September 30, 2003
Baseball is turning it's back on the kids
I normally wouldn't disagree with Ed in public like this. Heck, he is a friend. However, he is off-base in today's column. Ed contends that late starts to playoff games are no big deal because the kids weren't going to watch anyway. I'll agree on one level - the late starts are not the problem, they are merely a symptom of a much bigger problem.
The real problem is that Major League Baseball doesn't give a damn about it's next generation of fans. It goes way beyond night games. MLB has sold out to the god of short term profits. The goal in the commissioners office is to maximize revenue right now, the hell with the future. They do that by bowing down to the demands of corporate America and the advertisers. (Is that redundant?) Luxury boxes and season ticket holders are the only fans the MLB cares about. The guy in the bleachers with his 9 year old son? Screw him. He doesn't spend enough.
Ed writes:
In other news, well, it wouldn't be playoff time without reading how late night games are destroying the game of baseball because "the kids can't watch it." Today's it's Callahan in the Herald who laments:In Oakland tomorrow, Pedro is going against Tim Hudson, the best hitting team against the best pitching team, and there is not one 14-year-old kid out there who can realistically see this through to the end. Hell, he can't even tape it and watch it the next day because Game 2 of the series is on at 4:06 Thursday.Fourteen-year-old kids used to live for this moment. This year most 14-year-old kids won't even be able to read about Game 1 in the newspaper Thursday. It will end too late to get in most editions.
First of all, when's the last time you've seen 14 year old kids reading the newspaper?
My 9 year old son reads the sports page. Every page of it. In detail. He then spends the rest of the day enlightening us with obscure stats he read that morning. I practically had to drag him to bed during the Phillies - Marlins series last week. He will not be happy to learn that not only can he not see the end of the game tomorrow, it doesn't even start until 60 minutes after his bedtime.
Ed continues...
The Globe has actually managed to track down a couple kids:
Twelve-year-old Peter Langston and Sam, his 9-year-old brother, have put together a small shrine to the Red Sox in their Easton home, and they weren't happy yesterday when their mother broke the news that the boys won't be allowed to watch tomorrow night's opening playoff game.
OK. So maybe these two guys are the prototypical young baseball fans (a shrine?)
I should invite Ed up to ODonnellWeb galactic headquarters for a look at Breck's room. Off the top of my head....
- 40-50 color 8 X 10's of various baseball players and famous moments forming a border around the room at ceiling level.
- Autographed pictures of Pete Rose and Tony Gwynn
- Picture of Ted Williams mounted on a marble plaque
- 3 or 4 posters (Pedro, Nomar, Zito for sure)
- 5 or 6 felt pennants
- 1995 commemorative Atlanta Braves bat.
- Bat used by Mark Kotsay
- Several thousand baseball cards
- About 12 baseball player bobbleheads
I'm sure there is more...but I've made my point. 8-14 year old boys will idolize somebody. It is part of growing up. The fact that more kids pick basketball or football over baseball today is not a cultural issue as Ed seems to believe. It's bad marketing on the part of baseball.
Baseball seems to believe it's primary customer is the guys buying the corporate boxes and the advertisers buying time. They are wrong. Those guys will always be there as long as the game is healthy. For them it's a business decision. Actually, if baseball were doing a better job of appealing to the common fan they wouldn't have to work so hard to attract advertisers and corporate money. If the talk of the town is the baseball team the advertisers will come running, and corporate America will be begging to associate with the team. However it doesn't work both ways. When baseball loses the kids they lose the future of the game.
September 29, 2003
Rob Russell visits ODonnellWeb
A couple of months ago I blogged a review of the new Rob Russell and the Sore Losers CD, naming it the record of the year so far. (That distinction still stands by the way). Anyway, Rob himself visited ODonnellWeb last night and left a comment on the review blog.
Cool.
Now, if Jennifer Garner will just notice my comments below...
Permalink | Comments (0)September 28, 2003
New Season of Alias
The third season of Alias started tonight. To look that good after two years as a prisoner ;) I'm looking forward to some of the future episodes they previewed at the end. Particularly the episodes where she comes out of the shower in a towel, and the one where she rips off her clothes on a hotel balcony and jumps into the pool below.
