Recycling VHS Tapes

So, in my home the VCR is all but dead. Not that I watch a ton of movies on the DVD player, but at least that one still seems to get used periodically.

As we were looking through the house for Christmas decorations I came upon several shopping bags full of VHS tapes that are not being used. A wide assortment, really. There are many tapes containing the old "Must See TV" Thursday nights from when I traveled all week and wanted to catch "my shows" when I got home on the weekend. There are a few others with random movies recorded from HBO or free TV and then many purchased movies.

I got to thinking that just taking these bags of movies to the trash was probably not the most environmentally friendly answer. I went online and found that there really isn't a good answer out there. The answers ranged from donating to hospitals and senior centers to selling on ebay. No good answer for those once-blank tapes that are now no good.

Does anyone have any ideas on how/where to recycle the blank tapes? Would a group of you be willing to join me in combining our pre-recorded collections and donating to the local hospitals and senior centers? I doubt that I am the only one out here with these piles of useless VHS tapes. I would even be willing to donate my perfectly functioning VCR along with some of the tapes.

Let me know if you are interested in joining in this collection and if you have any ideas on how to dispose of the self-recorded tapes.

Serge
momesso.blogspot.com

Reactionary Airline Security Proceedures

It sucks to hear that there was another potential terrorist attack on an US flight. The flight headed to Detroit on Christmas day that the Nigerian-born man is about to change the way we fly once again.

Of course, measures should be taken to keep these flights and our skies safe. What really bothers me is that when something happens the TSA strips another "freedom" from their travelers. A few years ago there was the concern over the liquid bomb, so no one could carry on beverages any longer (now you can buy them past security). Also, there was the fear of shoe bombs, so now you have to take off your shoes to go through security. Now I read that since this man tried to attack during descent that there will be great limitations to what passengers can do during the last hour of a flight.

The last HOUR? It is already crazy that electronics (anything with an on/off switch) has be to turned off for landing. This should be a huge boon for the magazine industry. Especially with the growth of ebooks (did you hear that digital books outsold physical books this Christmas?) becoming a household term and soon a household item, this is going to be tough for passengers. Everything has an on/off switch now.

All I ask is that the TSA step up and try to take care of the real issue. They had received warnings about this guy, he was being watched. But they let him on the flight anyway. The descent of the flight IS NOT THE ISSUE!

Please stop telling me what I can't do on a flight. It is bad enough that I have to listen to 5 minutes of rules of what I can't do at the beginning of the flight. Please go after the root cause, and not the method.

Stepping off my soapbox...

Serge
momesso.blogspot.com

Early Winner of the Hot Stove League

It is mid-Dec. The owner's meetings have come and gone. Right about now, there are few names that are sacred in trade talks. Seems that there is a rumor on just about every player. And if there isn't a rumor, there is a sportswriter who is trying to create a rumor. Maybe it isn't this way around the country, but here in St. Louis where the Rams are vying for the #1 pick in next year's draft and the Blues can't seem to string together two solid games in a row, the Hot Stove League setting is on HIGH.

But the Cards are taking their "wait and see" approach again this year. Probably not the worst strategy as they would be bidding against themselves now for the likes of Holliday or DeRosa or Bay, but it is enough to keep the sportswriters busy. I still feel optimistic about the Cards landing a big bat to hit in the #4 hole and shag some flies in leftfield. It is obvious the Cards are trying to win again. The signing of Brad Penny as our #4 starter was a huge indication that this team mean business in 2010.

But the winner so far in the offseason moves is many miles away from St. Louis, and coming to town this summer for a 3 game series.

The Seattle Mariners are making some shrewd moves and turning their team around this December. First the signed the super-utility Chone Figgins. This guy can play 2nd, 3rd or the OF and be a great top-of-the-order hitter. Then they weaseled their way into the blockbuster trade of the winter and were able to extract Cliff Lee from the Phillies when the Phillies acquired Roy Halladay from Toronto. Then, yesterday they pull off a trade with the Cubs to get Milton Bradley for Carlos Silva. Bradley has a ton of baggage, but he also has a ton of talent when he is happy. Silva is a #4 starter. Not a bad gamble by the Mariners.

The M's already had Ichiro in place for a few more years, this is a great way to build around him and to bolster their team in a rather weak AL West. The Angels will be tough again, but losing Figgins to a team in the division, losing Lackey to the Red Sox and possibly losing Vlad this offseason too they don't look right to repeat.

Watch out for the Mariners in 2010. I'm glad that my Cards ticket pack has a M's game in it. They should be fun to watch.

Serge
momesso.blogspot.com

Definition of Insanity

...is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results each time.

I have to say that this defines my approach to fantasy sports. I recently looked at my online fantasy sports statistics and found out that my overall performance is 37%! Ouch! That covers about 9 years of fantasy baseball, a couple of miserable hockey seasons, a few NFL leagues and some college hoops pick-em tourneys.

This gets me to wondering...do the same people keep winning? I don't seem to see any real spread in my leagues among the winners. It is usually one of the same 3 teams that wins the season. I may be wrong here, honestly I typically forget who won about 2 days after the season. For instance, I could not tell you who won this past baseball season in our league. I do know it is not me. I also know that I always seem to be battling it out with the same group of underperformers for the 7,8,9,10 spots in the league.

If the same people keep winning, are there a large number of people whose performance % is 75%+? Maybe the middle is real thin. Maybe it is the opposite of the bell curve. All I know is that I find it interesting that each year I go into March thinking this is my year. Then I make it through the 3 hour draft thinking I am in good shape this year. Then, beginning with week 1, my team does not support my thoughts or hopes.

Insanity on my part?

Maybe. We'll it is time to change strategy. While I am not going to unveil my new strategy on this blog since several readers are opponents I will have a new approach. I may have to hire my own Billy Beane. I may have to invest heavier in Caribbean players. I may need to up ticket prices to afford some bigger name players. OK, none of those will work in this fantasy world, but I do know that I have 3 months to create a new draft and management strategy and be ready to try out my new approach.

Word is that my Dad is going to drop out of our league this year. I hate to seem him go since it is some good father/son bonding throughout the summer. I also hate to see him go because he is the one team I can count on keeping me out of the cellar. Dad, I'll hate to see you leave the league.

Bo Knows Running Plays

Ah, back in the good ol' days of college I spent more than my share of time playing Techmo Bowl. In fact, our freshman year, we actually hosted Techmo Tournaments. It's any wonder that the Nintendo did not crap out during the season. Luckily we all knew the "blow in the cartridge, blow in the Nintendo" move to magically restore what ever was ailing the games.

This video clip is compliments of Jimmy-D's searching on youtube.com. I never had Bo dance quite like this, but he was my #1 horse in the backfield and with the coupling of Marcus Allen, running plays for the Oakland Raiders were hard to stop. Since most of my college buddies that freshman year were Cheifs fans, the Raiders were always available to take.



While I was cleaning out the basement yesterday I came across my old Sega Genesis. While I decided to part with a few games I had to keep NHL 94, 95, 96, Super Techmo Bowl and RBI III. Let me know if you ever want to fire up a classic from the early 90's.

momesso.blogspot.com

Restaraunt Week

What was going to be a blog posting asking for your suggestions on where I should go to grab a bite to eat quickly gained parameters when I found this...Restaurant Week is here!

