Sweet Victory and other thoughts

APD's team won today 3-1. The kids played really great. Our record is now 1-2-1 which sounds like an NHL record. Not sure if we've had any overtime losses. APD got the top of the first started w/ a 1-out single, then scored on an HR by our #3 hitter. APD stopped to see if the ball was going to be caught by the RF (it was a rocket right at him, that he deftly dodged) and our #3 hitter, who blazingly fast, had caught him by 2nd base. Fortunately he didn't pass him. APD made a sliding catch in RCF in the bottom of the first for a pretty nice inning. Our ace pitcher (& #3 hitter) struck out the side in 9 pitches in the 2nd. We got a run in the top of the third when one of our batters who rarely swings got an RBI single. APD pitched a scoreless 3rd. He gave up one in the fourth to narrow the lead to 3-1, but struck out a good hitter w/ runners on the corners. They got runners on the corners again in the 5th (last inning due to time), but our pitcher got a K to end it. It was very exciting for players and coaches alike. We play again on Monday.

Running down my softball performance in the blog must have fired me up as I went 3-3 w/ a (bloop) double. We won to improve to 3-3.

I'm excited about the Majerus hire at SLU. Hopefully he stays healthy & happy & SLU returns to the gravy years of .... well .... hey we used to be good at soccer.

Was glad the Browns didn't draft Quinn at #3, then glad they did draft him at #22.

Looking forward to the Derby!

Well we didn't lose ...

We didn't win either ... a 1-1 tie. APD played great w/ a tough-luck 6-4 fielders choice (on a ball that would've made it up the middle but for the mound) & a walk. Then he made a sweet unassisted double play on a pop up to 2B. It was kind of frustrating, as we should have won about three separate ways, but oh well. Try again tomorrow. The coolest part was on the way home hearing APD say "I love playing baseball."

Mojo came in 3rd in the EPA Earth Day photo contest which was the biggest miscarriage of justice sense OJ was let off. Plus, in a separate category (fauna), a picture of a gorilla came in third also. Seriously, who votes two photos ahead of a gorilla & the cutest baby around?

I like Circular Quay in the Derby.

I'm off work today, so to all you working ... enjoy!

Update

Lot going on here it seems, but then when I go to put in on blog, it doesn't seem like that much.

Work is busy. This probably won't change any time this year. Oh well. I'm a co-author on a paper that got accepted into Atmospheric Environment today. It's not as exciting as it sounds. Here are the things I'm working on: this, this, and this. I'm doing (part) of a briefing for the Asst. Administrator next Wed. It's not as exciting as it sounds.

APD's team is 0-2 w/ a 10-5 loss and a 10-1 loss. We play another 0-2 team tomorrow, so we will either be incredibly joyous or incredibly despondent by 7:30 tomorrow evening. By "we" I mean "me". APD takes after Dolberry in that baseball/softball can be a good thing if either the team OR the individual does well. It doesn't have to be "and". W/ coaching the team & the individual are kinda the same.

Softball goes on. In Apex we are 2-3. In Cary we lost our first game last night, so we're 6-1. I've pretty much settled into being a pretty mediocre player. Can't remember the last time I've gotten an extra base hit.

Youth group is fun, though it makes for busy Sundays.

I've only exercised maybe twice since doing that triathlon in March. I think I've set some sort of record for fastest getting out of shape.

KMD's had some tests lately that have all come back great, except for having anemia. I'd pretty much figured the burden of 24/7 w/ Dolberry was wearing her down, but there's a physical reason as well.

We're looking forward to the Derby trip. They scheduled a mandatory meeting (for chaperones) to talk about APD's Outer Banks field trip for that Thursday at 2pm, so we may be getting in later than previously thought. Oy.

Papa Sparky is kicking my butt in the blogging department. I get great joy out of the AOOSFB page and the smiling face that's up there almost every day & I know I'm not the only one.

I'm Tired

I Can Fly Wright Brothers Style

APD's class did a great job tonight w/ the annual 4th grade play about the Wright Bros. as kids. APD had the role of Octave Chanute who was an advisor to Orville and Wilbur. He did a fantastic job as did all the kids. It was cool to see him so excited afterward. He said he used the words "good", "great", & "awesome" over 400 times today.

They had a long day w/ the end of the standardized tests, then they stayed at school to get makeup, eat dinner, etc. The play runs through tomorrow night after which they have a big cast party. Very cool. Alex's makeup made him look like a member of the Cure ... had the Cure existed in the early 20th century.

