Tuesday's notes

One more day down only four days to go. It's almost Saturday, what will you be doing when the world stops for about three hours to watch The Game? Ohio State vs Michigan, the Shoe, the dotting of the i, Hang on Sloopy and 110,000 screaming fans rocking the stadium. This will be a great Saturday full of excitement and the hopes of cheering for the national championship in January hang on the balance. Stupid fans like me who think if they scream enough and concentrate enough, they can will their team to victory are priceless.

On a side note, I saw an appropriately dressed newborn the other day. The little guy was sporting a very fashionable Ohio State onesy. I so have to get that.

He writes again but only to warn the others

Amazing, I still know my username and password. Unbelievable.

By now you should know the date, the time, where and who. November 18, 3:30 p.m. Columbus, Ohio - #1 The Ohio State Buckeyes and the #2 Michigan Wolverines. If you don't know then you either don't follow sports or you've been hiding under a rock. This will probably be the longest week of my life. Couldn't Veterans Day be this Friday? Or how about moving Thanksgiving to this Thursday? I'm not sure if I'll be able to concentrate at work.

My warning is for those who will see me on Saturday. I will either be drowning my self in sorrow in an attempt to stave off a deep depression or I'll be the most gleeful SOB this side of Columbus. The difference between now and say ten years ago, I don't fear Big Blue dashing the Scarlet and Gray's national title march. I have complete confidence in the Buckeyes and The Shoe will be rocking on Saturday.

Then comes Sunday as my Beloved Brownies go for two in a row against the hated Pittsburgh Steelers. It's time to put those Steelers in their rightful place that is last place in the AFC North. "Here we go Brownies, here we go! Woof, woof! Here we go Brownies, here we go! Woof, woof! Shooooters!!!" I plan to here that all afternoon long on Sunday. For the outsiders, that is code for Touchdown Browns! Now give us our shooters!

Left Behind - the video game

I've enjoyed reading the Left Behind series, though I'm only halfway through the entire series. I've even watched the first two movies featuring Kirk Cameron a.k.a Mike Seaver (oh, how I miss those days). Then I came across this article today about a new video game based off the popular series. At first I was curious about the storyline this video game based on the book series would follow. Your main objective, I gather, is to recruit people. Sounds a bit boring but makes sense. Then comes the violence. If you can't convert the non-believers, you have to kill them. Say what????

I play a lot of violent games, in fact, I don't know if I own any non-violent games that aren't sports based. I'm not an expert but I'd guess that most games involve some sort of "killing" the enemy. Even games like Disney's Kingdom Hearts, which I still have yet to complete the first installment, have you killing these shadow creatures. The killing doesn't include severed body parts and blood spattering everywhere but it is killing. I'm not going to get wrapped around the axle about this but killing "people" because they refuse to convert might be sending the wrong impression about a very touchy subject. I think because of the touchy subject that maybe this video game has gone a little too far and might not be appropriate right now. I wonder if this game has received any sort of blessing from the books creators, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Do I think this game will spark a rash of real life killings? In a word, no. However, I think it's rather odd that a faith based game would have violence of any kind. Are they trying to appeal to gamers and simply sell a product in hopes of making as much money as they possibly can? I would think that this type of game would try to send a very specific message and refrain from any sort of violence.

Youth baseball and ethics

I came across this story today about a youth baseball game in Utah, in which, a frail little boy who has recovered from a malignant cranial tumor, suffered years of chemotherapy and can only play if he wears a batters helmet at all times. The little kid, Romney Oaks, steps up to the plate with a chance to win the championship game for his team in a 10 and under league. Unfortunately, Romney strikes out and his opponent wins the game.

At first it sounds pretty normal. Someone has to win and someone has to lose. It's the nature of sports. Then comes the ethics question. First how did Romney get in the game winning situation, well, the opposing team intentionally walked the batter in front him, mind you, the best batter on the team. Perfect strategic baseball. Walk the guy who could has the better chance of hitting the ball and go after the weaker hitter, especially if you only need one more out. However, should the opposing team have walked the best batter to get to Romney? Is it ethical in a little league situation to do such a thing? There is nothing in the rules that states intentionally walking a player is not allowed so the other coach instructed his pitcher to do something legally. They didn't cheat but did take advantage of a weak player.

Is it okay to teach kids to win at all costs? Is there a certain line we're not suppose to cross in youth athletics? I have mixed emotions about the whole thing. Sure, the best coaching move is to pitch around the best batter and go after the weak batter. However, it's little league baseball. You're not under pressure to win. There is no owner or upper management breathing down your neck waiting for you to bring home a championship. With that in mind, I'd say pitch to the best batter. Take your chances and see how it plays out. You'll be back to coach again next year if you chose to. There won't be an owner screaming at you and there won't be angry fans calling into radio stations voicing emotional opinions calling for a new coach.

