Green Mountain Could Be Renamed Black Mountain

As I sit at home relaxing before my night's work, I have been following the big fire on Green Mountain in Lakewood, CO that started around 1:30pm on Monday 4 August. Most of the eastside of the mountain has been burned in a massive grass and brush fire. Several hundred acres have been torched, but it looks as if the efforts of professional firefighters saved any houses and structures from a fiery demise. The fire blew down the eastside of the mountain towards homes just south of the 6th Avenue freeway near the Indiana Avenue exit. As I post, some light rain is beginning there which may slow the thrust of the fire. It is quite windy in that area. The vast slope is visible throughout most of Central metro Denver and is a quite attractive and nice area that is among the places I would like to reside when and if I return to the Denver area in the next year or two. When the fire was finally fully controlled, West Metro Fire and Rescue estimated that around 900 acres had burned.

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http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_10098034

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http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=97065&catid=339

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*****

Skip Carey, 1939 - 2008

Skip Carey was the longtime voice of the Atlanta Braves and someone whom I enjoyed listening to while following baseball games for over a quarter-century on TBS. Carey, born Harry Christopher Carey II, began his long broadcast career in 1963 and joined the Braves broadcast team in 1976 just before the team went onto a nationwide broadcast over satellite and cable systems for 33 years. It was just at the end of the 2007 season that nationwide broadcasts of the Braves ended on TBS. Care was a wry sarcastic broadcaster with a rather nasal voice who was an unabashed "homer" in his presentation, oftening outrightly rooting for good things to happen for the Braves and referring to the players by their first names or nicknames during the telecasts. He also worked on the radio side for the Braves during his long career. Carey was the eldest son of the late and longtime Cardinals and Cubs television and radio voice Harry Carey, a Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster. Skip's son Chip followed him into the broadcast booth and is currently the lead broadcaster for TBS for their Sunday Afternoon Game of the Week presentation as well the ALDS/NLDS and LCS coverage on TBS in October. Skip's other son is a broadcaster for the minor league Rome (GA) Braves. He is survived by his wife Paula; and his two sons and two daughters.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skip_Caray
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http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/08/03/skip_caray_dies.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab
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http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/08/03/reaction_skip_caray_dies.html
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http://www.skipcaray.com/
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*****

Promise of a Once Tasty Brew Returning

When I was a teenager, there were pretty much three beers my friends and I drank: Coors, Olympia, and Schlitz. Schlitz at that time was still a highly regarded brew with a taste that was esteemed by many. But corporate ownership during the late '70s and through the '80s changed the recipe, making the beer largely undrinkable; and it soon disappeared from beer coolers across the nation for over one and half decades. Now there is news that the original quality tasting product is coming back, with a limited distribution at first before going nationally in the next couple of years. Hopefully there will also be a re-emergence of the Schlitz Dark Beer, which was extraordinarily tasty and only got better as it aged in one's refrigerator. While I have reached the point in my life where I rarely have a beer (I have only had one in this calendar year, and probably less than a six pack in the last two years), every so often its an okay treat. I will look for the new Schlitz and hopefully new Schlitz Dark as 2009 moves along.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25970479?GT1=43001
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*****

The Days of August

Here is the list of special days and holidays throughout August. Some of the days I will be looking forward to are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 10th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 26th, and 30th. Some days that are not so welcoming are the 7th, 13th, 18th, and 27th. And I thought the 11th was every day, especially over the nearly last eight years.

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August 1 is Friendship Day and National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

August 2 is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

August 3 is National Watermelon Day

August 4 is Twins Day Festival

August 5 is National Mustard Day

August 6 is Wiggle Your Toes Day

August 7 is Sea Serpent Day

August 8 is Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night

August 9 is National Polka Festival

August 10 is Lazy Day

August 11 is Presidential Joke Day

August 12 is Middle Child's Day

August 13 is Blame Someone Else Day

August 14 is National Creamsicle Day

August 15 is National Relaxation Day and National Failures Day
August 16 is Bratwurst Festival

August 17 is National Thriftshop Day

August 18 is Bad Poetry Day

August 19 is Potato Day

August 20 is National Radio Day

August 21 is National Spumoni Day

August 22 is Be An Angel Day

August 23 is National Spongecake Day

August 24 is Knife Day

August 25 is Kiss-And-Make-Up Day

August 26 is National Cherry Popsicle Day

August 27 is Petroleum Day

August 28 is World Sauntering Day

August 29 is More Herbs, Less Salt Day

August 30 is National Toasted Marshmallow Day

August 31 is National Trail Mix Day

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And here is, for your reading pleasure, the list for July that I failed to list.

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July 1 is Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day and Build A Scarecrow Day

