Concrete Diaper Farm

Quick Hits: Sudanese President Pardons British Teacher. If Bush can do it, why not Chavez? Peter Garrett Named Australian Environment Minister.

2007-12-03T20:51:00.001-05:00

I've got a little extra time on my hands this evening, so I think I'll follow my last post up with an update from a recent post, plus two more tidbits to tide you over:

The case of the British teacher who had the insensitivity to let her students name a teddy bear Muhammad, and who spent over a week in jail while religiously insane nitwits concocted crazier and crazier ways to execute her for that transgression, has been pardoned by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

I linked a quick hit to this case a couple of posts ago, and I am glad to see that this seems to be turning out well for Ms. Gibbons.

In other news, if, as the article I am about to link claims, that Venezuela's vote against President Hugo Chavez's proposed additional reforms really is "a message from the Venezuelan people that they do not want any further erosion in their democracy and their democratic institutions," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said after the referendum.", then can we have a similar election here in the United States NOW to send Preznit Flight Suit Fantasy the same message?

And lastly, Peter Garrett, former singer for Australian rockers Midnight Oil, was named the Australian Environment Minister last week by new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd (Nice job bouncing former PM John Howard! See what being a Bush Poodle gets you John?). The job is a shared one, and there are hints that Mr. Garrett is just a tad compromised as he begins this new job, but I'll give his record the benefit of the doubt (At least there were no Nader-like smears such as the "A vote for Gore is a vote for Bush" that resonated with the stupid in Campaign 2000).

Mr. Garrett and I have a few things in common. He and I are both six-foot-six, slender and we both shave our heads. This was a point of mild distraction during my 2005 trip to Australia, where I spent most of my time between Sydney and North Ryde (about a 30 minute drive west of Sydney). As I got out and about the Circular Quay area (where the Sydney Opera House stands), I got more than a handful of autograph requests, and an equal number of disappointed autograph seekers when I revealed that, not only was I not Mr. Garrett, but an American as well. Still, the lads and sheilas in the support centre thought it all good fun and whatnot. Anyway, do yourself a favor and click the link. The article contains a Reader's Digest version of Mr. Garrett's accomplishments in politics. Congratulations Mr. Garrett. Well done!

Veterans Committee Elects Five (Two, Possibly Three Actually Deserved It...).

2007-12-03T19:29:00.000-05:00

In a strange turn of events, the latest version of major league baseball's Veterans Committee elected five people into the Hall of Fame today. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

At last, Bowie Kuhn beat Marvin Miller at something. The late commissioner was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday while Miller was rejected by a revamped Veterans Committee stacked with those he regularly opposed -- and beat -- in arbitration and bargaining sessions that altered the history of the game.

"Bowie was a close friend and a respected leader who served as commissioner during an important period in history, amid a time of change," commissioner Bud Selig said, adding: "I was surprised that Marvin Miller did not receive the required support given his important impact on the game."

So am I. Miller had a much greater positive impact on the game than Kuhn did, a fact underscored by the realization that, as Commissioner, Kuhn went out of his way to do things that led directly to the skyrocketing salaries we now take for granted. Part of this occurred in the way he dealt with former A's owner Charles Finley, a man Kuhn hated (and I'm sure the feeling was mutual on Finley's part).

Former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, managers Dick Williams and Billy Southworth and ex-Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss also were elected.

Dreyfuss helped bring peace between the American and National Leagues by arranging the first World Series in 1903. O'Malley united the East and West Coasts under baseball's flag when he moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. Southworth and Williams won World Series titles.

Kuhn presided over the introduction of night games to the World Series and baseball's first, tentative steps into national marketing. But the game also changed in ways he fiercely resisted: Free agency, salary arbitration and dozens of other benefits that Miller won for the players as the head of their union.

This article makes it seem as if he was some force for good during the era that these things were introduced. He was not. Mr. Kuhn let the 1972 season start with a strike that wiped out a weeks worth of games. Oh, and let's not forget the 1981 strike and the silly split-season format he and his elves cooked up that made the 1981 post-season a joke.

"I think it was rigged, but not to keep me out. It was rigged to bring some of these (people) in. It's not a pretty picture," Miller said by telephone after being informed of the results by The Associated Press. "It's demeaning, the whole thing, and I don't mean just to me. It's demeaning to the Hall and demeaning to the people in it."

The veterans panel has been changed twice since 2001, when charges of cronyism followed the election of glove man Bill Mazeroski. The original 15-member panel was expanded to include every living member of the Hall, but that group failed to elect anyone in three tries.

It was replaced by three separate panels -- one for players, one for managers and umpires and one for executives and pioneers, leaving Miller's fortunes largely in the hands of the same group he once fought in collective bargaining and the courts.

He did not come close, receiving only three of 12 possible votes. Under the previous system, Miller received 63 percent of the votes earlier this year while Kuhn got 17 percent -- a reversal noticed by Miller's successor at the players' union, Donald Fehr.

"Over the entire scope of the last half of the 20th century, no other individual had as much influence on the game of baseball as did Marvin Miller," Fehr said. "Because he was the players' voice, and represented them vigorously, Marvin Miller was the owners' adversary. This time around, a majority of those voting were owner representatives, and results of the vote demonstrate the effect that had. "The failure to elect Marvin Miller is an unfortunate and regrettable decision. Without question, the Hall of Fame is poorer for it."

Well said, Mr. Fehr. Too bad you couldn't be as articulate when addressing the concepts that drove the last two Basic Agreement negotiations.

Kuhn, who died in March at the age of 80, is the first commissioner elected since Happy Chandler in 1982.

Attendance tripled during Kuhn's tenure, from 1969-84. But during essentially the same era, Miller was leading the players to more lucrative and revolutionary gains, taking the average salary from $19,000 to $241,000 and pitching a virtual shutout against the owners when he went head-to-head.

Please, let's not pretend that attendance tripled because of Kuhn. The major leagues expanded twice while he was in the big seat, going from 20 teams in 1968 to 24 in 1969, then to 26 teams in 1977.

Selig, a former owner and longtime bargaining foe of the players, has been one of the most vocal supporters of Miller's candidacy. Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, who was on the panel that considered Miller, said he was limited because he could only vote for four of the 10 candidates.

"Everybody on that list deserved to be there," Killebrew said, declining to reveal whether he voted for Miller. "He certainly had a tremendous impact."

Hall chairman Jane Forbes Clark defended the process. "There was no concerted effort other than to have very qualified committee members evaluate very qualified candidates," she said. "There was a very open and frank discussion about each of the candidates. Everyone on that committee knows Marvin and respects what he did for the game. And that showed in the discussions."

So just what IS the process? Does anyone know?

The five elected this time will be inducted into the Hall on July 27 in Cooperstown, N.Y.. They will be joined by any players elected in traditional voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America to be announced Jan. 8.

The Veterans Committee did not consider players this time, but will meet late next year to vote on candidates for enshrinement in 2009.

Dreyfuss, who received 10 of 12 votes, helped end the longtime feud between the American and National Leagues when he and Boston owner Henry Killilea agreed to meet on the diamond after the 1903 season. The World Series was born.

Southworth, who was chosen on 13 of 16 ballots from the panel that considered umpires and managers, won four pennants and two World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves.

"Billy Southworth oversaw one of the greatest eras in Cardinals history and it is gratifying to see his career accomplishments recognized by the Veterans Committee," Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement.

Southworth had a 1044-704 record for the Cardinals (1929, 1940-45) and Braves (1946-1951). That's a .597 winning percentage. He won three NL pennants in a row with the Cardinals in 1942, 1943 and 1944, and won the World Series in '42 and '44. His fourth pennant came with the 1948 Boston Braves. It's a wonder Southworth is not already in the Hall of Fame.

Williams was a spare part on O'Malley's Dodgers in Brooklyn but earned his way into the Hall as a manager, making his debut by taking the "Impossible Dream" Red Sox to the 1967 AL pennant and winning the '72 and '73 World Series with the Oakland Athletics. Williams, the only one of the most recent inductees who is alive, said he and his wife, Norma, broke down and cried when they got the call on Monday morning. "It just blew our mind," he said. "Under the (voting) regime they had previously ... I didn't think anybody would get there."

Again, a mystery as to why Williams is finally getting this honor now instead of earlier.

O'Malley moved the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles after the 1957 season -- a baseball version of the California Gold Rush that helped open the West to the national pastime.

This is has to be a joke. Does anyone really think that baseball did not exist in the west before 1957, particularly in California? Remember the old Pacific Coast League before it became a slave to the majors (a move hastened by the Dodgers AND Giants both leaving New York for California)? The San Francisco Seals and Los Angeles Angels are two of the greatest franchises to play in the PCL. Not enough? How about the San Diego Padres, Sacramento Solons, Vernon Tigers, Hollywood Stars, Mission Reds and Oakland Oaks? It looks to me like there was plenty of baseball action going on in California (Not to mention in other West Coast locales such as Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, Salt Lake City and Vancouver).

Among the players who came through the PCL were Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, all three DiMaggio brothers, Earl Averill, Paul Waner, Andy Pafko, Gene Woodling and a lot of other star quality players. Casey Stengel managed the Oaks just before the Yankees brought him back to manage in the bigs. Other PCL stars were guys like Jigger Statz, Smead Jolley, Ike Boone, Buzz Arlett, Ox Eckhardt, Frank Schellenback, Tony Frietas and Sam Gibson. Were they just taking up space until you brought your "real" players into town? I think not.

Anyway, there you have it. Check out the full story link and see what you think.

Rambling Through the Internets

2007-11-30T19:55:00.000-05:00

It looks like this last week of November has been particularly newsworthy. Let's take a walk through the news:

It seems that one of Hillary Clinton's Republican admirers tried to pay her a visit today, with bad results for him, and fortunately, no harm to anyone else. As this mess was taking place, some of my more right-wing colleagues took extreme pleasure in this nut's act, and less pleasure in the fact that Mrs. Clinton was not present to be blown to smithereens. To those colleagues with this mind set, I humbly say: "Fuck You". If anyone had tried to pull a stunt like this on Preznit Flight Suit Fantasy, you bastards would have been screaming for either Dick Cheney or Bobby Knight to shoot the man in the face, so you can eat me with your overly dramatic chest thumping.

And speaking of Preznit 27% Approval Rating, he is now pretending to give a shit about combating AIDS. Wow, and this on the heels of his triumphant uniting of the Arabs and Israelis...

And speaking of unity, check out this huge slice of religious insanity happening in Sudan. I invoke Voltaire's talisman with the caveat that these "People of God" would look a lot more ridiculous if they weren't so fucking deadly serious...

Comet Holmes is still prominent in the, and is now about one degree west of Mirfak, the brightest star in Perseus. The comet is still a slightly oval fuzz ball that looks like a large, loose globular cluster through the binoculars. Get outside and catch a glimpse!

Famed stuntman Evil Knievel has passed away after a long illness. He was 69 years old. I'm glad he was able to patch up his differences with Kanye West.

This priceless gem comes to us as a result of the latest GOP debate disaster this past Wednesday in which the presumed front-runners, Rudy Guiliani (R - 9-11 Forever) and Mitt Romney (R - Loves Waterboarding) verbally bitch-slapped each other about who was slightly less crazy than the other. When Mike Huckabee (R - Denies Evolution) and John McCain (R - Am I Still Relevant?) come out looking like elder statesmen, you know the train has long since left the station. And by the way, Ronald Reagan was a joke as President (11th Commandment my duodenum).

Oh, and will someone please tell Joe Biden (D - Cowardly Bush Enabler) that not only does nobody want him to be the next Secretary of State, but that nobody wants him around PERIOD.

And the New England Patriots continue with their Fuck You NFL tour as they travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens this coming Monday night. Just out of curiosity, do you think that if Bill Belichick was coaching the Celtics that he would have let Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce sit out the fourth period as Doc Rivers did in the C's 104-59 pasting of the Knicks last night? My bet is that he would have played them at least half of the period, and the final would have been about 143-41. Anyway, maybe, as the article muses, the loss may be the final straw for Isiah Thomas (PLEASE!!!).

That should about do it for this post. Remember, only 122 days left until Major League Baseball's Opening Day!

AL and NL MVPs. Red Sox re-sign Lowell. Happy Birthday JD Drew.

2007-11-20T17:48:00.000-05:00

The MVP awards were handed out, and yesterday New York's Alex Rodriguez won the AL trophy, while Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins won the NL hardware.

Both players had terrific seasons, and there was little doubt that A-Rod would win his third MVP award. He took home all but two of the first place votes to win easily (Detroit's Magglio Ordonez got the other two first place votes). Rodriguez, who hit 54 homers and had 156 RBI, became the first American Leaguer to hit 50 or more homers and drive in 150 or more runs since Boston's Jimmie Foxx hit 50 HR and had 175 RBI in 1938. Sammy Sosa, playing for the Cubs in 2001, was the last NL player to do so, wth 64 HR and 160 RBI.

Rollins became the fourth player to have 20 HR, 20 doubles, 20 triples and 20 steals in a season (Detroit center fielder Curtis Granderson became the third player to turn the trick a couple of weeks earlier than Rollins). He led the NL in runs scored with 139 and won the NL Gold Glove at shortstop (though that award really should have gone to Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki, along with NL Rookie of the Year). Rollins edged out Colorado left fielder, and NL RBI leader, Matt Holliday by 17 total points to win the award. Milwaukee first baseman Prince Fielder finished third in the voting. Congratulations guys.

In other baseball news the WORLD SERIES CHAMPION BOSTON RED SOX have reached an agreement to keep third baseman, and WORLD SERIES MVP, Mike Lowell in town for at least another three years. Lowell has definitely capitalized on his career year and post-season performance. It is not likely he will duplicate 2007's numbers next year, but it is also unlikely that Manny Ramirez will have another off year, and JD Drew (happy 32nd birthday) can't possibly be as bad in 2008 as he was in 2007 (Okay, so he picked it up in September and October), so the overall offensive impact should remain the same as long as all three remain healthy (A big if with all three players in their early to mid-30s). Anyway, Lowell is also a solid clubhouse presence, and the fact he is staying put will keep a happy team focused and ready to continue winning. Only 132 days until Opening Day!

AL and NL Cy Young Award Winners. AL and NL Managers of the Year. Barry Bonds Indicted!

2007-11-15T18:12:00.000-05:00

More post-season awards were handed out during the last couple of days...

San Diego's Jake Peavy won the NL Cy Young Award with all 32 first-place votes, easily beating last year's winner, second place finisher Brandon Webb of Arizona. Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia won the AL Cy Young Award over second place finisher Josh Beckett of the WORLD SERIES CHAMPION BOSTON RED SOX! It is hard to be too upset at this result. Sabathia posted eerily similar numbers to Beckett's. Both pitchers had roughly 5-1 strikeout to walk ratios. Beckett had 20 wins, Sabathia 19. Beckett's ERA was 3.27, Sabathia's was 3.21.

I think the thing that swung the voters was the four extra starts and 40 extra innings Sabathia logged. Still, one could argue that someone with 20 wins in 30 starts is a better pitcher than one who wins 19 in 34 starts, especially when Beckett had 17 starts against teams with .500 records or better and went 11-4 in those games. Sabathia went 7-3 in just 12 starts against teams that went .500 or better, but the results are what they are. Well done C.C. and Josh.

The AL and NL Manager of the Year awards went to Cleveland's Eric Wedge and Arizona's Bob Melvin, two former catchers who guided their clubs to division titles. Wedge rode an impressive offense, led by Grady Sizemore, Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner, and an awesome one-two punch in starting pitching with Sabathia and last season's failed closer Fausto Carmona, who became a monster this season, to the AL Central crown. Melvin somehow brought his team to the NL West title despite having seen his club get outscored by a total of 20 runs.

And for those who hate Barry Bonds, news of his indictment today for perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to a grand jury will no doubt warm your little asterisk-laden hearts. But seriously, what do we know know that we didn't know before? Here's a quote from the article in the link:

"During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing substances for Bonds and other athletes," the indictment read.

Really? Then why weren't these results made public, and why wasn't Bonds suspended? More from the article:

The indictment culminated a four-year investigation into steroid use by elite athletes.

John Burris, one of Bonds' attorneys, did not know of the indictment before being alerted by The Associated Press. He said he would immediately call Bonds to notify him. "I'm surprised," Burris said, "but there's been an effort to get Barry for a long time. I'm curious what evidence they have now they didn't have before."

Color me curious too. If this evidence has been around for four years, why the hell hasn't anyone acted on it? Is this a big bluff by MLB and George Mitchell? Will Barry cop a plea, if guilty, and roll over on some of his fellow players? But wait, here is something else from the article that bothers me:

Speculation of his impending indictment had mounted for more than a year. In July 2006, the U.S. attorney in San Francisco took the unusual step of going public with the investigation. After the previous panel's 18-month term expired, he announced he was handing it off to a new grand jury.

It seems to me that if this was truly an open-and-shut case, that this indictment should have been handed down while the first grand jury was in session. Maybe this is legitimate, maybe not, but it still smells a bit fishy. Hey, if Barry was on the juice, he deserves our scorn and ridicule (though what we do with his records is beyond me at this time).

At any rate, this development, along with the usual post-season moves, plus A-Rod's impending mega-deal, will make this a more "interesting" off season than usual, primarily because Barry wants to play ball next season, and, as a free agent, would probably sign with an AL club so he could DH. That scenario is obviously in jeopardy now.

Post-Season Baseball Awards: Youkilis wins Gold Glove. Pedroia wins Rookie of the Year. Beckett does NOT win Cy Young?!?

2007-11-13T19:48:00.000-05:00

Well, now that the World Series has ended, Major League Baseball has begun to hand out its post-season awards. First up were the AL and NL Gold Glove winners: AL first: WORLD SERIES CHAMPION Boston's Kevin Youkilis, first base. Detroit's Placido Polanco, second base. Anaheim's Orlando Cabrera, shortstop. Seattle's Adrian Beltre, third base. The outfield is comprised of Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki, Minnesota's Torii Hunter and Cleveland's Grady Sizemore. Minnesota's Johan Santana won for pitchers and Detroit's Ivan Rodriguez won at catcher. For Rodriguez, it was his 13th Gold Glove, a record for catchers. Ichiro and Hunter each won their seventh Gold Gloves. Cabrera won his second. The others were all first time winners.

Youkilis and Polanco did not make a single error at the positions at which they won their awards, though Youkilis did make three errors at third base in part-time duty to rest Mike Lowell, who, for the second year in a row, got screwed. Beltre made a league-high 18 errors, which isn't so bad, but he turned only 24 double plays. Lowell made 15 errors and led the AL with 34 double plays. Rodriguez is still a solid catcher, but Seattle's Kenji Johjima deserved this award. He was fourth in putouts, third in assists and led the AL in double plays with 15, all while having made just two errors.

I still have a bone to pick with the outfield selection. Why is it almost always three center fielders? Why can't they award a Gold Glove at each outfield position? Christ, pitchers get a Gold Glove, and do they really make more plays than an everyday left or right fielder? Of course they don't. I'd let Ichiro keep his award and give Hunter's and Sizemore's to Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford (LF) and Kansas City's Mark Teahen (RF). Crawford led AL left fielders in putouts and Teahen led AL right fielders in putouts and led all AL outfielders in double plays with seven (tied with Tampa Bay's Delmon Young), and was second in assists with 17 (Minnesota's Mike Cuddyer led the AL with 19). Another good choice would have been Baltimore's Nick Markakis who was second in putouts among AL right fielders, had 13 assists and just two errors.

In the NL we have Chicago's Derrek Lee, first base. Arizona's Orlando Hudson, second base. Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins, shortstop. New York's David Wright, third base. The outfield is crowded with four winners: Atlanta's Andruw Jones, New York's Carlos Beltran, Philadelphia's Aaron Rowand and Atlanta's Jeff Francoeur were the winners. Greg Maddux won his 17th Gold Glove at pitcher, a record at any position, and Los Angeles' Russell Martin won at catcher. Andruw won for the tenth time. Lee and Hudson are now third time winners. Beltran won his second, and everyone else was a first time winner.

Analysis: Lee is a good first baseman, but Colorado's Todd Helton was better. He made just two errors while having the second most putouts and double plays in the NL. Hudson is a good second baseman who reminds me of Frank White who played with Kansas City from the mid-70s through the 80s, but Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips should have gotten the nod. He led the NL in putouts, assists and was second in double plays, and made just eight errors. At shortstop, Jimmy Rollins should give his award to Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki. Troy led all major league shortstops in putouts, assists, double plays AND fielding percentage. And David Wright clearly has an advantage playing for the Mets, as he did not deserve his Gold Glove either. I'd flip a coin between Washington's Ryan Zimmerman who led all ML third basemen in putouts, assists AND double plays. Yes, he did have the second highest number of errors, two more than Wright, but actually had a higher fielding percentage than Mr. Met, which should tell you something about Wright's range. Or, if you want low error totals you could go with San Francisco's Pedro Feliz who made just eleven errors, but turned 28 double plays.

The NL outfield is less of a mess than the AL's, but there is still no left fielder. I'd give it to Arizona's Eric Byrnes. He was in the middle of the pack in putouts, but he also played well in limted time in center and right field. I'll let Andruw keep his award, though it is a tough call because Beltran is terrific (and so is Rowand, but you should only have one center fielder). Francoeur was a good choice as a right fielder. He was second to Washington's Austin Kearns (who would have also been a good choice) in putouts, and he tied with Chicago's left fielder Alfonso Soriano for the NL lead in assists with 19.

Maddux will win this award as long as he wears a baseball uniform. Martin led all NL catchers in putouts, assists, double plays and errors. He was only one of five catchers who played in 120 games or more (he led in that department too with 145), and the others don't have anything special to sell, so Martin, well done!

After the Gold Gloves were handed out, both leagues revealed their respective Rookies of the Year in the persons of WORLD SERIES CHAMPION Boston's Dustin Pedroia and Milwaukee's Ryan Braun. Pedroia, who overcame a hideous first five weeks of the season that saw his batting average go as low as .172, led AL rookies with a .317 batting average and 39 doubles, and won easily with 24 first-place votes. Braun won by a mere two points over Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki. Braun, who only played in 113 games, hit 34 homers, batted .324 and slugged .634, though he did commit a league high 26 errors at third base. Tulowitzki's credentials are already outlined above.

In other baseball news, Boston's Josh Beckett did NOT win the AL Cy Young award. That honor went to Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia. I'll try to analyze this later in the week. By then the NL Cy Young winner should be announced. I'm thinking it will be San Diego's Jake Peavy...

Bright Comet Appears in Perseus

2007-11-05T19:20:00.000-05:00

A bright comet has appeared in Perseus, and the reason for its brightness is the fact that it seems to be exploding as it gets closer to the Sun. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - A comet that unexpectedly brightened in the last couple of weeks and is now visible to the naked eye is attracting professional and amateur interest.

Paul Lewis, director of astronomy outreach at the University of Tennessee, is drawing students to the roof of the Nielsen Physics Building for special viewings of Comet 17P/Holmes.

The comet is exploding and its coma, a cloud of gas and dust illuminated by the sun, has grown to be bigger than the planet Jupiter. The comet lacks the tail usually associated with such celestial bodies but can be seen in the northern sky, in the constellation Perseus, as a fuzzy spot of light about as bright as the stars in the Big Dipper.

Until Oct. 23, the comet had been visible to modern astronomers only with a telescope, but that night it suddenly erupted and expanded. A similar burst in 1892 led to the comet's discovery by Edwin Holmes.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event to witness, along the lines of when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter back in 1994," Lewis said.

I witnessed that event, and that description is accurate. Jupiter had several dark spots in its extensive cloud decks that were easily visible in my 8-inch f/5 Dobsonian reflector at 67X.

Scientists speculate the comet has exploded because there are sinkholes in its nucleus, giving it a honeycomb-like structure. The collapse exposed comet ice to the sun, which transformed the ice into gas.

Experts aren't sure how long the comet's show will last but estimate it could be weeks if not months. Using a telescope or binoculars help bring the comet's details into view, they said.

I just came inside after having viewed this object for about an hour. The geniuses who wrote this report forgot to mention the exact location within Perseus to look. Maybe they figured that those who wanted to know would simply find a way. Well, here's my helping hand: The comet looks like a fuzzy spot about two degrees east of Mirfak, the brightest star in Perseus (at second magnitude, it is about as bright as Polaris, the North Star). It glows at about third magnitude, and to the unaided eye looks a lot like the famous globular cluster, Omega Centauri (oh how I miss those deep southern skies!). Through my 10x50 binoculars, the fuzziness takes on some granular detail.

Right now the comet is at about 40 degrees above the northeast horizon, and, since Mirfak is circumpolar from where I sit typing this, that means that this comet will be visible all night long. It will appear to reach the zenith, as a result of Earth's rotation, at about midnight. Needless to say that this baby bears watching, and you can bet that I'll be out there as long as the nights are clear.

Full Story

Red Sox Win World Series (No not a repeat of the 2004 headline)! Nightwish and H.I.M Concert Experiences.

2007-10-29T17:46:00.000-05:00

Well, the Red Sox won the World Series...AGAIN!!! Damn, twice in one lifetime! To paraphrase Arnold Judas Rimmer, I'm turning into Hugh Hefner! Okay, maybe not the best obscure reference to use, but I think you get the idea.

I was only five in 1967, the Impossible Dream season of Yaz, Jim Lonborg, Dick Williams and the over-achieving Sox that lost a World Series to a Cardinals team with four future Hall of Famers (Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Orlando Cepeda and Steve Carlton), and got people in Boston to care about baseball again.

Since then, I lived through the agonies of the following seasons: 1972 (Aparicio falling down around third base to kill a rally against Mickey Lolich. The Tigers won the game, and the AL East), 1974 (Blowing a seven-game late August lead to end up in third place behind the Orioles), 1975 (The World Series, for all its color, was a frustrating event for the opportunities squandered), 1977 (All offense, no pitching), 1978 (A 1951 Dodger-like or 1964 Phillie-like collapse), 1986 (The World Series nightmare of the final inning of Game Six, and being damned certain that there was no way we'd win Game Seven), 1988 through 1991 (Two more division titles, and quick exits at the hands of Tony LaRussa's Athletics in '88 and '90, plus frustrating finishes behind the Blue Jays in '89 and '91), 1995 (Quick playoff exit at the hands of the resurgent Indians), 1998 (Same), 1999 (Same, but at the hands of the Yankees, with a little help from some shitty umpiring), and 2003 (Aaron Boone's homer off Wake) before the Miracle of 2004 happened. So the Sox went back to the usual plan in 2005 and got eliminated from the playoffs by the eventual champions, the White Sox. 2006 was a wasted year with injuries that killed the team.

