FRS

Well, I Feel Better Now

The FRS can’t lose tonight, they got rained out. They can’t lose tomorrow night either because of a regularly scheduled day off.

But what really has turned around my dour attitude was that the Warlock has spoken: “It’s a long season and there’s a ton of talent there and a really bitchin’ hitters park they play in. Relax.” Thanks Charlie, I really feel better now.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 994

Why Bother?

It is halfway through game #11 and the FRS are losing 3-0, fast on their way to being 2 and 9 to start the season.

At first I thought it was kind of comical that the team that many predicted to be the best in the majors stumbled out of the starting blocks, but now it is not so much funny as it is depressing. Their fantastic pitching staff has appeared more like little leaguers and their fearsome batting lineup has only about two of them batting more than their weight.

I know, I know Mark, I should have faith and believe that it is till possible to finish the season at 154-8, but right now it is kind of hard to believe that they won’t finish dead last in their division. Right now the only bright spot is that they lead the MFY 2 to 1 in the season series.

Started down, went up, still up.
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Oh, This Twinkie Thing, It Ain’t Over Yet


Mirabeau Blue Genesis Coupe

Bike rode to pay our bills (cable, water, power & doctor) this morning and ended up at Atlanta Bread Company for breakfast. Maybe tomorrow I’ll tell the paper cup story.

This afternoon I fixed something, which is a rare occurrence around here. Last time I went to use the leaf blower it wouldn’t go. The gas line from the tank to the “carburetor” was broken. It had dried out and cracked in a couple places. We found a kit at Big Box Home Store and I managed to replacethem without too much trouble. I did have to enlarge one hole in the plastic tank to fit one of the plastic tubes through. There appears to be a miniscule bit of leakage at that point, but I doubt it creates any hazard.

With that repaired, I proceeded to blow the oak pollen clusters off the roof and back deck. Donna then took over and cleaned the front walk and driveway. While she did that, I finished hosing the pine pollen off the screened porch, so that maybe we can enjoy our dinner out on Monday.

Tonight I’m watching the Red Sox – Yankees game on ESPN, but listening to it on the WEEI off the ‘net. I’ve tried several times in the past to do this, but the audio and video never lined up. Tonight, for some reason, they are in sync.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 992

Dog Gone It

Gozque – Spanish for small yapping dog.

The Red Sox finally won a game. The starting pitcher for the FRS gave up 6 runs in 7 innings and lowered his ERA by nearly 10! As a bonus the 9 -6 win came against the dreaded Yankees.

We rode the tandem to work today and it was a great ride. It is Spring Break around here for the schools and it is amazing the amount of traffic that eliminates. During school time we see maybe a dozen cars, but today we were lucky if we saw 3.

My dabbling in Ubuntu Linux, will always be just that, just dabbling. Late last night I discovered that you cannot stream Netflix in Linux. Plus I should read my own posts…back last October when I loaded it on the laptop I realized that my most used Geocaching program doesn’t have a Linux version.

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 990

Oh & Five

Columbus: It’s amazing how fast the world can go from bad to total shit storm.

9:45 PM
I sit down at the PC and check on the FRS score – ooh, only losing 3 to 2 in the sixth, we’re still in this one.

By the time I get logged into Gameday Audio the Indians have scored another run, it’s now 4 to 2.

Why, oh why, MLB.com, when I click the audio button on the web page of the Boston Red Sox do I get the Cleveland radio announcing team. You would think if I’m on the FRS page I would get the WEEI crew of Joe Castiglione & Dave O’Brien.

By the time the audio player is loaded and I have changed broadcasting teams, I hear like two pitches called and then on the third pitch some moke for the Tribe hits it into the right field seats with two runners on base. 7 – 2.

9:50 PM
I close the Gameday Audio player and open up Winamp to listen to the soothing sounds of GotRadio New Age Nuance.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 988

9-5 12-5 5-1

We got our baseball preview issue of Sports Illustrated last week and guess which team they picked to win the American League East? The Boston Red Sox. They picked the Red Sox to beat the A’s in the Division Series and the Sox to beat Twins to win the American League and play the Giants in the World Series. Who did they pick to win the World Series? Right. The Red Sox. SI isn’t the only ones singing the praises of the Boys from Beantown this year either.

Maybe the players believed with all that good press and they would just have to show up to crush their enemies, see them driven before themselves, and to hear the lamentation of their women! Or maybe they forgot that this season started before the first weekend in April not after it. But for whatever reason, the FRS were soundly beaten by the Texas Rangers in the first three games of the season by a combined score of 26 to 11 (see post title.)

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
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No Buck & McCarver

I’m watching Game 2 of the World Series with the TV sound muted and listening to the Texas Ranger’s radio broadcasters through MLB Gameday Audio. Unlike when I tried this trick with the FRS a couple of times during the regular season the audio and video are very close to matching up, probably less than a second, so it is entirely bearable.

There is an article on Deadspin on how to sync up the audio and video. In my case the video is slightly ahead of the audio, so my fix to perfectly sync them up is to use a DVR, which I don’t have (good thing it is close.) If your audio is ahead of the video there are several ways to sync them up using some software and maybe some cabling depending on your audio setup requirements.

As a bonus, the juxtaposition of the audio from one commercial over the video of a different one makes the between innings gaps a lot more interesting.

Silencing Joe Buck And Tim McCarver: A Simple Tech Solution To Our Crappy World Series Announcers

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
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