Field of Dreams

Archibald “Moonlight” Graham, portrayed in the movie Field of Dreams by Burt Lancaster, made his one and only appearance in a Major League Baseball game 99 years ago. Graham, while studying to be a doctor, earned extra money playing minor league baseball. But he joined the New York Giants in 1905, and 99 years ago today he was inserted into right field in the 8th inning of an 11-1 Giants win. Graham played “two glorious innings in the garden”, according to the New York Evening Telegram. After that one game, Graham disappeared from the Major Leagues forever.

College World Series, Congrats to CSF, Hisses for UT

We watched Cal State Fullerton win the College World Series yesterday. An underdog, unranked team, defeated the top ranked team in the nation, 2 games to none, to take the title.

It was exciting baseball, and it was what college sports are all about. Until the post-game awards, however. The University of Texas, in an unprecedented move, refused to accept the second place trophy. Note, there was no controversy in either of the games, the winners won fair and square.

Said Kirk Bohls in the Austin American-Statesman of Texas coach Augie Garrido,

But instead of treating his players like fragile teacups, the 65-year-old coach could have taught them a better lesson in sportsmanship by paying respect to their victors and taking their lumps instead of retreating to the team bus.

E-Augie.

Garrido is quoted as saying: “We don’t have to have a trophy to know we're champions. We are. We don’t have to win the game to be winners. We are. If you let symbols and trophies and rings define your character, I think you’re making a big mistake.” I find this incomprehensible. I have watched lots of amateur sports, and the secondplace team always accepts the trophy. True champions show grace and sportsmanship too.

Hilary Duff Feuds With Avril Lavigne

You would think that Hilary Duff is either a Hatfield or a McCoy, the way she gets into feuds with other young female stars. Or maybe that is just what high school aged girls do, I don’t really know. Her latest feud, with rocker Avril Lavigne, began when Duff criticized Lavigne over the way Lavigne treats her fans. Duff now wants to apologize, but Lavigne will have none of it.

Meanwhile, another teen star, Lindsay Lohan, also involved in a feud with Duff, has certainly sexed up her image lately (see the two photos here at The Mercury), something we haven’t yet seen Hilary do to the same degree. We continue to wonder if Duff will go down this path, or not. Lohan, by the way, claims that does not have breast implants; however, her choice of words — “retarded” — has gotten her into hot water with an advocacy group for the mentally challenged.

If Walls Could Talk...

For fifty years, the walls that supported the huge arched ceilings at Buffalo Central Terminal watched us humans scurrying hither and yon, always to catch trains, or taxis, or buses. And then in 1979, the terminal was abandoned, and it has fallen into severe disrepair. Humans were rarely seen inside those walls.

So I had to wonder what those same walls would have said Saturday, if they could speak. Because Saturday, humans by the thousands came down to Buffalo Central Terminal, not to catch a train, but to celebrate the building’s 75th anniversary, and to admire the architecture, the magnificent vaulted ceilings 75 feet high, the huge arched windows, and the art-deco stylings. They came to visit an old friend, to begin a new era with that friend. They came to see how much of the beautiful building remained intact and to see how much work was still needed to restore her to her former glory.

The humans looked up in awe inside the Concourse. Many had stories to tell about Buffalo Central Terminal. I talked to a man who used to work at the Terminal, and heard some of his fond memories. I spoke with a couple who had gone off on their honeymoon 50 years ago, beginning at Buffalo Central Terminal. The famous stuffed bison in the lobby also returned for the first time in decades, and looked right at home. I wonder what the stuffed bison would have said.

The restoration committee has done a magnificent job. The terminal building is now sealed against the elements, and over 300 tons of debris has been removed. The beauty of the building is apparent again, although there is still a huge amount of work to do.


(Click on the thumbnail images to see a larger image)

Need An Alibi? Use Your Cell Phone!

I am shocked, I tell you, shocked to find that cell phone technology is being used for less than noble purposes.

The New York Times is reporting a new fad in which someone who needs an alibi sends a text message to a willing group of conspirators in an "alibi and excuse club". One of the group calls the original person back, and they agree on an alibi.