Anyway, he has great teachers, so a shout out to all DCV-reading teachers. Thanks for all you do!

Switchfoot Concert

Went to see Switchfoot w/ parts of our Youth Group and other folks from church last Friday. It was a good show. Outdoors on a very pleasant night in a big field. They played the following songs:

Stars
Politicians (my current favorite)
Oh! Gravity
We are one tonight
Gone
This is your life
Learning to breathe
Faust, midas, and myself
On fire
Ammuntion
American dream
Shadow proves the sunshine
Awakening
Dirty second hands
Meant to live
Only hope
Dare you to move

Needless to say, I felt every one of my 40 years old.

Attending a concert w/ 7th graders did remind me that I still need to give the "Life Episodes" treatment to the Fleetwood Mac concert I almost attended in 7th grade. I assume any negligent parenting charges would have had some sort of statute of limitations expiration by this point.

Opening Day!

Had our first NC Mechanical game today. Nice weather for it. Upper 60's w/ some sun.

We had two tough innings & one really good one which added up to a 10-5 loss. Almost all the kids seemed to have fun. Am looking forward to our next game.

APD had an amazing inning of pitching in which he struck out the side on maybe 12 pitches. He throws strikes. Since he's a lefty w/ long unkempt hair, KMD has started calling him the "Little Unit" after Randy Johnson. Batting he had a K w/ a BB and a run scored. He's a gutty kid.

He's having a pretty good stretch because he won his HeroClix tournament this morning & he had a really fun sleepover last night in which he stayed up to 1:30a w/ friends. I told him he had to stay up past 1am from now on on game nights ... sort of a reverse curfew.

DCV Top Bands of the 80's: 15-11

15. Prince

Hey, did the diminuitive Purple One rock the Super Bowl or what? That was seriously impressive. For whatever reason, I associate Prince with my days as a lifeguard at Woodhaven. There's not much to be said about Prince that hasn't already been covered, so let's reminisce about my days as a lifeguard.

Q. Did you ever save anyone?

A. Not really. I got in the pool once. A little kid had bounced to a part of the pool from which he could no longer bounce up to get air. I think someone would have gotten him if I didn't.

Q. Were the kid's parents appreciative?

A. Not really. The mom seemed a little put out by my interruption of her book.

Q. Did all the girls hangout by the lifeguard stand when you were the guard?

A. Not really. The main person who hung out by the stand was Kent Maguire and he was usually trying to throw my stuff (clothes, radio, etc.) into the pool.

Q. Why do you suppose no girls hung out by you.

A. Not sure. I was very concerned about not getting sunburned while lifeguarding. As a result, I wrapped myself from head to toe in an oversized towel in an attempt to avoid the sun. I looked like Katherine Hepburn in her reclusive days.

Q. What was the hardest part of being a lifeguard?

A. No doubt it was the lifeguard test. You had to do all sorts of odd tests to qualify for this minimum wage job. For instance swim 800 yards in under 15 minutes ... somewhat overkill for a pool where it was about 18 yards to the farthest point from the chair. Plus, you had to rescue strange guys at the test. Ugh.

Q. Did you ever do anything really foolish as a lifeguard?

A. What a strange question. But yes. On one cool, cloudy day late in the summer when pretty much every fun thing one could do at Woodhaven (and those days are very special to me ... no better place to be a youth in the summer) had been exhausted ... David Orwick & Brian Maguire talked me into (or I talked them into) tying a lane line from the lifeguard chair to the high dive ... upon which they tried to dive over it from the low dive. There was probably a 35% chance of breaking your neck doing so, but they didn't, which is probably a good thing from all perspectives, including that of the Woodhaven insurer.

Q. Was that last sentence 6 lines long?

A. Yes, it was. I wrote that sentence like it was 1999.

Best songs: Let's Go Crazy, Sign O' the Times, Little Red Corvette

Worst song: Kiss

14. Flock of Seagulls

All right, I got on Bon Jovi for getting into the top 20 despite only having one good song. It turns out now if you had one really good song PLUS the best hairstyle of all time, you can get into the Top 15. Despite shooting their seminal "I Ran" video in a Shillito's dressing room, the Flock drew widespead acclaim w/ the hairstyle of Mike Score (a former hairdresser).

