to win.

Now ... sadly ... it is the offseason. Much nicer to end the season w/ a win, though. Only 130 some odd days until first practice.

Softball update

We won both games on Monday ... so we're in the championship game next Monday.

We dispatched the worst team 21-3 in a nice warmup G1. Then, we fell behind the #2 seed 5-0 after two innings, before roaring back w/ a 19-5 run over the last 4.5 innings. It was probably the best stretch of softball in LO history as we drubbed a good team. They'll have to beat us twice next Monday to prevent the first ever Law Office tournament title.

Other than that ... all is fine.

My World Series pick: Boston over Colorado in 6.

Baseball thoughts

O'Jimmies came in 2nd this year. We went into the last week w/ a tenuous lead & our guys proceeded to toss out their worst week of the year. Glavine & Reyes hurt the O'Jimmies at least as much as they did the Mets. Oh well, 2nd of 13 is pretty darn good. Not sure if anyone has ever repeated in the league. Kudos to the Senor GM.

APD's last baseball game of the year was tonight. They were the #8 seed playing the #1 seed. He came up in the 1st w/ no one on and 2 out and worked a walk (fouling off two 2-strike pitches). He stole 2nd & then the cleanup hitter got a single. APD tried to score & was called out on a bogus call at the plate. His team gave up 4 in the bottom of the first. It was 6-1 after the 2nd. In the third his team got 3 runs, including one on an APD bases loaded single. APD pitched the bottom of the third and gave up 1 run. His "D" made a great OF catch & DP to keep the damage to a minimum. Nobody scored in the 4th as the "D" & APD worked a 1-2-3 inning w/ a 6-3, K, 6-3. The last inning (time) was the fifth. The other team got 2 outs quick, but two walks and an HBP later, APD was up w/ bases loaded. (Really didn't want to see him make the last out of the game.) The pitcher blew two swinging strikes by him, but APD smacked a line drive single up the middle on an 0-2 count to make it 7-5. He went to 2nd on the throw home. Then our cleanup hitter got on on a catchers interference, but the rally ended there and it was a 7-5 loss. It was his team's best game & APD's best game. Very cool. I was so proud of him ... APD is clutch.

We won the big softball game last week ... to bring our magic number to 1, but then we played pitifully last night to fall to 11-2. Should clinch tomorrow as we play the winless team.

My MLB playoff picks:

Phillies over Rox in 5; D'Backs over Cubs in 3;
Indians over Yanks in 4; and Angels over RedSox in 5.
--
Phillies over D'Backs in 5;
Angels over Indians in 7.
--
Angels over Phils in 6.

Early 2008 predictions: Reds in MLB; O'Jimmies in LCL.

Heydilly-ho bloggerinos!

Not much up here.

Softball team is 10-1 (w/ 5 to go). If we win tomorrow, we all but clinch the regular season title. This would be the first Law Office title in 8 years of trying. Yay for us.

APD's team broke a 5 game losing streak w/ a tie tonight. APD gave up 2 runs in 2 IP, but actually pitched really well striking out 4 w/ no walks. The other team had some good hitters. He also played some good defense at 3B. He walked all three times up.

Work is ok.

Not much is up in Apex either. There was a flasher who got arrested. That's been the oddest thing lately. Let me know how many "Keep Apex odd!" t-shirts you want. $14.99 per shirt.

We're sweating out the last week of rotisserie baseball. Currently, the glorious O'Jimmies hold a beyond tenuous 0.5 pt lead. If we were to hold on, it would mark back-2-back championships. Our geezer brigade of Glavine and Moyer let us down tonight. Ideally, MLB would decide that the season should be cut short by 5 days.

Worst. Entry. Ever.

The Value of an Extra Hour of Sleep

Everything these days is gauged by its monetary value. For instance, at work, we promulgate rules only if we can prove the rule will save more money (e.g., reduced health care costs) than it will cost. Obviously, some things are harder to quantify (e.g., the value of a pristine bright blue sky). I'm not sure if anyone has quantified the value of an extra hour of sleep ... but we can attest that it's at least $6 ... which was the cost we gladly agreed to swallow this morning in order to return our rental car an hour late.

If there are any UK fans who read this blog ... go away! No, I'm just kidding. I thought UK played an exceptional game. This morning ... after a rough night of sports ... and thinking about the value of time ... and pondering two funerals ... and wondering what people'll say about me when I pass on ... I decided I was giving up sports. BUT that was before the O'Jimmies pulled to w/in 1.5 points of first place, so I'm sticking around for another 2 weeks. After that, I'm finding something else to do.

Interestingly, as I'm writing this, we're watching the Emmys and they just had a classic line from Michael Scott: "A boss’s salary isn’t just about money. It’s about perks. For example, every year I get a $100 gas card. Can’t put a price on that." Oh here's an even funnier one from the same episode ... "Negotiations are all about controlling things; about being in the driver’s seat. And, you make one tiny mistake and you’re dead. I made one tiny mistake, I wore woman’s clothes."

Rampaging bull loose in Apex!

Yay. Another crazy Apex story. Loose bull last Friday. Eluded capture for some 6 hours. Well done Bone Collector.

It was a draining week at work. A two day weekend was not enough refilling.

Our softball team is in first. 5-1.

APD's team is 2-2. They lost two 1-run games this week (3-2 and 4-3). He pitched three more scoreless innings (6.2 on the season w/ no runs). Plus, he went 2-4 and made three putouts in the field. We have (ahem) an arrangement in which there are benefits if certain milestones are hit. It is working too well. APD came off the field last game & said "You owe me big." We're trying to recommunicate that it's not a job.

Can't believe UL only lost one spot in the rankings.

The ever-increasingly beautiful KMD & I celebrated our 15th (crystal) anniversary this week. I offered to download a Crystal Gayle song from Itunes for her, but she said no thanks.

Hey, I turn 41 tomorrow. Joy! Thanks to all for putting up w/ me, some if not all of those years.

Keep Louisville Weird

Hey all. Hope all is well.

I wore my "Keep Louisville Weird" t-shirt out & about today (an X-mas gift from Uncle Sparky). Interestingly, the ratio of people who asked me what the shirt meant to people who saw the shirt was 1.00.

I patiently explained that it was a campaign by independent Louisville businesses to encourage patronage of non-chain type stores/restaurants/etc. Well, I patiently explained it the first 5 or so times ... after that I made stuff up.

The best response to the shirt ... from the beautiful KMD who said that if I wanted to keep Louisville weird, then I should move back there.

All is fine here ... KMD & Dolberry went out on an actual date on Friday which was nice. Dolberry had a stellar softball game last Wed. 4-4 w/ an HR and 4-5 D plays at 3B. Then APD showed me up on Saturday as his team improved to 2-0. He came in to pitch in the bottom of the first w/ the bases loaded & 1 out. He struck out the next two guys. Then after giving up a hit and a walk in the 2nd, he struck out the next 3 guys including the leadoff & #2 hitters. He's pitched 2.2 innings, struck out 8, 1 hit, 1 walk, and he has a win and a save. Plus, he was 1-2 batting w/ a run scored.

