Remember Zestos?

Zestos is rolling out a competition of sorts: eat eight of their classic items in 30 minutes. You gotta pay $50 to try - that's $6.25 per item. Less than 4 minutes per item. Man last month at Shake Shack it was all I could do to eat four items. Zestos is down to two Atlanta locations: East Atlanta and Forest Park.

My other current food deals:

Shake Shack free burger with purchase off their BBQ burger menu ($10 min). I'll probably pass.

Dairy Queen $1 dipped cone.

Taco Bell a cravings menu item for $1.00

RaceTrac free soft drink. 

Whataburger free burger with purchase of a medium fries and drink (<$6). This deal is ongoing, as long as you keep taking the survey on the receipt. Cash in on June 11 for a free mini soccer ball. 

George Ewing caught a baby shark off Pawley's Island.

Ronald Acuna is on the disabled list. Again. Pulled his hamstring running to first base, so it wouldn't have helped to make him a designated hitter, though his defense has trended toward lackadaisical lately. Love having his strong arm in right field. But how can you pay him superstar money when he's missing so many games?

In eight seasons, Ronald has twice played at least 156 games, and no more than 119 in the other six. He's missed 36% of the games. For better or worse, several teams would love to overpay Acuna: the Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers for starters. More casual fans would say, sure, back up the truck, since it's not their money.

A big comeback by the Knicks last night. Crazy that they lead the series 3-1 and could close out.

Met my friends Lee and Reid for lunch at Taqueria Tsunami today, so I didn't go to the gym until afterwards. I pulled a lateral muscle in my back about a week ago, making it painful to move around. I'm putting off golf until it gets better. Also weightlifting. 

Article: a report claims many mosques have closed and Christianity is soaring in Iran, while Islam is in decline.

Article: does a movie about discovery of alien life threaten Christianity? A Christian Response to Disclosure Day, by my social media friend Elizabeth Prata.

TOM GLAVINE  [SABR Bio] gave up a record seven consecutive hits in an All-Star game. Glavine had not lost a game in nearly 2 months. Then, in the 1992 ASG, he was beaten in the first 20 minutes. In the top of the first he gave up successive hits to Boggs, Puckett, Carter, McGwire, Ripken, Griffey Jr., & Alomar Jr. Four runs scored. Glavine played for the Mets from 2003-2007. He won 20 games in a season five times, leading the majors four times. Won 20 games in 1991 (20), 1992 (20), 1993 (22), 1998 (20), and 2000 (21). In each of the last 3 years he had just 4 complete games, which would lead the league today. He won the World Series WS MVP in 1995 and won the Cy Young Award in 1991.

    Quote for the day: “The command of Jesus is hard, unutterably hard, for those who try to resist it. But for those who willingly submit, the yoke is easy, and the burden is light.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Cut Him !

Fans have often wanted to release struggling players. A few years ago they wanted to cut Michael Harris. Now he's tearing it up. Sometimes you gotta let a kid figure it out. 

After his first two seasons, Tom Glavine had gone 9-21 with ERAs of 5.54 and 4.56. A 0.4 WAR. Should the Braves cut him, they would've missed out on a hall of famer.

Same with Smoltz. in his rookie season he went 2-7 with a 5.48 ERA, and a negative -0.2 ERA. 

Even the great Greg Maddux started out 8-18 in his first two seasons, with ERAs of 5.52 and 5.61. His WAR was also negative: -0.4.

A great athlete, the beloved Bo Jackson batted .207 in his rookie season, with only 2 home runs in 91 plate appearances, compared to 34 strikeouts - a negative -0.8 WAR. It didn't get much better for Bo. The next three years he hit .234, .246, and .256, with WARs of 0.0, 1.7, and 2.7. For his career, Bo struck out 35% of the time - a much higher rate than noted strikeout kings Dave Kingman and Dan Uggla. Should the Royals have cut Bo?

I hate it when someone asks me what I'm going to do, now that I'm retired. Every other time someone asks me, when I start to answer that interrupt and tell me what I need to be doing. I HATE THAT. They're not interested in what I have to say, they're only interested in hearing themselves talk. Freaks me out.

