All Star Cap

Sold a Braves All Star cap that I’d had for sale on Poshmark. Actually maybe an Independence Day cap. Not my favorite, but darn, with the all-star game in town it might’ve been an appropriate cap to wear.

Wednesday: I had volunteered to lead our small group Bible study. Our leader is dealing with an illness. I studied extra hard. Yesterday I finalized all my notes, and worked to print them out all nice and extra neat. All always type them up because with my poor vision it makes them easier to read. Arrived at Dan's house, went in, and put my Bible, notebook, pen, and phone down at my usual seat. We chatted for awhile, then went to sit down and start our study. As we started I leafed through my notebook looking for my notes. They weren't there. Great. I could've looked them up on my phone but decided to forge on without them. I waited until we were all finished to tell the guys what I'd done.

Thursday: worked until 555. Drove home and cut the grass, blowing up all kinds of pollen. Went inside and showered before supper (Mexican). Washed the dishes and didn’t plop down until after 9 pm. Ugh.

Friday: up early to golf one last weekday, before the course closes until like July. As I was putting on my shoes, Professor Chee drove up. Teed off before 7 am. For the most part I only played one ball.

1. As usual not a good first hole.

2. Decent chip.

3. Two bad shots so I gave up.

4. Tee shot went left for the 4th straight hole. Chip was long but made a great lag putt back to save bogey.

5. Tee shot to fringe. Poor lag putt, but then I sank a 20 footer for par.

6. Flubbed my tee shot but got a decent roll. Then a super great 5 iron to the front fringe. Shot of the month. Just missed holing a long birdie putt, and tapped in for my second straight par.

7. Popped up my tee shot but hit a good mulligan. Flub. Worm burner. Decent chip. Two putt for a double.

8. Mulligan got a good roll, then a 7 iron onto the green.

9. Flubbed the tee shot. Flubbed the approach. Decent chip and lag putt. Double.

After being outside so much Thursday and Friday (and golf again on Saturday morning), so far the pollen hasn’t had too much of an effect on me. At work I spent 1:45 in with my boss going over inventory to make sure what’s at our fabricator was showing on our computer. It all matched up pretty well, but that was 1:45 that we could’ve been doing actual needed work. Did get to Facetime with Millie.

Worked until like 545. Had the Mexican leftover for supper. We watched the Braves. I don’t think I can get all the games on our TV, but we had that one to watch. That Schwellenbach kid is something. Zero walks and ten strikeouts. Think he did ok? See the postgame show with Charlie Culbertson, Peter Medlin, Fred McGriff, and Paul Byrd? Byrd took last year off due to his wife’s illness.

Golf again Saturday morning. Teed off at 650. Not the greatest round. Decent chip on five. Perhaps my best drive ever on six. Flubbed my second shot but made a good long chip onto the green, giving me a par putt. Missed. Decent drive second shot, and chip on the long 7th hole. Missed that par putt as well. Finished at 810. 

Had missed the first 2 days of the St Ann’s Catholic Church yard sale, but stopped by on the way home. Nothing I could live without. Fixed myself quesadillas for lunch, with leftover ground beef, black beans, cheese, my secret sauce, and red peppers. Watched Georgie & mandy, as well as Elsbeth with guest Mary Louise Parker. Working, but have the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on the TV in the other room.

JACKIE ROBINSON [ SABR Bio] was the last MVP before Maury Wills in 1962 to also lead the majors on stolen bases the same season. Robinson was NL MVP in 1949 and led baseball with 37 stolen bases. Like Wills, he did not debut until he was more than 26 years old. When Robinson debuted on 15-Apr-1947, he was already 28 years old. Maury Will was 26 when he finally came up. While serving in the Army, Robinson refused to move to the back of a segregated bus at Fort Hood in Texas. He was court-martialed but then acquitted—a courageous, pivotal stand in the civil rights movement. In 1955, a black 41-year old Alabama teacher sat in the front of a local public bus, refusing to move the back when asked then ordered. Read the Rosa Parks story here.

April Fools

On April Fool’s Day, who is your favorite sports fool? Some of mine: The San Diego Chicken. Bob Uecker. Blooper. Bill Murray. I was never a big Max Patkin fan.

