Category Archives: LA Angels

February 13, 2014 · 22:51

A Color That Didn’t Come From God

First of all, there is no real writing assignment on this week’s Flash Fiction Challenge from Chuck Wendig. That’s normally the Thursday post here, but this week’s challenge calls for a very brief audio contribution.

Meanwhile, there’s a certain aspect to everything this week that makes me think I might be better off beating my head against a wall. I don’t want to inflict that mood on anyone else, so I looked for wisdom at the font of all great thought — “Animal House.”

In the infamous words of Eric Stratton, Class of ’63, “I think this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody’s part!”

IMG_0527 coppedUm, yeah. Not exactly a “signature look” (I hope!), and it’s an old picture. I didn’t do this today.

Between the idiotic grin (no, I hadn’t been drinking) and the hair (no, I hadn’t been drinking), I think this is why they tell you to be careful with what you post online, especially if you’re looking for a new job.

On the other hand, any potential employer who has scrubbed the internet (or simply read this blog) as a character reference regarding me and still thinks I’m the perfect candidate for the job won’t have their mind changed by this. I hope.

IMG_0558 croppedYou only turn the Big Five-Oh once, right? We already had plans for the family to go to Arizona for Angels’ spring training (camp opens TOMORROW for the 2014 season!!) and my birthday. I surprised everyone by coming home the night before with what I had hoped would be “Angels red” hair. It was probably closer to “Orioles orange”, but it was the thought that counts, right?

IMG_0583 smallThe wonderful Long-Suffering Wife had made arrangements through a friend of a friend of a friend to get me a meet-and-greet with (then) Angels pitching coach (now San Diego Padres manager) Buddy Black. It was great meeting him, and despite my obviously crazed and possibly dangerous visage, I got my hat signed.

There! Is that futile and stupid enough for you, Brother Otter?

 

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Filed under LA Angels, Paul, Photography, Sports, Writing

February 5, 2014 · 22:00

You Know What We Haven’t Seen In A Long Time?

Fireworks pictures!

This is the first of four sets from the July 4th, 2009 game at Anaheim Stadium, with my beloved Angels (who won that night) against the Baltimore Orioles.

I don’t recall any specific attempt to get any of the effects that show up in these pictures, but from the look of them:

  • I was not using a tripod (typical for a game since they won’t let you bring one in)
  • I was letting the camera pick the exposure time
  • For some reason (probably a screw-up on my part) the focus was ever so slightly off. (Never leave your camera on auto-focus when shooting fireworks. It will go nuts and try to focus in and out and in and out, spending half of the time trying to lock onto a quickly moving set of bright lights on a very dark background. Switch the focus to manual, set at infinity, and leave it there — if they’re not in focus then, you’re too damn close to the fireworks and you’re gonna die!)

These factors lead to:

  • The bright trails being jiggly (but in the most beautiful patterns at times)
  • The pictures sometimes being under exposed (which can make very stark and high contrast)
  • And many of the pictures have a combination of sharp features and blurred features as the depth of field for the focal point was very shallow.

I like these sets very much, I hope you do as well.

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Filed under Fireworks, LA Angels, Photography

February 4, 2014 · 20:52

I Leave You In Charge For One Day…

It’s been a busy thirty-six hours, fortunately with positive results. Modern medicine is truly a wonder.

I sort of checked out for a bit, leaving all of you in charge of the world. What in the hell hapened? I go back to looking at the Internet again and I find:

1. There are “patriots” out there who are seriously bent out of shape over the “It’s Beautiful” Coke ad on Sunday (at the 16:48 time stamp) because it wasn’t sung in English and one of the images that flashed by showed a gay couple with a child? I get it that most of the “outrage” comes from uber-right wingnuts lacking in two rational brain cells to rub together. Glenn Beck’s got the planet’s franchise on the paranoid, bigoted, and racist asshole stereotype. You expect that from him. And the Faux News commentator is no doubt a disciple trying to prove that he can be just as much of a hate-filled, mindless mouthpiece spewing out the ignorance and outright lies that are their stock in trade. As for the “former” Tea Party Congressman, can we assume that he found out that spouting nonsense like this is why he’s a “former” congress-critter? Maybe there weren’t enough straight, white, gun-toting, Bible-thumping voters in his district to win re-election after everyone else figured out what a mistake they had made by buying his song and dance and allowing him to be elected in the first place.

