Snow, Baseball, and LOST

Can you believe the affect global warming has on baseball? See, all that carbon dioxide we pump in the atmosphere causes the Earth to heat up. That means fans attending game three of the Tigers – A’s game today should be wearing shorts, t-shirts, and getting second degree burns from the heat. What happens instead? They move the game to an afternoon time because of cold and snow. If anything it sounds like we need to be pumping more of those greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Did I mention I’m glad I don’t live in Michigan right now? At least in Utah we try to keep winter at bay until late November.

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Well the last episode of LOST blew a lot of theories I came up with last week out of the water.

(If you read beyond this point, you might read some spoilers and plot details. Stop now if you don’t want to know anything about the episode. You’ve been warned.)

• Apparently the Others are better connected to the outside world than I thought. Maybe they do know everything (or a lot, anyway) about the island’s passengers Adding that little tidbit about the 2004 Red Sox wining the series was a nice touch.
• It’s about time someone gave Kate a big kiss. I mean 60 some-odd days on an island and no one does it until now? Personally I think Kate and Sawyer would be a better match than Kate and Jack.
• I really enjoy watching the flashbacks Sun and Jin’s relationship. Even though they’re sometimes more minor characters on the show, they writers have gone to great lengths to add great depth to them. I also admire their commitment and determination to make their marriage work despite mistakes they’ve both made earlier in their marriage.
• For being a former Republican Guard, Sayid sure made a stupid decision by setting up an ambush on the beach. (There’s more than one way to get to the boat Sayid.) Even I saw that the others would come by water before Sayid came up with his master plan. Couldn’t the writers have at least made Sayid have a plan that might have had a tiny chance at succeeding?
• Anyone have any thoughts as if to there’s going to be an long-term ramifications from Sun shooting one of the others?
• Found it interesting that Ben said he’d been on the island his entire life. Not sure really what to make of this other than maybe they really are the good guys in some way. I’ll have to think about this more.

Happy Birthday Steven

Steven turns one today. A year ago Marathon Girl and I were preparing to go to the hospital and telling Aidan he was going to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa. Nerves kept us from sleeping much that night and by the time we arrived at the hospital we were already tired.

Steven arrived early that evening. He had a piercing cry could be heard all over post-partum wing of the hospital.  One nurse said she was glad she didn’t have to take him home. Fortunately, the piercing nature of his cry slowly faded and his real personality began to emerge. Turns out he’s quite the daredevil and has no qualms about trying new things.

Yesterday, for example, we took him to the park and I’d put him up at the top of the slide and hold his hand as he went down. After going down the slide twice with my help, Steven didn’t want me to hold his hand any more. He was content to go down by himself. Once he reached the bottom of the slide he’d laugh, then hold his arms out to indicate he was ready to do it again. This went on for a good 20 minutes.

He also loves books. If I place a book in the floor he slides it over to where I’m at and looks at me expectantly. If I don’t pick up the book and start reading, he’ll pick it up and give it to me. And when I do read to him, he’ll sit there patiently and listen. What a great kid.

Happy Birthday, Steven. We’re so glad you’re part of our family.

Tigers 5 Athletics 1

I watch the last five innings of the Tiger's 5-1 victory last night. What can I say other than the Tigers are playing some of the best baseball I've ever seen. They're on fire. They keep playing like this and the ALCS is going to over in four games.

Ashamed No More

Should this incredible season by the Detroit Tigers turn out to be a fluke and they lose, say, 100 games next year, I no longer have to be ashamed of supporting them in public. Yesterday I received a cool Tiger hat from my friend Brent. It’s a replica of the hat the Tigers wore from 1901-02. I love it.

 

Now I can be a Tiger fan without the traditional shame that goes with it. Hopefully after this season it will be awhile before I feel bad about being a Tiger's fan.

And I also put myself in the World Series ticket lottery should the Tigers advance that far. I have no idea if I’d actually be able to attend a game should I be offered the chance to buy tickets but I could always resell them on E-bay or Craigslist. Thank goodness for the free market.

New Bedroom

Marathon Girl finished the boy’s new bedroom last week. Walls are painted, new beds are assembled and ready, new sheets and other things for their room are all done. Aidan loves it. He’s excited to go to bed and doesn’t put up a fuss when bedtime rolls around. He likes his new bed and room so much that we actually have a hard time getting him going some mornings. Saturday I was up early writing when I heard Aidan’s voice about 7:30. Instead of getting out of bed and waking one or both of us up for breakfast, he lay in bed and sang his favorite songs for 20 minutes before deciding that he was hungry.

We think his excitement will only last a week before things return to normal but we’re happy he likes the changes. Maybe with all these changes he won’t be too jealous or upset when the new baby arrives in two months.

Tigers Thump Yankees!

Friday nights I usually take Marathon Girl (and the kids, if we don’t have a babysitter) out for dinner. This Friday was no different and after dinner we ran some much needed errands so I missed the Tigers 6-0 victory over the Yankees. Not a big deal. I caught enough of it on the radio as we were driving around that it appeared the Tigers were firmly in control of the game. The fact that the Tigers won, however, made this afternoon’s game all the more interesting. I was able to see all of that one and what a game it was. The Tigers looked like a championship team as they thumped the Bronx Bombers 8-3 and advance to the ALCS.

Their victory was even sweeter since not only did they beat the Yankees, they made the Yankees $200 million dollar payroll look like a bunch of minor league punks.