Oh, and I fixed some more stuff this weekend ... installed a 3-way wall switch dimmer (easy) and new TP roll holders (easy, once I quit following the directions)

Have a good week.

Advice from Dolberry

If you live in Louisville KY, you should consider going to the State Fair tomorrow night & seeing Switchfoot. You will not be disappointed. Preview here.

Hey, I'm in a bad mood tonight & I thought I'd let the whole internets know about it ... plus I wanted to check how long a title Blogger would let me

... have.

4 letters too short. Typical.

On the bright side, APD had a dynamite fall baseball debut. Going 1-2 w/ a walk, two runs, an RBI, and a one inning save in which he struck out the side on 11 pitches. His team won 10-7 in extra innings. He's awesome ... like all you guys.

Stay alive!

Hey, sorry I haven't blogged in a while

Not really that much to say ...

We had at lot of fun at the beach w/ the Burbach crew. The temps were nice & hot (at one point the heat index was a crazy 125F) & the water temps were pleasantly cool. And of course the company was nice.

I still feel great satisfaction upon tinkling in the newly restored toilet. More pride than I've felt peeing since I was two years old ... ok three .................. all right seven. Are you happy?

We were helping the beautiful KMD w/ the dishes tonight (a very rare occasion) & I was washing, Alex drying, & tbKMD was putting away. I was telling Alex how when we were younger, Aunt Kathy always washed, I dried, & Kristin put away. I said I thought drying was the easiest job. Alex agreed & then added why did you have the easiest job being the oldest ... implying my skills should have been applied in a tougher role. The beautiful KMD & I both laughed out loud.

Softball's started this week, but it's been a strange bummer. Our first opponent forfeited & the team we played tonight was the worst team I've ever seen. They had trouble catching the even the easiest pop flys. We scored 21 runs in only 3 innings before the mercy rule was invoked.

Hope all readers are doing grrrreat.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!

DOLBERRY HAS FIXED THE DOWNSTAIRS TOILET!

After being broken down for roughly 36 months, Dolberry spent about 2 hours today and fixed the downstairs toilet. Turns out it needed one of these and Dolberry needed some of this.

Needless to say, "We Are the Champions" is blaring pretty loudly from the Dolberry household this afternoon.

Top 3 things Dolberry has ever fixed:

1. Downstairs toilet

Hurricane Conrad

Do NOT mess w/ this man ... Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher!

Catching DCV readers up on the goings-on at the Hurricane Center:

When we last left this sordid tale, ~40% of the NHC staff had signed a letter asking for the head of the Center to be reassigned. The letter was produced and signed while a NOAA assessment team was on-site to investigate concerns about dysfunctionality at the Hurricane Center. Not surprisingly, the assessment team recommeded his (Bill Proenza's) removal for fear that his presence there would cause "disruption that threatens the Tropical Prediction Center's ability to fulfill its mission to the American people." (TPC = NHC)

(Dolberry advises that when you hear a politician or government bureaucrat hail the "American people" ... run for cover.)

So yesterday, NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher (esteemed boater of some sort), was called before Congress to explain his actions. Here are some of the highlights, see here for complete transcript: (Dolberry in green.)

1. He starts off by assuring the (get running) "American people" that NOAA and the NHC is fully prepared to do their job this hurricane season. Hey, what a difference a couple of weeks makes.

2. He then recounts what made Hurricane Conrad mad in the first place, that Proenza complained about the wasteful NOAA "200th" anniversary spending and how that money could have been better used for almost anything (he used replacing a satellite as an example). IMO, this infuriated Conrad because it's not the way a junior officer is supposed to behave.

3. He then goes on a bit of a "money laundering" tack, saying he hired this Mary Flack'n, er Mary Glackin (Hey, that's good angry blogosphering there. I'm sticking w/ Flack'n.) who in her first days on the job was instructed (by whom it is not named, but we can guess) to improve managerial rigor. She sent a memo to Proenza reminding him "the need for adherence to ... the chain of command".

4. Conrad says Flack'n got a call on the evening of the 6/18 from NHC staff requesting a call about the situation down there. The call took place at noon on 6/19. There's your most convincing evidence that this was a total whack job. In the government, nobody gets a conference call set up for the next day. It's simply not heard of. And in the summertime? Right.

5. Turns out the NHC forecasters were "scared", "anxious", "felt muzzled". They basically didn't think Proenza was up for the job. (That's fine. Um, NHC staff join probably 30-70% of the rest of us working stiffs inside and outside the government. The line is back there.)

6. The assessment team came down & felt they couldn't do their job w/ Proenza being there, trying to maintain support from those who hadn't signed on to the coup. Which would seem to be his right.

7. They receommended his temporary reassignment so they could finish their assessment.

8. The assessment (surprise, surprise, surprise) came back unanimously that Proenza needed to go.

OK, realistically, if you say something your boss doesn't like, it's (generally) within his right to prevent you from saying it again. And I don't think this rises to the level of "whistleblower" incident. NOAA's wasteful spending on stupid Safety Seagulls and spamming their own employees w/ "200th" anniversary nonsense are a matter of public record. But, you really have to marvel at the colossal blunderingness w/ which this has been accomplished.

Conrad, you got your guy. In the process you got a) major media coverage about problems w/ one of your premier groups, b) set a precedent for future staff insurrections, & c) raised the ire of a Democratic-controlled Congress right in the FY-08 budget discussions. To put it in your terms, I believe this is called "winning the battle, but losing the war."

(update)

Um, the DCV has to apologize. The picture above was not Hurricane Conrad. This is him below. We sincerely apologize to anyone offended.

We're Number 14! We're Number 14!

So says Money Magazine in their ranking of Great American towns. If you throw out all the crazy cold places in MN, NE and WI that they have in the ranking, we'd be in the Top 10. No place where the average high in March is < 50 F should qualify for anything but a prison camp.

We scored high in the categories of low crime, educated citizens, and sheep-to-citizen ratio.

All right one last pop music thing, then I'll move on

I'm kinda stuck using Napster's online music service because my portable XM satellite radio is affiliated w/ them (& seems to work most smoothly w/ that player). Anyway, it's way inferior to Itunes or Walmart.com, but like Itunes it feels compelled to recommend music to me "based on my tastes". (Itunes' app like this is very good.)

Napster's #1 recommendation to me? Hannah Montana 2.

Um, no thanks.