July 2 is Visitation Of The Virgin Mary Day

July 3 is Stay Out Of The Sun Day and Compliment Your Mirror Day

July 4 is National Country Music Day and Tom Sawyer Fence-Painting Day

July 5 is Workaholics Day

July 6 is National Fried Chicken Day

July 7 is National Strawberry Sundae Day

July 8 is Video Games Day

July 9 is National Sugar Cookie Day

July 10 is Clerihew Day

July 11 is National Cheer Up The Lonely Day

July 12 is National Pecan Pie Day

July 13 is Fool's Paradise Day

July 14 is National Nude Day

July 15 is National Tapioca Pudding Day and Respect Canada Day

July 16 is International Juggling Day

July 17 is National Peach Ice Cream Day

July 18 is National Ice Cream Day and National Caviar Day

July 19 is Flitch Day

July 20 is Ugly Truck Contest Day

July 21 is National Tug-Of-War Tournament Day

July 22 is Ratcatcher's Day

July 23 is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day

July 24 is Amelia Earhart Day

July 25 is Threading The Needle Day

July 26 is All Or Nothing Day

July 27 is Take Your Pants For A Walk Day

July 28 is National Milk Chocolate Day

July 29 is Cheese Sacrifice Purchase Day

July 30 is National Cheesecake Day

July 31 is Parent's Day

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*****

First Weekend of August

August has finally arrived and we enter into the second half of summer and markedly decreasing lengths of days in the coming weeks. The heatwave continues on, but the forecast is for an abatement by Tuesday as the outlook is for a few days in just the eighties, perhaps even the seventies, which will a welcome break from the last few weeks. Friday and Saturday were both historic record breaking scorchers here as the temperature reached 98 degrees both days, a level of heat never recorded before here. We did get some clouds to help quell the heat somewhat but it was insignificant. I slept poorly as a result of the heat as the fans are just not too effective once it starts to really get warm. The temperature inside the apartment lurked in the high 80s and above 90 degrees for a time. Even as climbs near midnight on Saturday it is still about 84-85 degrees inside as the outside temp has only dropped to 75 degrees.
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The intensity of seasons on the High Plains is rather bothersome at times and makes one wish the seasons were just six weeks long instead of three months. Of course, if the Earth moved that fast around the sun none of us would have existed and the planet would be a largely barren wasteland consisting of only smaller organisms. I stayed home all day Saturday after the long week of work and watched the NFL Hall of Fame inductions which had some great inspiring emotional speeches by the new members. Later I put up two shelves in the bathroom. I largely relaxed and gave some thought about going out for some ice cream or going to see Batman, but opted not to. The late evening was spent just surfing and watching some TV including a program on The History Channel about mankind and the world around 10,000 BC that included a lot of fascinating information. I struggled to fall asleep once again as it was plainly too warm to get drowsy for quite some time. I tossed and turned, perspiring all morning; I probably never slept more than about two hours straight in any stretch.
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Sunday was another day off and I slept on and off until around 1pm. My hands continue to hurt to an extent as they both feel sore and a little stiff with occasional and erratic moments of tingling and numbness throughout. Fortunately the pain is not sharp enough to awaken me like what was seemingly regularly happening in the last several weeks. One thing I have noticed in recent years is how long it takes for injuries like cuts and bruises to fully heel. On average it takes about double to triple the amount of time it did when I was in my 20's and 30's. I assume this indicates poor microcirculation in my extremities as I continue to age. I turned on the Angels / Yanks game on TBS and watched it half awake while the Rockies / Marlins games was on the radio. I fell asleep and missed the ending of both. The house was plenty hot when I awoke for good as it hit 90 degrees again but a good strong thunderstorm with about one-quarter of an inch of rain roared in around 2:30 or so and cooled things down into the low to mid 60s with the promise of a cooler evening for the first time in weeks. This was the first good episode of any rain since the first week of June. I journeyed out around 5pm and got the newspapers and put $30 of fuel into the White Knight. The price per gallon is down to $ 3.70 per gallon so we have seen about a 5 % decline in the last week to two weeks which is a nice trend and one that will hopefully continue for quite some time. I then went over to Arbys and got their 5 for $ 5.95 special -- four sandwiches and a pop -- while I read my papers. Around 7pm I headed over to Safeway to get a few groceries. I got some bananas, a watermelon, a lemon meringue pie, and a peach. I hope the peach will be good as I have heard this year's crops are outstanding. If it meets my standards of tastiness, sweetness, and juiciness, I will have to get more to enjoy in the coming weeks.
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I then returned home and did a few errands -- paying the rent, emptying the trash, washing out a trashcan, putting away some errant clothes, washing a few dishes, and picking up newspapers. The place was much more comfortable as the cooler air outdoors made into the unit. The heatwave is supposed to end on Tuesday so one more hot night at work before a brief respite occurs. Of course there are going to be more hot days in the next six weeks but hopefully there will be some regular breaks thrown in as well when it does not get much warmer than 80 degrees. As Sunday wrapped up, I spent time surfing and watching some television and doing some thinking about a number of various things. I will try to get to sleep before 3am so I can do a few odd errands on Monday before starting the long work week.
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*****

The Ugly Erosion of Americans in View of All

I am a firm believer of what James Kunstler observes and comments on, and his latest article here is something that is quite evident to me regularly. To see the way most young Americans present themselves is to see a generation that is without direction, somewhat mindless, and crying out for help. I see it everyday in my (soon to end) work. Virtually all the coworkers at the factory fit the description of what Kunstler describes in his article. The younger ones under age 35 or so are walking creep shows with the ever present facial hair, often shaved heads or unusual haircuts, tattoos all over their bodies, harsh jewelry in strange places (noses, ears, eyelids, lips, and who knows where else -- I have heard places that are outright incredible and disgusting), fervant smokers, eager alcoholics, tshirts with profanity and obscenity, and an ever present look of anger and hostility towards the world. Profanity is included in virtually every sentence and in every conversation. Anger and hostility both overtly and subvertly is always present. Misguided and dangerous sexual conquests and ventures are the sole meaning of their warped existences. I would imagine many of these individuals have one or more sexual diseases that may become inevitably fatal for some at a point. Some boastfully crow about having a prison record and having been "in the joint". A more ragamuffin and hideous group of people I cannot imagine and certainly have never worked with or among. Most have a history of serious substance abuse and this job is the only thing that keeps them from returning to that life. Alcohol abuse is a common topic of conversation that I overhear. But at least they are working and making a living. But they clearly fit the description Kunstler presents in his article.