How great then, was it, that the 2007 season turned out the way it did? It certainly didn't seem that it would go this way after the Yankees came roaring back from being eight games below .500 in late May to finish two games back of the Sox before getting burned by the Indians in the first round. The Sox fell into the 3-1 deficit and rebounded to win the league championship and there was, for a change, little doubt that they would beat the Rockies in the Series (though I didn't think it would be a sweep). Hats off to this team of mostly familiar faces (Papi Ortiz, Manny, Schilling, Wakefield) mixed in with newer veterans (Mike Lowell, Daisuke Matsuzaka, JD Drew, Coco Crisp, Julio Lugo), and, thank goodness, with some younger guys (Beckett, Papelbon, Youkilis, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Buchholz) that put this team in a position to remain at the top for the foreseeable future. Enjoy your parade boys!

And while we aren't on the subject, I realize I haven't posted my concert reviews for the Nightwish and H.I.M. shows of October 20th and 21st (when the Red Sox were winning games six and seven of the ALCS), so here goes:

On Saturday the 20th, Nightwish and support band, England's Paradise Lost, played in front of about 500 people at the Palladium in Worcester. Paradise Lost was plagued with equipment problems for the first three songs. There was no sound coming from the lead guitarist's amp. After straightening that out, the band recovered to play a decent set, made up mostly from songs from their recent CD "In Requiem".

Nightwish came out and blew the place away with a set mostly of material from the new CD "Dark Passion Play" and "Once". New singer Anette Olzon proved she could handle the lead mike as she belted out her parts in songs like "Bye Bye Beautiful", "Amaranth", "The Cadence of Her Last Breath", "Eva" and "Sahara" from the new CD. She also handled the stuff from "Once" fairly well as the band took us through "Nemo", "Dark Chest of Wonders" and "I Wish I Had an Angel". Bassist-vocalist Marco Hietala turned in a powerful performance in both capacities, as he shined on "The Poet and the Pendulum", "Master Passion Greed" and "The Islander" (on which he played acoustic guitar), as well as on "Bye Bye Beautiful" and "I Wish I Had an Angel".

Keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen did everything, including playing looped pieces of the orchestral parts from the songs to fill out the sound. Guitarist Emppu Vuorinen was terrific, playing slicing, biting leads and relentless riffs throughout the show. Drummer Jukka Nevalainen must have lost at least ten pounds during the set, as he never stopped hammering, except for the quiet of "The Islander". The band did reach back into the past a bit and played "Wishmaster" towards the end of the set, but that was it for the older stuff. I'd have liked to have heard them play "Dead Gardens" from "Once", or "The Carpenter" from "Angels Fall First", but since they had already done three songs from "Once", maybe they felt that was enough. And I'm sure Marco could re-work Tuomas' vocal part on the Carpenter and get out the acoustic guitar again.

Anyway, Nightwish was terrific. The band was tight, they looked like they were having fun, and have apparently dumped the "Where's Tarja?" baggage that a lot of folks expected them to be carrying. My only caveats were the above-mentioned lack of variety in the set. Maybe this is due to some of the extremely high parts Tarja sang that Anette may not be able to reproduce, or maybe its just the band's way of saying the future is now. If the latter, then I'd say that future is bright based on this show.

The next night, H.I.M. played in front of twice as many people as saw Nightwish (some of whom, like me, came back for this heaping helping of Euro-rock). I managed to get inside just as the boys took the stage (the usual parking garage I use was locked, and I had to drive two extra blocks to find something that wasn't crazy expensive, so by the time I got to the venue the queue was twice as long as it was the previous evening). Anyway, like Nightwish, H.I.M. chose to play mostly recent material. They played most of the new CD "Venus Doom". I think the only song they didn't play was "Song or Suicide". They counteracted the brutal sonic assault of songs like "Passion's Killing Floor", "Kiss of Dawn" and "Bleed Well" with lighter stuff from "Dark Light" like "Killing Loneliness" and "Rip Off the Wings of a Butterfly". Valo would go from manic, gyrations to the grinding rhythm of the heavier numbers, to statue still, almost as if he was looking at a nightmare landscape only he could see as he crooned the painful lyrics of his slower songs.

The boys also took a crack at some of the material from "Love Metal" with stuff like "Buried Alive By Love", "Soul on Fire", "The Sacrament" and "Circle of Fear". The oldest song they performed was "Pretending" from "Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights".

Linde was the unsung hero of the show, as his fuzzy riffs and dense leads provided a sharp contrast to Burton's surreal keyboard sounds. I have no words to describe what I heard him do. Psychedelic? Ethereal? Chaotic? Urgent? How about blending all that together and mixing it with the harshness of Linde and Mige to go with Valo's lamentations? Gas hammered away on the drums, and was better than I'd expected. He and Mige, on bass, more than held the foundation of this show together.

All in all it was quite a show. Valo is close to what I expected, as he didn't do much that I'd expect from a "traditional" metal front man (I know, "categorization", I know...), but he had the crowd in his pocket from the moment he stepped into the spotlight, and kept them there the entire show. The band was tight, and even stretched things out into some extended jams on songs like "Soul on Fire" and "Sleepwalking Past Hope". These guys have been together now for several years, and are obviously comfortable with one another. From here, the boys head west. Their tour is longer, and takes them to more places than Nightwish's tour. After having seen both bands on back-to-back nights, I'd like to say that the next time they come to this area it will be to headline the DCU Center, but since I couldn't get the ass-monkeys on the local "hard rock" station to even consider playing one cut from each artist (despite the fact that the shows were held a mere 15 minutes from where those mindless hacks broadcast), I'd say they have an uphill battle to reach the status they enjoy at home here in the US. Still, these shows give me hope!

CD Review: Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

2007-10-16T17:54:00.000-05:00

Well Nightwish fans, this may not be the review you've been waiting for unless you are one of the six loyal readers of this crummy excuse for a blog, but here it is anyway, you bastards.

Okay. Everyone knows that vocalist Tarja Turunen was given the boot. Her replacement is a young lady from Sweden named Anette Olzon. The rest of the Finnish symphonic metal band, bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, drummer Jukka Nevalainen and keyboardist/main songwriter/producer Tuomas Holopainen are back to show that they are more than capable of carrying on with a new voice on their new release, Dark Passion Play.

So, how did they do? The songs:

The Poet and the Pendulum – The first track is a 14-minute masterpiece that features quiet soprano solos accompanied by violin, oboe and piano, a surging orchestra and the voice of new singer Anette Olzon. Her delivery is solid and and urgent at times. Bassist Marco Hietala also lends his pipes to the song in one passage where his mad wails are driven by the buzzsaw riffs Emppu supplies. The song ends with Tuomas gently playing the piano to the fadeout.

Bye Bye Beautiful – This song starts of with Anette singing sweetly, but Marco takes over with an angry delivery that seems to be aimed at Tarja. The band pumps the rhythm out to make their point.

Amaranth – This is the first US single, and it is a catchy song. Anette’s voice soars over the band in both the verses and choruses, and the band clamps down tight, mainly fueled by Emppu’s riffs.

The Cadence of Her Last Breath – A bit more punchy that Amaranth, Anette once again soars over the cacophony of the band. Emppu takes his first proper lead break, and it is a quick, piercing piece that ends in a flurry of squeals. The urgency of this track will likely eliminate it as a candidate to become a single.

Master Passion Greed – A monster track that mixes grinding metal riffs with the orchestra. Marco’s vocals drive this song, and, as he holds the heavy bottom down on bass, he is more than up to the task of battling Emppu’s riffs and Jukka’s powerful drums. Easily a match for Dead Gardens in the heaviest Nightwish song ever.

Eva – A slow, sentimental ballad guided by Anette’s sad vocals and the gentle strains of the orchestra. Emppu plays a lean, crying solo to counter Anette’s laments.

Sahara – This plodding song shows the darker side of Anette’s vocals. The interplay between the band and the orchestra in the middle of the song give an eastern feel as the choir assists Anette before the song slows for a bit before getting back in step. The song ends with Anette chanting to the heavy riffs and mighty orchestra.

Whoever Brings the Night – Starts fast with a guitar riff and matching bass line before Anette comes in, but even darker than on Sahara. She is accompanied by the choir on the choruses. The middle of the song is dominated by the alternating choir/orchestra interplay with Anette’s sneering delivery before the band kicks back in. Emppu fires off a short solo with Jukka hammering away behind him before the main melody re-asserts itself as the song ends.

For The Heart I Once Had – The sweet Anette returns as she gets back into her higher register for this sad song. Alternating between heavy and subtle, the band plays it smart and lets Anette’s multi-tracked voice guide things, then joins in when appropriate. Emppu provides a couple of nice fills. The middle quiets as Anette softly sings over Tuomas’s quiet piano before the band notches it back up as they bring it up a step and push Anette’s voice. She is up to the challenge and guides the band to the song’s end.

The Islander – A folky, acoustic piece that features Marco on vocals. He sounds a lot like Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull as he sings over Emppu’s dexterous guitar and the an Irish-sounding flute. Anette joins Marco on the second verse, but she does not overpower, and the mix works as Emppu strums on. After a brief violin solo, Marco, Anette and Emppu go back for another chorus which ends as the guitar, flute, violin and soft drums fade the song to its end.

Last of the Wilds – This instrumental track comes in as The Islander fades out. It starts out with some Celtic style violin before the band jumps in with vigor. The first riff repeats with Tuomas playing along with the violin as Marco pings away on the bass. Emppu joins in with some heavy riffs as Jukka slams away on the drums. Emppu fires off a sidewinding solo between the violin and keyboards. A quiet space with gentle harpsichord and flute comes in before the band re-enters with Emppu seemingly dueling with the violinist. The quiet again descends as the harpsichord plays everything out.

Seven Days to the Wolves – This song shifts things back into slow burn mode. Anette sings with sharpness on the verses and Marco joins her on the choruses. The orchestra pitches in with the band and Emppu plays a soaring solo into a tempo shift powered by Jukka’s steadiness. The orchestra comes back in, and a short violin solo gives way to Emppu’s heavy riffs as Anette comes back before another round of repeating choruses gives way to a quicker version of the main melody to bring the song to its end.

Meadows of Heaven – This song starts with quiet violin and piano as Anette sings the sad words of hope. The vocal choir and orchestra join her on the second chorus. After a slow flute/violin passage, Anette guides the choir in another verse before Emppu slices through with a trembling solo before Anette comes back with another verse. The last two minutes of the song are truly uplifting as Anette sings the refrain over some of the sharp individual voices of the choir while the orchestra sweeps it all up.

This CD is a hell of a statement. It picks up where 2004's Once left off, and carries it off into the distance. To say that Tuomas pulled out all the stops with this project would be an exercise in understatement. The direction in which the band is headed seems clear, as evidenced by the increasing use of philharmonic orchestras and vocal choirs. While this gives the music a fuller, grander sound, it takes away from the band itself, in particular guitarist Emppu Vuorinen (but maybe that's just my guitar player's bias showing). Still, if you liked Once, you should like these songs.

But what about Anette? The comparisons to Tarja are unavoidable. Her voice definitely doesn't have Tarja's high end, but she might have just a bit more versatility to her voice. She doesn't sound as deliberate as Tarja sometimes did, and she seems to be able to handle the more exotic passages Tuomas writes and arranges as well as Tarja. That having been said, I think Anette will be fine as long as people pay attention to what she can do as opposed to what she cannot do. Marco also stepped it up, carrying a bit more of the vocal duties to provide a nice contrast with Anette throughout the CD.

To wrap it up, the band happens to be on tour in this area, and I am fortunate enough to be heading out to see them this Saturday at the Palladium in Worcester (Followed by H.I.M. at the same venue on Sunday. It's gonna be a hell of a weekend!). I hope to see some of you there!

Saturn's Weather Forecast: Methane Rain

2007-10-12T16:55:00.000-05:00

Scientists have discovered that it can rain on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and that the rain falls in the form of liquid methane. Yahoo News Reuters excerpt:

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The daily weather forecast on Saturn's largest moon Titan appears to be a steady drizzle of liquid methane, at least around the bright, exotically named region known as Xanadu, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

But this is hardly the paradise romanticized by the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem "Kubla Kahn."

New images from Hawaii's W.M. Keck Observatory and Chile's Very Large Telescope show nearly global cloud cover at high elevations and a dreary morning drizzle that seems to dissipate around midmorning local time -- which is about three Earth days after sunrise.

Scientists had expected rain in the atmosphere of this planet-sized moon, but these near-infrared images for the first time have revealed a persistent drizzle of methane off the western foothills of Xanadu.

"We expected that perhaps it was raining. It was reasonable that it could be raining. We just didn't know if it was raining right now," said Mate Adamkovics, a University of California, Berkeley researcher whose paper appears in the journal Science.

Titan is larger than the planet Mercury, but much, much colder, with surface temperatures of minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 183 degrees Celsius) -- cold enough to turn an explosive gas like methane into a liquid form.

"The question is, is it liquid methane that is sitting in a cloud, or is it falling through the sky," Adamkovics said in a telephone interview. His hunch is that it is falling, given the massive size of these raindrops, which Adamkovics believes are about 1,000 times bigger than rain on Earth.

"Because there is a bit less gravity and the atmosphere is thicker on Titan, the rain drops and the cloud drops are really big," he said. Whereas raindrops on Earth are micrometer sized, he said on Titan they appear to be a millimeter or bigger in size. "The droplet gets so big it can't hold itself together anymore," Adamkovics said.

I don't know about that. It rained like a bastard here for about two hours, and the raindrops I saw were a hell of a lot bigger than a millimeter, and they seemed to hold together quite nicely as they crashed into the roof of my wage-slavery containment facility. At least the rain has now stopped, and the skies have cleared, which means that the first game of the American League Championship series between the Red Sox and Indians at Fenway Park will at least be somewhat dry...

He and colleagues are now speculating about just what is causing the rain, and whether it follows weather patterns similar to those on Earth.

Xanadu, a region about the size of Australia, was first discovered in 1994 by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

I heard this story on NPR as I drove home, and it appears that there are also lakes of methane around this region. Some scientists think that Titan's environment is similar to models of early Earth, before outgassing occurred and the oceans formed. If this is true (or even if it is not), then we have a real life laboratory experiment just waiting to be conducted.

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CD Review: Venus Doom by H.I.M.

2007-10-08T18:24:00.000-05:00

Nearly two years have passed since Finnish gloom gods H.I.M. released Dark Light, and they have gone back to the sound they had on 2004's Love Metal, only harder and more raw. The band personnel remain intact: Ville Valo on vocals, Linde on guitar, Burton on keyboards, Mige on bass and Gas on the drums. Tim Palmer is once again the producer, but this time, Hiili Hiilesmaa, who produced Love Metal, is back on board as the co-producer, which may account for the band re-asserting its heavier side.

The songs:

Venus Doom – Starts out fast, heavy and raw with Valo belting out the words with his usual breathless urgency. About halfway through, a guitar solo is followed by a bit of quiet with only the sound of a music box to accompany Valo’s deep voice before the song kicks back into gear with some nice keyboard effects to go with the guitar feedback as the song ends.

Love in Cold Blood – A bit slower and more deliberate, with multi-tracked vocals on the choruses. A nimble-fingered guitar lead breaks things up, then leads it all back to the main melody for a few measures until the outro kicks in to the end with wah-wah fueled guitar, heavy drums and bass with shimmering keyboards adorning the soundscape.

Passion’s Killing Floor – Another mid-tempo track , this one begins with a repetitive guitar riff with some soft keys laid on top until the verses and infectious choruses take over (“My heart’s a graveyard baby / and to evil we make love / on out passion’s killing floor….). Then, the song slows into a dirge-like riff for a few beats until the main melody kicks back in. This song would make a great single if not for that small blemish.

The Kiss of Dawn – And speaking of singles, this is the first one off the CD. It begins with a choppy guitar riff and heavy bass and drums as Valo drags his words out slowly before the chorus (Reachin’ for your shadow drowning in…the kiss of dawn / touchin’ the pain that you left me with…at the kiss of dawn…). A quick, chaotic, effects-driven solo churns things up, then the main melody returns for a few measures before things quiet for a bit before slowly revving back up as the song fades out over Valo’s lamentations and Linde’s feedback.

Sleepwalking Past Hope – This ten-minute epic starts with some soft piano followed by a distorted pick scrape that goes right into a heavy riff helped out by the drums and bass before Valo limps in. The choruses about love and love lost cry over Burton’s piano notes. About three and a half minutes in, the guitar riff changes for a few beats until the solo chews its way through, powered by the drums and bass. Approaching the five minute mark, Valo mumbles his pain to the bass and light piano for a few measures until the guitar and drums grind their way back into the mix. At 6:30, the tempo shifts into overdrive as Linde launches a short solo that leads back to the pain of the main melody. As we approach the eight-minute mark, a new guitar riff takes over, accompanied by some spacey keyboards and almost latin-sounding percussion as Valo cries over the maelstrom. Simply a masterpiece!

Dead Lovers Lane – Another mix of soft keyboards, heavy guitar, pulsing bass and heavy drums to Valo’s lyrics of warning (Fear has a name…written on unhallowed ground with dead leaves…those words never fail to feed the hunger that feeds and needs above love’s grasp…). Midway through, after a short flurry on the bass, Linde takes a short, fiery solo that ends quickly to some light piano before a crunching guitar riff asserts itself to bring the main melody back before the song ends.

Song or Suicide – A 70-second bit of Valo’s longing accompanied by a lone acoustic guitar. I won’t print a lyric excerpt. Instead I’ll just hope that Valo isn’t really this depressed!

Bleed Well – Starts out with fire and quickly digs a heavy groove. The verses and choruses are punchy and to the point with the whole band in the pocket. A little more than halfway through, the riff changes with some keyboard counterpart before a nimble solo that degenerates into feedback as Valo yells it out to the end.

Cyanide Sun – Starts with a slow, heavy, Sabbath-like guitar riff with an eastern-sounding tinge. Valo comes in quietly as the rhythm simmers underneath. After a few verses and choruses, Linde and Burton supply a psychedelic feel with heavy bombast before sudden acoustic quiet accompanies Valo’s almost crooning outro.

The differences between Venus Doom and Dark Light are quickly apparent. The same applies to the comparison with Love Metal. Venus Doom's songs are heavier and longer than was the case with Dark Light, and the poppy atmosphere that guided that CD is all but gone. In addition to the grinding heaviness, the songs take on a jam-like feel in some places as the band is clearly trying to stretch out. I think this may be Hiilesmaa's influence at work.

As the individual performances go, Linde really steps up on this CD. Instead of simply playing riffs as he did on Dark Light, he takes a lot of lead breaks and throws a lot of fiery wah-wah fueled licks around as if he feels that he'd better get it all out now while he can. Gas hammers away on the drums, and shows a bit more dexterity than on some of the previous outings. Burton is his usual spectacular self, providing a surreal atmosphere, and Mige holds the bottom down as tightly as ever. Valo, the master of gloom, does what he does best, whether it is by whining in an almost breathless manner, or by growling in his lower register to evoke his dark images. This CD is more than a return to the heaviness of Love Metal, it has surpassed it with a good deal more swagger as this band is solidly locked in.

The bottom line is that this is a terrific collection of songs that any H.I.M. follower should love. I can't wait to hear how they pull it together on stage, as they will be appearing at the Worcester Palladium on Sunday October 21st in what promises to be a killer show.

Major League Baseball Roundup

2007-10-02T18:26:00.000-05:00

Well folks, I'm back at the keyboard of my new beast, ready to blog at you once again. Things have been a bit frantic down on the Farm lately as some home improvement projects have been coming together nicely.

But enough about that. It's time for some post-season baseball, which is even more fun for me since the Red Sox finished first in the American League East for the first time since 1995. The Sox begin their quest for the 2007 World Series championship tomorrow night when the Anaheim Angels come to Fenway. The other AL Division Series features the Cleveland Indians versus the New York Yankees.

The National League had some exciting finishes down the stretch with the Philadelphia Phillies not only sneaking the NL East title from the New York Mets, but denying them a post-season berth in the process. And the Colorado Rockies, who won 14 of their last 15 games, including an exciting 9-8, 13-inning thriller in the playoff game against the San Diego Padres to win the Wild Card, will play the Phils.

By the way, why was there a playoff game to determine this? The reason I ask is that because in 2005, the Red Sox and Yankees both finished at 95-67, in a tie for first place. However, the baseball gods decided that because the Yankees had the superior head-to-head record (10-9), that they would be awarded first place, and the Red Sox second place (and the Wild Card). The Rockies had an 11-8 record against the Padres, so, by 2005 logic, they should have automatically been awarded their spot without having had to play the Padres one more time. Right? I'm just sayin'...

And Lou Piniella's Chicago Cubs take on the Arizona Diamondbacks, who somehow had the best record in the NL at 90-72, despite having been outscored by their opponents by 20 runs for the season. By way of comparison, the Red Sox outscored their opponents by 210 runs (which led all major league clubs). The Indians were +107 while the Angels and Yankees were both at +91. The other NL playoff teams: Phillies +71, Cubs +72 and Rockies were at +102, which led the National League!

2007 was a season of milestones and records either having been broken or tied. Barry Bonds passed Henry Aaron as the all-time home run leader, and has 762 (and he hit his 600th career double and got his 2,500th career walk to boot). Sammy Sosa hit his 600th career homer. Frank Thomas, Alex Rodriguez and Jim Thome (who also struck out for the 2,000th time in his career) each hit their 500th career homers. Todd Helton hit his 300th career homer. Craig Biggio got his 3,000th career hit, but will retire two shy of Hughie Jennings' career record for most times having been hit by a pitch (287-285). Ken Griffey Junior, Gary Sheffield and Luis Gonzalez each collected their 2,500th career hits. Larry Jones, Johnny Damon and Shawn Green each collected their 2,000th career hits. Ivan Rodriguez got his 500th career double. Ray Durham hit his 400th career double. Ten players notched their 300th career double.

On the pitching side of things, William Clemens got his 350th career win (and his 700th career start), and Tom Glavine notched his 300th victory and 2,500th career strikeout. Mike Mussina got his 250th win (and his 500th career start). John Smoltz and Andy Pettite each win their 200th career games. Jose Mesa, Mike Timlin and Roberto Hernandez all appeared in their 1,000th career games. Trevor Hoffman got his 500th career save, and Todd Jones got his 300th. Pedro Martinez got his 3,000th career strikeout while Jamie Moyer got his 2,000th. Greg Maddux, like Clemens, got his 700th career start.

Some other interesting things happened. Frank Schulte of the 1911 Cubs became the first player ever to have 20 homers, doubles, triples and stolen bases in the same season. Willie Mays was the second player to accomplish this feat, having done so in 1957. This season, they were joined by Curtis Granderson of the Tigers and Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies.

Ryan Howard of the Phillies struck out 199 times to break Adam Dunn's 2004 record of 195. And Matt Holliday of the Rockies won the NL batting title with a .340 average while striking out 126 times. That is the most strikeouts for anyone who ever won a batting title. The previous record holder was Derrek Lee of the Cubs who whiffed 109 times while hitting .335 in 2005. I love odd combinations like this, and here is another one: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays became the first team ever to have its pitchers lead the league in strikeouts while at the same time having the worst ERA (How do1194 strikeouts and a 5.53 ERA grab you? No wonder they went 66-96...).

Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox did not make a single error at first base this season (in 1080 chances over 135 games, though he did make three errors at third base in 13 games). Even more remarkable than that, Placido Polanco of the Tigers handled 683 chances over 141 games at second base without making a single error (and he had 200 hits!).

Well, I could probably go on like this for some time, but I will stop now, since I am in the midst of evaluating my newest music purchases: Venus Doom by H.I.M., Dark Passion Play by Nightwish and After Forever's self-titled release, and reviews will be coming soon. Nightwish and H.I.M will be at the Palladium in Worcester on October 20th and 21st. I hope to see some of you there!

"Dead" Man Wakes Up Under Autopsy Knife

2007-09-23T16:00:00.000-05:00

This post is straight out of Stephen King or Edgar Allan Poe short story. Some poor guy was in a car accident, pronounced dead at the scene and taken to the morgue where an autopsy was started. The medical examiners quickly realized something was not right... Bizarre Reuters story:

CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan man who had been declared dead woke up in the morgue in excruciating pain after medical examiners began their autopsy.

Carlos Camejo, 33, was declared dead after a highway accident and taken to the morgue, where examiners began an autopsy only to realize something was amiss when he started bleeding. They quickly sought to stitch up the incision on his face.

"I woke up because the pain was unbearable," Camejo said, according to a report on Friday in leading local newspaper El Universal.

His grieving wife turned up at the morgue to identify her husband's body only to find him moved into a corridor -- and alive.

Reuters could not immediately reach hospital officials to confirm the events. But Camejo showed the newspaper his facial scar and a document ordering the autopsy.

Wow. It seems that Mr. Camejo is lucky in that the medical examiners realized that he was still alive, but unlucky in that the folks at the accident scene screwed up BIGTIME. I can't even imagine the helplessness Mr. Camejo must have felt as his autopsy got started; the excruciating pain he must have felt. Here's hoping for a quick and full recovery for Mr. Camejo.

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Kathy Griffin Offends Jesus and His Followers. "Hurtful" Remarks to be Censored out of Awards Show.

2007-09-12T17:02:00.000-05:00

Kathy Griffin made what some construe as offensive remarks towards Jesus as part of her acceptance speech for winning an award for her reality cable series. Yahoo News Reuters excerpt:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comic Kathy Griffin's "offensive" remarks about Jesus at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be cut from a pre-taped telecast of the show, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences said on Tuesday.

Griffin made the provocative comment on Saturday night as she took the stage of the Shrine Auditorium to collect her Emmy for best reality program for her Bravo channel show "My Life on the D-List."

"A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus," an exultant Griffin said, holding up her statuette. "Suck it, Jesus. This award is my god now."
Asked about her speech backstage a short time later, an unrepentant Griffin added, "I hope I offended some people. I didn't want to win the Emmy for nothing."

The speech drew fire from a leading Roman Catholic group, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, which condemned Griffin's remarks as "obscene and blasphemous."

"It is a sure bet that if Griffin had said, 'Suck it, Muhammad,' there would have been a very different reaction," Catholic league president Bill Donohue said in a statement posted on the group's Web site. He called on TV academy president Dick Askin to denounce Griffin's "hate speech" and on Griffin to apologize.

Griffin's reaction to the imbroglio, according to a statement issued by her publicist: "Am I the only Catholic left with a sense of humor?"

Good question. Especially in light of Mr. Donahue's remark that makes it apparent that he'd have found no problem with her having attacked Muhammad in her speech instead of Jeshua ben Yosef.

As someone who was raised as a Roman Catholic (Extremely lapsed. I left the Church way back in high school), I am apparently supposed to be as offended as Mr. Donahue is at what Ms. Griffin said. I'm not. Not in the least. And not because I am a fan of Ms. Griffin or her work. In fact, I find her routine shallow and pedantic, and her persona to be shrill and abrasive. However, she is perfectly within her First Amendment rights to point out the phony piety of performers who thank Jesus for their good fortune when receiving awards, but seem to forget Christ's message the other 364 days of the year (drug busts, physical abuse, etc.). At least that is how I read her words.