I frequently wore this hairstyle at SLU, mostly on Friday nights. Was it a desperate appeal for attention? On my part, probably. Not sure on the Flock of Seagulls part. I still break out my Flock do on occasion. I wore it once to work about two years ago & people still talk about it. Maybe for the beach. Anyway, I liked the Flock's second single as well, but not enough people did, & unlike Dolberry (& his considerable charisma), the Flock didn't have anything beyond the hairstyle to maintain attention and kinda faded away.

Best songs: I Ran, Wishing, Space Age Love Song

Worst song: none really distinguished themselves enough to be noticed

13. Warren Zevon

Believe it was the estimable Tom Menke who turned me on to Warren Zevon. He had a live album & remember us frequently rocking out to "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" and "Excitable Boy" among others. Along w/ Etienne, really enjoyed his 80's stuff. The guitar solos in "Sentimental Hygiene" (which I believe are played my Neil Young) are legendary shredders. The haunting "Spendid Isolation" called out Michael Jackson before most of us realized he was a certifiable loony. The whole Sentimental Hygiene album (backed by R.E.M.) is one of the best of the 80's. Etienne, Dolberry, & some friends from Region 5 saw him in a show in Chicago. Good deal. Possibly one of the most clever songwriters of all time, Zevon died way too early in 2003 of mesothelioma. On Letterman, he famously intoned "that he may have made a mistake in not seeing a doctor for over 20 years" and advised all of us that would outlive him "to enjoy every sandwich". Thanks Warren. Will do.

Best songs: Sentimental Hygiene, Poor Poor Pitiful Me, Bad Karma

Worst songs: I didn't like some of the acoustic treatments on his live album, but that's quibbling.

12. Dire Straits

Their 1985 album Brothers in Arms has sold 25 million copies worldwide. Really big album. I will forever associate the song "Walk of Life" with my first ever shoulder dislocation (shoulder dislocation counter 000014) as it was playing on the radio as we drove to the ER. Their pre-80's stuff was really good as well. Following the monstrous success of Brothers in Arms, Mark Knopfler and Co. made the questionable business decision of not releasing another album for 6 years.

Best Songs: Money for Nothing, Sultans of Swing, Tunnel of Love

Worst Song: Calling Elvis

11. Bruce Springsteen

There are probably millions of people who like Springsteen more than I do, but even still the amount that I like him is enough to get him to 11th in the DCV rankings. My #1 memory of Springsteen was one night listening to WLS (out of Chicago) and hearing them debut the first single of Born in the U.S.A. which was "Dancing in the Dark". Remember being relatively unimpressed, but that was probably the worst song off the whole thing. I guess real Springsteen fans look down on this period, but for my money there's no better feel-bad-for-yourself-'cause-you-got-no-girlfriend then "Downbound Train". I got ample use out of that song through most of my SLU days.

Best Songs: Thunder Road, Glory Days, The Rising (each from three separate decades)

Worst Song: 57 Channels (& Nothing On)

Shamrock Challenge: Professional Division

Looks like the competition is going to be pretty tight in the amateur division, but here's the elite division. (Other non-shamrock flowers shown for size.)

Careful observers will note the dusting of snow we got this morning outside. It was our third biggest snow of the season.

Get Well Wishes to All

G'ma: Will be praying for your rapid return to health.

G'pa: Hope you're hanging in there. Sorry about the Buckeyes (again!)

Katheigh: Glad to hear the strep is gone ... hope Spring Break never is ("gone" that is).

Kristin: Hope the surgery gets rid of the CT ... as best as possible.

Carrie: Job stuff. Hope Mom/Dad's visit heals all.

Gabe: Good riddance to that appendix. More room for hot dogs.

Isaac: Hoping that broken wrist heals fully.

My goodness ... did I leave anyone off?!?

(Oh yeah, Katheigh's sickly looking shamrock. I'll post a real shamrock pic tomorrow when the sun comes out & I can get a good pic of mine.)

Apex condemns sheep house & other thoughts

The DCV continues to stay on this story. Our town council passed an ordinance banning all livestock, except horses, from Apex. Closing the stable door after the indoor sheep have accumulated, I guess. It's not effective until June 1st, thankfully.

If there was ever a doubt that Bob Huggins was the leading weasel of all sports weasels, then it was removed this afternoon when he resigned from K-State (after a solid 1-year tenure) to take the WVU job. I'm not THAT sympathetic to K-State. They had to know who they were dealing with & they were probably fortunate to get off w/o a trip to Probationville. Still, it seems extremely self-centered to recruit a bunch of kids to Manhattan KS then leave them there as soon as something better opens up. It's not like the world was beating down his door to hire him last year. And from an environmental perspective, how many acres of purple fabric were wasted for one year's worth of covering Huggins' expansive gut? Anyway, WVU he's your problem now. Let us know how that works out for you.

