Adventures

 So, Opening Day is tomorrow...the roster appears set, with Dr. Plutko being sent to the Orioles for what I assume will be cash, given the organization's priorities.  They announced Luplow in CF and Chang at 1B tomorrow, both of which should be...interesting.  I am more confident in the pitching than the offense; I know, hardly a surprising prognostication, but there is nothing I see that would cause me to go against the grain...

One thing I realized is that I have not made any prep for Easter -- food, like paska bread and kielbasa.  Mom, of course, would always get that ahead of time and make everything...but those days are gone. I figure I can get the stuff tomorrow or so and make it Friday if need be (no snacking!).  I have never actually cooked fresh, but I have her recipe, so that will be something to try...

I decided to treat myself/cross a restaurant off the list and thus went to Empress Tatyu's Ethiopian restaurant today....not exactly the best part of town, but easy to get to. And it was....good?  I mean, it was interesting; the place has a unique decor, and the server was quite nice in explaining to me the ins and outs of the grub.  One unique thing...you eat with your hands (I asked and got silverware); basically, the food is served on a plate with a layer of bread on top, and you eat with the bread, I guess... it was good; I went with a mixed platter of beef, chicken, and sides.  It was spicy/hot, and it was a late heat...all the way home  I felt it. But I did enjoy it...meaning to try it for a while, and I did...

Catching Up

 Busy weekend, sort of...mainly caught up on work, which was not exactly fun, but we managed. That has been busy lately, so much so that some stuff, lke basement reorganizing, has been put on hold til after Easter, for better or worse.  Sunday night I crashed hard, so much so that I fell asleep on the living room floor, and didn't wake until 5.  Honestly, I got the rest, but I was sore most of Monday.  I did watch the UCONN-Baylor game, which was, for women's hoops, quite the classic.  It was a no-call at the end, but as they had been letting them play all night.. I don't see how they call one there, too.

Had a Zoom meeting today with some of the managers from the other pantries; in most cases, they, too, are seeing people declines, and pretty substantial ones.  Now, this is not a bad thing -- we have plenty of stuff to give away and the resources to continue at this pace for a while -- but it is somewhat disconcerting that we are so... quiet.  The others on the call noted that there were stimulus checks flowing and other food pantries, so it's not like people are going hungry... 

You know, I wonder why Trump didn't put forth an infrastructure spending plan...not saying it would have went through, but the fact of the matter is that he could have gotten a GOP plan on board... again, yet another black mark against him and one, that, if we are serious about 2024, we have to remember.... certainly seems like Ron DeSantis is running, and I am pleased about that... I bet Pence is putting together a lie low campaign, which is not a bad idea, either...

Two Faced

 Meant to post yesterday, crashed, and....well, here we are.  Went to Mary Queen of Peace for the fish fry yesterday.  Never been there, and while it was sort of a hike...it was pretty good; I mean, first time I had decent cabbage and noodles, and the fish was good.  There was a run on baked fish (which I had), which amused me, because as Mom would say, "it's a fish fry" or something like that.  Then, of course, I would remind her, that times they were a changing...

You know, if I was a GOPer, I would be posting those questions to Joe Biden...if the filibuster is Jim Crow, wasn't it also that 40 years ago or so, when he was palling around with all those segregationists in the Senate?  To me, this is a golden opportunity to point out the hypocrisy of the Dems on this, starting at the top.

Speaking of hypocrisy, there is...this:

https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2021/03/jake-bauers-gets-his-chance-at-1st-base-for-cleveland-indians-bobby-bradley-kyle-nelson-bradley-zimmer-optioned.html

Let's look at the minor points...one, the pen is set, and while I think we are all concerned about Bryan Shaw, I don't think there are many surprises, and I think they will be fine.  Zimmer's demotion means that CF belongs to Rosario, not that he has shown a demonstrated ability to play the position well... which might be a problem.  Gamel and Luplow could play there in a pinch, but...