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Throw in the seemingly eternal rural and Wyoming value of being a slob always and the picture is not pretty. The slovenliness of all worsens as the age goes up. Women and men both let themeselves go becoming obscenely obese and without any pride. I am guilty of that to an extent at times, but I am not even in the same time zone of the individuals I have described. The despair, the empty look in the eyes, the meaninglessness, the lack of purposefulness, the emptyness -- I see it everyday in these individuals. And they demonstrate the futility and the end of any promise for the future like all other Americans are doing these days -- in ways that seem strange to someone like me with my background and experience, but perfectly natural and conforming to those in their peer groups.

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It will be my injured hands and wrists that will force me to leave my current work someday soon, but I will also be glad not to have to be among such outwardly unacceptable individuals and misfits on a regular basis. One needs to fit in and belong to the group they work with; clearly I do not.

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http://jameshowardkunstler.typepad.com/clusterfuck_nation/2008/07/the-coming-re-becoming.html

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*****

Quiet but Hot Weekend Wraps Up

I spent the weekend largely at home. I did get out and run a few errands. My hands showed improvement the last two days, as the atrophy and pain diminished. I am still experiencing numbness and tingling regularly and there is stiffness. I can use them almost fully, so I will be going back to work on Monday, although to an uncertain immediate and long term future at my employment. The improvement is largely due to time, but I also soaked the hands to try to help which it did to some extent, but I cheated and used excessive dosage of Advil (Ibuprofen) to get relief. This is a dangerous strategy for me for a couple of reasons. I could get addicted to the higher levels of pain reliever and there could be significant consequences internally - shortterm for the stomach and digestive system and longterm for other organs like the liver, kidneys, pancreas, and others. Hopefully I will be directed to a medical professional this week whom will make an exact diagnosis and proscribe treatment which will be in my best immediate and distant interests. It is evident that I will not be able to use hand tools such as a drill, pneumatic screwdriver, and most importantly, snips that are used to cut hard plastic that requires a strong grip and strength exclusively focused in the wrists and hands. This disqualification may result in my inability to continue this work, and I am unsure if there is are alternative tasks or if some can be created for me. I am in a state of uncertainty.

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So at least things got better physically for me in the last two days. I went out Saturday and went to KMart to purchase some shaving cream and shampoo as Walmart does not carry my brands. KMart here is a sterile store absent of life and activity moreover - essentially the store was a tomb as maybe there was eight to ten customers in the store on a Saturday around 5pm during the half-hour or so I was there. I have to think the store's days are numbered here and I would not be surprised to see it close down for good sometime in the next year, perhaps in months. The KMart down the road in Greeley is in the process of closing with a finale in mid September which is not a good sign for the store here. With such a glut of retail and the economy in tatters and increasingly worsening, the demise of older retailers like KMart, Sears, Radio Shack, and others is certain in the coming couple of years as these kinds of retailers are institutions of yesteryear and are out of style with most younger consumers as well as those that are more enlightened, educated, and sophisticated. Younger people and those with a decent income prefer not to shop at the places frequented by their parent's generation, the poor, and minorities/immigrants.

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My errands continued on to Walmart for some groceries. In contrast to KMart, the Walmart was packed and full of activity. I did not need much and did not get everything I could have. Eating a good meal before going grocery shopping always helps to keep me from purchasing superfluous items. Once I got home, it was more of a hassle and process with my hands in a weakened condition. Instead of one or two trips up the stairs to bring the sacks in, it took about 6-7 trips.

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The summer heat wave continues here as it has across much of the High Plains and Front Range corridor. It has been near or above 90 degrees here in Cheyenne for most of July as only one day this month has been recorded with a below normal high temperature. Denver is poised to shatter its record for most consecutive 90 degrees days. The record is 18 days from 1901, and Sunday 27 July saw the current streak reach 15. The forecast for the next week to ten days makes it a certainty the record will be shattered and may near or surpass 25 days which is quite alarming. All this heat does not make my apartment comfortable for the most part. Most days and well into the night the temperature is around 85 degrees or more, and it does not drop below 80 but for a few hours before and just after dawn. The thermometer in the bathroom which has no ventilation or fans has indicated a temperature above 90 degrees on some occasions. Fortunately, the bedroom is more favorable, being surrounded by other rooms both in my unit and from the neighboring unit; the temperature there does not get as warm as the main rooms and cools down a little more overnight as well, as I see temperatures below 75 degrees around 3 am and it does not get much above 82 by noon or early afternoon. Thus you can see that it is essential that I keep fans running virtually all the time. I have a fan in front of the bedroom window, one inside the front door, and one in front of the kitchen window. I also have two ceiling fans: one above my bed and the other in the main living room. These fans do a modest job of keep the place somewhat comfortable, but anyway you describe it means it is still hot and probably uncomfortable for most everyone whom would experience it, but I am getting used to it. But pretty much all the time in the last month or so I am only wearing shorts, no shirt and no socks in order to be minimally comfortable. I only have about five weeks left of the really warm weather hopefully, and I expect the middle ten days of September will bring a marked change to the weather with much cooler temps, particularly at night, which will make things much more comfortable. And in less than two months, the temperatures will decline enough at least for one day and probably more for me to have the urge to break out the space heater and think about putting the fans away. But the fans will probably in use regularly for the next six weeks to two months still. What I would not give to be able to spend five or six days on the water at Lake Powell enjoying boating, swimming. and camping...

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Well another week of work nears and I do not get much done during weekdays with the long hours, subsequent fatigue, and the aforementioned heat. I did put air in the White Knight's tires on Sunday and spent more than an hour reading the Sunday newspapers at Subway while enjoying a sub and some raspberry iced tea. I also watched some baseball over the weekend, catching all or part of six games including three Rockies - Reds games, two Redsox - Yankees games, and the Sunday afternoon Marlins - Cubs game. The Rockies are showing a little life as of late and have risen to just ten games under .500, but more importantly, just six games out of first place. It is a huge "if", but if they can maintain some consistency and continue to get back to the breakeven point during August, then just maybe September may have some meaning. Now that would be something and again. But the start of college football season is now just a little over a month away and the NFL exhibition games start next week (!).