Sorry that the song wasn’t sung in English the way that Jesus would have sung it — but that might have been only the most obvious of the many points that they’re too blind to see.

2. There are people who are outraged over the bi-racial family in the Cheerios commercial (at 16:12) because their racist, bigoted, ignorant outrage over the previous commercial with the same fictional family didn’t prevent General Mills from ever thinking about doing another ad just like it? How do these people get their fingers and (presumably) opposable thumbs to type messages on the Internet spewing this bile and bullshit when their heads and souls are still living in the 1950’s — or the 1850’s?

My unqualified congratulations and thanks go to General Mills and Coke for putting these two wonderful ads on the air on such a prominent stage. Even more props to them both for not backing down an inch now that the cretins have crawled out from under their rocks, so we’ll be seeing these ads on a regular basis for a while. The haters, bigots, morons, and racists can do us all a favor by taking a long walk off of a short pier.

3. Bill Nye the Science Guy did a televised “debate” with some creationist fanatic? I love Bill Nye to death, think he’s up there with Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson in the effort to explain complex science subjects to the average person. I also applaud and salute all of their efforts to get more girls to study math, science, and engineering in school and aim high for careers in those fields.

But what in hell is he doing giving any sort of legitimacy to these clowns who are pushing creationism to be taught in the schools as science? These people are sadly and horribly deranged and misguided and they need to be opposed at every opportunity. No matter how good Bill Nye is at what he’s doing, he’s never going to convince any fanatics that they’re wrong. They can’t be wrong, God’s on their side, that 2000-year-old “word of God” (which so blatantly isn’t) says so, blah, blah, blah… All he’s doing is giving them a bigger forum to spout their nonsense, and now they can point at the “debate” and say, “See, we won!” (which they can’t), and “See, we’re legit!” (which they aren’t).

Better you than me if it had to be done, Bill — but I’m not at all sure that it had to be done. I know that they can’t simply be ignored like pesky telemarketers. I wish they could, but they’re trying to destroy the education of an entire generation of kids, and succeeding in places like Texas. Opposing them at every turn and constantly pointing out how ridiculous (not to mention unconstitutional, separation of church and state and all of that) they are? Yes! Getting involved in this kind of circus? Bad move. Didn’t someone say, “Never mud wrestle with a pig — you’ll get dirty and the pig likes it?”

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At least pitchers and catchers report for my beloved Angels in nine days. (The Dodgers report in just four days, getting an early start because they open the season in Sydney, Australia.) That should help restore a touch of sanity to the world. Even more so if Hamilton and Pujols can remember how to hit and our pitching can do better than “only sucks a little bit”…

Yeah, baseball will help.

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Filed under Freakin' Idiots!, LA Angels, Moral Outrage

September 29, 2013 · 22:05

Mike Trout

(Fair warning – this is a baseball rant. If you don’t care about baseball or sports you can/should ignore it and we’ll see y’all tomorrow.)

In March of 2013, for my birthday, my son (who was again on leave and again had a plan) hauled me off to Arizona for a few days of spring training with our beloved LA Angels. (This was the trip where we stopped on the way out to see Comet Pan-STARRS and get the header photo for this blog.) The first day in Phoenix we went off to the Peoria Sports Complex to see the Angels play the San Diego Padres.