It's sort of like what Jim Bouton wrote in "Ball Four" when he expressed a similar discomfort with the way his fellow baseball players and other athletes praised Jesus for their victories, while he secretly harbored a desire to say (paraphrasing) "It was my muscles, not Jesus" as the reason for his success.

It's all simple semantics, so can't everyone just chill and stop waiting to be offended by meaningless things like this?

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Daddy's Got a New PC!

2007-09-10T17:16:00.000-05:00

It's the HP Pavilion a6130n. System characteristics: 300GB hard drive, AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor with CD/DVD Read/Write, 3GB RAM (That's right!) and a 17-inch flat screen monitor (Model vp17). Oh yes, and an HP Deskjet 4180 printer/copier/scanner (which has GOT to be better than that Lexmark POS I had which would have made a decent anchor).

Want to talk about speed? The damned thing SCREAMS!!! My old rig was a Dell Dimension L550 that I bought in 2000. It ran Windows 98, had a 10GB hard drive and 128MB RAM. Thanks to a slight upgrade to 192 MB a couple of years ago, courtesy of Ken Kanniff, Connecticut's Most Wanted, and an upgrade from Dial-Up to DSL, I entered the late 20th century by the middle of the first decade of the 21st.

But I am behind the curve no more! And no, I won't tell you about the obscenely good deal I got as part of a Labor Day promotion at Circuit City. Suffice it to say that I spent about $300.00 less on this rig than I did on the Dell back in 2000.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll try to get something more going on this pitiful excuse for a blog. And Helena, thanks for your comment on my Philip Lynott post. You bring the number of commenters to seven! Please stop by again!

Chipper Jones Blasts Umps in Braves Loss

2007-09-06T17:52:00.000-05:00

Atlanta Braves third baseman, Larry "Chipper" Jones, was none too happy with the way the umpires in last night's 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies called balls and strikes, and he is calling on MLB to do something about it. ESPN News AP wire excerpt:

ATLANTA -- Not long after the Atlanta Braves lost for the 10th time in 14 games, Chipper Jones had some choice words for home plate umpire Rick Reed.

The Braves struck out six times in a 5-2 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday night, continuing their descent in the NL East.

Jones hit a solo homer in the fourth and accounted for another RBI in the fifth when he walked with the bases loaded. He did not strike out in the game, but his at-bat against Phillies starter Kyle Lohse in the fifth made him furious.

"The first pitch to me with the bases loaded was in my batter's box, inside," Jones told reporters after the game. "Now you tell me how I'm supposed to hit that. We have to get Questec here in this ballpark. We've got to. Umpires have got to be held accountable. That's Little League World Series stuff right there."

"It's a joke," Jones said. "I'm tired of it. And baseball can fine me whatever they want. I do not care. Somebody's got to say something. I've got more walks than strikeouts in my career -- I know what a strike looks like."

What Larry is referring to is the Questec camera system that was installed in about a dozen major league ballparks beginning about five or six years ago. This brings up the question of instant replay. I don't think instant replay is a good idea, or even a necessary one as far as calling balls and strikes is concerned. Games are, in most people's minds, far too long as they are, and to stop the game over a questionable pitch a dozen or so times a game would drive fans away.

The people who manage the umpires should be analyzing the Questec logs, and adopt that system in all the ballparks, then use that information to grade the umps and, if necessary, get the bad umps additional training (by way of demotion to the minors or fire them for their incompetence. Too harsh? Players make their living, in large part, based on how the umps call the games. If a player slips, is he not subject to demotion, trade or release? Then why not have the same arrangement for umpires?

Now, as far as using instant replay on situations like fan interference, fair or foul, home run or wall scraper, tag or missed tag, etc., I am all for that. There are dozens of instances in which championships were decided because of shitty calls. The St. Louis Cardinals lost the 1985 World Series because of a lousy call at first base in the ninth inning of Game Six. The Baltimore Orioles lost a game in the 1997 ALCS to the Yankees because of the Jeffrey Maier "home run" ball that Derek Jeter hit, which everyone watching the game knew was interference but the right field ump, Richie Garcia, who laughed about his mistake afterwards (Not to mention the way the Red Sox got ripped off in the 1999 ALCS with the Yankees when Jose Offerman was called out on a tag play in which Chuck Knoblauch missed Offerman by five feet. Not that I'm bitter about that...). We don't need that type of arrogance. Instant replay should not be viewed as a tool to show up the umps, but rather an assistant to help them make difficult calls, and to get those calls right. Omissioner Bud Selig must wake up and get this vital 20th century technology into the game before the 21st century gets much older.

As for Larry and his complaint, hey man, I hear ya, especially after Josh Beckett got stiffed in his start in Yankee Stadium last weekend. At one point Beckett threw five straight strikes to Melky Cabrera and walked him. The next batter, Johnny Damon hit a single for an RBI, so yeah, I can see where you are coming from. Still, it seems a bit ironic that, after having been part of a team that got away with the type of shit about which you now choose to complain, what with Javy Lopez setting up in the opposite batters box for Tom Glavine, and Eddie Perez doing the same for Greg Maddux and getting ridiculous strike calls for ten years, you now want the umps to call the strike zone fairly. Well, good luck with that, Larry.

Full Story

Buchholz Tosses No-Hitter at Orioles. Timlin Reaches Milestone.

2007-09-02T10:19:00.000-05:00

Red Sox rookie right-hander Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter last night in his second major league start, beating the Orioles 10-0 at Fenway.

The kid was throwing some nasty stuff that included fastballs that reached 92 MPH, looping curves and changeups that dropped from the knees to the dirt. He threw 115 pitches, struck out nine, walked three and hit one batter. He was helped defensively by second baseman Dustin Pedroia who, in the top of the seventh, dove for a ball up the middle off the bat of Miguel Tejada to throw him out and keep the drama moving.

The funny thing was that Buchholz was given this start because Tim Wakefield was unable to pitch on Friday night, which moved Saturday's scheduled starter Julian Tavarez up one day, necessitating the call for the rookie.

Buchholz is the third Red Sox pitcher to throw a no-hitter this millennium (Derek Lowe versus the Deviled Eggs in 2002 and Hideo Nomo versus the Orioles in 2001 were the others).

Buchholz started the season at Double-A, pitched well there for two months and was moved up to Triple-A, and was called up to the big club for a start against the Angels a couple of weeks ago which he won. I wasn't thrilled about the way the Sox seemed to be rushing him, but injuries to Curt Schilling, and their inexplicably dumb trade of Joel Piniero to the Cardinals (3-2 in six starts with a 3.71 ERA) for the infamous Player To Be Named Later made it damned near impossible for the Sox not to bring him along.

So congratulations to Red Sox rookie Clay Buchholz, who, let the record show, has one (1) more no-hitter than William Roger (The Mercenary) Clemens.

And speaking of records, congratulations to Red Sox reliever Mike Timlin who made his 1,000th career appearance in Friday night's game, becoming just the 13th major league pitcher to reach the milestone.

Beware of Exagerrated Mars Information!

2007-08-22T17:42:00.000-05:00

The following excerpt is from an email I received today from a co-worker who wants to know if the details are true. Let's take a look at the unaltered original text...

Two moons on 27 August, 2007. 27th Aug the Whole World is waiting for... Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultivate on Aug. 27, 2007 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles of earth. Be sure to watch the sky on Aug. 27, 12:30 am. It will look like the earth has 2 moons. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again.

Forgetting for a moment that the typist probably meant to use the word "culminate" rather than "cultivate", this message is, as my grandfather used to say "full of old shoes".

Mars is currently in Taurus, and is shining at magnitude +0.4 (which is brighter than all but eight of the brightest stars), but it is a mere 7.8 arc seconds wide. What the message refers to took place in August 2003 when Mars was shining at magnitude -2.9 and was 25 arc seconds wide, while moving through Capricornus.

However, the sender did get two things right, the first being that Mars, in August 2003, was as close as it has been, (and will be) in a long time, but it was nowhere near as large as the full Moon. The full Moon is roughly 2000 arc seconds wide, or 80 times the apparent size of Mars at its biggest and closest. For Mars to appear as large as the full Moon in our skies, it would be a mere 433,125 miles away (the Moon is 240,000 miles away) rather than the 34.65 million the sender gives (which was also correct).

I get messages like this from time to time because people know that astronomy is one of my hobbies, and I have gotten variations on this particular theme in the summer of 2005 as well, so I feel it is my duty to correct things as best I can from this humble vantage point. Feel free to pass this on to anyone else who could be potentially duped by this mis-information. And a tip of the hat to Jesse for sending me the message which got this ball rolling.

Celebrate Philip Lynott's Birthday

2007-08-20T17:35:00.000-05:00

Today would have been Philip Lynott's 58th birthday. To celebrate the late Thin Lizzy leader's life, why not peruse this old piece I posted back in 2005 about the greatness of the man, and the band. I also plan to indulge in my Lizzy library, and take a tour of the Internets to see and hear the hidden treasures of the YouTube-a-verse (already found excellent live versions of Cold Sweat and The Sun Goes Down from 1983's Farewell Tour).

Cheers

Bonds Hits Number 756 to Move Past Aaron. Lucky Fan from Queens Ends Up With the Ball.

2007-08-08T16:52:00.000-05:00

By now, everybody has heard that Barry Bonds hit career homer number 756 last night as the Giants lost to the Washington Nationals at Lefty O'Doul Stadium. But this post is more about the lucky fan who caught the ball, and what he went through to keep it. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- With the crack of the bat a brief stillness settled over the right-center field bleachers at AT&T Park as Barry Bonds' record-breaking homer rocketed toward the crowd.

Then the scrum was on.

As the specially marked baseball landed a few rows up in the fifth inning Tuesday night, dozens of fans wrestled for it and the promise of riches it carried. Suddenly, the metal bleachers vibrated with energy. Grunts, cheers and the cries of frightened children broke the silence as parents sought to shield their youngsters from the chaos.

In the middle of it all was 22-year-old New Yorker Matt Murphy, who emerged from beneath the pile holding the ball Bonds hit for career home run No. 756. His face was bloodied and his clothes stretched and torn from his battle in the bleachers.

A team of San Francisco police officers moved in, extracted Murphy from the crowd, and quickly led him through a tunnel and into a secure room.

As he high-fived other fans, Murphy, wearing a New York Mets jersey and cap, slid the ball into the back pocket of his plaid Bermuda shorts. Reporters screamed questions, but all he managed to say was, "I'm Matt Murphy from Queens, N.Y."

Murphy and a friend were en route to Australia and in San Francisco for a one-day layover, a Giants spokesman said. They purchased tickets just before the game. Murphy declined to make himself available to the media.

Baseball memorabilia experts have pegged the ball's value at $400,000 to $500,000. That's well below the $3.3 million fetched by Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball in 1998.

Unbelievable. How on earth were tickets still available for this game, and how much did these guys pay to purchase them? Hell, when the Giants were in town to play the Red Sox in mid-June everyone already knew that every ticket had been snatched up (Barry hit his 14th of the year, number 748 overall in the last game of the series), and some of those were going for $2,000.00! But if these guys can afford the air fare to Australia ($5,300, round-trip back in January 2005 for my trip), then a little extra cash to have a chance to see history being made was probably not an issue.

Congratulations to Mr. Murphy, and to Mr. Bonds. Barry, you are still 112 homers shy of the all-time professional home run leader, Sadaharu Oh who clubbed 868 for the Tokyo Giants from 1959-1980.

Glavine Notches 300th Win

2007-08-06T16:45:00.000-05:00

Tom Glavine won his 300th major league game last night as the Mets beat the Cubs at Wrigley Field 8-3. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

CHICAGO - Tom Glavine knows exactly why his 300th win should be savored. "If I was the last one, I guess it would be pretty cool to be the last one to do something in the game," he said Sunday night after leading the New York Mets over the Chicago Cubs 8-3.

It was vintage Glavine, mixing pitches and fooling hitters, all the things that over the years made him one of baseball's best pitchers. With nervous family and friends looking on, Glavine left with a five-run lead after 6 1-3 innings, and New York's bullpen held on.

"It wasn't a dazzling performance in terms of striking people out. It was an exercise in hitting my spots and changing speeds and letting the guys behind me do their work," he said, a look of relief on his face.

Glavine (10-6) became the first 300-game winner since former Atlanta teammate Greg Maddux reached the milestone in 2004 while with the Cubs. "I think the feeling right now is probably relief," Glavine said. "At some point in time, I don't know when, the historic side of it will sink in. I know the company I'm in, and I'm as proud as can be to be in that company."

The club might be closed. Randy Johnson has 284 wins but back problems have plagued him and he turns 44 in September.

"I'm not saying I want to be the last one," Glavine said. "I would love for someone to have this feeling and this sense of accomplishment."

The 41-year-old Glavine, only the fifth lefty to win 300, capped a momentous weekend in baseball. On Saturday, Barry Bonds hit his 755th homer to tie Hank Aaron's career mark and Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player to reach 500 homers. Glavine said he spoke with baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who also spoke with A-Rod but didn't get in contact with Bonds.

In his first try for No. 300, Glavine left with a one-run lead at Milwaukee only to watch his bullpen blow it. Wife Christine Glavine, who had slumped in her seat at Miller Park, wiped tears from her eyes as Billy Wagner retired Mike Fontenot on a grounder for the final out at Wrigley Field.

Glavine appreciated the warm reception he received at Wrigley Field. Mets fans chanted his name after the game "Tom-mee Glavine!" as he met his family. "It was pretty special moment to be able to hug all those guys on Wrigley Field like I did tonight," he said. "There's no way I could express my gratitude for everything they've done."

Before a crowd of 41,599 on a muggy night, and with flashbulbs popping all over the old neighborhood park, Glavine allowed two runs and six hits, struck out one and walked one. He left after Angel Pagan doubled on his 102nd pitch, getting a high five from manager Willie Randolph on the mound and a standing ovation as he left the field.

Guillermo Mota came in and gave up a single to Jason Kendall, Pedro Feliciano then relieved and gave up an RBI grounder to pinch-hitter Jacque Jones. Fontenot's double made it a 5-3 game, bringing on Aaron Heilman, who retired Ryan Theirot on an inning-ending flyout.

Glavine was the third pitcher looking for his 300th win at Wrigley Field in the last five seasons. Roger Clemens (June 7, 2003) and Maddux (Aug. 1, 2004) both failed.

Glavine won his first game with the Braves on Aug. 22, 1987, was a five-time 20-game winner with the Braves and joined Maddux and John Smoltz to give Atlanta one of baseball's most formidable rotations. He captured the NL Cy Young Award in 1991 and 1998, was the MVP of the 1995 World Series and is a 10-time All-Star. He went to the Mets as a free agent after the 2002 season.

Before Glavine, no pitcher had won his 300th game in a Mets uniform, although some 300-game winners pitched with New York — Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan and Warren Spahn, who won four games in 1965.

The second and third paragraphs of the excerpt detail exactly the way Glavine has pitched his entire career. A "crafty" lefty, he threw just hard enough to set up his array of breaking pitches that, when he was doing well, could seemingly place anywhere he wanted.

A guy at my wage-slavery containment facility is a Mets fan, and when Glavine took the Mets millions after the 2002 season, I looked at their projected outfield of Cliff Floyd, Timo Perez, Jeromy Burnitz and Roger Cedeno and told this guy that the most uttered phrase out of Glavine's mouth would be "Andruw would have caught that" (refering to Andruw Jones and his impeccable defense in center field). As it turned out, I was right. Glavine went from 18 wins in 2002 to 9 in 2003 and with 14 losses had his first losing season since 1990. David Wright and Jose Reyes arrived in 2004, but were inexperienced, and the addition of Mike Cameron helped a little, but not much as Glavine went 11-14, then 13-13 in 2005. The improvements the Mets in the past couple of years have helped get Glavine's record back into line (15-7 in 2006 and 10-6 this season), but one cannot help but wonder if he'd have been able to acheive his milestone last year if he'd stayed in Atlanta.

In any event, 300 wins is a hell of an achievement, so congratulations to Tom Glavine, major league baseball's 23rd 300-game winner.

Barry Bonds hits 755th Career Homer to tie Henry Aaron. A-Rod hits 500th Career Homer.

2007-08-05T11:46:00.000-05:00

Barry Bonds hit his 755th career home run yesterday to tie Henry Aaron's all-time major league record. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

SAN DIEGO - With a short swing, a half stare and an emphatic clap of his hands, Barry Bonds rounded the bases. After so many days and so many tries, he had finally caught Hammerin' Hank.

High above the field in a private box, baseball commissioner Bud Selig was a reluctant witness to history. Choosing to overlook the steroid allegations that have dogged the San Francisco slugger, Selig watched Bonds tie Hank Aaron's home run record — his mouth agape, hands stuffed in pockets and nary a cheer on his lips.

No. 755 was a strong shot for all the doubters, an opposite-field drive of 382 feet to left-center, moving Bonds within one swing of having baseball's pinnacle of power all to himself. It came on a 2-1, 91 mph fastball Saturday night.

"This is the hardest thing I've had to do in my entire career," he said. "I had rashes on my head, I felt like I was getting sick at times." And it was a long time coming.

It had been eight days and 28 plate appearances since Bonds hit his 754th home run, and he came out for early batting practice Saturday, hoping to break his slump. He did it quickly, leading off the second inning.

"No matter what anybody thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds' achievement is noteworthy and remarkable," Selig said in a statement. Selig said either he or a representative would attend the Giants' next few games "out of respect for the tradition of the game, the magnitude of the record and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty."

Bonds said he hadn't spoken to Selig, but welcomed him anytime. Aaron was not in attendance. The Hall of Famer had previously said he would not follow the chase in person. "It's a little bit different than any other milestone I've ever gone through," Bonds said. "It's Hank Aaron. I can't explain the feeling of it, it's just Hank Aaron."

Bonds drew a mixed reaction from the crowd at Petco Park after he homered off Clay Hensley. Several fans held up asterisk signs and the San Francisco slugger was booed as he headed to left field at the end of the inning. Bonds walked his next three times up and left the game in the eighth for a pinch-runner. He raised his helmet with his left hand, then his right, and drew a standing ovation from many fans who chanted his name.

"I want to thank the fans. They have been outstanding," Bonds said. "It's been a fun ride. I really appreciate the way San Diego handled it and the way their fans handled it." The Padres won 3-2 in 12 innings.

Bonds said he would not start Sunday, which would give him a chance to break the record at home beginning Monday night.

As if Bonds tying Aaron wasn't enough, Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th career homer yesterday to become the youngest player to reach the milestone. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

NEW YORK - Alex Rodriguez leaned to his right and watched the ball as it sailed toward the foul pole in left. When it stayed true, he raised his hands in the air — the long wait for No. 500 was finally over.

Rodriguez became the youngest player in major league history to hit 500 home runs, connecting on the first pitch he saw Saturday to end a 10-day wait.

The 32-year-old Rodriguez stood at home plate for a second after his first-inning drive off Kyle Davies, waiting to see where it would land. "I haven't hit one in so long I didn't know if it was going to be foul," he said. "Where that ball started, last week that ball would've hooked foul probably about 20 feet."

A-Rod spoke with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and commissioner Bud Selig after the game. Selig was in San Diego and watched Barry Bonds tie Hank Aaron's career home run record with a second-inning shot off Padres starter Clay Hensley.

Rodriguez homered eight days after his birthday and surpassed Jimmie Foxx (32 years, 338 days) as the youngest player to reach 500. A-Rod is the 22nd player to reach the mark, the second this season behind Frank Thomas — Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome might get there this year, too.

Analysis: I'm not going to touch the steroid issue. At 6-foot-6 and 170 pounds I know as much about body-building as George W. Bush knows about diplomacy. All I know is that Ted Williams said that the most difficult thing to do in sports was to hit a baseball. He was right, and Barry and A-Rod are two of the best at this and should be proud of their accomplishments (provided that they were achieved honestly, for which we must await proof).

Bonds haters will simply have to wait until late 2014 or early 2015 for A-Rod to pass him (but then what do we do about the A-Rod haters?). Let's do some projecting: Give A-Rod 15 more homers by the end of this season. 515. To get to 800, which is a real possibility, he needs 285, or 40.7 a year for the next seven seasons. Barring injury, or a sharp decline in production, that would make him the all-time home run king at age 39 or 40.

To sum up, I offer my humble congratulations to these men. The Bonds watch continues.

Judge Rules About That Which Valerie Plame Can/Cannot Write in Memoir

2007-08-03T17:42:00.000-05:00

In yet another example of up being down, left being right and petty douchebaggery being called noble, a district judge has ruled that Valerie Plame cannot reveal the dates she worked for the CIA because that information was never declassified. Yahoo News Reuters excerpt:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The ex-spy whose unmasking led to the conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's top aide cannot disclose the dates she worked for the CIA because the details were never declassified, a federal judge has ruled.

The decision, made public on Friday by U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones, was a victory for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, which sought to block former agent Valerie Plame Wilson from including the dates in her upcoming memoir, "Fair Game."

Plame, along with publisher Simon & Schuster, filed a lawsuit in May against Mike McConnell, the U.S. director of national intelligence, and CIA Director Michael Hayden, seeking to stop the CIA from interfering with publication of her book.

"The information at issue was properly classified, was never declassified, and has not been officially acknowledged by the CIA," the judge said.

Plame's cover as a CIA agent was blown when her identity was leaked to reporters and appeared in a newspaper column in 2003, shortly after her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, emerged as an Iraq war critic.

Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was convicted of lying and obstruction of justice in the investigation of the leak. President George W. Bush commuted Libby's 2 1/2-year prison sentence last month.

Plame's suit argued that the CIA released her dates of service in an unclassified letter sent to her in 2006 by the agency, and that the agency "now purports to classify or reclassify Ms. Wilson's pre-2002 federal service dates" so it cannot be published in her memoir.

CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said the letter had been "an administrative error" because it contained classified information.

Adam Rothberg, a spokesman for Simon & Schuster, said the company was considering all available legal options and is moving forward with the publication of the memoir.

You've gotta love that nonsense about the unclassified letter being an "administrative error" as justification for the CIA's effort to stop this book from being published. How convenient. Through sheer incompetence they led Plame to believe that this information was not classified, but now they ask for a do-over, and an apparently Bush-friendly judge has given them what they want.

Okay, let me get this straight: Bob Novak, Judith Miller and Tim Russert, among others, helped publicize Plame's status as a covert operative, such information having been given directly and indirectly by Scooter Libby, yet Plame herself cannot discuss such matters on her own terms? Can you say "bullshit"? The immortal words of Elvis Costello come to mind: "I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused..." Well, the amusement at what this joke of an administration continues to get away with is long gone, since it is clear that Bush, Cheney and the rest of these criminals will never be held accountable for anything they do. I wish January 20th 2009 would hurry up and get here...

Red Sox Bolster Bullpen with Gagne Trade

2007-07-31T16:37:00.000-05:00

Just before the major league baseball trade deadline (for non-waiver deals) passed, the Red Sox made a move to bolster their bullpen by acquiring relief ace Eric Gagne from the Rangers. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

CLEVELAND - Eric Gagne's comeback has landed him a new role on a new team: helping the Red Sox close out the Yankees. Gagne, pitching like his old self following two elbow operations and back surgery, was acquired by Boston for the stretch run on Tuesday from the Texas Rangers, who also unloaded first baseman Mark Teixeira to Atlanta in a seven-player swap.

Once one of baseball's premier closers, Gagne waived the no-trade clause in his contract to join a Boston bullpen that already had two All-Star relievers: closer Jonathan Papelbon and setup man Hideki Okajima.

But the Red Sox, who entered Tuesday leading the AL East by eight games over New York, didn't want to take any chances of blowing their big lead and acquired Gagne to bolster the back end of their bullpen after consecutive implosions last weekend by Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen.

Gagne will serve as Papelbon's primary setup man and will close on days Papelbon needs rest.

"We actually love our bullpen," Boston manager Terry Francona said of his relievers, who have the lowest ERA (2.74) in the majors. "I think it just got a lot better. Papelbon, Okajima and Gagne — these are guys that you don't match up. You just let them pitch really good baseball."

Shortly after acquiring Gagne, Boston announced that reliever Brendan Donnelly will have season-ending surgery on his right elbow.

The Red Sox sent left-hander Kason Gabbard and minor league outfielders David Murphy and Engel Beltre to the Rangers, who were the busiest team in the majors before Tuesday's 4 p.m. EDT non-waiver trade deadline.
Texas also will cover part of what remains on Gagne's contract.

He was guaranteed $2.5 million in additional money by Boston to accept the trade, raising his 2007 earnings to $9.85 million. Gagne already had a $6 million base salary and had earned $1.35 million in performance bonuses. As part of the deal, he agreed to eliminate his remaining performance bonuses, which are based on games finished.

Gagne was on Boston's radar screen last winter before he signing a one-year contract with the Rangers in December after eight successful seasons with the Dodgers. He went 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA and 16 saves for last-place Texas, which began a three-game series in Cleveland 15 1/2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Angels in the AL West.

The 31-year-old Gagne was a three-time All-Star and won the NL Cy Young Award in 2003 when he saved 55 games for the Dodgers. He had 45 saves in 2004 but was limited to just 14 the following season because of elbow problems that eventually needed surgery. The hard-throwing native of Montreal pitched in only two games last season as he tried to come back from another elbow operation as well as surgery to repair a herniated disk.

From 2002-04, Gagne set a major league record by converting 84 consecutive saves. There were still doubts about his durability, but he has been able to pitch on consecutive days this season, further proof that he's healthy.

The 25-year-old Gabbard went 4-0 with a 3.73 ERA, taking Curt Schilling's spot in the rotation while the right-hander was on the disabled list. Schilling, who was scheduled to make a rehab start on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio, could be activated later this week.

Murphy, 26, was batting .280 with nine homers and 47 RBIs in 100 games for Triple-A Pawtucket. Beltre, 18, batted .215 with five homers and 13 RBIs for the Gulf Coast Red Sox.

The Sox had damned well better hope he is healthy. If he is, and if he can remain effective, he will undoubtedly help the team preserve late-inning leads as the season heads into the home stretch. Gagne adds a terrific power arm to a bullpen of Papelbon, Delcarmen, Mike Timlin, Hideki Okajima and Javier Lopez. My guess is that Julian Tavarez will likely resume Gabbard's spot in the rotation if Schilling isn't quite ready to come back, at which point he will be back in the bullpen as the second long man with Kyle Snyder.

As for the departing players, Gabbard will be the one that hurts the most. He seems like he'll be a good major league starter with more experience, and if not for Curt Schilling's trip to the DL he would still be in Triple-A honing his skills. A good lefty starter is tough to part with, but the Sox recently brought up Jon Lester, and he has pitched fairly well in his starts since rejoining the big club. As for Murphy, he is an outfielder who had a couple of cups of coffee with the big club this season and last season, but who never truly figured into any future plans. I've never heard of Beltre, so I assume the same applies for him. We still have a few hours to go until the deadline, so we shall see what else Theo Epstein has up his sleeve.