The big issue, of course, is that Bauers gets the job at first even though Bradley has clearly outplayed him.  Terry Pluto, I think, nailed it a few days ago when he said that he thought Bauers would be unclaimed...I mean, why have a competition if you've already decided the issue will be settled on something other than playing time?  It sends a poor message to the organization, at the very least...

High Speeds

 I watched some of the POTUS's press conference today...no gaffes or flubs, at least major ones, which, for him, is a good thing...on the other hand, nothing really unexpected.  So I guess he won, at least by not losing.  It does not inspire confidence...

I can't believe this Sunday is Palm Sunday and next Sunday is Easter...Lent has gone by sooo quickly...it feels like spring, at least, with the warmer weather (if not the rain and wind coming down now). Going to the gym is a little chill-inducing, and I even hit a double Wednesday...I did some extra cardio yesterday and today, but today it was too much...low blood sugar struck and there I was, eating to recover, which, as you can imagine, did not make me happy...

I am about halfway through Destined for War, which is the book about the "Thucycides Trap" between the US and China.  It is pretty interesting, actually, and a lot of what the author says make sense.  I do like the main premise -- looking at national conflicts over history (and he goes back a ways) to look at the reasons as to why war was considered to be a prudent choice, and how it can be applied to the US-Chinese rivalry. Reminds me of Toynbee's works, which, as you may recall, I also rather enjoyed, despite their length.  Or, because of their length!

https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2021/03/what-do-you-mean-you-wont-respect-mah.html

This is hilarious, and quite true.  I realize my sympathies with those who are suffering from the lockdowns, but... it was good to see the legislature stand up to Dewine and overturn his veto; quite frankly, I think we need more of this going forward...God forbid Republicans start acting...conservative.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22278065/donald-trump-conservative-politics-charles-kesler

Interesting!

Labors

 Today was a busy day... double gym, for starters.  Much needed, I can assure you.  Also did some house cleaning; I stopped being lazy and assembled the new Swiffer I bought, and lo and behold, the kitchen and bathroom floors don't look like shit anymore!  Hell, the place even smells better.  

More importantly, I helped out at the OC today...  the local Sav-A-Lots are under new ownership, and I guess they mandated that the old stuff -- mainly meat and perishables -- had to go.  So we were told that we could take it all from the two in the Village.  And, since I have a truck, vacation days, and am the youngest of the team... well, there I was.  It was sort of a clusterhump, as the one was not ready for us; the other was, so we went there first, got their stuff... and then waited.  I ended going home for an hour to do stuff, then came back when they were ready, and was glad, as they had a LOT of stuff for us.  I didn't realize how much work it is; got to load the van (or truck), take the stuff to the OC, unload it, weigh it (an unavoidable bottleneck), and then put it where it belongs (sort of); freezer, cooler, etc.   Oi.  To be sure, I don;t think we get all that much most times, but... I was glad to do my share today, even if I am slightly tired.

Mind you, I still have plenty more shit to do in the house; dust, vacuum, wipe down the crapper, move stuff around in the cupboards, dishes, to say nothing of the wood in the basement which has to be sliced and diced.  Oi. But it does look better, and I can go from there... 

https://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/remembering-g--k--chesterton/_1/

Rather enjoyed this read...I only refer to his parable of the fence in the woods at work, with...mixed results, if you will.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/no-end-in-sight-inside-the-biden-administrations-failure-to-contain-the-border-surge/ar-BB1eNeEh?li=BBnb7Kz

It's like they were stupid, or something....

Hilariousness

 Took a half day today to go to the dentist (joy), get some ice cream (I deserve it, sort of), the gym (extensive cardio the past two days), and now blog and catch up on the bookmarks and emails.  Odd; the weekend was busy, catching up on work and all, but I didn't do anything of interest or import; didn't even watch that much college hoops...