For whatever reason, at this game we had managed to snag some truly spectacular seats. Second or third row, right behind home plate. The Angels were broadcasting that game on TV – you can clearly see us right there the whole game. THAT kind of truly spectacular seats. (If you love baseball, go to spring training some time. There are LOTS of opportunities to see the players and coaches very up close and personal.)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt was a fun game, hot like Arizona can be, even in March. It was a real treat seeing the players up close and personal, almost like you were at a college or even a high school game.

One other thing I remember quite clearly about the game. Sitting in the two seats to our right were two fans, total strangers, one wearing an Angels cap and one wearing a Padres cap. Younger guys, maybe early to mid 20’s. Before the game, many players were signing autographs, among them Mike Trout, one of the team’s young stars.

IMG_5396_smallThis set off the guy in the Padres cap. He just couldn’t stand all of the media attention that Mike Trout had gotten in 2012, his rookie year, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award. He couldn’t believe that we were all buying into the clean-cut image and already reserving a spot in Cooperstown for him.

IMG_5410_smallWhen Trout came up to bat, the guy in the Padres cap was razzing him good (as is his right, mind you) about how this was going to be the year that he fell off of his pedestal. This was going to be the year that he would be lucky to “bat his weight”. This was going to be the year that he would be lucky to stay up in the big leagues.

IMG_5412_smallThe guy in the Padres cap talked and talked and talked the entire game about how much Mike Trout was overrated, how we would all see that this year when he sucked, how it was a joke that Trout came in second for the 2012 American League MVP award, and so on. Blah, blah blah, blah blah, blah blah….

There’s no question that as a huge Angels fan, I’m also a huge Mike Trout fan. Needless to say, I strongly disagreed with the guy. But I never said anything or engaged in the discussion. One of the joys of the game is that everyone’s entitled to their opinion — no matter how wrong, misguided, or misinformed they are. (Kind of like Congress these days, but let’s not go there.) It’s great to get into some friendly give and take about those opinions and how your team’s better than your friend’s team, and so on. But I never forgot his rants or his opinions.

So, now that the season’s over:

Dear nameless, random Padres fan from that March 13th game — YOU WERE TOTALLY WRONG!

The Grantland web site from ESPN has a great article on how Trout’s done this year. It’s a few days old, so I pulled together a table to compare Trout’s 2012 and 2013 stats.

Mike Trout Stats

Will Trout win or come in second for the MVP award this season? Probably not — but he’ll probably be in the top five players getting votes. He’ll be a part of the conversation. (Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers is going to win the MVP again. I mean, come on, look at his numbers!)

Across the board, Trout’s 2013 stats are quite good compared to 2012. Some categories have gone down by a little bit (runs scored, home runs, stolen bases, batting average). A great many categories have gotten better this year (hits, doubles, triples, RBI). Two categories in particular (walks and on base percentage) have gotten much better. These are sure signs that he’s getting to be more patient, more mature at the plate.

In addition, the fact that Trout’s runs scored were down can be explained in large part by the performance of the rest of the team. The 2012 Angels finished at 89-73 where the 2013 Angels finished at 78-84. If the rest of the team isn’t hitting, they’re not driving Trout in, even though he’s on base more. (For the record, the Padres finished 76-86 this year.)

So, my nameless, random Padres fan from that March 13th game — stick them facts in your fantasy league next year! Pppfffbbbbbbbbtttttttt!!

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Filed under LA Angels, Sports

September 15, 2013 · 19:51

Kings & Chiefs

(HEADS UP – If you hate sports, just can’t see what all of the fuss is about, or are just one of those folks who choose to look down on all sports for whatever reason – I’ll see you tomorrow, you don’t have to read further. It’s a sports rant today.)

Very early on after starting this blog I wrote a minor rant about some of my sports-based passions. At that time the LA Kings were just starting their run in the NHL playoffs and the LA Angels were already starting to disappoint about a month into their MLB season.

Now the seasons have turned, literally in the sports-related sense. The Angels are about two weeks away from the blessed ending of another thoroughly forgettable year and the Kings are playing their first pre-season game, with the season starting for real the first week in October. Best of all, the NFL season has started and my beloved KC Chiefs look like they’ll suck a lot less than they did last year!