CD Review: Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos

2007-07-15T11:52:00.000-05:00

The new Dream Theater CD, Systematic Chaos, has been out for about a month now, and here is my review of this latest offering from these progressive metal giants. Song-by-song:

In the Presence of Enemies, Part I (Prelude/Resurrection) – The first song of the CD clocks in at nine minutes, and begins with the meandering explosiveness that is Dream Theater’s signature style. Guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess engage in some tight interplay as bassist John Myung and drummer Mike Portnoy do more than just find a groove in which to plant themselves. Vocalist James LaBrie doesn’t appear until the 5:15 mark, which sees the song solidify into a theme on religion and the promises it pretends to hold. It is a strong beginning that ends with a flurry from both Petrucci and Rudess.

Forsaken – This is a short (for Dream Theater) song of about five-and-a-half minutes that could be a single except for the fact that commercial radio is a vast wasteland of gutless personalities. The song is a progressive metal power ballad that showcases LaBrie’s vocals soaring over a restrained background. Petrucci fires off a short solo and Rudess supplies plenty of atmosphere with gentle piano and grand orchestral sounds. Myung and Portnoy hold the rhythm down and guide the song throughout.

Constant Motion – This baby is a thumping, stomping monster that more than lives up to its title. LaBrie and mates fire off some aggressive multi-tracked and back-and-forth vocals. About halfway through, Myung and Petrucci slow things down for a few seconds before Petrucci fires off an eastern-tinged solo that leads into Rudess’ spacey keyboard solo. The song then goes back into the original stomp mode through the finish.

The Dark Eternal Night – Begins with a dissonant rhythm from Petrucci and Myung with some mad, pseudo-thrash drumming from Portnoy before LaBrie’s effects-enhanced vocals carve their way into the mix. At about three-and-half minutes the song goes from sinister to a carnival ride that lasts for about three more minutes. This passage is mostly indulgent silliness that includes Rudess providing some piano sounds that are reminiscent of silent movie chase scene themes. It ends with Petrucci taking a blistering solo that seems completely out of place given what just preceded it, though Portnoy does a terrific job of punctuating the changes with his drumming. The song then goes back into dissonant mode and ends with Petrucci slowing down into a heavy, Sabbath-like grove over which he plays some spacey effects as the song fades out. If not for the middle section, this song could be a metal classic.

Repentance – A slow, sad song about regret. This one clocks in at nearly eleven minutes. LaBrie sings the words with longing as the sedate melody guides him. After a semi-acoustic start, Petrucci plays a bluesy electric solo about five minutes into the song before what is apparently the Dream Theater Repentance Choir takes over for about 90 seconds before a time change that brings on wordless vocals, distorted bass and acoustic guitar. Rudess comes in with some underlying keyboards to add to the grim atmosphere. At the nine-and-a-half minute mark, another Repentance Choir member recites some spoken word warnings/wisdom as the song ends.

Prophets of War – This song starts slowly, but the tension builds with some interesting effects with LaBrie’s voice and that are reminiscent of Queen. The spoken word feature comes in here at the four-minute mark. The song seems to be a warning about what we are doing in Iraq.

The Ministry of Lost Souls – This song clocks in at almost fifteen minutes. After a grandiose opening that lasts nearly a minute, a change with Petrucci’s semi-acoustic guitar sets up LaBrie’s longing vocal for a ballad-like ride that lasts more than seven minutes. An abrupt change comes in with some heavy guitars and drums and playful keyboard work. The heaviness escalates with more time changes and keyboard fills and a scary solo. Petrucci fires of a nimble solo of his own as the rythym stays hot. Petrucci and Rudess then play a harmony solo over Portnoy’s frantic drumming as the main theme returns (at nearly the eleven-minute mark) with Petrucci punctuating it with his guitar before things get quiet for a few beats with some soft piano under the vocals befor again coming back to the main melody. Petrucci plays the song out with a crying solo.

In the Presence of Enemies, Part 2 (Heretic/Slaughter of the Damned) – The longest song on the CD at sixteen-and-a-half minutes begins with some quiet piano and vocals with some subtle sonic effects that sound like Petrucci on guitar. Myung perks things up a bit at the two-and-a-half minute mark by adding a heavy bass line to the mix. A minute later Petrucci comes in with a slamming rhythm that signals a change in emphasis that sends LaBrie’s voice into sinister mode. About six minutes in, the tempo picks up to a gallop, almost like Iron Maiden at their best. Three minutes later, a time change comes in with Rudess adding some piano and other keys to the mix for a beat until another quick time change comes in with Petrucci’s guitar and Portnoy’s drums paving the way. They are soon joined by Rudess punctuating the sound with his keyboard effects. At the eleven-minute mark Petrucci plays a chopping solo followed by a solo from Rudess. Petrucci then plays a multi-tracked solo before Rudess takes the tempo down and back to the main melody with his spacey keyboard tones. LaBrie comes back in with his sinister mode vocals as the band winds it with a bang.

I give this effort an A-minus. The chops, as always, are top-notch, and the power, precision and passion shine through to the point where even the more indulgent passages, such as the one cited in Dark Eternal Night seem more like minor inconveniences than true distractions from the music. If you are a Dream Theater follower you probably already own this CD, and if you are new to this band, as a few co-workers of mine were, you might just become converted as they have been after listening to the sounds these guys were able to make. This is a great collection of music, so go out to your local Newbury Comics and purchase a copy. You will not be disappointed!

World's Tallest Man Married in China

2007-07-13T17:45:00.000-05:00

The world's tallest man, a seven-foot nine-inch man from China, was married yesterday in a traditional Mongolian ceremony. Yahoo News Reuters excerpt:

ERDOS, China (Reuters) - The world's tallest man married a woman two-thirds his size and almost half his age on Thursday in a traditional Mongolian ceremony sponsored by at least 15 companies hoping to cash in on his fame.

Bao Xishun, 56, a 2.36-metre (7-ft, 9-inch) herdsman from China's vast Inner Mongolia region, was carried to his wedding on the back of a mobile yurt pulled by camels at the Genghis Khan Holiday Resort on the grasslands near Erdos city.

Are you shitting me? The Genghis Khan Holiday Resort? And what holidays could they possibly celebrate? Caravan Slaughter Day? Village Burning Week? Still, it could have been worse. Bao could have hailed from the Kazakhstan region and might have had his ceremony at the Attila the Hun Sports Multiplex Casino and Hotel, but only if the affair did not bump up against Captive Enslavement Month.

Hundreds of people, some travelling for hours, turned up to see Bao wed saleswoman Xia Shujuan, a mere 1.68 metres (5 ft 6 inches) tall and just 29 years old.

Bao was confirmed as the world's tallest living man by Guinness World Records last year. He overtook the previous holder, Radhouane Charbib of Tunisia, by just 2 mm.

After a career in the army, where he was recruited for a basketball team, he returned to Inner Mongolia. He now herds livestock and hires himself out for publicity stunts.

In December, Bao saved the lives of two dolphins by reaching deep into their stomachs with his 1.06-metre long arm to pull out pieces of plastic, according to Chinese media.

All kidding aside, I get a lot of this stuff since I am six-foot-six, and most of the women with whom I have been involved have been about a foot shorter than I am. People often ask how I can date such short women, and the answer is that they look shorter than they are simply because I am taller than most men. These women are much closer to the average height than I am, but the contrast is often too much for people to handle without feeling like they must make idiotic comments that they think are wildly original. On occasion I have dated women in the five-ten to six-foot range, but the simple truth is that if height was the only consideration then I'd be waiting a long(er) time between dates.

So good luck to Bao and Xia! And may the snarky comments be few and far between for you.

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Water Vapor Detected on Distant Exoplanet

2007-07-11T17:34:00.000-05:00

Water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere of a distant exoplanet, one of the many "hot Jupiters" that have been detected in the past few years. Space.com excerpt:

Scientists have found the spectral imprints of water vapor in starlight filtered through the atmosphere of a giant gas planet outside our solar system.

Combined with a study announced earlier this year, the new finding provides strong evidence that extrasolar planets are as rich in water as the worlds in our solar system, scientists say. The finding is detailed in the July 11 issue of the journal Nature.

Called HD 189733b, the planet belongs to a class of gas giants called "hot Jupiters," which orbit their stars from a distance closer than Mercury is to our sun. The fiery world is about 15 percent bigger than Jupiter and orbits a sun-like star located 64 light-years away in the constellation of Vulpecula, the Fox. It has an average temperature of 1,340 degrees Fahrenheit (727 degrees Celsius) and zips around its star in just two days.

"We're thrilled to have identified clear signs of water on a planet that is trillions of miles away," said study leader Giovanna Tinetti of the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris in France.

Heather Knutson, an astronomer at Harvard University, called the results "solid evidence" that hot Jupiters contain water. "The detection comes as a relief for theorists who had predicted that water vapor should be a significant component of the atmospheres of hot Jupiters," Knutson wrote in a related Nature article.

In April, astronomer Travis Barman of Lowell Observatory announced he had found evidence of water vapor in the atmosphere of another hot Jupiter using the Hubble Space Telescope and a technique similar to the one used by Tinetti's team via the Spitzer Space Telescope. However, Barman's results were such that they might have been caused by instrument noise, causing some scientists to be skeptical.

"Spitzer confirms [the Hubble results] by using an entirely different observatory and an entirely different wavelength," said study team member Sean Carey of NASA's Spitzer Science Center at Caltech. "The two in combination are much stronger," Carey told SPACE.com.

Although water is an essential ingredient for life on Earth, HD 189733b and other hot Jupiters are unlikely to harbor any creatures due to their close proximity to their stars. But the new finding does make it more likely that other types of extrasolar planets also contain water, suggest the scientists.

"Finding water on this planet implies that planets in the universe, possibly rocky ones, could also have water," Carey said.

To say that this finding is important is an understatement. The basic problems with this specific planet aside (proximity to its star, high temperature, excessive mass and graviational pull), the fact that water vapor was detected in such a hostile environment tells us that the possibility of its presence in more suitable environments on smaller, rockier worlds, such as Earth, is a good possibility. I smell a Gliese 581 story update coming!

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All-Star Break Musings. Red Sox Round-Up.

2007-07-10T16:55:00.000-05:00

Tonight, major league baseball plays it's annual All-Star game. This year, it is being played at Lefty O'Doul Stadium in San Francisco, and I will probably watch at least a few innings. All-Star games are terrible wastes of time, and the biggest joke about them is that for the past few seasons the winning league gets home-field advantage in the World Series. This stupid idea was thought up by the idiots who run this fine game after the 2002 debacle in Milwaukee that finished in a 7-7 tie after eleven innings, the end of which showed Omissioner Selig at his best when he threw his hands in the air in frustration when both the AL and NL managers decided that they didn't want to push their pitchers any longer after the bullpens had been emptied. Apparently, it was a crazy idea to pick 30-32 players for each squad, then try to get them into the game.

The "cure" for this was to "Make It Count!" This meant assigning meaning to the game in the form of the aforementioned World Series home-field advantage for whichever league wins the game. How about doing the sensible thing and assigning that advantage to the team with the best record?

Let's look at last year's standings: In the AL the Yankees, 97-65, won the East. The Twins, 96-66, won the Central. The A's 93-69, won the West. The Tigers, 95-67, won the Wild Card. Now, normally, you'd have the best record matched against the worst, 1-4 and 2-3, but for some reason, the Wild Card cannot play a team in it's own division in the first round. Why? Who knows? So instead of a Yankees-A's, Twins-Tigers matchup we had Yankees-Tigers, which the Tigers won, and the Twins-A's, which the A's won. That led to the ALCS Tigers-A's matchup that the Tigers won to advance to the World Series.

The NL ended up with a similarly silly mess, compounded by the fact that the Padres and Dodgers ended the season with identical 88-74 records. The Padres were awarded the West due to their 13-5 head-to head record against the Dodgers who were awarded the Wild Card. The Mets, 97-65, won the East, and the Cardinals, 83-78, won a weak Central. Again, you'd think that the first round matchups would have been Mets-Cardinals, Padres-Dodgers, but nooo! The matchups ended up being Mets-Dodgers, Padres-Cardinals. Here, the Mets beat the Dodgers and the Cardinals beat the Padres, so the NLCS was a Mets-Cardinals matchup that the Cardinals won to advance to the World Series.

The 2006 World Series was a joke, so let's not get into that in detail. Simple math should have dictated that the Tigers, with their 95-67 regular season record, (7-1 for the first two rounds of playoffs) should have earned home field advantage over the Cardinals and their 83-78 regular season record (7-4 for the first two rounds of playoffs). By coincidence, the All-Star game in Pittsburgh's PNC Park (which is a beautiful stadium) went the AL's way as they beat the NL 3-2, but can we count on such coincidences continuing to repeat?

Now, we see players in the All-Star game stay in the game for most of the playing time, and some players never get into the game at all. Maybe the "honor" of having been selected to the team is enough for most, but it would sure as hell piss me off if I were part of such a roster but didn't get to play. These guys are supposed to be the best (a point that is open to debate when you consider the many ways All-Stars are chosen, but that isn't the debate here), so let them all play!

Now, on to the Red Sox...

The team has the best record in baseball (53-34) and leads the AL East by ten games over the Yankees and Blue Jays, who are each one game under .500. Are we looking at a 100-win season? Probably not. 95 is a more likely figure. To do that, the Sox have to go 42-33 the rest of the way. The Yanks need to go 53-24 to reach 95 wins, while the Jays must go 52-23. The division appears to be safe, but one never knows (as this past weekend's sweep at the hands of the Tigers in Detroit shows). Let's review the team, position-by-position:

First baseman Kevin Youkilis has been terrific. He has been more aggressive at the plate this season than last season, which has led to him having produced more runs at this stage of the year than he did at this time last year. And he is still exhibiting good discipline at the plate. He is also playing a fine defensive first base. Trouble is, he missed the last Detroit series and part of the previous Devil Rays series with a quadricep pull. He needs to be healthy in the second half as his bat has become a reliable weapon.

Second baseman Dustin Pedroia has proven my early predictions about him to be wrong, and I couldn't be happier about that. After six weeks of getting the bat knocked out of his hands, he has rebounded, and is now hitting .318. He has done so well that manager Terry Francona has moved him from the 8-9 spot to the two spot lately. He is also playing great defense, exhibiting good range and a strong arm.

Third baseman Mike Lowell has been terrific, and is an All-Star. He is the team co-leader in homers with Papi (14) and the leader in RBI (63). How many of us thought THAT would have been the case back on Opening Day. He is, despite an awful start with the glove, playing good defense lately, and he remains a cornerstone of this lineup.

Shortstop Julio Lugo has had a terrible season at bat. He is hitting .197 with a .270 on-base percentage, something Terry Francona finally woke up and corrected by dropping Lugo to ninth in the order. Somehow, Lugo is among the league leaders in steals with 22, and has only been caught twice. Imagine what those numbers would be if he'd merely operated at his career norm coming into the season of .340 OBP. In the field, he started well, but has seemed shaky of late. Ironically, he hit well in the final game of the Detroit series. Go figure.

Left fielder Manny Ramirez is an All-Star despite having an off-year. His production rates are down all across the board. He is, however, capable of getting hot and carrying the team for a solid month. His defense has been typical Manny--underrated with the occasional adventure.

Center fielder Coco Crisp has been terrific with the glove. He has made a dozen genuine highlight reel catches, and came oh-so close to catching Pudge Rodriguez's game-winning gapper in the last of the 13th on Saturday night. At the plate, he is coming along nicely after a slow start. He is the OTHER Red Sox threat to steal (16 in 21 tries).

Right fielder JD Drew has been terrible. The guy has not hit worth a damn except for about a weeks worth of games in Interleague play (another dumb idea by the idiots who run the major leagues). He is getting out in front of everything, and has become a lunger at the plate. His defense has been decent, but they are paying him to produce about twice as many runs as he has given the team to this point.

Catcher Jason Varitek is a hard worker. There is no question about that. The pitchers love his game-calling skills, and he has been better at throwing opposing base stealers out lately. However, he is also one of the most frustrating hitters on this team. He goes through stretches in which he pounds the ball, then suddenly falls apart and begins to swing at every off-speed piece of shit slider in the dirt. At 35, I wonder if Terry should sit him TWICE a week and give Doug Mirabelli another pitcher to catch. Still, Doug is 36 and has one swing. But as long as Tim Wakefield is pitching, Doug will have a job.

Designated Hitter Papi Ortiz has been a mystery. He has "just" 14 homers, but is second in the AL in doubles with 29, and third in walks with 60. He is hitting .314 so he can still hit. I think Jerry Remy hit it on the head when he observed that Papi appears to be trying to pull the ball too much to right field. Papi is a devastating hitter who has used the left field wall at Fenway to his advantage all through his Sox career. He simply needs to get that swing back (I know, easier said than done). The good news is that he has plenty of time to find the magic again.

Bench: Alex Cora has been terrific. He has played second and short, and played them well. He has also hit better than expected (.278 BA and a team-leading 5 triples). Wily Mo Pena. Where to start? The holes in his swing, the holes in his glove or the holes in his baserunning? Sure, he launches a 480-500 foot homer about once a month, but is that worth all the negatives in his game? Eric Hinske is not a good major league player anymore, which is a sad thing to acknowledge for a man who was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2002 with the Blue Jays. His bat is slow, and he isn't a finished defensive player at any position. Recent callup Jeff Bailey played some first base over the weekend and got his first major league homer. That was the good news. The bad news is that he has been in the minors for ten years. Jacoby Ellsbury, who was recently sent back down to AAA, electrified the team with his speed during the week he spent in the bigs, and he will be back. I've already talked about Doug Mirabelli.

On the pitching side of things, the team has an AL second-best 3.76 ERA. The starting pitchers have been pretty good. All-Star Josh Beckett has been terrific with an AL-leading 12 wins and just two losses with a 3.44 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 102 innings. Daisuke has 10 wins, a 3.84 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 119 2/3 innings. Tim Wakefield is 9-8 with a 4.39 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 106 2/3 innings. Julian Tavarez is 5-7 with an ERA of 4.97 after his last horrendous start. AAA callup Kason Gabbard is 2-0 with a 4.87 ERA in four starts. That is the starting rotation as of this moment. The missing piece is Curt Schilling who is currently on the disabled list. He was 6-4 with an ERA of 4.20 and 71 strikeouts in 92 innings when he went down. Since his near no-hitter in Oakland on June 7th, he was pounded by the Rockies at Fenway, and by the Braves in Atlanta. Both his velocity AND location seemed to be off in those starts. At age 40, can he come back and be something close to a dominant pitcher again?

The bullpen has also been pretty good. All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon has 20 saves, an ERA of 1.93 and 46 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings, which is just ridiculous. Fellow All-Star Hideki Okajima has been the find of the year. He has given up four (4) runs and just 24 hits in 43 1/3 innings for an 0.83 ERA. He has 37 strikeouts, has four saves and has become the primary setup man for Papelbon. Lefty sidewinder Javier Lopez has been good, as has Kyle Synder in long relief. Veteran Mike Timlin has been pitching very well since his return from the disabled list a few weeks ago, which is good since both Brendan Donnelly and Joel Piniero have landed on the DL themselves. Manny Delcarmen has returned from AAA to give the Sox another power arm in the late innings, and he is pitching with more command and confidence than in his previous stints.

Keys to maintaining the pace: Manny and Papi getting back to their familiar power production. JD Drew waking up from his three-month nap. Kevin Youkilis getting healthy. Julio Lugo remembering how to hit. Terry Francona finding a good option to bat in front of Papi and Manny. The team is leading the AL in OBP with a .358 mark despite the down years from Manny and Drew, who are traditionally high OBP guys (and still are, just not at their usual standards).

On the pitching side, they need Schilling to return and be good. Failing that, they will likely try to trade for a starter, as I cannot see them trusting a stretch drive to Kason Gabbard or Jon Lester in the rotation. Beckett, Daisuke and Wake simply have to continue to pitch as they have been pitching. Papelbon and Okajima must continue to dominate hitters they way they have thus far, and the non-closer types like Lopez, Timlin, Delcarmen and Snyder must continue to provide what they have brought to the table thus far.

The second half of the season begins with an eleven game homestand that will see the Sox welcome the Blue Jays, Royals and White Sox to Fenway Park. I just hope none of our guys (or anyone besides A-Rod) gets hurt in tonight's exhibition game.

Remembering Sabine Dunser (1977-2006)

2007-07-08T16:24:00.000-05:00

Today marks the sad anniversary of the passing away of Elis vocalist Sabine Dunser. After having completed her tracks for the band's latest release, Griefshire, Sabine collapsed during rehearsals and died of a brain hemorrhage.

I've been following this band from Liechtenstein since their 2003 release, God's Silence, Devil's Temptation. The combination of crunching guitars, symphonic string arrangements and Sabine's exquisite voice made the band an up and coming force in the world of goth/metal. Their 2004 release, Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky did nothing to hurt their chances at stardom.

Elis is one of several bands that are heavy metal bands that play with a classical feel, and which are fronted by female vocalists who sing with operatic tones. I blame my colleague Stew from the UK for my obession with these acts. He introduced me to Nightwish several years ago and I have not looked back. From there it was After Forever, Within Temptation, The Gathering, Theater of Tragedy, Leaves Eyes, Tristania and Sirenia to name but a few. So Stew, if you get a chance to read this, thanks a million mate!

Griefshire was actually released back in the fall in Europe, and sometime later here in the States. How much later? Odin only knows, since I had been unable to track down a copy either at my local Newbury Comics or on these Internets until about a month ago. What follows is a belated review, and a tribute to Sabine.

The opening track, Tales From Heaven Or Hell is a solid, slamming track with a crunchy hook laid down by guitarists Pete Streit and Christian Gruber. Drummer Max Naescher is like a machine gun as he and bassist Tom Saxer pound the rhythm into the ground during the song's heavier moments. Sabine's voice soars over this sonic cacophony to set the tone for the CD.

Die Stadt is one of two tracks Sabine sings in German (a familiar theme on the previous releases). It starts off with a slow piano/string sound before the guitars come charging in. Sabine guides the song with her voice. I wish I understood the words, but I don't so I just have to go with how her multi-tracked voice soars majestically over the instruments.

Show Me The Way is a catchy song that begins with a solid bass line. Striet and Gruber weave tight harmonies that guide the song, which features a passage with Sabine singing a capella for one part of the chorus. The song deals with the main theme of the CD, namely that of self-realization and inner strength.

Brothers starts slowly and builds to a slow rocker with a riff that Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi would be proud to play as Sabine tells the story of brothers on a mystical journey.

Seit Dem Inbeginn Der Zeit is the other song Sabine sings in German. It starts with quiet guitar over a string piece as Sabine's vocals come in to balance the quiet parts and the slow, heavy guitar riffs before the tempo picks up for a couple of short guitar solos. The tempo remains as Sabine sings over the riffs, strings and some quiet piano. The song ends slowly as the string arrangement plays out.

Remember the Promise starts out fast and heavy and speeds up. Tom and Max drive the rhythm as Streit and Gruber torch the sonic landscape with some heavy riffs and nimble, almost eastern sounding solos. Sabine delivers the vocals with a frantic urgency, ably assisted by the vocal choir as the song maintains the quick pace.

Phoenix From the Ashes starts with a gentle string arrangement that is quickly covered by heavy guitar riffs as Sabine starts to sing. But that was a false start as this song picks up where the previous one left off. The rhythm of the main melody is relentless, but provides some room for the strings and piano as Sabine sings the choruses. Streit comes in with a bright guitar solo tinged with the old wah-wah pedal before the main melody returns to guide the song to its end.

How Long is a gentle piano ballad that features some heavenly singing from Sabine. Streit and Gruber play short guitar solos that do not overwhelm the light atmosphere.

Innocent Hearts starts with soaring guitar harmonies that go into a crunching rhythm. Sabine uses the lower range of her voice in the verses and the up-front parts of the choruses, while her background vocals soar above everything. The song then turns into a dirge, punctuated by a slurring guitar solo before the vocal choir comes in and the song gets back to the main melody.

Forgotten Love starts as another gentle piano ballad with a quiet string arrangement over which Sabine sings a sad vocal about lost love.

The Burning gets back to heavy mode with a hammering riff and bassist Saxer's low growls. Max gets into machine gun mode on drums as Sabine and the choir guide the song until the chaotic middle which contains some dissonant riffs to balance Sabine's crying vocal delivery. The song then slows a bit with some guitar harmonies before the chaos returns. Then it is back to the hammers and growls versus Sabine and the choir before the song ends on a sudden, positive note. All that in four minutes and forty seconds!

A New Decade starts slowly with some gentle piano interspersed with heavy guitar riffs and a tight harmony. Sabine then enters, alternately using both the lower and higher ends of her range as she weaves the words around Saxer's heavy bass lines and the guitar riffs, which culminate in a harmony solo before the song settles back into the main groove.

The final track is Heaven and Hell, a cover of the Black Sabbath song from that group's classic 1980 release. Streit and Gruber churn out the familiar riffs with just a couple of tweaks. A string arrangement flows over the riffs as Sabine's multi-tracked voice lights up Ronnie James Dio's sinister lyrics. Wisely, neither Streit nor Gruber attempt to outdo the original Iommi guitar solo, either in tone or length. Instead they play it quick and clean before the song speeds up with Max and Tom holding the rhythm together as Sabine does an absolutely flawless job with her vocal delivery.

This is a terrific collection of songs. The band's performances were tight and to the point. Saxer and Naescher kept the tempo heavy but true. Guitarists Streit and Gruber churned out dozens of riffs and a handful of good solos, but managed to channel them into the songs in a positive manner. Sabine pushed herself to a new level, both lyrically and vocally. Her tone altenated between menacing and heavenly, depending upon what she had to do for each part of the songs. Producer Alexander Krull (Atrocity, Leaves Eyes), who produced the previous Elis CDs, outdid himself here as he pulled out all the stops with his interweaving of vocal choirs and string arrangements with the metallic riffs of the main musicians.

Elis has chosen to continue, and has picked former Dreams of Sanity vocalist Sandra Schleret to replace Sabine. Good luck to Sandra, and to Elis. This band has a lot of potential and I look forward to hearing how they move forward.

Romney Gives Thumbs Up to Libby Sentence Commutation

2007-07-03T16:27:00.001-05:00

Former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney (R-Doubletalking Hypocrite), weighed in today with his opinion that Preznit Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby was a really cool thing to do. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who as Massachusetts governor refused to pardon an Iraq war veteran's BB-gun conviction, on Tuesday called President Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence "reasonable."

Defending Bush, Romney said at a campaign stop that "the president looked very carefully at the setting" before deciding to commute the 2 1/2-year sentence of Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, who was convicted in the CIA leak case.

That quote: "the president looked very carefully at the setting" is as big a joke as you could come up with, even if you weren't trying to be funny about this case. This president has never looked carefully at a goddamned thing since he stole his way into power -- especially the Presidential Daily Briefing of August 6, 2001 titled "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US."