DCV Top Bands of the 80's: #1

1. U2

Reasons why U2 is better than every other band of the 1980's:

a) The songs. There are about 20-30 U2 songs that make Dolberry very happy whenever he hears them. (I'll list them under "best songs".)

b) There was never a better video than U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" where they were at Red Rocks outside Denver. A storm rolls in. You can see the band's breath as Bono waves his white flag and screams his frustration "I'm so sick of it!" He was sick of the violence in Northern Ireland and 1983 Dolberry was sick of doing homework, taking out the trash, or having girls not lining up to date him. Nevertheless, we were kindred spirits against cruel outside forces. (Video added to sidebar.)

c) No other band of the 80's played a concert in St. Louis MO in 1987 on the same night as the 6th game of the World Series (Twins - Cardinals) and sucked up to the crowd by having their lead singer come out emblazoned in a Cardinals jacket and hat (which he threw to the crowd).

d) More than any other "star" I know, U2's Bono has leveraged his fame to do something other than general self-indulgence. Personally, Dolberry thinks he's done almost entirely good things which is an added bonus.

e) The Edge's guitar sound.

f) U2's Super Bowl appearance which paid tribute to the 9/11 victims while reaffirming that the US and people of good faith everywhere will not bow down to evil.

g) My Dad once said, while demanding that early U2 be turned off, that "this is awful" & "those guys will never amount to anything". It is, to my knowledge, the only time my dad was ever wrong about anything. (For the record, my mom was only wrong once as well ... thinking potato soup was edible.)

h) I heard Bono say once, "Quit asking God to bless what you're doing. Instead, find out what He's doing and do that. It's already blessed."

i) I like how U2 rebounded from a period in which they thought songs about this citrus fruit were good ideas. I like the fact that they tried that whole weird mid-90's Pop Mart thing ... even if I never got it. (Others 80s bands rebounded, but not to the same level as U2.)

j) U2 is from Ireland. Dolberry ancesters are from Ireland.

k) I like the fact that U2's absence from Live Earth was advocated by the antiGores as evidence that the concept of global warming is somehow flawed. (They're recording a new album in Africa at present.)

l) I like the fact that when U2 was starting out they claimed "I can't change the world, but I can change the world in me."

m) I like that U2 is so into America (our strengths, as well as our failings)

n) I like the fact that there's no better song to play on your headset while walking on the beach on a grey cloudy day than "The Unforgettable Fire". Seriously, I think that's one of the best experiences one can have on Earth.

o) I like how U2 usually opens "Where the Streets Have No Name" w/ a snippet from one of the Psalms (e.g.: Ps 116-12-13).

p) Bono's 80's hair, while widely mocked, is still a target that to which Dolberry aspires.

q) I like the fact that the Edge so admired Stuart Adamson and paid a touching tribute to him upon his death.

r) I like the fact that Bono's been married to his wife for 25 years.

s) I liked the U2 appearance on the Simpsons and that Monty Burns thinks they're "wankers".

t) I like how U2 pretty much carried both "Do They Know Its Christmas" and Live Aid.

u) Who knows to what degree, but it's pretty impressive that a band would have any role in bringing warring parties to peace as U2 did in Northern Ireland.

v) I like the fact that U2 claims to be the best band in the world.

w) I like the fact that U2 has stuck together all these years. Not just the band, but it seems like most of their team members have stuck together all these years.

Best songs: Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, Walk On, Until the End of the World, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Beautiful Day, New Years Day, The Unforgettable Fire, Vertigo, The Fly, I Will Follow, With or Without You, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, One, In God's Country, October, Gloria, Wake Up Dead Man, Elevation, Out of Control, All I Want Is You, Bullet the Blue Sky, etc., etc.

Worst songs: Lemon

Future spring training trips in jeopardy?

It's looking pretty bleak for future spring training sojourns to see the Reds in Sarasota FL. The Sarasota Herald Tribune has run several articles recently on the (lack of) progress in securing a long-term arrangement. Earlier in the year, it looked like the Reds, the State of FL, Sarasota Co., and the City of Sarasota were going to jointly fund a $55 million dollar stadium that would rival Clearwater's Bright House Networks gem of a facility. The political environment in the area appears to have somewhat soured on public funding of a ballpark in the last local election cycle. In recent weeks, the Reds have advanced a scaled-back plan ($45 mil) that would upgrade the current Ed Smith Stadium (which I never realized is built on a landfill), but that doesn't look to get local public funds either.

I don't really blame the local Sarasota government for not wanting to fund it. Here's my quick estimate of how much money goes into the local economy based on our travels there: a) we spend about $200-300 dollars a day there (mostly to hotels, but some to restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, convenience stores, golf courses, & then $ to the Reds for tix, souvenirs), b) by my calculation there are probably 500-1000 families / spending units doing the same thing on any given home date that wouldn't be there w/o the Reds (figuring the crowd is ~50-75% local). My rough guess would be about $2-4 million a season comes into the Sarasota economy. There are costs as well (traffic control) that would have to be subtracted. Over 30 years (length of proposed deal), the $ in would almost certainly exceed the initial investment (probably about $25-35 mil after overruns). But the investment would directly only benefit a few sectors of the economy and only indirectly help (taxes, jobs) the local populace as a whole. The apparent competitor for the local money potentially slated for the Reds is seaweed cleanup along the beaches. That would appear to help more people & would also probably maintain more tourism inflow. Also, cheaper events like the Sarasota Marathon probably have way higher tourists/investment ratios.

The bottom line is (to me) that there's already enough tourists in Sarasota in March to support the local economy. When bargain-basement hotel chains can charge triple-digits a night, the demand is strong. Also, I think the Castellini-led Reds deserve some praise here by (at least according to the local paper) not blatantly trying to extort a new stadium from the local government w/ threats and artificial deadlines.

So, while Dolberry will miss the times in Sarasota here are my preferred locations for future Reds spring training locations:

1. Orlando FL - I believe Griffey Jr would likely personally defray $2-3 mil of any costs associated to spend March at home. Hotels are way cheaper in Orlando & the non-baseball entertainment is pretty nice.

2. Clearwater FL - The Reds could share Bright House w/ the Phillies, thereby enabling Dolberry to eat cheesesteaks 4 times a year, instead of only 1.

3. Apex-Cary NC - They could play at the new USA baseball academy; Josh Hamilton could spend his days at home; and we could charge people to sleep in our shed (which is at least as nice as that Knights Inn in Sarasota). The weather's pretty nice in March.

4. Toyko Japan - The Reds could just play Japanese league teams all March & in 30 dates maybe draw 750,000 people. If they could make an additional $1 per ticket than present, they could funnel that $750K into buying a relief pitcher that could get a guy out in the 8th inning occasionally.

5. Las Vegas, NV - The potential Pete Rose tie-ins are innumerable.

6. Anywhere but Arizona - The world does not need any more 17-11 Spring Training games.

7. Oh yeah, and not Winter Haven FL - Ugh.

Need your faith in humanity restored? Check video to right.

Hard not to like the Phillies after that.

You know what bothers me?

The 'Just For Men' commercial where they say "Let the real you come through", then encourage you to hide the real you by coloring your hair.

That's just stupid.

All of the other commercials irritate me just slightly less. Not enough monkeys in commercials anymore.

What doesn't bother me? The O'Jimmies are in 2nd place ... our high-water mark for season. (Of course, Josh Hamilton strained his wrist tonight swinging @ the on-deck circle. ?!?)

