Knees

So, the November 2014 stats for the OC are:
531 households, totaling 1,606 reported clients...588 children, 807 adults, and 211 seniors.  Reportedly, of course.

It is pretty impressive, watching FSU trying to implode.  I think the relief of OSU fans -- beating Michigan in a closer game than expected (albeit not by me) has been tempered by the injury to Barrett.  One can only imagine that Cardale has been attending football class, at least.

In the meantime, I bought my gift for the giving tree today, which was not exactly expansive, but within the price guidelines, so...so be it.  I am glad NOT to be involved with it anymore; not that it was a lot of time, but...still, I need to be less involved in the parish, especially given the large number of people who are of the Do Your Fair Share philosophy, if you get my drift.

Not only do I have five books on the shelf, but I was full of some irrational exuberance, if you will, when it came to ordering some from the various Ohio libraries, so I need to hit the books...not in the chore sense, but just to move some of the piles around.  With the exception of the fiction list book, they are all nonfiction, so it is both fun and educational...which is nerdy, even coming from me.

Day of the Bird

Turkey Day is upon, where we take the American tradition of gorging ourselves to excess to a whole new level.  I, for one, am damn glad of it, but that is me.  The snow is not something I am a fan of, but we will survive, somehow. 

I am reading Nevins' The Emergence of Lincoln, and it contained a chapter on the Panic of 1857.  I was of course bemused by some of its descriptions -- New York as the cause of it, bankers holding too much sway over our economic fortunes, poor and middle class people unable to obtain credit save for exorbitant rates, only the wealthy prospering -- because, as always, the past does repeat itself. 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-25/drill-baby-drill-u-s-keeps-as-opec-power-wanes.html

I don't think this is a bad thing; I mean, I don't think we will ever get rid of the OPEC cartel, but...the fact of the matter is, a group of countries -- many of which do not have our, or any, global interests in mind controlling a leading global commodity is simply a bad idea, and anything that can be done to minimize the role of OPEC is a smart play.

Adjustments

Like most people, I suspect, I was not surprised by the Ferguson decision...on the hand, looters should be shot; on the other...well, the police are killing too many people, and even if in this case it was justified...there are others -- such as the one in our backyard -- where other judgment could have been used.  To be sure, pulling a gun on a cop is unwise, but the notion of the Taser...well, I think there is a point to be made.

Anyways, we were discussing Tim Lincecum -- the former ace of my strat staff -- on last night's fun run and I mentioned that maybe part of the problem (in addition to the ridden hard, put away young issue) is that his mechanics are such that they preclude adjustment.  Many pitchers, as they age/lose effectiveness, adjust arm slot, rotation, etc., in small or more visible ways to compensate for velocity loss, give a different look, etc.  However, with Lincecum, given the nature of the delivery, there isn't a lot of room to make these adjustments, and given that he has pitched like that since day one, making a change could lead to other problems (See Willis, Dontrelle.) and the Giants still owe him $17 million or so (for a reliever, albeit one who could be an effective middle innings/2IP closer type).  Oops.

Flood

So...finished book two of the Powell series, A Buyer's Market.  As noted previously, it got better but not particularly good.  I do not think I can finish the remaining ten books by the end of the year, given their length (2000 pages total), the vagaries of life, and my interest in other books, but slow and steady progress is a suitable option.  Tomorrow, ideally, Netflix will deliver "Am American in Paris" and I can cross one off the Film Registry.  Rah.

Looking forward to the short week, but work is and will be a slog the rest of the month...as always, I am sort of looking forward to the challenge, but there is a part of me that says this is suicide.

Talking about the immigration reform in the Social Justice circle; one thing that stood out is that for the people on the bottom of the chain -- such as people of color, those in constant trouble with the law, etc., -- will be the ones most affected negatively by this; it is hard enough for them (not that that many of them are looking for work, of course) to get ahead and find jobs...and while there will not exactly be a large influx of "undocumented" here...there will be enough to compete, and not in a good way.