Now, let me think, where the hell was I on the night of June 7th, anyway?

More on the Internet Explorer Problem

According the The Mercury News, hackers are exploiting a security loophole in Internet Explorer to gain passwords and credit card data from your computer.

In a new cyberattack that spread across the Internet on Friday, computer hackers used popular Web sites such as eBay, Earthlink and Yahoo to secretly transmit a program onto PCs that records personal data like passwords and credit card numbers.

Experts recommend that you set the security in Internet Explorer to the highest possible levels (which might cause some website to stop working), or use more secure browsers such as Mozilla or Firefox.

Two Bases For An Intentional Walk?

Rob Neyer at ESPN argues in favor of giving a batter two bases in some situations when he walks on four pitches. The reason he wants this rule is to cut down on intentional walks, which he, and others, see as a problem. And like many rules suggestions, this particular one, while well intentioned, has flaws big enough to drive a tractor-trailer through. First of all, if a coach wants to put a runner on base, now he has the option of an intentional walk. Under Neyer’s proposal, the 2nd walk to a batter on 4 pitches will result in a two-base award. Not only does this require new recordkeeping which could cause many problems, but if a coach wants to put a runner on base, and that batter has already received one walk on four balls, what to do? Just throw at his butt. Hit him with the pitch. One base! Coaches will quickly find this loophole, and use it when they need to. Neyer’s proposal is simply bad. I say, don’t even bother fixing the problem, baseball can live just fine with lots of intentional walks.

Bad News for Internet Explorer Users

Security experts fear that users of Microsoft Internet Explorer could wind up with malicious code running on their computer.

The researchers believe that online organized crime groups are breaking into Web servers and surreptitiously inserting code that takes advantage of two flaws in Internet Explorer that Microsoft has not yet fixed. Those flaws allow the Web server to install a program that takes control of the user's computer.

Late Thursday, Microsoft advised customers to increase their browser security to the highest settings, although that could cause some Web site functions to stop working.

We have advocated here at Paige’s Page using other browsers. Not only do alternate browsers Mozilla and Firefox offer more features than Internet Explorer does, but apparently they offer better security as well.

A List of Bush’s Accomplishments

South Knox Bubba has compiled a list of President Bush’s accomplishments in office. It’s a pretty impressive list, and we thank Bubba for writing it.

What Should I Do If The Internet Goes Down?

The Internet can go down any time without warning. This helpful treatise gives you some valuable suggestions on what to do should the Internet go down. First, Panic! Second, find a telephone, use it to contact your friends. There’s more! (Link via The Presurfer)

World To End September 29, 2004

Swiss UFO contactee Billy Meier predicts that asteroid 4179 Toutatis will slam into Planet Earth on September 29, 2004. Toutatis is three miles wide and so a collision with Earth would cause catastrophic damage. NASA, however, says that Toutatis will be over 962,000 miles from Earth on that day, which should be its closest approach to Planet Earth. Whew!

Buffalo Central Terminal Celebrates its Diamond Anniversary

Buffalo Central Terminal opened 75 years ago today. It was a monument to a grand old era when the railroad was the most glamorous and efficient way to travel. A celebration will be held there on Saturday to raise funds for the Terminal’s restoration. Below is the poster for the event, showing the art-deco building in all its glamor. Here is a link to photos of the Terminal today.

Update: The Buffalo News reports on the anniversary ceremony, including the unveiling of the famous stuffed bison that dominated BCT’s lobby. There will be a public celebration Saturday, which will include a chance to walk the concourse.

Supreme Court Rules Against Patients

If I understand today’s Supreme Court ruling, patients can no longer sue HMOs for damages from faulty medical care. Can this be right? Is this in the best interests of our society to allow faulty medical care to go unpunished? Obviously, recent damage awards may have gotten out of hand, but this takes things to the other extreme where the damage awards are now zero. I can’t see anything good about this. Kevin Drum at Washington Monthly has more.

An Unusual Father’s Day Salute

PZ Myers at Pharyngula has produced an unusual tribute to fathers. And that’s putting it mildly.

Pitch to Barry? Or Not?

