Nerdy Dork

So, who was the best pitcher of all time and why? Okay, this may not be a fair question, but I’d really like to see some opinions on this one. From what I know and what I’ve seen & heard, this would be my top ten list:

1. Nolan Ryan - Simply the best. Threw 7 no hitters in his career. His last no hitter was at the age of 44! Most strikeouts ever. Fastest pitch ever…
2. Cy Young - Most wins - 511 wins in 815 starts. Hey, there’s an award given out yearly named after him.
3. Roger Clemens - Stopped of in Houston on his way to cooperstown to post the lowest ERA in the 2005 season at the age of 43.
4. John Smoltz - Simply amazing. He’s been there for all 14 consecutive Atlanta Braves division titles. Former Cy Young award winner. Went from starter to un-hittable closer, back to dominant starter again. Most post-season wins of any pitcher (could be broken by Pettite this season)
5. Greg Maddux - Probably the nerdiest pitcher on the mount. He may not be overpowering, but he knows exactly where he wants to thow each pitch, and that is where he throws it.
6. Randy Johnson
7. Bob Gibson
8. Sandy Koufax
9. Warren Spahn
10. Lefty Grove

I’m furious right now! And as those who know me can attest, it takes a lot to upset me.

Figuring blogging might be a good stress reliever, I’ve come to rant.

Here is the background. Shortly after my wife had our son in March, she somehow strained her neck to the point she couldn’t move. We went to the ER hoping there was something they could do. She was given some muscle relaxers and pain relievers. Neither helped much. She saw her OBGYN the next week. He sent her to a Physical Therapist.

Now, my wife used to work for a world class orthopedic hospital that she much would have rather gone to. But since we have Blue Cross & Blue Shield (BCBS) she knew she couldn’t go there and have our insurance cover it. I don’t know for sure, but my guess is that if she would have gone there, they would have helped her out for free. They’ve helped me out for free in the past just because I was her husband.
Continue reading “Blue Cross & Blue Shield”

My wife and I finally got to go on a date (without the kids) last weekend. It had been about 3 months. We were going to go see The Brothers Grimm, but Just Like Heaven had just opened and I was curious to see Jon Heder’s (a.k.a. Napoleon Dynamite) next performance.

I was very pleasantly surprised. From the preview, I had no idea what the movie was about. I thought some guy was going to fall in love with a ghost or something. But there was so much more to it than that. What a great story. I must really be into chick flicks or something because this was one the most enjoyable movies I have watched all year.

I laughed throughout the movie and my wife cried. Sure, my eyes watered a bit, but I never cried. My wife even cried after the movie while telling her sister on the phone she should go see it. This will surely be in my DVD collection once it is released.

Talk Like A Pirate Day - September 19

Arg!! It’s finally here! I’rve been waiten all year fer dis date to come!

We saw Robert Redford on Saturday… We drove up to Sundance to take some family photos. In the middle of all the commotion (we have two young kids), Robert Redford walked by. My wife was the only one that noticed and didn’t say anything until he was out of ear shot. My sister-in-law exitedly snapped this photo as he was walking away… (he’s the one in the red had in case you couldn’t tell.)

Sort of looks like a painful delivery!

I work 8:00 - 5:00 in a cubicle. If you’re a programmer you may be like me. It is hard to get up sometimes when you’re in the middle of programming. In the past I would go all day without getting up to eat or drink. I was totally screwing up my metabolism according to Tom Venuto. I’ve since tried to be more conscious of eating 6 meals a day and drinking more water. Over the last 2 months I’ve lost about 15 lbs of fat. I’ve also been exercising, but I think my diet has gotten my metabolism back into shape.

The hardest part is packing my meals each morning. I often forget, or simply don’t make the time in the morning. On these days is where my Oatmeal comes in handy. I have a big box of spoons, a box of Splenda packets, and some unflavored packets of instant oatmeal (Wal-Mart brand). I put two packets or oatmeal in a foam cup and add a packet of two of splenda. My company has hot water & coffee supplies on hand. Sometimes I like to add a coffee creamer. If I’m feeling like a treat, I’ll throw in some hot chocolate mix. The taste kind of reminds me of the no-bake cookies I used to make as a kid.

When I think of history and all the things invented over time, I think the greatest invention would have to be the thermous jug no, wait… the straight line. It just baffles me how this ever go invented. Take the ruler for example. Look how perfectly straight it is. How would you reproduced something like that before anything else was invented? I don’t know if anything in nature that is that perfectly straight! Baffling…