Another day, another number

I turned 37 yesterday.

I’m not sure what that is supposed to mean. Am I wiser? Perhaps. Do I look older? Probably.

I used to make a big deal of my birthday, but that went out long ago. The kids think it’s pretty cool. I’m blessed to have a good family and great friends. What more can I say?

For the record, I spent my birthday at church, cleaning, entertaining and grilling. I got to use my new bar, and our home was filled with beloved guests. Then I woke up this morning, and it was just another day.

We’ll see what my 38^th year on earth brings.

Game 5 Recap

When the rain started at 5, I was a bit nervous. But the field withstood the water, and we played.

This was a mixed bag for planning. It did not count in the official standings, but when two teams wear uniforms, it’s a game. All said I used this as a chance to try different people in different positions. I could not be happier; everybody impressed me by making the most of the opportunities given. In the end, we won 12-11.

What I liked:

• Pitching was great. Nathan and Jackson found their groove. Logan, Henry, Caleb and Sam did great. Logan got two outs, Caleb two, and Sam three. All did good enough to deserve another chance. Tre’Vaughn was old reliable and earned the save.
• We all hit the ball well. Many extra base hits, two home runs, and good hustle down the line.
• The fielding was good. We did not throw the ball around, and we didn’t give away many free bases. We had some good putouts that saved runs.
• We acted like a team. Enough said.

What I learned:

• Each position has its own nature, and just because a kid may not be good at one “critical” position does not mean he can’t handle another.
• Each of my assistant coaches could handle the team on their own. I am blessed to have them to learn from.
• Dropping the kids in different positions is not “settling” and does not mean one cannot field a competitive team.

Off to plan the game tomorrow morning. I might just live on the edge and wing it.

Five-Star Thursday (a day late): Freight Train

I thought of this on Tuesday, but the week got away from me.

This week’s selection is Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotten. With no formal training in guitar, her big musical break came when she happened upon the Seegers and the rest is history. If you’re expecting to hear this butter-smooth vocalist, you’re in for a disappointment. Her voice is raspy, and her music is as authentic as can be. Her unorthodox style of playing was dubbed “Cotten picking” and can be found on Michelle Shocked’s “Anchorage,” which is another five-star song worthy of its own treatment. Two songs in one post – lucky you!

Game 4 Recap

Last night was by far our tightest game of the year. There were many lead changes, and in the end we lost 15-14.

What I liked:

• Our hitters looked better than in the last game. There were few strikeouts and our pitch selection was good. There were several line drives, and the opposing team commented on our hitting.
• The arm of the opposing catcher. The kid has a rocket gun and used it to pick us off.
• We did a good job standing in the back of the box this game, as well as measuring distance from the plate.
• Our pitchers did a great job in making the other team hit and not walk.
• Nathan did well at keeping runners at third on wild pitches.
• Riley was alert and almost made a great catch in right field.
• Logan made a great backup of a throw to first and prevented a runner from advancing to second.
• We had some nice put-outs off of grounders.

What we could have done better:

• Not being afraid to get the bat on the ball. Our kids can hit and need to swing the bat
• Triaging balls coming in. When the ball comes in to the infield, it doesn’t always go to home. I need to coach that better. I’ll start by reviewing field assignments and seeing if we can cut throws
• Not getting tense when the other team is scoring runs. It takes three outs to head back to the bench, and we need to play them the same if there are six runs in or no runs in.
• Pre-game prep. I need to really work on that.

 What I could have done without:

• A long drive out to Waukesha West.
• Muddy dugouts – it doesn’t take a civil engineer to figure out the grading there could use improvement.
• The long trek to the bathrooms.
• The narrow bench area.
• Hearing the deep thud of the baseball hitting Riley in the back. 

Onto play FOG on Friday and Blazers West #3 on Saturday. I’ll bet we have tired kids come Saturday afternoon.

The shake-down for a Twix

To all of you outside the Milwaukee area, a brief back story. Former Alderman Michael McGee Jr. is on trial for extortion and bribery charges. The charges allege he demanded money, prepaid cell phone cards, and other compensation for liquor licenses and other government action.