The NFL will start including the records and stats from the old All America Conference, won by the Browns all four years of existence. The USFL featured many great players, including future NFL hall of famers Reggie White, Steve Young, Jim Kelly, and Gary Zimmerman. Also other great defenders like Sam Mills, Jim LeClair, Gary Barbaro, and Marcus Quinn. If the NFL were to include USFL stats, Herschel Walker’s total rushing, receiving, & return yards would be the most in history, topping the NFL leader Jerry Rice.

And the NFL is now letting teams wear throwback uniforms for 4 games instead of three. There’s a good chance the Falcons will wear their throwbacks in half their home games this season. I wish more teams would be like the 49ers and have home and road throwbacks. 

The new head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies credits Lang with helping with his basketball development.  I watched Lang’s popcorn video. I need to learn how to pop corn in a pot on the stove, with oil. So good. The hot air popper is healthy, but you got to spray on the butter and sprinkle on the salt and seasonings. I am not in Lang’s league. I quit eating popcorn in an effort to cut out snacks. I have eaten more than my share of popcorn over the years.

I’m ready to start moving some more stuff into “my” new study. Wore my Sonic the hedgehog socks with my Nike Craters.

A good small group session Wednesday night. Just as we finished, my Apple watch started buzzing with texts from coworkers about the Braves game. I was talking to the guys so I couldn’t look at my watch. Then I was on the phone with Ceil all the way home. Then I had to walk Winnie, then go gas up Ceil’s car. Then bed.

Thursday: up early to lift weights at the gym. Rough day at work. Emergencies plus all the extra busy work I have to do. After we worked thru lunch yesterday I was asked if I was leaving an hour early. Guess people don’t understand how much work I have to do.

Romans 13: engaging culture. “Those governing authorities that exist have been instituted by God, so whoever resists authorities resists what God has appointed. Those who resist will incur judgement”.

Former longtime coworker Ashley’s husband passed away from cancer this week. He was only 39. They’d been high school sweethearts. Left behind two young daughters.

 21:1-4 the widow’s offering: 1. Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering. 2. He saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. 3. Jesus said Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4. They all contributed out of abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.

Update: the Braves wore their home opener last night, so today I'll keep wearing my blue Braves / Coors Light leisure shirt for a second day.

Restaurant Week

Sunday on the way home from Costco we passed by Roasters in Sandy Springs. I pointed it out to Ceil, but she didn’t seem interested. On that same trip I noticed that how my plant is on Old Peachtree. As you head west Old Peachtree changes to Spaulding, which forks into Mt Vernon, which later forks into Johnson Ferry – which crosses Hwy 120, the road my street deadends into. I’m a nerd for stuff like that.

After CiCi’s for lunch on Monday, I worked till 630, then only ate a few cookies for supper. Watched the Grizzlies vs Celtics, The Neighborhood, and Elsbeth. Forgot to post to my blog – the second straight month I forgot to do so on the last day of the month. Hate it when I do that.

Tuesday: skipped the gym. Left work at 540. Swung by Taco Bell for their dollar deal of the week, a tiny toasted chicken taco that normally costs $3.75. Hardly worth the dollar, but it ate. Ceil fixed grass fed steak and organically grown peppers, jasmine rice, and an organic salad. Not much on TV but I followed the Grizzlies on my phone.

A&C went to Taqueria Tuesday night, and ate at the bar. Rich Morris was working that station, so A&C got to chat with him. I sent Anna the old photo of Rich and Lang visiting me and Ceil at the hospital when Will was born.

Wednesday: up early to hit the gym. Stopped by Cozy Coop on the way to work. They have a weekday deal where you get a free bacon, egg, & cheese biscuit with any purchase, so I bought a plain biscuit as well. Better than McDonalds or Wendys. If I stopped by there every morning I would die. Interesting that bacon egg & cheese biscuits were about the same price as McDonalds. Thought they’d be more expensive.

With two team members out, the boss brought in lunch from the Duluth Diner. I had a delicious chicken cheesesteak. One coworker is off this week, so I’ve got extra work to do. Also supposed to help my boss with a project. Another coworker’s wife has covid. They seem to get covid at least once a year, even though they get annual flu shots and booster vaccines. I have yet to get covid, though I never get flu shots and haven’t received any booster vaccines (my secret: vitamins, cross training, eating mostly fresh, non-processed food, and plenty of rest/sleep). Hope I don’t jinx myself.