Embarassing days for NOAA

Have you guys been following the soap opera at the National Hurricane Center? What a truly embarassing display by government employees of many ilks. The quick synopsis is this:

New guy (Bill Proenza) hired to manage NHC. Complains about NOAA budget decisions hurting the NHC's ability to forecast hurricanes. Congressional Democrats pressure NOAA to quit hurting the NHC's ability to forecast hurricanes. NOAA reprimands their new hire w/ a humorously threatening e-mail, saying he's hurting the NHC's ability to forecast hurricanes. New guy leaks reprimand to media. NOAA brass get bad press. Congressional Democrats pressure NOAA more.

This Monday, NOAA's administrator and long-time Dolberry nemesis "The Admiral", sends an assessment team down to Miami because of stated concerns about the NHC's ability to ... everyone now ... "because of concerns about the NHC's ability to meet its mission". (In The Admiral's world, everything is a mission. He's presumably talking about predicting hurricanes here.)

Now yesterday, about 40% of the NHC staff signs a petition calling for Proenza's ouster, saying (yawn) they're concerned about their ability to forecast hurricanes w/ him in charge. This seems rather suspicious, in light of NOAA's advance scouts being on-site.

Dolberry suspects none of the players in this whole drama are really concerned about protecting the public by accurately forecasting hurricanes. They are driven by either pride, anger, fear, opportunity, greed, or some other baser instinct. It's sad and embarassing for all of us in the public sector.

Lautenbacher should resign or be fired. This whole reckless incident has made the NOAA brand a laughingstock & more importantly has needlessly antagonized Congress. The Admiral is reminding me more and more of this ship's captain.

The ultimate reason to be against global warming

The more CO2 in the atmosphere, the more poison ivy grows and the more itchy the plant becomes.

Now ... it's personal.

Latest Apex oddity

In October we had the chemical explosions and the resultant toxic cloud.

In March we had the guy w/ 70 sheep in house.

Last week, a guy was arrested in Apex for having: eight guns (including SKS and AK-47 semi-automatic weapons), $7,910 in cash, numerous knives, 3,000 rounds of ammunition, two gas masks, a Kevlar helmet, a flak jacket, material for explosives (a time fuse, blasting caps, tubes and pipes), & 17 marijuana plants. He was arrested by Apex Police who had been called to his townhouse by his own complaint of a neighbor's barking dog (they smelled the marijuana & searched his premises).

I'm thinking that neighborhood dog was extremely lucky the police came when they did.

Holiday from Blogging

Hey, a lot's gone on since I last blogged ... here's a quick update:

June 1: Mom, Dad, Tim, Kris, & Mojo came in from Louisville for trip.

June 2: Went to Carowinds w/ TCC youth group. Much fun. It rained on us despite my assurances to all that it would not (for about three hours). Saw the Newsboys which is always nice.

June 3: Headed to Emerald Isle w/ the extended Dolberry clan. Caught up to the tail end of former Tropical Storm Barry. Swam in the pool in the rain. Ocean was a churned up.

June 4: Am sure we had fun on this day. Can't remember exactly what we did.

June 5: I'm gonna say we went golfing on this day. None of the golf was that memorable. APD and Sparky impressed at times. Scott & I hit a (curiously stupid) fish with our drivers.

June 6: Maybe we putt-putted and go karts on this day? I remember I lost at putt-putt. G'Ma won.

June 7: More fun at beach. I think I clinched the pool battle royale between KMD & I on this night. 3 nights to one.

June 8: APD and I made a cool sand stadium that got wiped out by a rising tide, despite numerous Dolberry forecasts that it would not.

June 9: Sad goodbyes to beach clan. What a great, relaxing, fun trip. Blow was softened by returning to a softball game. We only had 8 players and got pounded. I'm too out of shape to play OF in a 3 OF alignment.

June 10: First game of Apex tournament. We lost to #3 seed (as #2 seed) 14-9.

June 11-12: Two crazy days at work. Catching up from a week off & trying to prep for three more days away.

June 13: Headed out to Boulder/Denver for conference. Got to see Aunt Jane, Uncle Mike, and Jeannine, Shannon, and Michelle (and families). It was very hard to see Aunt Jane so sick. Was so glad to hear she was able to be returned to Louisville & hopefully will be transferred to a rehab center soon. As sad as it was to see Aunt Jane, it was equally happy to get to see all the (former) Fitzgerald cousins and their families. What a great group. I'm proud to be related to 'em.

June 14: My day to lead the conference and give two talks. Think it went well. Ate dinner in downtown Boulder. Boulder is always nice ... even the time I went out there for a job interview at NCAR and totally bombed the seminar I gave. Once the bombing was complete, I went and drove into the mountains which saved the trip.

June 15: Left Boulder at 3:15a local time to get back for our softball tournament that night. Plus, I was able to catch a show from a band that a YG member drums for. The key to good softball is waking up 2000 miles away, flying coach most of the morning, going to a smoky bar for loud music, than playing ball from 8-11p. I was 4-4 w/ two walks and flawless SS defense in two St Andy's wins (17-12 and 19-6).

June 16: Unfortunately, Catholic Blue team ran up against Baptist Blue and they beat us again. 9-6 this time. I had a chance to get us into a tie in the 5th, but flew out w/ 2 outs & a runner in scoring position.

June 17: Fathers Day was nice. I was treated to Philly Cheesesteaks for lunch & we had a TCC picnic that evening. Started to itch from poison ivy contracted presumably from yard work the day before.

June 18-21: Everything basically settling down. Over this month I applied for my own job and got it. So, I'll be switching over from NOAA to EPA sometime in July. It's only a slight raise, but is good to be actually working for the agency I've always done work for (if that makes any sense). The humorous bureaucratic thing is that I'll be on a 1-year probation (again) & they're doing a background check on me. I told HR that if there was anything worth stealing; I'd have stolen it already ... which they didn't think was funny. I itched profusely over these 4 days and moaned unceasingly to KMD and APD.

June 22: Went to doctor and got steroids. Immediate relief. Went swimming w/ APD and KMD. Very much fun. Hung out w/ some friends that night.

This weekend was fine. Went to Harvest Crusade w/ youth group. Other than that, just relaxed.

There! You are now all caught up on the tediousness that is Dolberry!

DCV Top Bands of the 80's: #2

2. Big Country

The DCV countdown started way back on January 6th of this year w/ a note about the scoring system. Assuming most folks don't remember, it was a combination of

- how much I liked them in the 80's (60%),
- how much I like them now (30%), &
- how popular they were w/ other folks (10%)

Big Country lost big on the 3rd criteria, & got nosed on the 2nd criteria, but they were the clear winners in the "how much I liked them in the 80's" category. If it wasn't such a countdown copout I'd just call them #1a to the next band's #1.

It's sounds weird to say looking back, but Big Country's music was just incredibly instrumental in Dolberry's surviving (and perhaps prospering through) the high school and college years. It's cliched to say so, but their songs we're the soundtrack to the 80's for me.