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Cheyenne Frontier Days has come and gone, and the summer is now into its second half with the Dog Days ending in about two and one-half weeks. If everything works out, I hope to get some projects and tasks done in the coming weeks, and maybe we will get a cooler weekend before August ends so that my motivation will be greater. The little straightening up and organizing I did manage to complete was enough for me to accomplish the last two days.

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*****

Randy Pausch. 1960 - 2008

Randy Pausch emerged in the public eye in a matter of months to fame, noteriety, and revered respect with his writings and lectures based on his enlightened, humbling, and simple joyous outlook and viewpoint on life in light of his terminal pancreatic cancer which would inevitably soon end his life. Pausch rose from humble beginnings to become a respected and accomplished academician and scholar at the Carnegie-Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh. But his writings and simple observations on what life needs to be about struck a deep chord with many people and provided guideposts on how to really live life for his many newfound fans and friends. His striking book, The Last Lecture, was released only in April '08 and is an international bestseller. He made numerous public appearances and was featured on such television programs as 20/20, Nightline, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Pausch leaves his wife, Virginia; three very young children ( the actual intended audience for his book) ; a brother; and a sister.
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"It's not about how to achieve your dreams, it's about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, the dreams will come to you."
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Pausch
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http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08208/899670-192.stm
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http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-pausch26-2008jul26,0,2815995,full.story
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http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-pausch26-2008jul26,0,2815995,full.story
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*****

Benched with Hand, Wrist Injuries

The pain and numbness in my hands and wrists finally reached the point where I was unable to work Wednesday 23 July and Thursday 24 July. After working the assembly line Tuesday night into Wednesday morning for nearly a ten hour shift, I awoke later with both hands all but paralyzed. I cannot but make it to about one-third the way to a fist in both hands and cannot pick anything up greater than a couple of pounds. I cannot grip or clinch anything with either hand. Often there is shooting pain, tingling, and numbness present. Home therapy has been uneffective as both massage and heat applications have been futile. I cannot button my pants or tie shoes, and I am staying home as I cannot safely drive my vehicle as I cannot grip the steering wheel and would be helpless should I have to respond quickly to an emergency situation. Little if any improvement has occurred Thursday. I do have use of most of my fingers for some applications (like keystroking for this blog), but any action that requires any strength in my fingers is either a no-go or accompanied by excrutiating pain. It appears from what I have read on the internet is that I may need to rest and avoid any exertion in my hands for as much as several weeks. I also have to believe I need to give up any thought or idea of keeping my employment in the short term, let alone the long term. This promises to be a great setback as I will be forced back into lower paying employment with working conditions that are less than rosy. After a brief spell of sunshine, it is starting to look like the gloom is on the way back, if not here already.
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*****

The Birthday Anniversary of My Late Father, Leonard Lacey, 1931 - 1981

Yesterday, 20 July, marks the 77th anniversary of the birth of my father. He was born in Erie, PA, into a world of difficulty and hardship, spent his youth in an unimaginably polluted and impoverished Pittsburgh, and lived his life often in the shadow of stress, tragedy and heartbreak, losing his parents and siblings while still a boy. During his long military career in the US Air Force which dominated and defined his life, he saw and experienced much and was exposed to truths, horrors, and sights that I cannot imagine and I wonder how he coped and cognitated with those moments. Yet he accomplished much and lived a full life with many successes, adventures and opportunities. The challenges he faced and struggled to overcome often compelled him to make less than ideal choices in lifestyle habits, many of which were strongly socially acceptable and required, but with health consequences not well known a quarter and a half century ago and more. I would like to think that I learned at least a few lessons from him and took his example and became a better and more responsible healthy individual personally. I never smoked tobacco, used liquor in a substantially smaller quantity, particularly after age 30, stopped drinking coffee in 1996, have tried to eat more fruits and vegetables. and not let stress get to me and keep my circumstances in perspective ( but I am nowhere near perfect).

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It would have a great help for me and my siblings and their families to have had him in their lives as a guide, mentor, and model these last 27 years, but his spirit carries on in many ways that we are not even aware of on a regular basis. He did good in spite of all the obstacles and challenges in his way and his legacy is six offspring with nine grandchildren who are wonderful and beautiful people with years of continued success, achievement, contentment, and happiness ahead. I miss you, Dad, and I love you. I have never been or ever will be the man you were and are.

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*****

Weekend Escape

I just wrapped up an interesting and enjoyable 36 hour sojourn to visit with some of my relatives. My youngest sister LAC and her two daughters, A and S, came up from NM to spend a few days in the Denver area for a little vacation and to see me and my other two brothers and their families who live in the Denver metro area. I arrived in mid afternoon Saturday after a drive that was inconvenienced by accidents and highway construction that forced me to detour off I-25 to US Highway 287 from Fort Collins to Longmont adding about 30 minutes or more for the trip. This was after dealing with the seemingly endless highway construction on I-25 ongoing in Wyoming for the first seven miles of interstate entering into the state from Colorado. This project has been underway since at least April and seems far from completion. The northbound side of the highway has been obliterated and an entire new highway is being constructed. This results in traffic going in both ways sharing the regular two southbound lanes which is kind of unnerving with the speed and volume of traffic especially at night with mere pylons and a few feet separating the opposite going high-speed traffic from each other. There is no lighting along the stretch and no shoulders. I imagine I will have to deal with this for at least another three months or more. I believe this project probably should have been done in a different manner as the current process creates a great deal of peril and danger for all drivers. Highway construction is also is in high gear in Colorado with the eternal widening project of I-25 in southwest Weld County continuing with work occurring for most of the stretch from mile marker 245, the Mead exit, south to mile marker 235, the Erie exit. It appears that completion of this stretch will not occur until sometime later in 2009, and then the project moves north towards the Berthoud, Lyons, and Johnstown exits. This widening of 1-25 is supposed to continue north to Fort Collins exit 269 so about another decade of ongoing work will occur to finish to next 24 miles. I also had to deal with nighttime overtime work resurfacing the road near the south Loveland exit for about three miles which slowed my return trip home slightly. The entire weekend was very hot and mostly sunny until late afternoon with temperatures near or above 100 degrees throughout the region. Fortunately the White Knight ran well and gasoline was about a $ 60.00 expense.