ARKY VAUGHAN  [SABR Bio] walked away from the game for three years rather than play for Leo Durocher. With the Dodgers in 1943, Vaughan led the majors in runs scored but opted to retire at the age of 31.  Earlier in the season, he had walked out on the team for one game over comments Durocher made about teammate Bobo Newsome.  Branch Rickey lured Vaughan back in 1947, after Durocher was suspended over his ties to professional gamblers. Vaughan was selected to the Hall in 1985. When he made his Pirates debut on 17-April-1932 he took the field with future hall of famers Pie Traynor, Lloyd Waner, & Paul Waner. Leo Durocher was playing shortstop for the opposing Reds. Vaughan's nephew made his major league debut for the Houston Colt .45s at age 19, but failed to spark a long-lasting career. Shortstop Glenn “Sparky” Vaughan played 9 games for Houston as a September call-up in 1963.  He returned to the minors for 1964, but was out of baseball after that season. 

Denison: what Graham Platner's primary victory means for our culture.

Road Trip?

Found a book that I’m making good progress actually reading: Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24 Hour News. Lots of good stories and anecdotes, including several from Bill Tush. Turner was not only brash, but did things like cut his own hair to save money. Wore his lucky engineers cap around the office.  

Finishing up an audiobook memoir by Hallmark Channel actress Bethany Joy Lenz: Dinner For Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show While Also in an Actual Cult. A sad story, the cult siphoned off millions from the One Tree Hill star. It was good that she got out when she did. Pretty girl, but a weird cover photo.

Miles and driving times to a few places of interest.

142 03 Greenville

193 04 Asheville

300 06 Jefferson 

385 07 Pawley's Island

406 07 Memphis

452 07 Cincinnati 

463 08 Orlando

504 09 Tampa

517 09 New Orleans

546 09 St.Louis

845 14 Key West 

868 14 Field of Dreams, Iowa

927 15 Green Bay

976 15 Austin by way of Mobile, New Orleans, & Houston

1519 23 Mt Rushmore

Article: a government scientist leaked the terrifying truth about Google’s plan to unleash 64 million infected mosquitoes across America.

Players who hit for the cycle before their 22nd birthday.

Player                   Date               Age            Write-up

Cesar Cedeno..02-Aug-1972......21-159 SABR Games Project Story

Elly De La Cruz 23-Jun-2023......21-063 SABR Games Project Story

Cliff Heathcote..13-Jun-1918......20-140 SABR Games Project Story

Mel Ott..............16-May-1929(2) 20-075 SABR Games Project Story

A-Rod...............05-Jun-1997......21-313 SABR Games Project Story

Mike Trout........21-May-2013......21-287 SABR Games Project Story

Arky Vaughan...124-Jun-1933.... 21-107 SABR Games Project Story

Eric Davis          02-June-1989 was the last Reds player to hit for the cycle prior to De La Cruz. 

Denison: does morality still matter in America?

Base Ball

Ceil brought back a few framed items from Corrine's house in Catarrh, including one of her ancestor's Belmont base ball team from the 1800's. I'll hang it in my office.

Finally: got the new curtain hung in the bedroom. Also a shower curtain. Dresser should be delivering soon. Working on the bedside tables, window shades, and the hanging of framed pictures. 

My humble blog recently passed 4 million views. This is my 21st year posting blogs. Not super impressive when you do the math, but it's a mark to be noted nevertheless.

When I worked, I had several ways to take notes and make to do lists: use an email, a sticky note, a small notepad, or a regular sized piece of paper (usually folded). When I retired, I made sure to have several of these possibilities available. At some point, I realized I needed to have 3x5 notecards on hand. For one reason to enter the occasional mail in sweepstakes. So I bought me a stack at Dollar Tree. Now I've started using the 3x5 cards for my to do lists. Now I am remembering how I receive so many 3x5 cards from Reid. 

I was happy to have a restful Sunday. I'm trying to get C to be more active, so I waited around for her to get ready to go to the gym. Didn't leave the house until 10:15. She wanted to do the treadmill and sauna, so that's what we did. She'd wanted to go to Whole Foods, but she didn't want to go in her yoga pants. 