I can still vividly remember sitting in my room listening to The Crossing and being inspired. Not necessarily inspired to be doing the homework I was supposed to be doing, but inspired to live my life in a certain way. Big Country's root-level philosophy was embedded in their one big hit "In a Big Country" (peaked at #18 in the U.S. in 1983) and it was to "stay alive". Stuart Adamson and the lads spun huge anthems about you-and-me people trying to make it in a world that was/is not always necessarily looking out for us. But the people in BC's songs always held onto a spark, always yearned for something better, always strove to stay alive (in the figurative and literal sense).

Some sample lyrics (that still come immediately to mind w/o need to reference them):

In a big country, dreams stay w/ you. Like a lover's voice fires the mountainside. Stay alive.

I will carry you home w/ the stars in my eyes. I will carry you home while the westerlies sigh.

It's just a shadow of the people we should be, like a garden in the forest that world will never see.

We save no souls. We break no promises.

But when I look at you I see you feel the same way too. And you will take my hand and be w/ me in wonderland

Im not expecting to grow flowers in the desert, but I can see the sun in wintertime.

The memories are very fresh when it comes to Big Country. The Crossing was always my get-fired-up-for-races tape. I still remember getting the Wonderland EP cassette from that mall south of Louisville (the same one where we got Intellivision) and wearing it out. Every Friday at SLU was Steeltown afternoon. The tradition was to listen to that tape in its entirety as part of the transition from school week to weekend. I wore lots of plaid back in the day in my attempts to emulate the lads. I still vividly remembering driving down Taylorsville Rd. one day and hearing "Look Away" from their third album The Seer on the radio.

The 80's were a great time for Dolberry up through 1988, when I dispatched myself to the wastelands just south of downtown Chicago for grad school leaving most of my friends behind. Big Country hit the skids (inside joke there) that year as well w/ their dismal 4th album Peace in Our Time.

Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, Dolberry and BC's fortunes both picked up in the early 90's w/ me leaving school, getting a job, getting engaged, getting on a good softball team. Meanwhile, Big Country blasted back to life w/ Buffalo Skinners. Again, the memories are vivid of an afternoon in Stephen's apartment in Elgin IL, him saying he'd gotten BC's new album & I should give it a listen. Not expecting much, figuring they had wandered off the track for good, I was surprised that the first song ("Alone") really rocked. Figuring that would be the outlier, was surprised the second song ("Seven Waves") really rocked. The whole album really rocked.

BC put out three more studio releases in the 90's and while never reaching the unobtainable heights of The Crossing or even Buffalo Skinners, they all had several very good songs on them.

I'm guessing that most readers know the total irony of how Big Country's story ended, or at least how Stuart Adamson's story ended. (I love Tony, Mark, & Bruce, but Stuart was the heart of BC.) He hung himself in a Best Western hotel room in Honolulu, on December 16th, 2001. His blood alcohol level at the time was > 0.279. Stuart had reportedly battled alcoholism for many years. It is strange to me how a life spent encouraging others to stay alive would end w/ someone taking their own. I get teared up thinking about it even now.

I was playing indoor soccer that winter in an attempt to stay in shape in the softball offseason. It was a team consisting of individuals who had signed up to be on the house team (i.e., no one knew each other) and we played that way. We lost nearly every game and most of the time was spent in endless recriminations of overly long shifts and not enough passing. I was pretty detached from all of this as I was in way over my head as far as my soccer skills go. I'd take a shift or two a half and try not to embarass myself. The night of Stuart's death (& I believe Kristin broke the news to me), I vowed to get a goal in his memory ... as he was a big soccer (football) fan. Amazingly enough, I got two. My only two of the season. Things like that make me think that there's a God, and he's real, and he's there for us, and he wants the best for you-and-me in a world that's not always looking out for us, and that we need to keep that spark, we need to keep yearning for something better, and that we need to stay alive ... just as Stuart said.

Best songs: In A Big Country, Fields of Fire, Wonderland, Harvest Home, Where the Rose Was Sown, Chance, all of The Crossing, You Dreamer, Look Away, pretty much all of them.

Worst songs: Eggplant, King of Emotion

DCV Top Bands of the 80's: #3

3. R.E.M.

Another band I "discovered" via the J-town library, which I guess was the Itunes/Napster of those way bygone days. R.E.M. is the highest ranking American band in this survey of Dolberry's memories.

R.E.M's career trajectory is essentially a chi-square distribution w/ four degrees of freedom (see plot). By the way, this is how I write at work. I express some fact/opinion and then say "see plot" usually in parentheses like above. Then I state some other fact/opinion which has its own plot, or sometimes for variety's sake a table.



Anyway, R.E.M. started in the early 80's, out of the University of Georgia, with their signature Peter Buck jangly guitars and Michael Stipe's mumbly, mostly incomprehensible lyrics. This style is most evident on Murmur, Reckoning, and Fables of the Reconstruction. In Dolberry's opinion, R.E.M. peaked with the fantastic Lifes Rich Pageant album which was produced in southern Indiana with Mellencamp's long time producer. In these days of Live Earth concerts and star-powered environmental conciousness, it's neat to remember that R.E.M. was crafting melodious treatises on why fouling our atmosphere and water (e.g., Cuyahoga) is not the best route to sustained life on this planet since 1986. And while the acid rain problem has more or less been mitigated through the use of market-based control measures (whereby utilites buy and sell pollution credits in an environment of a declining cap on those emissions) "Fall on Me" nails the oddity of a company having the right to inject large quantities of SO2 into everyone's air.

"Buy the sky and sell the sky and tell the sky and tell the sky, don't fall on me."

Anyway, Stipe et al., stayed at the top of their game through 1987's Document and 1988's Green. Somewhere along the way though, R.E.M. started morphing from a cool college rock band to a pretty much insufferably huge pop band. 1992's Automatic for the People was really the worst IMO w/ its whiny "Everybody Hurts" and "Man on the Moon". The story is that Kurt Cobain was listening to this album shortly before his suicide and while I don't think it's that bad, it certainly is something best avoided. They bounced back a little w/ 1994's Monster (a somewhat late entrance to the Nirvana-led early-90's scene). And while Dolberry consistently bought their next three albums hoping for a return to form, it never happened. I didn't even get their last album. At some point, everything R.E.M. did seemed to be highly, almost-transparently calculated, which was an abrupt departure from their early free form days. Wikipedia says they're currently in Ireland working w/ Jackknife Lee (sometimes U2 collaborator) on a new album. Dolberry is adopting a cautious wait-and-see attitude.

Best Songs: The One I Love, It's the End of the World As We Know It (and I feel fine), Harborcoat, Green Grow the Rushes, Disturbance at the Heron House, Begin the Begin, Fall on Me, I Believe, South Central Rain, Driver 8, Pop Song 89, Radio Free Europe, Losing My Religion, Bad Day, Binky the Doormat, What's the Frequency Kenneth.

Worst Songs: Man on the Moon (I loathe this song in a way that bold and red font'ing cannot capture.), most of the songs on New Adventures in Hi-Fi.

