I have serious concerns about the Mets. The addition of Gary Sheffield is clearly an attempt to catch lightening. I have no qualms about that. Ollie Perez. Is there anything good which can be said? His velocity is down. He's out of shape. He can't find the strike zone. He has an expensive contract for what he is as such has no trade value. I think he needs to start the season in the minors or instructional league. They may have been better off paying $4.5 million for Pedro Martinez. I saw Pedro pitch in the WBC and he's worth that. He's to risky to give a fully guaranteed 4.5 but a contract with incentives and bonuses would be a sound bet.

I don't like the field configuration of the new Shea Stadium. The stands jut out towards the field too much down the lines. There is no room for the speedy outfielders to get a ball close to the foul lines running at full speed or close to full speed. I've never been a fan of contrived nooks and crannies on a ball fields. I don't like the locations of the bullpens right next to one another. I would have preferred to have them by both left and right field bleachers. That said, I can't wait to go to a couple of games.

Let's Go Mets!

What a wonderful series. Some of the actors were over matched by some of their scenes. Overall it's edgy writing, plots and shots were superior to every other SciFi/Fantasy series and most other genres.

I didn't like that they placed so many colonists and cylons on Earth. It made little sense given Hera= mitochondrial Eve. Placing only the core cast on Earth would eliminate the question of where did all these humans, cylons and offspring go? They were placed throughout the planet therefore no catastrophe would have eliminated them. We would have traces. Had they placed only the core characters on Earth, we could even have believed that they were the people many of our mythic gods and goddesses were based upon.

It had it's moments. Thankfully most of them were in the fourth quarter.

No way was this a better game than XLII. Yes, I am a biased Giants fan. However, this game had way to many poor plays and penalties. Last year's Superbowl was superbly played by both teams.

I don't know what the future holds, but I'm not aware of a better man who has the personality, intellect, charisma and caring needed in order to pull us out of the economic and environmental crises we are in and the greater collapse we face.

We will still need to be blessed with the grace of fair weather. We can hope.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Plane-Crashes-in-Hudson-River.html

Truly heroic. Amazing piloting and response.

Amazingly the plane did not break up upon impact. It is a largely composite constructed aircraft.

http://grrm.livejournal.com/67433.html

So much to express, words cannot convey. But, I do offer my Love to the parents.

I babysat my most recent niece, her mom being a nurse, and I was always super vigilant when she slept. I would always look to make certain her little tummy was inflating and deflating. The longest she was ever away from my attention was if I was in the kitchen or in the bathroom, generally no more than 15 minutes. If she had turned to the side or on her tummy and I couldn't tell, I would place my hand on her to make certain she was alright.

On the few occasions which her mom worked nights and her aunt was away, I slept in the bed with her. I have the belief that it is important for infants to sleep with parent/caretakers. They sense our breathing and heartbeats, and we sense theirs. I know that often her aunt would tell me that when I was out, she would often concentrate on the door several minutes before I entered. There were too many times when she was sleeping and I would quietly go to the bathroom only to hear her fuss and complain. So I know that she did sense me. Even now that she is 2 years old she acts like a happy puppy when she see me.

I know that there are significant risks to sleeping with a baby. If you are the type of person who sleeps extremely soundly or tosses and turns then of course you definitely would not want to do that. If that is the case, I suggest pulling the crib right up against the side of your bed so that they are touching. Even if your are a "careful" sleeper, I'd suggest getting one of those specially designed pillows. No child should sleep alone until they are 2+ years old.

If you are a caretaker of infants, you must, you must, you must physically check on them every 5 - 15 minutes.

When Senator Obama reached 273 electoral votes my dear friend Sabine simply cried, "Oh, my God!" over and over while clutching her baby girl. She'd voted for him, but the reality was beyond belief. It was the realization of a great hope. I didn't cry until I woke at 6:30am while lying in bed.

I used to believe that in our time of greatest need the Hero always appears. After the election of 2000, that clear, blue sky morning in 2001, the election of 2004 and that Boxing Day wave of destruction I lost that faith. But now...