Apparently money and cell phone minutes were not enough to satisfy his appetite. Literally. This morning’s Journal Sentinel describes one “meeting” in which he asked for cash and a Twix bar. It reminded me of the Seinfeld where George is fascinated with the Twix in the vending machine.

Five-star Thursdays: “When you Come Back Down”

Introducing a new feature on the least-read blog in the world: Five-Star Thursdays. It’s simple: I pick a five-star song from my music collection and highlight it. Of course the rating is completely subjective, but it’s my blog, so suck it up, and leave a comment telling me I am a fool.

The first entry is “When You Come Back Down” by Nickel Creek off of their eponymous album. Nickel Creek’s music can best be described as acoustic. To my knowledge, there is only one song they recorded that uses drums. On their other songs, they achieve a drum vibe by percussively playing their stringed instruments. It’s definitely an interesting sound.

Their debut album consists of bluegrass or folk songs, and “When You Come Back Down” falls into the latter category. Check it out on iTunes (or your music provider of choice) and enjoy!

Celebrating 15 Years of marriage

Yesterday was a momentous day for Nicole and I – it was our 15^th Anniversary. We got married at the green young age of 21, and we were ready to be married. We began dating in our senior year of high school (December 1988), and by Valentine’s Day of 1989, I knew I had met my wife. I can imagine how such a bold proclamation from a 17-year old kid freaked my parents out. I made many dumb statements during that time in my life, but that one I got right.

When we got married, I was finishing college and driving a school bus part time. She worked in a day care center. Now the house is her day care center, and the Honda Odyssey her school bus. I managed to parlay a Political Science Degree into a career in IT. In 15 years we have gone through 6 places of residence, 6-7 cars, 3 kids, 3 schools, 8 bicycles, a few clothing sizes up and down, a few added grey hairs, countless job changes, and too much to list here.

We thought we knew everything when we got married – boy were we wrong! With all of the bumps in the road, there’s nothing I would change.

For the record, we eschewed a night on the town to stay home and eat carryout. Some of my coworkers were telling me that bling was in order; I came up with the romantic gifts of a reading light and bath gel. In 15 years we’ll be empty-nesters and Epsom salts and reading glasses will be welcome. One thing will not change: There will still be no other person I’d rather have gone through it all with.

BTW, if I get enough comments, I just might post an old wedding photo.

A blunt trauma to my middle-aged psyche

After the game last night, Nicole and I went to the Chancery in the Wauwatosa village for a small bite and a beer. My parents were nice enough to take the kids overnight for our anniversary, and we relished the chance to be spontaneous. I wore my ML baseball hat to the restaurant. We had a nice waitress and as we wound down our meal, she asked if I coached at Milwaukee Lutheran. I answered in the affirmative, and then the blow came:

“Cool, I graduated from there in 2006.”

Ouch. It’s always nice to run into a fellow alum, but 2006? You have to be kidding me. We confessed to graduating in 1989, and she didn’t look surprised. We all had Mr. Heinkel for PE, but on the other hand, one of her favorites (Mr. Moesch) was a classmate of ours. In sharing this story with my friend Steve, he mentioned that I could have said “I’m almost old enough for you to be my daughter.”

To make the night odder, the pen given to me to sign the receipt was from our church. I pried a bit to get the pen-stealer’s name. I won’t disclose it here, but he will be confronted in church. J

Game 3 Recap

I’ve never been an agent or recipient of the mercy rule before. That is until last night. When the fifth inning ended, we were down 21-6. Jackson was upset about being tagged at home for the last out, and I don’t have the heart to tell him that had he not hesitated, we would have only been down 14 runs and played a sixth inning. It was for the best anyway.