Wednesday

I've spent all evening applying for my own job. It's a long story. I had to update my resume and answer four long essay questions.

On the plus side, I'm pretty qualified for this job, so I like my chances.

On the down side, I'm too wiped out to write anything else. I'll put Relient K's new video up for your blogging satisfaction. Their single has raced up to #56 on the charts over the past month or so.

Baseball: Season ending loss

We lost 1-0 tonight despite no hitting the other team. A two-out walk, followed by a dropped pop up to second base, led to their only run. Meanwhile, we got two hits but stranded 5-6 runners.

Not bad against the #1 seed, but we had them beat. Oh well, ifs and buts & only one team ends the season w/ a win.

APD took the loss, but he pitched great. He seemed ok about it which is good.

DCV Top Bands of the 80's: #4

4. The Rainmakers

Look out now! Here it comes!

One of the most underappreciated bands of all time, IMO. They had a pretty devoted following in Missouri in the mid-to-late 80s. Dr. Ron McCann, one of the best roommates a guy could have, put Dolberry on to the Rainmakers during the SLU days. Their eponymous debut album, The Rainmakers, ended up being their biggest, peaking at #85 on the U.S. album charts. It featured several Missouri-specific references: "Downstream" (which was about floating down the Mississippi w/ Mark Twain, Harry Truman, and Chuck Berry) and the searing "Rockin at the T-Dance" which lambasted the American engineering disasters of Apollo 1, Apollo 13 and the collapse of the Kansas City Hyatt which killed 114 people during an afternoon tea dance in 1981.

"You can still see the ghosts, but you can't see the sense.
Why'd they let the monkey go and blame the monkey wrench?"

This 1986 album spot-on identified many of the elements of what was wrong, maybe what is wrong w/ America: too lazy (Government Cheese), drinks too much (Drinkin' on the Job), too gossipy (Information), too lustful (Big Fat Blonde), and just generally too aimless (Long Gone Long, a true classic). Strangely enough, the Rainmakers had a Top 20 hit in England w/ "Let My People Go-Go" off this album.

They followed that album up w/ the equally excellent Tornado (1987) and The Good News and the The Bad News (1989). Stephen won a contest (or did I?) where we got to see them play a live studio show for WXRT w/ like 40 other people. I remember that was extremely cool but being slightly disappointed that frontman Bob Walkenhorst seemed way more interested in talking to the womenfolk in the crowd than dweeby (well, Stephen anyway) 20-something guys who had wished to thoroughly dissect every song they'd ever written. In retrospect, I can respect his decision. We saw them in concert at the Park West one time which was also cool.

The Rainmakers were always very popular in Norway for whatever reason. I wish they'd have come along at a time (like today) in which music is so widely available and when quality music will find a large audience via the internet. They would have been huge.

Anyway, my favorite memory of the Rainmakers occured on probably the best day of my life (top 2, definitely). The day I married the lovely KMD. We'd had a beautiful ceremony and had retired to the Galt House for our reception. The first three hours were mostly talking w/ people and taking care of all the obligations of a reception, but the last hour or so was a true blast, capped by Dolberry's mesmerizing dance to the Rainmakers "Tornado of Love" (slipped the cassette to the DJ at some point that night). If you weren't there, words can not describe the transcendentally athletic beauty of that dance. Well actually they can ... Dolberry mostly spun around like a tornado and tried to knock people down. I plan on reprising it on our 50th anniversary, so watch out.

Best Songs: Rockin at the T-Dance, Long Gone Long, Tornado of Love, One More Summer, Reckoning Day, The Other Side of the World, Too Many Twenties, Another Guitar.

Worst Songs: Wild Oats

The wind took, the ground shook, & me and my baby traded one last look.
The heavens squalled ... push come to shove.
Ain't no escaping the tornado of love.

DCV Top Bands of the 80's: #5

#5. John Mellencamp

As Etienne noted earlier, he & Dolberry and the Dolberry Sisters once made a pilgrimmage to Indianapolis to see Mellencamp on his home turf. As I recall, the concert was at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, which I interpreted to mean that the fair was going on and we should arrive really early. Which we did, but there was no fair. Instead we sat/stood in line for most of the day & still had "seats" (it was a huge lawn) about 50 yards back from the stage. I recall there being a really cool sunset that night.

Anyway, Mellencamp was obviously a big deal to us Midwesterners in the 80's. "Scarecrow" and "The Lonesome Jubilee" dealt w/ issues that meant something to people outside of LA and NYC. Lyrics like "I'll probably die in a small town", "It's a lonely ol' night", and "his dream burned up like paper in fire" resonated back in the day.

JM was famously from Seymour, Indiana. Seymour was one of the many southern Indiana towns I visited during the summers of 1987 and 1988 working for Nabisco. Thanks to Mr. Jim Allen, I had one of the best summer jobs imaginable. Let me highlight the perks:

1) You made like $7 bucks per hour which was pretty sweet.

2) Every Friday you could fill a box w/ all the Nabisco products you wanted (e.g., Oreos) from their snack closet.

3) They let me take Fig Newton end stands to SLU after they were done w/ them. We used them as bookshelves and they were surprisingly dorm-durable.

4) The job was really easy. All you had to do was take the cookies/crackers from the back room where the trucks dropped them off and stock the shelves.

5) On really long trips (e.g., Washington IN), Nabisco would put me up for the night in a hotel, w/ a per diem. Other than when APD was really young & we all went to San Diego for a conference, this was probably my favorite business trip of all time. Got to watch a movie and eat at Ponderosa on Nabisco's tab. Wow.

6) Most of my summer was spent driving around southern IN farmlands listening to music in the old Datsun. Except for those times when the Datsun expired, then I spent my time in repair shops in southern IN.

Anyway, that was a great job & Mr. Allen was a great guy. This year's version of the O'Jimmies (my Dad & my roto baseball team) is an obscene offense to his memory. Ah, now I'm in a bad mood, just thinking about it.

I was tempted to dock Mellencamp a spot in the ranking for every thousand times I heard his "Our Country" song in that Chevy commercial. If you're so inclined, move him down to 19th.

Best Songs: Paper in Fire, Small Town, Minutes to Memories, Human Wheels, Rain on the Scarecrow, Hand to Hold Onto, Pink Houses, Pop Singer.

Worst Song: "This is our countreeeee. From the East Coast ... to the West Coast ... to the Dixie Highway ... back home. This is our countreeeeee." And this is our truck.

DCV Top Bands of the 80's: #6

#6 Stray Cats

The amazing thing about this countdown is how little staying power a band had to have to be one of my lingering favorites. The Stray Cats were huge for about 9 months in 1982 and 1983. They were a strange mix of 50's-sounding rockabilly w/ an 80's New Wave sensibility (having hit it big in England about a year prior to hitting it big at home).

My favorite memory of the Stray Cats was watching the video to "Rock This Town" some Saturday afternoon & attempting to duplicate Slim Jim Phantom's signature leap off the drum kit to end the song from a folding chair we had. Something went awry & I managed to destroy the chair. Pretty cool.

