SB Nation User Blog: Faux

OTDOD - 6-A-07D9 (Yes, I'm a nerd) Edition

Faux — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:45:19 -0000

I think it's about time for another one of these bad boys. Some topics for possible discussion:

Post-Its are the most useful invention ever
Gold chains on men - purely douchey or just a sign of ignorance?
The origins of the apparently LL-exclusive phrase "Boned" (sorry Taylor)
Where the fuck did the tags go? Update - There they are. WTF, SBN? You have to run the autotag to use them?
Uses for dollar bills besides currency
Voicemail should go the way of the dinosaur (Fuck you, Carl Everett)
Good names for a cat (don't worry, I've covered the Chinese food names already abender20)
As always, anything else your heart desires (and is in LL guidelines)

Umpire calls pitches, gets caught 16 years later.

Faux — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:28:44 -0000

So we all saw that story about the umpire that called the RJ game for Dave Valle. Deadspin has a great write-up here.

Some background info (from SI):

So dominant was Johnson that before a game in 1993, the home plate umpire told Mariners catcher Dave Valle, "They don't even need you with Randy pitching."

"What are you talking about?" replied Valle, who would not name the ump.

"He's so good they don't need you. Let me call the pitches tonight."

"I let him call every pitch." recalls Valle, to whom the umpire whispered pitches under his breath.

An overpowering Johnson went the distance in a Mariners victory.

That put the list of potential umps at (Per Deadspin):

Jim McKean, vs. Boston, April 21 (Johnson's line: 4 hits, 0 ER, 8 strikeouts)
Tim Welke, vs. Cleveland, April 26 (7 hits, 3 ER, 7 strikeouts)
Dale Scott, at Oakland, May 16 (1 hit, 0 ER, 14 strikeouts)
Ken Kaiser, at Toronto, Aug. 20 (3 hits, 1 ER, 11 strikeouts)
Joe Brinkman, vs. Milwaukee, Sept. 5 (5 hits, 2 ER, 13 strikeouts)
Ed Hickox, vs. Texas, Sept. 21 (3 hits, 0 ER, 11 strikeouts)
Drew Coble, at Minnesota, Oct. 1 (9 hits, 2 ER, 7 strikeouts)

Today Valle was on the MLB channel on XM, and Kevin Kennedy got him to open up a little. Dave proclaimed that the umpire had called for about two innings, then they went on to a 4-1, 3 Hit, CG victory.

That means that we can now positively claim (as much as going by one man's statements can) that it was Ken Kaiser that called that game. I wonder if anyone will ask him for a comment?

OT Thread - Faux's Ballpark Extravaganza '09

Faux — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:05:14 -0000

Over this week, I added numbers 11, 12 and 13 (out of now 32) to my list of ballparks visited. Figured I'd share a few pictures and make an OT at the same time.

All the pictures (and more from the trip, should you be interested) are hosted on Flickr.

Progressive Field/Cleveland -

I didn't spend much time in Cleveland, but had a nice lunch at one of the restaurants in the area.

Comerica Park/Detroit -

Detroit was supposed to be another afternoon trip without much exploring, but I found the building above, and spent a good couple hours trying to find a way inside. I think it was a hospital before it was condemned, but no matter what it was it was fun to explore. Oh, yeah, there's my car for scale.

PNC Park/Pittsburgh -

Pitt was a lot of fun to walk around, even in the rain. The park is nice, easily the nicest of the three, and in the top five of the parks I've visited.

Summary & Discussion Topics

I've always been interested if anyone else on LL has done this sort of trip, and if so, how far are you?

This summer is going to be MIN/MIL, and maybe Chicago if I have the time. If anyone has been to any of these, is the Metrodome as bad/the same/better as other stadium based ballparks like McAfee and Skydome?

Whatever else anyone wants to talk about.

OTDOD - 1-30-9 I'm Truly Out of Ideas Edition

Faux — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:01:34 -0000

I figured today was a good day for a linky post, a little earlier than usual.

This is a poll for all those converted by LL to better beer drinkers. Remember these slogans from your cheaper days? (Note: That whole site is awesome, and I could easily link half the content) (Second Note: Can anyone beat 3:34 in the 50 Capitals Challenge?)

I've changed signs around before, but this is a masterpiece.

via media2.kxan.com

In fucked up news, some guy tried to cut the implants out of an ex-girlfriend. People are messed up.

In book news, I'm halfway through reading Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do, and I have to say it is excellent. He stays a little general for someone like myself that's read traffic and urban planning books before, but it's a great book to get someone hooked on the subject.

Not to start up this debate again, but according to traffic engineers, all you early mergers are doing it wrong (PDF). If there's traffic and a backup, late merging makes for more capacity and quicker traffic flow (because there's no queue jumpers disrupting the line, and everyone knows what to expect at the merge point).

I won't link to it because you can't find an article about it without politics, but the digital TV switchover is still on for Feb 17th. Does anyone out there still have a TV that's not hooked up to cable or satellite? If so, do you have one of the boxes or a digital TV? Neilsen says 10% of people won't have any access to TV after the switch, but I'm skeptical of that number.

OTDOD - 1-6-9 Interesting Reading Edition

Faux — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:18:49 -0000

With the coming of spring (actually the accumulation of too much shit), I've been bit by the cleaning bug. After 500$ made on Craigslist, and half a closet and a good chunk of the garage now clear to fill with more junk, I've turned my attention to the numerous bookshelves in my apartment with an eye on clearing them out to give myself a chance to use my Amazon gift cards to the fullest.