Jennifer Garner is definately #1 on my list.
When searching for the Friends episode to link above (the one where they each make a list of 5 celebrities they can sleep with...) I discovered that I AM ON RACHEL's LIST.
Chandler: Well, we have a deal where we each get to pick five different celebrities that we can sleep with, and the other one can't get mad. Ross: Ah, the heart of every healthy relationship: Honesty, respect, and sex with celebrities. Monica: So, Chandler... who's on your list? Chandler: Uh, Kim Basinger, Cindy Crawford, Halle Berry, Yasmine Bleeth, and, ah, Jessica Rabbit. Rachel: Now, you do realize that she's a cartoon... and way out of your league? Chandler: I know, I know, I just always wondered if I could get her eyes to pop out of her head.Permalink | Comments (0)Rachel: Oh, I don't know. I guess... Chris O'Donnel, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Daniel Day Lewis, Sting, and Parker Stevenson.
Ross: Spiderman?
Rachel: Hardy Boy.
Chandler: Peter Parker.
Ross: Thank you
September 27, 2003
Purdue 23 - Notre Dame 10
Permalink | Comments (1)September 25, 2003
There's just something funny about dachshunds
This is Haunsy, pulling his float in the German-American parade in New York last week. Our dachshund was named Hans. He died in my arms 2 years ago.
We have a beagle and a beagle / dachshund mix now. Beagles are ok, but they are no dachshund. There is humor in a weiner dog that no other breed can touch.
September 24, 2003
US to drastically reduce investment in children
Citing the 18 year time frame, and lousy return on investment, the Federal Govt. has decided to drastically reduce it's spending on education, Head Start, and other programs directed at children.
If only it were true...
Permalink | Comments (1)September 23, 2003
6 things my kids aren't learning
John Taylor Gatto identifies the six things he was really teaching the kids all those years he was in the public school system.
Hat tip: The Homeschooling Revolution
Permalink | Comments (2)Wild Card Update
Todd Walker of the Red Sox hit a 3 run homer with 2 out and 3-2 count i nthe bottom of the 9th to tie the game. David "MVP" Ortiz led off the 10th deep over the Monstah to win the game. Magic number for the Sox is down to 3.
In the National League, my son's enthusiasm for the Florida Marlins has rubbed off and I find myself rooting for the Marlins. They possibily set up the knock out blow tonight, stunning the Phillies with 5 runs in the bottom of the 7th to win 5-4. Original Marlin Jeff Conine hit a 3 run homer to tie the game. Whoever in the Marlins organization decided to bring Conine back for the stretch run deserves a big raise. Marlins magic number is 4. I think if they win 1 of the final 2 against the Phillies they can start celebrating as the Marlins finish against the woeful Mets and the Philies finish against the Braves.
Of course, a Red Sox - Marlins World Series would cause a huge problem in my house. I know where my allegience lies, but my son I think would root for the Marlins over the Red Sox. Can I ground him for that?
Permalink | Comments (0)September 22, 2003
US Marines stand up to Isabel
For the first time in history, the US Marines that guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to leave their post and seek shelter during the hurricane.
They didn't go anywhere.
America needs a few million more men like these guys.
Update: I've been advised (by a retired Marine Officer) that the guys guarding the tomb are US Army, not Marines.
Permalink | Comments (0)September 21, 2003
Quotes from today's baseball game
These quotes are all from the same mother of one of the kids on the baseball team. In most cases they are paraphrased as I wasn't taking notes. Although I probably should have.
I can't believe I have to miss the race for a baseball game.
She is referring to NASCAR. And she had a headphone radio with her so she could listen to the race. I think golf on radio would be more exciting than NASCAR on radio.
Don't make me take you to the bathroom and whip your ass
Trying to discipline one of her three kids that wasn't playing baseball. The reaction of her kids (they totally ignored her) indicate that either she never follows through on the threat, or they are going to get beat regardless, so it doesn't matter. She then put her headphones back on and walked away.
Don't be swinging at that crap this time at bat.
Hitting advice to her son.
Ryan Newman needs to hit a wall and die
Reacting to the news that Newman was leading the race. There is nothing a diehard redneck NASCAR fan likes less than a college boy dominating "their" sport. BTW, to the slight extent that I follow NASCAR, Newman is my favorite driver. He ultimately won today's race.
