Random Thoughts That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here

[spleen1015]

I would say $900 is a lot but then my kid played travel softball...

[Ksyrup]

I never added up our yearly softball costs because I didn't want to know.

[tarcone]

It was basketball for me. She decided the Summer before he senior year she didnt want to do it again because she wasnt playing in college (Boo). It was remarkable how much more money we had that Summer. And we decided to go on a family trip to Colorado. Because we could.

[Lathum]

The thing is, if he started in some "rec" fencing program or something then worked his way up to that cost it would be fine. My daughter plays softball, she is 8. She is really good. Ozzie Smith type glove, I shit you not. If she eventually moves on to travel ball etc...ok, but for $900 to walk in the door from day 1 is a lot to swallow given we don't know the commitment level.

[tarcone]

I would say we spent a few hundred even in rec league. Mostly gas, ticket price, food.
I remember when I was Varsity SB coach and had a camo, this 9 year old was playing great defense against the varsity players playing SS.

[Ksyrup]

It's hard to commit to this stuff at such a young age. Kids change so much from 8 to 16 you just don't know where they will be physically, mentally, or skill-wise. If you gave me both of my kids at age 10 and told me to pick one to push hard on sports, I would have picked Mackenzie. Unbelievable natural athlete and one coach told me she was the second best 8U softball player he'd ever seen. Caitlin couldn't run without tripping over herself. And yet she had the college career and Mackenzie, if she's lucky, will be offered a walk-on spot to play basketball at a school that's going to cost me an arm and a leg. More likely, she's done playing both sports after this year and will go to college as a NARP.

Travel ball started to change for the worst about when Caitlin was 16. I'm so glad she finished and we got out of it. The pay to play crap and recruiting tournaments with 300 teams and fields 50 miles from each other that coaches would never go to. Fricking money grab is all it was. It wasn't nearly that bad about 10 years ago.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

It's hard to commit to this stuff at such a young age. Kids change so much from 8 to 16 you just don't know where they will be physically, mentally, or skill-wise. If you gave me both of my kids at age 10 and told me to pick one to push hard on sports, I would have picked Mackenzie. Unbelievable natural athlete and one coach told me she was the second best 8U softball player he'd ever seen. Caitlin couldn't run without tripping over herself. And yet she had the college career and Mackenzie, if she's lucky, will be offered a walk-on spot to play basketball at a school that's going to cost me an arm and a leg. More likely, she's done playing both sports after this year and will go to college as a NARP.

Travel ball started to change for the worst about when Caitlin was 16. I'm so glad she finished and we got out of it. The pay to play crap and recruiting tournaments with 300 teams and fields 50 miles from each other that coaches would never go to. Fricking money grab is all it was. It wasn't nearly that bad about 10 years ago.

When H started playing travel, I was asked to join the board for the local org and be the tournament director. I did that for 3 years. During that time, the guy who ran PGF in Indiana wanted to use my park 2 of his tournaments. He had 2 hour time slots for every game and none of the games ever went over the limit. The tournaments I was running were 75 minutes finish the inning.

I asked him why he used 2 hour time slots when he could have more teams with short time slots. He said it was because the college coaches like seeing full games. He would never do it any other way.

Fast forward 10 years, the same guy is running 10 showcases a year, not affiliated with PGF anymore. His biggest tournament every year is the week of July 4th. This year he charged $1200 per team and had 300 teams, half never played in front of a college coach. Games are 70 minutes.

F-cking insane man.

[Ksyrup]

What's his name? I probably know who he is.

[spleen1015]

Dan Runge

[Ksyrup]

Yep, I knew it. That was the first name that came to my mind.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Well if it's a good fencing class then your kid should be able to score more than $900/month right?

Damn, I was hoping this joke would get at least one reply...

[cartman]

Just got the call that my uncle, the ex-NSA spy and the one we found unresponsive last year, has passed away. I had spent some time with him yesterday and Sunday, so I was aware the end was near.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by cartman

Just got the call that my uncle, the ex-NSA spy and the one we found unresponsive last year, has passed away. I had spent some time with him yesterday and Sunday, so I was aware the end was near.