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I got to west Lakewood near Golden where LAC had gotten their hotel room. I got myself a room for the night. We visited for a while and then headed south to visit youngest brother HBL and his family's home in Castle Rock. We had a nice feast of some treats we had purchased at the grocery store of bratwurst, potato salad, watermelon, strawberry shortcakes, chocolate cake, and iced tea. We also had pork chops but his barbecue cooker was broken so those never got prepared. Instead HBL went and got a couple of pizzas to add to the feast. The young nieces J and C were excited and elated to see their NM cousins and they all spent some fun time together. We visited and conversed for a few hours before heading back to the hotel around 10:30pm. After we returned to the hotel, I took advantage of the bathtub in the room and took about a 40 minute soak which was quite soothing, as I have not had this luxury in well over two years due to just having availability of showers all this time. I also got to sleep on a nice thick firm mattress which had its benefits as well.

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Sunday we started out in late morning with a simple breakfast at the hotel restaurant. After an hour walking through the Colorado Mills mall, we took a drive down West Colfax and almost made it to downtown Denver before having to turn back to meet up with HBL and his daughters coming up from Castle Rock. All the cousins spent a good three hours almost swimming in the hotel pool and having a lot of fun while LAC and myself enjoyed some good conversation. I also had some good discussions with HBL. As evening apporoached we decided on a place for dinner, and after some disagreements, we decided on a place not far at the Colorado Mills mall. Middle brother VML and his family joined us although youngest brother HBL had to take off with his girls. It was a nice meal although smokers made some moments unpleasant. We then carpooled and spent about an hour or so walking along the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver and taking a few short jaunts on the free Mall bus. We then returned to the hotel around 10pm and I headed home up I-25 for the one and one-half hour or so drive home and the very unpleasant thought of having to be at work at 6:30am for the start of another long hot week that was sure to bring me more pain and discomfort in my hands and wrists. As I feared, I was nowhere near being sleepy and did not retire for bed until after 2am. I tossed and turned and would get little if any sleep before having to get back up to start the workday. I know when I get home Monday afternoon I will do little but sleep and rest and deal with a body clock totally out of whack.

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All in all, it was a nice weekend with some enjoyable time with my sister and her daughters, as well as my other two brothers. Things never go perfect and there were some unsettling and disappointing moments, but it was not bad. I look forward to seeing my brothers again along with their families in the coming months and hope to travel to NM in late November to spend Thanksgiving with LAC and her family as well as my middle younger sister KVS and her family as well.

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Thanks to all for the nice weekend -- it was truly a nice escape.

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*****

Bill Clinton's Observations on the Growing "Splitism"

A recently released book entitled "The Big Sort" by Bill Bishop provides the backdrop for some comments made Saturday 12 July by former President Bill Clinton. The book details the growing divide among Americans and an increasing segregation evidently occurring based largely on public policy opinion, but also on class, income, wealth, race, culture, and other demographic factors. Clinton made his remarks to this growing development and expressed his alarm on the ramifications of such a direction. People seemingly are distancing themselves from others not like themselves. There are, of course, many, many individuals to the contrary in many places. Myself personally, I have little if anything in common with the other citizens living in Cheyenne and across Wyoming. I share very little of their political philosophy and opinions and often feel like a pariah when comparing my views and attitudes with most Wyomingians. I know the same is true perhaps even to a greater extent in regards to my youngest brother HBL and the citizens of Castle Rock, Douglas County, and the suburban Denver - Colorado metro area. I believe our two examples are reasons why we both are considering relocating to other parts of the nation where we believe there are more citizens who are similar to us in more ways, particularly when it comes to attitudes and opinions on a wide range of matters. Depending on one looks at this phenomena, one has to believe it will only continue and increase in the coming years. It appears the old motto, E pluribus unum, is all but dead in the US as we get further into the 21st century.
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http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D91SJ6DO0&show_article=1
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http://www.amazon.com/Big-Sort-Clustering-Like-Minded-America/dp/
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http://www.thebigsort.com/home.php
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/books/review/Stossel-t.html?_r=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin
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*****

A Long Week of Work and Little Else

I had a long week of work wrap up Saturday night. Yes, due to the workload in the factory we had to work six days which totalled to about 55 hours which means a nice paycheck. But with all the work there is no time to enjoy or spend it in the coming weeks for the most part. This week marks the completion of the first week of an eight week stretch with little time off or a holiday. The next seven weeks will be long and at times feel like an ordeal, but it is nice to have this as compared to the alternative that I endured the first few months of the calendar year. Hopefully as the Autumn nears I will get some additional time to myself and have a chance to enjoy myself.