The prosecutor in the case "went after somebody even when he knew no crime had been committed," Romney said. "Given that fact, isn't it reasonable for a commutation of a portion of the sentence to be made?"

If no crime was committed, then why did the jury convict Libby? Mitt, are you stupid, or just a partisan hack?

As governor, Romney twice rejected a pardon for Anthony Circosta, who at age 13 was convicted of assault for shooting another boy in the arm with a BB gun — a shot that didn't break the skin. Circosta worked his way through college, joined the Army National Guard and led a platoon of 20 soldiers in Iraq's deadly Sunni triangle. In 2005, as he was serving in Iraq, he sought a pardon to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer.

In his presidential bid, Romney often proudly points out that he was the first governor in modern Massachusetts history to deny every request for a pardon or commutation during his four years in office. He says he refused pardons because he didn't want to overturn a jury. During the four years Romney was in office, 100 requests for commutations and 172 requests for pardons were filed in the state. All were denied.

Case One: Anthony Circosta, as a kid, shot another kid, non-fatally (and apparently non-traumatically), and as a result carries an assault conviction that seems not to have slowed him down as he got an education, and serves this country as a soldier in Iraq. Mitt Romney, a governor who can pardon such convictions, chose not to do so.

Case Two: Scooter Libby, likely acting as a hatchet man for the Preznit and the Vice Preznit, commits the crime of exposing the identity of a covert asset, lies about it, and is convicted and sentenced to prison. Preznit Bush commutes the 30-month sentence as "too harsh", and is mulling over the possibility of a full pardon (which he will, as sure as I am typing this, receive). Mitt Romney believes this to be a sensible act.

Let's recap: Mitt Romney, exhibiting the Preznit's laziness, brags about not having ever pardoned anyone while he served as governor, and cites among his reasons for never having done so as his desire to not overturn the verdicts of juries. Preznit Bush commuted the sentence of a man who, on his behalf, put this nation at risk by exposing the identity of a covert asset and lied about it, and was convicted and sentenced for having done so. The Preznit overturned the verdict of the jury in this case, something Mitt Romney supposedly never wanted to do himself, but is happy that the Preznit has done so in this case. Mitt, besides being completely useless as a leader, you are the very definition of a hypocrite.

The sad thing for you (which is the good thing for the rest if us) is that the man for whom you so loudly cheer does not give a flying coitus about you and your chances to be the next Preznit. Another news flash Mitt: Neither do his supporters, many of whom will be helping your primary opponents sling mud at you in your doomed to failure attempt to gain the White House. Have fun on the campaign trail!

Preznit Commutes Libby Sentence

2007-07-02T17:33:00.000-05:00

Just when you think that the Bush administration can sink no lower into the criminal swamp than it already has, they amaze with their ability to find a deeper pit of muck in which to crawl to protect their criminal arses. The Preznit just commuted Scooter Libby's prison sentence. The one that required him to serve 30 months for lying about the shit he pulled as Deadeye Dick Cheney's hit man in the Valerie Plame/Joseph Wilson case. Sickening Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

WASHINGTON - President Bush spared former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby from a 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak case Monday, stepping into a criminal case with heavy political overtones on grounds that the sentence was just too harsh.

Bush's move came hours after a federal appeals panel ruled Libby could not delay his prison term in the CIA leak case. That meant Libby was likely to have to report to prison soon and put new pressure on the president, who had been sidestepping calls by Libby's allies to pardon the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

So now it looks like the Preznit and the Vice Preznit no longer have to worry about Libby airing the dirty laundry on appeal. What this action lacks in substance, it more than makes up for in arrogance. Read on...

"I respect the jury's verdict," Bush said in a statement. "But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison."

What is this? George Orwell's 1984? You respect the jury's verdict so much that you are erasing it?!? UGH. Oh, wait! In other news: Up is Down! Water is Dry! Horseshit smells so sweet you can use it as an air freshener for your living room!

Bush left intact a $250,000 fine and two years probation for Libby, and Bush said his action still "leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby."

Really? As if your supporters aren't going to come up with that cool quarter-mil. Christ, the oil reveune you are stealing from Iraq can cover that amount in twenty minutes.

Libby was convicted in March of lying to authorities and obstructing the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative's identity. He was the highest-ranking White House official ordered to prison since the Iran-Contra affair.

Reaction was harsh from Democrats. "As Independence Day nears, we are reminded that one of the principles our forefathers fought for was equal justice under the law. This commutation completely tramples on that principle," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said through a spokesman.

Harsh. Not hardly. Great sentiment though, Chuck. So, are you or your fellow Democrats going to DO anything about it other than talk?

Bush said Cheney's former aide was not getting off free. "The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged," Bush said. "His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant and private citizen will be long-lasting."

Will these "consequences" have as long-lasting an effect as the weakening of our nation's intelligence gathering abilities due to the actions of this now free convicted felon?

A spokeswoman for Cheney said simply, "The vice president supports the president's decision."

Right. More like Cheney MADE the fucking decision.

Bush's statement made no mention of the term "pardon," and he made clear that he was not willing to wipe away all penalties for Libby. The president noted Libby supporters' argument that the punishment did not fit the crime for a "first-time offender with years of exceptional public service."

NPR ran a short piece on the possibility that the Preznit might pardon Libby. I figured that such a course of action was a foregone conclusion, given the fact that Poppy pardoned most of his fellow Iran-Contra criminals in his last shameful act before leaving office. Too bad the Democrats didn't have the balls to follow Bartcop's advice and challenge the Preznit NOT to pardon Libby under any circumstances.

Yet, he added, "Others point out that a jury of citizens weighed all the evidence and listened to all the testimony and found Mr. Libby guilty of perjury and obstructing justice. They argue, correctly, that our entire system of justice relies on people telling the truth. And if a person does not tell the truth, particularly if he serves in government and holds the public trust, he must be held accountable." Bush then stripped away the prison time.

So much for your bullshit Campaign 2000 pledge to run the most ethical White House ever. And what about your pledge to find and punish the leaker(s)? Looks like that was just a bunch of bullshit too. Big fucking surprise...

The leak case has hung over the White House for years. After CIA operative Valerie Plame's name appeared in a 2003 syndicated newspaper column, Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald questioned top administration officials, including Bush and Cheney, about their possible roles.

Nobody was ever charged with the leak, including Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage or White House political adviser Karl Rove, who provided the information for the original article. Prosecutors said Libby obstructed the investigation by lying about how he learned about Plame and whom he told.

Plame believes Libby and other White House officials conspired to leak her identity to reporters in 2003 as retribution against her husband, Joseph Wilson, who criticized what he said was the administration's misleading use of prewar intelligence on Iraq.

Attorney William Jeffress said he had spoken to Libby briefly by phone and "I'm happy at least that Scooter will be spared any prison time. The prison sentence was imminent but obviously the conviction itself is a heavy blow to Scooter."

Again, is it as big a blow as the damage his lies have done to this nation's ability to gather and assess intelligence?

This is truly a travesty. Obviously is administration cares little about appearances. Hell, they've been committing their crimes out in plain sight for all to see ever since they stole their way into power. These actions have become second nature to them.

So now what? How the hell do we reconcile this action with Martha Stewart having to go to jail? Or by Tommy Chong having to go to jail? I'll take Mr. Schumer's lead and up the ante: Not only does this action trample the notion of justice for all for which our forefathers fought, it makes a mockery of the very ideals we as a nation claim to uphold. How can we truly claim the moral high ground when a petty little man like George W. Bush behaves like a feudal lord or a petty tyrant whose notions of right and wrong are seemingly decided on a whim, especially when those notions fly in the face of legislative or judicial action?

This man is not a patriot. His Vice-President is not a patriot. Scooter Libby is not a patriot. Neither are scum like Alberto Gonzalez, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld or Paul Wolfowitz. To call these men patriots is a grave insult to the real patriots of this nation's past and present. We would all do well to remember that this Wednesday as we celebrate this nation's 231st birthday.

Craig Biggio Gets 3,000th Career Hit

2007-06-29T16:46:00.000-05:00

Major league baseball milestones continue to fall. Last night, Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros got his 3,000th career hit, becoming the 27th player in major league history to achieve the milestone. ESPN.com excerpt:

HOUSTON (AP) -- Craig Biggio collected his 3,000th hit and Carlos Lee made sure he could celebrate it in style.

Biggio had five hits for just the second time in his career and Lee hit a grand slam in the 11th inning to give the Houston Astros an 8-5 win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday night.

"I think it was the way it was supposed to be done," Biggio said as he choked back tears. "To have it happen here -- that was a special atmosphere that was out there today."

Lee's shot to left field off Brian Fuentes (0-3) came on the first pitch. Biggio singled in the 11th, and Hunter Pence followed with a double before Lance Berkman was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Biggio became the 27th player to reach the mark with a single to center field in the seventh inning. The Astros second baseman was thrown out trying to stretch the play into a double on his third hit of the night, which tied the game at 1.

That says it all about Biggio. He could have settled for the single and let the cheers rain down on him, but he sensed a chance to take the extra base in a close game and went for it. Sure, he was out, but the point is that the guy never stops hustling.

He added his fourth hit on a single to right field in the ninth for hit No. 3001 and his first four-hit game of the season.
Biggio is the first player to reach 3,000 hits since Rafael Palmeiro on July 15, 2005, with Baltimore.

The 41-year-old, who entered the season needing 70 hits to reach the milestone, has played his entire 20-year career with the Astros, making him the longest tenured player in franchise history.

He dragged Jeff Bagwell, a teammate of his for 15 seasons, onto the field after reaching the mark. After all the two went through together, he wanted to share the moment with him.

"I wanted him on that field, between the lines one more time with me to really let the fans say goodbye, say hello, say thank you for so many things," Biggio said. "To me that was what it was about. He deserved it and I deserved it in a way. I just wanted him to enjoy it and be happy one more time with me."

Bagwell was moved by the gesture. "I'm just so proud of him," Bagwell said. "I just want everyone to appreciate that that's the kind of person he is off the field as well the kind he is on it. I'll never forget this moment."

A classy move by Biggio. A few years ago, the Red Sox hosted the Astros as part of interleague play, and Bags hit a long homer over the Monster. Of course, that homer was just one of the 449 he slugged that should have come in a Sox uniform, if not for the idiotic trade that sent him to Houston for middle reliever Larry Andersen at the 1990 trade deadline. But now is not the time for bitterness. Congratulations to Craig Biggio, the newest Mr. 3000. Next up for Biggio is the all-time career record for times having been hit by a pitch. At 283, he is four behind leader dead-ball era Hall of Famer Hughie Jennings' 287.

Frank Thomas Hits 500th Career Home Run

2007-06-28T17:21:00.000-05:00

Frank Thomas of the Blue Jays hit his 500th career home run (and his 13th of the season) last night in Minneapolis against the Twins in an 8-5 Blue Jay loss. ESPN.com excerpt:

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Thankfully for Frank Thomas, his family had to catch an early flight Thursday. That meant his wife, three children and father-in-law got to see Thomas hit his 500th home run. And they were gone when Thomas got ejected.

"They had to leave for the airport at 1:45. My daughter said, 'Dad, you've got to do it in the first couple of at-bats," he said. Thomas hit a three-run shot in the first inning of the Toronto Blue Jays 8-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins, becoming the 21st major leaguer to reach 500.

But in the ninth, Thomas was ejected by plate umpire Mark Wegner after being called out on strikes for the second time in the game. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons came out to argue and also got tossed.

"I'm probably the first to get 500 home runs and get thrown out of the ballgame," Thomas said. "That's something I didn't want to happen, but the moment just got the best of me."

Next on Thomas' ascent on the career home run list are Eddie Murray (504), Mel Ott (511) and Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews (512 each). Also within reach of 500 this year are Alex Rodriguez, Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez.

Congratulations to Thomas, who also has 468 career doubles. Members of the 500 Homer - 500 Doubles Club: Henry Aaron (755-624), Barry (749-595) Bonds, Babe Ruth (714-506), Willie Mays (660-523), Frank Robinson (586-528), Rafael Palmeiro (569-585), Ted Williams (521-525) and Eddie Murray (504-565).

A-Rod, with 492 homers, has 382 doubles, but at age 31, if he stays healthy, he should be a lock for 500-500. Thome, with 482 homers, has just 356 doubles, and will likely not get to 500 doubles. Manny has 481 homers and 454 doubles, so he is a good bet to join this club some time next season. Gary Sheffield, with 472 homers, has 430 doubles, so he has a chance to join also, but at 38, he needs to stay healthy and productive.

Barry Bonds also has 514 stolen bases, which makes him the only member of the 500 Homers - 500 Doubles - 500 Steals Club. Aaron, Mays and Robinson are the only 500-500 guys with at least 200 career steals (240 for Aaron, 338 for Mays and 204 for Robinson).

Guiliani Lies About Clinton's Response to 1993 World Trade Center Attack

2007-06-26T17:38:00.000-05:00

Republican Presidential candidate, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani (R-Neocon Wannabee), spent part of his speech to a bunch of right-wing loons at Pat Robertson's (R-Religiously Insane) Regent University today, claiming that Islamic terror is all Bill Clinton's fault because he didn't do enough after the World Trade Center was attacked in February 1993--a mere six weeks after he took office. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday accused former President Clinton of not responding forcefully enough to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing or later terrorist attacks.

The former New York mayor criticized Democrats, accusing them of weakness and naivete in dealing with terrorism. Giuliani made the comments to about 650 business, corporate and political leaders at Regent University, the conservative Christian college founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.

"Islamic terrorists killed more than 500 Americans before Sept. 11. Many people think the first attack on America was on Sept. 11, 2001. It was not. It was in 1993," said the former New York mayor.

Giuliani argued that Clinton treated the World Trade Center bombing as a criminal act instead of a terrorist attack, calling it "a big mistake" that emboldened other strikes on the Khobar Towers housing complex in Saudi Arabia, in Kenya and Tanzania and later on the USS Cole while docked in Yemen in 2000.

"The United States government, then President Clinton, did not respond," Giuliani said. "(Osama) bin Laden declared war on us. We didn't hear it."

Are you finished Mr. Guiliani? Then, in the immortal words of Jules from Pulp Fiction: "Well allow me to RETORT!"

President Clinton not only successfully prosecuted this act, he did so without forcing Orwellian laws on the American people. Don't believe me? Here's an excerpt from Answers.com concerning the FACTS of this case:

The World Trade Center (WTC) bombing of 1993 has long since been overshadowed by the attack that brought the twin towers down on September 11, 2001. Yet, at the time it occurred, the attack loomed as large on the American landscape as the towers themselves once did on the Manhattan skyline. The attack killed six people and injured more than a thousand, the first casualties from foreign terrorists on U.S. soil. American authorities identified at least eight perpetrators, but questions remain as to the ultimate cause of the attack.

The attack and its aftermath. At 12:18 p.m. on Friday, February 26, 1993, an explosion rocked the second level of the parking basement beneath Trade Tower One. The explosive material, as investigators would later determine, was somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds (544–680 kg) of urea nitrate, a homemade fertilizer-based explosive.

The blast ripped open a crater 150 feet (46 m) in diameter and five floors deep, rupturing sewer and water mains and cutting off electricity. Over the hours that followed, more than 50,000 people were evacuated from the Trade Center complex. A stunned nation soon grasped a fact larger than the incident itself: foreign-sponsored terrorism—which had long plagued Western Europe and parts of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—had come to the United States.

The forensic investigation, with two chemists each from the FBI, ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms), and New York Police Department collecting and studying residue from the blast area. In the course of this work, investigators found a key piece of evidence: a 300-pound (136-kg) fragment of a vehicle that, based on the damage it had sustained, must have been at the very epicenter of the blast. Sewage contamination had rendered it unusable for residue analysis, but it bore something much better: a vehicle identification number (VIN).

This was not to be the first fortunate break for investigators. Authorities traced the vehicle to a Ryder truck rental facility in Jersey City, New Jersey, from which it had been reported stolen. On Monday, while FBI special agents were at the Jersey City facility to speak with personnel there, the Ryder clerk received a call from a man identified as Mohamed Salemeh. The latter demanded the return of his $400 deposit for the van in question, and the Ryder clerk arranged for him to return and collect the deposit on March 4, 1993. When Salemeh arrived, he was arrested.

A search of Salemeh's belongings led investigators to Nidal Ayad, a chemist working for the Allied Signal Corporation in New Jersey. Toll records and receipts helped lead to a safe house in Jersey City, New Jersey, where authorities found traces of nitroglycerine and urea nitrate. They also uncovered evidence that Salemeh and Ayad had obtained three tanks of compressed hydrogen gas, and in the course of searching a storage room rented by Salemeh, investigators found large caches of urea, sulphuric acid, and other chemicals used in making a bomb. On March 3, the New York Times received a letter claiming responsibility for the bombing, and subsequent investigation of DNA samples matched Ayad with the saliva on the envelope flap.

The trail of investigation would eventually lead to Ramzi Yousef, who authorities believe was in the van that delivered the explosives to the WTC. With him was Eyad Ismoil. Also implicated in the bombing, along with Salemeh and Ayad, were Ahmad Ajaj, Mahmoud Abouhalima, and Abdul Rahman Yasin. On March 4, 1994, a jury found Salemeh, Ajaj, Abouhalima, and Ayad guilty on 38 counts, including murder and conspiracy, and the judge handed down multiple life sentences.

Yousef fled the country, and engaged in other terror plots before he was captured and brought to the United States from Pakistan in February 1995. He was sentenced to life plus 240 years. As of 2003, Yasin had not been captured, and was believed to be in Iraq. In October 1995, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, a blind Egyptian cleric who taught at mosques in Brooklyn and New Jersey, was sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding the attack.

Mr. Guiliani's claim that "President Clinton, did not respond" is simply not true. Of the eight prime suspects in this case, seven were quickly apprehended and brought to justice, with Yasin having been captured in Iraq, where he was doing time as recently as 2002. By my math, that percentage beats Preznit Flight Suit Fantasy's record when it comes to Osama bin Laden and his accomplices. And speaking of bin Laden, Clinton didn't ignore, the way the Preznit did, a Presidential Daily Briefing that warned of an impending attack so that he could go on vacation.

So, Mr. Guiliani, it appears that you are, as my Granfather used to say, full of old shoes. The way I'M saying it is that you, Mr. Guiliani, are full of shit, and you know it. As an attorney, you must be familiar with the meaning of the word "evidence", of which there is plenty contained in the second excerpt to refute your position. Additionally, you must also be familiar with the word "perjury", especially since you are guilty of having committed that act when you spoke to these rubes.

If you, Mr. Guiliani, end up being the GOP nominee, you will have to answer to Mrs. Clinton, if she ends up being the Democratic nominee, for your slander. Hell, you may have to start explaining yourself by the end of this week. Either way, I cannot wait for that to happen.

Former Relief Ace Rod Beck (1968-2007)

2007-06-25T17:29:00.000-05:00

Former relief ace, Rod Beck, who pitched for the Giants, Cubs, Red Sox and Padres, was found dead yesterday at the age of 38. ESPN.com excerpt:

Rod Beck was a menacing sight on the mound, with a bushy mustache and a searing stare that intimidated batters throughout his 13-year career as one of baseball's best closers.

Yet his friends in the game knew Beck as a hardworking teammate and a jovial character whose early death saddened players all around the major leagues.

Beck, an All-Star relief pitcher who earned 286 career saves, was found dead in his home Saturday. He was 38.

Nicknamed "Shooter" and well-known for his fondness for country music, cowboy boots and cigarettes, Beck pitched for the San Francisco Giants (1991-97), the Chicago Cubs (1998-99) and the Boston Red Sox (1999-2001) before finishing his career with the Padres (2003-04).

While working his way back to the majors in 2003, Beck pitched for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs and famously lived in his Winnebago parked just beyond the outfield fence. Delighted fans would drop by for autographs and stay for a beer.

Beck set the Giants' single-season record with 48 saves in 1993. He was on the mound when San Francisco clinched the NL West title in 1997, and was the Giants' career saves leader with 199 until Robb Nen passed him in 2002.

"I broadcast a lot of games when he got the final out," Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Half of those times, he did it on guts."

Beck was a favorite at Candlestick Park through most of the 1990s, but left to sign with the Cubs as a free agent in 1998. "Everyone in the Giants organization is deeply saddened by the loss of a dear friend," Giants owner Peter Magowan said. "Rod Beck was a true Giant in every sense of the word, from his dedication on the field to his selflessness away from the park."

Beck saved 51 games in his first season in Chicago, helping the Cubs win the NL wild card. He had a career record of 38-45 in 704 games with a 3.30 ERA.

At a Giants-Cubs game at Wrigley Field last Sept. 2, Beck threw out the ceremonial first pitch and sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch.

Beck was involved in charity work with the Pediatric AIDS Foundation and other worthy causes during his time in San Francisco.

Kuiper is right about his observation that a lot of the time Beck got the final outs of games on guts. His performance in the 1998 tie-breaker between the Cubs and Giants to determine the NL Wild Card that season was a prime example. He had been pitching almost every day down the stretch (appearing in a career high 81 games), and had almost nothing left when he faced the Giants. He had no fastball, and his sliders were about 75 MPH, but he got the job done. Unfortunately for Beck, the after effects of that heavy workload carried over into the beginning of 1999 and he was hit hard, and the Cubs traded him to the Red Sox.

By the time the Red Sox got him, Beck was basically a setup man (9 wins against 5 losses and 9 saves with a 3.46 ERA in 114 games and 135 1/3 innings), but he still had that aura about him that seemed to say to hitters, "Here it is, try to hit it." He looked and acted absolutely fearless on the mound, even when he struggled, which is the type of mentality a closer needs to perform well, which Beck did far more often than not.

Full Story

Rod Beck's Career Stats

Latest Supreme Court Atrocities, Courtesy of Alito and Roberts (ably assisted by Kennedy, Scalia and Thomas)

2007-06-25T16:47:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it, the Supreme Court ruled on three (3) cases today that involved free speech, and in each case, the court exhibited the hard rightward turn that Preznit Flight Suit Fantasy wanted when he appointed empty suits, Alito and Roberts to fill the vacancies left by slightly less empty suits, Sandra Day O'Connor and William Rehnquist.

I'm too aggravated to give you any excerpts. Check out the following links and document the atrocities yourselves.

First off, the court voted 5-4 to severely restrict the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. Have these people learned nothing from the Tom DeLay K-Street debacle? Justices Alito, Kennedy, Roberts, Thomas and Scalia voted in the majority. One clue to how wrong this ruling is, is that Mitt Romney (R-No Chane of Being President) cheered the news.

Second, the court pretended that a high school kid who toted a banner that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" was some kind of a drug kingpin, and decided that he enjoys no first amendment protection. The count went 5-4 with justices Alito, Kennedy, Roberts, Thomas and Scalia voted in the majority.

Third, the Bush mis-administration's faith-based initiatives got their wish when the court ruled that ordinary taxpayers cannot sue to stop conferences that help religious (extremist Christian) charities apply for federal grants. The count was, again, 5-4, and in a shocking turn of events, justices Alito, Kennedy, Roberts, Thomas and Scalia, once again voted in the majority. That makes three-for-three for the knuckledraggers. Apparently the work of Thomas Jefferson to separate church and state has no meaning to these people.

Oh well, maybe Frank Thomas will hit his 500th career homer tonight, which will give me something more positive about which to report tomorrow...

Sammy Sosa Hits 600th Career Homer. Damon and Chipper Join the 2,000 Hit Club.

2007-06-21T17:33:00.000-05:00

Sammy Sosa hit his 600th career homer last night. Here's the Yahoo News AP Sports excerpt:

Sammy Sosa joined an elite club, hitting his 600th home run against his former team. Meanwhile, two younger sluggers hit key home runs to rally baseball's hottest teams to victories.

Sosa became the fifth member of the 600-homer club, hitting a solo shot in the fifth inning of Texas' 7-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs, his former team.

"It was something that cannot be explained," Sosa said. "Getting my 600th against the Chicago Cubs, and my first team (was) the Texas Rangers. It's like everything clicked. My emotions, I don't know what they are."

After driving a 1-2 pitch to right-center for a solo shot in the fifth inning of Texas' 7-3 victory, Slammin' Sammy bounced out of the batter's box with his trademark hop and thrust his right fist into the air before reaching first base. He was mobbed at home plate by his teammates while the scoreboard showed pictures of all five members of the elite club: Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sosa.

The home run came off Jason Marquis (5-4), the 364th pitcher the 38-year-old Sosa has homered off in his 18 major league seasons.

Full Story

There are a lot of people who lump Sammy into the steroid swamp with Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi, but the only thing he has ever been caught doing is having once used a corked bat. Well then, why the sudden improvement from being a 30-35 homer a year guy to having three years of 60 or more homers in a four year span? How about the fact that he learned to control the strike zone better?

As a youngster with the Rangers and White Sox, his strikeout to walk ratio was a horrendous 5-to-1. With the Cubs, from 1992-7 it improved to 3.3-to-1, still pretty bad. Then, Sammy was mostly a mistake hitter who crushed careless fastballs and hanging curves. From 1998-2003, his ratio of strikeouts to walks improved to 1.6-to-1, which is why he showed a proportionate improvement in his batting average (from about a .260 average before 1998 to .302 from 1998-2003, though his career average is .273) and his power numbers.

Do corked bats or steroids make one a better judge of the strike zone? Was Sammy on the juice? I don't know the answer to those questions. Instead, I think we should look at his stats and see that he figured out, either by himself or with the help of a solid coach or coaches, that he could get better pitches to hit if he would make the pitcher work rather than swing at the first fastball that looked good to him. The results speak for themselves, and Sammy should be proud of this accomplishment.

Also, belated congratulations to former Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon. He got his 2, 000th career base hit about three weeks ago against the White Sox. The same kudos for Braves third baseman Larry "Chipper" Jones who got his 2,000th career hit this past weekend against the Indians.

In late-breaking news, the Red Sox are off today, and are travelling to San Diego for a three-game weekend series against the San Diego Padres who lead the NL West. The Yankees lost today in Colorado, which made it a three-game sweep for the Rockies as they beat Roger Clemens (who failed to get his 350th career win) 4-3 at Coors Field. The loss puts the Yanks back at .500 (35-35), 10 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Red Sox.

Gliese 581 Update: First Good Candidate for Life is Out, but a Second Candidate in Same System is Looking Better...

2007-06-18T17:02:00.000-05:00

Today's Gliese 581 update from Space.com concerns new observations that lead researchers to believe that Gliese 581c, a rocky world of about five Earth masses, may now be too hot to support life--the consequence of a runaway greenhouse affect similar to that found on Venus. But all hope is not lost for this system. It turns out that Gliese 581d, slightly further from the primary star, and as massive as about eight Earths, may turn out to be the better candidate for life. Excerpt:

Scientists earlier this year announced they had found a small, rocky planet located just far enough from its star to sustain liquid water on its surface, and thus possibly support life.

Turns out the scientists might have picked the right star for hosting a habitable world, but got the planet wrong. The world known as Gliese 581c is probably too hot to support liquid water or life, new computer models suggest, but conditions on its neighbor, Gliese 581d, might be just right.