Also, before I put this on craigslist, will give DCV readers a shot. We're looking to get rid of three healthy yaks. Motivated seller. Must take ownership by 5/31.

DCV Top Bands of the 80's: 20-16

#20 Replacements:
With most, if not all, of the previous 20 entries there's either been a high school reference or a college reference associated w/ the song. There were two other years in the 80's that were spent at an educational facility that holds a lower place in Dolberry's memories than either Trinity H.S. or Saint Louis U. That would be the University of Chicago. (As an aside, the U of C has called us every night between 7p and 8p for the past two weeks. Having answered in the past, I know it's the Geophysical Sciences Dept. They want money. In the past, I've always politely declined to provide it for them. I think if they had exhibited as much interest in me while I was a student there, it might have gone better for both of us.) Anyway, the Replacements pretty much perfectly fit the overall feel of my time at U of C. As I was over my head there, the 'Mats pretty much seemed to be over their head in terms of making professional music. But for whatever reason I was in Hyde Park and the Replacements were making albums. And we both went at w/ a similar slacker attitude. Whereas I got half-hearted C's in most of my classes on subjects I had no clue on (e.g., fluid dynamics), Paul Westerberg and company were releasing albums titled Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash and (most unfortunately) Tim. My penultimate Replacements moment was their free WXRT 4th of July show which the lovely KMD (at the time the lovely KMB) taped for me. It was the band's second to last show ever. After about an hour, they got tired of playing, so for the song "Hootenanny" each band member switched instruments, before eventually leaving the stage to the roadies, who also left, leaving wailing guitar feedback ... all on live radio. The DJ who rushed onto the air (after about 25 seconds of sirenous feedback) intoned somewhat cautiously "Um ... I believe the Replacements have left the stage." Anyway Dolberry survived this period as did most of the Replacements (3 out of the original 4 ... one died of an overdose).

Best Songs: I Will Dare, Take Me Down to the Hospital, Can't Hardly Wait
Worst Songs: Attitude

19. John Hiatt:
Well, how about that ... here's another U of C favorite. And another one who was frequently playing live shows on WXRT (an awesome radio station at the time ... I listened to it a bit when I was in Chicago in February ... still seemed to be playing an eclectic mix of mostly rock). After maybe a minute of thought, I can't think of any existential link between Hiatt's music and the dreariness of those U of C days. A native Hoosier who relocated to Nashville, to me Hiatt was one of the earlier forerunners of the so-called alt.country genre. Most of his songs are touching fables about subjects like family ("Your Dad Did", "Georgia Rae"), or his optimistic recovery from alcoholism ("Slow Turning", "Paper Thin"), or more humorous topics like stealing cars from Elvis ("Tennessee Plates") or a couples that rob banks w/ their child in an infant seat ("Trudy and Dave"). Hiatt seemed to be on the verge of decent commercial success after his 1995 Grammy-nominated Walk On album, but his work since that one has been kind of disappointing.

Best Songs: Dust Down a Country Road, Georgia Rae, Tennessee Plates, The Rest of the Dream
Worst Song: Little Head

18. Def Leppard
Not a whole lot to say here. Def Leppard was big on the Trinity cross-country team. The "Gunter glieben glauchen globen" opening to "Rock of Ages" was a semi-catchphrase back in the day. According to Wikipedia, the phrase doesn't mean anything in German and was only used because Joe Elliott wanted something other than "one, two, three, four". Pyromania and Hysteria were both solid albums that can still be enjoyed to this day. Def Leppard seems to have some credibility even w/ kids of today. Even APD knows the tale of their one-armed drummer.

17. Bon Jovi
I guess you can make the Top 20 even by only having one really good song. Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" is in my opinion a requisite resident on any list of classic '80's songs. From the mumbled Star Wars-y opening "Once upon a time ... in a land not so far away", to the sweet 4-beat rhythm of the bass, to Jon Bon Jovi's growling "Tommy used to work on the docks ..." and "Gina works the diner all day", through the soaring anthemic chorus of "We're halfway there ... OH OH ... LIVING ON A PRAYER" ... stumbling a little thru a 2nd and last stanza about Tommy having to hock his guitar (evidence of the toughest times a young couple could go through in the 80s, apparently) ... before completely recovering by singing the great chorus several more times. Just a classic song.