Yesterday I slept through the alarm and thus couldn't do a double gym day... that mistake will not be repeated tomorrow.  I watched "Fires on the Plain," a Japanese film from 1959 aboiut soldiers stuck on the Philippines and their struggles to stay alive.  Wouldn't say I liked it, but it was..interesting.  Ok, I did like it; not in the way one likes, say, "Airplane," but it held my attention and it was a unique look at people at the edge of survival.

Bunch of articles about how the Big Ten has shit the bed, which is true.  I felt IL was overseeded (that win over Duke just isn't that convincing now, is it?) as well as some of the other teams; Loyola was certainly underseeded, for instance, but the selection committee hosing small-conference teams isn't exactly new.  The problem is, to me, that every year the Big Ten has the "good teams beating each other up" argument and I am not sure it is compelling.  The other problem to me is that the committee NEVER (I have heard the chair disclaim this in their talks) looks at past performance.  To me, this is a problem...one, they'd account for that when ranking teams, and two... it would be so much more compelling!  Saying "Gee, the Big Ten sucked in 2021, so we are using that to judge teams in 2022" would be not only good for the Tourney (other deserving teams are out there) but people would go apeshit and maybe even do something about it...

Weekend Update

 Oi,I crashed hard last night -- about 11 I would say-- and I didn't wake up until after 9. I guess I needed the sleep but in all actuality there are plenty of things I wanted to do bright and early in the morning...

I have discovered Pink Lady apples; I bought a couple of bags when they were on sale at Marc's, and lo and behold, they are delicious... just the right mix of tangy and sweet.

Yesterday I went to St. Columbkille's for their fish fry; the baked fish was quite good, and everything else was fine, but the cabbage and noodles...well, it was mainly noodles, very little cabbage.  As a friend from church likes to say, there is a balance, and this was not it...alas.  I mean, it was seasoned well, but...

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/03/19/gavin-newsom-recall-476746

This is pretty hilarious, and, honestly... why the heck not?

https://www.nationaljournal.com/wp/off-to-the-races-a-historic-bill-but-at-what-costthe-1-9-trillion-package-does-a-lot-more-than-simply-address-the-pandemic-and-the-economy-which-is-why-republicans-were-so-reluctant-to-play-ball/?mkt_tok=NTU2LVlFRS05NjkAAAF7t2bvIxDx85vS3PucOuf50kYdU6YGJwnRB12gHYklsKF1l0GfAYJgJHAgcoysmEf5uDBnmPhGdYsYfacE5mFc5uLXB1hleWBxrhdYlCyYni5

This was an interesting take; certainly, the GOP is going to have trouble running against this, but I think the needle can be threaded... well, by some of them, at least.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/economy-revs-up-as-americans-increase-spending-on-flights-lodging-dining-out-11616146202?mod=hp_lead_pos5

I wonder....certainly I see more people out, with the bars packed and all, but I suspect this is younger/less risk-inclined types getting out.  I suspect that there will be plenty of people who will be leery of getting out there and that might harm things.  I hope not, for a bunch of reasons....

On the one hand, I feel badly for OSU and their fans...on the other, they absolutely deserved to lose that game, and considering the years of mockery this Duke fan has endured...well, I am enjoyed some parts of this a little bit...

Midnight Chimes

 https://theathletic.com/2451953/2021/03/18/searching-for-shorty-gallagher-a-lost-face-in-the-cleveland-crowd/

This was pretty good; I actually loved the guy's premise!

I watched "Chimes at Midnight" last night; interesting film, Orson Welles' look at Falstaff through the lens of Shakespeare's plays.  The camera work is awesome, and Welles does fit the role. The only problem with Shakespeare on screen, I think, is that now the language needs to be read to be better grasped; the wordplay can be quite intricate...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/media-face-the-music-ron-desantis-got-it-right/ar-BB1eGNxV?li=BBnbfcL

Quite true!  I think he is the front-runner for 2024, aside from a certain elephant in the room...I think the thing people like about him is that, like Trump, he fights back; GOPers nowadays want that pugnacity in dealing with the hostile press, and he has certainly taken people to task.

