Keeping with the movies theme... I'm not going to lie. I did not have any inclination to see Up in the Air until I read Joe Posnanski's blog entry about it.

I live a metal free existence when traveling, and so when I beeped going through security the other week, I remember feeling defeated. The woman at security asked me all the questions she asks regular travelers … do you have any keys on you, anything metal in your pockets, can you remove your belt, like I was some kind of road tourist. It’s hard to explain, but I felt strangely humiliated. The whole thing took only a few seconds, and I went back through the X-Ray and I did not beep this time, and I wanted to shout: "It was YOUR mistake! See?" But there was no such admission. And I thought about it way too much the rest of the day.

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I'll start with baseball..

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Happy Veterans Day to all those who have served our country, and to those who are overseas now.

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Yay, the weekend is almost here!

Links:

- Warriors drop season opener to Rockets. At least the A's aren't as dysfunctional as the other two Oakland teams.

- Yankees lefty Phil Coke is an everyman... because he used to have a second job? He still makes exponentially more than I do.

- Redskins owner Dan Snyder has banned all signs from North Korea Communist China FedEx Field.

A spokesman told me that this policy is meant to protect spectators from getting injured by signs, and also to make sure everyone can see the action. Because obstructed views at that stadium could not possibly be tolerated.

- Need relationship help? Ask Madden.

Video games put you in the game. You're the quarterback, the point guard, the center, the pitcher. You must use both your brain and the players' brawn to win. You have to know the game and make the best decisions on the fly. If you don't, you're probably going to lose. Basic instinct teaches us to prefer winning to losing, so we learn the intricacies of whatever game we're playing. And in the case of females like my sister, playing video games can give that basic knowledge of the Power I formation, power forwards, power plays and power hitters, about which they have been wondering -- but afraid to ask -- for ages.

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We haven't had one in a while

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First off, big thanks to everyone who organized, brought food/drinks/good conversation. It was lots of fun, even more so because it ended with a walk-off! I don't have everyone's name, so feel free to comment and let me know if you were left out.

The full gallery is here. Also, I've put my photo "archives" from 2007 to now (most of them) into a Flickr pro account. Look for a player or a team by going to the tags page.

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Lineups:

Chicago White Stockings

Leftfielder Scott "Bugsy" Podsednik
Thirdbaseman Gordon "Buster" Beckham
Rightfielder Jermaine "Stretch" Dye
Hitter who has been designated Jim "Crusher" Thome
Centerfielder Alex "Slim" Rios
Catcher AJ "Wet Blanket" Pierzynski
Short Stop Alexei "Smiley" Ramirez
Firstbaseman Mark "Lefty" Kotsay
Secondbaseman Jason "Bugsy" Nix

Hurler John "Ace" Danks
Field Manager Ozzie "Skip" Guillen

Defending Worlds Champs Philadelphia Athletics

Thirdbaseman Adam "Machine Gun" Kennedy
Centerfielder Rajai "Crazy Legs" Davis
Catcher Kurt "Stone Wall" Suzuki
Leftfielder Scott "Knuckles" Hairston
Hitter who has been designated Nomar "Fidgets" Garciaparra
Short Stop Bobby "Bing" Crosby
Firstbaseman Tommy "Babyface" Everidge
Secondbaseman Mark "Hands" Ellis
Rightfielder Aaron "Noodles" Cunningham

Hurler Trevor "Chief" Cahill
Field Manager Bob "Gipper" Geren

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Sadly, I didn't get to go to the Root Beer Float day, so no pictures from that. But I was fortunate enough to have really good seats for Tuesday and Wednesday. I haven't really had the time to upload these until now.

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