Best song: Living on a Prayer, any of their other songs that sound a lot like "Prayer" (e.g., It's My Life)

Worst Song: Wanted Dead or Alive, Bad Medicine

16. Tears for Fears
This English duo dominated the charts in 1985 w/ "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", "Head Over Heels", and "Shout". It took them four years to release a followup to the huge-selling Songs from the Big Chair. In that time, the world had sort of moved on, at least I had, and the strongly Beatles-influenced The Seeds of Love were sown on rocky ground and the band split shortly thereafter. Anyway, cooler than all that is that in Relient K's classic ode to our favorite decade "In Love with 80's (Pink Tux to the Prom)" they sing the following lyrics that capture the entire decade in about 25 words ...

and I only want to pierce my left ear

I've been working on this mustache all summer long

and my favorite band will always be Tears for Fears

and I'm gonna wear a pinx tux to the prom

Papa Sparky! laps the DI field

In an upset of gargantuan scale, Papa Sparky went from worst to first to win the 2007 Dolberry Invitational. Given his accuracy this year, you can pretty much take FL over OSU to the back Monday night. I think he'll be in the top 1% in the ESPN picks. That's the last time I taunt anyone who finishes last in the DI. Be thankful, Chubby.

Congratulations PS! Your gift card is on the way ... ("on the way" is defined loosely).

Baaaaaaa, part 2

Figured DCV readers would want an update on the Apex sheep story. Here's my favorite part of the whole deal (from a different N & O article)

District Court Judge Jane Gray walked into her courtroom after lunch to see a gaggle of television cameras. "Oh God," she said to the media. "The sheepman?"

Watts' attorney, Josh Hansen, asked the judge to release Watts pending trial. Gray refused but reduced Watts' bail from $30,000 to $12,000. He posted the lesser bond and was released. As Watts was led from the courtroom, another inmate awaiting a turn before the judge loudly bleated like a sheep, earning Gray's ire.

Classic.

Baaaaaaa!

Hey, the Peak of Good Living has made the national news for the 2nd time in less than a year. Pretty much right in downtown Apex a guy was keeping 80 sheep in his house as pets. I guess it wasn't against any ordinances until they got loose yesterday & started grazing on the floral arrangements in the town cemetery.

Who knows what will turn up next in Apex? We've had a toxic waste recycling center and now a houseflock of sheep. My money says Michael Jackson will be involved.

DCV Top Bands of the 80's: 25-21

#25 Blondie:
I guess Blondie was one of the first "new wave" type bands to find success in the U.S. in the late seventies / early eighties, in the dying days of disco. They started out as NYC underground punk rockers before finding success in England in the late 70's. They hit it big w/ "Heart of Glass" worldwide in 1978. I remember listening to this song (along w/ the Knack's "My Sharona") while playing Dungeons and Dragons (and Risk) w/ Topher Walther & neighborhood friends. I always thought "Heart of Glass" had a bad word in it & remembered having to be careful when singing it, but a google scan of lyrics reveals "gas" and "glass", but not the term I remember. In these scandalous days of 2007, when people post right out in the open about "butt darts", the whole thing lingers pleasantly like the sweet innocent haze of youth.

Best Songs: Heart of Glass, Call Me
Worst Song: The Tide is High

#24 Rush
I admit to being initially underwhelmed and not properly appreciative of the ultimate Canadian power trio. In high school I was familiar w/ Rush via "Tom Sawyer" and knew of people who enjoyed their 2112 album. I think the reason why I wasn't too enamored w/ 'em in high school is captured by this wikipedia description of the theme behind the "2112" album ... "in the year 2062, a galaxy-wide war results in the union of all planets under the rule of the Red Star of the Solar Federation." .... O .... K ... Let us know how that all ends up Rush. Also, it takes about 10 years to get used to Geddy Lee's high-pitched voice. But once you do, how can you not enjoy such great tunes as "Limelight", "Spirit of Radio", "Subdivisions"? Kevin Evars (an extremely cool guy) turned me on to them most. "The Big Money" was a big hit at SLU. Rush had lots of good lines "Conform or be cast out", or "Even if you don't decide, you have still made a choice." Good stuff. They're still making new music, I believe which you got to respect.