Our lobby at work has a new video playing, describing what we do in Norcross. There’s a super short clip of me. Some fun facts: 300 employees, 800,000 square feet of warehouse space, 100+ trucks coming and going each day. We ship 1,500,000 pounds of steel a day. We process metal on 3 burn tables, 12 saws, 9 tube lasers, 3 tube mills, 2 tube benders, 2 cut to length lines, 2 plate saws, 2 shears, and a slitter. Stop by and I’ll take you on a tour. Worth the trip just to meet Roger.

Studied hard for small group. Our teacher is sick, so I had to lead. Big shoes to fill. Stay tuned for what happened. 

Thursday: cashed in the Wendy's double stack deal.

Now reading the Malcolm Gladwell book “Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering”. Next I guess I’ll have to go back and read Tipping Point. Learned that at one point in history the cheetah population was very likely reduced down to a single pregnant female. Her offspring were forced to mate with each other, so all cheetahs in the world today have the same common ancestor.

Article: The Rapture And The Second Coming do not go hand in hand. Now you know.

Denison with more details about the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Because truth is unpopular does not mean that it should not be proclaimed.” —Billy Graham.

Saw where Drew and Nancy Kelly went to the Mercer concert.

The Brave Yankee

No team has ever started the season 0-7 and then rallied to make the playoffs. But remember, no team had ever made the playoffs with so many starters missing so many games – until the Braves did it last year.

Question: as a Mercer fan should you be disappointed if they lose 60-0 in Tuscaloosa to the University of Alabama?

2025 payrolls:

330.5 Dodgers

323.1 Mets

212.8 Braves rank 8th (includes 45.8M for injured players)

I’m not going to waste time expecting the Braves to be able to compete against teams that pay tens of millions to every reliever in their bullpen. Kinda like college sports with NIL and the transfer portal. We’ll see how it all shakes out in September. Atlanta’s GM is the most proactive in MLB, but he can only do so much. Snitker was managing last night like the 7th game of the World Series. Easy to second guess. Not worth it to get all worked up about a loss on April 2. 

The Braves can finish in last place for all I care. I’ll still be a fan. I’m not going to complain.

After being swept by the Padres, the Braves put a starting pitcher on the disabled list, and suspended their new free agent left fielder for using steroids. So now they’re missing two starting outfielders and two starting pitchers. No one should expect much success this week against the Dodgers, the best team that money can buy. Everyone forgets that last year the Braves made the playoffs despite so many injuries: Acuna, Strider, Riley, Albies, Harris, Murphy, etc. Plus Fried had an off year, and didn’t show for the playoffs. Hard to just say, “yeah, but they should’ve won anyway” when they had to cobble together a roster of replacements they found on the scrap heap – guys who’d been cut by lesser teams.

I have only watched parts of two Braves games. The GM AA has already made at least three roster moves, and it is only April 2. Freddie Freeman was back in the lineup after tweaking his surgically repaired ankle at home when slipping in the shower.

According to MLB, the Braves were going to wear their red-billed home caps on the road, and not wear their all navy caps at all any more. Well they’re wearing the all navy caps already. I’m sure you noticed.

Yankees use of those new torpedo bats has baseball buzzing. The Braves ordered a batch. Aaron Judge tied the record of most home runs in March. It must be the topedo bats - who knew he could be a power hitter? I need me some torpedo golf clubs. Yankees changed their logo to include the torpedo bat. Last night the Yankees debuted a new torpedo glove: super big to catch more flies.

Are you going to watch the Augusta National Women’s Amateur golf tournament this week? I’m rooting for Stanford’s Rachel Heck, a military veteran. Loved her in The Middle. Almost time to compile our Masters 10+10 lists.

JOHNNY BENCH  [SABR Bio] is the only catcher to lead the majors in home runs for a season and then do it a second time. Bench led the NL (and MLB) in 1970 with 45 HR and in 1972 with 40. Only a handful of catchers have ever led the majors in homers once. Bench was NL MVP in 1970 & 1972. The Cubs’ Billy Williams came in second both those years. Bench’s MLB-leading RBI seasons were ’70 & ’72 with 148 & 125, as well as 1974 with 129. His childhood friends nicknamed him “Hands”. He could hold 7! baseballs with one hand.

Denison: Roman Catholic bishop Robert Barron, in a First Things article titled “It’s Always Open Season on Christianity,” writes: “…the elite media can be counted on to write pieces debunking Christianity precisely at the holiest time in the Christian calendar.”