The Angels will make a great case study for Harvard Business School or some sports management program. They’ve gone out for the last several years in a row and paid a TON of money to free agent players who have failed to produce anything like the numbers they were expected to. Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, and (don’t even get me started on) Vernon Wells — big money, long term contracts, and mediocre performance from them all.

On the other hand, the Angels have gotten amazing production from some of their rookies and younger players. Mike Trout won the AL Rookie of the Year award last year and his sophomore year has been even better. This year’s rookies JB Shuck, Collin Cowgill, Kole Calhoun, Andrew Romine, Luis Jimenez, and Grant Green have all produced as well or better than the high-priced free agents, once enough injuries happened to let them be brought up from the minors. Maybe it’s because they’re hungrier to make it, maybe it’s just because they’re younger, but whatever it is, they’re doing a better job. Meanwhile, the team is stuck with hundreds of millions of dollars in salaries for the next ten years or so for players who aren’t producing now and will likely be producing less at the end of those contracts.

Interesting business model.

Meanwhile with thirteen games left we’re in third place, sixteen games out in the division. That’s not good math. In the wildcard we’re still alive mathematically, 9.5 games back, but we would have to jump over five different teams to get a playoff spot, and that’s not going to happen in this version of reality. We’re at 72-77, five games under .500, and the only realistic “goal” the Angels have for the last two weeks is to perhaps at least have a winning season. Whoopie!

When last we left the Kings, they were starting their playoff run, trying to defend their 2011-2012 Stanley Cup Championship. The Kings did really well in the playoffs, winning nine of the sixteen games necessary to hold onto the Cup. They beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 in the first round and the San Jose Sharks 4-3 in the second round, before falling to the Chicago Blackhawks 1-4 in the Western Conference Finals. It was a glorious run and I had on my jersey for every game and was blowing the Joyous Vuvuzela of Victory with every goal, even if that meant hauling it across the country and blowing it in hotels and in the homes of relatives. (The relatives knew the job was dangerous when I married into the family, the hotels, not so much.)

As the new season starts, I’m really looking forward to another winning campaign and again being a contender for the Stanley Cup. Having won it once, I would like to see my favorite team win it again, and this year I would like to be there in the crowd on the night they dance it around.

Finally, after enduring in agony a miserable 2-14 year in 2012, it was with renewed hope that I (and about a half million fellow Chiefs fans) looked forward to this season with a new general manager, a new coach, a new quarterback, and a new attitude. So far we haven’t been disappointed. Today we had our first home game and won a close one over a good team (Dallas Cowboys) and that makes me happy. This upcoming week we’re the premium Thursday night game in Philadelphia against the Eagles. That should be a real treat.

I don’t really expect the Chiefs to be in the Super Bowl this year after posting a 2-14 record last year (not that I would object to that happening, mind you) but it will be great to be competitive again. I know that it’s a rebuilding year and that 8-8 would be a spectacular improvement over last year. And let’s face it, 7-9 would be OK, probably, kind of. Even 6-10. Maybe. On the other hand, if we catch a couple of breaks, 9-7 or 10-4 isn’t completely out of the question and that might get us into the playoffs. Right?

Just sayin’…

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Filed under KC Chiefs, LA Angels, LA Kings, Sports

August 4, 2013 · 18:24

Movies To Watch At The Drop Of A Hat

There was a lazy spot in the middle of the afternoon after I watched the Angels foolishly for the fourth game in two weeks blow a lead in the 9th inning and lose. (In my humble opinion, this is no way to win a pennant.) I wasn’t quite ready to start thinking again nor was I ready to have my intelligence insulted by 90% of what’s on television. I went to the guide information on the television to see if there was something that fit the bill for that in-between area.