I also want to get started on the projects in the coming weeks and have most of them taken care of before we get too deep into October. Wednesday morning the 9th I did not get home until after 5:30 am and the sunrise was similar to this photo. After a relatively rainy May and June, July here along the Northern Front Range has been mostly sunny, hot, and dry with virtually no rainfall which has resulted in the prairie turning brown with little if any green left anywhere and the promise of it staying that way and worsening for the next 9 1/2 to 10 months.

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My hands and wrists continue to be quite painful and I have yet to come up with the ideal solution to deal with this. I do soak my hands and use my heated massager to try get relief but results are erratic at best and often unsatisfactory. I will just have to live with it but its not fun.

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Sunday will have me do the weekly grocery run and not much else. I need to some straightening up around the home but nothing major looms. I may go out and have something to eat; perhaps a nice Mexican dinner is something to consider as I have done that since last autumn.

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I have not heard from brother HBL since he completed his difficult summer seminar preparing him to teach at DPS. I know it was quite time consuming for him and had its difficulty and inconvenience, but hopefully the results and insuing news will be positive. I hope to get down to CR in the coming weeks and visit; perhaps my visit can occur simultaneously with a visit to him and his family from my sisters, but I have not heard if that is going to happen and when. It would be a nice event for the midsummer for all.

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Like the week just completed, I do not see much else happening for me other than just work and rest and the other basics in life. If next Saturday is free, maybe I will go see the new Batman movie if it is out and I think it will be.

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*****

Bobby Mercer, 1946 - 2008

Bobby Mercer was the post-Mickey Mantle symbol and heart of the New York Yankees when I was a boy in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although I was a Mets fan at the time, many of my friends, classmates, and neighbors were Yankees fans and adored Mercer, an Oklahoman like Mantle. The Yankees of that era were mediocre at best after a long run of championship successes and contention, and the first successes of the Steinbrenner era were still a few years away, but Mercer was always considered among the best AL outfielders during those down years in the Bronx. Mercer played hard and was a great role model and example for youth. He was the best Yankees player from 1969 to 1974. He was traded to San Francisco after the 1974 season and then moved on to the Chicago Cubs before returning to the Yankees in 1979. He later served as a broadcaster for the club for many years before he was stricken with brain cancer in '06 in the form of a malignant tumor. Although Mercer fought the disease vallantly, he was not able to overcome it. An underappreciated and unrecognized Yankee great to a large extent due to the stars on the club over the years, Mercer is survived by his wife of 42 years, Kay; two children, a brother, and five grandchildren.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/sports/baseball/13murcer.html?_r=1&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss&oref=slogin
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Murcer
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*****

My Independence Day Holiday Weekend

It was nice to have a three day weekend free of most worries. It was a nice break to have in light of the next eight weeks ahead being full of five day workweeks with overtime which will keep outside activities to a minimum somewhat. I had hoped to go to Castle Rock and spend the Fourth with my youngest brother and his family, but HBL put the kibosh on that idea quickly. I thus spent Friday largely at home resting and doing not much of anything. It was a hot day Friday across the Front Range and we reached the low 90s here in Cheyenne for the first time in '08. And Saturday would stay hot into midafternoon until a front came through and knocked the temperatures down into the low 7os for the remainder of the weekend.
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Saturday was much more active as I drove to Denver to meet up with Matt to attend the Rockies - Marlins game at Coors Field. The weather was cloudy with sporadic rain showers as we sat in the upper deck in the far right field stands above the bullpens. It was a good entertaining game with lots of runs and hits as Colorado prevailed, 12-6. Afterwards, Matt and I stopped at Sonic for a sandwich and flavored beverage as we enjoyed some good conversation. Then it was back home with arrival occuring around 12:30am. I did a little surfing before retiring. Sunday I slept in and it was one of the better sleeps I have had in the last few weeks as it was uninterrupted for close to ten hours. I have been taking increased regular dosage of ginger supplements which is starting to help address the pain in both my wrists and hands. I may have to start eating cinnamon and ginger toast more regularly to get additional substances into the system as ginger is an excellent anti-inflammatory which helps somewhat with the numbness, tingling, and sharp pain in my fingers, hands, wrists, lower arms, and elbows.
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Sunday brought another quiet afternoon at home enjoying some more baseball. Later I went to the grocery store to get some fruit and the newspapers. Sunday evening will find me at home certainly and involved in some odd tasks and chores around the place that require me attention. This upcoming week will be one limited to work and rest for the most part.
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*****

Bozo the Clown (Larry Harmon), 1925 - 2008

Larry Harmon was the individual who played the role of Bozo the Clown, a beloved childrens character for many for over 40 years. Others played the role in other markets as Harmon was the Bozo at WGN Chicago. Bozo was a fun happy character that was very positive and encouraging to young children and could be described as a role model. The playful innocence of Bozo is sadly missing for many children today as often children are exposed to harmful and dastardly characters like rap performers, athletes, wrestlers and death match brawlers, ultimate fighters, and video game characters to be role models for them. Although Harmon was not famous to many outside of his role, his contributions over the years are immeasureable. When I was a child, one of the toys we had was a Bozo the Clown Punching figure that stood about 4' in height, similar to the photo to the above right.
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http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hhj-8BF2XnML69KPAiEQQkgECTRwD91N0V080-
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Harmon