So now I share this with you...any recommendations from this list? I am thinking Trattoria Marcella will be my first choice.

Sorry to those of you not in St. Louis. Do your towns offer something similar?

Bon Appetite!

I think I'll just sleep in, thanks

I just don't get it. Waking up at a time in which I once went to sleep to go shopping with hoards of other nocturnal bargin hunters. Back in the day, when there was no internet to speak of, I can see that you needed to get going early to get a good deal on something. Trying to spread the "Christmas Dollar" as far as possible lead some people to go to Macy's at 6am. Then the stores realized that they weren't the only trick in town at 6am, so Kohls went to 5am. Still not good enough. Someone else had to open at 4, then 3am. Seriously? 3am! I think that is what time the Wal-Mart Black Friday deals begin this year.

Let's see, awake around 2am to shower and grab a late night snack (can it really be called breakfast at this hour?). Of course, don't forget to wake your friends and kids so they can go too. Then off to Wally World to race down the aisles for one of 5 whatchamacallits on sale. Does anyone not remember people were trampled to death last year on this very day!

So, let's say you get your good deal at Wal-Mart, then you cruise over to Macy's or Target. You have to be done with your shopping around 6 or 7am, right? Now what do you do with the next 12-14 hours of your day?

I think I'll just sleep in. When I do awake, I'll log onto this internet thing and look for similar deals while I enjoy an English Muffin and some OJ. I'll see if any other e-mall has the same item cheaper (thanks Google Shopping), click to buy the one I want and go on about my day.

Oh, and if you are one of those who are out at the 3am openings let me know if you notice anyone pulling an all-nighter. That is how I would have played it. Throw back a few barley pops at my favorite late night haunts, then get a sober driver to take me to the mall.

momesso.blogspot.com

History...basically in my backyard

I was out for my morning walk today when I came across something interesting. Just about two blocks from our house I came across a sign that read "Historic Site 1904 Olympic Marathon Route". This was not a small sign, I mean it measured about 6' wide and stood about 8' tall.

It stood right along River Des Peres on North & South. Amazing what you can pass every day and never see, until you pass it from a different vantage point (in this case, walking).

So, now I was curious. Was the marathon route the old river bed? Is that possible? Was there once a road that went along this river? I know that the World's Fair was hosted in Forest Park, and I had heard that the football stadium at Wash U was erected for the 1904 Olympics...but that was all I had heard about it.

After a little digging on the inter-web I was able to uncover some interesting stories about the race.

Other resources:
Wikipedia
Useless Information

I still have not been able to uncover the exact route for the race. [I thought everything was on the internet now].

Somehow the City of University City found out that the marathon path crossed North & South near River Des Peres and sometime in history there was a Parks and Recreation budget surplus - so they put up a sign.

Well U. City...it worked, you piqued my interest. Now please post the rest of the story...in particular the route. I want to know if I can start selling admission to my land as "part of Olympics history".

Still a Kid at Heart

If you are in St. Louis, or even if you are not, you need to get to the City Museum in downtown St. Louis. You may get a few less odd looks if you take a kid or two with you, but believe me, it is not mandatory. There is much fun to be had, even if you are a non-married, non-father at the ripe-young age of 37.

The only real consequences of being this old and climbing around like I am 30 years younger is that A) I don't fit in the small places that the kids can climb through and B) my knees seem to bruise up much faster than I recall earlier in my life.

So what is the City Museum? Great question. It is an interactive jungle-gym experience with tunnels, old cars and planes, bridges, slides and about anything else you could imagine...all stuck inside a huge warehouse in downtown St. Louis where some rooms look like large animals (lizards, whales, dragons) and others are just old pieces of machinery. There is even a large wheel that makes you look/feel like a hamster.



So the reason for this blog is just to remind you all of this hidden gem in downtown. When you get the chance wrangle up some kids and head down for a day. But don't be afraid to explore some yourself. Be ready for sore knees and maybe a little dizziness from the 7 story spiral slide. If you don't have the kids, don't worry - it didn't stop Justin, Misty or I from having a great time for a few hours - forgetting that we were on the other side of 30.



Serge
momesso.blogspot.com

Transparent Humans?

Here's an excerpt from an article I read today. I thought it was pretty interesting to see how different communication is today. This transparency is what is linking people together. In other means of conversation you reserve your transparency for those closest to you...now it is there for everyone to read. The human race just got a little more...human

The old paradigm in communication was that people generally revealed very little of their fears and doubts. They tried to present the image of themselves to other people as completely confident and knowledgeable. The goal was to make sure that you appeared like you were always in complete control. But this is shifting, in part, because of social media. The paradigm is now no longer to try to appear perfect, but to be more transparent with your thoughts and feelings, to reveal your humanness.

We now have queens acknowledging that they get nervous at times when speaking, CEOs being more honest and at times using blogs to express reservations over past decisions, and people openly sharing personal views on social issues. Of course, what we decide to reveal and when to reveal it can be delicate, and there will always likely be items we wish to keep private. However, rather than working to hide our thoughts and feelings, social media is helping to create greater personal transparency.

Is this good or bad? Is this the downfall of human kind? Just like rock and roll was 50 or so years ago?

Full article: http://mashable.com/2009/10/16/social-media-changing-lives/
momesso.blogspot.com

Phus Vs.

Phus Vs.

Similar to this summer’s hit show Shaq Vs. the Phus Brothers have taken on several opponents throughout life, this weekend was just the latest episode.

Back in the late 80’s the Phus Brothers were formed and took on Kirkwood High School. Arguable you could say that the Phus Brothers won that battle as all five members Ephus, Ruphus, Striphus, Breakphus and Memphus graduated from KHS and scattered for their college careers. A bond was formed while at KHS that is revisited from time to time.

Typically a quorum from that group get together for the annual Turkey Day Football game between Kirkwood High School and Webster Groves High School. While 2 of the Phus Brothers live out of town, it has been awhile since all members were back together for that Thanksgiving tradition.

Two and a half years ago, Mitch (aka Memphus) had his bachelor party in Las Vegas. Though not billed as so, this weekend in the desert could have been called Phus Vs. Vegas. While the Phus Brothers put up a valiant fight in sin city, it is not fair to say that we won. Nobody beats Vegas. No matter if you think you did or not, you don’t win.

The latest installment of Phus Vs. just wrapped up this past weekend. Phus vs. Kansas City. In this battle the Phus Brothers took on KC BBQ (several times and places), NASCAR (more on that in a minute), KC Power & Light District and make-shift beds.

One good thing about the Phus Brothers is that they always work as a team. Usually like a team from the 80’s; reverting back to tendancies, stories and behaviors reminiscent of the old high school days. When a team comes together like this it is hard to lose. The real loser this week was the KC air quality. The methane gas increased considerably over the two days/nights. It will take a few days of leaving the windows open in the car and house to bring back some semblance of regular air quality. This group does not need much to have a good time. Constant ribbing and laughter are trademarks of the Phus Brothers. A diverse group has only grown more so over the years, but that diversity does not stand in the way of a unique brotherhood. A banker, an architect, a lawyer, an online communications guy (we honestly can't figure out what Ruphus (Coon) does and a marketer put aside the real world for a few short days and hearken back to a time when things were less stressful and having fun was hallmark.