The findings are detailed in the May 25 issue of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Gliese 581c, discovered in April by a team led by Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland, is about 50 percent bigger than Earth and about five times more massive. It is located about 20.5 light-years away, and circles a dim red dwarf star called Gliese 581.

Of the more than 200 extrasolar planets, or "exoplanets," discovered since 1995, Gliese 581c was the first found that resides within the habitable zone of its star, if only barely. The habitable, or "Goldilocks" zone is the region around a star where the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold, so water can exist on a planet's surface in its liquid state. Water is a key ingredient for life as we know it.

But new simulations of the climate on Gliese 581c created by Werner von Bloh of the Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and his team suggest the planet is no Earthly paradise, but rather a faraway Venus, where carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere create a runaway greenhouse effect that warms the planet well above 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 Celsius), boiling away liquid water and with it any promise of life.

But the same greenhouse effect that squashes prospects for life on Gliese 581c raises the same hope for another planet in the system, a world of eight Earth-masses called Gliese 581d, which was also discovered by Udry's team.

"This planet is actually outside the habitable zone," said Manfred Cuntz, an astronomer at the University of Texas at Arlington and a member of von Bloh's team. "It appears at first sight too cold. However, based on the greenhouse effect, physical processes can occur which are heating up the planet to a temperature that allows for fluid water."

And where this is fluid water, there is the chance of life as well. The researchers speculate that "at least some primitive forms of life" might exist on Gliese 581d. There is no evidence to support that speculation, however.

Jaymie Matthews, an astronomer at the University of British Columbia in Canada, doesn't treat the new findings as conclusive, but finds them "interesting as an illustration of how we can use remote exoplanetary environments as possible test beds for climate models."

Matthews own research, recently presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Astronomical Society, suggests one reason Gliese 581 is such a promising star for finding habitable planets is that it is similar to our own sun in that it is remarkably stable.

Matthews and his team used a Canadian space telescope called MOST to monitor Gliese 581 for six weeks. During that time, they observed very few instances of the powerful solar flares common among red dwarf stars.

"If the star showed significant variations in brightness during the weeks we monitored it, that would at least complicate the thermal equilibrium of the planets around it," Matthews explained.

The stability of the light also suggests Gliese 581 is old and that is has been around for at least a few billion years. "Young stars, like young people, can have bad cases of acne (large starspots and activity) and spin around," Matthews said in an email interview. "Older stars like the sun have relatively clear complexions and rotate rather sedately."

Gliese 581's advanced age is good news for scientists hoping to find signs of life in the system. "We know it took about three and a half billion years for life on Earth to reach the level of complexity that we call human," Matthews said, "so it's more encouraging for the prospects of complex life on any planet around Gliese 581 if it's been around for at least as long."

These points are extremely important. As is correctly detailed here, young red dwarf stars exhibit flare activity, and this activity would put any planets with anything close to Earth-like conditions at risk of being bathed in radiation, and to have their temperatures skyrocket within short time periods. The fact that this activity is absent in Gliese 581 is a good thing, as it points to the star's stability.

As for the planets in question, Gliese 581c lies only about 7 million miles from the primary (figures obtained from solstation.com--see blog roll), so if it is as massive as the measurements indicate (five Earth masses), then it should come as no surprise to find that the planet's atmosphere will trap the heat of the star in the manner described above. Gliese 581d (eight Earth masses) appears to lie at roughly 23 million miles from the primary. That distance places it just outside the speculative habitable zone, but with its increased mass, 581d may have a thick enough atmosphere to trap the primary's feeble heat, and make it just warm enough for life to evolve.

Keep in mind that Gliese 581 has only about 30 percent of our Sun's mass, and 38 percent of its diameter, and these distances make sense when trying to figure out what we are observing. It is too bad we have no data (at least none I've been able to find) about densities, from which we could extrapolate who strong each planet's gravitational pull would be. One clue is that the star appears to have between 36 and 62 percent as enriched as the Sun is in proportion to elements heavier than hydrogen. That would indicate that these worlds would be less dense than Earth, and therefore their increased mass may not lead to proportionately high gravitational effects.

The hits just keep on coming with Gliese 581. There is still a lot of work to be done, but I'm certain that we are far from finished with this fascinating system.

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Red Sox Sweep Giants as Barry Bonds Hits Number 748

2007-06-17T17:21:00.000-05:00

The Red Sox beat the San Francisco Giants this afternoon 9-5 to sweep the three-game weekend series. Sox starting pitcher Tim Wakefield evened his record at 7-7 despite having given up five runs in five and two-thirds innings. Wake was bailed out by a lively Sox attack that featured Manny Ramirez's tenth homer of the year (and second in two games) and five doubles (two from David Ortiz and one each from Manny, Mike Lowell and JD Drew). The bullpen work by Manny DelCarmen, Javier Lopez, Joel Piniero (who induced a bases loaded 6-4-3 GIDP off the bat of Begnie Molina, after a Barry Bonds walk, to end the seventh inning) and a scoreless ninth from the incredible Hideki Okajima sealed the deal for the Sox.

Barry Bonds hit his 14th homer of the season, and the 748th of his career in the sixth inning when he lofted a hanging knuckler into the right-field bullpen. Bonds went also had a single and a walk in four plate appearances as he faced Wakefield, a former Pirate teammate (Wake came to the majors in 1992 with Pittsburgh) who became the 441st different pitcher off of whom Bonds has hit a homer. Two innings earlier, Pedro Feliz, the Giants third baseman hit his ninth homer of the year as Wake was not sharp, but, as noted above, the Sox bats came through for him.

The win gives the Sox a momentary nine-game lead on the Yankees (who have won ten of their last eleven games), who host the Mets tonight. The game will be carried on ESPN, and I'm sure that Joe Morgan will continue to verbally fellate Derek Jeter and A-Rod to the point where the fine minds at the Fire Joe Morgan site will have no choice but to document the atrocities. I just hope that Mets staring pitcher, the 83-year-old former Yankee El Duque can spin a gem against his old club tonight.

The Sox now travel south to play the Atlanta Braves (second in the NL East as I type this) for three games from Monday through Wednesday, then, after another travel day on Thursday they cross the country to play the San Diego Padres (first in the NL West as I type this) in a three-game weekend series that ends interleague play for 2007.

Martian Ocean Mystery Solved? Dwarf Planet Eris Bigger Than Pluto.

2007-06-14T14:56:00.000-05:00

Today I have two stories to present from the Yahoo News Space.com section. The first deals with evidence that Mars once had large oceans , and also deals with how the determination that Mars even HAD oceans was made, and the phenomenon that may have worked in tandem to cause Mars to lose most of the water. The second story deals with the determination that Dwarf Planet Eris, discovered in 2005, is larger than Pluto. Read on...

Martian Oceans Mystery

Since 1991, planetary scientists have floated the idea that Mars once harbored vast oceans that covered roughly one-third of the planet. Two long shore-like lips of rock in the planet's northern hemisphere were thought to be the best evidence, but experts argued that they were too "hilly" to describe the smooth edges of ancient oceans.

The view just changed dramatically with a surprisingly simple breakthrough. The once-flat shorelines were disfigured by a massive toppling over of the planet, scientists announced today. The warping of the Martian rock has hidden clear evidence of the oceans, which in any case have been gone for at least 2 billion years.

"This really confirms that there was an ocean on Mars," said Mark Richards, a planetary scientist at the University of California at Berkeley and co-author of the study, which is detailed in the June 14 issue of the journal Nature.

Two major shorelines exist on Mars, each thousands of miles long--one remaining from the older Arabia Ocean, and another from the younger Deuteronilus Ocean, said study co-author Taylor Perron of UC Berkeley. "The Arabia would have contained two to three times the volume of water than in the ice that covers Antarctica," Perron told SPACE.com.

Somewhere along the way to toppling over 50 degrees to the north, Mars probably lost some of its water, leaving the Deuteronilus Ocean's shoreline exposed. "The volume of water was too large to simply evaporate into space, so we think there is still some subterranean reservoirs on Mars," Perron said. The remaining sea would have been located in the same lowland plain as the Arabia Ocean, but almost 40 degrees to the north.

As a planet spins, the heaviest things tend to shift towards the equator, where they are most stable. Earth, too, has a bulge at its equator. The volcanic Tharsis region of Mars, a vast raised area along Mars' equator, is evidence for how this works.

"On planets like Mars and Earth that have an outer shell ... that behaves elastically, the solid surface will deform," Richards said. By calculating the deformation, which occurs in a predictable way, the planetary research team found the ridges had to have once been flat, like ocean shorelines.

Perron and his colleagues aren't certain what caused the toppling of the planet, but they think forces beneath the surface are to blame. "There could have been a massive change in the distribution of mantle," Perron said, "which would have caused the planet to shift into its current position."

One reason may be that Mars does not have the good fortune to have a large moon, like we Earthlings do. Our Moon is large enough, that given the types of forces described in the last paragraph, it can counter most of the momentum shift and stabilize us before the continents and oceans go shifting all over the place. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, both of which are no bigger than mountains here on Earth, and which have a negligible gravitational effect on their primary.

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Dwarf Planet Eris Larger than Former Planet Pluto

The dwarf planet that effectively forced astronomers to strip Pluto of its planethood is not only bigger than the former ninth planet, but also much more massive, a new study finds.

Michael Brown, a planetary scientist at Caltech, and his graduate student Emily Schaller have determined that Eris, discovered in 2005 by Brown and his team, is about 27 percent more massive than Pluto. The finding, detailed in the June 15 issue of the journal Science, also confirms Eris and Pluto have similar compositions.

Eris circles the sun from about 9 billion miles away-about twice the distance of Pluto at the farthest point in its orbit. Its discovery was one of several factors that led some astronomers to create a new definition for planethood at the 2006 meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Prague. The ruling reduced the planet count in our solar system to eight and left Pluto renamed as a "dwarf planet."

To determine Eris' mass, the researchers used the Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory to calculate the orbital speed of its moon, Dysnomia. According to Newtonian physics, the more massive a celestial object is, the faster its satellite will zip around it. "By looking at the time it takes the moon to go around Eris, we're able to calculate the mass," Schaller said.

Because Eris and Dysomnia are located more than 90 times farther from the sun than Earth--out in the Kuiper Belt region of the solar system, they appear as little more than pricks of light in telescope observations. "Eris is slightly larger than a point source, but just barely," Schaller said.

Dysnomia is thought to be less than 100 miles (150 km) across and to take about 16 Earth-days to make one trip around Eris.

Eris itself is believed to have a diameter of 1,490 to 1,860 miles (2,400 to 3,000 km). "To put that into perspective, if you took all the asteroids in the asteroid belt [between Mars and Jupiter] and multiplied by four, they would easily all fit into Eris," Schaller told SPACE.com.

Pluto has a diameter of about 1,430 miles (2,300 km) across.

Knowing Eris' mass and size, the researchers were also able to confirm that Eris' density is similar to that of Pluto, and that it is therefore likely made up mainly of rock and water ice.

Not much too add here, except to say that "demoting" Pluto seems not to have been such a silly idea after all. And I'd be willing to bet that there are more Eris-sized (or larger) bodies out there in the Kuiper Belt.

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Mitt's Excuse for a Position on Pardons

2007-06-12T17:01:00.000-05:00

Former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney, has an interesting position on granting pardons. He doesn't grant them. None. At all. Why? Read the following Yahoo News AP wire excerpt if you want to see political laziness and fence straddling:

BOSTON - Decorated Iraq war veteran Anthony Circosta seemed like an ideal candidate for a pardon from then-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for his boyhood conviction for a BB gun shooting.

Romney said no — twice — despite the recommendation of the state's Board of Pardons.

At age 13, Circosta was convicted of assault for shooting another boy in the arm with a BB gun, a shot that didn't break the skin. Circosta worked his way through college, joined the Army National Guard and led a platoon of 20 soldiers in Iraq's deadly Sunni triangle.

You mean that shooting someone with a BB gun, but not having broken their skin was worthy of having been prosecuted as assault? Shit, if I'd have known that in 1971 I'd have pressed charges against the little jerkoff who shot me directly in my left eye at a distance of about five (5) feet with a metal-tipped, plastic bullet that was about two inches long. I'm lucky I didn't lose an eye, while some little toad got maybe a red welt on his skin and this poor SOB gets a conviction of assault to follow him around for the rest of his days.

In 2005, as he was serving in Iraq, he sought a pardon to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer. "I've done everything I can to give back to my state and my community and my country and to get brushed aside is very frustrating," said Circosta, 29, of Agawam, Mass. "I'm not some shlub off the street."

In his presidential bid, Romney often proudly points out that he was the first governor in modern Massachusetts history to deny every request for a pardon or commutation during his four years in office. He says he refused pardons because he didn't want to overturn a jury.

That seems like a very lazy, incurious stance to take. Hell, it also sounds a lot like the Preznit when he was Gubner Executioner. He refused to commute any sentences because he figured that if the accused were convicted then hell, that was good enough for him, so let 'em fry! It is apparent that Romney shares the Preznit's laziness.

But critics argue that the blanket policy is an abdication of a key power given governors and the president — the ability to recognize how someone convicted of a past crime has turned their life around.

During the four years Romney was in office, 100 requests for commutations and 172 requests for pardons were filed in the state. All were denied.

"Governor Romney's view is that it would take a compelling set of circumstances to set aside the punishment and guilt resulting from a criminal trial," said Romney aide Eric Fehrnstrom, who added he was not familiar with Circosta's case. "The power to pardon should only be used in extraordinary circumstances."

Typical. Have an aide make a sweeping statement to defend your position, then have that aide claim to know nothing about the situation in question.

While he refused all requests for pardons as governor, Romney has said that could change if he's elected president. Asked in last week's debate if he would consider pardoning Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who was convicted of lying and obstructing the CIA leak investigation, Romney said: "It's worth looking at that. I will study it very closely if I'm lucky enough to be president. And I'd keep that option open."

Nice poker face Mitt! Sounds to me like Mitt's record of consecutive pardon/commution denials is in serious jeopardy should America be stupid enough to elect him Preznit...

Romney approved guidelines for issuing pardons as he took office. Among the threshold requirements was a compelling need for a pardon, such as the need to obtain a firearm, and a demonstration of "good citizenship," defined as a "demonstrated ability to lead responsible and productive life for a significant period after conviction."

The guidelines also state that pardons will rarely be issued for the purpose of obtaining a firearm if the person had been convicted of a crime involving a firearm.

During his first year in office, the Board of Pardons recommended 11 pardons and two commutations. After Romney decided against granting any, the number of hearings dropped dramatically. During the next three years, the board recommended just four pardons and a single commutation. Romney rejected every one.

For Circosta, who works as a project manager for disaster restoration company, Romney's refusal is an ongoing source of frustration. "I understand the political side, but I don't see in any way how it could hurt the campaign," Circosta said. "I'm decorated. I have a Bronze Star. I guess he just didn't want to sign it. It's obviously politically motivated and I don't know why."

I don't know why either. Perhaps Mitt secretly hates the troops, and this is his way of showing it. I think it is more likely that he is, as detailed above, just another lazy, GOP hack who is content to simply enjoy the trappings of office while doing as close to nothing that involves actual work as is possible. Either way, the signs are clear that this is just another reason that Mitt Romney is not qualified to be our next president.

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Libby and Jefferson - Interesting Timing...

2007-06-05T19:04:00.000-05:00

Does anyone else see anything interesting about the fact that the announcement of Scooter Libby's sentencing came on the same day that the GOP collectively stood up and called for the head of William Jefferson?

I sure as hell don't. Especially after reading quotes like these from the Preznit and the Vice Preznit and from his defense attorney, Theodore Wells:

"Reaction from the White House was still supportive — but somber."

"President Bush, traveling in Europe, said through a spokesman that he "felt terrible for the family," especially Libby's wife and children. Libby and his wife, Harriet Grant, have two school-age children, a son and a daughter."

"Cheney said he hoped his former top aide would prevail on appeal."

"Mr. Libby was the poster child for all that has gone wrong in this terrible war," defense attorney Theodore Wells said. "He has fallen from public grace. It is a tragic fall, a tragic fall."

"Cheney, looking to Libby's appeal, said, "Speaking as friends, we hope that our system will return a final result consistent with what we know of this fine man."

Interesting stuff, no? I like the fact that the Preznit is concerned about Libby and his family. Too bad he wasn't as concerned about the fact that this snake revealed the name of a covert intelligence asset.

The bottom line is that Libby is a fall guy. Sure, he's probably guilty as hell, but he'll keep his mouth shut for thirty months, get out of prison, and write a best-seller about his experiences as a flunkie for evil men.

As to the Jefferson case, I have nothing to add except the fact that back when this case first surfaced, one of my knuckledragger colleagues at my wage slavery containment facility went on long and loud about what a "good Democrat" Jefferson was (this person knows my liberal leanings). Unfortunately for my friend with the bad posture (and judgement), Jefferson's situation first came to light about the same time Tom DeLay was indicted for the K Street extortion games, which showed rampant criminal behavior on the part of the GOP, that he'd been playing for years. I was less than gentle in informing my brutish buddy of this incovenient fact.

That having been said. Jefferson's explanations seem a bit far fetched to me, but who knows? The bottom line is that the GOP seems to have figured out a way to downplay the Libby sentencing by throwing Jefferson's plight back in the faces of the Democrats.

Here is one of their hardest hits: "Republicans, citing Pelosi's election-season promise to run the most ethical House in history, sought Jefferson's expulsion from the chamber..."

It would be funny if it wasn't so damned ironic. Do these fools really think that after six years of Bush wrecking the peace and prosperity he inherted from Bill Clinton and Al Gore, they have anything close to a leg on which to stand by issuing such a challenge? The pot calling the kettle black doesn't even come close in this case.

A Hyperactive Brown Dwarf

2007-05-28T17:26:00.000-05:00

The following Space.com excerpt wants you to consider a brown dwarf that is spewing jets of material into space, much the same way as a hot young star, or even a black hole would do. Check it out:

A "failed star" with only 24 times the mass of Jupiter is the smallest known object to spout jets of matter from its poles, a phenomenon typically associated with much larger black holes and young stars.

The new finding, detailed in the current issue of Astrophysical Journal, confirms that a wide range of celestial objects is capable of generating such outflows.

"There are black holes that are 3 million solar masses spewing jets, and there's this thing, which is 2 percent of a solar mass, doing the same thing," said study team member Ray Jayawardhana of the University of Toronto. The discovery also raises the possibility that large gas giant planets like Jupiter or Saturn might also have been gushers some time early in their history.

The new jet-spewing object is a previously identified brown dwarf-celestial objects with masses between 13 and 75 times that of the Jupiter, too massive to be a planet but too small to sustain the internal nuclear fires needed to become stars. For this reason, brown dwarfs are sometimes called failed stars.

Called 2M1207a, the spurting brown dwarf is ringed by gas and dust, similar to the protoplanetary disks from which planets form around young stars. Indeed, 2M1207a is known to harbor a 5-Jupiter-mass planetary companion. Called 2M1207b, the gas giant was one of the first planets outside of our solar system to have its picture taken directly.

2M1207a's streaming jets were discovered using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT). The jets extend about 620 million miles (1 billion km) into space and are speeding away from the brown dwarf at a few kilometers per second.

"Preliminary results suggest that a brown-dwarf jet is just scaled down from what we see in a low mass star," said study leader Emma Whelan of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Physics in Ireland. In 2005, Whelan's team discovered the first jet-spewing brown dwarf, but that one was about 60 Jupiter masses.

Scientists are still not sure of the role jets play in star formation. One idea is that by ejecting large amounts of material into space, the jets help determine the final size and mass of the star.

Another hypothesis is that jets actually play a major role in initiating star formation in the first place. Stars are thought to form from enormous, spinning clouds of gas and dust that somehow collapse and contract into blazing balls of fire. To do this, the clouds must get rid of a lot of spin energy, or "angular momentum."

"One of the best ways to get rid of that is to put it into a jet," Jayawardhana told SPACE.com. "So these jets might actually be spinning and carrying out the angular momentum of the formed object."

The new gushing nature of 2M1207a could help shed light on how jets are formed and sustained.

Do we live in amazing times or what? It was just a few years ago that the notion of a brown dwarf was still a theory. The discoveries of these objects was one thing, to find them behaving this way is quite another.

The dumping of mass to slow, or eliminate angular momentum makes sense, as this is regularly observed behavior in young stars. Perhaps the key is that the cloud of matter out of which stars are born are too small in the case of a brown dwarf, and therefore, even when exhibiting the youthful matter ejection most stars display, the amount of mass ejected may be too much to ignite the process to make the brown dwarf shine as a true star.

It will be interesting to see what develops with this story, as I'm sure other brown dwarfs will be watched carefully to see if they behave in a manner similar to that of 2M1207a.

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Endangered Species Protection Sought for Bigfoot

2007-05-27T17:36:00.000-05:00

The following excerpt is from a LiveScience.com opinion piece about a proposal to make Bigfoot a legally protected endangered species. See how much sense this makes to you:

Recently, Mike Lake, a Canadian member of parliament from Edmonton, Alberta, agreed to introduce a petition that called for Bigfoot to be protected under the Canadian version of the endangered species act.

Lake presented to the House of Commons a petition that stated, “The debate over (Bigfoot’s) existence is moot in the circumstance of their tenuous hold on merely existing. Therefore, the petitioners request the House of Commons to establish immediate, comprehensive legislation to affect immediate protection of Bigfoot.”

The man behind the petition was a Bigfoot enthusiast named Todd Standing, who claims to have definitive proof of Bigfoot but is withholding it until protection for the alleged animals is in place. “When I get species protection for them nationwide, I will make my findings public and I will take this out of the realm of mythology. Bigfoot is real,” Standing said.

The petition soon became an embarrassment for Lake, who later issued a press release stating that the proposal had been tabled. “I take seriously my responsibility to represent all of my constituents, regardless of whether or not I agree with their views. If a legitimate petition is brought forward by one of my constituents and deemed to be in order, I feel it is my duty to table it in the House,” Lake wrote.

There is some precedent for the proposal: Similar quasi-legal measures protecting unknown creatures have been suggested or passed, for example protecting the Canadian monsters “Memphre” (of Quebec’s Lake Memphremagog) and “Caddy” (of British Columbia’s Cadboro Bay). “Champ,” the lake monster said to inhabit Lake Champlain, is “officially” protected by both the New York State Assembly and the Vermont Legislature.

A few years ago I dated a girl who lived in South Burlington, Vermont, not far from where "Champ" is a local celebrity. The impression I got from her, and from most of her friends, was that they didn't necessarily "believe" in the existence of Champ, but rather that they didn't see why there was so much interest in the alleged creature.

The area around Lake Champlain has dealt with researchers aplenty, some of whom want to prove the existence of the beast, and others who not only want to disprove its existence, but who also want to portray those residents who do believe the creature swims in those waters as deluded nutcases. As such, it becomes increasingly difficult to hold intelligent discussions about such matters.

As far as Bigfoot goes, the cause is still going strong in the Pacific Northwest, despite recent revelations that the most famous footage of the beast has been proven to be a fake. Is it possible that an undetected hominid lives in seclusion tantalizingly close to the cities of this area? Maybe, maybe not. It seems to me that if people like Mr. Standing really have the evidence that they say they have, then why not show it now? What difference could it possibly make to wait for a piece of legislation to be enacted into law to reveal what they know? Will the fate of the measure change their results? Besides, it also seems to me that such a measure is almost surely never going to be needed, given the lack of Bigfoot remains on record, and hurts the cause of legitimate research in this area.

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Cosmology, Physics and Philosophy

2007-05-23T18:24:00.000-05:00

The following Yahoo News Space.com excerpt is from an article titled Physicists Predict the Death of Cosmology. Astronomy is a hobby of mine, and I handled my high school and college physics pretty well. Additionally, I understand most of the major concepts that cosmology puts forth. However, this article borders on Taoist philosophy on steroids. Check it out and see if your brain hurts as bad as mine did after you are finished:

Physicists are now foretelling the death of cosmology, or the study of our universe, as we know it. Thankfully, cosmologists won't be jobless for a couple trillion years.

The universe is rapidly expanding--perhaps not rapidly enough to rip to shreds, but enough that distant galaxies will eventually be moving away faster than the speed of light. This much has been known for decades.

Once all these galaxies blink out of existence, scientists ask in an upcoming issue of The Journal of Relativity and Gravitation, how will future intelligent beings study space if the human race's knowledge is long gone? Will they be able to figure out if the Big Bang happened? Or rediscover relativity?

For the most part, said Lawrence Krauss, a theoretical physicist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and co-author of the journal article, future observers will be out of luck. "They'll be stuck in an endless black void," Krauss said, noting that any galaxies outside of our own cluster will disappear in about 100 billion years. "They'll feel very special after that happens, because our tiny cluster of galaxies will be the observable universe to them."

Without a cosmological frame of reference, Krauss explained, future observers will be clueless that their universe is still expanding. "It will be a sort of twisted situation, where thinking returns to what it was at the turn of the 20th century," he said.

In other words, observers will think the universe is just a static--or non-expanding--cluster of galaxies just as scientists thought until the 1920s. "The static universe," as the journal article states, "will have returned with a vengeance."

An additional issue for future observers will be the disappearance of cosmic microwave background radiation--the fingerprint of the Big Bang's occurrence--in about 250 billion years. Without it, Krauss said, observers can't be certain about how the universe was created, not to mention when.

The problem relates to the Doppler effect: When a speeding train approaches, the sound waves from its whistle are squished together to make a higher pitch. As it passes, the sound waves are stretched out like a slinky and become lower in pitch and fainter. Similarly, as the universe expands outward, the "pitch" of light will lengthen and fade away. "The wavelength of light will be so large it will eventually reach the size of our galaxy," Krauss said. "It will just be absorbed."

Krauss, however, is confident that someone (presumably human in form) will be the next Einstein and rediscover general relativity. He's also hopeful that future observers will be able to explain the creation of the solar system by studying stars within the galaxy.

Can I get a WOW?!? Mr. Krauss is throwing some serious heat with these fastballs. I have three quick thoughts about this discussion:

One, yes, general relativity does stipulate that it is theoretically possible for expansion to proceed until some objects exceed the speed of light, but the proportion of mass per cubic parsec (mostly populated by dark matter) is supposed to help slow the expansion down. Recent observations show that this is happening, so Mr. Krauss's statement seems to be a bit of hyperbole.

Two, even if dark matter wasn't slowing expansion down, eventually everything in the universe would be moving faster than the speed of light. Under that scenario, Mr. Krauss's statement about future observers thinking that they would be alone in the local cluster of galaxies would not seem to work.

Three, even if the cluster of galaxies in which we reside manages to stay somewhat intact, that does not mean that future observers cannot glean the phenomenon of expansion. There are at least two dozen galaxies in the association of which our Milky Way is a member. Some are retreating, some are approaching. If the astronomers of the future have eyes like ours and instruments similar to ours, then it stands to reason that they will work out what a redshift or blueshift means as far as objects retreating or approaching is concerned.