Got home, and I left out to run some errands. Today is 6/8 and Sonny BBQ was having a $6.80 special: a pulled pork BBQ sandwich, fries and a drink. Came out quick and hot, before my drink had arrived. Crinkle fries were piping hot, but tasted undercooked. The busy 68 year old waiter brought me a glass of weak root beer instead of Coke Zero, but root beer is good every now and then. Sandwich was good. A little adventure.

Went to the AT&T store to get my phone fixed, but they said there were lots of hoops I had to go through, that I was pretty sure had spent hours getting fixed already. Drives me crazy.   

 

Question of the day: who is your favorite pass rusher? Claude Humphrey and John Zook.

MEL OTT  [SABR Bio] led his team in home runs for 18 straight seasons, yet is only third on his franchise’s career home run list. Ott had more homers than any other Giants hitter every season from 1928-45.  His total of 511 dingers in a Giants uniform was later passed by Willie Mays (646) and Barry Bonds (586). Ott tied Gavvy Cravath’s record for National League home run titles, though he needed more than twice as many home runs to do it. Ott led the Senior Circuit in roundtrippers six times, in 1932, 1934, 1936-38, and 1942. In those six seasons, he hit a total of 203 home runs. Cravath also led the league six times, from 1913-15 and 1917-19, but only hit 94 homers combined in those six seasons. Their record would be broken by Ralph Kiner, who won seven consecutive NL home run titles from 1946-52. Kiner was eventually eclipsed by Mike Schmidt, who led the NL in home runs eight times. Ott’s first at-bat for the Giants came less than two months after his 17th birthday.  He was by 20 months the junior of Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rufus Meadows, the 2nd youngest player to take the field in 1926. When Braves outfielder Bill Dunlap made his big league debut, it marked the first time in four seasons that someone younger than Ott was on a National League roster.

Denison: how to speak the truth in love.

 Max Lucado: “I choose kindness. I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.” 

    Quote for the day: “Compassion is born when we discover in the center of our own existence not only that God is God and man is man, but also that our neighbor is really our fellow man.” —Henri J. M. Nouwen

Abraham: His Highs & Lows

Brian Fox 

Sunday School 

Highs in Abraham’s life. 

1. Abraham’s belief in God’s promise. 

2. His intercession for Lot. 

3. Having Lot take the land in one direction, and he took the other. 

4. Obeying God by putting his son on the pire. 

5. Abraham was the cornerstone of our faith. 

6. He rescued Lot, without keeping any spoils. 

7. Getting circumcised immediately, in obedience to God. 

Lows 

1. When he had Ishmael. 

2. When he twice claimed Sarah was his sister. 

Romans 4 the illustration: the life of Abraham - after… 

Romans 1:16 

Rom 2&3 we are all sinners 

Rom 3:21-22 through faith in Jesus 

Abraham’s unwavering faith was counted to him as righteousness, written for our benefit. His faith continued to grow throughout his life. 

Galatians 3:3-7 Do not add anything to the gospel. 

Genesis 12:3 Paul called this preaching the Gospel. It’s those of faith who are sons of Abraham. It is God’s rescue plan to preach to the nations. 

Hebrews 11:8-19 the Hall of Faith 

v 6 without faith it is impossible to please God. 

v 12 Abraham’s descendants were like the stars in the sky. 

Challenges 

1. He obeyed when he was called to go. Are you looking forward to heaven? Is how you use your time, talents, and abilities reflective of this? How does my heart show this? 

2. By faith Sarah received power to conceive. What about me? Do I know the promises of God? Do I meditate on God’s promises? There are so many promises that God has for us.

I Cor 15 we have a hope that goes on to the next life. Our best life isn’t now, but in the next life.  

3. We are strangers and exiles in this life. Are the decisions I make based on this life now, or my future life in heaven? 

4. Abraham offered up Issac as a sacrifice. How far am I willing to go, based on my faith in Christ’s resurrection? 

Closing passage: End of Heb 11 thru beginning of Heb 12. Run the race as if to win. 