So the impetus of the trip was to go to a NASCAR race. None of us had gone, but Ephus (aka Gee) was Jonsin' to go to one, so we found a way to make it happen. The race in KC was chosen and we combed our contacts for tickets. Striphus (Rake/me) was able to not only get us seats, but also access to the hospitality tent of A/B. With free seats, free food and free beer on the agenda we set off for the Kansas Motor Speedway. The race was unlike anything else. Anything else but other races really. But this time there were NASCAR fans in attendance, so that makes everything different. Flags flying high above cars in the parking lots showing off loyalty to a particular driver, or country or side of the civil war. We opted for a wayfinder of a different sort, Gee punched in the location of the car into his GPS so that we could find our way through the maze of pickups.

Our seats were close to the start/finish line and right above a couple of ol' gals who were as fired up about the race as anyone in attendance. They were Tony Stewart (#14) fans and pointed at him every time he sped by (we were in row 62), but they felt like they were part of the team and they definitely were part of the experience.

After about 40 laps (30 minutes) we were through with the seats and off to the land of free food and beer. The rest of the race was watched from the side of the track, much close to the action than row 62, but miles away from die-hard NASCAR fans. The race continued, and continued, and continued with little excitement. No wrecks, a few lead changes, but nothing that had to be seen. Finally with 30 laps to go NASCAR threw out the caution flag to clear debris from the track. If you ask any of us, it was a staged way to reset the race and make it somewhat close. It didn't work. #14 took the lead and did not relinquish it and very anticlimactically won the race.

All in all it was a great experience. If we were to see NASCAR, this was the way to see it. The people there were incredibly friendly and passionate. Much like we are of baseball. Another great Phus trip. This one definitely more low-key than the trips of years gone by, but now that the group has a combined 7 kids and much less tread on the proverbial tires I still call the weekend a success for the Phus Brothers. We are all still standing, still friends and still ready for the next event. Let's just make this one happen a little quicker than 30 months.

_Striphus
momesso.blogspot.com

Inspiring

Over the past 2 weeks I have attended two separate art fairs. Some very unique art, unique mediums, unique perspectives.

I don’t have a ton of artistic talent. I like to doodle, I used to draw floor plans of houses and rooms for fun (yes, dorky, I know), I did well in art classes in college, but those were more design-based.

One artistic area where I have always had an interest but no real tools is photography. I never had a good camera. I usually had a cheapo point and click. With a poor camera, came poor pictures.

This year I decided to buy a nice digital SLR camera, you know, the kind with a big-ol lens. I have found that I love to take pictures of architecture. Finding old buildings around town that are shuttered and ignored.

Walking these two art fairs I have become inspired. I need to make time to take more pictures. Show more from my own lens. This blog tells you what I am thinking. My music preferences say something about me. Now I need to let some photography show another part.

I will start sharing some images via picasa (Google’s photo sharing site). Take a look, comment, laugh, or just tell me that you visited the site (I don’t think I can track viewers, so I will never know).

My first Tweetup

Yes, I am on twitter.

I am trying to learn what this new medium of communication is all about. I find myself on twitter everyday. For me, so far, it has been a way for me to get a snapshot of information - what is going on in the world. I follow some friends, I follow some sports writers, I follow some alternative power companies, I follow Shaq.

The creator and co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, was speaking today at Webster University. Jack grew up in Clifton Heights so this was a homecoming of sorts. His speech was short, but to the point. Beyond his own story..."I lived here, I did this, I then did this..." he got to talking about why he thought that something like Twitter needed to exist. What void it need to fill.

He broke it down to 3 things:
IMMEDIACY
TRANSPARENCY
APPROACHABILITY

People want to know stuff now. Reading the paper tomorrow is just not fast enough any more. Tell me what is going on right this minute. Be open and transparent. The more immediate the story, the more truthful (and insightful) it will be. With these followers get to know the person/brand/whatever better and thus make them more approachable.

Very interesting stuff. The way I see it is that the first thing (immediacy) leads to the other two things in this case. I got to asking where would I benefit and my customers benefit if they had immediate information. The answer was right in front of me. There was a large projector screen running the stream of tweets about the speaker and his Q&A. The first person to ask a question was not heard well by the rest of the room. It was answered without repeating the question. What showed up next on the screen is what hundreds of people were thinking. "Can you please repeat the question so the audience can hear it?" It was addressed immediately. Later someone tweeted that the screen behind the speaker scrolling these tweets was distracting, it was temporarily blacked out. WOW! Now anyone had the power to influence change.

Neither ground breaking, but both shed a glimpse into what could be done.

I have already recommended that ENR tweet from our next earnings release meeting. Not many people will likely follow, but those that do really care, and now they can be closer to the company.

Twitter is hard to get used to. I was on it about 6 months before I found my twitter voice and cared enough to tweet. I am still not a hard core user. But I like it, I watch it, I learn from it and now I am learning how to use it to make our company better.

Don't be scared of it. Someone said today that "Twitter is to this generation what the printing press was to an earlier generation". Same things are being said, just now there is a new delivery method.

Down the Stretch They Come

Cards just pulled off a pretty nice sweep of the Brewers up in Milwaukee. Carp and Wainwright do their things on the mound and on the other game the bats battle back for a late game winner. Not bad. So how does that position the Cards for NL home field advantage as we have about 3-4 weeks of ball left? Currently the Cards have the best record in the NL by .5 games.

The Cards have 7 more 3-game series remaining. Three of those series are against teams with sub-.500 winning percentages (HOU, CIN, MIL). Two of the three of those are on the road. Other opponents include ATL (4 games over .500), FLA (8 games over), CHC (4 games over) and COL (19 games over). The combined record of our future opponents is 490-478 (.506).

Now look at the Dodgers. Their opponents have a combined record of 448-543, almost 100 games under .500 (.452 winning %). At first glance you would think that they have the easy road. But there is more to it than that. Yes, there are some easy series coming up for LA. They play PIT twice, WAS and SD. None of those teams have won 45% of their games. But the other three series are not going to be easy. A home and home against SF (76-63) and finish the season against COL (79-60). LA had better take care of business against the bottom feeders because the other teams are still fighting for some more October baseball.

On to the Phillies. Their future opponents' winning percentage is .475. There is still some competition in the NL East and they still play them all. FLA for two series, ATL for a series, and the Mets for a series. The Mets are not much on paper this year, but PHI has ruined the Mets playoff hopes a few times as of late. Will they inflict some revenge this year? PHI also plays a series against WAS, MIL and HOU.

All three of these teams should win their divisions. But with the pair of 2 series between LA/SF and PHI/FLA there is plenty of room to shake things up.

So while the Redbirds may have the toughest compiled opponents' winning percentage, they may have the easiest road to the best record. Not to mention, the Cards have less games to play (more off days remaining) than either the Phillies or the Dodgers.

Baseball Fever...Catch It!

Is this the next music revolution?

Thanks to Ryan Dannan for the inspiration to blog about this.

You don't know you are experiencing a musical revolution until it has passed. It is impossible to know what music will matter 5, 10, 30 years down the road. Did anyone watching the New Years Day video back in the early 80's think that U2 would be the biggest tour in 2009? Music has staying power. Good music defines a generation.

