up and at them

Well...I woke up at 5:22 -- after a night of my usual sleep -- and since I don't want to leave for work quite yet, I may as well blog.  Things are ok..work will be hectic, I have a cold, and my usual rest patterns apply...on the other hand, baseball will eventually end soon, and then I will have more time for sleep (and films; there has been up uptick in that lately). 

I have been reading with intensity Nevins' second volume in his series; this one deals with the Pierce Administration and its blundering approach to things, but one that struck me was the callous and incautious way that Douglas repealed the Missouri Compromise; in a lot of ways that was the spark that caused the Civil War, as it brought slavery -- and its spread -- to the forefront of the issue; it also made men like Lincoln -- who felt that the "Negroes" were inferior to whites, but men (and not property) nonetheless -- into the public more, and while their views were certainly Radical (hence the phrase)...well, the threat of Slave Power and its need to be checked, if you will, a bit more...palatable.  I did read the first in Powell's series, and...well, it was awesome, if you get my drift.

Could be the last nice days of the year...threats of snow Friday night are making everyone a little paranoid, if you ask me.  Not that East Siders will magically drive any better...

Thrice around

Yes, I know...no blogs.  I should have...but with the World Series, movie-watching, and a desire to get to bed before 11 (not that I said sleep) every night...well, there you are.  As some of you know, I watched "Cabaret" last nite; it was a double, but a fairly crappy one.  I know I am not into musicals, but it was...too much for myself.

There's been a trend lately, if you watch baseball, in that a lot of starters really fall apart the third time through the lineup; Peavy has had that problem, which is odd, because for most of his career he has been a fairly decent pitcher.  Now, I know we are in the era of the pen, but I wonder if maybe, just maybe, the next thing will be for pitchers to start throwing more pitch types -- but rotating them -- to further confuse hitters.  I mean, most guys have a repertoire of three or four pitches (Bauer has six, which mystifies people), but maybe you need to go back to 4 or 5 or more to further befuddle hitters.

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2014/10/cleveland_indians_expected_to_3.html#incart_river

I don't know; he is versatile, but I tend to see him as a guy you like less as you see him more; the fact that he was in the corner OF spots at all speaks to the crazy notion of the nine-man bullpen, injuries, and the poor level of OF depth in the organization, and not Aviles' versatility.  I'd like to think you could fine someone to do what he did (say, Jose Ramirez) for a lot less.  The team could use another starter -- look at what happened to last year's number one, for instance -- and if we are going to have 58 relievers...why not a good one?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/10/22/mcdonald_s_and_wages_is_the_company_planning_to_replace_its_cashiers_with.html

I mentioned this a while back...which is why I flagged it.  I suspect they wouldn't, but they could...

trap

Funny; last week everyone was proclaiming the Browns had arrived; today, not so much.  Didn't see much of the game (family dinner) but it did seem the coaching staff made some bad calls, and that Hoyer looked like a guy making career start number 7 or so.  In the meantime, I miss baseball, mainly because I know that soon, the season will end...


http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/in-america-why-the-poor-pay-dollar4158-for-a-dollar1500-%E2%80%98rent-to-own%E2%80%99-sofa/ar-BB9w32K

I think this story encapsulates why people are poor...and I mean that in both the "good reasons" (poor health means you can't work, kids, lack of jobs, structural stuff) and the "bad" (overspending on crap, a lack of education, bad decisions, and a lack of intelligent spending decisions).  I mean, I think one thing we all can agree on is that there isn't a lot of slack in many people's budgets, with housing, gas, upcoming winter utility and Xmas bills, etc... that said, people have to spend wisely to have some reserves, in case the shit hits the fan.  I am not poor by any means, but I've noticed myself spending less on food when possible, going out less (putting off dinner til next week is always wise), using food in the pantry, etc.  I think the issue is that too many people who are poor tend NOT to do this...I am not saying ALL of the them are like this, of course; but enough of them do to piss off everyone else.

Flicks

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ohios-kasich-wants-to-redefine-the-republican-party/2014/10/14/7d526026-4ff1-11e4-aa5e-7153e466a02d_story.html?hpid=z5

Interesting...I am not quite he is considered a front-runner, but with the convention in C-town, an easy path to re-election (more from the opponent than anything else), a generally moderate streak...it could happen.

Been watching a lot of films lately.  Monday was "A Night at the Opera" on TCM.  It was funny, but, as I have said before, I think the Marx Brothers and the genre are a bit dated...for a bunch of reasons...so thus it doesn't translate well.  Wednesday I crossed two more off the National Film Registry List:  "A Raisin in the Sun" and "The Naked Spur."  The first was interesting; star-studded cast, very modern in its approach to dealing with things; I mean, much of what was discussed today, sadly, is still going on now.  "The Naked Spur" was also good, though it did suffer from that 1950s problem of the maudlin ending, which, in my mind...made it less good.  Today I watched "Twelve Years a Slave."  I rather like how McQueen handles films; the subject matter is difficult but not inaccessible...

Attack!

I've found three spiders over the past week here...one in the bathroom and two in the kitchen.  I know it is time for them to come in, and I know the older home is prone to this.. but it is still NOT a happy time for me; I started a cobweb eradication program (of which there were none) and tomorrow I will spray the corners where they lurk...to be followed by a trip to the grocery store for those sticky traps.  I know it is paranoia, but...