I've been drinking a lot more milk lately; some of it is that I have been rigorous in drinking it for breakfast, but also I have been drinking more coffee at home, and it just tastes better with real milk. At the office I would use the powdered creamer, which is fine, but you can't beat the real thing...

Tried to get opening day tickets today...a stupendous but not unexpected failure. Alas.

Excitement

 Big news today...got my first of the vaccine shots (Pfizer) today. I had to drive to the Shaker/Warrensville border to get it, but that was not that bad.  Actually, none of it was too bad.  The line was a bit long (and not socially distanced) but it did move fairly quickly.  One had to park far (in most cases) to get the entrance, and then with the snaking and all...let's just say that as one of the younger ones there, I had no problem with this, but there were quite a few who were at the limit of their exertions for the day...  anyways, registration was quick, the shot was fairly painless (I have had my share, to be sure) and after a fifteen minute observation period, you were home.  I have not had any symptons, thank the Lord, and I even had a killer day of lifting/chest at the gym.

Three errors in CF....the other Rosario experiment in CF is off to a rousing start...if Zimmer or Mercado can hit...but they have not and no one is sure that they can, so the Rosario experiment will continue, like it or not.  One of my coworkers expressed Matt-like disdain at the notion of Bryan Shaw making the club, which looks to be a real possibility.  I told him that managers love their safety blankets, and by trading away Mike Freeman...well, that will be a small price to pay for a month. Ok,to be sure, I hope he pitches well, but no one is accusing me of the triump of hope over experience this time...

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-lost-year-what-the-pandemic-cost-teenagers?utm_source=pocket-newtab

I have said it once, I will say again...if you can go after gun manufacturers for violence, parents should be able to go after politicians and teachers' unions for killing their kids.

Catching Up

 So, I spent most of the weekend working, catching up on other stuff, and not sleeping, for Lord knows why.  Oi.  The check engine light on the truck has popped on -- briefly -- twice in the past few days, and while I suspect it is just a sensor, it is an annoyance, and at a time when everything is helter-skelter, it is one I could do without. 

I didn't watch the men's selection show, but I did have the women's one on...I sort of like the thing where they show ALL of the teams when they are announced; it would be a little cooler if they didn't have to be socially distanced and you can have the band and the cheerleaders and all, but... in other news, I do think Belmont got royally screwed by the NCAA in not getting an NIT berth.  As I have mentioned before, cutting the size of the field AND eliminating the auto-qualifier for conference champions was...not good.  I don't necessarily think Belmont is the best team, but they are being punished for being too good of a mid-major to play anybody...

https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2021/03/cleveland-indians-trade-mike-freeman-to-reds-send-six-players-to-minors.html

This was a surprise; joking about the penuriousness of ownership notwithstanding, we all know how Francona loves his veterans and guys who can play everywhere, and to move Freeman was...surprising. It does bode well for Chang -- now is the time to see what he can do -- and I also liked the idea of cutting Hamilton to the curb to free time for Zimmer. Now, the Rosario to CF idea is...interesting, to put it mildly, but I would argue it just reflects the lack of confidence (and completely justified) in Mercado.  Plus, trading for Rosario and NOT playing him would be...dumb, even for this team.

https://revealnews.org/article/how-is-this-legal/

You know, as I like to say, for a GOP state, we don't do a lot of GOP things, but I would think this would be a place to start...

Discontents

 Watched "War Horse" yesterday -- the Steven Spielburg movie about, well, a boy and his horse.  It was...fine?  I mean, I am not one for animals, so this was just meh, and a little maudlin, but as entertaining tales go it was well enough.  I need to get into the habit of watching movies again, not that I have work to do, chores to undertake, and books to read.  Alas.