So, are we hearing that now? It has been awhile since there has been good music put out in mass. A good band comes up now and again, but is this the time that there is a whole new sound? A whole new feel?

Take a listen to some of these new(er) groups. They may just be the sound that will mark the late 00's.

Gaslight Anthem
Gomez
Glasvegas
Editors
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
White Lies
Friendly Fires
The Shins

Let me know if there are others you are listening to these days. I am always looking for something new to drop on my iPod.

The Airport Bar

While this story will not quite read like a glimpse of the bar in Star Wars it was an interesting motley crew none the less.

I was sitting at the East Terminal in St. Louis, waiting for a flight to Cleveland and missing a double header in softball. Things were not off to a good start. I belly up to the "Home Plate" bar because they have TVs tuned into sports and the Cards are about to face off against the Brewers.

First of all, where does one find a job at the airport? You look at the workers and they don't seem like the traveling type. I doubt they were waiting for a flight one day and said, "hey, look the airport is hiring bartenders or a cleaning crew, I should work here". I am assuming that somewhere there is a placement agency that specializes in these jobs.

Our bartender was on cruise control. "What can I get for you?", "Would you like to make that beer a tall?", "How about a shot for just $3 more?", "Can I see your I.D.?" This same sequence was uttered to every traveler who stepped forward to the bar.

So I expect to see business travelers at the bar, or maybe a lonely traveler while they wait for their delayed flight. But this night there were some others who showed up.

The first was a weathered old lady who was pushing 60. She orders a shot of tequila. Declines the "double for just $3 more". Sits down long enough to show her I.D., pay the $6.90 for the shot, and address the drink. Lick of the salt, bottoms up, stuff the lemon (yes, not a lime) into her teeth. She then grabs her purse and off she goes...

So, I was just sitting there enjoying my 20oz Bud and laughing inside about this transaction. It reminded me of the gambler who approaches a table game, drops down money on one roll/deal/spin, loses their money, and moves on...

Then up comes another. This girl much younger. Probably in her 20's. Could have been cute had she not lived such a hard life already. Leathery skin and a look of it was her against the world. She orders a Red Bull and Stoli Vodka...up...chilled. Huh?

Yes, she ordered a Red Bull martini. The bartender chills the vodka, pours it into a martini glass and then hands it to the traveler. Along side it stands the Red Bull can. Our young alcoholic takes the Red Bull and pours about 1/4 of the can over the vodka and takes a huge pull of her drink - 1/3 down. She pays, puts her wallet away, and takes another long drink - now about 80% gone. Before setting it down, one last drink to drain her martini. Grabs the Red Bull can and she was gone.

So my question is this. Who was it they were about to see that they both needed a quick drink to handle? Good stuff to see, felt like I was watching Intervention. Feel sorry for them a little. Then again, it was I who was sitting right beside them, drinking alone as well...

I'm a bad movie-picker-outer

Admittedly, I am not one who sees a lot of movies. I have seen the classics. I have my favorites that I have seen countless times. But on a yearly basis I go to one or two flicks at the theater and I may rent another 5 or so over the year. That "renting" includes finding one on Showtime or HBO. I think that it has become a self-fulfilling prophecy of only seeing poor films. Usually I just have too many other things going on, and when a movie looks good in the trailers I always seem to not have a free night to go to the movies. Then, that one day comes along and I am in the mood to sit down with 100 strangers and see a movie on the big screen and I have no idea what is playing.

So, last night was one of those nights. Movie night for Serge. I know I wanted to see the Hangover as EVERYONE I know who has seen it has loved and said that I would love it to. So, I looked up show times on my phone and it was playing at 9 and 10 PM around town. It was 7:30. I did not feel like finding a way to entertain myself for an hour and a half so I decided to play movie roulette. Bad move Mr. Traylor.

The last time in this predicament we found ourselves at Walk Hard. A spoof on the Johnny Cash movie. It was a comedy with an actor who was good in a previous movie I'd seen. Was I wrong! Horrible. I still don't know how I sat through all 84 minutes of it.

Last night it happened again. I get to the mega-plex 130 screen theater in west county. And here is a list of movies in front of me that I had either never heard of or had no interest in seeing. Sorry, I am not a Harry Potter guy. So, I rolled the dice. GOODS.

Ouch! Even with a cameo by Will Ferrell it was horrendous. Two or three laughs. Almost painful at times.

So, why am I so bad at picking out movies? I think it is a law of averages with a healthy helping of not knowing good actors/actresses names. If you only go to bat twice, you have a good chance of striking out twice, like me. If you go to movies all the time, not only is your average better but your memory of bad movies is worse. Then you put a little, "well the only actor I have heard of on any of these movie posters is Jeremy Piven, so let's see that one" on top and you have a recipe for disaster.

Does anyone know a good movie review site? Not the Siskel and Ebert one, one that guys in their 30's might enjoy or relate to? I need a go to spot next time the mood hits me. Cause one more strike out like that and the side is retired.

I admit my geekiness now

I remember the days when my magazine subscriptions were Maxim, Men's Health, Baseball Weekly, ESPN the magazine. Now, none of those get mailed to my house. I fashion myself as a guy who is still "in the know", but for some reason those publications just don't warrant me spending $10 - $20 a year now in subscription.

What happened? When did it happen?

I look at my coffee table now and I see Fast Company, Inc., St. Louis Magazine, Consumer Reports.

Damn, I am old. Or as I would have titled myself a few years ago, I am a geek (to some extent).

I remember the days when I was on the road day in and day out that I would watch SportsCenter at least 2x a night, and again in the morning. I knew every little thing that was going on in sports with thanks to the World Wide Leader in Sports. Now, I check my Google Reader and see what is going on from a few bloggers out there on teams that I care about (Cards, Blues, sometimes KU basketball and sometimes Steelers football).

I am becoming a business man. Actually, I guess I am full-fledged business man. Getting old is weird. I won't even share with you the geeky publications I have on my desk at work...

momesso.blogspot.com

Using Twitter as a research tool

Yesterday I signed on to my Twitter account (twitter.com/momesso) to see a tweet from Southwest Airlines that caught my attention. SWA had gathered 250 people of their leadership team and for 1 hour they were going to watch their company's twitter account and scroll through all of the responses. SWA has over 380,000 followers so there was a good chance that a decent number of tweets would be posted to them when the followers knew they had the attention of SWA leadership team. I mean, even if 1% of the followers posted during that hour, that is 3,800 comments.

So what did people say? We don't know yet. Here was my tweet; @southwestair LUV the free drink coupons, LUV them more if they were paperless. #GoGreen.

So, what is going to come of it? Who knows. But if you see SWA go to paperless drink coupons you will know that I might have had something to do with it. What I really love about this is the impact it can have across an organization. I can't help but picture 250 execs with pen and paper watch the scrolling tweets and writing down the ideas/compliments/etc that would impact their part of the business. Hopefully someone was aggregating this information for them and they can see what topics were tweeted about the most. This market research of their devout followers was worth at least $50,000 - maybe twice that. And what did it cost them? Time for the execs to carve out an hour to read first-hand what their customers had to say. Time and money well spent.

So I ask you. How can you or your company gain from the new social media world? What can you learn to make your business better? Are you ready to listen to your customers?

momesso.blogspot.com

The answer is...