Best songs: Rock This Town, Stray Cat Strut, Rumble in Brighton, Sexy + 17
Worst songs: Did they have any other songs?

Great game tonight! (APD)

First tournament game tonight. We ended the season as the #8 seed (of 12) and played #9 tonight. We tied them earlier in the season. Nothing screams "What a Matchup!" than when a 3-5-2 team hooks up w/ a 3-6-1 team.

The day started out bleakly w/ a note and call that our best pitcher had broken his toe in the morning. As it turned out he was fine. He gave up his first run of the season, but exited on the plus side of a 2-1 ledger thanks in part to a triple he hit. APD got a nice line drive single to the OF ... on a 3-0 pitch.

We got them out in the 4th inning after APD made a nice 4-3 play on a hard hit ball and our 2nd pitcher got a 1-3 line out DP. APD popped out to SS in the 4th. But, they tied it at two in the 5th.

In the top of the 6th we gave up a leadoff walk and a SB, then our SS made an amazing 6-3 DP by tagging the runner trying to go by, then gunning the guy out at 1st. Our 4th pitcher of the game was pitching great & struck out the next guy.

Bottom of the 6th, we get a leadoff BB, steal 2nd, FC advances the runner to 3rd w/ one out. Two walks later both on full counts, we have bases loaded w/ out second best hitter up. He'd struck out his first two times but on a 2-2 pitch he hit the ball over the OF's heads for the game winner.

Too exciting. Our team is really getting better. Only one K looking & almost everyone was putting the ball in play. And our infield defense is amazing.

We play the #1 seed on Tuesday. I think we have a legitimate shot at pulling the shocker. If we do, beach goers will be able to see APD on Sat 6/2 if they so desire (9am game).

APD's Outer Banks Trip

Taking a break from the countdown to briefly describe APD's 4th grade OBX trip. Thanks to KMD's dedicated service throughout the year, I was fortunate enough to be a chaperone.

We met at his school at 6:15a Thursday and got on a really nice bus.

1st stop was at Fort Raleigh. Very interesting site. The colonization of America didn't get off to the best of starts.

2nd stop was Roanoke Island Festival Park. That was really cool. The kids got to "work" as if they were part of the first colony. They worked on a ship, w/ a blacksmith, & learned some dances.

3rd stop was Jockey's Ridge State Park which is a series of tall natural sand dunes. It had been raining all day & was about 59 degrees, so there was some doubt as to whether the kids would be able to do this part, but we went ahead & did it. Because they didn't want sand in the kids shoes, we all did it barefoot. The kids loved it & I got off my best line of the trip, remarking to another chaperone (re: the barefoot slogging uphill in a steady, wind-driven, cold rain) ... "This isn't a field trip. It's a hazing." Ha. I'm pretty funny.

After that we went to Pizza Hut (no link, I'm supposing you've seen one at some point) and retired for the evening at a church's gym. The kids played basketball & rollerskated from 8-10p, then crashed for the evening. Sleeping on a basketball floor is something I can going another few years w/o doing again. We ended the day w/ a really nice talk from his teacher about how God had blessed these kids w/ so much and it was up to them to do something w/ those blessings. It was powerful. The second best part was after that when APD's teacher (who is outstanding) was on his last frayed nerve after all day w/ that many 10 yr old boys & 10-15 minutes of mayhem in the dark said "the next one that talks of gets up is getting the air let out of his air mattress." That quieted them down.

On Friday, we started out at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. It had stopped raining, but was still cool and very breezy. At the top of the monument hill, it was probably sustained 30 mph which the kids loved. There were pictures taken. One of me & APD, if it turns out, I'll post it. Pretty cool up there as you can see the Atlantic and the Sound. The museum itself was solid w/ a really nice presentation. The kids got to run along the paths of the first four flights. APD was able to beat the plane on it's first three flights.

The last stop was in Washington NC at the North Carolina Estuarium. It was cool. Featured a museum and a nice walk along the Pamlico River. We saw a muskrat and some baby ducks.

We ate dinner at a Golden Corral & got back home at 8p. (In time for me to get to a 9p softball game where I threw two runners out from LCF, but we lost.) It was just a really special time to watch APD as a member of this big group of kids. He cares so much about his friends. It's cool to watch.

DCV Top Bands of the 80's: #7

#7 Van Halen:

Edward Van Halen and cohorts flat out rocked for a period from 1978 to 1986 (or so). This has been somewhat overshadowed over the past two decades due to their unsurpassed ability for non-musical drama. To truly appreciate Van Halen I think you had to grow up in Louisville. We had one rock station ... WQMF 95.7. QMF played three bands in strict rotation, and while the songs could vary, these were the only three bands that were ever played: Led Zeppelin, Heart, and Van Halen. The Halen is the only one of those three I enjoyed. If I hadn't, this neverending blogging exercise would probably consist of Alabama, Eddie Rabbitt, & Oak Ridge Boys, because that's what the other side of the dial was.

Of course, if El Cuarte was doing the countdown of the 80's, it'd be a one-blog countdown consisting of these guys.

Best Songs: Panama, You Really Got Me, And The Cradle Will Rock, Jump, Ain't Talking Bout Love, Unchained, Ice Cream Man, Right Now, Dreams

Worst Songs: Jamie's Cryin', Dance the Night Away, Love Walks In

DCV Top Bands of the 80's: #8

#8 The Police:

My favorite memory of the Police was when the Dolberries all loaded into the Volare sometime during the summer of 1983 to drop Dolberry! off at the Naval Academy for some summer program while the rest of the family vacationed at Ocean City. I do not remember why I went along w/ this idea. Anyway, I had a decent enough time in Annapolis. I got some good brooding in while listening to U2's amazing War album on my walkman while running around the Naval Academy's track from which you could see Chesapeake Bay. I also had some fun learning about coastal engineering w/ sand dunes and stuff in the USNA wave tank. Very cool. Anyway, I probably would have gone to the Naval Academy but for three reasons: 1) the call of the Billiken, 2) I was pretty sure that I'd never get the hang of that strange thing the cadets have to do w/ their shoes whenever they turn a corner, and 3) I think you needed a Congressional letter of recommendation & we were Larouchies at the time. Anyway, from what I've gathered over the years, the rest of the family had a miserable time at the beach w/o me, and vowed never to be away from me ever again. This summer were all going to the beach as a family and so far no one has signed me up for Camp Lejeune, though I'm going to grip the door handles tighter this time as we pass. As they say ... fool me once ...

What does this have to do w/ The Police? I'm getting to it.