What I learned:

• Kids take these games very seriously. Now the adult tendency would be to tell them to chill out and lighten up, and while true, that’s easy for us grown-ups to say. These kids don’t have jobs, mortgage payments, responsibilities, and bigger things to invest themselves emotionally in. They’re 8-10, and this is a big deal for them.
• Confidence is a fragile thing. One second a kid will feel like he can tackle the world, the next he feels like he isn’t worthy to be on the field. I used second as the time frame, because it seems to turn that quickly.
• Our players need constant reminders about things like standing back in the box, being too far away from the plate, where the play is, etc.
• The team we played last night got first pick of all players who tried out. That is why they are the Blazers #1. Once they got done picking the team from tryouts, Blazers #2 went second, and then #3. That can be misleading, but it was obvious to me they had some good ballplayers.

What I liked:

• Playing at home. There’s nothing like it.
• Our team mentality. We are quick to get behind each other.
• The catch Jackson made on the fly to end the first.
• Watching Trey discover the benefits of pointing the toe toward home plate while pitching.
• Logan’s great form in retreating for a fly over his head. I thought he had it.
• Logan and Cole’s help on the bench. They both caught stuff we were missing.
• Seeing our parents (and my family) in the stands.
• The sportsmanlike demeanor of both teams.
• The weather! How blessed we are to play baseball during these rainy days.
• Wearing a Red Knight baseball cap. Everyone looks good in Red Knight colors.
• The great help from the other coaches in getting us ready for the game and packing up after. They are an asset and a blessing to our team.

What we need to work on:

• Calming down and trusting our abilities.
• Not putting any more pressure on the kids.
• Finding a better substitution pattern. I HATE, HATE, HATE putting anyone on the bench at all. I need to check to rules and see if there is a more equitable way.
• Finding a way to warm up our hitting swing.
• I need to organize my papers better.
• Outfield depth and spacing.

Our next game is Monday June 23 at Waukesha West HS. Please pray for a dry field. See you then! 

A long journey begins with but a step

I worked out this morning. Three years ago, that would not have been a news item. I had run my second marathon, and was training for a triathlon. What a difference three years makes; fifty pounds later and completely out of shape I am forced to work out to lower my blood pressure.

With my busy nights, I need to change a habit and wake up early to get a workout in. I did not want to get up this morning, but I managed to crawl out of bed after hitting snooze three times. I’m too out of shape to run, so I am forced to walk uphill on a treadmill. For the record, my incline was 9.5%, the pace was a 20-minute mile, and I walked for 17 minutes (my doctor told me to start slow). The only question is whether I can repeat this five times a week for the next few months until I can do something else to keep in shape.

It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame, let’s play two!

“Dear Lord, thank you for today, thank you that we had family time tonight, please dry our field out so we can play on Wednesday; help everyone to sleep well, in your name we pray, Amen.”

That was the prayer that Jackson prayed on Monday night. I petitioned for a dry field too. Some of you may think that to be a petty prayer. I believe God wants us to share our lives small and large with him.

The weather yesterday was perfect for drying a field: sunny, dry, and breezy. I stopped by the field last night, and I could hardly contain my excitement when I walked on a dry infield.

It’s supposed to rain tomorrow, which is bad news for those affected by the excess water levels. But tonight is our home opener. Too bad we can’t play a matinee game and make it two. Now all I have to do is outline the game…

iPod Playlist Fun

Last week I was listening to Townes Van Zandt (one great songwriter) and “Pancho and Lefty” came on. It’s been covered by Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard, and I’m sure a few other artists. The best version still belongs to Townes. But that’s not the point of this post.

One of the great iPod features is the On-The-Go Playlist. It allows one to create a playlist right on the iPod. For kicks, I created a Within +/- 10 songs of “Pancho and Lefty” playlist. Here it is:

Song	Artist	Album
Panama	Van Halen	1984
Papa’s got a Brand New Bag (Pt.1)	James Brown	20 All Time Greatest Hits
Papa Don’t Preach	Madonna	The Immaculate Collection
Papa Loves Mambo	Perry Como	All-Time Greatest Hits or Ocean’s Eleven Soundtrack
Paper Moon	Natalie Cole	Unforgettable with Love
Paid for Loving	Love Jones	Swingers Soundtrack
Pale Sun	Cowboy Junkies	Pale Sun Crescent Moon
Pale Yellow	The Ditty Bops	The Ditty Bops
The Painted Desert	10,000 Maniacs	In My Tribe
Painter Song	Norah Jones	Come Away With Me
Papa Don’t Take No Mess	James Brown	20 All Time Greatest Hits
Papa Was a Rolling Stone	The Temptations	Soul Train 25th Anniversary Collection
Paper Doll	Frank Sinatra	Come Swing with Me
Paper Dolls	The Innocence Mission	The Innocence Mission
Paper in Fire	John Mellencamp	The Best that I Could Do