Sorry buddy

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Damn, I was hoping this joke would get at least one reply...

I didn't get it. Hopefully you have better jokes for your hot coworker

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by cartman

Just got the call that my uncle, the ex-NSA spy and the one we found unresponsive last year, has passed away. I had spent some time with him yesterday and Sunday, so I was aware the end was near.

My condolences on your loss

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by cartman

Just got the call that my uncle, the ex-NSA spy and the one we found unresponsive last year, has passed away. I had spent some time with him yesterday and Sunday, so I was aware the end was near.

Sorry for your loss, cartman. May he Rest In Peace.

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

So I had an odd encounter with a nurse practitioner at Little Clinic this morning.

I'm irked on your behalf as a fellow attorney. You should fire this NP and consider escalating--what gives her the right to provide you lesser treatment based on your occupation?

[albionmoonlight]

I know that it is just a way to get names on mailing lists, but is there anyone who actually thinks that by signing an online petition they will convince Mitch McConnell to get rid of the filibuster? Or convince Biden to resign? Or whatever other thing they are asking?

(I guess maybe very few people do it, but the ones who do are prime marks for political fundraising. So it creates a small but valuable list.)

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by cartman

Just got the call that my uncle, the ex-NSA spy and the one we found unresponsive last year, has passed away. I had spent some time with him yesterday and Sunday, so I was aware the end was near.

Sorry to hear

SI

[I. J. Reilly]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Damn, I was hoping this joke would get at least one reply...

Ha, I was just catching up on this thread and was about to post that it needed more love.

Though you lose internet cool points for doing it yourself

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by cartman

Just got the call that my uncle, the ex-NSA spy and the one we found unresponsive last year, has passed away. I had spent some time with him yesterday and Sunday, so I was aware the end was near.

Sorry to hear this.

[miami_fan]

This morning I was behind a school bus who waited for 15 minutes as kids casually strolled to the bus in ones or twos. This was after picking up a group of kids who were already waiting for the bus.

I have been going back and forth ever since as to what to make of this. Have we evolved to a place where we have come to understand the silliness of leaving kids behind that we can see making their way to the bus even if they are doing so at a snail's pace? O have we gone soft and refuse to teach these kids and parents the consequences of not being on time.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

This morning I was behind a school bus who waited for 15 minutes as kids casually strolled to the bus in ones or twos. This was after picking up a group of kids who were already waiting for the bus.

I have been going back and forth ever since as to what to make of this. Have we evolved to a place where we have come to understand the silliness of leaving kids behind that we can see making their way to the bus even if they are doing so at a snail's pace? O have we gone soft and refuse to teach these kids and parents the consequences of not being on time.

In my neighborhood, you've got maybe 30-60s to get to the bus or it's gone. So I'll go with it's an individual thing.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

This morning I was behind a school bus who waited for 15 minutes as kids casually strolled to the bus in ones or twos. This was after picking up a group of kids who were already waiting for the bus.

I have been going back and forth ever since as to what to make of this. Have we evolved to a place where we have come to understand the silliness of leaving kids behind that we can see making their way to the bus even if they are doing so at a snail's pace? O have we gone soft and refuse to teach these kids and parents the consequences of not being on time.

I have virtually no patience for the great yellow turtles on the road but I'll admit what came to mind here for me was "maybe the bus was really early"

In which case, there's some leeway to be had afaic.

[Ksyrup]

Our busses stop outside each kid's house if there are more than like 2 houses in between.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

In my neighborhood, you've got maybe 30-60s to get to the bus or it's gone. So I'll go with it's an individual thing.

Same here. One family at my daughters stop always run out the door as the bus pulls up. Sometimes he waits a bit extra for them but not much.

[spleen1015]

I lived in a rural area through HS. My bus driver wouldn't even stop if you weren't standing at the side of the road when he drove by. So, you were never late if you wanted to catch the bus.

