Steve Fischer's Random Blog

Author: fish1964

  • Full

    Another successful Atlantic Antic. For me it’s mainly about the food. I ate:

    • Alcapurria
    • Cheddar Bratwurst
    • Roasted Corn
    • Some random Thai wrap that I don’t even know what it was, but it was delicious.
    • Jerk Chicken
    • Popcorn

    Not necessarily in that order.

    I drank:

    But it’s not all about me. The girls had bouncy castle type events, including the flipping ladder thing (we hit these early, before the crowds):

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    There were random arts and crafts. One store simply had blocks out for the kids. This was Danielle’s effort:

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    There was face painting, Tori rode a horse (thrill for a city kid):

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    Danielle is now big enough to enjoy the shopping aspect of it. This artist had a stand and Danielle bought one.

    With newly pierced ears, earrings are a big deal:

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    Full, happy and tired. Another great Antic.

  • The Antic

    I will eat well today. It’s the annual Atlantic Antic. The largest street fair in NYC. And it’s right outside my front door. More when I’m full…

  • iPhone Sells More than McDonald’s

    Not Apple, just the iPhone:

    Courtesy of Bloomberg.

  • There is Crying in Baseball

    I wish I could embed MLB video. Cheers and tears and a great moment with Mariano Rivera’s last game at Yankee Stadium…

  • No Beer for Me

    I was going to grab a burger and a beer on the way home at my favorite joint. Imagine my surprise when that half of the block is full of film equipment and my bar is closed.

    Apparently an episode of Hostages is being filmed there today.

    Maybe I’ll watch…

  • Yankees 2013 RIP

    It’s not like Yankee fans really thought we’d make the playoffs this year. The early unexpected good start raised expectations, but when more and more players got hurt you had to wonder how Girardi was keeping them in contention.

    So it was a rough year, with watching Rivera’s last year being the only highlight. But if you are a Yankee fan can you really think, “hey, we’ll be healthy next year so we’ll be back”? Only with a series of wildly optimistic assumptions.

    Let’s go around the diamond:

    1B: Teixeira. Has to come back healthy and productive (wildly optimistic)

    2B: Cano. The Yankees one young star. But he’s a free agent. He will command boatloads of money/years. And he can see that this team is in decline. Him signing is still likely, but no guarantee.

    SS: Jeter. His contract has an option year and it’s his option. Unless a tank runs over him in the off season he will take the option year. So we have to hope he gets healthy and returns to form. Did I mention he’ll be a 40 year old shortstop next year? (wildly optimistic).

    3B: A-Rod? We would have to assume that he gets healthy and avoids being suspended (wildly optimistic).

    C: Cervelli. Needs to be healthy. Not a star but a solid catcher.

    Outfield: Probably Granderson, Gartner and Soriano. Granderson’s injuries were two freak broken hands (both hit by pitches) so it reasonable to assume he’ll be healthy. A decent outfield.

    Starting Pitching:

    CC Sabathia: Yankess fans simply have to hope he returns to form. We have no compelling reason to believe he will, but seriously, without him pitching like an top tier pitcher the Yankees aren’t going anywhere. (wildly optimistic)

    Ivan Nova: Good young pitcher. Rare bright spot for the Yankee’s future. Still hasn’t pitched a full season though (optimistic).

    Hiroki Kuroda: Was the ace most of the season but totally ran out of gas at the end of the year. Free agent, getting old, might not be back.

    Dellin Betances: Who? Pitched great in AAA last year. 6’ 8” and throws serious heat. Supposedly. Honestly, I’ve never seen the kid. But we have huge holes in the rotation so we need a new face (wildly optimistic).

    Free Agent Ace: This is what Yankee fans are hoping for. (wildly optimistic).

    Bullpen:

    David Robertson: Won’t make us forget Mariano, but is a great reliever.

    Other than that, the bullpen is pretty bare.

    Yankee fans are pretty much hoping that everyone miraculously gets healthy and young, and they go on a free agent buying spree. But with all the huge contracts still on the payroll it’s hard to see enough of a reload to really contend.

    Yankee fans have been spoiled for a long time. I think it’s going to be bad for a while…

  • Earth at Equinox

    Here’s an interesting animation from a satellite in geosynchronous orbit (so it faces the same spot on Earth at all times). One day passing on the Autumnal Equinox.

    You can read all about it from Phil Plait here…

  • Happy Birthday John Coltrane

    He would have been 87 today. If you don’t know who I’m talking about, you should. One of the greatest jazz saxophone players ever.

    If you would like to be introduced:

    Kind of Blue (1959 – Miles Davis): Considered by many (including me) to be the best jazz album ever (it’s literally in everyone’s top 5). Arguably the best jazz sextet ever (only Miles could keep a group this talented together.

    My Favorite Things (1961): Coltrane’s second solo album. The title track is from Sound of Music and is brilliant. This album has Coltrane playing a lot of soprano sax (including the title track). Tenor sax is how he started.

    Tenor Madness (1956 – Sonny Rollins): Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane are generally considered the best tenor saxophone players ever. This album is basically the rhythm section from Kind of Blue with Rollins and Coltrane (and the only time they recorded together).

    Giant Steps (1960): His first album with solely his own compositions. Historically this is more important than My Favorite Things, but if you are new to jazz, it’s harder to get into.

    Broaden your horizons and check these out…

  • One Billion Dollars

    Blackberry lost almost a billion dollars last quarter. They are going to fire 4,500 employees.

    Oh my.

    I have no comment other than in the tech world, death comes quickly…

  • Don’t Drive and Phone

    I don’t drive a lot, and I’ve always felt that talking on the phone while driving was a bad idea. Now I drive in crazy NYC traffic so that’s part of it. And I’m just not used to driving and talking on the phone, even if it’s hands free. So I assumed I wasn’t comfortable with it because I rarely do it.

    Turns out my instinct was probably correct.

    Here’s a video (amusingly sponsored by GEICO) comparing drunk driving and driving while talking on the phone. Both are horrible, but drunk driving is a bit safer.

    But the drivers were holding the phone in their hand. Surely hands free is safer.

    Or not…