Look for the Tigers to beat the A’s in six games and advance to their first World Series in 22 years!

Tigers 4 Yankees 3

Congrats to the Detroit Tigers for slipping by the Yankees yesterday – a game that would have been fun to watch had I not been working. The series is now headed back to Detroit and I’m looking forward to watching a lot of baseball this weekend. (And a pox upon those who didn’t think the Tigers had a prayer in this series.)

The Dark Art of Interrogation

Since the Tigers Yankees game was rained out yesterday, there’s nothing to write about except the season premier of LOST. Thoughts on the episode:

*** Warning Spoilers Aplenty ***

• What a great opening scene/flashback to start the episode. We see Juliet at a book club and think they’re living some normal life until there’s an earthquake. As the people go outside they look up in the sky to see Oceanic flight 815 breaking apart and hurling toward the island. Just raises more questions about who the Others really are and why they view the passengers of the airplane as a threat.
• I’m wondering how much information Juliet and the Others really know about Jack, Kate, Sawyer, etc. Was their information gleaned form reconnaissance missions from Ethan and who were sent to gather intelligence or do they really have a connection to the outside world? For some reason I doubt they know everything about Jack. One of the basic interrogation techniques is to make the person your interrogating think you know more than you do. If person you’re interrogating thinks you know everything, they’re less likely to hold back from the information you need. Remember Jack told Juliet and he went to Sydney and his dad was dead before she came in with the “autopsy report.” Juliet could have just had a blank stack of papers at her fingertips. Info about Jack’s wife could have been picked up in their reconnaissance efforts from Ethan or other secret monitoring devices we’re unaware of. Juliet only said they knew everything but she really didn’t say what it was she knew other than basic facts about Jack that could have been known by anyone spending some time with him. (If you want to see what I’m getting at, read this fabulous report that appeared in The Atlantic a few years back titled The Dark Art of Interrogation.)
• Are we ever going to find out why there is/was polar bears on the island? Apparently they’re smarter than Sawyer. At some point there better be a good payoff about the bears because the writers keep dropping hints (subtle and not so subtle) about them.
• I think the kid who picked the lock of his cage then freed Sawyer was an Other who was just part of whatever experiments they’re doing on Jack, Sawyer, and Kate. 
• I can’t figure out if Henry Gale (real name is Ben, apparently) is just plain evil, some sort of genius, or both.

Whatever happens, I’m looking forward to a new episode next week.

Yakees 7 Tigers 4

Despite their loss to the Yankees last night, the Tigers played well. I was impressed by Jim Leyland's aggressive play calling even if I disagreed with some of his moves. The Tigers had several chances to score, but were unable to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them. Hopefully they will play better today – a game I won’t be able to see since we don’t have cable. At least the the season premiere of LOST so have something to write about tomorrow should the Tigers continue to flounder.

 

Saving Us from Ourselves

“We have met the enemy, and he is us.” – Pogo I just learned my favorite restaurants are trying to kill me.

For years the restaurants I frequent have included an invisible, dangerous ingredient in my food. Each order of pon pon chicken, french fries, or doughnuts has been purposely engineered to raise my cholesterol level and make me one of the 60 percent of Americans who are overweight. No, restaurants haven’t included radon with each hamburger I consume, but they use something even more dangerous: trans fats.

Trans fats are produced when oil is partially hydrogenated. It increases the shelf life of foods but also raises bad cholesterol and can cause heart disease. Restaurants have been using them for years in things like fast food, cookies, cakes, and other pastries. You consume high levels of them just about every time you eat out.

Thankfully, New York City has discovered this diabolical plot and decided to do something about it before we turn into walking balls of butter. New York City’s Health Department is attempting to limit the amount of trans fats restaurants can serve to 0.5 grams per serving. Food from evil fast food restaurants can contain up to 10 grams of trans fats! 10 grams! I’m surprised our life expectancy isn’t near third world levels with the amount of fast food Americans consumes every day.

Restaurants obviously learned their bag of tricks from tobacco companies. Instead of adding nicotine to their food, they added trans fats to keep us coming back and consuming more of their product. I don’t know about you, but every time I walk by Burger King I order a Double Whopper with cheese. I can’t help myself! Thanks to trans fats, I’m addicted.   Another thing restaurants must have learned from tobacco companies is deceptive advertising practices. Millions of us have been hoodwinked by ads that make us think that constant eating out would make us young, sexy, and have clean arteries. Next time I see thin, happy people in an advertisement for an eating establishment, I’m going to point to the television and yell “If you really ate there, you’d be dead by now!”

I’m just wondering what’s taken New York City so long to regulate this trans fat health hazard. If the federal government wasn’t so busy with the war in Iraq, they could probably find the time to make sure we’re all eating food with little or no trans fat like scrabbled tofu, carrot sticks, and wheat germ shakes.

What I don’t understand is why the New York City is just intent on ensuring restaurants serve healthy fare. I’m sure the cupboards of most New Yorkers are brimming with foods that are loaded with this invisible killer. I think the health department should check kitchens of every New Yorker just to make sure they aren’t purposely trying to burden the public health system with their clogged arteries and heart disease.

My only wish is that most government agencies cared about our health as much as New York City’s Health Department. Since it’s the only government agency that’s expressed interest in my personal eating habits, I’m thinking about moving to The Big Apple. It may be the only way to guarantee a long, healthy life.

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This essay was originally published on FreeCapitalist.com. You can read all of Abel's FreeCapitalist essays here.