Matt Holliday will be wearing #15. The quiet tribute to Jimmy Ballgame is over. It took a year and a half.

While Holliday is no Edmonds in the OF, he should be able to offer up more at the plate that Edmonds did since about 2005.

Now let's get on to Holliday growing a 'stache to match his new teammates.

...momesso.blogspot.com...

So, what number does Holliday wear?

Put in your guesses quick, just a few hours before Matt Holliday puts the birds on bat across his chest. There are not many numbers open (I'll go on about why numbers should not be retired at a later time). Here's what's available unless Holliday makes a swap with another player for a number - which has been done before at the cost of a car or other luxury item...

15 - last worn by our Jimmy Edmonds (are the Cards ready to pass this number along?)
16 - Chris Duncan's old number, also worn somewhat recently by Reggie Sanders - so it is used to playing leftfield.
25 - Big Mac's old number. No one on the Cards has worn it since he rode off in the sunset.
30 - Jess Todd has rights to this number, but he does not have too much major league experience and is only on the 40-man roster
33 - Shane Robinson's number, see Jess Todd
34 - No real significance to this number's last owner

Holliday wears #5 now...and he wore that in Colorado. Pujols wouldn't give up his #...unless he REALLY wants Holliday to feel welcomed and stay in St. Louis. Think of all of the new merchandise fans would have to buy!

My guess is that he goes with #16. I would like to say he could have #15 if he wanted it. I also think that #25 would be cool too. Would Cardinal fans cringe at seeing someone else in #25? Are we finally over McGwire being untouchable?

We do know one thing...he won't wear #51. Bud Smith tried that...was quickly switched to #52. You just don't mess with Willie McGee's number in this town.

Your thoughts?

Time to treat the "Best Fans in Baseball" like it

It cost $365 million to complete the new Busch Stadium. A hefty price tag, until you hear what they spent in NYC for Yankee Stadium. In that price was a good design that is open to downtown, allowing great views of the courthouse and the arch. It also included a couple of state-of-the-art scoreboards. That's where my beef with the stadium begins.

I have been lucky enough to visit most all of the current and recent baseball stadiums around the country. On these tours I like to see what they team does to communicate to the fans. You have to assume that many of your "best" fans are in attendance, so you should talk to them - without alienating the casual fan or the corporate entertainer. The one stadium that comes to mind as far as a good example of what to do is the Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix (OK, I'll comply and call it Chase Field). The first time I went there I was amazed at what I could learn at a game. Complete stats of the players were up for each at bat, the lineups were always posted and they had secondary displays that scrolled classic baseball facts. The ones I remember was listing all of the World Series winners in chronological order and scrolling through other historic trivia.

These are the kinds of conversations that come up when you are amongst baseball fans at a game. "Can you name the last 10 World Series winners?", "Did the Phillies win in 4 or 5 games last year?" The answers to these types of questions were there for the fans to see. I was impressed, and I didn't worry about the cap dance or the t-shirt launcher between innings.

So, back to Busch Stadium. The people in charge of the scoreboards in St. Louis are more worried about graphics than quality. They come up with images that look like they are in baseball cards, or make it look like a page is being pulled back to reveal more stats. Instead of just giving the fans what we want - Stats. Baseball is all about stats. You would think that they would understand that in "Baseball Heaven".

During the all star game I found it difficult just to find out what the hitter was doing that year. Wait, there it was...on a terrace facade scoreboard for about 30 seconds, then replaced with a too-close shot of the player's eyes and their name...and their number. Oh, and while I talking about this. How hard is it to find out what number a player wears. Orlando Hudson #30 2B. Only problem is that he was not wearing #30, he is wearing #13 now. So, not only is the information light, it is also wrong.

Also, during the all star game they put up career stats of a few players. Good idea? I thought so, until I read down below the stat categories to read something that looked like this.

AB HR RBI AB H BB
Jeter .316216103983682645853

No, you are not reading that wrong. There were no spaces! My buddy, Gee, then brought up another classic Busch Stadium stat misque from a few seasons back. Showing batting average they would stop the number after 2 spaces beyond the decimal point. So, a .320 average on the Busch scoreboard read ".32". Nowhere in baseball is this done...except Baseball Heaven. They also had a period when the would do it this way "0.320" also odd to read.

So here's what I am asking for from those operating the scoreboard. First, show us all of the player's stats on the main scoreboard. Not just AVG HR RBI. Tell me AB, H, R, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, BB, SB and maybe SAC as well. These are the stats we follow. If you really want to talk to the baseball fan, add the OPS. Now, don't just show that once, show it every time the guy hits. We are talking about this hitter in the fans, give us something to talk about. Now, somewhere show us how many strikeouts the home pitcher has that game. I think that EVERY other park does this, catch up!

On the scoreboards on the terrace facade focus on the key stats AVG, HR, RBI score, balls, strikes, outs. I need to be able to get this info instantly. This is what rules baseball.

Inform us, reach out and embrace the fanatical customer. And, start acting inside the stadium like you are the baseball mecca that you are. Time to catch up.

Is Loyalty Not Worth A Damn?

I am always amazed at the lengths that marketers will go to reward or entice new customers, but neglect those who are already choosing their product or service. I switched to Sprint cellular service about a year ago because AT&T would not budge on their discounts. With Sprint I was able to get a top of the line phone and a cheaper service plan, just because I was a new customer. So I switched. It is easy to do now that you can take your number with you (or if you have a google voice number that links to any number you want). Maybe the cellular industry should start looking at how to keep the customers they already have. It is widely known in the marketing world that it is much more expensive to attract a new customer, than to hold on to an existing one.

This week I saw another example of the luring of new customers. Visa and Marriott want to offer me a credit card. They are going to offer me a free night hotel room as well as 25,000 points. Add to this the Visa Signature program and this sounds like a pretty good deal. So what will Citi or Bank Of America do when I call them up to cancel their card to take advantage of this new offer (with better rates)? They might offer to lower my interest rate. OK, not a huge deal since it gets paid off pretty regularly? They might remind me that it does not look good to have so many cards on my credit report. Since I don't make a real habit of this, I should be OK here too. I expect that they will let me walk. They are more worried about their new customers than their existing.

Why don't we all just try to keep our current customers happy and look to them to help spread the word about our products?

One last story. Yesterday I was at an Acura dealership looking for a new(er) car. As I got out of my car, a woman leaving the lot pulled up along side me and started gushing about what a great business this Acura dealership was. "The service is great, they treat me like a person" on and on she went. To the extent that we accused her of being a paid spokesperson. I really don't think she was. I think she just had that great of an experience. If she believed in this business so much that she took the time to talk to a stranger about her feelings, imagine what she says to her friends. That is good marketing...that is good service...that is a whole lot less expensive and more effective than luring new customers with one time deals.

The Big Suck

Every ballpark has its own little charming idiosyncrasies. I have to say that one of the highlights of the Metrodome is leaving. Not because the stadium is that bad, but because you literally get sucked out of the dome when leaving.

Since the dome is basically inflated, there is a ton of air pumped into this large pillowy stadium. When the fans begin to leave, the doors open and the air just pours out just as the fans do. It feels like you are getting blown out the door. This explains why there are revolving doors like you would find at Macy's to enter through. It would be hard for some weaker individuals to beat the wind to ever enter the stadium.