I always like to see statistical analysis that is well done, particularly when it contradicts the “conventional wisdom”. Jerry Reiter, assistant professor of Statistics at Duke University, has done a study which shows that in the long run, you are better off pitching to baseball’s most feared hitter Barry Bonds than to walk him. I wonder if any baseball managers will actually adopt this strategy, and then use it when explaining to the press why he chose to pitch to Bonds. I would.

Some Good News From Iraq

Well, I think it is good news. The Los Angeles Times reports that viagra sales have doubled in Iraq since the end of the war.

British women are Europe’s least hairy

This is always good to know. According to a survey by razor manufacturer Wilkinson, “British women are the least hairy in Europe. But their German counterparts are the hairiest.”

Gorilla’s amazing leap puzzles zoo experts

Jabari, a 13 year old goirlla at the Dallas Zoo, apparently jumped across a 12-foot moat to escape and rampage through the zoo before being shot to death. Gorilla-ologists are stumped as to how Jabari could have made this leap.

The Impacts of Downsizing

Although I was not downsized this week, I have had to consider the possibility of the loss of my job and the income that goes with it. Being downsized would have also had another major impact on me — the loss of health insurance. My company continues to pay my health insurance for four months after it downsizes an employee, and then you are on your own. No coverage, or perhaps you could pay for coverage 100% out of your own pocket. A scary thought, since I have never been without health insurance. I went so far as to inform my podiatrist that I would need surgery within those four months for a foot problem, rather than let him treat the problem in ways he might have felt was more medically appropriate.

What did George W. Bush promise regarding health insurance in the Presidential debate of October 11, 2000? (Link via The Left Coaster)

My priority is going to be the health of our citizens. These folks have had eight years to get something done in Washington, D.C., on the uninsured. They have not done it. They've had eight years to get something done on Medicare, and they have not got it done. And my case to the American people is, if you're happy with inactivity, stay with the horse -- the horse that's up there now. But if you want change, you need to get somebody who knows how to bring Republicans and Democrats together to get positive things done for America.

Information now available indicates that 82 million Americans were without health insurance for a time during 2002 and 2003. This includes 27 million children. So where is that change you promised us, Mr. Bush?

The Bush Administration certainly cannot claim it has made progress on this issue. If anything, it appears to have taken steps backwards. That, coupled with the Bush Administration curious reluctance to do anything about outsourcing of jobs to other countries, has put the health (physical and financial) of many Americans at risk. I find this totally unacceptable.

The Emotions of Downsizing

I wrote on Tuesday how I was shaking for an hour after I found out I would not be downsized. Today, I got to talk to some of my colleagues who were “negatively affected” by the downsizing.

Two of these men seemed to be in relatively good spirits, and weren’t taking things badly at all. They looked at this as a challenge, an opportunity to do things that they might enjoy more than their current job. I doubt I would have been so cheerful had it been me — because I know that the job I have is a pretty good one and I don’t want to lose it. Another woman, who was affected by the downsizing by having her job shifted from days to evenings, said she hated it, and her children hated it. She had to tell her children that there would be no more sports after school, no more visiting friends houses in the evening, and so on. Her children were in tears.

Scamming The Scammers

The New York Times has an interesting story on how some counterscammers have tried to scam the Nigerian scammers. And in some cases, they have actually made the original scammers spend time or money on the counter-scam. Sometimes, the good guys do win!

Gambling Machines More Secure Than Voting Machines

Gambling machines in Las Vegas must comply with a much stricter set of rules than electronic voting machines. For example:

The state has access to all gambling software. The Gaming Control Board has copies on file of every piece of gambling device software currently being used, and an archive going back years. It is illegal for casinos to use software not on file. Electronic voting machine makers, by contrast, say their software is a trade secret, and have resisted sharing it with the states that buy their machines.

Go read the other ways in which gambling machines are more secure than voting machines. (Link via South Knox Bubba)

See You Next Tuesday

University of Colorado President Betsy Hoffman has stated that a certain word used to describe females, often referred to as the “c-word”, or as “C U Next Tuesday”, can actually be a term of endearment. Seems that a certain female at the University was called that word, and the University has been charged with sexual harrassment. Hoffman, while acknowledging that the word is often used in a derogatory fashion, also said it can be a term of endearment. Yes, I’m sure that’s how it was meant.