Then I start to think about how ESPN televises little league baseball, more specifically, the Little League World Series. Well, doesn't that change everything? I would want my team to feel the joy of winning and celebrate a championship even if it's not on TV. If it came down to the last out, first base was open, the best hitter was at bat and I knew a weak batter was on deck, I'd walk the best batter and pitch to the weaker batter. If first base is open and I had a David Ortiz at the plate and a Damien Jackson is on deck, I would walk Ortiz take my chances with Jackson(Oh, for those of you who don't know, David Ortiz maybe one of the best clutch hitters in the game today and Damien Jackson is not known for his hitting abilities).

Look, it's unfortunate that a kid who's gone through so much in his life had to be the final out. I don't think people should be in outrage about it and spark a national debate. I think it comes down to how you view youth sports. Are you on the side of winning/losing or the side of creating an atmosphere where kids can take part in a fun learning experience about teamwork. I think there should be balance of both sides. I still don't know what I would have done. I'd probably would have pitched to the best batter and taken my chances.

Professional Mixologist

I'm an -ologist, as in a mixologist. Not just a mixologist, a professional mixologist. Around 6:30 pm Friday evening I passed my written and speed test and officially became a mixologist. I even received a diploma. Now it's decision time. What to do with my new skill? Where to work? How many days a week? Decisions...decisions...decisions. I'm pretty excited about the possibility of working a little part time job as a bartender. I think I'd make a pretty good bartender in the right place. I'm glad the course is over. I can leave work and go home. I don't have to detour and spend an additional 4 hours in Arlington and then come home between 11pm or midnight. I'll have to get a little familiar with some drinks that weren't required for class but were given to us in supplemental handouts...ie red headed slut.

So much for a recharge

It was my plan this past weekend to do absolutely nothing. Sadly, I showered but I did avoid brushing my teeth. They felt very gross. I played hours of video games and watched plenty of shows and movies. I made the morning run to Starbucks and a Saturday night run to India Palace (yum!) Unfortunately, I'm still tired and worn out. So what if I traveled the galaxy, fought off the Empire and revived the Washington Huskies football program. I never left the house. Why am I so tired? I still get the same amount of sleep even though I'm going to bed at midnight instead of 11. I get up at 6 instead of 5. I suppose the 4 hours I spend in bartending class is draining my energy/brain power and messing up my eating schedule. I basically get up, go to work, leave work, go to class, leave class, go home, eat, sleep, wake up and go through the same thing again and again. I dream about making drinks and wake up thinking about what I do with rum, triple sec and juice. Bartending school might be a whole helluva lot of fun, I'll be glad when it's over. I can go back to my normal routine. I think this next weekend, I'm sleeping more. It'll probably do nothing to help and even may make things worse but I will have spent the past two weeks dreaming and thinking about shooters, cocktails, highballs, specialty drinks and lord knows what else and I just want to dream about something else.

On a side note, I think I might try this bartending thing. I don't want this knowledge that I've gained to go to waste. It may not be my money that went towards this class but why not use this as an opportunity to earn a little extra even though I really don't have to. Hmm, an upgraded home theater sporting a projection tv. A larger tv in the game room to go with a new xbos 360 perhaps. But then reality sets in and I'll be paying someone to finish the stupid flooring project my wife and I started in January. Oh an someone will need to be paid for fixing a leaky roof. Painting is not a problem nor is putting up shelves, blinds, curtains, pictures or other wall decorations. Just need the floor in place to move along with the housing upgrades. The cool technology gadgets will just have to wait.

Mixology 101

I'm uber excited about my new little adventure. I just started my 40 hour professional bartending course at, you guessed it, The Professional Bartending School in Arlington. It's a serious chunk of time (4 hours a day), especially after a full day of work but it's a whole lot of fun. My brain is working overtime trying to remember 24 different drinks that I learned in one night. I think I've got them down so bring on another batch of drinks.

I really have no idea what I'll do with this new skill. I'm just excited about learning all sorts of drinks and how they are made. One short fall, I have no clue what these drinks taste like because we use colored water. Boooooooooooo! Makes sense because alcohol is expensive and how could anyone learn if they're drunk.

Soon I'll know what to do with those two bottles of vodka and bourbon and they actually might taste good too! Apparently vodka mixes well with everything but I'm too chicken to test that theory. I know why it's called a screwdriver. I also now know that the names of these drinks actually mean something and certain words have meaning. A sloe (yes, its spelled like that for a reason) comfortable screw against the wall has all the ingreidients listed in the name. Sloe=sloe gin, comfortable=southern comfort, screw=orange juice and wall=Galliano (a licorice and vanilla taste, which supposedly tastes nasty). You can even take out screw and insert doggy style which is grapefruit juice. I learned what's in a spicy bloody mary and I'll be skipping that drink. Oh, and I know the name for a free shot at the bar. However, I'd advise against ever really ordering it. Well, it's off to class. Hooray bartending!