Best Songs: "Limelight", "Subdivisions", "Spirit of Radio"
Worst Song: "New World Man" (their only US top 40 hit)

23: Cheap Trick
All right, now we're getting into the good bands. Rush and now the pride of Rockford IL (typically one of the lowest rated cities whenever they rate 'em), Cheap Trick. This group took an unusual route to stardom, becoming big in Japan first then establishing a foothold on U.S. rock radio via a live album recorded in Japan, At Budokan. The Trick had a distinctive video presence as well, w/ the chain-smoking drummer, a long-haired crooner, an anonymous bass player, and the guitarist who could make goofy faces and played goofy looking guitars. Their song "She's Tight" was a big hit amongst the SLU crew. I believe Ron & Dolberry covered it at one point. I think we recorded it on someone else's cassette. We weren't always real considerate.

Best Songs: I Want You To Want Me, Surrender, Dream Police
Worst Song: The Flame (their only #1 single)

#22 Duran Duran
It's impossible to overstate the importance of cable TV and especially MTV on the lives of American teenagers in the early 80's. I don't think it's an exaggeration to state that the day we got MTV was pretty close to what it must have been like for people to get TV at all in the '50s. This despite the fact that MTV played only like 12 videos over and over when we got it. You had the "video killed the radio star" one, then you'd get that Wall of Voodoo one where the guy's face emerged from a bowl of beans, there was a cool Peter Gabriel video for "Shock the Monkey" and then you had two Duran Duran songs: "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio". And where the other videos looked like they been shot on a budget consisting of coins found under the couch, "HLTW" and "Rio" looked like major Hollywood productions. You had your Simon LeBon looking all handsome in all sorts of picturesque settings, surrounded by pretty girls, and in one famous case ... a conspiring-with-the-enemy monkey. None of it made any sense and the music was considerably iffy after the first two singles, but double D was one of the bigger bands of the 80's. Go figure.

Best Songs: Rio, Hungry Like the Wolf, Save a Prayer
Worst Song: The Reflex

#21 Genesis
These guys were like the bizarro world version of Rush. I really liked them in high school, then grew to loathe them in college. Matt Jung showed me the light. He viewed (views?) Phil Collins as the devil incarnate. (I'd always pegged the devil as a guitarist, not a drummer.) This band went through musical styles faster than Tennessee can lose a 20 point lead. Their playing aligned w/ my musical listening preferences for a relatively short period in the early 80's. From 1981's Abacab to 1986's Invisible Touch, Genesis churned out the most radio-friendly pop-rock around. My favorite album was the eponymous Genesis which had on its cover a baby toy which presumably evoked happy memories.

Best Songs: Taking It All to Hard, Abacab, That's All
Worst Song: anything by Phil Collins solo

Update

Hope the end of the weekend (or whenever you're reading this) finds everyone well ...

In Dolberry Invitational news, congrats to Papa Sparky for successfully copying off of Dolberry's typically astute picks. PS is in the 97th percentile which (while seeming mathmatically impossible) is 123% higher than his picks from last year. It looks to me as if PS wins if Florida repeats, Dolberry! wins if UCLA wins, & the Hellraiser wins if the Hoyas prevail. If Ohio St wins, it's either Sparky or Dolberry depeding upon who they play. Thanks to the rest of you for participating. Maybe next year.

In remodeling news, Chuck put a tile floor down in our kitchen this weekend. It looks really sweet! It was his birthday present to the beautiful KMD. A lot of hard work, for sure. Dolberry! stayed out of the way.

In little league news, the tryouts & drafts went well. We were very happy to get our neighbor, but we just missed out on one of our old machine pitch players who we would've loved to get. First practice is Wednesday.

In work news, my paper for a conference in Portugal got accepted, but now if looks like travel funds are unavailable. I'm not that broken up. Dolberry is proud of his streak of never having left the fruited plains of America.

In blog news, despite pressures from the bean counters, I'm not going to have a "butt darts" post in a shameless attempt to increase traffic. The DCV has standards, people.

First softball game is this Friday. Rotisserie draft is this Sunday. My Diamond Mind league starts this week. Ay carumba. Between work, church, blog, baseball, & softball, I'll be lucky to survive the next 5 months.

Weekend Update

Having PC/Internet problems at home. Not fun. Think our ethernet card is fried as the wireless network is still ok. Hopefully will be resolving this evening.

Baseball tryouts / draft got rained out last Saturday & were reset to this weekend. Kind of a bummer since our first practice was supposed to be this week.