If you've been a reader of the DCV since day one, you'll know I was once upon a time a great countdown buff. Now, I hardly ever count stuff down (at least not quickly). 1983 was the golden era of countdowns & somehow I was able to talk Mom & Pop into constantly scanning the radio to see which song would be played the most during our car ride. Looking back, I can't imagine how annoying this must have been ... to listen to 5-10 seconds of every song before searching for another one. It certainly appears to indicate some guilt on the part of the parental units in dropping their only son off at military school while they went to the beach. The most-played-song contest came down to two songs: the horrific Sergio Mendes ballad "Never Going to Let You Go" and (here comes your payoff) The Police's "Every Breath You Take". As we entered into Kentucky heading west/home on I-64, EBYT was trailing by two plays, but aided by better knowledge of which stations were likely to play the Police and staying away from Mendes-favoring stations, Dolberry was able to engineer a victory for Sting, Stuart, & Andy.

The Police had a lot of great songs. "Roxanne" is pretty good, but if you've never had the pleasure of listening to it w/ accompanying falsetto from Dolberry, you haven't experienced it in full. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" was always a Trinity cross-country favorite which was sung when someone would try to run too close to you in practice. I love the fact that the Police were able to work this guy into a song so seamlessly. "Synchronicity II" was a pretty amazing song as well ... as the lyrics to that one pretty much summed up how I felt every day fighting the traffic home in Chicago.

Another working day has ended
Only the rush hour hell to face
Packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes
Contestants in a suicidal race.

Sting's solo career was sort of a disappointment for those of us who enjoy rocking out on occasion. Guess he was doing was he wanted to be doing though, so bully to him. Hope their reunion tour goes well this summer. They're playing at Churchill Downs at some point. I guess Louisville has Giacomo to thank for that.

Best Songs: Every Breath, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Don't Stand So Close to Me, Message in a Bottle, Synchronicity II, Roxanne

Worst Song: After a while I got tired of "King of Pain", but it was ok.

APD Baseball

Our baseball team is starting to feel like we're playing soccer or hockey, as we tied our 2nd game of the season tonight. This one was 2-2. We played really good defense and got some great defense, but left the bases loaded in both of the last two innings.

APD pitched 2 shutout innings and walked his first two times up & came up w/ the bases juiced and two outs in the bottom of the fifth (w/ time having run out). He got down 0-2 to a fast pitcher, then chopped one down to the 3rd baseman who made a nice play & got the force at home. Then in the 6th, we had the bases loaded & our leadoff hitter popped one up to 2nd. It was a really exciting game. Probably no one deserved to lose. I think we're in 8th out of 12 now at 2-5-2.

Euphoria!

This blog is boring enough w/o me getting into details about my softball games, but last night's game was too much fun to move past.

I've been hitting much better lately. On the Gold team (10-1, 2nd of 17), I've gotten on base 7 straight times (6 hits, 1 E5). On the Blue team (6-4, 2nd of 6), I was leading the team in hitting going into our last game (~ .700). Anyway, we were down 17-8 going into the last inning last night. Dolberry had made the last out of the prior inning so I was minding my own business coaching 1st as our team battled back w/ a whole bunch of hits to 17-15. So, I came up w/ 2 outs, 2 on, and down by two, & cranked one down the first base line that bounced by the RF to the fence for an 18-17 Blue victory. It's been since Chicago that I got a hit as fun as that one.

APD had a nice game today as well. One hit and he scored our only run in a 2-1 loss. He was the losing pitcher, but not really his fault as he pitched 2 IP, struck out 2, & walked one. Unfortunately, we had a ground ball that was an E6, E3, E2 that allowed two to score. Oh well. After that we had our annual parent-kid game & they won that one 9-8. KMD got a big hit in that game as well, so we all are hot.

DCV Top Bands of the 80s: #9 (new contest!)

#9 Men at Work

I remember the first album I ever really wanted (& got) was Men At Work's Business as Usual. Prior to that, I was always happy w/ 45's or taping individual songs onto cassettes. Yes, I feel old. Anyway, Men at Work pretty much dominated 1982 and 1983. "Who Can It Be Now" was #14 for the year in 1982 and they had three songs in the year end Billboard countdown in 1983: "Down Under" was #8, "Overkill" was #41, and "It's a Mistake" was #71. According to wikipedia, Men At Work is one of only five artists ever to have the #1 song in the U.S. and the U.K. at the same time (along w/ Simon & Garfunkel, Rod Stewart, Beyonce, and the Beatles ... seven times).

However, pretty much as fast as one could eat a vegemite sandwich; they were gone.

Primarily famous as an Austrailan band, the lead singer Colin Hay was actually born in Scotland, only moving Down Under when he was 14. One of the DCV Top 5 bands also features a few Scottish lads. Anyone who can guess the Dolberry Top 5 Bands of the 80's in order (post guesses below) will when a special prize pack of a Dolberry! Best of the 80's CD and an old Dolberry t-shirt from the 80's that doesn't fit anymore. Good luck!

DCV Top Bands of the 80s: #10

(Has anything so meaningless ever been so drawn out? I'm guessing, no.)

#10. The Fixx:

Only in the 80's could you have so many good bands who started out as hairdressers as Cy Curnin of the Fixx did (and the Flock of Seagulls guy). The Fixx entered Dolberry's conciousness in '82 as one of the early MTV heavy rotation stalwarts w/ songs such as "Stand or Fall" and the apocalyptic "Red Skies".

I wonder what year marked the point in which people quit worrying that the world could end any second due to nuclear war. I remember thinking about atomic mayhem many nights falling asleep while growing up. And for you youngsters out there ... we had this so-called "Doomsday Clock" which showed how close the world was to ending and it was always like 11:57pm. Just for hoots, I googled it to see where we're at now: 11:55pm. Now that's progress, folks. Good thing I was already staying up late tonight going over everything I could have coached differently in our 3-0 loss tonight.

Anyway, "Red Skies" made the prospects of a nuclear holocaust totally hummable ... "Red Skies at night ... red skies at night ... Oh Oh ... oh oh ... Oh OH OH oh Oh Oh ho ho!"

The Fixx hit it really big in 1983 w/ their Reach the Beach album featuring the smash single "One Thing Leads to Another" and less-smashier hits "Saved By Zero" and "The Sign of Fire". I saw the Fixx live in St. Louis w/ one of my earliest SLU friends Harry (last name forgotten). The Fixx started a great SLU tradition though w/ their "sharing" of zeroes w/ the crowd. Cy Curnin would form a zero w/ his thumb and forefinger and throw it to the crowd, then patiently wait for someone in the crowd to throw it back, whenceupon (?) he would catch it using a reverse motion of the throwng motion. We did it a lot at SLU because it was as fun and creative as hackysack w/o having to have any hackysack-skillz.

My other Fixx memory was that Ron M. hated 'em, or at least disliked them. One night when I was in a grumpy mood, I vowed to listen to Reach the Beach all night long to indulge my gloom by hopefully passing it on to someone else. Two problems w/ the plan ... 1) Ron usually forestalled getting gloomy by hitting/kicking/stickwhacking people & 2) I could only listen to about 6 Fixx songs by that point (1985?).

Best Songs: Saved by Zero, Red Skies, Are We Ourselves, One Thing Leads to Another
Worst Songs: The Sign of Fire, Less Cities More Moving People