But there is more to the stadium than just this crazy doorway breeze. Justin and I were able to buy 2nd row seats down the rightfield line. These seats were right next to the visitor's bullpen home plate...oh yeah...and 35 rows below the entrance to the section!

Luckily some front row fans decided to take advantage of other plans on Father's Day, so seats were open and we found ourselves in the front row enjoying out Dome Dogs.

The Astros were in town as part of the interleague carrusel. We were talking distance to Pudge Rodriguez and several 'Stros pitchers during the game.

Due to the way the stadium is set up, we never really ventured around the park as I usually do. There are no "other views" from different areas around the concourse. The concourse is hidden behind the seats and is loaded with fans - at least it felt that way as the walkway was narrow and the lines from concession stands blocked many parts of the walk.

The rightfield is as was expected, large hefty bag-looking things draped over the collapsed Vikings seats. Seats in the right centerfield area in the upper deck were also blocked by large curtains. On these curtains were the retired numbers of the Twins franchise. More than I expected. Can you name them? If not, here you go...RETIRED NUMBERS.

The only other odd thing about the stadium was the fact that you had to check multiple scoreboards to get the total picture of a batter's year. Want to know his average? Better look to the narrow scoreboard along the second-level facade. Want to know how many homeruns, RBI, at bats or other stats? Better look up high over left field (or above firstbase line) for the jumbotron and other large scoreboards. From out seats, that scoreboard in the OF seemed like miles away.

It makes me wonder who is in charge of determining what stats will be displayed...and where. It is an issue I have with Busch as well. Cater to your die hard fans and let me know every at bat, hits, doubles, triples, HR, Runs, RBI, SB - and all in one place, please. The casual fan will learn a little more about these telling numbers and the player and the devout fan will be happy. Niether the Twins, nor the Cardinals, are listening to me...yet.

Overall, I think that the Twins fans are in for a big surprise when they walk into their new stadium next April (brrrr). This stadium is a football stadium that allows baseball to be played. It is not a good place to watch baseball. It is a horrible place to listen to anything. The sound system echos so much and sounds so muffled that it was impossible to understand anything said over the PA system.

So where does it rank in my list? Near the bottom. Maybe at the bottom. Three Rivers and Veteran's Stadiums were both bad, probably the worst I had witnessed. This was even more generic. The fans were into the game, so the atmosphere was pretty good (even more impressive since they were 2-hit). The only place I would say was worse is the old Nationals' Stadium, RFK. So, if you have not been up to Minneapolis and you feel you need to see the Metrodome for baseball, you have 42 more home games (it is hung proudly in leftfield). Next year baseball will be different in MIN, it will be in a beautiful open-air park (not even a retractable roof). I will be back, but it will be June or July. The town is beautiful during the summer, the team has some big stars, and the fans, draped in their Twins jerseys seem to love the team.

But what they rename the Dome Dog? And how will they ever replace the best part of the stadium...the way you get sucked back into the beautiful June weather in Minneapolis?

I was worth the wait...

So I was on my way home from a trip out west. Been flying for about 4 hours and it was already in the evening of a Friday. All I wanted to do was have the airport parking shuttle take me to my car so I could get home.

I boarded the parking shuttle to find little room to sit down. Not because there were so many people, but because there was a large family (I mean large in size, not quantity) taking up more than their fair share of seat space.

I honestly thought that I had no patience for these people. I had to squeeze in next to grandma (who was only in her 50's) in the seat and endure a ride that is in reality no more than about the distance of 5-6 blocks. But in these tight conditions, it seemed much longer. This family was quite the redneck bunch. Grandma and Granddad were sporting their Crocs (sorry if you have a pair), Mom was kickin' her 80's hairdo and the daughter was just plain awkward. Let me remind you that not one of them was weighing in less than me. Probably had me beat by 50 lbs at least with some of them. My patience grew thinner as I listened to them. "Mom, where'd we park?". "I dunno, to the left I thank." "Do you have the piece of paper that says where we parked?". "Nope, 'left it in the car so we wouldn't lose it." CLASSIC!

Then they decided to get involved in the few other conversations going on in the bus. You know, like only really annoying people can...Nothing really to add, but feel that they must interject something into a conversation they know nothing about and have no business in.

Is it my stop yet?

Of course the driver forgets my stop and proceeds to every other stop before mine. Including this wonderful family's stop. They yell to the driver, "I think I saw our car in 'L'". The driver makes the turn and creeps up the aisle. Then it happens. A quote that made it all worth the wait..."that's it on the left, the white minivan...the LOSER CRUISER."

Aw, thank you annoying family for bringing that phrase into my life. Thanks for knowing that your minivan is exactly that...And thanks to the bus driver for forgetting my stop. Had I missed that I would have just been annoyed by this family. Now I have a memory.

Loser cruiser...I think it might better fit a PT Cruiser...but it is good all the same.

You all are on my distribution list - let me know if you don't want to hear about this random crap.

Renaming Stadiums Mid Season

So the Cardinals are rolling into Miami tonight and I read earlier today that they were going to be playing at Landshark Stadium. I honestly thought it was the author playing with the Dolphin Stadium name since it is not on the water.

Nope, as it turns out, the name was officially changed. I googled it and there were a couple of stories on it. So I guess it was not a complete mystery to others like it was to me.

So are we at the point now where stadiums will be renamed each year? This deal with Jimmy Buffet will go through the end of the 2009 football season. Buffet is behind the Landshark beer so that just adds to the beer companies holding naming rights to stadiums: Busch Stadium, Coors Field, Miller Park.

Anyone want to get a group together, albeit a large group, to buy naming rights to a stadium for a year? Maybe if we all pony up $10 we can come up with a crazy name that the stadium would have to be called.

Thoughts on the name?

It was about 7:35 this morning when I looked out the window for the first time. Misty said, "has it been raining?". "No", I replied, "Not yet". Well, all you had to do was give me enough time to close the blinds and count to five before it hit...and it hit hard.

A hail storm in June in St. Louis. Pea sized hail bombarding U. City. It was an onslaught like I have not seen before.

This picture is of the ground just off our front porch. That pile is snow...OK...sleet piled up. Here it was June 8th in St. Louis and we had accumulation!

Amazing!

To make it all worse, I had left my sunroof "popped open" last night to air out the car as I had gone running in Forest Park earlier and the car had to bear the grunt of my sweaty self on the drive home. What I did not know was that I had forgotten to fully roll up the back window as well.

This pile of sleet is nothing compared to the number of leaves and sleet pellets that I found in my car as I left for work. Some day I will learn to close my sunroof and windows. Maybe that day will be today...and I will keep doing it from here on out...

Now to air out the car...

It seemed cool to me

I guess I never really thought about it before. I could not only get my towels, cat food, outdoor furniture, but also pick up a bottle of wine all at the same location.

Being in the bi-state region our groceries have been dominated by the 2 local players; Dierbergs and Schnucks. These two have such a stranglehold on the town that we have not seen the likes of a Super Target or Super Walmart around these parts. To go into a Town & Country Target (I am pronouncing it the fancy way now that I bought vino there) and seeing a merlot on the checklane endcap really threw me. So, I had to buy a bottle to along with all of the household items I was stocking up on.

