Oil Crisis

I am fascinated by how many people are really complaining about the cost of a gallon of gas. Yes, gas prices are absurd and yes, the oil companies are greedy and yes, their excuses for why the gas prices are going up are lame. But honestly, I hear people complaining that they just don't have enough money to pay for the increased price of gas, and I don't think they are trying hard enough.

One guy at my work complains about the gas prices and then goes out for lunch EVERY day! We're talking about using gas to drive to and from where he goes to eat and then probably $4 or $5 to eat. How is he complaining if he's just going to turn around and waste?

Stop driving so much! If I could bike to work, I would. I honestly am close enough that I could feasibly do it, but I don't have a bike. I am already in talks with some people here at work though to start carpooling, so that's a start. Hopefully if we get that going it will make other people aware.

But this is like the current drought situation here in North Carolina. People get all up in arms and do what they can to conserve...then when the threat is calmed down, go right back to wasting. That shouldn't be how it is! It's a precious resource, we should always conserve on GAS and WATER.

More Google Maps...

Yesterday, Google celebrated the one year anniversary of their Streetview feature by adding 37 new cities and expandiing the coverage in some of their other cities.

Here's the list of the new cities:
Springfield (MA)
Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse (NY)
Newark (NJ)
Virginia Beach (VA)
Charlotte, Winston-Salem (NC) - I spotted a Chrysler Concord there
Columbia, Greenville (SC)
Atlanta (GA)
Huntsville (AL)
Boca Raton, Cape Coral, Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Sarasota, West Palm Beach (FL)
Jackson (MS)
Knoxville (TN)
Lexington, Louisville (KY)
Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo (OH)
Ann Arbor (MI)
St. Louis (MO)
Topeka (KS)
Oklahoma City, Tulsa (OK)
Reno (NV)
Bakersfield, Fresno, Sacramento, Stockton (CA)

I hope you all can enjoy it as much as I do.

Google Maps

So, I have what some would consider a love affair with Google Maps. I think it's the coolest invention since baseball. There are endless things you can do and see with the maps. You can do a satellite view and zoom in on the top of your house. Or if you're lucky enough to live one of a few select cities, you can look at an actual streetview picture of your entire city...frame by frame.

Another really cool tool is the ability to create your own information to put into a map. A good example of this is a map that I created of mine and Kim's trip to Atlanta during Christmas of 2006. I've posted the map below so you all can take a look. I like to think it tells a story of our vacation. It also is helpful for anyone who has never visited the city and is considering it.

You can navigate around the map by clicking on the icons and zooming in out and on the left hand side. Have fun!


View Larger Map

Ken Griffey Jr. "The Kid"

So, last night one of my favorite players in the history of baseball, Ken Griffey Jr., hit the 600th HR of his career. It's such a huge accomplishment and I just really enjoy seeing it happen to such a great guy. One of the reasons why I've always liked him is his attitude. He always has a smile on his face and from the time he came into the league has been one of the most approachable players around. He also has the added benefit of an untarnished reputation. Heck, even Chipper Jones hasn't managed to avoid that pitfall.

It's only sad to me that it took him this long to reach this point. He really was supposed to be the one to break the all-time record and was well on his way when he left Seattle to come home to Cincinnati. For those that don't know, his dad played a good part of his career in Cincinnati and so Griffey pretty much grew up there. But he couldn't avoid injuries and therefore hasn't played very consistently over the last 7 or 8 years. On top of that, he doesn't get much love from the Reds fans. He can come to Atlanta to finish out his career if he'd like...although the fans at Turner are pretty lousy too.

Congrats Griffey on another milestone! You still have the sweetest swing in all of baseball. Here's to passing Sammy "I slam steroids" Sosa in the coming month.

Baby Kyrie

Just wanted to send out a post/prayer request about a couple of friends. I know the audience reading this is not very big (I'm pretty sure it's just 2), but I wanted to write this down for myself anyway.

A couple that Kimberly and I know just had a baby (Kyrie) Friday night. Kyrie is/has gone in for her first heart surgery today sometime. She has a defective heart that is missing some key components that transport the blood between its chambers.

Tell everyone you know to pray for her and for her family. This is just the beginning as she is scheduled to have multiple surgeries to repair this. This is something she will continue to deal with for a long time, but provided that everything goes well (and we know it will) she will have as normal of a life.

We know God is in control and we also know that Kyrie will be a blessing to her family and everyone else she comes in contact with regardless of what happens.

Baseball weirdness...

I got this story from Yahoo! Sports and I was just going to type in my own description, but it was just too good to do that so I just am putting it word for word in here. It's got a video too which is the main part, but if you've lived for any time in NE GA, you'll find the story a little interesting.

Here it is: They say the great thing about baseball is that there's always a chance you might see something that you've never seen before. They also say high schoolers are prone to do stupid things.

But have those two maxims ever collided in such strange fashion? Take a look at this clip from a high school game in Georgia, which some believe shows a catcher intentionally ducking his pitcher's pitch so that it pegs the umpire. It's almost so unbelievable that you have to take a look and judge for yourself.



So exactly what was going on to make the catcher bail on the pitch like that?

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been on top of the story and is reporting today that the investigation into the incident is 'ongoing.' According to the report, "Stephens County shortstop Ethan Martin, the brother of the pitcher, Cody Martin, had argued with (umpire Jeff) Scott and thrown his batting helmet after becoming the ninth consecutive Stephens County batter to strike out."

On Monday, the paper reported that the Stephens County principal had apologized to the Georgia High School Association, but that the school's coach contended the pitch was a mixup between the catcher calling for a curveball and getting a fastball instead.

But Scott Singer, who was in charge of videotaping the game for the rival team, saw things differently.

Said Singer in the AJC:


"Those two, the pitcher and his brother, the entire game had been riding the umpire about balls and strikes, and [Ethan Martin] got rung up in the top of the fourth, so [perhaps] that was payback in the bottom of the fourth. I don't know what was going through their heads, but when you see a catcher go to his right, it's like 'Good God!'"

Scott wasn't injured on the play and neither he nor the umpires' association have had any comment about the situation. The pitcher and catcher aren't talking either, so stay tuned to see what, if anything, the investigation turns up.

(Given the apparent mess they're trying to untangle, here's betting school administrators wish that their summer vacation had started two weeks ago.)

Leroy "Satchel" Paige

Just read an interesting story about the man known as Satchel Paige. Satchel Paige, for those who don't know was a player in the Negro Leauges, who after playing most of his career was accepted in the Major Leagues. After his brief Major League career he went to various independent teams and eventually to the Minor Leauges. In 1956-58 pitching for the Miami Marlins when Satchel Paige was 50+ years old (nobody knows exactly when he was born), he was 31-22 with 200+ SO, 34 walks, and a ERA under 3.00. That's insane for a man of his age, but he always said that he got stronger the more he pitched. Just thought you might like to know some baseball history.