What does this mean for LL? An old-fashioned book discussion, of course. I'm going to use this opportunity to tell you about some of my most read items, list a few books I'm looking forward to reading, and I invite all of you to do the same.

Books I've read repeatedly, and urge you to as well:
1421-The Year China Discovered America
The Omnivore's Dilemma
Capitalism 3.0
Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776
I won't bore you with my many Fantasy/SciFi recommendations.

Books I'm looking forward to reading:
1434 (Followup to 1421)
Wikinomics
The Wisdom of Crowds
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

And finally, a couple interesting links I've found on our sister sites:
How the 40 Man Roster Works (From BCB)
Interesting NYTimes story on Risk Management (Orig Posted on BTB)

OTDOD 12-19 "I don't have anything to say, but I demand the right to say it" Edition

Faux — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:35:38 -0000

This heapin' helpin' of OT is served family style, so remember to use your serving utensils and don't double dip.

I know we have had the worst Christmas movie ever discussion before, and I'm not looking to open it back up, but the other night I saw the absolute worst animated hour of television in any genre. Apparently the heirs of Charles Schultz are content raping the corspe of his legacy by releasing movies after his death that make it look like he went senile in his old age.

Pre-empting Kevin's lack of BOTD postings, I'm throwing down the gauntlet:

This would be the mythical bacon cake, a cornbread cake with bacon bits, maple-based frosting, and of course the garnish on top. Beat that, faux-angryman.

Anyone else get "the talk" at work over the past few days? Not the birds and the bees of course, but the "Times are tough and you should feel indebted that we let you keep your jobs" talk. I got that Monday and it looks like an earthquake ran through my office. Many are scared for their jobs, but I for one am looking forward to my future career in the world of dirt farming with the rest of the plebs. Beats my nice cushy IT job and LL every morning before everyone shows up, right?

OTDOD - 11-12-8 Nothing Left to Talk About Edition

Faux — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:59:14 -0000

There looks to be a shortage of topics, since we appear to have burned through our weekly allotment of topics in yesterday's OTDOD.

We have to conserve topics for the rest of this week, so today's topics will be all about me and my trip. Any departure will get a stern (read: no) reprimand, which will be roundly ignored as you continue to talk about whatever the hell you want.

Topics for today include:

What is there to do in a rural Mississippi casino besides gamble, drink, and selling electronics to hicks?
Interesting things to do when you're on a plane for over 12 hours in the next week and a half.
What is there to do in LV (for little to no money) besides strip clubs, gambling, drinking, and selling electronics to rich snobs?
Does anyone want any pictures of anything in either of these places? Keep in mind, they have to be in running distance of the strip.
Is there an app for BB that will let me participate in LL comment threads? Opera mobile crashes at the long-ass cookie that SBN tries to give you, the BB browser is more than useless, and neither let me log in.

OTDOD 11-5-8 - I Don't Feel Like Working Today Edition

Faux — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:13:26 -0000

For your viewing pleasure, today's OTDOD will be broadcast in glistening technicolor.

I don't think we've had quite enough Rock Band Two discussion, so let's hear it. What's your favorite song? Insturment? How do you get it to download songs in the background like I've heard about?
I'd like to open the floor to questions. There has been pretty good business for this in the past couple days, so why not make it official? Got any problems or questions about your computer, cooking, or just about anything? Let LL solve it*.
I can't get to youtube videos here at work, so you'll just have to hum Ramblin' Rod's birthday theme (update: smile contest theme - thanks pdb) to yourself instead.
iku iku is "I'm coming" in Japanese. Discuss.

* YMMV

Raul + Ears + WFB are now Free Agents

Faux — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 03:14:02 -0000

Hello future draft picks and getting rid of the chaff. Raul Ibanez, WFB, and Cairo are all filed. Let's hope they go on to prosperous(that's not the word) happy(that's not it either) who the fuck cares careers somewhere else.

Excerpt from MLB.com story:

Raul Ibanez, one of the Mariners' most reliable run producers during the past four seasons, filed for free agency Thursday.

Longtime Mariners utility player Willie Bloomquist and veteran infielder Miguel Cairo were also among the 65 Major League players that filed on the first day of the filing window, which lasts until Nov. 13.

I think this might be the best news since we didn't hire a retread GM. Now let's see him not bring any of the three back in. It doesn't look so good from that standpoint:

When new general manager Jack Zduriencik was asked during his introductory press conference if he wanted to bring Ibanez back next season, the GM said he needed to talk to other baseball operations people in the organization before making a decision.

C'mon Zoidberg, time to bring in some new talent.

OTDOD - 9-23-08 - Uninspired poster edition

Faux — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:30:39 -0000

Today's offtop, now with less tags than the last.

Possible topics of discussion could or could not include:

We're outsourcing our plethora of school shootings to Finland. What's the conversion rate to euros?
I saw 50 Cent in the whitest part of a rich white suburb in NJ today, looking for a place to shoot a movie. Discuss possible implications on sell-outness, and the likelihood for a Method Man-like movie about golf and country clubs. Show your work.
It's the last week of Mariner baseball. Does this make you happy or sad? Are there any memories of this year you'd like to share with the class?
I still hate Carl Everett. He didn't even show up at the game I went to just to heckle him.
Which is better, Ghostbusting or Ghostriding?
Is LEGO batman really necessary?
How is BrianL's wrist injury going to effect his posting stats? Feel free to speculate on your LL fantasy team's chances w/o him at top form. I for one predict an uptick in his House% after the Dr visit.

via seattletimes.nwsource.com

Updated Title to fix misspellings.