I did my first triathlon of the year on Sunday. Results are here. I did it about 3:30 faster than last year, which probably isn't too surprising given last year I wasn't really going all out (just trying to finish). I finished 18 of 33 in my age group, which was short of my top 50% goal. It was very cold. I should have worn gloves. 39 degrees at race start w/ a nice wind. Standing there in my thin tri-shorts, dripping wet, hopping on a bike, & then drying off thru ventilation via cold, dry air ... I wondered if this is what living in Alaska feels like. I imagine AK is even worse.

The highlight of the weekend was then going to a practice softball game on Sunday afternoon where I went 4 for 4. It's always good to get all your hits out of the way before the season starts.

Dolberry Invitational

Join the DCV brackets challenge. Borders gift card to the winner. Go to this web page to sign up.

Password: billikens

Spring Training Trip

Great trip as always ... some highlights.

Wed 3/7: Traffic was rough getting down to our Orlando stopover. Two separate stretches where we either came to a complete stop or crawled for 45 minutes. We listened to three of the four MAC tournament games on radio. Living the high life! We got to Orlando too late to do both Giordano's and putt putt, so we opted for hotel pizza (ugh) & putt putt. After 11 hours in the car, worrying about whether we'd get to putt putt in time, Alex drained his very first putt. Mental preparation will get you everywhere. He ended up beating me on the first 18, which was quite surprising. Great day.

Thurs 3/8: Met Mom & Dad in Tampa, then drove down to Sarasota to see the Reds v. Tigers. Adam Dunn hit an HR which was cool. Josh Hamilton got a few hits & made a diving catch pretty much right in front of us (we were in the first row). However, the Reds suffered their first loss of the Grapefruit League season 9-7. Got to see Angela & the cousins for dinner & watch Louisville's OT win vs. WVU. Stephen called w/ Billikens updates on their surprising quarterfinal A10 win. Great day!



Fri 3/9: Played golf in the morning. Dolberry shot an amazing (for him) 99. First time breaking 100 at Oakford. The key, apparently, is to not care too much. I shot a 45 on the front, then started paying attention to my score, at which point I reverted to usual play. Closed w/ a par 4 on a tough hole, draining a 12 footer to save my double-digit round. Saw the Reds lose again, versus the Indians. We got to see the best Reds prospect since Eric Davis, Homer Bailey pitch (ahem) one-third of an inning, giving up (ahem) 5 runs, (ahem) all earned. After that we swam in the glacial waters of the Sleep Inn pool & then had dinner w/ Keith, Angela, & the cousins at a restaurant on a bay. Was asleep before my head hit the pillow. Another great day.

Sat 3/10: Got some breakfast & spent some time at the beach w/ the Baker-Fitzgeralds. Beautiful morning. Temps ranged from 60-83 our whole time there w/ seldom a cloud. Then got in the car for a very long ride to Winter Haven FL to see the Reds play the Indians. Chain O' Lakes Park (winter home of the Tribe) is nice enough once you're in your seat w/ your drink and dog, but everything else about it is problematic (traffic, location, parking, generally claustrophobia inducing nature). This is their 2nd to last year before moving to AZ. I imagine the Indians cannot wait. Heading back to Tampa for the evening, we got run off the road going 60 mph by a Floridian driver (an entirely unpredictable breed) which was fun as far as that goes. Listened to the Louisiana Derby w/ Carrie (via cell phone). I like Circular Quay in the Derby. Swam in a heated pool w/ APD while Mom & Dad held down the fort at the Bahama Breeze where there was a 60 minute wait. APD practically fell asleep at the restaurant. Great day, though too much time in the car for a vacation day.



Sun 3/11: More swimming w/ Gpa & APD. Headed over to Clearwater for a Phillies-Tigers tilt. Gpa and Gma tried unsuccessfully to rob a CVS, but we escaped & arrived at the stadium in time for several savory cheesesteaks and other baseball-related fun. Tigers won 5-3. Dropped Mom & Dad off at the airport & headed home. Trip home was much easier. Listened to 7 hours of debate about why Syracuse did not get in the NCAA, which isn't as exciting as it sounds. In order to not make it seem so late, we just stayed on standard time. We got home at 1:45a EST. Great day.



Hard to put into words how super this vacation is. The baseball, weather, & other activities were awesome, but of course it's the people who make this week so special. Thanks Mom, Dad, K, A, & KACB. Only 360 days until next year's trip.