What really gets me is the part that Target is so good at merchandising sections in their store. Yet, they have not done well with this section. It would be any old aisle, just this one had finely aged grapes. I would expect so much more from the fashion leader of mass-merchandising. How about dressing up the shelves a little? Bringing in some faux wood? Maybe to trite? Maybe...but I was very underwhelmed in this section. So much so that I just found a bottle with the red Target clearance sticker (also classy for wine) and got out there.

If target can get their merchandising together, could they be like Sam's Club? I think of them for decent to great bottles of wine. It's all in the merchandising...and I guess some awareness, as it took my until May 22, 2009 until I bought alcohol from Target.

ugh...time to buy a new car

A few years ago I thought it wise (and fun) to buy a Jeep Cherokee. I realized quickly that I am not a big-car guy. I didn't like the way is slurped gas (it was a record summer for gas prices at the time). I didn't like how long it took to cool down the inside of the SUV since the cool air had to flow all the way from the front of the cabin to the back storage area. I didn't like how when I played a sport and put my equipment back in the car that the stank would take over the entire SUV. There were some things I liked. I believe twice I was able to take curbs with no fear. And I think I used it twice to bring home a real Christmas Tree from the Meert Tree Farm. As you can see, the cons far out-weighed the pros.

So, I went smaller, nimbler. I leased an Altima. Back to my4-door sedan life. For the most part I love this car. It gets good gas mileage, it looks somewhat sporty (for a 4-door sedan), it is reliable and it has a concealed trunk. But...I leased it. Now I sit three months away from the end of the lease. The pains of buying (or leasing) are upon me again. First of all, how will Nissan bend me over to extract every last dollar in the end? New tires, fixing scrapes on the bumber, new floormat...they all add up. So, getting out of the car is going to cost me a couple hundred bucks. That is before I drop the first dime on a new(er) car for me to drive. Yes, I could just buy out the lease on the Altima. However, with auto prices dropping faster than gravity the residual value on my contract of the Altima is higher than the value of the car. Not to mention, it has 50,000 miles on it. But it is still reliable.

So, where to go from here? Drop $400+ a month on a nice car loan? Drop $600+ a month on a nicer car loan? Lease again and be ready for this same thing in 3 more years? Try to milk the poor car market for a good deal on a used car and cross my fingers I am not buying someone else's problems?

I need a car. I love the time I have in a car...my car. My music, my stuff where I want it. I am in control in my car. So public transportation is out of the question. Plus, I live / work off the commuter train route.

My heart tells me to go with a car that I would love to drive. Right now, that would be the Mini Cooper S. Put, I am not one who typically goes with his heart. I am more practical than that. Do I go with another Altima? It has been the best car I have ever owned. Maybe Altima 2.0 will be the same? Am I entering my mid-life crisis time? Do I need to get that sports car? A G37x? A Porsche? Too much of a heart/ego/look-at-me associated with those. Let's cross those off the list for now.

So, here I sit. Three months until I need to trade in my lease. I need to start looking at options, I needed to look at options beginning about a month ago. In reality I will not start looking until July. Will dealers continue to wheel-and-deal? Will I be able to get the deal that I want on the car that I want?

It is a necessary evil - buying a car. It is a huge decision for me. I love my car, I love it because it is my sanctuary, it plays my music, it goes my speed, it keeps me physically connected to the people and places that matter to me. So, who will join me in this journey?

What, exactly, should a coach wear?

In watching playoff hockey it struck me again how odd it looks for a head coach to be behind his team wearing a suit and tie. When I think of suits I think of going to an office, meeting clients, closing business deals...hell, even interviewing for a job. But here is a guy who is surrounded by 20 sweaty men in tons of pads and "sweaters" (a.k.a. jerseys). How often does a hockey coach have to have his entire suit dry cleaned? Do hockey coaches have the highest dry clean bill in the world? It has been years since I wore a suit to work, but when I did, I think I had the jacket cleaned maybe twice a year...the pants obviously more often. But I was going to an office, with other people who did not (for the most part) sweat profusely and stink. Yes, NBA coaches do the same thing. That one looks odd too. A bunch of 6'6" men in tank tops surrounding a shorter man in a suit. Just looks odd. Then there is baseball.

A couple things about baseball coaches and managers in uniforms strikes me as odd. First, is the fact that many of these coaches are older and not in top shape any longer. We have all see the older coach who should no longer be in a baseball uniform. Maybe it makes sense for the base coaches to wear uniforms so that the look like the fit in, but then again, isn't there the chance that they look too much like the player. I can't remember a player tagging out a coach in a highlight, but I bet it has happened. The other part that strikes me as odd is the fact that the coaches have numbers. The reason I see that players have numbers is so that you can readily identify them when they are moving quickly on the field. Coaches are not moving quickly. There is plenty of time to make out their name. Some of the coaches even grab the good numbers - forcing the players to use number 67 or some other very high number. I am not saying that baseball managers should wear suits...that would be a little too warm on the field.

Finally, there is football. The only sport where the league allows the coaches to decide on their wardrobe (within reason). Maybe this league is the reason the rest insist on a dress code. Belichick of the Patriots is known for his ripped up hoodie sweatshirts. No fashion statement here. I bet there are people in NE that emulate his look though - but no one would wear a Belichick jersey (if there was one).

So, what should they wear? Maybe there needs to be a shirt/jacket that they can sport. The teams are always looking for "alternate jerseys", this could be marketed as wear what the coaches wear. I don't know what it is, but these suits and these Uniforms with #10 just seem odd.

Third Base

I was going to make my next post about something other than baseball, but today's news that Glaus is shelved until possibly the all-star break changes things.

So, the Cards head north with a centerfielder holding down second base, and a guy 1 year removed from A-ball manning the hot corner. Just that in itself sounds scary. But digging deeper, it just may work. At second we are sacrificing some glove for a solid .300 bat and leadoff hitter. As long as Skip does not botch the double play pivots he should be servicable at 2nd. Not to mention, as of the 7th inning, Skip will move to the OF and a seasoned second baseman will take over.

Now, at third we have a guy who supposedly brings a strong glove. His bat is the question mark. He has always proven he can hit, but the ML is a different scenario. Pitchers are working hitters differently. More breaking balls, more hitting the corners. If Freese strikes out 100 times in the minors, what happens in the majors? His best spot in the lineup may be just ahead of the pitcher. Pitchers are more likely to let the guy before the pitcher get something to hit so that the pitcher could lead off the next inning. There are flaws to this theory as why face a potential good hitter when you can just go after the pitcher. But that speaks more to strike zone knowlede than anything else.

So what do you think? How is this going to play out?

My World Google-style

Changing the subject from Cardinals to online for a moment, I have to talk about what Google is doing to my life. A few years ago, I looked into google with their IPO. I was fortunate to be able to buy in shortly after the IPO at about $119 a share. This was with the investment group, but none-the-less I had my first connection to google. Well, that is not considering all of the searches that I was using google for on the web.