[molson]

We had to take the city bus to school, and pay for every ride. No school busses for some reason. It was a pretty shitty and poorly funded city government and school system. I just remember it was called the MART bus, for Montachusett Area Regional Transit, even though I don't think the bus ever left the town of Fitchburg, so of course we called it the FART bus instead.

[Ksyrup]

We vacationed in the NH mountains this summer, and one of the workers said she was paid by the school district to transport her own kids to school because they couldn't get a bus to them.

[Barkeep49]

My random thought of the day: I wonder how the fine folks at FOFC are doing.

[Kodos]

We have fine folks? Are they in a subforum?

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

My random thought of the day: I wonder how the fine folks at FOFC are doing.

3.5 years in between posts.

How are YOU doing?

[cuervo72]

So before one of the games over the weekend they were doing a military tribute and said that they had retiree representatives from all six branches of the military.

How many Space Force retirees can there be? I mean, it just started.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Lathum

3.5 years in between posts.

How are YOU doing?

Part of me hopes that Barkeep has the commitment to wait until May 2025 to reply

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

So before one of the games over the weekend they were doing a military tribute and said that they had retiree representatives from all six branches of the military.

How many Space Force retirees can there be? I mean, it just started.

You would be surprised.

Everyone assigned to the US Space Command became members of the U.S. Space Force on December 20, 2019. So if you were retiring on the 19th, you retired from the Air Force. If you were retiring on the 20th and after, you were retiring from the Space Force.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

So before one of the games over the weekend they were doing a military tribute and said that they had retiree representatives from all six branches of the military.

How many Space Force retirees can there be? I mean, it just started.

Maybe they've been shot with some alien aging ray.

[Edward64]

I like travel so I thought this would be a nice article to read. Then I saw Atlanta under "culture". Yeah no, not in my top 5.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/n...022/index.html

National Geographic's 'Best of the World 2022' list:

CULTURE

Jingmai Mountain, Yunnan, China
Tin Pan Alley, London
Hokkaido, Japan
Procida, Italy
Atlanta, Georgia

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I like travel so I thought this would be a nice article to read. Then I saw Atlanta under "culture". Yeah no, not in my top 5.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/n...022/index.html

Atlanta is definitely in my Top 5. It's a lot of what keeps me here. And I feel that it's slowly but surely being discovered (well, by white folks maybe, black folks already knew it as the Black Mecca). The show Atlanta definitely helped, I think. Civil and Human Rights Museum probably has as well.

[Edward64]

Nice that some people have enough disposable income to spend on an unsigned first printing of the constitution. It'll definitely appreciate in value over time so compared to the craziness around NFTs, pretty good value.

Capitalism at it's finest. Work hard, make opportunities, get some lucky breaks, step on other people on your way up etc. and get to spend $43M on a piece of paper.

A rare first printing of the U.S. Constitution sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $43.2 million, a record price for a document or book sold at auction.
:
The document that Griffin purchased at Thursday night's auction was one of 13 known copies of the first printing of the Constitution and one of only two in private hands.

[sterlingice]

It's not just anyone, it's Ken Griffin, who is basically viewed as the biggest bad guy in the Gamestop saga

SI

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

My random thought of the day: I wonder how the fine folks at FOFC are doing.

nice to see you swing by

[JonInMiddleGA]

Fun fact: Of the 348 programs classified as "Division 1" by the NCAA, there are 6 who would not be in the the largest classification of the GHSA (unless you applied out-of-zone multipliers)

The 6?

Presbyterian College
St. Francis (PA)
VMI
Wofford
Davidson
St. Bonaventure

*for those who don't venture into threads where it's been discussed, the GHSA is the governing body for high school athletics in Georgia

[Edward64]

They know who the guy is so he'll show up soon. A regular person who frakked up would make excuses about forgetting etc. Weird story.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/21/us/at...day/index.html

Saturday's incident unfolded around 1:30 p.m., when the passenger's property was flagged for a "secondary search" after the X-ray screening at the security checkpoint detected a "prohibited item," Robert Spinden, the TSA's federal security director for Georgia, said during a news conference.