Survivor

I have survived another big downsizing at my company. This latest one was a big one, 30% of the workers would find out they did not have a job any longer. So I am fortunate to be in the 70% that still do have a job.

Each of us got to talk to our supervisor, in random order, to find out what our status was. So at my appointed time, my heart started pounding, and I started breathing fast and shaking. I sat down with my boss, and he wasted no time in getting to the results. And even though it was good news for me, I couldn’t stop shaking for about an hour.

Other people, colleagues of mine, were not so lucky. Some of them had recently been honored for 30 years of service at the company. They were excellent, but they no longer have a job. How could that be? Because after many successive downsizings, there are no bad workers left. Everyone is excellent, and the difference between people is slight and it is subjective. To phrase things in terms of high school grades, this is like saying a grade of 89 is failing, but 90 passes. I feel terrible.

Falcon Update

Five baby falcons, recently hatched in a nestbox atop the Kodak Office tower in Rochester, NY, have grown into beautiful fledglings, ready to cast off their fluffy white feathers for darker flight feathers. The young falcons, females Pride, Gahastey and Alkyonis, and males Hafoc and Grissom, are all doing well, and were banded for future identification. In addition, a transmitter was placed on Hafoc’s back so he can be tracked electronically wherever he flies throughout the world. Soon these young birds will leave the nestbox. We wish them well.

Can You Say Hypocrite?

Rush Limbaugh announces the end of his 10-year marriage, his third divorce. Meanwhile, read what Rush has said about divorce in the past, courtesy of Atrios.

Torture

We have seen the unusual sight of the President of the United States affirming that he believes in following the laws of the United States. We need to see this declaration from the President, of course, because of numerous, widespread abuse of prisoners held by the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo; where such abuse seems to fit the internationally accepted definition of torture. We need to hear the President say this because a two-star general selected to investigate the abuses at Abu Ghraib was not high enough up the command chain to investigate those above him, so he will have to be replaced by a four-star general. We need to hear the President say this because his subordinates have drafted memos that seem to promote the use of torture.

Jack Balkin, the Knight Professor of Constitutional Law at Yale University, tears to shreds a memo prepared that tries to give the President the power to set aside laws as he sees fit, which would include giving the President the power to authorize torture.

Sadly, the administration’s verbal stance on torture the last few weeks is the exact opposite of their behavior on torture. Our country deserves better.

As a side note, remember the first Gulf War, when George H. W. Bush was in the White House? I do not recall any reports of prisoner abuse during that war. Remember also during the recent Iraq war in 2003, when U.S. prisoners were put on Iraqi television? The mere placement of prisoners on Iraqi television was called a violation of the Geneva Convention, even though the U.S. prisoners were not physically abused. At that time, President Bush stated “We expect them to be treated humanely, just like we’ll treat any prisoners of theirs that we capture humanely. If not, the people who mistreat the prisoners will be treated as war criminals”.

Update: Others call President Bush’s assertion that he intends to follow the laws of the United States a “non-denial” that we believe in torture.

Update 2: Seymour Hersh, the reporter who first broke the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse/torture story, hints that there are worse stories out there, involving “horrible things done to children of women prisoners, as the cameras run.” Let’s hope this is not true.

Downsizing

I have been having trouble sleeping lately, because my company and specifically, my department will downsize 30% of its workforce on Tuesday. I hate this. All the people in my department will get to meet with our supervisor for 15 minutes each on Tuesday — in random order — to find out whether or not you are still employed. Wish me luck!

Redneck Woman

Congratulations to Gretchen Wilson, whose debut single “Redneck Woman” has risen to #1 on the country charts, and her CD “Here For The Party” rose to #2 on the Billboard album chart for all genres. And guys, even if you’re not interested in Country Music, you might want to watch the video of “Redneck Woman” anyway, she drives a 4x4 truck and ATV off-road through some serious mud, and then there’s a scene with a washing machine that you don’t want to miss. Hell yeah!

What Up, Hilary Duff?