John 12:42-43: Many even of the authorities believed in Jesus, but for fear of the Pharisees did not confess it, so they would not be cast out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.  

…that’s what I think of sometimes when I’m scrolling through social media posts.

Update: My Bracket

I successfully picked 85.8% of the NCAA tourney, the same as Dick Vitale and better than Stephen A Smith’s 74.7% and Hannah Storm’s 72.6%. More than Scott Van Pelt and Mike Greenberg and Jason Kelce. I picked the Final Four, though since all four #1 seeds advanced, so did over a million others. I am third in my office pool, out of nine. Both the guys ahead of me also picked Duke to win, so third is where I will finish.  

Golf Saturday morning. I wanted to recap my round to remember all the good shots I hit. I’m improving right when the course is closing down. I teed off at 7 am. 

1. Tee shot faded left. Great 6 iron. Chip took off right. Lag putts weren’t good. Double.

2. Decent 6 iron off tee. Poor chips. Double.

3. Mulligan got a great roll to the fringe. Lags weren’t that great. Bogey.

4. Great 6 iron onto the green, with a lightball ball (which doesn’t carry as far). Two putt for par.

5. Hit both my tee shots onto the green, both lightup balls. Glorious. Lags weren’t the greatest. Bogey.

6. Hit a great hybrid past all the rough, near the 150 yard marker. Flubbed two lightup balls with my 5 irons, then rocketed my third attempt to the distant fringe. I was putting for birdie. Missed, so I had to settle for a par.

7. Hit another good hybrid, most of the way up the hill. Then two 5 irons that weren’t the greatest. I was under a tree, so I pulled out my 3 iron to hit a low shot, knowing it was too much club. Hit a nice shot, but wasn’t surprised when it rolled off the side of the green. Call it a double.

8. Hit an okay drive. Hit an 8 iron onto the green, though it settled at the opposite end of the hole. Long lags. Bogey.

9. My tee shot felt good but I couldn’t find it. Two terrible chips. Lags weren’t good either, on the sloped greens. Double. Finished at 8:10 am.

Back home I puttered around the house. At 6 pm Ceil asked if I was ready to go. Where? I asked. I wasn’t ready to go anywhere.

Young Jimmy Ewing’s birthday party. They’re selling their house on River Springs Court, down the street from his dad’s house and Jim and Suzi Voyles. Mary Hurt was there. David Hurt had lost a tooth and didn’t come. When I told this to Ashley Corbitt, he said “So?” Ashley was talking mostly to older Jim Ewing, but I had a nice chat with Ashley’s wife Diane. Their condo in Vinings has a great view. I had forgotten that Ashley had gone into business with Steve Suggs and Steve’s friend Reid Meyer, who I’d worked with at Jim Suggs’  company.

Spoke for a while to Jim Voyles, who’s working on a deal to renovate five castles in Spain and Portugal. Suzi talked to Ceil and Mary. The Voyles' daughter arrived with her three daughters, who Ceil teaches at Veritas. Lots of good Jets Pizza to eat, those I ate only two squares. The Ewings are moving four miles south, still in Sandy Springs. Young George Ewing also made an appearance.

After church Sunday we walked to our cars with Scott and Robin Condra. Then we drove C to Costco, where we saw Kelly Curran. I grabbed a Costco hot dog and soda. Lazy Sunday after we got home. I did hit the gym this morning, and cranked the incline up higher than usual.

C spent Monday night at W&MCs to keep the girls. I went to CiCi’s Pizza for lunch. Shouldn’t have. But then I didn’t need supper.

The Six Players who can win the Masters. I shouldn’t share this.

Links to info on The Committee of 300, the World Economic Forum, the New World order, “overpopulation” control, etc. Scary stuff.

Article: phrases you say that tells others that you are out of touch – according to some kid just out of college. Thank goodness I already make an effort to refrain from saying them. Number one is sharing articles like this one. Just kidding. Number two is say “just kidding”. I need to compile a list of things that 20-somethings say that shows that they’re out of touch, but instead us older wiser folk just shake our heads, realizing that they’re just going to have to learn these things for themselves, since they’d never try to learn from an older generation (that’s #3 on this kid’s list).