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bozo_the_Clown

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*****

Television 'viewership Increasingly Older Americans

This report is largely no surprise. As each generation emerges there is a new technology awaiting that they grasp and make a big part of their lives. In the last decade to fifteen years there has been an explosion of new technologies that more often than not primarily the younger generations embraced at the expense of older technologies. The internet, laptop computers, cellular telephones, the I-pod, and other exciting new products and services are just some of these technologies. Additionally, our society has markedly moved away from the lifestyle models that were dominant in prior decades such as the traditional 8-5 employment, holidays off, and weekends free of employment. In 2008 the US has moved strongly to a 24/7 workplace and culture, which is detrimental, among many other and more significant ways, to traditional television viewership creation and patterns of loyalty. The television programmers are vitally aware of this seachange occurring in viewership and are pulling out all the stops to try to bring in and keep younger viewers, which is the ultimately wanted clientele for advertisers and sponsors looking to sell and peddle products and services to demographics that lack brand loyalty, product biases, and wisdom and insight on what the medium is really all about. For the most part they are failing as the tidal wave of "reality shows" has largely failed. This trend of television being increasingly watched by largely an older viewership is likely to only strengthen and become a fixture for the most part. Networks, working under different rules than cable that control and limit their content, very well may be on the way out and could see their demise within two decades as the internet promises to be the video provider of information and entertainment for most in a growing fast paced way. Broadcasting is being replaced by narrowcasting, and the business model the networks have used for better than a half-century is in serious peril as corporations will likely migrate to this other media to expose their products and services to their desired demographic, leaving networks to become less significant and slowly die.

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http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117988273.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

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*****

Completion of the First New Work Week

My first week at my new employment wrapped up early Saturday morning as the crew was kept until around 2:45 am on overtime to complete an order. Coupled with the overtime on Thursday night/Friday morning, the total came to about five hours. As the week went on I operated machinery that cut and formed the plastic fabrications in preparation for their construction into windows and patio doors, and another machine that heat sealed the finished product, cut away superfluous plastic residues, and cleaned up the final product in preparation for glass installation and shipment. The week went well although the warehouse was warm to hot at times and there was not always a fan to provide relief at every station I was at. The promise of nice paycheck makes it somewhat worth it in a big way.

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I did experience a recurrence of my carpal-tunnel syndrome issues in both wrists and hands and I worked in some pain for a time on Friday before it abated, but Saturday was a difficult day as I spent the day home dealing with the pain and trying different solutions to provide a remedy, but with mixed results. The best approach was soaking my hands and wrists in a bucket of hot water with epsom salts. I also tried massage, pain relief pills, and Ben-Gay, all with limited or short term success. Sunday went better as things got better. I got myself a carpal-tunnel wrist bandage and that seemed to bring relief along with increase dosages of Tylenol. I hope this is an intermittent problem at worst as the pain is liking have electricity going up one's hands, wrists, lower arm, and elbow. When the problem is going full, I cannot clinch my hand into a fist at all and only can get about half-way to a fist without serious pain; the hand and wrist are noticeably swollen; and there is a noticeable loss in strength in the hand as I cannot pick up anything that has any weight to beyond several pounds. And it wakes one up frequently with intense pain as one tries to get some sleep.

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I have had issues with carpal-tunnel syndrome going back to the 1980s when I was cutting pizzas with a big rocker blade knife; the problem continued into the 1990s in the same kind of work. When I worked at Anderson in 1997-99, my job included lifting heavy plastic totes filled with books and magazines that sometime weighed over 100 pounds. The syndrome was particularly harsh and painful and it was one of the considerations that compelled me to leave that employment despite my overall liking of the job otherwise. I will have to stay aware of the issues that may bring on the syndrome and its various levels of extremeness. Obviously I need to be very careful and conscious of activities that spur its presence, such as lifting heavy weights primarily with my arms and hands that do not require much help from the back and shoulders. I have even had smaller less intense versions of it keystroking on computers over the years and using a mouse. I hope its nothing to be really concerned about, but the fact that the syndrome made such a strong appearance in just my first week at my new employment is not something I am elated about. I will just have to take it day by day and see what happens.

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Late Sunday afternoon I finally got out and did some errands. I started with an ice cream treat at Baskin-Robbins with a coupon for two scoops (Rocky Road and America's Birthday Cake) for the price of one, although I was disappointed coffee ice cream was not on the menu at this time. I read my Sunday papers before heading to Walmart for a grocery run. I then went to the post office to mail the electric bill and check my box. I got a birthday card from the ever thoughtful second younger sister KVS and her family that included some nice gift cards. After I got home I did a little organizing of the pile on my desk and listened to some music on the stereo before catching some television which included a movie I had never seen before, Deep Rising. I finally went to bed around 2:30am.

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Anyway, this upcoming week is only a four day week with Friday, Independence Day, an off day and the start of a three-day weekend. The next one of these will not be until Monday 1 September, Labor Day. It is likely I will get some overtime in some of the next four days. If it is okay, I will probably go to Castle Rock Friday afternoon and spend the evening and Saturday with my brother and his family. Hopefully the weather will continue to be good and we can barbeque some goodies and enjoy some good company.

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*****

New Employment Goes Well

I finished up my second full day work earlier tonight and so far it is fine. The Jeld-Wen windows manufacturing plant is about 4 miles east of the interchange of I-80 and College Ave in SE Cheyenne. The factory has only been there several years and it looks to be a facility about 300.00o sq ft in size with ceilings a good 50' above the concrete floor surface and a dozen or so large doorways for truck loading access on both the north and south sides of the factory. I work with a crew of approximately 40 people. My job so far has consisted of assembly of various kinds of window frames and window sets. The frames are all a precast vinyl plastic material one sees in most construction nowadays. I have done work on frames both before and after the glass is installed. I have also done assembly of window sets which involves 2-4 pieces of the same or differing sizes. Assembly involves cutting off excess strips of plastic, removing cornices at the ends of the frames, attaching hardware to connect the pieces together and attaching mounting moulding to lock pieces together using a mallet. I use tin snips quite a bit as a tool to trim and cut plastic in the work. Its pretty full flowing work with little time to stop. One does get two ten minutes breaks and a one-half hour meal break midshift. The plant is largely out in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by wide open prairie for the most part in every direction with long vistas of visibility. That rules out going anywhere to get a snack or lunch, so I will be bringing mine everyday. Overall the work will be okay but it offers little promise of any kind of intellectual stimulation, but it is easier to deal with boredom and dull work when one is getting paid $11.50 per hour instead of just $7 or so per hour. I know in due time, perhaps by later in the autumn, that any novelty and challenge will largely be a thing of the past in this kind of work. It has always been this way in every kind of employment I have ever had -- mastery and the end of a challenge within 3-6 months of the commencing of the employment.