I don't have advanced degrees in astrophysics or cosmology. Since I don't, I realize that there could easily be something I have overlooked. Still, this is a fascinating topic, and I hope that there are followup articles to expand on the ideas presented here.

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Two Strange New Exoplanets to Consider

2007-05-18T17:17:00.000-05:00

I have found some interesting stories about new newly discovered exoplanets that are among the strangest worlds we have discovered. The first is about a hot-water, Neptune-sized planet that orbits close to a Red Dwarf. Space.com excerpt:

A Neptune-sized world in a distant solar system orbits very close to its star and might be covered with exotic forms of water not naturally found on Earth, scientists say. The bizarre world is being called a "hot ice planet."

The finding, to be detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, marks the first time relatively small planets similar to the ice giants Uranus and Neptune in our solar system have been found orbiting very close to their stars.

Prior to this discovery, only gaseous giants known as "hot Jupiters" were known to inhabit such close stellar quarters.

First discovered in 2004, the planet, called GJ 436 b, is about 22 times more massive than Earth. It orbits a diminutive red dwarf star 30 light-years away from us. New observations of the planet as it transited, or passed in front of, its parent star allowed scientists to measure its size and mass. GJ 436 b is the closest, and smallest, transiting planet to be measured in this way.

The measurements, made using a telescope at the Observatoire Francois-Xavier Bagnoud (OFXB) in Saint-Luc, Switzerland, revealed GJ 436 b has a diameter of about 30,000 miles (50,000 kilometers)-four times that of Earth.

Based on its size and mass, scientists think the planet is composed mostly of water. If the planet were a gas giant like Jupiter or Saturn and contained mostly hydrogen and helium, it would be much larger, and if it was made up of rock and iron like Earth and Mars, it would be much smaller, the scientists say.

The water world could be enveloped by a thin atmosphere of hydrogen and helium, like Neptune and Uranus, or could be surrounded entirely by water, like Saturn's moon Enceladus.

GJ 436 b orbits its star from a distance of only about 2.5 million miles (4 million km)-about 14 times closer than Mercury's average distance from the Sun. At such close quarters, scientists think its surface temperature is at least 600 degrees Fahrenheit (300 C) and any water on its atmosphere would be in the form of steam.

Okay, so now we have a liquid planet roughly the size of Neptune orbiting close to a Red Dwarf. The universe is getting stranger every single day with the announcements of these findings. Of course, we have just scratched the surface here since the number of exoplanets we have found is miniscule when compared to the size of the entire galaxy.

Full Hot Liquid Exoplanet Story

But wait, there's more! A more distant star in the constellation Hercules hosts the hottest planet yet discovered. Yahoo News Space.com excerpt:

The hottest planet ever discovered is charcoal black and makes even some stars seem cool. Scientists think the exoplanet absorbs nearly all the starlight that reaches its surface and then reradiates it back out into space as heat.

Called HD149026b, the feverish world emits so much infrared heat that it glows slightly. "It would look like an ember in space, absorbing all incoming light but glowing a dull red," said study leader Joseph Harrington of the University of Central Florida.

Located 279 light-years away in the constellation Hercules, HD 149026b is a so-called hot Jupiter, a giant gas planet that orbits very close to its star. It is a scorching 3,700 degrees Fahrenheit (2,040 degrees Celsius), three times hotter than Mercury and hotter than the coolest stars.

Until very recently, HD 149026b was also the densest planet known. It contains higher levels of heavy elements --those other than hydrogen and helium-than all of the planets in our solar system combined, and its core might have up to 90 times the mass of the Earth.

"HD 149026b is simply the most exotic, bizarre planet," Harrington said. "It's pretty small, really dense, and now we find that it's extremely hot."

How HD 149026b got to be so hot is a mystery. "We've actually done a lot of work to try and answer that question, but the more we think about it, the worse it gets," Harrington said.

One idea, proposed by Jonathan Fortney at NASA's Ames Research Center in California, is that the planet is so hot that metals such as titanium and vanadium can exist in their gaseous forms in the planet's atmosphere. Such metals are "very, very, very strong visible [light] absorbers," said Fortney, who was not involved in the new study.

Fortney also pointed out HD 149026b orbits a very metal-rich star, which could explain why the planet is so abundant in heavy elements. The planet's "atmosphere is probably enhanced in metals compared to most other planets, so it's probably more efficient at absorbing stellar light than other hot Jupiter planets," Fortney said.

Fortney thinks HD 149026b could be the first of a new subgroup of hot Jupiters. "I think what we'll eventually find is that hot Jupiters may end up falling into two classes," he said. One class, Fortney said, would consist of relatively "cool" hot planets, in the range of about 1,300 to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (700 to 1,000 degrees C), and the other would have planets with temperatures of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,700 degrees C) or higher.

So just when you think the universe can't get any more bizarre, along comes a story to top the previous one. It reminds me of the Larry Niven short story Flatlander, in which his character Beowulf Shaeffer got dragged along by a rich friend named Elephant who wanted to find the most unusual planet inside Niven's setting of the Known Space series of stories he wrote in the 1960s and 70s. The pair find an antimatter planet, but don't realize it until it is almost too late. These worlds aren't antimatter planets, but they certainly rank as two of the most unusual objects that have yet been found.

And you've got to love the way Mr. Fortney and his colleagues are ready to begin reclassifying the objects they detect as the differences between one planet and another emerge. I wish them luck, because, as I previously stated, we've just scratched the surface here. I have a feeling that the really interesting stories are yet to come.

Full Hot Gas Giant Story

Jerry Falwell Dead at 73. Because of Him, Three Republican Candidates Deny Evolution.

2007-05-15T16:58:00.000-05:00

Jerry Falwell passed away today at the age of 73. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the folksy, small-town preacher who used the power of television to found the Moral Majority and turn the Christian right into a mighty force in American politics during the Reagan years, died Tuesday at 73.

Falwell was discovered without a pulse in his office at Liberty University and pronounced dead at a hospital an hour later. Dr. Carl Moore, Falwell's physician, said he had a heart condition and presumably died of a heart rhythm abnormality.

Driven into politics by the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that established the right to an abortion, Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979. One of the conservative lobbying group's greatest triumphs came just a year later, when
Ronald Reagan was elected president.

Falwell credited the Moral Majority with getting millions of conservative voters registered, aiding in Reagan's victory and giving Republicans control of the Senate. "I shudder to think where the country would be right now if the religious right had not evolved," he said when he stepped down as Moral Majority president in 1987.

We might have a cure for AIDS, Alzheimer's Disease, Cancer, and a host of other diseases that people like Falwell like to claim are God's collective curse on mankind.

Fellow TV evangelist Pat Robertson, himself a one-time GOP candidate for president, declared Falwell "a tower of strength on many of the moral issues which have confronted our nation."

The rise of Christian conservatism — and the Moral Majority's full-throated condemnation of homosexuality, abortion and pornography — made Falwell perhaps the most recognizable figure on the evangelical right, and one of the most controversial ones, too.

Not that I "believe", but wouldn't it be a nice irony if Saint Peter denied Falwell entry into the Heavenly Kingdom on the basis of his silly characterization of Tinky Winky?

Over the years, Falwell waged a landmark libel case against Hustler magazine founder Larry Flynt over a raunchy parody ad, and created a furor in 1999 when one of his publications suggested that the purse-carrying "Teletubbies" character Tinky Winky was gay.

Matt Foreman, executive director of National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, extended condolences to those close to Falwell, but added: "Unfortunately, we will always remember him as a founder and leader of America's anti-gay industry, someone who exacerbated the nation's appalling response to the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic, someone who demonized and vilified us for political gain and someone who used religion to divide rather than unite our nation."

The 1980s marked the religious conservative movement's high-water mark. In more recent years, Falwell had become a problematic figure for the GOP. His remarks a few days after Sept. 11, 2001, essentially blaming feminists, gays and liberals for bringing on the terrorist attacks drew a rebuke from the White House, and he apologized.

Jerry Falwell, as you may be able to guess from the content of much of this blog, is someone I will not miss. He was a man who misused his ability to influence people. He, Pat Robertson, and others of their ilk, are divisive forces in this country. Their narrow viewpoints harm the cause of true scientific progress, and the damage they have inflicted since they began interfering in politics has weakened this nation.

Don't believe me? The dolt in the White House is the inevitable result of mixing religion and politics. The idea that a "folksy" rube with simple, Christian values, yet absolutely no curiosity of the wonders of the natural world, could lead this nation found lots of appeal with the intellectually challenged in this country, and the entire world has been paying a terrible price for our collective lack of judgement these past six years.

Separation of church and state is the most important notion that the founding fathers devised. Until the birth of the United States, every nation on earth had its politics and religious beliefs intertwined. I hope that we will soon embrace Thomas Jefferson's lofty ideals and become a nation that is no longer guided by silly superstitions.

Full Jerry Falwell Memorial Article

On a similar note, are you as disturbed as I am that three Republican presidential candidates, in front of a live televised audience, denied that evolution is real? Check out the following New York Times debate recap excerpt:

There were revealing moments that went past the well-rehearsed lines by all the candidates. Three of the candidates — Mike Huckabee (former Arizona Governor), Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas and Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado — raised their hands to signal that they did not believe in evolution.

The now late Mr. Falwell did his work well with these men. I just wonder how many of the other candidates actually hold similar notions, but were too smart to say so in this forum. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that these men have taken such a ridiculous position. Huckabee and Tancredo are simply crazy, and Brownback is both crazy and is playing up to the anti-evolution constituency of his state. To say that their insane views on evolution should automatically disqualify them from serving the public in any official capacity, let alone that of President of the United States, is an exercise in understatement.

I certainly hope enough smart people out there vote to keep these clowns out of our affairs for good.

Full GOP Debate Recap Article

Massive Star's Explosion Triggers Renewed Interest in Stellar Lifecycles

2007-05-08T16:51:00.000-05:00

A super-massive star that exploded into a supernova last September is giving astronomers and astrophysicists some new insights into stellar evolution. Yahoo News Reuters excerpt:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gargantuan explosion ripped apart a star perhaps 150 times more massive than our sun in a relatively nearby galaxy in the most powerful and brightest supernova ever observed, astronomers said on Monday. And there is one such star in our own Milky Way galaxy that appears to be on the brink of dying in just such a supernova.

The exploding star's dramatic death may have come in a rare type of supernova reserved for "freakishly massive" stars that astronomers had speculated about but never previously witnessed. The supernova, designated as SN 2006gy, occurred 240 million light years away in a galaxy called NGC 1260, and was studied using observations from NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory as well as earthbound optical telescopes.

The supernova was discovered in September 2006, and stands as far and away the most powerful and brightest ever observed, Smith said. "In fact, even after the better part of a year, well after 200 days, it has faded somewhat but it's still about as bright as a normal supernova at its peak," Smith said.

A supernova marks a star's death in a spectacular explosion. Scientists say these events play a crucial role in creating heavy elements through nuclear fusion and synthesis and then expelling them into space, seeding the cosmos with metals. The scientists ruled out a possible alternative explanation that what they were witnessing was the explosion of a white dwarf star with a mass only a bit more than the sun.

Astrophysicist Mario Livio said the supernova may have resulted from a type of explosion mechanism that had existed only in theoretical calculations. He said the first generation of stars in the universe may have died in such a manner.

In a normal supernova, the core of a star collapses when it exhausts its fuel, and forms either a neutron star or a black hole, with scant heavy elements blown into space. But this supernova appears to be the result of the core not collapsing but being obliterated in an explosion blasting all its material into space, the scientists said.

Dave Pooley of the University of California at Berkeley said this star appears similar to Eta Carinae, a star perhaps 100 to 120 times the mass of the sun located 7,500 light years away within the Milky Way. There has not been a supernova in our galaxy in more than 400 years, Pooley said.

If Eta Carinae were to burst into a supernova, Pooley said, "It would be so bright that you would see it during the day, and you could even read a book by its light at night."

Livio said Eta Carinae had an incredible eruption during the 19th century that left it in an hourglass shape. He said it could explode at any time. "This could happen tomorrow, it could happen 1,000 years from now," Livio said. "Is there a risk to life on Earth as a result of this explosion? Well, not very likely." Livio said Earth could be affected if there were a gamma ray burst that potentially could harm the atmosphere and life, but the chances of this aiming directly at Earth are slim.

My opening about this star having exploded last September is obviously incorrect. This star exploded 240 million years ago, and it's light is just now reaching our eyes. Light travels 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) every second. It therefore travels roughly 5.86 trillion miles (about 9.44 trillion kilometers) in a year. That works out to about 1.41 x 10 to the 21st power miles (2.265 x 10 to the 21st power kilometers). If I've done my math correctly, that means it would take one about 7.11 x 10 to the 15th power years to reach this dead star at the rate of 55 miles per hour.

All kidding aside, any information we get from these observations is important because, as the excerpt details, we have a similarly large and unstable monster of a star in our own galaxy. Eta Carinae, which lies embedded in the plane of the southern Milky Way (alas too far to glimpse from the latitude where I sit typing this post, although I did get more than one glance at that region of the sky when I visited Australia in January and February of 2005) has fascinated astronomers for decades, and the readings gleaned from these observations will only enhance that fascination as astronomers and astrophysicists attempt to predict what will happen to this huge star.

Full Story

William the Mercenary Lands Back in the Bronx

2007-05-07T18:10:00.000-05:00

William Roger Clemens has, for the second time in two years (and the fourth year since he first retired from the Yankees), decided to un-retire and pitch the final four months of the season for his beloved Yankees. In a humourous article titled "Can Rocket rescue Yankee season?" William is exalted as the missing piece to the Yankee puzzle that the 2007 season has been. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

The Yankees will pay about $26 million in salary and luxury tax for the Rocket, more than $1 million per win for a soon-to-be 45-year-old pitcher likely to make about 22 starts in the regular season. Then again, it's value shopping when compared with Carl Pavano — as far as the Yankees are concerned, his $39.95 million, four-year contract surpassed the 1997 Dunbar Armored heist ($18.9 million) as the largest cash robbery in U.S. history.

Pavano has more injuries (six) than wins (five) in a little more than two seasons, and he might have elbow surgery that could sideline him for the remainder of his agreement. New York spent even more on Kei Igawa — $46 million including his contract and the posting fee. He has two wins, a 7.63 ERA and might wind up in the minor leagues soon.

News Flash: Igawa HAS been sent to the minors. It just happened. Also, thank goodness the Sox didn't bid anywhere near as high as the Yankees did for Pavano after his nutty 18-win 2004 season. Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don't make...

While the Yankees sputtered to a 14-15 start, sending pitchers to the disabled list with the regularity of an assembly line, the Boston Red Sox spurted to an AL-best 20-10 record. Clemens is viewed as a savior.

"This is a huge statement," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said in the interview room in the bowels of Yankees Stadium. "Don't count us out, because we want to be in it for the long haul."

Pitching is prized above all in baseball, more important than power, more coveted than fancy fielding or super speed. Just last Friday, the Yankees scored 11 runs and lost to Seattle, wasted an 8-6 lead by allowing eight consecutive batters to reach.

In October, especially, the Yankees have flopped on the mound following Clemens' 2003 departure, with Kevin Brown, Javy Vazquez and Randy Johnson battered as if they were BP pitchers. But at the rate Yankees pitchers were allowing runs, New York wasn't going to reach October without a drastic move.

Mike Mussina (38) and Andy Pettitte (35 in June) figure to miss starts here and there. Phil Hughes, the 20-year-old knocked out by a hamstring injury in mid-no-hitter last week, figures to learn a lot from Clemens, as do Darrell Rasner, Jeffrey Karstens, Chase Wright, DeSalvo and maybe even Igawa, too.

Clemens described his mission as part educational, a Stanley Kaplan finishing school for the pitching set. He's part professor, part drill instructor, with 348 wins and 4,604 strikeouts. "There's a lot of young pitchers here now trying to achieve their dreams and goals," he said. "I look forward to talking to them and bringing them some experience."

What a bunch of complete and utter bullshit. If William the Arrogant really wanted to talk to young pitchers and bring them some experience, then why isn't he doing so right now? The answer is simple. It's because he's a selfish SOB who wants nothing more than for the world to bow to his every whim.

Is Clemens a great pitcher? Absolutely. He's a lock to be elected to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot. Is he a good guy? Not from where I sit. He mailed in his 1993-6 seasons with the Red Sox. He went 40-39, including his only sub-.500 seasons, 1993 and 1996. He gained weight and lost a yard off his fastball which prompted Dan Duquette to utter the famous "twilight of his career" remark that signalled the end of the Clemens era in Boston. Armed with hurt pride, William then got back into shape, developed a split-finger pitch and won back-to-back Cy Young awards for the Toronto Blue Jays before stabbing them in the back and forcing a trade to the Yankees where he stunk up the Stadium for two years until 2001 when he won his sixth Cy Young (He won three in Boston, 1986, 1987 and 1991). He then "retired" after the 2003 season only to un-retire and resurface with the Astros, where he only had to go to home games.

What kills me is that this boob likely cost the Astros a crack at last year's post-season. By sitting on the sidelines and playing the Astros against the Yankees, William waited too long to help his team. The Astros finished 82-80 last year, a mere one-and-a-half games behind the NL Central Division and eventual World Series Champion St, Louis Cardinals. William made 19 starts and went 7-6 with a 2.30 ERA. Is it likely that if he had returned a month earlier that in the six or starts he'd have made that he could have turned three or four Astro losses into wins? I think it is, but we will never know that. I just wonder if that thought has ever occurred to him. Somehow I doubt it.

Last night, on ESPN's Baseball Tonight, Orel Hershiser said that he expects William to make 24 starts and that he expects the Yankees to win 14 of those, and that William's ERA would be at 4.00 or over -- nearly double what is was last year. In the National League, pitchers hit. Not so in the American League. We have and Papi, Manny. The Blue Jays have Vernon Wells, Frank Thomas, Troy Glaus and Alex Rios. The Orioles have Miguel Tejada, Ramon Hernandez, Melvin Mora and Jay Gibbons. Even the Devil Rays have Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, BJ Upton and Delmon Young, and those guys certainly beat the pants off the Pinstripes a few weeks ago. And these are just the Yanks inter-divisional rivals. Look at the other sluggers in the AL Central and West. Guys like Travis Hafner, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau, Vladimir Guerrero, Mark Teixeira, Hank Blalock, Richie Sexson, Eric Chavez and Nick Swisher. All those guys are dead fastball hitters.

Oh, and let's not forget the prospect of injury. William turns 45 in August, and it is not reasonable to expect him to feel retard strong every time Joe Torre tells him he must start a game. Still, it's the Yankees and one cannot help but get a creepy feeling about this move.

I'll sum up this post by hoping that this season plays out as last season did, and that William will have waited to long to make a difference, and that he, and his team miss the post-season.

Full Story

Non-Gliese 581 Post! Red Sox Take Two of Three In Bronx. Rockies Turn Unassisted Triple Play Against Braves.

2007-04-29T17:51:00.000-05:00

This non-Gliese 581 post is brought to you by Listerplus, watcher of two major-league baseball games this afternoon...

Red Sox Take Two of Three from Yanks

The Red Sox best the Yankees this afternoon in Yankee Stadium 7-4, taking two out of three in their weekend series versus the Pinstripes in the Bronx.

David Ortiz, Alex Cora (who should be the regular second baseman - NOT Dustin Pedroia) and Manny Ramirez all homered while starting pitcher Julian Tavarez went five-plus innings to earn his first win of the season. His only blemish was a three-run homer to former Red Sox first baseman Doug Meintciewicz to give the Yanks a short-lived 3-2 lead. Cora's two-run homer, his second of the season, gave the Sox the lead again, and the bullpen, first with Hideki Okajima, aka, the OTHER Japanese pitcher, continuing his outstanding pitching. Mike Timlin surrendered an 8th inning homer to Derek Jeter before Jonathan Papelbon closed things out in the ninth for his 8th save.

Ortiz's homer was his seventh of the season. Manny's was just his third. Manny is under .200 for the month, but he has hitting the ball hard lately. It just seems that most of his shots are right at somebody. Bobby Abreu made a nice running catch of a potential gapper Manny hit in the at-bat before his homer.

Since the Sox have tomorrow off, they end the month of April with a 16-8 record, four games ahead of the second-place Toronto Blue Jays. Next up, the Sox host the Oakland Athletics for two games beginning May 1st.

Rockies Beat Braves. Turn Unassisted Triple Play.

The Colorado Rockies best the Atlanta Braves this afternoon at Coors Field 9-7. This was a game the Braves basically gave away, as their pitchers gave up 13 walks, including five to Todd Helton. But the Braves escaped trouble several times as Matt Holliday hit into two double plays in the middle innings. But Holliday would be the hero in the end, as he hit a two-run game-winning homer in the bottom of the 11th inning, with Helton aboard, to end this wacky contest.

Part of the wackiness came when Rockies Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki converted the 13th unassisted triple play in major league baseball history in the seventh inning when, with Chipper Jones at the plate, Kelly Johnson on second base and Edgar Renteria on first, Jones hit a screaming liner right at Tulowitzki as the runners were off on the pitch. Tulowitzki grabbed the liner for the first out, stepped on second base for out number two, then tagged Renteria for the third out.

This non-Gliese 581 post has now reached its conclusion. Over and out...

More Exoplanet Information. Red Sox Invade the Bronx.

2007-04-27T17:03:00.000-05:00

The news about Gliese 581c has grabbed the collective imaginations of quite a few people in my wage slavery containment facility. Because of my status as a part-time astronomer, I am usually the go-to guy whenever anyone with whom I work has a question about breaking news stories, general observing tips, advice about telescopes and binoculars, software, etc. To this end, I took the liberty of scouring the Internets and came up with a great site to peruse.

Go to the solstation.com site. This is a comprehensive site that contains vast amounts of information about nearby stars, bright stars, habitability projections and a whole lot more.

The first stop on this site, as it relates to how I opened this post is the Gliese 581/HO Librae page. It gives a rundown of the entire system: The physical characteristics of the host star, and what is currently known about its three planets.

The second stop is a page of notable nearby stars, with links for each star that give similar information modules to that described above. Have fun!

In Red Sox news, the team, having won its last two games in Baltimore against the Orioles, after having lost two straight to the Toronto Blue Jays, travels to New York for the three-game series against the Yankees in the Bronx. Action begins tonight with Daisuke Matsuzaka taking the mound for his second straight appearance against the Pinstripes. Andy Pettitte takes the hill for the Yanks.

New Exoplanet Discovery to Renew SETI Efforts?

2007-04-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

In a follow-up to yesterday's post about the discovery of the most Earth-like exoplanet yet discovered, one of the co-discoverers hopes to be able to detect signs of life on this, and other exoplanets, within the next twenty years. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

GENEVA - Swiss scientist Michel Mayor, who heads the European team that announced the discovery of a new potentially habitable planet, has his sights set on an even bigger target, detecting signs of extraterrestrial life.

Mayor predicts that top researchers are less than two decades away from being able to detect real signs of such life — if it exists. "There's only one thing we can do. We can do science, we can do experiments. We have the methodology, the ability to do this simply on science, so let's do it," the University of Geneva scientist said Wednesday.

Mayor, who was credited in 1995 with co-finding the first planets outside our solar system, said the scientist in him was unsure of the presence of other life forms in our universe. "But, personally, I feel comfortable with the idea of life existing elsewhere," the 65-year-old said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Leading astronomers are describing the discovery of the new planet as a big step in the search for life in the universe because it is just the right size, might have water in liquid form, and in galactic terms is relatively nearby at 120 trillion miles (20.5 light-years) away.

But there is still a lot that is unknown about the new planet, named 581 c, discovered by the European Southern Observatory's telescope in La Silla, Chile. The telescope, which Mayor helped design, has a special instrument that splits light to find wobbles in different wave lengths, revealing the possible existence of other worlds.

"It is an absolutely fantastic instrument with great precision," Mayor said, but added that the planet's diameter, atmospheric makeup and contents have yet to be confirmed.

Stephane Udry, the discovery team's lead author also based in Geneva, speculated that the new planet is probably full of liquid water, but conceded that he bases the conjecture on how planets form, not on any evidence.

Mayor said many more planets meeting scientists' requirements for habitability would be found, but that that the most significant short-term discovery would be that of a low-mass planet even more similar to Earth. 581 c is about five times heavier than our planet, but is still the smallest found exoplanet, or one that is outside our solar system.

Mayor predicted that NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder and the European Space Agency's Darwin satellite would make increasingly significant contributions in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. He said these institutions will be able to directly look for "signatures of life" on other planets, similar to the high presence of oxygen in our atmosphere, within 15 to 20 years.

Full Story

As stated yesterday, this planet seems promising, but until we have more data, we really cannot speculate on the prospect that life exists there. Gliese 581c would be about 7 million miles from the host star, at such a close distance, this planet is probably tidally locked, like the Moon, keeping one face pointed to the star. This means that one half of the planet would be in constant sunlight, and the other in constant darkness. What this would do to weather patterns on the planet is anybodys guess -- especially since red dwarf stars are notorious for having significant flare activity. At that distance, flares from even a low-mass red dwarf would likely fry anything alive on the surface. At least Mr. Mayor and his team have their eyes on the prize, so to speak. I look forward to seeing more from this team, and others doing this exciting work.

Potentially Habitable Exoplanet Found

2007-04-25T16:28:00.000-05:00

The discovery of the first legitimate candidate for being a potentially habitable planet outside the Solar System was announced today. The planet is slightly larger than earth, and orbits a tiny red dwarf star called Gliese 581 in the constellation Libra. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

WASHINGTON - For the first time astronomers have discovered a planet outside our solar system that is potentially habitable, with Earth-like temperatures, a find researchers described Tuesday as a big step in the search for "life in the universe."

The planet is just the right size, might have water in liquid form, and in galactic terms is relatively nearby at 120 trillion miles away. But the star it closely orbits, known as a "red dwarf," is much smaller, dimmer and cooler than our sun.

There's still a lot that is unknown about the new planet, which could be deemed inhospitable to life once more is known about it. And it's worth noting that scientists' requirements for habitability count Mars in that category: a size relatively similar to Earth's with temperatures that would permit liquid water. However, this is the first outside our solar system that meets those standards.

"It's a significant step on the way to finding possible life in the universe," said University of Geneva astronomer Michel Mayor, one of 11 European scientists on the team that found the planet. "It's a nice discovery. We still have a lot of questions."

The planet was discovered by the European Southern Observatory's telescope in La Silla, Chile, which has a special instrument that splits light to find wobbles in different wave lengths. Those wobbles can reveal the existence of other worlds.

What they revealed is a planet circling the red dwarf star, Gliese 581. Red dwarfs are low-energy, tiny stars that give off dim red light and last longer than stars like our sun. Until a few years ago, astronomers didn't consider these stars as possible hosts of planets that might sustain life.

