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Well, That Hurt

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There are times when I am not sure I am in sync with Tennyson’s “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”, at least to the extent one applies it to rooting for a sports team.

For most of my life I either was a fan of a really lousy baseball team or had no team at all to support, having grown up in or just outside of Washington DC. While painful, it was sort of a calm, comforting painful. Low intensity, though at the time I did not recognize it as such at the time.

However, this has now all changed. Over the last three years, the Nationals twice had the best record in the National League (once the best in baseball) sandwiched around a season where they were favored, and failed, to do that still a third time. In the two years they made the playoffs, they lost in the 5th game of the initial five-game playoff series, after leading 6-0, a game I attended in 2012, and lost in four, last night, by giving up one run on a bases-loaded walk and another on a wild pitch. At least this year, the loss was out-of-town and I merely watched it on TV in tense agony until it ended after midnight.

By the way am I the only person who seems to wake-up around the same time no matter when I go to sleep?

Well, That Hurt

What I Learned From My Birthday This Year

As many of you know my birthday was earlier this week.

Most of the day of my birthday I spent working on responding to discussion posts and grading midterm papers for the graduate class I teach at the University of Maryland University College. During the day I talked to my two wonderful daughters. I spent a weekend with Miriam, joined on Saturday by Ellen, seeing Broadway shows, movies (including Serenity, of course), an improv show, and wandered around New York City; my pre-birthday birthday. This coming Monday I will go with Ellen and my other daughter Tamar to see a jazz saxophonist at Blues Alley, Mindi Abair, my post-birthday birthday.

Of course I also received many Facebook and Linkedin Happy Birthday’s. One in particular stood out from someone I only met once. She worked at the FAA in Oklahoma City. I had lunch with her and a number of other FAA staff there, probably around 2007. She wrote that she had been thinking of me and the fact that I introduced her to Firefly, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_(TV_series), and Serenity, all of which she loved, and noting that if I was interested in watching Nathan Fillion, who played the Captain in both, that he was in Castle (which I was aware of, but appreciated being told). More on this shortly.

What I Learned From My Birthday This Year

Federal News Countdown, the Nationals, and the Maryland Renaissance Festival

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FEDERAL NEWS COUNTDOWN

As many of you know (assuming that there is in fact a ‘you’, that is people who read this), I am fortunate to be asked back by the evidently non-discerning, but always interesting and entertaining, Francis Rose to be on his show the Federal News Countdown, http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=155.

I will be on tomorrow, Friday, August 16 at 3pm, on AM 1500 on your radio dial.

The way the show works is Francis invites two ‘experts’ (his words) who ‘discuss the three news stories they think are most important in the world of government’. I learn a lot from the experience.

First, I am forced to think about what I actually think are news stories that have some importance, at least for the week I participate. I even have to rank them from third most important to the very most important article.

Second, I always learn from the interaction with the other guest. Francis is great at getting together two people who bring different perspectives; it is always great fun for me.

Federal News Countdown, the Nationals, and the Maryland Renaissance Festival

Last Day of Our Spring Training Pilgrimage

Saturday, March 16th, was our last day at the Nationals Spring Training in the Viera/Melbourne area. The game was on MASN and was scheduled for 6pm so we spent a mostly leisurely time during the day. Of course, leisurely for me meant working on grading participation in my UMUC class.

We had lunch at one of the restaurants that has become a favorite of ours when we visit, Cedar’s Café, http://www.cedarscafe.com/. This is really a wonderful middle-eastern restaurant. We have met the family who owns it and does much of the cooking a number of times. They spent some time showing Ellen how they made the food which has made our visits a bit more special.

Last Day of Our Spring Training Pilgrimage

Nationals Spring Training Pilgrimage – Two Days Down, Two To Go

It is always great fun coming to Nationals Spring Training. For those of you who have never done so, I would recommend it (either for the Nationals if that is your favorite baseball team, or for whichever team is).

The weather is pretty nice, especially the further north you live, the pace is informal, the fields much smaller and intimate and the opportunity to run into players either at the game or in restaurants or similar locations much higher.

We flew down Wednesday morning.  I actually had some business to transact for our first stop.

Nationals Spring Training Pilgrimage – Two Days Down, Two To Go

Turning A Page

Last night I had the pleasure of going to a game lost by the Washington Nationals. And, of course, the reason was that in the middle of the 9th inning, we found out that the Pittsburgh Pirates had beaten the second place Atlanta Braves which meant the Nationals had won the National League East.

I am one of those people born in Washington DC and lived in the area all my life. I still have fond memories of my father taking me to see the hapless Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium. For those who never went, Griffith Stadium was sort-of a mirror image of Fenway Park in Boston. Washington’s ‘Green Monster’ was in right field, not like Fenway’s left field one. The other difference was that Washington’s team was ALWAYS terrible and the crowd’s fairly small.Turning A Page

My Wild and Crazy Week

Once a year, Ellen goes to New York for a book festival for almost a week, like this last week typically leaving Sunday morning and returning Thursday evening.

I will note in passing that when Ellen goes to New York, she takes the bus; when I go, I take the train. One wonders what conclusions can be drawn from this (Gender differences? Political differences? Attitude toward spending money differences?)

Anyway, during that week I am ON MY OWN. Able to do WHATEVER I WANT. Free to do it WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT.  Of course, except when I have to go to work, or work on my classes I teach, or this last Sunday except when I am with my younger daughter, Tamar, watching the last two episodes of Game of Thrones for the season.My Wild and Crazy Week