Beginning of the Roto Grip Cell Era

I have tried for two weeks to get my bowling game going and I have been unsuccessful with the new Hammer Black Widow. I did have the front six in the 2nd game of week 1, but I went open-open-spare-open to snatchmediocrity from the jaws of greatness. It goes too long for me, probably due to the fact that it is polished. I had my Cell drilled to similar specifications and I threw 4 games with it last week after our league play ended. All of them were over 200, so I will be giving the Cell a chance for a couple of weeks to see how it goes. If it hits too much in the 3rd game, I’ll switch back to the Widow, justifying the purchase of 2 balls. The key will be if I can spare with the cell, because I was awful with the Widow.

Chicago Baseball 2008

With both the Cubs and the White Sox in 1st place in their respective divisions for most of this season, it has everyone across the nation talking about the possibility of a crosstown World Series. I urge everyone to use cautious optimism from this point forward when thinking, writing or speaking about either team. I do not know when the last time both teams were in 1st place this late into the season, but I know it was 1906 when they last met in the World Series and my beloved Sox won that one. That was the year the Cubs set the Major League record for wins in a season with 116, so they were big favorites in that series. With the AL having home field advantage this year, it doesn’t bode well for the Cubs’ chances, but 100 could be the magic number to overcome that disadvantage. It has been 100 years since the Cubs’ last World Series victory, a 4 games to 1 triumph over Detroit. The Cubs also lost World Series bids in 1910, 1918, 1920, 1932, 1935, 1938, and 1945. The White Sox, until 2005, were more famous for the World Series that they intentionally lost to Cincinnati, the 1919 Black Sox scandal. God willing, I hope that all goes peacefully here in Chicago. It will truly be a magical season if either team wins the World Series. I am pulling for both teams because I really want to see that in my lifetime. But remember, cautious optimism.

HDTV, Little League and Softball, plus gaming

We purchased a Samsung HDTV. The LN46A650 is a 46″ 1080p LCD with 120 Hz motion blur correction. It has a cool red accented bezel and an Ethernet port for RSS feeds.

Wal-Mart was giving out $100 gift cards when you purchase the 40 GB PS3 and we couldn’t resist. I added an HDMI cable and we watched Ant Bully in 1080p, up converted. I will be purchasing Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth in Blu-Ray soon. No plas on PS3 games, but I think we will rent those for a while.

Little League has ended and Michael begged me to play again next year. I wish he had a better finish because he started off so well. I sent out a very touching email when he earned the team’s first game ball. He really enjoyed himself this year. The Cubs lost their first playoff game against the Nationals, so the season is over. Michael was nominated, but did not make the All-star team.

Jules got her first and only hit against the Wildcats while grandfather Ed was in attendance. She earned a team-voted game ball for that. It has been her only ball in play of the year. They won their first playoff game, with the semis and World Series still remaining to be played. The Wildcats will be waiting for us, since they have beaten the Blue Bombers 3 out of 4 tries this year. My prediction is that if Jules gets another hit off of them, the Blue Bombers will be champs!

March 7, 2008

There is so much going on this weekend that it is scary. This afternoon, Cindy has to deliver her stuff to the CLUSTERS sale. Because she is on the committee, she will be able to shop late tonight and early tomorrow morning. I have to help in some way, though I am not sure how, yet. Michael has his last basketball game at 5:30 pm. I want to video tape it and need to charge the camera batteries, set the tape, etc. Jules has ballet at 7:00, so she needs to have her ballet stuff on when we all go to Michael’s hoops. Tomorrow morning at 9:00 am, Jules, Michael, and I are volunteering to pick up bags of goods for a food drive. We must have our ticket sales receipts in hand, as well as our own donation on the porch. Then we must go to the bank, eat lunch, play and be at the Cub Scouts Spaghetti dinner at 3:00 for more volunteer work. Around 7:00pm, I can take a breather.