"During that secondary search, the passenger lunged into his property, grabbing a firearm that was located inside, which ultimately discharged," Spinden said. "The passenger then fled the security checkpoint through an adjacent exit lane with his firearm."

How can there be so many people forgetting about their firearms. Those should definitely be permanently confiscated. To be so careless with their firearms means they are that careless at home and with other people also.

In the first 10 months of this year, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) intercepted 4,650 firearms -- a majority of which were loaded -- at security checkpoints, surpassing the full-year record of 4,432 set in 2019.

At the Atlanta airport, 450 firearms have been detected at checkpoints so far this year, the TSA said Saturday.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Edward64

How can there be so many people forgetting about their firearms. Those should definitely be permanently confiscated. To be so careless with their firearms means they are that careless at home and with other people also.

Is it surprising?

Two groups come to mind when I think of who might do this. People who carry firearms around the same way they carry their drivers license or cell phone. I mean people who shape their lives around whether they can or cannot take their firearms with them. On the rare occasion they do go somewhere that does not allow them to bring their firearm in, it just goes in a random bag. All of a sudden they grab that bag to take to the airport and oops.

The other group are people who buys firearms as a fad. I am talking about the person who buys a gun for whatever reason, takes one shooting class or something like that and then moves on to the next thing. That gun ends up in some bag and then oops. How did that get in there?

Those are people I would say are careless. The more important question is whether or not the cases you cited were people who were careless or could care less about the prohibition of bringing a loaded gun on a plane.

[miami_fan]

Upon further research, it makes even more sense and leans to what I was saying about the first group. No different than a bottle of water.

Ga. governor signs 'guns everywhere' into law

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

No different than a bottle of water.

It's an interesting comparison that you're making. My immediate reaction is somewhat abhorrent, but upon reflection the why makes itself a bit clearer.

Our bodies are made up of water. It's an essential element for our survival. Of course it's something that we carry around from time to time, and we see it as necessary for our lives, and something that we spend time searching out and looking for when we need it.

For guns....

If guns have the same feeling to someone as that. If guns are an essential element for our survival, and if they are things we carry around from time to time, and felt as if they are necessary for our lives. If they are things that we spend time searching out when we need it.

If guns are on the same level and importance to humans as water.....

Yeah...I have issue with that. And I have issue with the entire culture that surrounds that. I have issue with the entire concept. If guns are a thing that you need to live. I don't want to live in your culture. I really don't.

And if the answer is, then don't. It's too simplistic as well. Because I can't kill you with my water. I can't kill anyone with the water in my bottle. But someone can surely kill with the bullets in their gun. Which presents a power imbalance in society. So then, am I just supposed to trust that the people with the guns will never, ever, under any circumstance, make an error, or use their guns to enforce a set of beliefs that they have to maintain their culture, and will, at all times, be completely supporting of mine? Which is what would be necessary in this case.

I don't buy it. That fails the social contract. I cannot in good faith feel comfortable about that arrangement. Therefore, either I leave and abandon my culture, or accept this other culture that I disagree with, or I will do what I need to do, and that is to remove the imbalance of power, and once that is done, we can both go on our merry way.

Sorry, I really don't want to threadjack random with a long post. I just had some stream of consciousness stuff to sort out and put it down. I'm not even looking for a discussion. Just thoughts.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I enjoy Pop Rocks more now than I did 30 years ago, and I enjoyed them a lot 30 years ago.

[Lathum]

Do your kids eat meatball by putting them on the prongs of the fork then consuming them like a cake pop or are my kids the only ones?

[21C]

I sent out a request by email to my whole staff if anyone had a VHS VCR. I'm sure there were quite a few who had no idea what I was talking about.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by 21C

I sent out a request by email to my whole staff if anyone had a VHS VCR. I'm sure there were quite a few who had no idea what I was talking about.

I have an old "Selectric" that I bought way back when. It's broken now and will take about $300 to fix (I think). Just sitting on my dusty Hon file cabinet. It was great before dot matrix & laser printers became ubiquitous.