Abeyance

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2014/11/18/uber-ceo-travis-kalanick-calls-execs-comments-terrible-but-wont-fire-him/

I don't know...I mean, if you think about it...basically, what journalists do is look for crap about things (such as you or your firm), and let's face it, we are not in the era of Cronkite anymore; journalists are now seen (for better or worse) as having an agenda or bias as much as anyone else.  Trying to figure out what that is -- or smearing them to blunt their strike -- while not exactly Marquis of Queensbury rules, isn't out of line...anymore.  To be sure, admitting it is, and the whole stalking thing...well, I think that is a made-up-after-the-fact objection.  Yes, it could be a danger, but...there is no evidence to suggest that here.

Anyways, work has been-- and will be-- super busy, and with the weather and the stresses of social justice...well, let's just that my health is not exactly awesome.  I think I could use stress-free rest more than anything, but that isn't happening til the weekend.

One thing of note...the second book in the Powell series, while not exactly good, isn't bad, and there were even some unexpected plot twists.  So we are holding judgment for now...

Movies

Watched two more movies on the National Film Registry...one was "Oklahoma!" and it was simply awesome...the other was "Saturday Night Fever," which was sort of interesting, if only in a historical way...I think we tend to forget the impact of disco at the time.

So, I am not sure about the Heyward/Miller trade...I mean, the Braves if any team can maximize the value of a pitcher, while the Cards are probably an excellent spot for a young yet experienced OF.  One thing I have not really heard is that...the Cards needed an OF after the tragic (circumstances what they are, of course) death of Tavares...given that maybe there wasn't much out there -- Torii Hunter, for instance -- they might have thought it was better to get a guy they could turn around and maybe sign.  Yes, he has regressed since his rookie year, but...that also means upside, and he isn't that old, either.  He could improve.  As for Miller...I would argue that he would outpitch, say, Harang...and, well, if he improves...so much the better.

OC Board meeting...long, lots to discuss, and some new faces, but...I would have liked a little more brevity, if you get my drift.

Thoughts

One thing that has amused -- but not surprised -- me about the arctic blast (in addition to the global warming stuff) is how often the weather people were wrong...I mean, it snowed all day yesterday, and everyone said it would taper off.  Thursday they were sort of right -- it snowed a lot -- but it seemed we got a hell of a lot more than expected.  Oi, oi, oi.  And the furnace runs...

Anyways, stayed up last night to watch "Five Easy Pieces."  I wouldn't the movie was good, but it was interesting...Jack Nicholson is one hell of an actor; you could see it in this one.  You could also say that at least.  I also watched "Out of the Furnace" a couple of days ago...again....not that good, but interesting.

Book Two of the Powell series arrived, and well, it is a real joy to behold.  I finished up "Vow of Silence" two days ago; it is about the abuse scandal/Fr. Maciel/the Legion of Christ.  And, mainly, it discusses how internal secrecy is paralyzing the Vatican...makes some good points.  The person who gave it to me told me that when he was a kid, he would hear how they went after the priests in Spain, Mexico, etc., and that he could never believe it...now, of course, he can.  The sad thing in, he is sort of right.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article3801317.html
This election result surprised me.  But I think it also speaks to a larger point; there is this tremendous American way of NOT wanting to pay for things -- at least their true cost.  But I also think that people are beginning to say...whoa, we can't pay anymore.  They vote down levies and such, and then the governments start cutting...but no one ever seems to say "Gee, maybe there is a smarter way to do things."  In the business world, of course, people find ways to make it happen -- work more for less, cross-train, cut benefits, etc...but around here, of course, you're locked in by contracts and such.  But no one seems to want to apply some of the solutions from the private sector to the public one; that, I think, is going to slowly change...

Hmmmm

Kluber won the Cy Young; it's pretty cool, especially as I figured that he didn't have the name recognition to do it.  But the fact that he did is a good thing...

Watching J! tonite...first, it was sad to see Jim Coury come in low...more seriously, Julia may have cost herself a seat in the semifinals with her wager.  I have to admit; the questions are a bit tougher in the regular rounds (I suspect their penchant for categories of which I am not well-versed is an issue) but the finals are fairly easy.  I guess the reverse would be bad, as people would complain that the "better" players are not advancing.  No, I am NOT going to catch up on drama, opera, etc.