The discovery of the new planet, named 581 c, is sure to fuel studies of planets circling similar dim stars. About 80 percent of the stars near Earth are red dwarfs.

The new planet is about five times heavier than Earth. Its discoverers aren't certain if it is rocky like Earth or if its a frozen ice ball with liquid water on the surface. If it is rocky like Earth, which is what the prevailing theory proposes, it has a diameter about 1 1/2 times bigger than our planet. If it is an iceball, as Mayor suggests, it would be even bigger.

Based on theory, 581 c should have an atmosphere, but what's in that atmosphere is still a mystery and if it's too thick that could make the planet's surface temperature too hot, Mayor said. However, the research team believes the average temperature to be somewhere between 32 and 104 degrees and that set off celebrations among astronomers.

Until now, all 220 planets astronomers have found outside our solar system have had the "Goldilocks problem." They've been too hot, too cold or just plain too big and gaseous, like uninhabitable Jupiter. The new planet seems just right — or at least that's what scientists think.

"This could be very important," said NASA astrobiology expert Chris McKay, who was not part of the discovery team. "It doesn't mean there is life, but it means it's an Earth-like planet in terms of potential habitability."

Eventually astronomers will rack up discoveries of dozens, maybe even hundreds of planets considered habitable, the astronomers said. But this one — simply called "c" by its discoverers when they talk among themselves — will go down in cosmic history as No. 1.

Besides having the right temperature, the new planet is probably full of liquid water, hypothesizes Stephane Udry, the discovery team's lead author and another Geneva astronomer. But that is based on theory about how planets form, not on any evidence, he said.

"Liquid water is critical to life as we know it," co-author Xavier Delfosse of Grenoble University in France, said in a statement. "Because of its temperature and relative proximity, this planet will most probably be a very important target of the future space missions dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life. On the treasure map of the Universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X."

Other astronomers cautioned it's too early to tell whether there is water. "You need more work to say it's got water or it doesn't have water," said retired NASA astronomer Steve Maran, press officer for the American Astronomical Society. "You wouldn't send a crew there assuming that when you get there, they'll have enough water to get back."
The new planet's star system is a mere 20.5 light years away, making Gliese 581 one of the 100 closest stars to Earth. It's so dim, you can't see it without a telescope, but it's somewhere in the constellation Libra, which is low in the southeastern sky during the midevening in the Northern Hemisphere.

A few weeks before the European discovery earlier this month, a scientific paper in the journal Astrobiology theorized a few days that red dwarf stars were good candidates. "Now we have the possibility to find many more," Bonfils said.

Full Exoplanet Story

How big is this discovery? Well, it would be a lot bigger if we could find a way to get there from here. It would take thousands of years with our current technology to bridge the 20.5 light-year gap between the two systems. And, since we can't seem to even get back to the Moon or to Mars without blowing stuff up, it stands to reason that, unless someone invents a hyperdrive in the next few years, we aren't going anyplace outside the Solar System.

Gliese 581 also has two other planets, much larger than Earth, and this newly announced body (8.5 to 15 times Earth's mass). Check out the Gliese 581 System Data.

I agree with Mr. Maran when he states that it is far too early to tell whether this world has water without any spectroscopic analysis having been done. Still, this planet is, by far, the most similar to Earth in terms of size, and that alone gives us reason to think that there may be some other similarities as well.

Red Sox Sweep Yankees With Help From Four Consecutive Homers

2007-04-23T16:34:00.000-05:00

The AL Eastern Division leading Boston Red Sox are now 12-5 on the young season after having swept the Yankees last night at Fenway Park. Part of the fun was a record-tying four consecutive homers in the third inning off the bats of Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek. ESPN.com excerpt:

BOSTON (AP) -- It took the Boston Red Sox 10 pitches to hit four straight homers and three days to complete a sweep of the New York Yankees.

In another thrilling chapter in a rich rivalry, the Red Sox tied a major league record with the home run streak and got their third consecutive comeback win with a 7-6 victory Sunday night despite Daisuke Matsuzaka's shaky debut against the Yankees.

Depsite Matsuzaka's shaky debut against the Yankees...Well, yeah. Look, the Yankees are on a pace to score 1,000 runs for the season. Christ, Curt Schilling got bombed Friday night as A-Rod dented him for two homers, and it was only a rally against Mariano Rivera that saved the day.

I've avoided analyzing Matsuzaka because, quite frankly, three spring training appearances and four regular season starts is a pretty small sample from which to choose. People are on him because they don't think he can pitch from the stretch. Bullshit. I'm fairly certain that Matsuzaka, on at least one or to occasions in his EIGHT YEARS AS A PROFESSIONAL PITCHER IN JAPAN, HAD TO DEAL WITH OPPOSING BASERUNNERS. The reason this "analysis" is so prevalent is simple" 103 million dollars.

From what little I HAVE seen from Matsuzaka, he seems confident and in command of his pitches. He also throws harder than I expected. I suspect he will settle down okay and provide the Red Sox with 18 wins, and be right in the mix for the AL strikeout lead.

Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek connected against Wright, making his second major league start.

Lowell also added a second homer, his third of the season, a three-run shot in the seventh inning to give the Sox a 7-5 lead.

The third-inning outburst made the Red Sox the fifth team in major league history to hit four homers in a row. The Los Angeles Dodgers did it on Sept. 18 last season against San Diego. Drew hit the second of those four homers as well. It was the second homer of the season for all four Boston batters.

Wright became the second big league pitcher to allow four consecutive homers. The other was Paul Foytack of the Los Angeles Angels on July 31, 1963, in the sixth inning of the second game of a doubleheader against Cleveland. One of those homers was hit by Tito Francona, the father of current Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who turned 48 on Sunday.

J.D. Drew gets to be part of history twice, and Terry Francona gets the same by association with his dad Tito from what he did in 1963, and on his birthday no less. Not only that, but each of the homers was the second of the season for each batter. Is that the Twilight Zone theme I hear playing in the background...

Wright also tied a major league record for most homers allowed in an inning. He was the first pitcher to give up four since Randy Johnson of the Yankees on Aug. 21, 2005, against the Chicago White Sox.

Red Sox Homer Binge

The Red Sox hope to keep the momentum going as they begin a two-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays tonight at Fenway with knuckleballer Tim Wakefield matched against former Sox hurler Tomo Okha.

In other baseball news, Mark Buerhle tries to tie Johnny Van Der Meer's record of two consecutive no-hitters when he takes the mound tonight in Kansas City as his Chicago White Sox take on the Royals with their starting pitcher Gil "Ga" Meche. The White Sox lefty threw a no-no against the Texas Rangers his last time out. I wonder what the Vegas odds are of him matching Van Der Meer?

And yesterday, Barry Bonds launched his 740th career homer, leaving him 15 shy of Henry Aaron's all-time major league mark of 755 as the Giants beat the Diamondbacks yesterday 2-1 behind Barry's homer and Matt Cain's strong complete game outing at San Francisco's Lefty O'Doul Stadium.

Bonds is edging toward history, and for some he is doing it under the cloud of suspicion due to having used a cream that contained steroids (supposedly without his knowledge). Whether this affected his performance or not, he is still one of the best baseball players I have ever seen, and I hope he stays healthy and effective as he nears Aaron's magical mark.

The Yanks Are Coming! McCain Is Unfit to Lead--And He's Not Funny Either...

2007-04-20T16:55:00.000-05:00

The Red Sox, hot on the heels of yesterday's come from behind 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays in Toronto (I think Gibbons showed way too quick a hook with Roy Halladay--Thanks John!). welcome the New York Yankees to Fenway Park for a three game series starting with Curt Schilling versus Andy Pettitte tonight. A-Rod has ten home runs (including a game-winning three-run bomb in yesterday's Yanks victory over the Indians). Big Papi has five, and Manny hit his first yesterday (a game-tying shot off of Scott Marcum after Halladay was pulled). Let's start the insanity!

But now, here are is a news story I just couldn't ignore. Let's call it...

McCain Makes Bad, Old Joke

WASHINGTON - The liberal group MoveOn.org is launching an ad against Republican John McCain and his joke about bombing Iran, arguing that the nation "can't afford another reckless president."

The group plans to spend about $100,000 to air a commercial on network and some cable television stations in Iowa and New Hampshire, states that hold early contests in the presidential nomination process, spokesman Alex Howe said Friday.

McCain, campaigning Wednesday in South Carolina, answered a question about military action against Iran with the chorus of the surf-rocker classic "Barbara Ann."

"That old, eh, that old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran," he said. "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, anyway, ah ..." His audience laughed, but MoveOn.org called the comment dangerous.

"America has lived through six years of a reckless foreign policy," an announcer says in the ad. "We're stuck in Iraq. More than 3,000 Americans are dead. And thousands more wounded. "Now comes John McCain with his answer to what we should do about Iran. John McCain? We can't afford another reckless president."

The group ran ads in the same states in January, criticizing the Arizona senator's support for sending more troops to Iraq.

McCain defended the joke during a campaign stop in Nevada on Thursday. "Please, I was talking to some of my old veterans friends," he told reporters in Las Vegas. "My response is, Lighten up and get a life." Asked if his joke was insensitive, McCain said: "Insensitive to what? The Iranians?"

That response sums up perfectly why John McCain is not qualified to be president. He has become a Bush clone, and that is simply something we definitely do not need.

McCain, for those of you who haven't been paying attention, lost whatever credibility he had during Campaign 2000 when he became a waterboy for then Governor Lazy SOB, even after the future Preznit's campaigners lit up the phones of South Carolinians prior to Super Tuesday to tell voters that McCain was "unbalanced" from his time in Vietnam as a POW, and that he had fathered a black baby. Instead of fighting back, he surrendered, then became one of Bush's biggest cheerleaders.

McCain's idiotic remarks show how completely unfit for command he truly is. He and Joe Lieberman (D-R in Sheep's Clothing) have so thoroughly tied themselves to Preznit Flight Suit Fantasy that there they are in the Land of No Return. Their moronic "surge" plan is now in place, and they now share in the blame for the tragedy that is going on in Iraq. McCain's phony walking tour of Baghdad, which was followed by the worst single day of violence in that city since the invasion shows how out of touch he is on this issue.

I ackshully voted for him in the Massachusetts primary as a pre-emptive strike against Bush, not because I believed for one nanosecond the bile he spewed from the "Straight Out Of His Ass Talk Express" (He once took three different positions on abortion in a 48-hour span), but because I saw the momentum that Bush's campaign had been getting. That and the fact that the "liberal press" refused to ask him anything more complicated to answer than: "What's your favorite color?" I figured that McCain, as flawed as he was, was bound to be better than Bush. Little did I know to what depths he'd crawl to ingratiate himself with the man and his crooked family.

To say McCain has been a disappointment would be a HUGE understatement. I used to value his independence, and thought that he might make a fine president one day. Those thoughts were quickly wiped away once I saw how eager he was, and how far he was willing to bend over for the BFEE. A close friend opined, during Campaign 2004, before John Kerry (D-I'd Rather Be Windsurfing) chose John Edwards as his running mate, that McCain would be a good choice for the job. A "dream ticket" was the description used. I quickly persuaded my friend that such a notion was fatally flawed, and McCain quickly fulfilled my lowered expectations as the war dragged on, as Bush got a second term, and even now with the Democrats forgetting they are now the majority in Congress. Well, if there is any solace to be taken in all this, it is that John McCain has as much chance of being inaugurated President on January 20, 2009 as I do of marrying Jessica Alba and living a life of indolent pleasure in a penthouse suite overlooking Sydney Harbour. Buh-Bye John...

McCain Dumbass Joke Full Story

In Memory of My Father

2007-04-14T10:32:00.000-05:00

My father passed away on April 2, 2007. Dad had been battling a number of health problems for the better part of a year. These included COPD and a minor stroke he suffered last summer. He had just turned 73 on February 20th, and I'm glad I got to spend that week with him. Here is a copy of the eulogy I read at his funeral service, held last Saturday, April 7th:

Clarke McCullough Rainey was born on February 20, 1934. My sisters and I knew him as our father, but he was also a son, a brother, an uncle, a husband, a grandfather and a friend.

He liked to say that he was born in the middle of a snowstorm, which is why he was always trying to get warm. When he was born, one of the hospital nurses thought he looked like the baby from the comic strip “Baby Bunkie”, and from then on, he was known to his family as Bunk. As he grew up, friends and co-workers knew him as Red.

As a child, one doesn’t get to know their parents as anything but a parent, but my sisters and I have been lucky to have been able to get to know our Dad as a youngster and a young man through the countless stories we heard from longtime friends like Red Harvey and Charlie McCarthy, and our Uncle Bob and Aunt Gloria.

Dad himself was also an entertaining storyteller, and as children, my sisters and I would listen to many of his stories at family gatherings—many of which he told again and again. One of our favorite stories had to do with the time his brother, our Uncle Bob, who was six years older than Dad, had been scaring Dad by telling him that the shadows of trees were ghosts flying around their house. Dad became so scared that our Grandfather made Bob crawl the perimeter of the roof, with Dad watching from the windows, to show him that there were, in fact, no ghosts. The brothers also had teasing rhymes. Bob would tease Dad by saying “Skunky Bunky can’t go out, Skunky Bunky sit and pout”, and Dad would reply with “Slobby Bobby can’t go out, Slobby Bobby sit and pout”.

At age 11, Dad became an uncle for the first time. His sister Gloria had eight children and numerous grandchildren to whom Dad was an uncle and great-uncle. And for over six decades, Dad enjoyed friendships with Red Harvey and Charlie McCarthy, friendships that sustained him in good times and bad times, and we should all be similarly privileged.

Dad was also a lifelong baseball fan. He got his love of the game from his father, and he passed this love on to me. As you all know, being a Red Sox fan is far from easy, and I’m glad he got to see them finally win a World Series, and I’m especially happy that we watched the Series together.

Dad had a wonderful sense of humor, and he was always there for my sisters and I as an advisor and mentor. He wouldn’t always give us the answers we wanted, but he was always there to help pick up the pieces when needed.

Dad was always fairly easy going, and he and our mother Lenore were married for 38 years at the time she passed away on February 5, 1999. The old adage that opposites attract was true in their case, as Mum seemed to worry about everything whereas Dad tried to take everything in stride. Somehow, they both knew when to laugh at themselves and with each other.

One of our mother’s quirks was her fear that some small animal or animals has somehow gotten into the house because she would hear noises that she couldn’t readily explain. Dad would dismiss this as her simply hearing things or saying that “the house was settling”. One time, while watching TV at their home in Clinton, Mum thought she saw something zoom by out of the corner of her eye, and she told Dad about it. He dismissed it in typical fashion saying that it was just her imagination. The next thing Dad knew, Mom was screaming, “It’s a bat!” and then hit the deck. Dad’s response was “Lenore, what are you doing? You’re hurting yourself, there’s nothing there!” At which point, the non-existent bat dive-bombed Dad, which put an end to his usual easy dismissal of Mum’s claims.

Mum and Dad also loved their three dogs. The first dog was Silky, who joined the family in 1971, which did not thrill Dad at all. In fact, he was adamant that he’d have nothing to do with “it”. Of course, that proved to be the opposite of what happened as he soon began teaching the dog how to bark. Samson joined us in 1978, and was only around for a couple of years, but he would always make for Dad’s easy chair whenever he left the room. Foxy joined us in 1993 and was the constant lap dog companion, first to Mum, then to Dad until she died last year, and she was definitely Daddy’s baby girl. Not too bad for a man who at first wanted nothing to do with animals—especially dogs.

Both Mum and Dad shared a love of big band music, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and all the crooners. As kids, my sisters and I were subjected to Saturday evenings watching Lawrence Welk. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, the torture would be increased when they would sing along and dance to the show’s music. This could be one factor that explains my love of heavy rock and heavy metal music. Judy, however, got our revenge by making him watch American Idol when he moved in with her. Dad also became quite a fan of Nickelodeon and Noggin as a result of his grandson Conor’s influence. Dad would counter by threatening to change the TV to the news whenever Conor misbehaved.

For nearly a year, Dad had been battling severe health issues—issues that led us to the painful decision to move him last September, to western Pennsylvania to live with Judy, her husband Ron and son Conor. This is ironic given the fact that, in the middle of Judy’s college years, Mum and Dad moved from Ashland to Clinton without giving Judy a forwarding address or phone number. Chris thought that we were in the clear, but Judy eventually tracked us down, despite our best efforts.

During most of the last six months Dad got to be with Conor, which was time well spent enjoying his grandson’s liveliness and developing personality. Although the house was far from quiet, with two dogs (Midas and Murry) and a four-year-old running around, the energy within probably helped him sustain his health better than he otherwise would have.

While Dad was in hospice, he made it clear to everyone that he was a Massachusetts boy, and the nurses all referred to him as Mr. Boston. He wasn’t able to talk on the phone, but he did ask us to call all of you, Gloria, Harv, Charlie and the rest of you, to say that he was thinking of you, and how much he loved all of you.

It’s impossible to tell you all about our Dad in just a few minutes. We have tried to share with you some of the highlights and interests of our family. He was very special to us and we will miss the stories, the laughter and the love.

My Mother, Lenore, passed away on February 5, 1999, long before I began blogging, so this tribute to my father is also, as you can read, a tribute to her. I'll be taking a break from posting for a bit due to the demands on my time in tying up some loose ends having to do with Dad's estate. My thanks to those friends, neighbors and co-workers for you support for me and my sisters during this difficult time. It means a lot to us.

Back to Bullpen for Papelbon

2007-03-22T18:10:00.000-05:00

Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon is going back to the bullpen to resume the closer role he filled so well last season. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Jonathan Papelbon's conversion from closer to starter didn't last long. Papelbon is heading back to Boston's bullpen to fill a major void, though he isn't doing it because an injury to Mike Timlin left the Red Sox without a closer.

"I haven't been sleeping well because there's been that feeling deep down in my heart that I wanted to close," Papelbon said after the Phillies and Red Sox played to a 4-4 tie in 10 innings on Thursday.

Papelbon is coming off a sensational rookie season in which he had 35 saves and an 0.92 ERA. But he was shut down with a month to go because of shoulder problems, and the Red Sox had planned to use him in the rotation to keep him on a more regular schedule.

The Red Sox needed a reliable closer because the 41-year-old Timlin has a strained side muscle and isn't going to be ready to start the season.

Papelbon made the decision to tell manager Terry Francona how he felt about returning to his closer's role earlier this week after consulting with his family and speaking to catcher Jason Varitek.

"He's unique," Francona said. "He's at the top of the list of relievers in baseball. He impacts the game like no other. I'm thrilled we have a young guy that feels enthusiastic about doing a job."

Papelbon allowed one run and two hits in three innings against Philadelphia. Karim Garcia's RBI single in the seventh off Papelbon tied the game at 4.

Julian Tavarez will take over as Boston's fifth starter behind an impressive staff that includes Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield.

Papelbon opened last season with 20 consecutive saves after taking over for injured closer Keith Foulke. The 26-year-old right-hander blew six of his last 21 chances, and missed the final month with a shoulder injury. Overall, Papelbon's rookie year was one for the ages.

Among pitchers who threw more than 50 innings, his ERA was the eighth lowest in major league history and his .167 opponents batting average tied him for the major league record Pedro Martinez set in 2000, when the former Boston ace won the Cy Young Award.

Papelbon's injury led the club to switch him back to the starting rotation because the routine of having to be prepared to pitch every day — and being in games two or three consecutive nights — might have caused some stress. Papelbon pitched almost exclusively as a starter in the minors, but worked out of the bullpen at Mississippi State and was selected as a closer in the fourth round of the 2003 amateur entry draft.

Papelbon pitched 68 1-3 innings in 59 appearances last year. He was 4-2 with 75 strikeouts and only 13 walks.

I think this is probably a good move. The guys the Sox either already had on hand (Tavarez, Manny Delcarmen), or brought aboard through off-season transactions (Joel Piniero) haven't been terrible, but they haven't been dominant. Not that such things matter a hell of a lot in spring training. In 2004, Keith Foulke had an absolutely BRUTAL spring training. I think he gave up something like 467 hits and 258 runs in 13 innings in Fort Meyers (not really). But, once the real season began, Foulke was golden, and was a major part of the 2004 WORLD SERIES CHAMPION RED SOX!

Papelbon would have made a fine starter, of that I am sure. But when you see what he did closing games last season, you'd be a fool to mess with that type of success. Will he again have a sub one ERA? Probably not. Hell, betting on consistent pitching is a fool's game. But if we are discussing probabilities, the notion that Papelbon could throw another 70 innings in 60-65 games with a strikeout per inning and 30-35 saves is not out of the question. I'm just glad the Sox braintrust didn't wait until mid-May after ten blown saves to act.

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Calvert "Larry "Bud" Melman" DeForest Dead at 85

2007-03-21T19:11:00.000-05:00

Today brings the sad news that Calvert DeForest, who played Larry "Bud" Melman on Late Night with David Letterman has died at age 85. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

NEW YORK - Calvert DeForest, the white-haired, bespectacled nebbish who gained cult status as the oddball Larry "Bud" Melman on David Letterman's late night television shows, has died after a long illness. The Brooklyn-born DeForest, who was 85, died Monday at a hospital on Long Island, Letterman's "Late Show" announced Wednesday.

He made dozens of appearances on Letterman's shows from 1982 through 2002, handling a variety of twisted duties: dueting with Sonny Bono on "I Got You, Babe," doing a Mary Tyler Moore impression during a visit to Minneapolis, handing out hot towels to arrivals at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

"Everyone always wondered if Calvert was an actor playing a character, but in reality he was just himself — a genuine, modest and nice man," Letterman said in a statement. "To our staff and to our viewers, he was a beloved and valued part of our show, and we will miss him."

The gnomish DeForest was working as a file clerk at a drug rehabilitation center when show producers, who had seen him in a New York University student's film, came calling.

He was the first face to greet viewers when Letterman's NBC show debuted on Feb. 1, 1982, offering a parody of the prologue to the Boris Karloff film "Frankenstein." "It was the greatest thing that had happened in my life," he once said of his first Letterman appearance.

DeForest, or Melman, was an unintentional comedic genius. His awkwardness was hilarious and charming, and Letterman was smart enough to simply get out of the way and let the magic happen. The appearances as Dave's on -site correspondent at various events was comedy gold. You couldn't have planned a character like that and gotten away with it, it simply would have been too contrived. But DeForest, a true non-professional entertainer, somehow made it work just by being himself. Here's to you Calvert/Larry!

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San Francisco Giants Ballpark to go Solar. Lefty O'Doul Retrospective.

2007-03-20T18:34:00.000-05:00

The home of the San Francisco Giants will soon be powered by solar energy. Yahoo News Reuters excerpt:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will install a solar energy system at the San Francisco Giants' AT&T Park, believed to be the first solar power plant at a major league baseball park.

The utility, a unit of San Francisco-based PG&E Corp., will place 590 solar panels at the park to produce 123 kilowatts of electricity, enough energy to light up a new scoreboard or power about 25 homes, PG&E said on Tuesday.

The system will be ready in time for baseball's All-Star game on July 10 at AT&T Park.

As long as we are doing something new, why not rename the stadium to something more fitting the rich baseball tradition of this fine city. Please join me and my good friend Miss Templeton in urging the powers that be to change the name of this ballpark to Lefty O'Doul Stadium. O'Doul was a lifetime .349 hitter in the majors in 970 games with the Yankees, Red Sox, Giants, Phillies, Dodgers. He won NL batting crowns in 1929 with a .398 mark for the Phillies with a league record 254 hits (tied with Bill Terry who matched him the following season for the Giants) and in 1932 with a .368 for the Dodgers.

O'Doul also had a fine career in the Pacific Coast League, in which he excelled as a player and manager. Lefty hit .354 in 1,068 games for San Francisco, Hollywood, Salt Lake City and Vancouver (for whom he hit a pinch-triple in 1956 at the age of 59). Playing the long PCL schedules (between 180 and 200 games a season) he led that league in the following categories:

Hits with 309 for Salt Lake City in 1925 and again with 278 for Hollywood in 1927.
Triples in 1925 with 17.
Runs scored with 164 in 1927.
Total bases with 428 in 1927.

In addition to his hitting prowess, O'Doul was also a long-time manager in the PCL. He managed the San Francisco Seals from 1935-1951, the San Diego Padres from 1952-54 and Oakland Oaks in 1955. He stayed with that club when they moved to Vancouver in 1956. His career managerial record was 2008-1890 for a .515 winning percentage. He managed the Seals to first-place finishes in 1935 and 1946, and the Padres in 1954. O'Doul is also credited with having been a top ambassador of the game to Japan.

In addition, Lefty O'Doul's Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge has been a San Francisco landmark since its opening in 1958. What more reason do we need to rename the place where the Giants play?

Special thanks to the invaluable The Pacific Coast League: A Statistical History, 1903-1957 by Dennis Snelling for help in compiling O'Doul's numbers.

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Bush Ups Ante in Attorney Firing Fiasco. Will Dems Call His Bluff?

2007-03-20T18:11:00.000-05:00

Preznit Flight Suit Fantasy has challenged Democrats in the attorney firing fiasco. He is betting that they are still the gutless wonders that cringed throughout his first term, and that they will not issue subpoenas to get the answers to this mess. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

WASHINGTON - A defiant President Bush warned Democrats Tuesday to accept his offer to have top aides testify about the firings of federal prosecutors only privately and not under oath or risk a constitutional showdown from which he would not back down.

Democrats' response to his proposal was swift and firm: They said they would start authorizing subpoenas as soon as Wednesday for the White House aides.

"Testimony should be on the record and under oath. That's the formula for true accountability," said Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Bush, in a late-afternoon statement at the White House, said, "We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants. ... I have proposed a reasonable way to avoid an impasse."

He added that federal prosecutors work for him and it is natural to consider replacing them. "There is no indication that anybody did anything improper," the president said.

Bullshit. Bush wants the deck stacked in his favor AGAIN. This won't be a rerun of his hideous 9-11 "testimony", during which time he sat on Unka Dick Cheney's lap while never having to be placed under oath. Not this time. It's too late for "reasonable proposals".

Bush gave his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, a boost during an early morning call and ended the day with a public statement repeating it. "He's got support with me," Bush said.

The Senate, meanwhile, voted to strip Gonzales of his authority to fill U.S. attorney vacancies without Senate confirmation. Democrats contend the Justice Department and White House purged eight federal prosecutors, some of whom were leading political corruption investigations, after a change in the Patriot Act gave Gonzales the new authority.

Several Democrats, including presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barrack Obama, Joe Biden and John Edwards, have called for Gonzales' ouster or resignation. So have a handful of Republican lawmakers.

More and more voices are being heard to call for the head of AG Abu-G. I don't believe for one moment that Gonzales is safe. If the subpoenas come, there is a chance that Rove may be called to testify, and that will almost surely cost Gonzales his job. The Democrats have already taken the necessary action to make Gonzo accountable to them with regard to filling future attorney slots. But that may be a moot point, as the man seems to be living on borrowed time. Let's hope the final tick of that clock sounds sooner rather than later.

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