 

Combining Cells or Columns of data in Excel

While working on a KnowledgeLake project on MOSS 2007, I had to create a site column for state. They wanted it to be a drop-down box with state abbreviation and name. I had two choices:

1. Manually type in all fifty states with abbreviations.
2. Find a list on the internet.

Of course, I chose the second. I could not find a list that met my requirements: State Abbreviation-State Name. An example would be: AK-Alaska. Enter the & function in Excel, which combines the contents of several Excel cells into one. I found a list on the internet of two columns, abbreviations, and states. I then used the & function as described here to combine them. Then I pasted the result into my SharePoint site column box, and voila!

The Mickey-slipping Broadcom Exec

Apparently IT guys aren’t boring. This post describes the colorful behavior of a Broadcom Exec. Which begs the question: is that why their NICs require much wrangling to work properly?

Morning rain threatens first home game

This morning’s rain has left puddles on the infield; I’m hoping that the sun helps the rain to soak in and we have a dry field for tonight. Stay tuned for more updates, or call me on my cell with questions. If you happen to stop by the field, post a comment here with updates. Thanks much!

Baseball Coaches’ Game Outline

I know the five people who read my blog have been waiting a while for this, so I will end the suspense. Here is a link to my game outline. A brief overview…

There are three tabs (worksheets is the proper term). Field Outline is used for defense. Batting Order is used for assignment of Michigan and Florida delegates for the upcoming political convention in Denver (kidding). The third sheet is a roster.

Field Outline has color-coded the innings and different fonts for different spots. The table on the left is who plays where when. It has dropdown menus for each position, and feeds from the Roster sheet. The table on the right totals the innings by battery, infield, and outfield. It uses the COUNTIF function and Excel Named Ranges defined in the sheet. I did this because after filling out the lineup, I know who played where for the game. All players should have six innings, or less if one has to use subs. That part of the lineup is for coaches use only, since players already grumble enough about playing assignments.

Batting Order is the batting order. I made it big and posted this (along with the left table of field outline) so that players knew where they play. Now, there are fewer questions about who plays where.

Roster exists for one reason only: to keep a list of players available for a game. I update that first so the drop downs go from there. I also paste it in the Field Outline sheet so I can account for everybody.

Let me know what you think and feel free to recommend changes or additions.

It’s Tough to Stomach…

Governor Doyle just issued a statement about the recent GM plant closing. He blamed it all on GM and their business decisions and pledged to help the workers. Now, as an owner of a Saturn and a Honda, I’ll tell you I’m done with GM for the most part. So I agree GM is not without culpability. But the UAW and government also share some of the blame. Among the verbiage was “It’s tough to stomach.” I know the feeling, Governor Doyle.

It’s tough to stomach your lack of ethics in granting the Native American Gaming interests that elected you lucrative compacts that last forever. It’s tough to watch you break pledges about raising taxes. It hurts thinking about how bad we will be after you raid every possible dedicated fund to “balance” the budget. It’s fun knowing you have created a regulatory, tax, and economic climate that give young people and businesses more reasons to leave our state for greener pastures elsewhere. It’s tough to stomach the idea that you reject Voter ID legislation, concealed carry, and tax deductions for Health Saving Accounts. And it’s tough to think that in a moment of ignorance I voted for you in 1994 for Attorney General which launched your political career.

“Base ball” the old-style way…

This article caught my eye in this morning’s paper. It talks about the sport of base ball before it was baseball. The historian in me appreciated it. It always helps to know where we came from. So what would the 1860’s version of juicing be? A Sazerac with absinthe and Peychaud’s bitters?