Jun 3, 2013 - Commentary    No Comments

Sorry, Tom Hanks. There is Crying in Baseball.

Ramon Ortiz has been a solid Major League pitcher  for a long time, not a superstar but a guy who obviously loves the game and all its trappings and wanted to keep at it as long as he could.  He played in Japan and the minors even into his late thirties in the hopes of getting back to the Major Leagues, and at 40 years old made it back to the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays.  Sadly, he blew his elbow out on this pitch, likely ending his career.

But his reaction is so honest and beautiful, and his teammates knowing what he was going through, is one of the reasons why baseball is the greatest game in the world.  Then you see the fans cheering him as he leaves the field with tears in his eyes — awesome.

May 4, 2013 - Commentary    Comments Off

The Mysterious Concrete Slab

We’ve discovered an odd concrete slab under our grass in the backyard.  It’s 3×3′ and five inches deep.  It’s too small to be a footer for a swingset or shed, in too weird a place to be for a BBQ or light fixture, the town says there was no septic or well here, so we’re hoping for bomb shelter, Jimmy Hoffa’s grave or the secret location of the cure for the zombie plague.

Which means we need to lift the damn thing up.

So I’m looking for recommendations on how to do it, what kind of levers and fulcrums are needed, lengths, materials, etc.  So far we have four volunteers to work on it, and may have more.

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