Can't we call the slaughter rule and end this. I can still get home in time for the end of the race
Showing concern and empathy for her son who was in the midst of losing a baseball game 18-1 in 4 innings. The kids have now been outscored 28-1 in their two games - both ending under the 10 run rule after 4 innings.
Breck says he is having fun playing though. Ultimately, that is all I care about. Although we will be bringing lawn chairs to all future games - so we can sit in a quieter area and not worry about what Delaney might be seeing or hearing around her.
And when we went to dinner at Logan's, there was a group of adults in the waiting room engaged in a full out peanut war (Logan's provides unlimited peanuts). Delaney commented that they shouldn't be thowing food. The 7 year old understands proper behavior in public, every damn adult I ran across today doesn't have a clue.
I'm really ready for that 100 acre ranch. Civilization just isn't civilized enough for me.
Permalink | Comments (3)Happy Birthday Michelle
Today is Michelle's birthday. She is uh, umm, 29 years old. Yeah, that's it :)
Happy birthday sweetie.
I tried to be a good hubby and do the grocery shopping for her last night. Instead, I got to experience what the people in the poor counties experience when they walk into the grocery store and find the shelves empty. Food Lion's produce and dairy sections were bare. I couldn't find the first 7 or 8 things on the list, so I gave up. I went across the street to Ukrops in hopes of at least finding bread and milk. They were stocked up OK. They were also selling the generic store brand milk @ $3.69/gallon. The going rate is about $2.79. I don't go to Ukrops normally but it is hard to believe they always have a commodity like milk priced significantly higher than the competition. Price gouging in the aftermath of a hurricane is somewhat unbecoming for a store that promotes it's Christian ideals by closing on Sundays and refusing to sell evil products like beer and wine.
Then again, maybe they are always that expensive.
Permalink | Comments (1)September 19, 2003
Isabel - The Aftermath
Isabel did tear through here about 2 AM last night. My wife reports that it was quite loud. I slept through it.
Looking around my property this morning it was hard to tell anything major happened. There was some debris in the yard, but really nothing worse that the day after a nasty summer thunderstorm. I decided to be productive with the unexpected day off, so I set off to the auto parts store to buy supplies to give the minivan a rightous fall cleaning. The auto parts store was open - but only accepting cash since their power was out. The entire strip mall a mile from my house was dark. So were several street lights. The shopping center across the street was dark too. Except for Autozone. They had power. My neighborhood looked pretty normal, the old part of the neighborhood was trashed, trees down, limbs everywhere, etc. After listening to the radio I think our subdivision may be the only place in the county with power. It's almost like some surreal movie scene. There has been a catastrophic event, but in the bubble of my property, nobody knows about it.
5 hours later the van looked like new. I washed, waxed, vacuumed, cleaned he wheels with a toothbrush, shined the tires, cleaned the dash and interior, etc. There is a lot of sheet metal on that damn van. I didn't think I was ever going to finish buffing. Now I need to do my car too.
Permalink | Comments (0)September 18, 2003
New Host for This Old House
Steve Thomas is gone. The new host is a viewer the producers met on an "Ask This Old House" house call.
Damn, that could have been my job. If I lived in Boston. And owned an older house that needed work. And had sent an email to "Ask This Old House." The new host was a banker. I'm just as qualified as he is. Nobody has screwed up more home improvement projects than me!
Permalink | Comments (4)Axis of Isabel Update - 9 PM
It's raining hard and steady, and has been since the last update. Wind is blowing at about 30 mph with occasional gusts to maybe 40 or 45, but nothing I would consider damaging.
Check that, just had a gust that rattled the house, maybe we are getting into a bad squall line. Power just flickered too. However, power, DirecTV and Internet have been A-OK so far. Utlilites are buried in my neighborhood. That definately helps.
Interview with Milton Friedman
A terrific interview with Milton Friedman. My favorite quote:
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich
That about says it all.
Permalink | Comments (0)Weather Update - 4 PM
I don't think I've ever seen a radar image that solid with color. The power has blinked off momentarily 3 times in the last hour. (Good thing I have all three PC's on UPS). Hopefully it's not a harbinger of things to come. It's been raining since about noon, and the wind is a steady 20 mph with an occasional gust that rattles the windows. The eye of Isabel is due to pass over us around 2 - 4 AM tonight. Could be a long evening.