*****

Major League Baseball at the Season's Midpoint

Sunday 22 June marks the end of the thirteenth of the the twenty-six weeks of the Major League Baseball season. Every club has played between 74 and 78 games out of the regular season 162 game schedule. The All-Star game break is still three weeks away, but a check on how the season is going will be attempted here by yours truly.
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NL WEST
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The division is markedly weaker than expected, and it seems certain there will be no wild card team this year from the NL West as has been the case in the last few years. Arizona got off to a great start winning 28 of their first 44, but the Diamondbacks have fallen back to earth in the last five to six weeks, losing 21 of 32. The D-Backs stall has kept the other four teams in the division race despite all four clubs being under .500 and generally unimpressive for most of the season. LA did okay early, but has languished the last two months; San Francisco has over achieved but has yet to prove itself; and San Diego and the defending National League Champion Colorado Rockies have been major disappointments with both their pitching and offenses underperforming. This division should go down to the wire, and everyone but the Giants has a shot to still win it. I will go with Arizona by the slimmest of margins again.
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NL CENTRAL
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Chicago has established itself as the team to beat both in the division and in the National League. The Cubs seemingly have all the pieces in place to make some noise in the postseason and its likely they will be there as the Central champs. St Louis has played remarkably well and considerably better than expected as the Redbird pitching has been largely sparkling to go along with a steady and good offense. The Cardinals are a prohibitive favorite to be the NL wild card team. Milwaukee got out of the gate poorly but has picked it up in recent weeks and could very well emerge even further to give both the Cubs and Cards a run for the postseason with their offense and improving pitching. The other three clubs are done: Pittsburgh, who is improved and may stay near .500 through the remainder of the season; Houston, who had a good run early but has faded badly in recent weeks; and Cincinnati, who has failed to meet early expectations and looks to be lacking in most every aspect of the game. Chicago will be tough to beat, but it is not a sure thing as both the Cardinals and Brewers have more than enough to overtake the Cubs down the stretch.
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NL EAST
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Another woeful division for the most part, much like the NL West. The East is marginally better at best. Four clubs should stay in the race for the division flag for the most part down the stretch. Philadelphia has set the pace in recent weeks after overcoming a much better than expected start and pace setting by Florida. The Marlins are much better than forecast and couldd be a big surprise before all is decided. That being said, the Phillies still are the favorite with their offense and decent enough pitching. New York and Atlanta will stay close and could still win, but both seem to lack enough pitching to be able to take it all the way. Washington is dead and out of it, but at least fans will get to continue to enjoy the first season at the new Nationals Park.
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AL WEST
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Anaheim has played steadily and consistently over the season thus far, and barring injuries, should take the AL West flag and very well could have the best record in the American League. Oakland and Texas will stay within striking distance perhaps even into September, but the Athletics lack the offense and the Rangers lack the pitching to keep up with and overcome the Angels. Seattle is a giant disappointment and a disaster. Everything that could go wrong for the Mariners has gone wrong and the organization has already started to clean house and the movement of overpaid underperforming players is next. Seattle very well could lose 100 games, a startling reversal to the preseason aspirations of a postseason appearance for the Mariners.
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AL CENTRAL
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This is the weakest of the three American League divisions. Chicago has been at or near the top all season as the Chisox pitching has exceeded expectations. It is still anyones guess on who will take the division's pennant. Minnesota is better than expected, particularly with their pitching, but both Cleveland and Detroit have seriously underachieved. Both clubs have been below .5oo for all or most of the season as the Tigers' pitching has been atrocious and the Indians's offense has been often anemic. Both could rapidly rebound and surge into the division lead in a short period of time. Kansas City is improved, particularly their pitching, but the Royals are still a solid step behind the other four clubs in the division. In a shocker, look for the Twins to edge out the other three clubs and represent the division in the postseason.
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AL EAST
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This is baseball's best division clearly. The defending World Champion Boston Red Sox have been at or near the top of the division all season and should continue to with their strong mix of pitching, offense, and defense. Their experience should be enough to overcome the young upstart Tampa Bay Rays, who have surprised many with their successful great play all season. Tampa Bay has the personnel and strength to make the post season; its just a question of if all their youth can keep it going until the end. New York has had problems in all aspects of the game for much of the season, largely due to injury, lack of depth, and inadequate pitching, but the Yanks are playing better in recent weeks and will contend as usual for a postseason berth. Another notably surprising club is Baltimore as the young Orioles have played much better than anticipated and are staying in the running for the postseason. Counted on before the season as a sure loser of over 100 games, Baltimore has seen vast improvements in their pitching and a better than expected offensed in staying just below or above .500 all season. Toronto has to be a disappointment as the Jays were expected to contend for the division. Injuries and underperformances in both pitching and offense have been the Blue Jays' undoing, and there is little to suggest that the club will be able to reverse their direction that they have taken strongly enough to re-emerge as a contender for a postseason berth. Boston will win the AL East, and Tampa Bay will stun the Yankees to take the AL Wild Card.
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I like the Angels and Phillies in the World Series at this point, with the Twins and Brewers as my darkhorses.
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*****