So, the Duke season is over due to a COVID test, and everyone is crying about their fate.  I guess so, but...again, they never should have been in this position in the first place, and thus it all seems maudlin to me anyways -- two good games do not define a season.  Hell, one cannot put out of their mind that this was a set up to end the season now while things were...fortuitous.  I don't necessarility agree with the idea that Coach K needs to go (the Fun Run Bunch seems to favor this) but this has not been his best season...

https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2021/03/gov-mike-dewines-vaccination-priorities-are-shockingly-biased-leila-atassi.html

We discuss this on Fun Runs all the time; indeed, it's not unfair to say that fat-shaming is a regular part of the trip.  And you know what?  That's to the good.  I hate to say this, but -- in our cases, certainly, and in plenty of others -- there is no deep, psychological reason for obesity; we eat too much and we laze around (this is the reason I am carrying 8 more pounds than I should be).  Mind you, I'm not saying this as a Type I diabetic, simply as the rapidly dying breed of personal responsibility types...

Road Tripping

 Took today off from work to do some things... caught up on paperwork, tried to register for the vaccine (I think the disease would be less of a pain in the ass), made some calls for some housework...and, most importantly for me, signed off on a HELOC.  Very mature and adult, thus very depressing.  Still, I had the sump pump installed to handle the water issue (permanently, one hope), and it has to be paid for... honestly, rates are quite low, so it is a good deal (in so far as debt is).  I guess I had wanted to wait until the house is paid for, but that's not happening.  In the meantime I can pay off this one and consider other projects.  OK, I have a bunch...but let's not get carried away.

Anyways, I had to drive to Fairlawn for the signing; I didn't find this a huge deal, and wanted to get out of the house.  I then realized that some of the places on my to-do list were right there by the bank, so... first, I bowled at Riviera Lanes, which I had heard is a cool place.  And it is!  It wasn't very full, but it looked...fun?  I could see a bunch of interesting specials and such.  Then... the bowling.  It has been 20 years since I have bowled, and I was not surprisingly inept; not Wolf Blitzer on Jeopardy! (Celebrity Jeopardy!, mind you), but close.  On the one hand, I shouldn't feel badly about this -- decades, I am no athlete, etc., but... most of the people in my family are good bowlers; my Dad bowled a 300 game; my uncle bowled 16, my cousin has bowled a bunch; I mean, if they had a Cleveland bowling HoF, they would be in it.  And I am just awful.

Then, I had planned on eating at House of Hunan there, but they are takeout only, and I am not quite a fan of dropping $25 for good food in a styrofoam container, so...I instead noted a Skyway Drive-In was there; they are also on the list, so off I went.  I did feel guilty -- it is the place Mom would have loved -- but I ordered.... the special and a shake.  It was good; not quite Swenson's good (they use BBQ in the sauce) but other aspects were good -- it's taller, they use different pickles, and the bun was toasted.  Fries were good, and the shake was...perfectly fine.

CSU is in the Big Dance.  Kudos to them!  The tournament is not quite the same this year; no fans to me, is a turnoff, as they really add to the feel and excitement, especially in the college game where this might be the last game of their careers.  I didn't realize the D-3 schools have no tournament; I was channel surfing on the radio and caught some of the BW games, and you would have thought it was Game Seven of the World Series... only later did I realize it was...

The return

 So, I went away this weekend for a wedding; it was largely fun, but I was in the wedding, so there was a lot of stuff to do, you know, like responsibilities and taking shit back to the rental place and all.  Got in late so today I simply chilled, burning one of my 900 vacation days.  Caught up on some stuff -- bought a swiffer so I could sweep the floor, went through the paper pile, went through some of the 800 links and emails that pile up, yadda.  I also hit the grocery store and stocked up on healthy food (not that I have a lot of crap) but I decided that I can get the extra ten pounds off; the AM session at the gym today was extra hard in consequence, I can assure you.

So, we're getting stimulus checks, needed or not. Truth be told, I can take some classes with it or pay down some bills. so it is not technically true that I do not need it, but I can clearly survive without it.