September 17, 2003
Do they even read the mail?
About 2 weeks ago, I sent a letter to my Congressional Representive asking her to withdraw her support of HR 2732 (The Homeschool bill currently in Congress). This week, I got a reply from Representative Davis, thanking me for writing to express my support of the bill and detailing just how hard she is working to get it passed.
Maybe anarchy would be preferable.
Trust me, my position in oposition of the bill was very clear. Some clerk threw it in the wrong pile. It's nice to know constituent relations are so important in her office.
Permalink | Comments (0)Batten Down the Hatches
We got back about 1 AM last night. So I got to spend today mowing, and making general preperations for Isabel (the hurricane). Anything loose from the yard is in the garage, hanging plants are taken down, deck cleaned off, and the beer is in the fridge.
Bring it on!
The trip was wonderful, even if both games were losses for the teams we were rooting for. We drove 1400 miles over 5 days, ate way too much fast food, and paid way too much in tolls. (Where does Deleware get off charging $2 for a 15 mile strip of I-95?) Surprisingly all the roads were in good condition, even the NJ Turnpike. The only construction we hit was in rural NY west of Albany - it didn't really slow us down though. A little diversity on the Mass Pike would be nice - McDonald's seems to have a monopoly on eating establishments at the service centers. NY seems to require gas stations, restaurants, etc to be at least 5 miles from any Thruway interchange, turning any rest stop in NY into a 20 minute detour.
Our seats at both games were great. I tried hard to get a Marlin to toss Breck a batting practice ball - to no avail. I thought him decked out in a Marlins hat and shirt in the sea of Phillies kids might get him noticed. Mike Mordecai had several chances to toss a ball to Breck and instead chose to pretend that none of the kids at the railing existed. So, Mike is officially designated an asshat from this day forward. Breck used the term jerk, which is about as strong a language as he is allowed to use. Dontrelle Willis and some other Marlin we couldn't ID were also in the same area and they threw several balls up to the kids.
The Hall of Fame is in the middle of a renovation. It needs it. It is very dated. They have 55,000 hours of baseball footage on film. Exactly 0 is being used in the museum. Some sort of digital surround sound enhanced "experience the great moments of baseball" thing would be awsome, and not terribly difficult to do. They have all the content, they just need to use it.
I didn't realize just how close Philly is to the DC area (when traffic isn't an issue.) I might have to do a couple of National League games next year.
I didn't check email or see a web site for 5 days. I didn't miss it at all.
Day 1 - Boston
Day 2 - Cooperstown
Day 3 - Philadelphia
September 12, 2003
The adventure begins
I'm off on The Great Baseball Roadtrip. No blogging until next Wed, when I'll be back with lots of pictures.
Permalink | Comments (0)September 11, 2003
Thank You
On this second annversary of the day none of us will ever forget, I just want to say thank you to the men and women of the US Military who are out there every day helping to make sure that something like 9/11/2001 never happens again.
Permalink | Comments (2)September 10, 2003
Parents can now outsource bedtime stories
AOl has announced a new service that will read children's bedtime stories, presumably NOT in Steve Case's voice. The Washington Post story actually leads with this sentence:
Too busy to read your child a bedtime story?
If you really do consider yourself to busy to read a bedtime story to your child, may I politely suggest that you extract your head from your rectum and get some sense of your priorities in life?
You could start by unplugging the modem and canceling the AOL subscription. If you really are that busy, you don't have time for AOL chat rooms and People.com.
Permalink | Comments (1)Happy Homeschooler -1 NEA - 0
Joanne, aka The Happy Homeschooler, takes on the most recent batch of NEA (National Education Association) resolutions, and delivers a righteous fisking. Those are some scary people at the NEA. I wonder how many teachers have actually read that garbage?
Permalink | Comments (1)September 09, 2003
Opus Returns
Berkley Breathed, author and illustrator of Bloom County, has announced that he is returning with a new cartoon strip starring Opus. The new strip will debut in the Washington Post on 11/23.