The MGM HD movie channel was about a half-hour into “The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension“, which I consider to be a classic. It doesn’t matter if I come in somewhere in the middle, I can watch it any time. If I’m doing something else I can have it on in the background as noise. If I’m looking to just chill out I can sit and watch it in its entirety or from where I found it.

In thinking about it I started compiling a list of similar movies. Favorites that you’ve seen a zillion times and can watch at the drop of a hat. I’m sure everyone’s got a few of them. For me, off the top of my head and in no particular order, my list would include (in addition to “Bucaroo Banzai”):

  • The Princess Bride
  • Animal House
  • The Blues Brothers
  • Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
  • Alien or Aliens
  • Woodstock
  • Any of the three original “Star Wars” films
  • Any of the “Lord Of The Rings” films (not “The Hobbit”)
  • Apocalypse Now
  • The Shining
  • The Godfather or The Godfather Part 2
  • Harvey
  • Field Of Dreams
  • Bull Durham
  • Major League
  • The Great Escape
  • The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
  • Groundhog Day
  • How To Train Your Dragon
  • Terminator 2: Judgement Day
  • Anything by Monty Python
  • A Fish Called Wanda
  • Full Metal Jacket
  • Blade Runner
  • Bridge On The River Kwai
  • Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
  • Amadeus
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey or 2010

How about you? What personal classic of yours am I overlooking? What might I have not seen that in your humble opinion I must see immediately if not sooner? Put your suggestions in the comments below!

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Filed under Entertainment, LA Angels

July 5, 2013 · 18:28

July Fourth 2013 Fireworks Photos

Ronnie and I had a most pleasant 4th of July evening at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, watching our beloved Angels come from two runs down in the ninth inning to tie it on a Josh Hamilton home run to deep, dead center (I was wearing the “shark” rally hat, much to the delight of several fans sitting nearby, so I’ll take a bit of the credit) and then win it on a two-out, walk-off single by Eric Aybar.

The game started with the unfurling of a gargantuan US flag covering most of the Anaheim Stadium outfield, as well as a flyby. Since all US military flybys have been cancelled due to sequestration, the Angels are using the Condor Squadron out of Van Nuys, a group of WWII vintage T-6 “Texan” trainers. Bravo to the Angels for this!!

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Just prior to this, as we were getting some dinner, another ethical dilemma was posed while in the process of being a good Samaritan. A group of four people, probably tourists, asked me to take a picture of them posing with the field and stadium and mountains behind them. No problem! I love taking pictures for strangers!

But as I started to take their picture and the tourists were focused on me, I could clearly see the stadium churro vendor who had sidled up next to them and had taken a classic photobombing pose. He probably does this all the time and the face he was making was hilarious! But these folks might not agree, so should I zoom in and crop him out of the photo, or include him and possibly “ruin” their photo?

My solution was to shoot two pictures, one with, one without. Not exactly the wisdom of King Solomon, but it was good enough for the moment.

I have to wonder what I would do if I only had the chance to take one picture. I’m leaning toward deliberately including the photobomber in the photo. The reasoning is that I can think of almost nothing that I’ve ever done that I regret doing, but can think of many things that I’ve had the opportunity to do and backed away from and now regret not doing. As Heinlein said, “Yield to temptation, it may not pass your way again.”

Following the game we had a fantastic fireworks display and our seats were perfect for viewing it. I had brought in a small tripod and set it up with the video camera (we were in the front row of our section) and I think that the video may be the best fireworks video I’ve ever gotten.

As for the still photos, I had wanted to try setting some of the camera setting manually, similarly to how I’ve manually shot some of my simple astrophotography, but it was obvious from the start that I was doing it wrong and things weren’t going to work. So I quickly switched back to my usual setup for fireworks with manual focus but automatic shutter and iris control using the “panorama” setting.

The other problem (as you can see below) is that there was very little wind, so the smoke from the fireworks did not drift away and just got worse as the show went on. This means that any longer exposures ended up lighting up the smoke like the high beams on your car light up fog.

Regardless, it was a great show to see in person and I hope that these pictures give you a little bit of the flavor for it!