Before Alfonso Soriano in 2000, MIKE GREENWELL [SABR Bio] was the last player to hit home runs for each of his first three major league hits, on 25-Sep-1985, 26-Sep-1985 & 01-Oct-1985. From 1985-1996, Greenwell played only for Boston. He was an All-Star in 1988 & 1989, and was a Silver Slugger in 1988. In 1997, he signed with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan — but his stint ended after seven games when he fractured his foot. He returned stateside, saying he’d had enough. He was replaced on their roster by Darnell Coles, playing the last professional baseball season of his career.

Denison: the less we understand God’s will, the more we need to trust it. Oswald Chambers observed, “Faith is not intelligent understanding; faith is deliberate commitment to a Person where I see no way.” Bishop Charles Henry Brent agreed: “Pray hardest when it is hardest to pray.” When our circumstances are most difficult, we are most likely to question the love and power of God in our lives. That we require his love and power the most.

April Bobbleheads & SGAs

Back by popular (?) demand, my humble list of bobblehead & other interesting major & minor league SGAs. A work in progress. What did I miss?

The April bobble of the month is a three way tie: Chris Sale Triple Crown, the Rome Schwellenbach, and the Angels Big A Millennium Falcon. Wow.

QUESTION: the Rome Schwellenbach is the first bobblehead for the young pitcher, right? Will that make it hold a high value should he fulfill his promise, kind of like a rookie baseball card? Discuss. Talk amongst yourselves.

Man isn’t it great that teams just give away all these bobbleheads, just for the price of a ticket? For most minor league teams trying to break even, bobbleheads are a loss leader. I try to remember that teams don’t have to give away anything, so I try to not complain when every SGA isn’t a never seen before talking race car triple bobble with real wheels and a motor. Sure the giveaway is an effort to attract fans who may normally not attend, but for us collectors, it’s a treasure (or a money-maker). For instance, this year the Braves have at least 45 promotions in 81 games, and they continue to add. #THANKFUL   

3.27 THU Predators Jelly Roll BH

3.28 FRI UGA t-shirts students only

3.29 SAT UGA Charlie Condon BH

3.30 SUN UGA Charlie Condon sherseys 

4.01 TUE SEA Julio Rodriguez BH

4.01 TUE SEA Woodstock BH special ticket

4.04 FRI WSH 20th anniversary rings

4.05 SAT WSH 2005 replica jerseys 

4.05 SAT Daytona Elly De La Cruz BH

4.05 SAT Rome blanket

4.06 SUN ATL deaf awareness spec tix

4.06 SUN ATL chris sale triple crown 3000 kids

4.07 MON BOS Jarren Duran ASG MVP BH 

4.08 TUE WSH Hello Kitty BH special ticket

4.08 TUE ATL los bravos cap spec tix

4.09 WED ATL chris sale cy young BH  15000

4.10 THU ATL hello kitty figure spec tix

4.11 FRI UGA throwback hats students only 

4.11 FRI Balt clear stadium bags

4.12 SAT Balt Cedric Mullins t-shirts

4.12 SAT CIN Elly De La Cruz switch hitter BH

4.12 SAT Inland Empire Angels hoodie

4.13 SUN UGA throwback sherseys 

4.13 SUN Balt Oriole bird plushie kids only

4.14 MON SD Padres aloha shirts 

4.17 THU Rich stadium figurine 

4.18 FRI Balt hockey jerseys 

4.19 SAT Balt Davis Rubenstein BH

4.19 SAT Rome Spencer Schwellenbach BH

4.19 SAT Gwinnett Chopper BH & rare Dave Murphy appearance

4.19 Angels Big A Millennium Falcon BH

419 SAT ATL girls night out cap spec tix

4.20 SUN ATL los bravos cap spec tix

4.20 SUN ATL mascot security t shirt 3000 kids

4.21 MON ATL los bravos cap spec tix 

4.22 TUE WSH James Wood BH

4.22 TUE ATL los bravos cap spec tix

4.22 TUE ATL Chipper Jones BH 15000

4.23 WED ATL los bravos cap spec tix 

4.23 WED WSH James Wood BH

4.24 THU UGA sherseys

4.25 FRI UGA beer bats students only

4.26 SAT UGA cowboy hats  

4.26 SAT WSH 20th anniversary hats

4.26 SAT Inland Empire Sugar Skull BH 

4.27 SUN WSH t-shirts kids only

4.27 SUN ATL Peachtree Street Festival

4.29 TUE Gwinnett Black Crackers XL shersey 500