I hope he can work Bill the Cat into the storyline.
Permalink | Comments (4)HSLDA Responds to HR2732 criticisms
Over on Izzy's blog, HSLDA has responded to some of the criticism of HR2732. Let's look at what they had to say..
From Mike Smith, the president of the Home School Legal Defense Association,
Congressman Musgrave is anti-federal gov. and is even having some problems with the Republican establishment because she is too libertarian in her views.
Oh really? Musgrave has been a member of Congress for 7 months. She is very supportive of a Constitutional ban on gay marriage, and she is also supportive of the effort to re-authorize Head Start. Yeah, she's a real hard core Libertarian.
From Tom Washburne, Director of the National Center for Home Education,
The first real objection regarding the language of HONDA concerns one of several "findings" at the beginning of the bill. The finding in question reads: "Education by parents at home has proven to be an effective means for young people to achieve success on standardized tests and to learn valuable socialization skills." ...This finding was put in HONDA because of the ever-present allegation that homeschooling does not and cannot work. Members of Congress are told this every year by the teacher's unions when they pass their resolutions and forward them to Congress. This is ridiculous and it is time Congress publicly acknowledges that fact.
Who really gives a flying #$^% what Congress or the NEA thinks of homeschooling? I certainly don't. I'm not doing this to win a popularity contest. As long as I, my wife, and the kids are happy and thriving as homeschoolers, I absolutely don't give a damn what anybody else thinks. This goes back to a point I've made many times, that homeschoolers are much better off staying under the radar. Trying to force the issue of "legitimacy" in Congress is silly and stupid. All it does it invite a response from our critics.
Washbourne continues
The article takes great issue with the provisions in HONDA addressing the Higher Education Act. The Act governs the ability of college students to receive government aid in the form of guaranteed student loans and grants. Under an interpretation of the Clinton administration, a homeschooled student who is admitted under the age of 18 renders an entire college ineligible to award financial aid. Because of this, many homeschool graduates, even some already admitted, had their admittance to college revoked. This is not about whether the students took any money, but about whether they could be admitted at all. We have worked to achieve a temporary fix of this interpretation with the new administration, but this is, and has been, a real problem for homeschool graduates. Correcting the law will open many more college opportunities for homeschoolers.
I remember hearing about a case last year, in Texas I think, where this was an issue. I also believe it was resolved satisfactorily. However, several tries with google have failed to turn up a single reference to a homeschooler being denied college admission because of age. I do find references to it being a problem, mostly on homeschool sites referencing HSLDA as the source, but I don't find any "huge" issue. I'm sure its happened. However, it seems to be the case of college administrators not understanding the existing rules. We don't need new federal legislation, that will just make it more confusing.
It's all really a moot point anyway since the Dept of Education issued this clarification of the rules last year. It states very clearly that if the student is not considered truant by the state education system, he is eligible for financial aid in college.
Another point, none of this denies a homeschooler a college education. It may have threatened their access to taxpayer subsidized low interest loans, but the theoretical student in question could still go to college. All of this points to the futility of trying to solve low level problems like the occasional dispute between a college and a student with federal legislation.
I remain unconvinced that there is any need for this legislation. Nothing good will come of it, and it presents a risk in that it could provide an avenue for increased federal control of homeschooling. The bottom line is that homeschoolers are different. We voluntarily opted out of the education mainstream. Trying to use the police power of the government to force everybody to treat us "the same" is dangerous.
Permalink | Comments (5)September 08, 2003
Best Way thru / around NYC ?
On Friday I head north to start the great adventure with my son; Fenway, Cooperstown, and The Vet on consecutive days. Anybody have an opinion on the best route through the NY area as I traverse from DC to Boston? I should be hitting the NY area around 1 or 2 PM. I've done the George Washington Bridge and the Tappen-Zee in the past, it seems like a wash to me. You generally don't sit in traffic if you take the more northern route, but its a loop around the city so it's about the same time elapsed as sitting in traffic in the Bronx.
Opinions?
Permalink | Comments (2)September 07, 2003
D&D is Satan's Tool
This is so funny. And if you played D&D as a youth, it will probably ring painfully true too.