Potluck at work, really let the diet go to seed, if you get my drift.

The parish financial report is MOST interesting... I will be sure to discuss it next time, as I have been absorbing it all in myself.

catching on

So, downloaded the blackberry chat app and am now talking to some of the college friends...It's funny, I really haven't surfed the web or anything on the device, which is what I should be doing, but I am always worried about safety and such.  I guess it will pass, and I should play with the thing everyday, just to see what it can do.  On the other hand, I don't want the thing dominating my life like it does for everyone else.

Watched Kazan's "America, America" yesterday...or at least finished it (it is well over 2.5 hours).  Interesting.  Not great, but good...I mean, I like what he does on film, even if the film was a little...long and not that exciting.  I saw "Five Easy Pieces" is on TCM Friday, so I may check that out then.

I see the Tribe gave Francona two more years...I guess this is good; I mean, some things he does I just cannot stand, but the players love him, and I suspect -- and this is something sabremetrics cannot pick up -- that harmony in the clubhouse is worth a few wins, in some way or another, moreso than say, the third lefty.

back on

As always, yet another series of delays in communication..Tuesday was the election results, Wednesday was PQ (second :(), Thursday was another fest...and today I finally broke into the new century and got a smartphone, a Samsung LG 5...I guess it is ok; I played with it a bit today, sent some texts, made some calls...I will do some downloading of apps and other useful things in a few days as I think of them.  I can't imagine myself emailing or paying bills or anything like that with it, but...there you go.  Rah.

I think the big reason the GOP had a big day Tuesday was the fact that they avoided the fuckups; if anything, the Dems had them this time around...like Braley, who was the worst.  I mean, it was a good GOP year -- they picked up governors, didn't expect that -- but the usual screw-ups that accompany Republicans didn't happen; for that, I think, you have to applaud the establishment GOPers, despite the ire of the Tea Party.  For now, of course.  :)

timelessness

http://online.wsj.com/articles/democrats-lose-their-grip-on-voters-with-keys-to-the-house-1414722604?mod=WSJ_hp_RightTopS

I do get a kick out of these things, mainly because...well, the government that robs Peter to pay Paul will always have the support of Paul.

In the meantime, I finished up the second volume of Nevins' Civil War series.  It was most interesting, especially the last few chapters, which discussed the election of 1856...and mainly how everyone complained about voter fraud, bad candidates, and the need for money to pay for campaign speakers (the commercials of their day!) and other "sundries."  It was amusing; people always complain about the dirty nature of politics, but...let's just say that, as a student of history, I don't think politics are any less or more dirty today than any other time.

In the meantime...OC stats!  In October we had 512 client visits, serving a reported 1,447 people. 

For the year...5,155 client visits, totaling 14,673.  I should go and dig up the historical data for comparison, but...that would involve a trip to the attic for a search through the other archives...let's just say that we are now in the busy season, but...I think we will manage.  Food seems a little bare, so this week might not be pretty. 

Links

So, took Mom to see "Fury;" it was pretty good, and she had only a few questions...so far.  She didn't like it as much -- not sure why -- but I suspect she didn't like the realistic violence.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/why-americans-cant-afford-to-live-in-liberal-cities/ar-BBbSFaW

I am shocked, shocked, by this.  Ok, I am not...some of this is of course the bubble effect...and some of this is of course progressive policy, which can be simplified as "I got mine, go fuck yourself" or something similar...

http://www.cleveland.com/tipoff/index.ssf/2014/10/the_rev_bob_begin_known_as_the.html#incart_river

I get out of this, because it is people like Fr. Bob who drove people --- good, Mass-attending Catholics -- to the suburbs so that in turn they go and support their parishes...in the suburbs.

http://www.cleveland.com/cleveland-heights/index.ssf/2014/10/cleveland_heights_business_own.html#incart_river

My first thought, upon reading this, is that the PD should be scared, because...well, the people like myself never buy the paper anymore, so if they chase away their remaining audience...not that I would complain about it, but it would funny as all hell.