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Filed under Fireworks, LA Angels, Photography

July 4, 2013 · 14:52

Happy Independence Day 2013!

For us in the United States it is, of course, Independence Day, a time to spend a minute or two thinking about our freedoms, our country, and the cost of obtaining & defending them. (Thanks for your service, Steve, and ditto for all of your comrades in arms!) Then we get down to the serious business of BBQ, parades, the beach, baseball, more BBQ, and fireworks!

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We’ll be getting our share of all of that at the Angels game tonight in Anaheim, thanks to a pair of tickets my daughters got for me for Father’s Day last month. Thanks, Kat & Michi!

I’m sure there will be fireworks pictures to show for it. The Angels always put on one of the better fireworks shows just for their normal “Big Bang Fridays” shows, and they really pour it on for the Fourth. I’ve got some new things to try as far as fireworks photography goes, so watch here next week to see how it goes.

In conclusion, my favorite quote of the day (from memory, so it might not be 100.000% correct) is from an English punk rocker dude who was talking on Sirius Radio this morning about a July 4th concert. He said, “We don’t celebrate on the Fourth, we mourn, since we won the silver medal in the War of Independence.” What an interesting mixed metaphor!

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Filed under Fireworks, LA Angels

May 19, 2013 · 21:14

I Love Fireworks!

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I think the title says it all!

Aside from all of the other reasons we love to go to Angels games in Anaheim, we try to go on Friday nights because those are “Big Bang Fridays”, with a big fireworks show following the game. I love fireworks and my kids all follow in my footsteps in that regards, so if we want to go to an Angels game anyway, all things being equal, we’ll go on a Friday night.

On May 3rd we went to a game with a half-dozen of Ronnie’s friends and co-workers, some of whom had never been to a game before. As usual, I’ll set up a camera and just start shooting off pictures constantly, then see what comes out. (If this sounds a lot like how I take astrophotography, that’s because it is!)

Here are some nice photos from that game, for your enjoyment as the weekend ends and the new week starts tomorrow. (I think that if you click on the files you’ll get the full-sized photos.)

Smile – it’s fireworks!

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Filed under Fireworks, LA Angels, Photography

May 17, 2013 · 20:22

Odds & Sods For Friday, May 17th

Item The First: When the gravitationally challenged cat is just falling asleep on your lap and you shove your phone into your jeans pocket right underneath her head causing her to come abruptly awake thinking that there’s something large crawling down your leg in your pants, she will extend all weapons, make an odd sound, levitate about three feet into the air (helped in part by using said weapons to dig into your soon-to-be bleeding flesh), and go tearing out of the room while looking back over her shoulder wondering WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! Despite the potential pain and loss of blood, this is pretty funny.

Item The Second: For those not keeping score at home, my beloved MLB Angels continue to pretty much suck big-time this year. For the second year in a row the team has made huge payroll moves and signed big name free agents so that on paper we’re unstoppable and should easily win 100+ games. Instead we’re on a pace to easily lose 100+ games. This does not amuse me.

Item The Third: On the other hand, my beloved NHL Kings have found their stride in the playoffs and have now won six games in a row, beating St. Louis in the first round and now leading San Jose 2-0 in the second round. The Joyous Vuvuzela Of Victory continues to sing, and the neighbors haven’t yet called the police. This brings me joy.

Item The Fourth: I got a bit more good news today on the potential employment front. Without getting into details, I got word regarding one of the better opportunities so far. I’m told that I did well on this week’s panel interview (after first getting my resume looked at to begin with and then passing the written accounting skills test) and I’m now on the short list for the one position that’s open. Let’s hope for the best!

And now the cat beast has recovered her wits enough to remember that she hasn’t been fed yet tonight. My master summons me! I must fulfill my primary function, the main reason that I was endowed with opposable thumbs!

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Filed under Cats, LA Angels, LA Kings, Odds & Sods, Sports