When last we checked in with Hilary Duff, she was promoting her new line of clothing, and her potential new sitcom on CBS had been cancelled. Now, she has another movie due out, another CD is going to be released soon, featuring a duet with big sister Haylie (pictured, Hailey left and Hilary right) of the old Go-Go's tune “Our Lips Are Sealed”. Meanwhile, another teenage star, Lindsay Lohan, has pleaded with Hilary to end their feud (it seems the whole thing started when both were dating Aaron Carter at the same time).

Meanwhile, Lohan has a shocking, new, more grown-up look. We approve. We wonder if Hilary will go down this sexed-up path as she turns into an adult, or if she will, like the Olsen twins, keep the wholesome image.

Dad Lines Up Kids For Slaughter

This gory news item happened right here in a suburb of Rochester. I cannot understand how people become so deranged.

Belgian Skeptics Try Mass Suicide

Depressed over the increased demand for homeopathy and the recognition by insurance companies of homeopathy, a group of 23 Belgian skeptics tried to kill themselves using homeopathic methods. Homeopathy relies on diluting a substance to levels so dilute that the active ingredient is effectively absent, and homeopaths claim that the more dilute the potion, the more effective it is. The skeptics claim that homeopathic methods are worthless, and that anything so dilute could not possible be effective. Thus, the Belgian Skeptics all drank a homeopathic solution that contains lethal substances arsenic, snake venom, and belladonna.

The homeopathic solution had no effect on the skeptics. All survived.

Best of Me Symphony

Goldie at Drama Queen hosts a collection of links from around the blogosphere called the “Best of Me Symphony”. Check it out!

Spelling Bees

First, I am certainly impressed with anyone who could spell “autochthonous”. Congratulations to all the finalists.

However, I have had a longstanding inherent dislike of spelling bees. Not because I had an unpleasant experience with one — in fact, I have no experience with them. I just think its a horribly designed competition.

One problem is that children are asked to learn how to spell words that only experts in arcane fields of knowledge need to know. And I suppose you could make an argument that learning how to spell these bizarre words leads you to better spelling of everyday words. But I’m not convinced that knowing how to spell “xerostomia” makes you a better speller; in fact, I think the children who excel at spelling bees have learned how to memorize a zillion words’ spellings, and be a good guesser on the rest. I think they were good spellers of everyday words the day they won their first spelling bee. And I doubt the longterm educational value of memorizing the spelling of zillions of hard words.

But my main problem is the inherent unfairness of the event itself. In other competitions, each side has the same goal. For example in football, each time tries to cross the other team’s goal line. It’s a symmetric challenge to each team. However, in spelling bees, contestant A has to spell “corposant” while contestant B has to spell “Nigerois” or “autochthonous”. Now where is the fairness in that? If the words were of equal difficulty, I’d be happier, but they clearly are not. It would be quite easy to design a more fair competition … have each contestant spell the same word on a piece of paper and then submit it to the judges.

Expand Your Mind

Go over to De Rerum Natura and read Tangled Bank #4, a collection of posts from around the blogosphere relating to biology.

Sports Video Games Get Violent

ESPN SportsCenter tonight broadcast a story about how violent sports-related video games have become. I was not aware that the level of violence had reached this level. In the broadcast, you see a video game portraying famous currently active baseball players running into a base, who then to punch the defensive player, based upon a command from the video game player. Yes, that’s right, they resort to violence as a means of obtaining an extra base. I was absolutely shocked. I had no idea video games have stooped to this level, where they don’t even accurately portray the sport, and where violence is a necessary tool to win the game. Of course, playing the game was a 9 year old, and you have to wonder if he is going to see this violence and try to do this in a Little League game, or elsewhere in his life. As a longtime baseball fan, I find this offensive.

ESPN didn’t stop there, all of the major sports have sanctioned video games with gratuitous violence. In fact, NBA Hall-of-Famer Jerry West refused to allow his likeness in an NBA video game, because he didn’t want his image associated with violence. None of this violence is necessary to make sports video games popular, but, anything for a buck, I guess. I hope Major League Baseball and the other sports take a look at this more seriously and refuse to allow their image to be distorted by violent video games. (Sorry, I could not find an on-line link).