I need to return to my film list -- it has been a while since I looked at it and crossed some off.  I mean, there are still some low-hanging fruit out there that I can get to if I so desired.  The others will be some work; funny, I have been trying to get some more reading done (that list will never go away) that I have been watching fewer films, and that can be... remedied.

Awake and alive

 Busy end of week, busy weekend... oi.  But I did sleep in til past 8, and the seven hours or so of sleep that I got might be enough to power me through the day.  Funny; yesterday I was severely uncaffeinated, and it showed, as I definitely collapsed about 3.  I powered through, as one often does, but..I could feel it.

They are saying the new week will be 60... it seems so long ago since it has been that.  Mind you, winter wasn;t even that bad; just long.  I mean, it was cold, but not that cold, and we only had a couple of bad snows...not that winter is over by any stretch of the imagination, to be sure.

I have decided that messes are starting to pile up around here.  Some of this is stuff from Mom's that I need to decide what to do with, and some of it is stuff from work I have to do the same, but on the whole the general effect is to produce mess and clutter, and while I am not exactly opposed to temporary disorder, this is becoming permanent, and that is unacceptable...I mean, once thi busy period of work erodes, some of the work pile will disappear, and I will have more time to conquer other things, but for the next few days there will be little to do but growl and eye roll at some of the piles... sigh.

Linkage

 Here I am, sort of forcing myself to stay awake to blog, sort of going through the shitpile of backlogged emails...Some of it is also I am not quite tired and want to do things; I think it is the late trips to the gym (today I got there at 9), which give me a surge of energy la0e...  definitely need to go back to two-a-days, not only for the health and exercise but als the reading -- 4o pages a day or so is a good thing.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/republican-party-biden-relief-spending-government-conservatism-trump-new-deal.html

Maybe?  Maybe not?  I mean, the time to fight this battle seriously is when a GOP president is in charge, preferably a REAL Republican.  

https://slate.com/comments/news-and-politics/2021/03/andrew-cuomo-harassment-due-process-rights.html

This is hilarious, given the contortions of Kirsten Gillibrand and others around the guy..

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/keeping-josh-naylor-in-right-field-seems-like-a-bad-idea/ar-BB1e7tcZ?ocid=hplocalnews

You know, this is exactly right. I guess I don't see any of the OFs besides Rosario hitting that much, in which case a spot will open for Naylor there, but I also don't see 1B as a real source of offense, which case you send Naylor back.  At least the rotation, so far, has been stress-free.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/03/david-shor-2020-democrats-autopsy-hispanic-vote-midterms-trump-gop.html

Long but interesting read...I, for one, hope he is correct!

A new month

 This gap between posts is ridiculous, and fortunately ends tonight!  Mainly, work has been busy -- lots of 8 to 6 days -- and thus by the time I eat dinner, pray, do some other stuff, it is time for Jeopardy! which means I hit the gym after, which means I get home by 10, and after a bit of reading and Net-surfing, I feel the need to crash, no matter what...which often means no posting.  But not today.

Just read the Athletic article about Mickey Callaway and his time with the Tribe.  This could be me, but while it is damning, there is just enough there for the Tribe (and its brass) to escape any sort of punishment or culpability -- the only reports that could hurt them, I think, are that they didn't punish him enough for having an affair that got in the way of official business.  I suspect the front office and everyone knew more, but not officially, and thus had culpable deniability, if you will.

https://www.thenewneo.com/2021/02/20/obamacare-was-the-turning-point-for-the-american-left/

I think this is true, but I also don't think that the GOP wouldn't do the same thing...

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/10/why-you-hate-contemporary-architecture

Long read but interesting and worth your time, and I completely agree!

https://taibbi.substack.com/p/i-cant-stand-fox-news-but-censoring-94b

I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, as eventually conservatives will figure out a way to get their content out there on their own platforms and people like Google will have to play catchup; I mean, it happened on radio with Rush, and then on cable with Fox News, so...