I have become more and more aware of what google is doing, and I have to say, I like how they are improving my life. First, I added Gmail to my list of email accounts. I had used a yahoo account some, but as most of you know, I have an sbcglobal account too. Not even sure how I got that one, but it does a fine job of displaying my spam. Gmail allowed me to bring in my sbc account and link it to my google account - pretty cool! Then, more over, I could read all of my emails as a thread - so every conversation was together. Not bad...I was in.

Next thing I bought into (well, it was free) was the google calendar. I have to say, this has been the best technology that Misty and I have shared. We both upload our calendars and share what we want with eachother. "Do we have plans on Friday night" is not uttered, all we have to do is go to the calendar online and see for ourselves. WOW, has it made planning anything easier. Now I was buying into the franchise. I next took a look at this new voice mail system that google bought where I could get one free phone number and I could set it up to ring any or all of my phones. Cool I thought, but without texting capabilities it was lacking for my purposes. That voice mail system has been completely converted to google voice now and you will each see a new number from me soon. This number will allow me to pick up at home/work/on the road, where ever I want. So, all you need to know is one number...all I have to give out is one number. And best yet, I can screen calls just like the old days with an answering machine. So, if I don't want to hear from people I don't know their number...I can send them straight to voice mail and the voice mail system can text me a transcript of the voicemail.

I could go on, but this is not a commercial for google, they don't need it. It is just sharing how some new technology out there by this one company can help you organize your life. One spot online for me to see my calendar, my emails and now my voice and text messages...oh yeah...and this blog.

That number...314-714-5190. Once I get your number in the system be ready - I can even leave personalized outgoing messages.

softball downtown

so a response from Jimmy is to blame for this installment. Jimmy has sent out this comment to both me and our beaver team "I don't know what to think about the softball field going up at ballpark village, it is either the best idea or the worst idea ever". Let me take a stab at it Jimmy.

If those are my two options, I am going to have to go with best idea ever. It is a cheap way to dress up a vacant lot - and it will look like it is supposed to be there. Many other teams have created softball/little leage/wiffle ball fields where their old stadium once sat. I think of Milwaukee for instance, there is a field on the old location of County Stadium. We are going to have national media coverage of Busch stadium for the first half of the season, and this will dress up the goodyear blimp shots a little.

Would we rather there be a village on this location? Of course! Let's be honest, no one is giving out loans right now so if this village were to be built on the dollars that Missourians have paid in taxes, there would be few residents - both businesses and people. So...we can build a village that will not make money or we can make something somewhat productive out of the land temporarily and let people enjoy it.

Personally I think it would be fun to play a softball game downtown under the shadow of Busch. You bet that I will call to find out rates and times that are available. I can't beleive for a second that the owners of the Cardinals are trying to stick it to St. Louis fans by not building the Village. These are business owners that know that building this would not work now. These are the times that we live in, give them the benefit of the doubt and then step up and take you swings at the location of old Busch's homeplate.

Cards Showing Us Reason For Hope

OK, it is only March 20 - so we still have 10 days or so left of spring training, but what I have seen this spring so far is encouraging. Outside of the shotty defense that comes with sticking 2 outfielders on the infield, this team has really impressive down in Florida. Daily I look at the box scores and see impressive numbers being put up. Yes, this is not the same as watching how a guy is swinging the bat or how a pitcher's breaking ball is breaking, but it is getting results all the same.

You look up and down the line up and there are guys hitting .300+. RBI are spread out over the entire line up and an occasional long ball scattered into the mix. If the birds can keep "seeing it & hitting it" the way they have been, this could be a fun team to watch.

On the other side of the white lines, our pitching has stepped it up too. Can Carp be for real? 14 straight scoreless innings! Again, some against minor leaguers - but these kids are fighting for jobs just like ours are. These are not freebie at bats. Piniero seems to be pitching with a chip on his shoulder and dare I say that Wellemeyer may make it a habit to find the 6th inning this year.

All in all, after 3 weeks of spring training, I am looking forward to the season. My buddy, Gee, just posted some 4th row tickets for sale, I may have to look into these and have a closer look at these guys this summer.

Thanks for reading.

Cards since the World Series

I read a few blogs and a few columnists who follow and report on the Cardinals. Finally, I needed to say my piece (or peace...whichever), but didn't feel like posting a retort on their forums, so you get my ramblings here.

Today is February 25, 2009. Just less than 2 and a half years ago the Cardinals hoisted the World Series trophy above their heads. Since then, a total of two teams have done the same - just two! But, when reading the local views on the Cardinals you would think that it has been since 1982, or 1967 since we last won anything. Everything is so negative. Now, I know that I am extra optimistic in most of my views. So, this may seem like a fantasy world to some that I live in, but it is not that bad. What I see is a team that is spending their money wisely and making difficult decisions along the way. As someone who manages a business budget, I may be closer to the realities of opportunity costs than others, but you can't just spend and spend and spend. Just look at our economy for a dramatic case-in-point. Many just spent on whatever they wanted, now people are upside down in mortgages, maxxed out on credit cards and wondering where this robust economy went...

So, where am I headed with all of this? Let's just take a look at who the Cards have parted ways with since winning it all in October 2006. First, we will skim through the replaceable players. Larry Bigbie, Jose Vizcaino, Hector Luna, Gary Bennett, Ricardo Rincon, Miguel Cairo and Kip Wells. I bet some of you forgot we even had some of these guys on the roster.

Next let's look at the guys who had bigger names, but are still replacable. Randy Flores, Jason Marquis, Sidney Ponson, Ronnie Belliard, So Taguchi, Preston Wilson and Adam Kennedy. Now ask yourself, do you wish we had any of these guys over our current roster players? Most likely your answer is no.

Now let's step up to the guys who are worth debating. Starting with pitchers:

Isringhausen - I think he did enough damage last year

Looper - he'll give you 6 innings a game and allow 3-4 runs each time, serviceable, but replacable, right?

Mulder - I think we gave him enough time to recouperate, it is time for him to give the Cardinals a deal. We paid him well to rehab.

Reyes - he was never going to thrive under the Cardinals

Suppan - a better than average starter who should have stayed a Cardinal. But he has proven that he is not a "top 2" starter in MIL.

Weaver - I think he sold his sole to the devil in 2006, never been the same since the WS.

Eckstein - a fan-favorite indeed, but he was injured most of last year and then traded at the deadline. We let him go at the right time.

Miles - a great super-sub. This guy would have fit well into the Cards plans. Hate to see him in Cubby blue this season.

Rolen - we got Glaus for him, I would say that was a nice upgrade.

Spezio - no hope here, he did it all to himself.

Edmonds - We walked away at the right time. Which of our outfielders would you like to see sit for an aging Edmonds? OK, maybe Duncan...

Encarnacion - unfortunate injury ended his career

Springer - yes, along with Miles, he should be here. A seemingly great fit for the 2009 Redbirds. He was a stud for us the last 2 years and wanted to be here. Plus his leadership could help all of our young relievers.

So, as you can see, we are no worse than we were in 2006. And that year was good enough to win it all. Yes, we did back into the playoffs, but that does not matter. You just play yourself into the playoffs, then see where the cards fall for the 3 series.

I, for one, am anxious for the 2009 team. We have talented young players who have proven big league ability and a new crop of young players who are highly touted by the experts. Let's lay off the ownership for now, if glaring gaps appear, I believe they will find the right available player to fill the gap...and be more than our next Hector Luna.