30 in Sunday School

Saturday In The Park

Up at 5:30 this morning for our Kennesaw Mountain hike. Picked up my friend Lee and met Dan, Steve, and Jim at the park. 3.46 miles - a little longer because we had to park at the overflow lot. A good workout. Some morning haze over Atlanta, but more clear than the past two weeks.

C had gone on a walk with Anna and Miller, from their house to the Marietta farmers market. Caleb and his dad had installed a new porch swing. I went to the gym for a sauna and treadmill cooldown. My hips seem to be feeling better after all the activity.

After all these years I am making a change in my life. I’ve eaten saltine crackers for at least 45 years, but I’ve decided to switch to Ritz crackers. Had them for lunch today with chicken salad. I make a little sandwich with a piece of cheese, the chicken salad, and a bread & butter pickle. Good stuff.

Yesterday afternoon C made sweet rolls, and pizza dough for tonight’s homemade pizza. Enough dough to make two pies. C is hinting that she wants to eat at Taqueria soon.

Fever game tonight. Weather delay at the Memorial Tournament. Hail. Worth it just to watch Jack Nicklaus tell his stories. Didn't realize I was missing the Braves 4 pm start.

Had a hard time sleeping last night. I’m drinking a lot less caffeine these days (soft drinks), so perhaps it was the Diet Coke from Whataburger that I sipped on all afternoon. Not sure when I’ll drink the three 2 liters of mtn dew that I’d bought.

Took a nap this afternoon.

Billy Lothridge: Super Bowl Champ

Was doing some research on Billy Lothridge. Not many photos from his time on the Cowboys and Rams. Found a picture of him on the Falcons, greeting Don Meredith after a game. 

Never really realized that in 1972, Larry Seiple, the punter for the Miami Dolphins, was injured. Lothridge was signed to fill in for two games. Pretty sure the undefeated Dolphins kept Lothridge on the roster throughout their undefeated season, so he was on the sidelines when Miami beat Washington in the Super Bowl. Backup punter, kicker, safety, and QB. 

At Tech, Lothridge was a Heisman runner-up, a top ten all time Yellow Jacket. With the Falcons he twice led the NFL in punting, and was pressed into service at safety - intercepting three passes in one season.

Latest rumor: Fever trade Caitlin Clark to LA. Doesn't seem like the Fever coaches have Caitlin's back. 

 

Braves record is what, 42-21. On pace to win 108 games. If they go 45-44 the rest of the way they'd still win 87 games. Gotta get Riley hitting again. No one has suggested it, but why not let him go down to Gwinnett for a week or two to get his swing back?

Why did Ronald Acuna wear number 21 for Venezuela? He was paying tribute to Roberto Clemente. A noble gesture. He had previously worn 42 to honor Jackie Robinson.

My church always draws a big crowd to Wednesday night supper when they serve Bourbon Chicken. Not sure why. 

Johnson's Ferry is a great church, but needs to improve in the dry erase marker department.

Sermon topic that I'd like to hear: we know that all dogs go to heaven - but what about cats? Surely not. 

Churches across America are being set on fire. Just a few years ago the same thing was happening in Europe, and we all know what's happening in Europe now. Are sleeper cells involved?

Yesterday W&MC had friends in town from Texas. They took them to Bellwood Coffee in Decatur, then went to Kimball House. C had a doctor's appt so she went over to babysit. At 6:20 pm, I left to drive down and help out with the 5 kids. Stopped by Chickfila to get C some supper. 

Didn't leave to drive home until 10:30 pm. C had fallen asleep on the couch. From their house you can drive one mile west on MLK Blvd to go 20 west to 285 north, but C doesn't like that way. So we took MLK east to Northside Drive north. 

   

Today: (1) walked Winnie, (2) gym to lift weights / sauna / treadmill, (3) Walmart for a big shipping envelope, (4) post office to mail a package, (5) Whattaburger for the free burger deal, and (6) Kennesaw Mountain to buy a lifetime visitor pass. 

Tonight will be the first night C and I have been home together all week. Nothing big on tap for the weekend.