Permalink | Comments (1)September 06, 2003
The HR2732 Page
I whipped up a page dedicated to the Federal Homeschool Bill at http://www.odonnellweb.com/hr2732.html
No new info from my previous post, just a dedicated page that hopefully will own google on the subject within a matter of days. You can help me do that by linking to the page from your blog. Let's spread it far and wide and defeat the forces of evil!
Permalink | Comments (0)September 04, 2003
Kill The Federal Homeschool Bill
Home Education Magazine has a good analysis of the potential ramifications of HR 2732, The Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2003. Like most bills in Congress, the name is not particularly descriptive of the actual contents. The bottom line that right now, there is no federal oversight of homeschooling. This bill creates the avenue for that to happen. Call or fax your representative in the House and tell them that
1. You are a homeschooler
2. You do not support this bill because...
Don't let the Feds do for Home Education what they have done for public education.
Use Thomas, to read the actual bill.
Bah! My Congressional representative is signed on as a co-sponsor. Not sure if that is good or bad in terms of my ability to influence her. We'll find out...
Daryl was first on the blog with this vital info.
Permalink | Comments (2)September 03, 2003
We're Rich, We're Rich!
According to this site, I'm richer than 99.4% of the people in the world.
Permalink | Comments (0)USA Today & Homeschooling
USA Today has both a pro and anti homeschooling opinion column in today's paper. The pro article is surprisingly positive, and the anti is exceptionally snarky. Neither column however, really gets it.
Most of us started homeschooling for the usual reasons. Either we wanted a more challenging curriculum than what was available in the school system, or maybe you wanted a more faith based curriculum, or your child has special needs that are better addressed one on one.
However, for those of you that have been doing this for a couple of years now I ask, "Is it even about the academic achievement anymore"?
Would my daughter's obsession with all things equine have blossomed if she was institutionalized all day? Probably not. Would my son's parallel and very deep interests in baseball, video games, military history, and science fiction have developed in a school setting? There is no way. He never would have had time.
His passion for baseball renewed my passion for the game. His interest in the Civil War forced me to read up so I carry on a conversation with him. I still don't know squat about horses. I should probably work on that. I'm a better person, better father, and a better husband because we homeschool. The kids are better people because we homeschool. My wife, well she was already perfect :) Our family is closer, the kids are closer to each other, we spend a lot of time with our kids and we actually enjoy that time. These things make us "weird" by today's standards.
I'm quite happy to be weird.
If the kids academic standards dropped to state averages this year, would we then give up and put them into schools? Hell no. Even if the academic achievement was merely average, the kids are still much better off homeschooling. Our family is much better off homeschooling too.
The decision to homeschool is a lot bigger than academics. None of us really realized that on day 1. But it is the primary reason we continue.
Permalink | Comments (1)September 02, 2003
Cheap Tickets
Even though I'm supposedly on the cutting edge, I've never used Priceline or any of those name your own price travel sites.
That changed this weekend while trying to find a cheap place to sleep in Philly for one night. I decided to try Hotwire. It's sort of like Priceline except that you don't submit a price - they tell you what the price is, but you don't know what hotel you are getting until after you pay. After inputting the date it gave me a bunch of options. One of them being a 3-1/2 star hotel in downtown Philly, only a few blocks from Independence Hall, for $56. I kind of assumed they were really stretching the rating system, and I would be getting a Days Inn or something like that, which really would be fine. We just need a place to crash for one night downtown, we'll be spending the next day doing some of the tourist stuff downtown and then a Phillies-Marlins game that evening.
I rolled the dice and bought. I'm staying at a Hilton.
I think I'll use this service again.
Permalink | Comments (0)Fountains of Wayne
I'm oddly addicted to the song (and video) Stacey's Mom. I'm not sure if it's the song itself, the video featuring an almost naked Rachel Hunter, with nods to both Hot for Teacher and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, or the fact that I am married to a "Stacey's Mom."
The last one, it's definitely the last one. :)
Any bets on how long it takes before Google starts delivering visitors here on the search term Rachel Hunter naked?
Also, I checked out Amazon in search of other song samples from the album. The 5 or so linked there were very diverse,I heard definite J. Geils influences, some Lemonheads, and some Beatles. This might actually be album worth owning. Does anybody have it?
Permalink | Comments (4)