Finished up Paine's book; quite good; one thing he stressed at the end was that not only was more and more of our trade being carried by ship, but the rise of container shipping and developments in marine architecture mean that fewer and fewer people are directly, or even indirectly, involved in the carrying trade.  Season two of The Wire demonstrated this on land, but at sea, it is equally, if not more pronounced, as ships have between 12 or 20 crews, few of whom actually deal with the cargo.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-13/why-private-donations-arent-helping-americas-poor#r=hp-lst

I think this is partially true; one way in which private charity has been...supplanted is that before, Church-based groups (the Red Hats, for instance) played an active role in getting people on their feet.  Mind you, this was not only with a job and other assistance, but the spiritual/moral side as well, the theory being that a sense of calling and purpose were also needed to get people on the right path. Now, of course, those days are gone -- legally proscribed, even -- and while I see it, I suspect that for some segment of the populace, that sort of treatment, if you will, was exactly what the MD ordered.  Now, with the soulless (literally) welfare state, people just don't see a reason to give, which in turn creates the generational poverty that is perniciously difficult to eradicate.

Rest

I guess, as a Clevelander and a Packers shareholder, I should be glad for the wins; on the other hand...you think of all the negative things associated with the NFL right now, and you just shudder.  I watched part of the game while doing other things and catching up on some reading...I guess it is good for the city.

I also caught up on sleep.  Yesterday was a family poker party; I went to Mass at 5 and arrived in bed here at midnight, and was able to sleep in -- despite an attack of low blood sugar -- til 8:30, which was simply awesome, even if I did have that odd feeling of being slightly off kilter.  I sort of feel like taking a nap now, which I should do, even if there are other things (even actual chores) to achieve.

Yesterday I had OC duty to train people on the new software; in addition to the shooting (which was about a mile and a half away) I had the issue of the internet card NOT loading because it was not fully powered...no one of course knew about this.  Thankfully, we got it working at 9:30, just in time for duty, and while I had to train people on the fly -- never a good thing -- by the time we were done all were pleased with things, particularly the ability to poke around the system, real-time tracking, etc.  Things could have been smoother, but we were busy, and if I was slightly frazzled...it was for a good cause.

Crossings

So, I watched "American Graffiti" tonite, which knocked off one from the AFI Top 100 list and the National Film Registry.  And really...it was just ok; cool starts, impressive cast, but...all it was was teenagers hanging around; I mean, it's American Pie without the sex.  Did they just not have coming of age films back then?  Or did I just miss something?

In other news, I had some breakthroughs at work, number-wise, that surprised even me with their acumen.  To be sure, I am making some broad assumptions, but...let's just say that tomorrow's attack on the spreadsheets is going to look like Patton crossing the Rhine.  Or something like that.  I also got to the Sassanians in Sea and Civilization, which was a nice touch; the author seems to imply that the Carthaginians and other travelers circumnavigated Africa many centuries before Da Gama did; he notes that many tried to do it, and given what we have -- scraps and fragments and all -- it is possible that some of them made it.  This is pretty cool, sort of like the evidence that implies that North America was settled coastally before the land crossers.  This does make a lot of sense, given that you can sail farther and faster than you can walk, even if it would upset a hell of a lot of archaeological apple carts.

Shorts

My quest for "Allures" is going to be a long and expensive one; that said, I was able to find -- on the USC (the Cocks) website a link to "The Augustas," a collection of home movies from the 30s and 40s about...towns named Augusta.  Very GOP America; more seriously, it was remarkable to see how often train schedules were used to show people where the towns were; nowadays, it would be a rare thing to find anyone who could read/recognize one.

I went to bed at 10ish last nite, and was rewarded with sleeplessness, so...oi.  I intend to hit the hay after South Park, which means I will get another five hours.

The Internet is all over Mattingly for not going to Puig yesterday; I don't know.  Yes, he was your best hitter, but he did look to be in a colossal funk -- for whatever reason -- and while I will admit Mattingly made some odd decisions, I don't think that one (like sticking with Kershaw) was exactly an egregious one.  This is the playoffs, you know...

Catching Up

Let us update everyone on the week.  Wednesday was PQ; we didn't win.  Thursday was spent baking at Mom's for the Polish Festival, which was Friday/Saturday/Sunday.  The PF was ok; one busy day and two so-so...I don't know; I think our prices are a little high, especially in the bakery, where we really screw the customers, and you all know how I feel about that.  Monday I did as little as possible, aside from resting and letting my feet soak and wondering why the hell I volunteered for three days in the kitchen.  I watched "All That Jazz" to knock another off the Film Registry (awful); today I ate dinner to "Mighty Like A Moose," a silent short from 1926 which was actually very droll.  I need to find "Allures," a short that is not exactly easily viewed (for free), which is a concern...

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2691972/google-to-put-guards-on-payroll-amid-concerns-about-inequality.html

We discussed this at work, and agreed it was a big PR stunt.  On the one hand, I think jobs such as guard and cook should have a union, given their danger and chance of injury (three days at the Polish Festival kitchen may or may not be influencing this).  On the other...I think we all know that after a while, the union and its benefits become cost-prohibitive... I mean, I would think that in the near future the robot vacuum cleaners could become widespread in a lot of places (such as Silicon Valley) and you'd need fewer janitors.  The camera-based security networks have eliminated the need for some guards.  Most places do NOT have company lunchrooms due to the overhead.  If you think about it, the Sheetz model is what the fast food industry could have; you order by computer, you pay with the gas line, and the kitchen crew makes it.  I am not saying McDonald's can run precisely in such a manner -- they'd need more kitchen crew -- but more kiosks and some automation in the serving lines would do the trick as nicely.

Am reading Paine's The Sea and Civilization; very interesting, but it is a big book full of small print and much info, so the going is slow.  Not that this is a bad thing, but I think it will be a week or two before I really finish, and we all know how much I love progress, illusionary or not.