To think, modern man came out of east Africa and saved our species. Now, a truly modern man, the son of an east African has come to save our species. The Audacity of Hope. Indeed.

I guess it's appropriate the Mets once again lost on the last day of the season and in the last game at Shea. Ah, those lovable losers. I know the current crop of fans don't love their losers. But, I loved them in the mid-seventies when I first came to the country and I love them now. Win and lose.

Here's to next year and Citi(y) Field. No doubt it will be a fancy place to watch a game. I won't miss Shea. Even though I watched almost every Mets game, I didn't even go there this season. I had a foreboding. Looks like Reyes, Delgado, Santana, Pelfrey, Minaya and Manuel will be back for certain. I won't be surprised if everyone else is gone just like Shea.

Johan Santana's performance was indeed a throwback effort reminiscent of the greats of yesteryear. Not only did he pitch a complete game three-hit shutout on just three days rest, no one ever got up in the Mets bullpen. It was a statement performance. “What's the headline going to be tomorrow?” wondered Marlins rookie John Baker, who went 0-for-4 and struck out twice. “Is he the ’Shea-vior?”’

Sunday's game looms large. I don't have much hope for Ollie Perez to repeat his 2006 performance and with the state of the bullpen I can only hope that the Cubbies will beat up on the Crew. That means a one game play-off against the Brewers with Pedro on the mound. I think that he can come through.

Let's go Mets!

The government seized Washington Mutual (WM) and sold a portion of it (the profitable portion) to JP Morgan Chase (JPM) for $1.9 Billion. Folks, the bank has $900 Billion in customer deposits and $310 Billion in assets. This is the largest US bank collapse... so far. JPM stated that WM's liabilities and equities are worthless. I suspect the WM's shareholders will sue.

It was as of the opening bell trading at $0.164. Well that's a loss for me. Thankfully, my exposure was small. It also appears that trading was halted on WM as the ticker has stopped and all trade requests were canceled.

On top of all of this the Republican Party isn't willing to fix the problem. They want the Democrats to do the tough (non-populist) thing alone and pass some form of the $700 Billion fund. If the Dems alone did that the Republicans would then say the Dems are taxing and spending again. They did this in the early 90's and gained control of Congress. This time the Dems are staring back. I'll bet the farm the Republicans blink. They'll have to or the whole house of cards will collapse and the blame will be at their feet. If they are too dumb to blink... I expect a global meltdown.

We all remember what happened when the Republicans did nothing in the face of economic collapse in the 20's. Adolph Hitler came to power. Putin could use a collapse in the US and subsequently the world as the catalyst to exert Russia's military strength and grab resources at will.

I know, I know. This is all wild conjecture. But those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it.

AIG and LEHMQ made me money. Hope they made you money too. Now I'm banking on Washington Mutual (WM). I wouldn't bet the farm on it. My current exposure is low. If they don't get help from the government they'll be another Lehman. So they could be on the way to becoming de-listed. If that happens they will not be worth a plug nickel as far as investing/trading in. If they do get help from the government, expect that the price will skyrocket, relatively speaking.

Bet on it. Ok, Ok. Don't bet on it.

I'm concerned about the legal ramifications brought about due to the handling of the case so far. The Feds kept a man in jail saying without him they couldn't make a case. That has proven to be a falsehood. If as many are speculating a blood sample was acquired we all have to worry about how it was acquired and from where. This could be a very slippery slope we citizens are being placed upon.

I guess the idea of becoming a Met was too repulsive.

And, I like it. Yes there are still bugs and game balance issues, but they are not glaring. Well, except for the memory leak/crash that many are getting after playing for a few hours. I know, I know, get a life...

I think playing games for no pay is the life I want. That and being the jackpot winner of a huge lottery. Wish me luck.

So it's been a week and 2 days since my move. Life is feeling pretty good. Indeed, much better than in the recent past.

Yak Yak